11. .209efj tub
1665 Words
I go to the royal house and take a shower. I needed that something terrible. I get some pajamas on and eat some pizza. Then I go to bed. I hear Alden come in and go to his room as I fall asleep.
I wake up early. I must have went to sleep early. I go up to my office. The stack of papers is gone. That pisses me off. I walk over to Alden's office, and he is sleeping with his head on them. The AI is sitting at the conference table.
"How long has he been sleeping like that?"
"Since 2 am. He was trying to make sense of it. He informed me that I am of no assistance with this."
I can't help but chuckle. "Why?"
"Because what is on that list is what we need. No matter how many times he asks me what .209efj tub is, it is still .209efj tub."
"I understand." I put my hand on his shoulder.
He pops right up. "I'm awake."
"Go to bed."
"What time is it?"
"8:30."
"I'm fine. I need a shower and some food. I'll be back." He kisses my head and runs out the door.
Victor comes in. "Where's he going in such a hurry?"
"He wanted a shower, I think. He slept in here last night."
"Yea, I think you broke him. He wasn't doing well."
"He was reading the papers. He's not broke."
"Alert: Ping returned. 2 ships located. 6 hours and 26 minutes away. Planet Earth."
I scratch my head. "Can we make it there safely?"
"My brother's not going to let us leave the planet."
"Yes, we can make it. It is advised you eat before you leave. And pack additional clothes. The voyage should be safe."
"Maybe we can get him on the ship and knock him out or something."
Victor cracks up laughing. "Wake him up when we get there."
"You could always sleep on the ship. The command level apartments and offices sustained no damage."
"Maybe tonight. Tell him you want to sleep on the ship. He'll do anything for you. We can wait until he goes to sleep and then travel to earth. He won't even know we moved when he wakes up."
I nod fast. "That's a good idea. We'll be looking at a different planet. He won't know the difference."
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
"AAAHHHH!" I scream so loudly and spin around. Clark is staring at me.
Victor cracks up laughing. "The ship has apartments for us. We're going to stay in them tonight. They had no damage. It'll be neat to spend the night up there."
"Really?"
AI looks at Clark, "It is advised you have dinner before getting on the ship. There is no food. Also, a change of clothes is advisable."
"Yea, that does sound different. May help us to get used to the ship."
"I want to go. Can me and Maggie stay a night too?" Clark's mate walks in. Then she gives me a funny look. "Let's go talk."
We go to a sitting room. Maggie comes in after a minute.
Then Maddie smiles. "What are you hiding? You look so guilty."
"NOTHING."
They jump. "Try again."
"There's another ship. It's 6 and a half hours away. Victor and I are going to wait until Alden falls asleep, then we're going to travel to it. When he wakes up, it'll look like we never even moved. Then we can get my ship fixed and come back when he goes to sleep again. He'll never know."
"Why don't you tell him?"
"He's not going to let us leave the planet. Even Victor says that."
"You're taking Clark?"
"It was going to be me, Victor, and Alden, but Clark said he wants to sleep on the ship. We can't tell him either. He'll tell Alden so fast."
"Me and Maggie are going to. We won't tell them the plan. You're right. He would tell. Honestly, I can't stay here while my mate goes to another planet. That's too much for me."
"I understand that."
"It's ok. Now on this other planet, what do they wear?"
"I have no idea."
"We'll sort something out and pack some clothes."
"That's a smart idea. And don't forget to eat. We should probably pack extra food too."
"We'll sort out the food."
"Thank you."
They smile. "Our pleasure."
Then the alarm goes off. I run out to find out why and the king's guard grabs me. They put me in another sitting room.
"What is going on?"
"Fane was seen in an escape route. He was trying to sneak into the castle."
"That's not good."
"He ran when the alarm went off, but now we have to search everything."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Watch tv or read. It may take a bit."
"Fair enough." I try the tv but can't figure it out. I end up picking a book and reading for a few hours. I take a break and eat lunch. Then I read some more.
"Come on babygirl. Let's go eat dinner." Alden picks me up off the couch.
I wrap around him and snuggle in. He's so warm. I don't know how long I slept.
He puts me down by our table. I stand there and blink.
"You were sleeping hard, baby. Sit down."
I plop down.
"Go ahead and eat. Then we'll pack and go up to the ship if you still want to."
"YES." I run for my room.
"EAT FIRST."
I run back and shove stuff in my food hole.
He watches me with an eyebrow up. "Slow down. I'm not taking you up there if you get sick."
I do my best to eat fast, slowly. "You seem tired."
"I was going to take a nap this afternoon, but instead we did a full search of the castle. We did find your brother's hidden office."
"Anything good in it?"
"Pin." He holds up the king's pin.
"Pin, sword, crown, ring, and arm guard. What do you have so far?"
"Pin, sword, and ring."
"Guard and crown left."
"You know where either are?"
"Did anyone check the throne room?"
"Yea, nothing is in there."
"I'm sure it'll turn up at some point." This makes me wonder if there's a throne room on my ship. My home should have 1.
"Go ahead and pack some stuff, baby. Pack some clothes to leave up there too. A couple of outfits. If we ever have to evacuate you, that's a perfect spot."
An hour later, the 6 of us are on the ship.
Victor sits at the conference table. "I'm going to bed very soon."
The 2 boys nod at him and I yawn.
"Maddie, stay with me. We'll search the room and see what's in it."
"The food is in here. We packed snacky stuff if anyone gets hungry."
"Thank you girls. I'm going to go lay down." Clark stands up. "Where do I lay down?"
"Right this way, sir. I will show you to the apartment level for the commanders."
We follow the AI down and pick rooms. I pick my own. It's right across from Alden. I like having him close.
Clark and Alden go to bed. Victor and I go back up to the command room.
"What is going on with you 2?"
"What you mean?"
"You act like you hate him, then stay as close to him as you can. You never even thought about leaving him on the planet. You wanted to knock him out and take him. I don't understand the thought process here."
I shrug my shoulders. I don't hate him. I like him a lot, but I'm sure he's going to end up leaving. I don't want to get hurt.
"Alden and Clark are both asleep now, sir. Would you like travel to start?"
"Yes, but no alarms or noises."
"Yes, sir."
2 seconds later, we move.
I look at the AI, "Can you wake us up 30 minutes before we get there?"
"Of course."
"Great, Maddie and Maggie too."
"Of course."
Victor nods, "That sounds good. Wake me up for any issues."
"Of course."
I run down to my room and manage to go to sleep again. I am tired today.
And apparently excited. I wake up before the AI comes in. "What time is it?"
"2am your planet time."
"How long until we get there?"
"42 minutes."
"What time is it on their planet?"
"9am."
"That's a good time. Thank you ship."
"My pleasure."
I jump up and take a shower. Then I throw on a human dress with tennis shoes. I do my hair nicely. I put some curls in it. Then I go to the command area.
Maddie, Maggie, and Victor are sitting there.
"Are you excited too?"
"Yes. So excited."
"It's almost 9:30am here. I think that's a good time."
Maggie nods. "It's perfect."
Maddie jumps up and grabs a bag, "I got us dresses, veils, and gloves. Some places don't like females to show any skin. I figured that would be the safest option."
Maggie smiles. "That's true. We can always take them off."
I nod. "Better to be safe."
The 3 of us get a floor length... it looks like a white sheet wrapped around us and tied at the shoulder. Then white shoulder-length gloves. Then a solid white veil. It has a thin rectangle of mesh fabric that goes over the eyes. That way we can see.
"This way. We have to go down to the shuttles, girls."
I jump up and down, "Are we really here?"
"Yep, look."
There are 2 other ships right outside the front window. "I hope they help us."
"Ship, can you block the windows?"
The windows have a shield that goes over them, so nobody can see out.
"Thank you. That'll be a dead give away to Alden and Clark."
I smile. "We are so smart."
Then we run down to the shuttles.
- Writer
