| Chapter 21 Nick paced the library, Ana sitting at a table watching him. "Nick, maybe we should take a walk?" she suggested. He glanced back at her, "Huh? Oh sorry Ana. I'm just really worried." She gave him a comforting smile, "I know. They will be here soon though." Nick sighed, looking around the vast library for a moment, "I'd like to take a walk if you don't mind." Ana stood up and joined him, "Of course not. Besides it's not good for you to be cooped up in the palace all the time." Nick laughed, "Well, tell that to the council. I don't understand why they chose now to have all these sessions. The queen is exhausted, and I'm afraid I'm not being much help." "You are more help to her than you realize, " Ana said, as they left the confines of the palace walls and headed towards the garden. Nick glanced at her as he walked, "Something tells me that you and my mother talk with each other more than I know." Ana smiled, but didn't look at him. "Just what I thought," Nick laughed, "So what does she really think about me?" Ana stopped and looked at him, "She loves you with all her heart." Nick nodded, "I know. Every time I'm with her, I can feel it. From the king too. I don't understand it, but I feel the same way. I love them both so much, and I've only known them for a few weeks." Ana gave him a knowing look. "What?" Nick asked, not exactly sure what the look was for. "We haven't discussed this yet, but the feelings you have toward your mother and father are genetic. We are born with a sense of family, and love is a part of that. So even though you've never seen them in your life, the instant you saw them you loved them, right?" she said. "Yeah, I did," he said, thinking, "Um Ana, can I ask you something?" "Sure," she said, as they continued to walk through the garden. "Um, well .... it's kinda embarrassing," Nick admitted. She looked up at him and noticed the blush in his cheeks. Smiling, she motioned for them to sit on a nearby bench. Nick sat down and ran his hand through his hair, building up the courage to ask his question. "What would you like to know?" she asked. "Well, all my life, when someone has kissed me, something happens to them," he started. Ana nodded, like she already knew what he was about to say. "Nick, our race is different than the human race. We are genetically geared toward our own kind," she said. He looked at her confused, "What do you mean?" "Like when you kiss a girl, you don't feel anything more than the contact of the kiss. There's no emotion with it, no feelings of love, or desire, correct?" she said. He nodded. "That's because the girl wasn't Celestian," Ana explained, "We feel immense emotion with another Celestian, but nothing with anyone outside our own race." "So that's how you keep the race so pure?" Nick asked. "Yes, we just don't have those kind of feelings for any other race," she said. "So what happens to them when they kiss us?" he asked. Ana shook her head, "I'm not sure." Nick looked across the garden, "A.J. said it was like I took his soul from him." Ana arched her eyebrow and looked at him, "A.J.?" Nick glanced at her, realizing what she was thinking, "Oh no! It's not like that at all. See I was having a nightmare, and they couldn't wake me up, so J decided to kiss me. Wait, that still doesn't sound good does it?" Ana shook her head, laughing, "No, it doesn't." Nick blushed, "OK, I can't explain it, but I'm not like that, alright?" "Sure Nick, whatever you say," Ana laughed. "I'm serious! I'm as straight as they come," Nick protested, "I really like girls, honest!" She gazed at him, "Girls? How many girls?" Nick smiled, looking away from her rather timidly, "One." Ana stared at him for a moment, but Nick wouldn't meet her eyes. Her heart was in her throat. He couldn't mean her, could he? Could they really have the same feelings for each other? She'd liked him from the day she saw him, but she knew it wasn't allowed, and so she pushed her feelings aside. But as much as she pushed, they pushed back. It was always in the back of her mind, and it was getting hard to hide the way she felt. The queen had already noticed and talked with her extensively about it. "Ana?" Nick said. "Huh?" she said, looking at him, "Oh sorry," she blushed. He laughed, "I see I'm not the only one distracted today." "No, I guess not," she said, "What did you ask?" "I wanted to learn about the courting practices," he said. "Which kind? Courting as in visiting dignitaries, or courting as in dating?" she asked. "Dating," Nick said. Ana stared at him for a moment, "Dating?" He nodded, and she suddenly became very uncomfortable under his stare. Nick offered her his hand, "Come on, lets walk." Ana took it, and together they walked down the trail. "You don't have to tell me now if it makes you uncomfortable," Nick said. "It's not that .... it's just ..." she started, then stopped, seeing someone ahead of them. Nick followed her gaze, seeing Anthony sitting alone on a bench, looking very distraught. "Nick, why don't I go back? Let you two talk," she said. He nodded, "OK, but we're continuing this conversation." She smiled, "If you wish. I'll send someone when the ship arrives." "Thanks," Nick said, turning and heading up the trail toward his cousin. "Anthony, are you alright?" Nick asked. Anthony looked up, then dropped to the ground, kneeling. He frantically wiped the tears from his face, "I'm sorry your highness, I didn't see you there." Nick laughed, "That's beginning to be a habit. Get up, and tell me what's wrong." Anthony got back up and sat down, Nick coming over and sitting beside him. He waited for Anthony to say something, seeing he was having difficulty with what he wanted to say. "Why are you crying?" Nick asked. "I'm sorry your high...." Anthony started, but was interrupted by Nick. "First of all, we're cousins, just call me Nick, alright? Now what's up?" Nick said. Anthony brushed away another tear, "I'm worried about the king. He's been more a father to me than my own, and I'm worried about him." This caught Nick off guard. The little he'd seen of Mason and Anthony it seemed like they got along. "Tell me about yourself, and your life here," he asked. "Well, there's not much to tell really. My mother died when I was very young. She and the queen were very close, so when she died, the queen asked my father if I could come and live here. He didn't care. He was busy with his career and really didn't have time for me, so I came to live here when I was five. The king and queen treated me like I was their own, and always had time for me. The king even let me sit in on a few council sessions with him before he turned ill," Anthony said. Nick was in shock. He had no idea that his parents had raised him. "Anthony, have you been to see the king?" he asked. "No, not since you arrived," he answered. "Why?" Nick asked. "You are their son, their real son. I didn't want to intrude," he said. "Anthony, you are as much their son as I am. They raised you, that makes them your parents. In fact, you have more of a right to see them than I do," Nick said, "This afternoon, you're coming with me to see them." Anthony stared at Nick for a moment, "I-I don't know what to say." Nick smiled, "You don't have to say anything. Now how bout we head back to the palace and you can tell me all about what it was like growing up here." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ready, one, two, three..." the doctor said. The team of nurses moved quickly, opening the chamber Brian was in and quickly moving him from it into another, more powerful one. They closed the hatch, bringing up the sensors on the chamber. Brian moaned as it pressurized, but didn't offer to wake up. He'd been unconscious for the entire trip, and the doctor was beginning to get worried. He didn't know that much about humans, and wasn't sure if his treatment of Brian was exactly right. Once the sensors were all reading his vitals, the doctor turned to one of the nurses, "Stay here and monitor him. Call me if you need me." The woman nodded, settling herself in a chair next to the chamber. The chamber was clear except for the ends. Brian lay on a soft mattress inside it, his head on a plush pillow, and a blanket over him. The bruises that covered his entire body were the deepest black and blue in color. The nurse sighed, knowing how painful this would be if Brian did happen to wake up. She was amazed he'd made it this long. No one she'd ever treated had been exposed to the vacuum of space for as long as Brian, and lived. She stared at his face for a moment, wondering just what kind of person he was. Even through the bruises she could see his chiseled features. He actually looked a lot like a Celestian. The only difference was that he was blonde and bore no mark. The nurse was so lost in her thoughts that she failed to notice when Nick and Ana came into the room. "Marie?" Ana asked. The nurse looked over, an elated smile on her face, "Ana? I can't believe it!" Nick watched as the two hugged each other. Ana looked so happy, he couldn't help but smile. "Nick this is my best friend from childhood, Marie Lapool," Ana said. Marie by now was kneeling, having realized who Nick was. "It's nice to meet you Marie," Nick said. She got up, "Nice ...to ..meet you." "Oh you speak English," Nick said. She shrugged, "Not very much. Ana taught me some when we were younger, I understand it better than I can speak it." Nick smiled, "So I guess I'll have to watch what I say huh?" Both girls giggled. "Marie, how is he?" Nick asked. "He is holding his own. He seems to be a fighter, that's good," she said. Nick sighed, "He's always been a fighter. How long will he stay in there?" "It's hard to say. He was exposed for several minutes. He has to stay in the chamber until all the nitrogen is out of his system. That could still be a while," she answered. "Nitrogen?" Nick asked. "Yes, it's like when a diver surfaces to quickly. His body can't handle the rapid change in pressure, so the nitrogen that's in your body turns to a gas and bubbles. We have to keep him at this high pressure until the nitrogen turns back into a liquid, then bring him back to normal pressure slowly," Marie said. "I didn't realize you could get the bends in space," Nick said, "But what about all the bruises? Divers don't get those?" "Most of the bruises are caused from the oxygen in his system trying to equalize the pressure. Some of them are from being hit with debris. He has a couple of broken ribs. We assume he was hit with something in the docking bay," she explained. Nick walked over to the chamber and pressed his hand against the glass, near where Brian's hand lay. He stared as his best friend, wishing there was something he could do to help him. Ana and Marie watched, seeing the concerned look Nick had on his face. "Nick, if you'd like we could stay for a while and sit with him?" Ana suggested. Nick sighed, shaking his head, "I can't. I have to be in the council session in a few minutes." "I will be here with him. If anything changes, I'll send for you," Marie offered. Nick turned to her and smiled, "Thank you. I'll be back tonight after the council has dismissed." Chapter 22 |