| Chapter 24 Nick sat on his balcony, in the dark, overlooking the city. Even in the middle of the night, there seemed to be a dark cloud hovering over the usually festive metropolis. He sighed, rubbing his eyes. He'd cried until he had no more tears. His mother and Anthony held him until he'd stopped. Nick collected himself, and made sure they were going to be alright, then left his fathers room and headed back to his own. He needed to be alone for a little while. He knew this day would come, but he never imagined that it would hurt so much. He was on a roller coaster of emotions, going all the way from heart retching sadness, to all out anger. He couldn't make sense of them, instead he rode them out. He couldn't understand why God would put him through this. Why would He allow him to find his true family, then take his father away from him? Nick had always held the belief that things happened for a reason, but he saw no reason in this. Maybe he wasn't suppose to yet? But it would have comforted him more if he could. He stared up at the moon, thinking about what was going to happen in the morning. He wasn't sure if he was ready, but ready or not, it was going to happen. As he cried, his mother softly told him what would happen. They would leave the palace in the morning, a great procession marching through the city to the country side. There they would bury his father in an elaborate ceremony, then they would return. Later in the day, another elaborate ceremony would take place in the palace throne room. There Nick would be named King. It is suppose to be a time of celebration when a new King is named, but Nick just couldn't see celebrating when he felt so much loss. He didn't want to buck the system, especially right off the bat, but he wasn't entering this position on a happy note. And he wanted to make sure everyone knew that. He knew he didn't hold the complete trust of the people. Even though he was their prince, he was also an outsider. No one told him that, but he could feel it. He needed to prove to everyone, even himself, that he was capable of doing this, and that he was just like them. Nick heard his door open and someone walk in. "Your highness?" "Out here Rowland," Nick answered. Rowland walked out to the balcony, "I'm sorry to bother you, but Ana wanted you to know that your friend is being brought up." Nick stood up, heading for the door. He'd been so consumed in his loss, that he'd almost forgotten that Brian was there. He now saw the reason for Brian's accident. It brought him to Celeste, just when Nick needed him the most. "Nick, before you see him, there's something you need to know," Rowland said, catching him at the door. Nick turned to his bodyguard turned friend, "What is it?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian sat in a hover chair of sorts. He supposed it was their version of a wheelchair, but it had no wheels. Instead it hovered. All of his tests had come back and the nurses had removed the remaining sensors and given him a shirt and robe to go along with the pajama pants he was already wearing. He wasn't sure where the pants came from, but from the way Marie had looked at him, he had a feeling she had something to do with it. Then they'd made him get in the chair, and were now escorting him down a massive hallway. Ana and Marie had been talking non stop since his tests came back, and even though Brian couldn't understand what they were saying, he knew they were talking about him. At first they had seemed shocked, but that quickly changed to excitement. He had no idea what it was, but it must've impressed the hell outta them, because it seemed that they told everyone they came in contact with. The big man that came and got Nick seemed rather stunned at what they told him. He had quickly rushed off, leaving them in the hall. They reached a door and Brian watched as Marie passed her mark across a sensor and the door opened. So those things had a purpose other than denoting their race? Brian's mouth dropped open when they entered the room. He looked around in awe. The room was enormous, and more opulent than the finest of rooms he'd ever seen. They took him over to the bed and Ana and Marie helped him get settled. Marie then walked over and opened the balcony doors, letting in the warm night air. "This is beautiful," Brian commented. Ana smiled at him, "You are on the same floor as the royal family. Nick wanted you close to him." "Will I get to see him?" he asked. "I'm not sure," Ana said, as someone came in the room carrying a food tray. "Try and eat something," Marie said, taking the tray from the servant and laying it across Brian's lap. Brian looked down at the food, biting his lip. Everything was the wrong color and texture. What he assumed to be the meat was green. It was all he could do not to get sick. "I know it looks different than what you're used to, but it's good," Ana said, noting the look on Brian's face matched Nick's the first time he'd seen their food. Brian closed his eyes and pushed the tray away, "I don't think I can." Ana and Marie exchanged glances. Brian needed to eat to regain his energy. Marie sat on the side of the bed, taking the fork and knife, cutting up the �meat'. Brian watched her, thinking if she ate some of it, he'd lose what grip he had on his churning stomach. She smiled at him, "You will like this." He shook his head, "I don't think so." Marie laughed, "Close your eyes." "Marie, I ...." he started to protest. She reached out and cupped his cheek with her hand, "You need to eat, please." Brian stared into her eyes, seeing what looked like concern in them. He sighed, closing his eyes. Marie held the fork up to his nose, "Tell me what you smell." "It smells like steak," he said. "Now open your mouth," she said. He did, taking the food in and letting the flavor flood his senses. It was the best thing he'd eaten in his life. It almost melted in his mouth, leaving him craving more. He opened his eyes, staring at her in disbelief. "How can something that looks that awful, taste that good?" he asked. She laughed and shrugged her shoulders, handing him the fork. Brian tried everything on the tray. Some of the food was a little to sweet for him, but he managed to eat about half of it. Ana stood near the door, watching Marie with Brian. They both seemed so taken with each other, almost like love at first sight. She smiled, happy for her friend, but she also felt a tinge of jealousy. Once word got out about Brian, his and Maire's relationship would be looked on as normal, not so with her. The only man she ever felt love for she couldn't be in a relationship with. It wasn't allowed, and never would be. She sighed trying to push her feelings to the back of her mind. There were more pressing things she needed to be thinking about. Like how to tell Brian what they found out, and how to help Nick through the transition from prince to king. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick leaned against the door in shock, "Does he know?" "No your highness, we haven't told him yet," Rowland answered. "I-I can't believe this," Nick said, "How? I thought we weren't able to .... um you know." Rowland smiled, "We don't feel emotions, that doesn't mean we can't ...do the job." Nick started pacing the room, "Oh my God, he's so gonna freak." Rowland looked at him confused, "Are you talking to God?" Nick stopped pacing and looked at him, "Huh? Oh, no ... Earth expression." Rowland nodded. "So who's going to tell him?" Nick asked. "We thought it would be better coming from you," he said, "He trusts you." Nick laughed, taking a deep breath, "Well let's go enlighten him then." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian stared at Marie. He still couldn't figure out why he was so attracted to her, he just was. He was feeling things he never thought possible, and it was beginning to worry him. Had they done something to him while he was asleep? He wasn't sure. He wished he could see Nick again, maybe he would tell him exactly what was going on. But then again, he might not. Brian still wondered about Nick, maybe they'd done something to him too? Marie took his hand, drawing him from his suspicions, "You look a million galaxies away." He smiled at her, "I was. All this is hard to take, ya know?" She nodded, "I imagine that it is." "Um, you never told me how my tests came out," he prodded. Marie glanced at Ana for a second. "Everything looked fine," Ana said. Brian looked from one to the other, "So what was all that talking about?" Just then the door opened and Nick came in. Marie and Ana both knelt as he walked by. Brian wondered if he was expected to do that too. Nick came over and sat down next to him, "How you feeling?" "OK," Brian answered, "You alright?" Nick sighed heavily, "I'll make it." "You know if you need to talk, I'm here," Brian offered. Nick smiled at his friend, "I know, and I'll probably take you up on that a little later. Right now though, I need to tell you something." Brian sat up a little more, seeing the serious expression on Nick's face, "What is it?" "Um, well after they took you out of the chamber they ran some tests..." Nick said. "Uh huh," Brian said. "Some genetic tests," Nick added. Brian looked over at the girls, both were staring at the floor. "And?" he asked, not sure he wanted to know. "You uh, you have some of the same genes that we do. You're not completely human," Nick said. "What?!" Brian yelled. "Bri, calm down," Nick said, "It's not a bad thing." "Not a bad thing!?! Nick are you nuts! How the hell did this happen? Who .... I .... oh my God," Brian muttered, trying to catch his breath. Nick looked over at Rowland and the girls, "Well this is going well." All three smiled, afraid to laugh, knowing it would upset Brian even more if they did. "Why don't you guys leave the room for a little while, let me talk to him alone," Nick said. They nodded, turning and leaving the room. Brian watched the exchange, then looked at Nick. His heart was beating so rapidly that he knew at any moment it would beat right out of his chest. "Bri, take a deep breath and calm down," Nick said. Brian held his side, "I can't...it hurts." "OK, then just listen to me," Nick went on, "This isn't a bad thing. You're mom didn't cheat on your dad or anything. It goes back further than that. Didn't you wonder why you look so much like everyone here?" "It never crossed my mind," Brian said. Nick smiled at him, "Well now I understand." "Understand what?" he asked. "Why we're such good friends. Why the moment we met we felt an instant bond with each other," Nick explained. "Because I'm part Angel?" Brian asked. Nick nodded, "See we are drawn to our own kind, that's why I never .. um kept a girlfriend very long." "What are you saying?" Brian asked, confused. "Marie likes you," he said. "So? What does that have to do with anything?" Brian asked. "She couldn't unless you were one of us," Nick said, "That's what prompted them to do the tests in the first place." "But ... Nick you've had girlfriends you liked," he said. Nick bit his lip and shook his head. Brian stared at him, "You never had any feelings for them?" "No," he answered. "They why did you ...?" "Because it was the normal thing to do Bri. I couldn't tell you how I felt, cause no one else felt that way. It'd just be another thing that made me different. So I um, I did what I saw everyone else doing so I would fit in," Nick confessed. Brian ran his hand through his curls, staring at his friend, "God Nick, I never knew it was that bad." Nick shrugged, "Its OK." "No it's not, you should've told me," Brian said. "And what would you have done Bri? What would you have said if I came in your room and told you that I didn't feel anything when I was with my girlfriends?" Nick asked. Brian laughed, "I probably would've asked you if you liked guys instead." Nick laughed, "See, even if I'd explained it to you until I was blue in the face, you wouldn't have understood." "Until now," Brian said, "So is that why I feel the way I do about Marie? Because I'm drawn to her?" Nick shrugged, "Probably, but it could also be that she's hot and you've been single for how long?" "Shut up," Brian laughed. Nick smiled at him, "Bri, you do have a decision you need to make." Brian looked at him, afraid of what was coming next. "Until they ran the tests on you, they believed that children between our races wasn't possible. Not that we couldn't do it, just that with no emotion involved, why would you, ya know? So anyway the whole medical community is already buzzing about this..." Nick said. "They don't wanna do a bunch of tests on me do they?" Brian asked, a tinge of fear in his voice. "Oh no, not at all," Nick said, "The decision you have is about this," he said, gesturing towards his mark. Brian looked down at Nick's wrist, his mark glowing brightly. "See you are entitled to one, if you want it," Nick said. Brian looked up at him, "What do you mean? What does it do?" "It's how we move around. It not only lets people know who we are, but it's our access to everything. Its our security code so to speak," he said. "I um, I don't know," Brian said, looking back down at Nick's. Ever since they'd discovered what Nick was, Brian had thought his mark was interesting. Now they were offering him one of his own, just because he was part Angel? "Would it look like yours?" he asked, somewhat shyly. "No, yours wouldn't be like anybody else's," Nick answered. Brian thought about it. No one would have to know he had it, since it wouldn't be visible on earth. The only people that would see it, would be those here. He glanced back up at Nick, "What do you want me to do?" "This is your decision Bri. I would understand if you didn't want it, but it would be an honor to all of us if you did," Nick said. Brian glanced down at his own wrist for a moment, thinking. He knew if he did this, it would make Nick happy, and right now Nick needed to be happy. "OK," he said. "You'll accept the mark?" Nick asked, wanting to make sure. Brian nodded, "Yes." Nick smiled at him, and this time Brian saw it in his eyes as well, "I'll let them know." "Wait, don't leave," Brian said. Nick held his finger up, as he walked to the door. He opened it and said something to those waiting outside, then he closed the door and came back over. "I'm here, so what do you want to talk about?" Nick asked. "You," Brian said, "I know you Nick. As much you're trying to be brave, you're hurting." Nick sighed, looking out the balcony doors for a moment. "Talk to me Nicky," Brian pleaded. "I'm angry Bri," he said in a whisper, "I'm so angry at them for keeping me away for so long. For denying me the chance to really get to know my dad. I can't get those years back, they're gone, and now so is he." "Oh Nick," Brian said, reaching out and pulling his friend into a hug. "I'm so sorry," Brian said as Nick broke down crying on his shoulder. "I can't explain what it felt like to finally meet him. It was like a piece of me that'd been missing my whole life just suddenly showed up. Now he's gone .... and I .. .I have to be what he was," Nick cried, "I can't do it Bri." "Nick, isn't there anyone else?" Brian asked. He shook his head, "I'm it Bri. If I don't do this ... this entire planet could be thrown into a civil war. The members of the council would fight for power..... they gave me an out, but I couldn't leave knowing what would happen. I couldn't live with it," Nick cried, "And my father ... he had such hopes for me. He told me he was proud of me..... proud of me Bri. Do you know how long I've wanted to hear those words? I can't leave ... I can't fail him like that." Brian held Nick tighter, feeling more admiration for his friend than ever. Brian couldn't do what Nick was doing. Nick had grown up so much in the month they'd been apart. He'd taken on an immense responsibility, one that Brian was sure it took years to learn. Nick had two weeks. "You won't fail him Nick," he said, "You know why?" Nick shook his head. "Because you have always let your heart lead you. You don't make decisions based on personal gain, you've always done what was right. You can do this, and I'll be here for as long as you let me to help you," he said. "Thank you Bri ...so much," Nick whispered. The door opened, and Brian and Nick let go of each other. Nick frantically wiped away his tears, as the doctor, Ana, Marie and Rowland entered the room. Nick got up as the doctor came over to Brian. Ana stepped closer to him, reaching over and squeezing his hand. Nick smiled down at her, knowing she was concerned for him. "I'm alright," he softly told her. She nodded, turning her attention back to the doctor and Brian. Brian was a little nervous as the doctor spoke to Marie. The tray he'd brought in with him looked for lack of a better word, scary. Marie looked at him, "Brian, we will knock you out for this. Normally we get our marks when we are babies, so we don't remember the pain. We've never done this to an adult, so it's better to just sedate you before we start." "Um ... OK," Brian said, nervously glancing at Nick. Nick smiled at him, "It'll be fine Bri. You'll go to sleep and not feel a thing." Brian swallowed hard as the doctor approached him with a gun like instrument. Marie sat down next to him, "Lay back." Brian did as she told him, the doctor handing Marie the instrument. She gently turned his head and placed the cold metal against his neck, pulling the trigger. Brian jerked as the drug entered his system. It didn't hurt, it was just strange feeling. He looked back over at Marie as the doctor took his right hand and started cleaning his wrist. He was finding it hard to keep his eyes open, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep. Marie gently touched his cheek, "Don't fight it. Go to sleep, I'll be here when you wake up." Brian nodded, letting his eyes close and the peaceful bliss of sleep take him. Chapter 25 |