| Chapter 55 Nick moved to walk past his mother, but she grabbed his arm, staring at him, "You can't do this Nick. If you give in, it opens the doors for others to do the same." Nick sighed, looking down for a moment, before returning her stare, "I know that. But if I don't do something, he's gonna die!" LaDonna winced at Nick's outburst, glancing over and seeing some of the techs looking at them. She pulled him out of the room and down to her office, closing the door behind them. Nick sat down in the chair in front of her desk, as she walked over and stood in front of him. "Nick, I understand your love for Brian. I care for him a great deal too. But, you cannot give in to their demands," she said. Nick started to protest, but she stopped him with a glare, "When you were crowned, you promised to rule for the people, not for your own personal gain. Nick, if the mines being in Kelah's hands will hurt your people, you must let Brian go. You can't trade one life, for the lives of many, even if that person is a loved one." Nick stared at his mother in shock. He couldn't do it. He couldn't leave Brian to die like that. Tears made themselves known in his eyes, and he did nothing to hide them. "I can't leave him mom. I can't," he sobbed. LaDonna bent down and pulled him into a hug, trying her best to comfort him, even though there was no comfort in this situation. Nick pulled back, trying to get control over his emotions. He cleared his throat and wiped his eyes. "I promise that I will make everything right, once Brian is back and safe. Kelah won't keep the mines, I give my word on that. But I can't sit here and do nothing, knowing that because of me, he'll die," he said. LaDonna stepped back and looked at her son for a long moment. He was baring so much pressure, she wasn't sure how he was making it. Nick waited for her to say something. "Your decision is made then? You are going to do this," she asked. He stood up and nodded, "I have to, I don't have another choice. If Brian dies because of me, I'll never forgive myself, and I might as well die along with him." The queen sighed, looking out the window towards the mountains, "Alright," she said looking back at him, "Tell me what you need me to do." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A.J. held Marie's hand as they walked through the garden. She didn't want to come, but there was no telling Alexander James McLean no. He'd pestered her until she gave in, thinking it better to just go for the walk instead of listening to his pleading and whining. The suns were setting and a few clouds were starting to roll in. "Beautiful sunset isn't it?" A.J. asked. Marie glanced up and nodded. They walked on a few more steps before A.J. stopped, facing her, "Are you angry with me?" "No," she said, speaking English to him for the first time. This made him smile, feeling that she finally felt comfortable enough around him to do so. He took her hand in his, "Please talk to me. Tell me how you're feeling. I'm a good listener, and maybe talking about it will help." Marie looked down, shaking her head, "I can't Alex." A.J. squeezed her hand, leading her over to a bench and both sitting down. He looked at her, noticing for the first time that her tummy was a little poochy. He smiled, "Are you already showing?" Marie stared at him for a moment, confused, until he glanced at her stomach. She grinned, placing her hand protectively over it, "A little. Just over the last couple of days." "Wow, that's cool," he said, "It takes a while for humans to do that." Marie laughed, "Well you are kinda slow in everything." A.J. chuckled, "Compared to you guys, yeah we are." Another round of silence fell over them as they watched the clouds roll by in the failing light. A.J. could see how much she was hurting, her eyes clouded with pain and sorrow. Only when she spoke of the baby, did the clouds seem to lift. He thought that maybe she was like Nick, and if given enough time would eventually tell him how she felt. A.J. had gotten pretty good over the years at waiting Nick out. Even though they weren't as close as he and Brian, Nick still confided in A.J. on occasion. Marie unconsciously rubbed her stomach as she watched the sky. "It looks like rain," she said quietly. He nodded, "Yeah it does." She looked over, waiting until he met her eyes. "I'm scared he's not coming back," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. A.J. wrapped a protective arm around her and pulled her close, "He is, and you know why?" She shook her head. "Because Nick won't let anything happen to him, and he has you and your baby. Brian would walk through hell to get back to you, that I know for sure," he said. "But what if....?" she started. "Shhh, no what if's. Brian's a fighter, always has been. I mean look how many times he's beat death already. His heart surgery, the accident coming here. He'll beat it again," A.J. said confidently. "I hope so," Marie said. A.J. shook his head, smiling at her, "I know so." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian slowly opened his eyes, making a quick check of the room to assure he was alone. When he found noone there, he lifted his head. His clothes were on a chair next to the window, his shoes underneath it in the floor. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and looked out the window. He could see the stables across the courtyard, and his heart soared when he glimpsed a few unicorns in the pen. He lowered himself back down and stared at the ceiling. He had to get out of here. He wasn't sure how or when, but he had to escape, and soon. The door opened and one of the men came in a syringe in his hand. Brian watched him as he walked over and injected the light blue liquid into one of his IV lines. So that was how he was getting the Krystal. The man looked at him as Brian started to cough again. "Damn, I hope you make it to Friday," he muttered as he turned and left the room. Brian gasped for air, as the familiar feeling took over his body. He relaxed, letting the drug run it's course. As much as he hated how dependant he was on the drug, it was his only saving grace at the moment. Relieving the pain when nothing else could, and relaxing him enough for him to sleep. He reached up to adjust the mask, noting how his arms felt like lead weights. If he was still that weak, he didn't know how he was gonna make it to the stables, only that he had to. He closed his eyes, letting the drug lull him to sleep, the last thing on his mind was getting home to Marie. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tunk walked through the darkness to the stables. It was the middle of the night, and he was heading to his secret meeting. Anthony had not told him who he was meeting, only that he was needed. Tunk suspected that it had something to do with the reason the king had bowed out of the talks, but he was still surprised to see Nick standing in the stables, whispering to a black unicorn. "Your highness," he said, nodding as Nick looked over. "�Evening," Nick said, gesturing for Tunk to come further into the stables. "I apologize for getting you out so late, but there is something important I need to discuss with you," Nick said, sitting down on a bale of hay. Tunk sat down as well, staring at the young king, "You are still troubled." Nick nodded, looking down at his hands for a moment. "Tunk, how do you feel about Interstellar Distributions?" he asked. "Well, frankly, I don't like them," he answered, "I know they've been involved in some shady business deals on my world. They came in and basically took over the shipping business's, it wasn't pretty." Nick nodded, "What if I told you that Kelah works for them?" Tunk's mouth dropped open in shock, "What?" "He works for them, and the reason he want's the mines so badly is that Interstellar needs a base in that part of the galaxy," Nick said. "Then Kelah must be dismissed from the negotiations," Tunk said, trying to control his anger. Nick slowly shook his head, "He can't." "Why not?" Tunk asked. Nick leaned over and rested his elbows on his knees, holding his head with his hands, "Because they kidnaped Brian and are threatening to kill him if Kelah doesn't get what he wants." Tunk stared at Nick, disbelief and shock written all over his face, "No." Nick nodded, looking back up, "I need your help to get him back." "What is it you need?" Tunk asked. "I need you to relinquish your claim on the mines," Nick announced. Tunk sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, "Your highness, I don't think I can do that." "It wouldn't be forever, just until we get Brian back. Then I promise to help you get the mines," Nick said, looking at him expectantly. Tunk got up and walked over to one of the stalls, petting the unicorn that occupied it, thinking. "You know fighting them will be difficult, they have supporters all over the galaxy," he said. "I know," Nick answered, the vision of the painting on the cave wall flashing into his head. Tunk turned around and looked at him, "Are you prepared for that? A possible war?" "I am," Nick said. Tunk walked back over sitting down, considering Nick for a moment, "You are much to young to have this burden put upon you. A possible war, or to lose a friend? What does your council say about this?" "They don't know. If we do this, it stays between us. I would rather bare the retaliation, than to put anyone else in danger," Nick said. "But aren't you doing that? If this goes to war, your soldiers, your people would be in danger," Tunk suggested. Nick looked away, tears welling up in his eyes. He fought for control of his emotions, not wanting the other man to see him upset. After a moment he had composed himself, and looked back over, "I'm doing the only thing I can. It may not go to war, but I can't let Brian die. Not if I can stop it." Tunk looked down, pulling a piece of straw from the bale he was sitting on and rolling it between his fingers. "I'm sorry to put such a decision on you. I know you have backers that will question what you do, but believe me I wouldn't ask if I could've avoided it," Nick said. Tunk looked up, dropping the straw to the ground, "When must you decide?" "They want an answer by Friday," Nick informed him. "Two days," Tunk muttered, biting his lower lip. Nick watched as the man considered his decision. He was afraid he would say no. If he did, Nick didn't have a back up plan, he'd lose Brian forever. "Can I give you my decision in the morning?" he asked, pulling Nick from his thoughts. "Y-yes, that would be fine," Nick said, as they got up. Tunk nodded and left the stables. Nick turned to Thomas and stroked his neck, "Well boy, at least he didn't say no.....yet." Chapter 56 |