| Chapter 85 Nick sat alone in his room going over the upcoming battles in his head. He wasn't sure how they were gonna make it. Outnumbered both in men and ships, the odds were against him. He was scared of what was to come. Never in his dreams did he see an end to the fighting, always waking up before he could get that far. He knew what he was facing, he wasn't so sure about his people. He leaned back in his chair and sighed, his eyes falling upon the forgotten Book of Kings lying on his night stand. He walked over and picked it up, plopping down on the bed. He opened it to where he had stashed the letters he'd written, thumbing through them, making sure he hadn't missed anyone. He stopped at the envelope with Ana's name written on it. That had to be the hardest letter he'd written. How do you say goodbye to someone that you love so much? It just wasn't fair. First they're forced to hide their feelings, and now ...... now they might not get a chance to see where those feelings took them. It was then and there that Nick decided it didn't matter what planet he was on .. his life sucked! He started to put the letters back, when something caught his eye. The book was open to the place he'd shoved the letters into. The one thing he'd been looking for the entire time, staring back at him. "The prophecy," he muttered, pulling the book closer so he could read. As he read, chills ran down his spine, and his heart pounded in his ears. Tears ran down his cheeks as he finished and lay the book aside. It took him a long time to gather himself. Everything hit him at once, reading those words. He realized everything that had happened had done so for a reason ...to prepare him for what was happening. The dreams were no longer dreams, but the truth. And oddly enough, he wasn't scared now. He knew what was expected of him, and what he had to do to achieve it. He grabbed the letters, staring at them. Part of what he had to do, already done. Now he needed to prepare for the rest. Taking a deep breath he placed the letters back in the book and set it on his desk, walking to his door. He opened it and stuck his head out, "Have Rowland come up. I need him to accompany me somewhere," he told the guards outside. They both nodded, as Nick stepped back inside his room to wait. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marie sat on the end of the bed, watching as Brian packed a bag. A transport was set to pick him up first thing the next morning and shuttle him to the awaiting fleet. Several of the ships were still coming in, and would be up until the last second. Things had been quiet between them since lunch. Neither knew what to say, so they didn't say anything. Brian knew how frightened Marie was, not wanting him to leave her again. And he had promised not to, but he had to help. He couldn't just sit by and not do anything, when he could fight, and maybe make a difference. He shoved the last thing into the bag, "Well I think I got everything." She nodded, looking down at the floor. He came over to sit next to her, "I know that I promised not to leave, but......" Marie shook her head, "I understand. I'm just worried." He took her hand and smiled as she looked up, "Don't be. I'm a good pilot. I won't get hurt." "You can't promise that Brian," she said, "You don't know." "But I know what Nick told you, bout me coming back," he said, grinning, "He doesn't whisper that soft. If Nick sees me coming back, then I'm coming back." Marie smiled at his confidence. Brian nudged her, "Everything will be fine, trust me." She nodded, "OK, I trust you. Don't make me regret it." "I won't baby," he said, leaning in to give her a gentle kiss, "I won't." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mason walked out onto the balcony and sat down. Reaching out he took LaDonna's hand in his. She looked over and gave him a weak smile. "I'm worried too," he said, "But there's nothing we can do now." She nodded, "That's the part I hate. I know he's grown, but I just want to make him stay here, not fight with them." He squeezed her hand, "So do I, but Nickolas is his own person. He has to do what he thinks is right." LaDonna shook her head, a tear trailing down her cheek, "I just got him back, I don't want to lose him." Mason pulled her into his arms, running his hand up and down her back to sooth her, "Neither do I Donna." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ana opened her door, surprised to see A.J., Howie and Kevin on the other side. She stepped back to let them in, "What are you guys doing here?" "We wanted to make sure you were alright," Kevin replied. She shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know if I can answer that." "Yeah, just what we thought," A.J. said. "And, just what we feel too," Howie added. "I don't like this guys. Nick being on the front line is just asking for it, "she said, "It's not like he can blend in with the rest, ya know. They're gonna see him, and know it's him. He'll be their first target. Take out the king and the rest will crumble, ya know?" The guys nodded. "I'm gonna do my best to take care of him," Kevin said. "I know, but you need to think about yourself too. How many battles have you fought in?" Ana asked. "Well, none," he replied. Ana sat down on her bed and sighed, "Most of the men you'll be facing are seasoned vets Kevin. They've been trained for years, and know when they're facing a newbie. You'll be lucky to make it through the first onslaught." Kevin leaned against the wall, "Gee thanks for the confidence." "I'm just telling it how it is Kevin," she said, "I wouldn't be doing you any favors telling you otherwise." He nodded, "Yeah, I guess not." "So what are we gonna do?" Howie asked, "We can't just let Nick get killed." "Or Kevin," A.J. said, flashing his older brother a grin. "What can we do? Nick told us where to be, we agreed," Kevin said. "You agreed, I never did," Ana said. The guys glanced at one another. "Ana, Nick made it real clear he didn't want you out there," Kevin said. She nodded, "Yeah, but since when do I ever do what he tells me?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rowland walked beside Nick through the garden. "It's this way," Nick said, leaving the path and leading him through the trees. "Where are we going?" Rowland asked, as they cleared the trees and he faced a towering rock wall. "I need to get some things, "Nick said, walking to the entrance of the cave and ducking in. He waited on the other side until Rowland had crawled through. The look on the older man's face told Nick he'd never seen this place before, and was shocked it was there. "There's something you need to see," Nick said, leading him to the painting. Rowland's mouth gaped open, staring at Nick's image on the wall. "T-that's you," he said astounded. Nick nodded. "But how did it.... when was this ....?" the older man stammered. Nick couldn't help but laugh. "From what I've gathered, it's been here for centuries. It's part of the prophecy," he said. Rowland stared at Nick, "You fighting is part of the prophecy?" "Yes," he replied, "Now come help me," he said, walking across the cave to a door and going through. Rowland followed him, again gasping as he entered the room. "I've never seen this many swords in my life," he commented. "Yeah, um, after we leave here, have some of the men come in and move these to the fields. I got a feeling we may need them," Nick said, moving through the room until he was standing in front of the golden armor. Rowland came up behind him, "This is the armor from the painting." "Yeah, might as well bring the thing to life huh?" Nick said, laughing nervously, as he picked up part of the armor. Rowland grabbed the rest and the two headed out of the room. "I gotta get one more thing," Nick said, going to the back of the cave. Rowland watched as Nick opened the massive doors and went into the king's chambers, coming out a second later with an elaborate sword in his hands. "What's that writing on there?" he asked. "It's Aklazhian," Nick replied. "How did it get here?" the older man asked. Nick shrugged, "I'm not sure, but I know the prophecy came from them." "It did?! You're kidding!" Rowland said, surprised. Nick smiled, "No I'm not." "Then you know what it says, the prophecy," he asked. Solomly Nick nodded, picking up his load and heading to the cave exit. "It's not good is it?" his friend asked. Nick sighed, "For Celeste, yes it is." "But it's not for you is it?" Rowland asked, concern in his face. Nick bent down and shoved his part of the armor and the sword through the opening, "Come on, it'll be dark soon," and with that he left Rowland standing in the cave, concerned for his king. Chapter 86 |