Of all the ridiculous asinine situations I’ve experienced, this tipped the scale. Of the ten bedroom mansion we rented for the vacation, originally only four of the rooms were used. Now we maxed out the rooms teeming with guards clearly uncomfortable on this planet. But who could blame them. It took me several years to adjust to the oppressive star beating down on my skin and the unpredictable nature. And then the homes…built by plaster and a nail, barely constructed to withstand a strong wind. My mother’s…my retinue of guards, all ten of them, were shoved like sardines into the six rooms. Not a single one complained, though. I expected nothing less.

Flopping onto my bed, exhausted from the events of the afternoon, I rolled on my side and grabbed a pillow in my hands. Squeezing the pillow into my face, I screamed as loud as possible but still ensuring the sound was muffled. The release of the anger, fear, and overwhelming sadness I felt was channeled into my cathartic scream until the sound of the door slamming open jolted me out of my therapy session with the pillow. I rolled off the bed and scattered to my feet, ready to fight the intruder. But there stood one of the guards, filling the doorframe, still swathed in the cloth of the uniform.

“Your Majesty,” he bowed his head, and his voice wasn’t familiar, “are you alright? I heard a scream.”

I offered him a small smile, “Yes, I’m fine. Just…a good old fashioned scream. No need to worry.” He cocked his head, clearly confused by my reasoning, but only said, “Does Your Majesty require assistance?”

A giggle bubbled to the surface, and I disguised it with a cough, “With screaming? I think I’m alright, thank you though.” Stepping around the bed, I placed my hand on my chest and asked, “Forgive me, but what is your name?”

“Rune, Your Highness,” he bowed again.

A sob caught in my throat, and I whispered, “Rune?” as I approached him, slowly. He nodded. I hesitated, “My…I mean, we know each other?”

“I believe so, Your Majesty.” The timbre of his voice was deeper than I remembered.

“Stop it,” I begged. He shook his head, shifting his feet slightly in the doorframe, widening them an inch.

“Stop what, Your Majesty?”

My voice shook, and my hands trembled. I shoved them in my pockets, “Stop calling me that.”

“If that’s what Your Majesty wishes. How shall I address you?” His formality was unnerving but expected after all these years.

“Call me what you called me before…all of this. Please.”

“That was a long time ago. I don’t believe I remember.” His words shattered my heart, and I refused to let him see me broken again. Straightening my back, I switched into the part he expected me to play, “You’re right. Thank you for reminding me. You’re dismissed.”

He bowed his head and stalked out of the room. I slammed the door behind him, forgoing any attempt at ladylike behavior. A tentative knock on my door sounded a few seconds later. “Go away,” I yelled, throwing my pillow at the door.

“If that’s what Your Majesty wishes,” came Einar’s teasing voice from the other side. I groaned and reluctantly opened the door, standing to the side and motioning him to come in. He bowed dramatically, so I materialized the pillow into my hand and chucked it at him. He laughed, striding into my bedroom, and positioning himself on my windowsill. Of all the guards, he was the only one out of the headpiece hiding his face. I smiled, the familiarity of him flooding back.

Einar was my best friend, my confidant, growing up. He even joined the royal guards so we could spend as much time as possible together. Before I left, he had been assigned to me, making my time in the palace bearable. Back then, he had short black hair, shorn close to his scalp. Now, it had grown out and was tied neatly in a knot on top of his head. His skin was many shades darker than mine, although both of ours reacted negatively under Earth’s blazing star, thanks to the many layers of Ozone removed.

He patted on the windowsill next to him, “Join me, my Queen.”

I snorted and hopped onto the bed, laying on my side, and propping myself onto my elbow. I patted next to me, “Join me, my Protector.” He huffed a laugh and obeyed, setting his sword on the dresser then laying down next to me. I moved to my back and sighed, “I missed you, Einar. I guess we have a lot of catching up to do.”

He slipped into our native tongue, “We do. And I missed you too. But I’m still rather upset you didn’t take me with you. Kiki and Alexi? Come on, Birdie. I would have helped you, you know.”

I ran my hands over my face, “Of course I know. I couldn’t do that to your life…uproot it so extensively. It would have been very selfish of me.”

He groaned, “Kiki and Alexi deserved to have theirs uprooted?”

Ouch. Leave it to Einar to hit me over the head with the blunt stick. I whispered a secret only very few knew, “They were next, Einar. You were safe, but they were next. I had to take them with me.”

He blew out a breath and cursed. “How did they handle that particular blow?”

I turned on my side again, facing him, “Not particularly well. It’s how we’ve stayed hidden here for so long. Once it became about our survival, nothing warranted the use of powers.”

He smirked, “Until today apparently.”

I rolled my eyes, “Yea, not how I intended my vacation to go. But I had to save her, Einar. Even if it meant destroying everything I worked so hard to create. I couldn’t let her die.”

“I know,” he said softly. “Can we talk about the fact that you have a daughter though? Gods almighty, what’s that like?”

“Mmm,” I rolled onto my back, “the greatest gift ever. And she’s exactly like me.”

Einar groaned again, and I slapped him.

He hedged his next question carefully, “Will the father be very upset when you take her to an entirely different world?”

I swallowed, “The father doesn’t know she exists. So, no, he won’t care.”

“Ahh, got it,” and he dropped the subject much to my relief. We laid there for a few more moments in silence. He broke it first, admitting, “I really really missed you. Bird.”

And with those words, the gates to my pain ripped wide open. Tears poured down my face as I scooted closer to him and wrapped my arms around his chest. Burrowing my face in his side, I sobbed, and he said, “I guess you missed me too.”