As they waited at the door of the hut, Hale pulled out one of the knives hidden in one of his small pockets and spun it around his fingers. The quick action distracted him from his anxiety about standing in a dark alley on Dunwar. He was still attentive to his surroundings, but the twisting and spinning of his knife calmed him somewhat in spite of the fact that alleys were a quick way to die here.

Hearing quiet footsteps across the dirt street, Hale turned his head and spotted a Dunwarian entering the alleyway. Hale watched him from the corner of his eye as he strode through. Although he probably wouldn’t cause trouble, Hale trusted no one on Dunwar. Not a single soul. Letting his guard down here was another quick way to die. Hale tried to remain still and silent to avoid drawing attention towards himself or Pandora. But that wasn’t possible for too long because Pandora suddenly stepped backwards into him, knocking the knife out of his hand and stepping hard on his foot. Promptly, he pushed her away from him.

When Pandora turned to face Hale, she stared at him with eyes full of sorrow. Regret swallowed his heart whole as he returned her gaze. Pushing her away had been a purely instinctive motion. She wouldn’t see it that way. To avoid looking at her eyes any longer, Hale leaned down to pick up his knife. By the time Hale slipped it back into its pocket, the hut door swung open, revealing Jake, who eagerly welcomed them indoors.

The inside of the hut was more spacious than what he expected from its diminutive exterior. The hut was a small living space, but it wasn’t unbearable. At least, the ceiling was high enough for Hale to stand up straight. The area of the hut was large enough to fit a table with seating, a bed, and a few cabinets. The walls and floors, constructed with pieces of scrap wood and metal, were well maintained and clean in appearance.

Hale and Pandora sat down on cushions around the table which was low to the ground. Jake walked over to a cabinet and opened it. With a large glass bottle in his hand, he faced them again.

“Would you like a drink?” Jake asked.

Hale nodded.

Jake grabbed three glasses and filled them halfway. He leaned over to set them on the table. “It’s a brew only found on Dunwar, Pandora. Hope you enjoy it.”

“Thank you,” she said politely.

Jake joined them back at the table. “Well, Pandora, are you going to try it?”

She felt the mask she still wore with her finger tips.

“You can take it off,” Hale said, leaning closer to her. “That is, if you want.”

Pandora stared at Hale’s criminal friend, and then pulled her mask off. Her eyes darted back to Hale, and he couldn’t help but stare back.

But only for a moment.

As soon as Hale realized their closeness, he averted his eyes and shifted away from her. Sure, he was immeasurably attracted to her, but the familiarity he sensed only when he looked into her eyes frightened him. He had never met her before. He definitely would have remember her if he had.

Jake nudged Hale’s shoulder with his fist. “Do I need to leave the room?”

Hale shoved Jake’s hand away and glared at him viciously.

“What?!” Jake grinned devilishly. “I don’t mind. I can see why you brought her along.”

“Just stop now,” Hale warned. “I came here to talk business. Not about her. She offered to help us with the job.”

Jake scrutinized her features. “She doesn’t look like one of us.”

Pandora spoke up. “I’m new to the business.”

Jake laughed. “You know, there are plenty of other opportunities for a girl like you.” Jake dared to reach across the table and grasp her hand. Then he rubbed his thumb across her skin. Jake might have been blind to it, but Hale could see her discomfort with Jake’s behavior.

First it was his snide comment about her; then he was touching her. Hale wanted to hurl Jake across the room and beat him senseless. However, that would be inappropriate and might scare Pandora. He reminded himself that he was here for business and nothing else. Instead of punching Jake, Hale grabbed Jake’s wrist and ripped it away from her hand.

“Don’t touch her. Can we move it along and talk about the job?”

“Of—of course,” Jake answered submissively and moved back.

“Good,” Hale said, and he took a sip of his drink to calm his mind. He only had to get through this job. Then he could say goodbye to Jake. In the past, Hale had gotten along fairly well with Jake. This time it was different. Hale couldn’t figure out what had changed.

For as long as Hale knew him, Jake made snide remarks like the one he had made about Pandora, but they had never bothered him until now. He usually would laugh at them. Jake was his friend, for the most part. But something about Jake bothered him this time. Hale figured he was reading into Jake’s behavior too much. Maybe it was the stress that had Hale on edge, but that didn’t mean he would forget something was troubling him. Years in his line of work had taught Hale to always trust his instincts.

“So when’s he arriving? And where? You know the specifics,” Hale said to Jake.

“Dawn tomorrow morning in the Valley,” Jake answered.

“Ok. So we’ll make sure we’re there before the sun.” Hale sipped the amber brew in his glass. “After we meet up?”

“He didn’t mention the actual location this deal is actually taking place. He only wants us as his bodyguards because some big trade deal is going on,” Jake replied.

“Any idea on who’s the buyer?” Hale questioned.

“Why does it matter?”

Hale shrugged. “It doesn’t. There are certain people I’m trying to avoid right now.”

“Like whom?” Jake asked.

Hale grinned slightly. “Why does it matter?”

“So it’s like that, huh,” Jake teased.

“Yeah.” Hale stood to his feet and stepped towards the door. “I guess we’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You two have a place to stay?” Jake asked.

“My ship.” Hale walked outside the hut. “Let’s go, Pandora.”

“Goodbye, Jake,” Pandora said as she left with Hale. Jake flashed his smile at her, and Hale slammed the door afterwards.

As they were leaving the alleyway, Hale carefully grabbed her sleeve and pulled her closer to him. Pandora didn’t resist him, but she furrowed her brows in confusion.

“It’s extremely dangerous on the street after dark,” Hale whispered. “Don’t make eye contact with anyone.”

“Who are we meeting at the Valley, wherever that is?”

“He goes by Malcolm. He’s one of the biggest weapons dealer in the galaxy,” Hale murmured.

“Are you a smuggler or something?” Pandora matched the quietness of his voice.

“Not really. I’ve done it, but that’s not mainly what I do.”

“What do you mainly do then?” Pandora asked.

Hale slowed his pace slightly and looked up at the foggy night sky. He could tell her the truth.

He could.

He didn’t want to. She was a stranger. He knew better than to talk about himself with others who weren’t a part of the criminal world. It was better that she knew as little as possible about him.

“Are you a bodyguard?”

“Not normally,” Hale muttered.

The two successfully cleared the village and arrived at the landing bay. Hale was glad to see that his ship hadn’t been stolen. He held out his right arm and tapped on a tiny digital screen attached to the gauntlet protecting his lower arm. As a result, the ramp opened, allowing them to enter the bridge.

Once they were safely inside, Hale closed the ramp. He sat down in the pilot seat and looked over the ship’s main control panel.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Pandora frowning and standing in the middle of the room. “You should probably get some rest before tomorrow. You can use the back bedroom,” Hale said

“Ok.” She continued to stand there with the same annoyed expression. “You still never told me exactly what you do for work.”

Hale sighed in frustration. “I thought we had moved on from that.”

“No. You never answered me,” Pandora bit back.

“It’s really none of your business.”

“Why?”

“Because we aren’t business partners. Or even friends. And after this, I am taking you back your home-world and back to your father.”

Pandora’s expression contorted into one of pure distress. “NO, YOU CAN’T! I’d rather go back to Coran!”

Hale swiveled his chair around and faced her. “I thought you wanted to go home? You’re a princess, right? You live in a castle. Why would you want to leave that?”

“I have to,” Pandora answered.

“Now you’re the one being cryptic,” Hale retorted. “Do you have an abusive father? What makes home such a bad place?”

“No, he is a very kind man. And my home is just fine.”

Hale narrowed his eyes. “Why don’t you want to go back then? You probably have everything anyone could want.”

“I’m very thankful for the quality of life I am allowed to have, but I can’t return home yet.” Pandora shivered.

“What are you so afraid of?”

A tear fell from her eye. “Something bad will happen to my home unless I fix it.”

Hale turned his chair back to the control panel. “I’m sure you can figure it out from the comfort of your castle.”

“Do you even know where I’m from?”

Hale took a moment to respond. “Actually, I don’t.”

“Makes sense,” Pandora noted. “How are you going to return me home then?”

“I’ll just return you to Coran then.”

“I doubt you will risk your own like to take me back there. Besides, I know you are curious about me.”

Hale stood up and walked up to her. “Why would I be exactly?”

Pandora met his eyes directly. “You want to know why you feel the way you do when you look into my eyes. Don’t you?”

Hale turned his head away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I doubt that. You’re never going to know the real reason if you drop me off somewhere.”

Hale rolled his eyes and grinned. “Fair enough.”

Pandora began to walk down the hallway. “I guess you do know what I’m talking about then.” She shut the door to the back room before he could respond.

Oh, I’m very curious about you, Pandora, he thought.

* * * *

Pandora checked to make sure the door was locked once more before taking off her armor. She looked Hale’s closet and pulled out one of his T-shirt’s. After she changed, she lay down on the large bed and placed her head on a satin pillow. She was used to having a large bed all to herself, and it almost reminded her of home. But she wasn’t used to feeling so cold. Her sheets back at the castle were much warmer. She figured Hale preferred cooler temperatures than she did.

Pandora was too tired to let coldness prevent her from sleeping. Hale had been right when he said she needed rest. Especially after today. And tomorrow would be even more strenuous.

She closed her eyes and hoped to fall asleep quickly. She was very tired

Pandora lay there for about thirty minutes, and then she sat up. What was keeping her awake? She could hardly keep her eyes open. Why then couldn’t she sleep?

It was her thoughts, wasn’t it.

She couldn’t stop thinking about Hale and about what he had said. He called her cryptic, which was true. And she felt almost guilty because she had accused him of being that very same thing. He wouldn’t tell her question about his job. His refusal irritated her beyond reason. Her questioning was out of pure curiosity, but Hale didn’t know that.

Staying annoyed with him when she was keeping her own secrets would make her more of a hypocrite than she already was. She decided to forget about it because she wasn’t quite ready to tell him about her own reasons for staying with him. It was too soon. If she were to tell him now, he most likely would get rid of her. She couldn’t risk it. She would have to play along with him and wait for the right time to tell him. If there would ever be a right time....

Pandora rolled over on her other side.

She needed to make peace with the fact that she wouldn’t know much about Hale. He should have been the least of her worries.

Her mind and heart grieved when she thought about her home Elani. Her beautiful home. Her castle. Her father. She missed him.

Pandora felt sorry for Hale. He actually didn’t know what planet he was from. He didn’t know he was from Elani. He had never seen Elani’s magenta sky or its shining aurora. Did he even know that there were others like him with powers, each one unique.

What was Hale’s gift?

Pandora hadn’t even thought about that until tonight.

Great, she thought, another secret… he’s keeping.

But wasn’t her gift another thing she was hiding from him too? Did Hale even know she was Elani?

She was sure he didn’t. And she would have to reveal that before her other secret... if she wanted his help. Pandora didn’t know her way around the galaxy like he did. She had stayed on one planet her whole life. With Hale’s help, she would be able to reach her destination much faster.

She hoped she could convince him to take her to the Outskirts...