"It all began about 12 years ago when over the course of two months four young children were found wandering in the extensive fields outside a small town in the northeast of this fair country." She saw the flickers of recognition in the eyes of her listeners and was amused by her own rather grandiose word choices, but otherwise ignored their reactions and concentrated on her story.
"Two of them, a little girl and boy, were found by a passing motorist and taken to the local police station. It was quickly determined that their whereabouts and family were completely unknown to any in the town and that, as unfortunate as it may be; they had probably been abandoned by someone traveling through these parts. They were kept as the local orphanage for a certain waiting period, just in case a report came in of two missing children. There was no report however and a short three weeks after they were found a local couple adopted them, a well off family from the nicer part of town who had a son who was ten years old and who desperately wanted siblings, siblings his parents were unable to provide on their own."
"The third had found his way into the stables of the richest and most reclusive resident of the town, the owner of the local computer company that was the source of most of the town's profits. The youngster's adventurous spirit and way with his horses apparently won him over and he quickly cut through all the usual red tape, adopting the boy that very week and as he had no family he chose to acknowledge, he made the young boy his heir as well." She paused for a moment, letting them absorb what they had heard so far, each of them noting the similarities and differences from their own tale.
"The fourth child Desi, was adopted a month later by another local couple, less well off but well respected in the community. Unfortunately her adoptive mother died less than a year later and the grieving man was left to raise her on his own." This was the first part of the story to bring surprise to their eyes though it soon disappeared as they adjusted to this one large difference from their own experiences.
Max had been wondering why there was no Tess in the group, after all the 'foursquare' as the girl had called it, from New York had had an Ava, where was theirs? He knew Liz was curious too for he had felt her tense slightly at the mention of this Desi and after giving her hand a reassuring squeeze, focused himself back on the unfolding story.
"The four entered the school system and quickly recognized the bond between them, growing closer every day until they were all drawn to venture into the same fields that held their first memories. They found themselves in a well hidden cave in the hills that surrounded the valley that their town lay in, accessible only by the touch of one of their hands and within it found the answers to the mysteries of their past. They found a large golden gem, two orbs of an unknown material that strangely resembled nerf footballs apart from the glowing blue symbol etched into their surfaces. And they found a book, a book that despite never having seen the language it was written in before they could all read."
"It explained everything. It told them of their past lives as the royal court in a far off planet. It told them of the war that led to their demise and the plan that enabled their essence to live on, encased in these human bodies and sent to earth where they could learn and grow only to return and regain their thrones. They learned that they were not the only ones to have been sent, that there were two other sets as well and that they, unlike those other two, were not known to the government or its enemies, only to a small secret organization within the government that feared that other two would not survive, that they would be found by the same enemies that had defeated them in their first lives and would be killed or compromised."
She paused for a breath, noting the increasingly widened eyes of the other group, three of whom were what remained of one of those other sets. She smiled a sad smile, an internal one and then forged on; this was only the beginning of the beginning of all that she would tell that night. "They read of their powers, some of which they had already discovered and the rest of which they determined to learn and perfect. There was more, much more, but that's all that was relevant at that time. Though one member of the group disagreed, the rest convinced her and it was decided that for now at least they would ignore this plan for their life, this destiny."
"There were two other sets of themselves out there that could fulfill this duty and even if they were the only ones left, what could they truly do to help a planet they might not ever be able to reach with a war they couldn't even begin to comprehend with a people who might not even accept them as they were now. They decided to live their life here on this earth with the families they had come to love. They would study and enhance their powers as much as possible and gather as much knowledge as they could from the book and other things left in the cave but they would not seek out any others of their kind and they would do their best to avoid notice from them and from the human community, for even at that age they understood that were they to be discovered the consequences could be deadly."
Michael was regretting his declaration that no more questions would be asked until the end, these people knew! They knew about their pasts, about their planet, they knew everything! And despite his decision to remain with Maria, to accept this human life, he had not lost the drive to know about his past to know who he used to be and what it meant to his life now, to who he was now and how much alike or different he was now from who he had been then. He ground his teeth and seeing Maria's understanding smile as she turned her face up to his, resigned himself to waiting for the answers he so desperately wanted. After all, he was curious about these others, especially Devin. He lightly kissed Maria's forehead and then turned his attention back to Winter, trying to immerse himself in her story.
"So they grew up, to all appearances normal human children and then normal human teens. Kat and Sean's father worked at Devin's father's company so their families became close and they spent most of their time in and out of school together. Desi too spent a lot of time with them though her father rarely left the house, his work could be done at home and he had not really ventured into the world since his wife died. Kat was popular as was to be expected."
She said with a smile, noting the amused glances all in the room exchanged and the knowing nods the two alien princesses gave each other. "Desi too though mostly as Kat's friend. Devin was mostly reclusive except for his friend Sean, the rising basketball star of our highschool. He and Kat began their relationship freshman year and are still happily together."
She stopped as she saw the surprise on all of their faces and the concern on Michael's, Isabel's, and especially Maria's face. "They're together because they like each other as people in this life, not because of anything in their past lives, they did not love each other on Antar and they know that, they just happen to do so on Earth, it has nothing to do with Destiny."
She noted the faint relaxation in all of them and returned the smile Maria gave her, hoping she had relieved any fears that she had unwittingly caused with her statement but determined to forge ahead; this story was going to take long enough to tell and she still wanted to hear theirs.
"Sean however did not love Desi in this life as he had in the last and she had accepted this and was making her way through the ranks of young available males in the highschool. He remained single until junior year."
She met Liz's gaze and something passed between them, an understanding that only they were aware of. She matched her smile and then returned her gaze to the rest of the room. "I knew Kat and Sean as my father worked closely with theirs at Devin's dad's company. And Desi I knew from school, we weren't exactly friends but we did talk and we had hung out at a few parties. I also knew Kat from school though we didn't exactly move in the same circles."
Kat interrupted and spoke for the first time, "You were rather popular yourself Miss Cheerleader." Winter laughed and flushed faintly, acknowledging the amused glances the other six were giving her. "Yes, I was a cheerleader, and I still wasn't half as high on the food chain as Kat was." She chuckled softly and then continued. "I knew Sean mostly from games; he was our star player and therefore the subject of many of our chants. But we never really spoke until one fateful night in the beginning of November, two years ago."
She took a breath and felt Sean squeeze her hand lightly, she smiled, taking strength from his quiet presence and began the story of the path that had led them here, to this hotel room, her mind drifting back to that night, her memory of it still as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
"It was a Saturday night and we were on our way back from an away game in a nearby town. Which we had won of course, thanks largely to Sean here, and of course our fabulous cheering." She said tossing her hair back and posing slightly with a coquettish look on her face.
The girls giggled and the guys exchanged amused glances over the vagaries of female behavior. Devin finally pitching in a comment with "He really doesn't need his ego inflated any more Winter, you should know that."
She just laughed and waved her hand dismissively at him before continuing with her story. "I was sitting in the back, doing homework; everyone else was sitting in the front rows, except for Sean here who was sitting in the seat behind mine, apparently, from what he told me later." She said, turning and favoring him with a smile and a light kiss before facing the rest of the group again, "trying to work up the nerve to talk to me...
Winter sighed and rolled her shoulders, she simply could not focus tonight, every time she tried to write her mind kept drifting away. She glared at the blank paper for a moment then laughed silently at herself, tucked the notebook and pen back in her bag and stared out the window, a smile crossing her face as she remembered the final shot of the game and the wild cheering as they won, as he won. She blushed faintly and looking towards the front of the bus was surprised to not spot him among the excitedly chattering athletes, she was about to look behind her to see if for some reason he had sat in the back of the bus when two blinding bright lights filled her vision and she heard the first screams as the bus jerked and swerved to the side, she felt herself lifted from her seat and felt intense pain, then all went black, her last sight that of the bus on its side, flashing lights, and the sounds of people screaming.
Winter blinked, her mind returning to the present and noting the surprised faces of those in her audience to whom this tale was not familiar. She smiled faintly and continued. "Some drunken idiot had smashed into a car in front of us. The bus driver swerved to miss the two cars and flipped completely over, landing in a ditch on the side of the road. Almost everyone was ok, just bumped and bruised, a few sprains and a broken bone or two, but Sean and I were both thrown from the bus, through the back window."
She paused and sighed lightly, "I was unconscious for most of this so I'm telling you what Sean told me. He came to less than a minute after and healed his broken arm, he looked around to see if anyone else had been thrown out and saw me lying on the ground a few feet away, I'd been impaled by a tree branch about this wide." She circled her thumb and forefinger, glancing at Sean to confirm the width; he had her widen it a bit and then nodded. She swallowed and paled a bit but then shook it off and continued, doing her best to ignore the expressions of the rest of the group.
"Right about here," she gestured to her lower abdomen, "I had broken a couple ribs and had sprained my left wrist, other than that I was ok except for a few bruises and scratches. He made me look at him, all I remember are his eyes, so concerned and then a warm sensation as he dissolved the tree branch and healed the wound as well as my ribs." She wrapped his arms more tightly around her and smiled a sweet and utterly happy smile, "He saved my life that night."
Max recovered somewhat from the horror of what they had just been told, shaking off the memory of the terror and ensuing drama of their car accident sophomore year and smiled down at Liz, remembering when he had saved her life, and she his, not surprised to find her smiling back up at him. She lifted up her hand and rested it on his cheek, all the love and gratitude she felt shining in her eyes. He took her hand and kissed it, then wrapped his arms more securely around her and turned his gaze back to the couple seated in front of him.
Winter saw the tender moment exchanged by Liz and Max and felt the flaring of curiosity at what had happened to bring them together. She suppressed it for the moment and went on. "We were both taken in an ambulance to the nearest hospital, along with most of the rest of the students and one of the teachers. Sean just had a few bruises so they didn't draw blood or anything, thankfully.
"Other than my wrist I had some cuts and a mild concussion but was otherwise alright." She gave a wry smile, "They kept telling us how lucky we were to have gotten off so lightly." The others smiled back knowingly and she continued. "After they had finished with me, he came in to my room while we waited for our parents to arrive. The second he stepped through the door I demanded that he tell me everything!" She heard a chuckle from Max and saw the faint flush on Liz's cheeks.
Winter stared at the ceiling, her brain swirling faster than she could keep up with. What had happened? Mrs. Groman had told her about the crash and that everyone else was okay, that she was going to be okay. But, she knew she shouldn't be. Her memories of what had happened were still fuzzy but she knew she had been flung from the bus, she knew that she had been hurt too, she remembered...She remembered pain, there, she looked down as she touched her lower stomach. But, nothing was there, no wound, no bandage. And those eyes, she remembered dark brown eyes, filled with concern and a voice that kept telling her to look at someone, if only she could remember who! There was a noise at the door and she looked up and there he was! It was him, but, how? He stepped in and closed the door, hesitating for a moment as if unsure whether or not to approach her. "Tell me everything Sean, and I mean everything!"
"And he did, he told me that he was a reincarnated alien, that there were three others and who they were, he told me about their powers and a brief bit about their past and that they had decided to live as normal as lives as possible and that their very lives depended on me not telling anyone about it."
Winter gaped, she knew her mouth was hanging open and that she probably looked like an idiot but she couldn't seem to bring herself to close it. How was this even possible, she had known Kat and Sean and Desi for forever, Devin too though she didn't think she'd ever really had an entire conversation with him. How could they be aliens? But, it had to be true, he had shown her what he could do when he had told her they had powers and her, he had healed her, she wasn't crazy. She touched her stomach again and then closed her mouth with a snap, this was real and she would just have to deal with it.
She looked up at him and asked the one question that defined her existence at that moment "Why did you heal me Sean? Why did you do it when you knew it could mean the end for all of you, how did you know you could trust me?"
His answer, three simple words, changed her far more than everything else he had told her. "It was you." She felt her heart speed up in her chest and knew that this moment was why she had been born, why everything in her life had led her to that bus. Before either of them could say anything else her parents burst into the room and rushed past him to her bed, his following them just as frantically into the room.
"Before I really had a chance to respond our parents showed up and we were both rushed into their waiting arms where they proceeded to check us over thoroughly, interrogate the doctor's mercilessly, and after exchanging greetings and commiserations rushed us into their cars so they could get us home and baby us as much as we would allow." They all shared a moment of silent agreement and faint laughter over how alike all parents were, no matter what species their children were. "I had a day to process everything before school on Monday and I spent most of it in my room, staring at the ceiling and thinking, trying to figure out exactly how much this changed my life. Sean on the other hand was being berated by the other three for healing me and even worse for telling me everything and about all of them.
Sean laughed, a reminiscent look in his dark eyes, "Yes, there was definitely berating going on, also some yelling, accusing, even some screaming if I remember correctly." Kat and Devin had the grace to blush and he noted amusedly, Isabel and Michael had similarly embarrassed expressions on their faces. He shook his head "They were not happy about it but it wasn't like there was anything we could do, I'd already told her and no one seemed to suspect anything, I'd healed her before anyone knew we were hurt so..." He shrugged, "All we could do was wait until Monday at school to see what she was going to do."
"Which," Winter picked up the story again, "was nothing, I had come to the conclusion that it didn't matter what they were, I had known them for too long to let something like this affect any of our lives, besides." Here she smiled again, "I thought it was all pretty cool, I mean, how many people got to meet aliens in their lives, and know about it, my favorite books all had aliens in them so some appearing in my life was fine with me. And I had an ulterior motive," She winked at Liz and Max, "I now knew a certain otherworldly visitor liked me, and I already knew I liked him, so, if all else failed, I could always blackmail him into dating me."
Everyone in the room laughed and Sean just shook his head, kissing the top of her head and saying with a chuckle "Like you'd need blackmail to get me to date you."
Winter just cocked an eyebrow up at him and said in an amused tone; "I almost did."
Winter walked determinedly through the school, the faint heels of her sandals clicking rhythmically on the linoleum floor, she spotted Sean's tall frame and walking up to him, ignoring his sister and her boyfriend, took his hand and said "We need to talk." He exchanged a significant look with the other two and then followed her into a nearby empty classroom. She closed the door behind them and then turned to face him, the serious expression on her face fading into a smile. "So," She didn't say anything more, just studied him for a moment, watching as his expression went from concerned, to puzzled, and then back to concerned.
She bit her lip and took a deep breath, she couldn't back out now. "I never thanked you, for saving my life; I'd like to do that now." She saw the relief and puzzlement wash over his handsome face as she spoke and then stepped forward until she was standing bare inches from him, her head tilted back so their eyes remained locked. "Thank you." She whispered, then standing on the tips of her toes, brushed her lips against his.
He didn't react at first and a downcast expression crossed her face, maybe she had been wrong? She was about to move away when his hands cupped her face. She looked up and saw the amazement in his eyes as his thumb lightly caressed her cheek, then he bent down and returned the kiss, this one as passion filled as she could have hoped for.
They finally broke apart and she stood there, smiling up at him, an amused glint flicking through her green eyes as she spoke "So that's what it's like to kiss an alien."
He was silent for a moment and then he chuckled, nodding, "I suppose so, but," His eyes darkened and his face grew more serious. "It can't happen again, it's not safe." Her smile died, her face going blank. "I don't want you to get hurt, someday someone will find us, either the government or other aliens...I can't put you at risk, I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you."
Liz was watching the expression on Winter's face as she told the story, all the emotions she had been feeling clearly evident, the hurt, and the anger. She knew how she felt, every time Max had tried to protect her by pulling away, by keeping his distance, that's how she had felt, the pain of rejection almost too much to bear. The faraway look in Winter's eyes showed that she wasn't just telling the story, she was reliving it, and Liz now knew why she had identified so closely with the girl, even before she knew her name, however much the details differed, and they differed quite a bit, their stories were the same, she only hoped they would both have happy endings.
The blank expression left Winter's face to be replaced by angry determination "Oh, and my safety, my life, is up to you to decide is it?" He opened his mouth to protest that was not what he had meant but she continued without pause. "I don't care Sean, I don't care if it's not safe, I don't care if we're different and those differences could kill us. This is my decision to make, not yours, you're not my King, not my leader, I can and will make my own choices and my choice is you. I want to be with you."
Her eyes were flashing as she finished and her small frame was tense with the rush of emotions she was feeling. He was not going to push her away, she wouldn't let him! Sean was standing there with an expression similar to hers when he first told her the truth about him.
Winter continued, her voice softer, "Maybe no one will ever find you, who knows? We might not even still be together then, but we can be together now, we can see if this thing between us is real, if it will last..." Before she could continue he was kissing her again, his lips firm against hers and his arms drawing her against his body. She kissed him back through her smile, she had won.
It was he who ended the kiss and as he looked down into her eyes, into her soul, she heard him say "I want to show you something." He touched her face and all of a sudden she could see him, the real him. She saw him curled up on a bench at the police station, holding hands with Kat. She saw him playing with his older brother, the first time he saw Devin and Desi. And she saw her, her as he saw her, and she knew she'd never be alone again.
"It was amazing. It was the first time I ever got the flashes and I knew, even more than I had known that night in the hospital, that this was meant to be, that he and I had been meant to be together no matter who he used to be." She grinned then, "However, he and I were the only ones who were sure, everyone else, well they took a little longer to convince."
About ten more minutes had passed, mostly involving kissing, but also talking. He had told her what he had seen when he healed her and they had agreed that their relationship should progress more slowly, at least where the rest of the school was concerned, it would be a little too suspicious if both of them, one confirmedly single and the other known to never progress past casual dating, went from occasionally hanging out, mostly due to the close relationship of the basketball team and the cheerleading squad, to all over each other after one weekend, even if they used the 'bonding in the hospital' excuse, it would only get them so far. As they were leaving the classroom she placed a hand on his arm, halting him.
"Before we go out there, is there anything you can do about this?" She asked, he turned around to ask what she meant and saw her lifting the hem of her shirt, revealing two silver hand prints on her stomach. "These are not going to be covered by my cheerleading uniform." She said with a faint smile, "However much I'd like to keep my cool new tattoos, it isn't safe." He grinned at her and placing his hands over them again, changed the molecules back to their normal color, the pale ivory of her skin replacing the gleaming silver.
When they walked out of the classroom they were only holding hands, nothing more, her shirt back in place and faint smiles on both of their faces, The hair framing Winter's face still a tad mussed. They were popular enough that it would only take a hallway or two for that simple gesture of intertwined hands to alert the school to the fact that something was going on between them. She smiled to herself; occasionally the very thorough and usually annoying gossip chain had its uses.
She turned and looked up at Sean, part of her still disbelieving that it was him she was holding hands with and the rest of her dancing up and down with joy, mentally of course. "I think we should probably go talk to Kat and Devin and Desi, reassure them that I have absolutely no intention of bringing the FBI down on your heads."
He nodded but she saw the worried look in his eyes and raised her eyebrows questioningly, "They might not be too happy about us." He said, a line between his eyebrows, "I want you to be prepared for some hostility."
Winter laughed then, interrupting her own story and bringing some odd looks from her audience. "Sorry, it's just; the phrase 'some hostility' barely even begins to cover it." She grinned at Kat and Devin and after a moment they grinned back though their cheeks were rather flushed.
"Hey, at least we like you now right?" Devin said, chuckling. Winter rolled her eyes at him but the smile on her face belied any real anger.
Winter approached the three young adults sitting at the table with more than a little trepidation, the original concern and fear on their faces had been replaced with wariness, suspicion, and in the case of one, open hatred at the sight of her and Sean holding hands. She swallowed hard but refused to be deterred, instead smiling up at him as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. They reached the table and stood there, all of them silent for a moment. She took a breath and gave them all as sincere a smile as she could muster through the ball of tension in her stomach. "Hi."
She resisted the urge to smack herself in the head for such an inane greeting but really, what was she supposed to say, 'Hi, I know you're aliens, I promise not to tell anyone, and oh, by the way, I'm dating one of you?' Kat and Devin responded with the faintest of smiles, both of them mostly looked wary and cold towards her, she knew they were probably just concerned that she was going to hurt Sean and tell the world about them, she understood and figured only time would prove to them that she had no intention of doing either.
But Desi, she was glaring at Winter with something as similar to hatred as anything she had ever seen. But why? She knew that Sean had said that in their past lives he and her had been together, but he had also said that neither of them wanted that in this life, and while Sean had remained single, Desi had been dating other guys for years, in fact half the guys on the athletic team had either dated her or wished she would date them. Why on Earth would she hate her that much when a mere two days ago they were, if anything, casual friends?
Winter sighed and felt Sean's arms tighten around her reassuringly, this was going to be the hardest part of the story for her to tell, Desi's hatred of her...had led to things she wasn't sure she wanted to relive, but, they were an important part of the story, a story she had volunteered to tell. She rested her head against Sean's chest and continued, trying to maintain a sense of detachment from her memories as long as possible.
"Apparently Sean had been less than honest with me and while he had no desire to be with her in this lifetime, Desi had not given up all hope. As long as Sean had remained single it had never been an issue but now...Now not only was he dating someone but that someone knew their secret and didn't care, making me that much more of a threat to any hope she had of convincing Sean that they should be together. Nothing really happened for several weeks however. Sean and I's relationship progressed, more quickly in private than it did in public. And I was working on trying to get closer to the others as well. After a few run in's with Desi I hadn't even tried to be friends with her but I was determined that Kat and Devin were going to like me and no matter how many times they made it clear that I was not welcome in their group I refused to give up."
She smiled faintly, "I think they were beginning to soften towards me when something happened that changed the game entirely."
Winter's head was down as she walked towards her first period class, she was late and she was tired and she was wishing she was still in bed. These past few weeks with Sean had been amazing; they were closer than she had ever thought it was possible to be with another person. Which was the reason she was late, they had stayed up all night talking on the phone, and unlike the aliens as she was beginning to suspect, she needed sleep, she must have turned off her alarm this morning when it went off because she knew she had set it, it was the last thing Sean had said before they hung up, reminding her to turn it on.
Well, not the last thing, she thought with a smile. He had said three more words, three little words that were why she had been practically glowing when she looked in her mirror, despite the fact that she knew she was going to be late and looked like crap from having five minutes to get ready. She only had one hallway to go until she could see him again and as her pace quickened she heard footsteps behind her. She turned her head, wondering who else wasn't in class and saw nobody. She frowned; she knew she had heard something. Then she collapsed, her head splitting with pain and her vision blacking out...