Chapter Three: Unforeseen Accident
All Frank did for the first few days of the journey to Earth was lie on his bed, in the dark, and wallow in his misery. He did not eat anything, when the queen asked to talk with him on the communication portal, he refused, and he would not let Riff Raff or Magenta into his room. Riff Raff just passed it off as the prince being over-dramatic, but Magenta was worried. If anything were to happen to the prince, she and Riff Raff would be severely punished.
"Brother," Magenta said as she entered the control room, "are you certain that it was wise of you to seek revenge on the prince?"
"I can't believe you think so little of me, Sister," Riff Raff replied, keeping his eyes on the screen in front of him. "I am not seeking revenge on Prince Frank, I am merely trying to--"
There was a sudden tremor that shook the entire ship and knocked Riff Raff and Magenta to the floor.
"We're under attack!" Magenta cried.
"No!" Riff Raff hit a blue button close to him, the screen he had been looking at transformed into a window. "It's meteors!"
Giant gray rocks flew past the window and loud banging noises sounded every few seconds, shaking the ship even more. Riff Raff and Magenta struggled to get up and steady themselves. When they had managed to get themselves buckled into their control stations they began to frantically push buttons and pull levers.
"Engage hyper-speed!" Riff Raff shouted.
"Engaging!" Magenta hit a giant red button in the center of her control panel.
The door to the control room suddenly slid open and there stood a most shaken-up and angry Prince Frank. He meant to yell something at Magenta and Riff Raff, but was thrown to the floor by the hyper-speed propelling the ship forward. There was complete silence for a few minutes as the ship flew through the meteor shower. Finally all the chaos came to an end when Riff Raff pulled hard on a silver lever and everyone jerked back as the ship came to a complete stop. It took a while for them all to catch their breath and right themselves, and when they did it was Frank who spoke first.
"What the bloody hell just happened?!" Frank screamed at the siblings.
"It would seem that we flew directly into a meteor shower," Riff Raff explained.
"Are you all right, Prince Frank?" Magenta asked blankly.
"No, I'm not," he pouted. "I'm goddess knows how far from home, stuck on a ship without my servants or lovers, and heading to a strange planet."
"We are very sorry for your distress, your highness. Is there anything we can do to help?"
Frank was thoughtful for a moment, then he slowly turned his gaze to Magenta. He walked over to her, a smile on his lips and a hunger in his eyes. He reached out and ran a finger the side of her face, her face remained emotionless.
"Well, there is one thing..." He let the finger run down her neck and head toward her chest.
"We are part of the Transylvanian Royal Guard," Riff Raff shook with anger. "Not your group of court lovers."
Frank let his hand drop and met Riff Raff's eyes.
"May I remind you that it is your prince to whom you are speaking," Frank said through his teeth. "Another outburst like that will earn you--"
"Frankie? Frankie?" A high-pitched frantic voice came from the communication portal.
"Mummy?" Frank rushed over to the diamond-shaped screen.
"Oh, Frankie, are you alright?" The queen squinted in search for scratches or bruising on Frank's face.
"I-I think so," Frank lifted hand to his head. "Though I do feel a tad light-headed."
"Poor baby," the queen pouted sympathetically. "Have Magenta bring you something nice in bed."
"Can't I just come home, Mummy?"
"I'm afraid not, sweetie. You don't have enough energy left after using the hyper-speed to go anywhere but Earth."
Frank glared at her through the screen before pulling the lever and disconnecting the communication. He stormed out of the control room, slamming the door behind him. Riff Raff hurriedly re-connected the communication, mumbling profanities aimed at the prince.
"General Riff Raff?" The queen asked, surprised. "But where has my Frankie gone?"
"I'm afraid he does not wish to speak with you right now," Riff Raff said impatiently. "Do you know what has become of the other ships?"
The queen sighed and ignored Riff Raff's question, "It really isn't any fun here without him. No one else can quite move the way he can...," she trailed off, letting her mind wander to memories of her incestuous relationship with her son.
"Yes, but what of the other ships?"
Commander Graves appeared on the screen and whispered something into the queen's ear, disrupting her wandering thoughts which made her none too happy.
"Yes, yes, yes," she shooed the soldier away and turned back to Riff Raff. "They survived."
The commander quickly reappeared and whispered something else in her ear.
"Oh! Oops!" She giggled. "I meant they died."
"Should we continue with our original plan, even without back-up?"
"Um, I'm not sure," the queen looked back at the commander who leaned down to whisper in her ear but she pushed him away. "Just tell him yourself!"
She stood up and walked off the screen allowing the commander to sit in front of the screen.
"General Riff Raff," the commander began. "I would like to commend you and your sister on your quick-thinking. The protective shields on your ships were no match for those meteors. Your success and efforts in saving the prince will be well rewarded, I'm sure."
"Frankie can handle that," the queen giggled off-screen.
"A reward will not be necessary, Commander," Riff Raff said, monotone. "We live to serve the crown."
"Very well," the commander nodded. "As for your next move, we do not think it is wise for you to go on with your mission until you have some sort of back-up. We will not be able to send another fleet as large as the one you have, and the only available soldiers have not completed their training yet. We will send down what we can once the training has been completed."
"How long will that take?" Riff Raff asked wearily.
"About one year."
Riff Raff had only meant to make the prince suffer for a month or two at most; he did not expect to have to suffer along with Frank.
"That is, of course, unless we find some volunteers willing to help," the commander said.
"Volunteers?"
"Yes. Earth is no match for our sophisticated technology, so all you really need is a group of Transylvanians who know how to control our machinery."
Riff Raff's mouth twisted into a smile. So there was hope!
"How long would it take to send volunteers down?"
"About two to three months."
"What shall we do while we wait for our back-up?"
"You will need to keep yourselves inconspicuous. Find someplace habitable, some Earthling clothes, and avoid any unnecessary contact with the people of Earth. Most of all, keep the prince safe."
"Of course," Riff Raff nodded.
"We will keep in contact. Good luck."
"Tell Frankie to call me on this thing when he gets out of his mood," the queen leaned down so she was in the screen. "Tell him that Mummy misses him and is hurt that he is so displeased with her. I remember the day he lost his virginity..."
The screen went black. Riff Raff turned to his sister, they lifted their hands in unison and rolled their elbows together. They dropped their arms and went to the window, watching as the blue planet Earth came into view.