Chapter 4: A Safe Haven

Rachel watched Whampire as he expertly steered the ship past many planets that she knew by heart. "Father and I always visited the neighboring planets in hopes of gaining allies in case a war broke out," she said.

He looked at her. "Were you able to warn them about the Head General's treachery?" He asked.

She shook her head. "The Head General has men on those planets controlling the communications," she said. "He'd know of any warning against him very quickly."

"Well, let's hope that this planet your father is sending us to doesn't have one of the Head General's men on it," Whampire said. "Or someone like him."

She checked the coordinates. "I don't think so," she said. "This planet is about seventy galaxies away, much too far. And not really worth it. It would take that soldier many years to get back as this planet doesn't yet have the technology Mariflor's neighboring planets did."

"Hopefully, that will be an advantage for us," he said as he put the autopilot back on again and turned to her. "Even so, I'll be high on my guard, my Princess."

Rachel smiled at him. "I know you will, Whampire," she said and then pulled something out from her backpack. "Father had this made for you. It's a human I.D. mask."

The Vladat accepted the mask with a smile. "Thank you," he said. "It will be bad enough alerting the locals with our spaceship when we land."

Rachel glanced at the coordinates and something made her want to call them up on the topographical maps on the ship. She did so and was surprised when a see-through picture of a mansion showed up and the coordinates were right behind this mansion. "Whampire, look at this," she said.

He did. "Are these the coordinates your father gave us?" He asked.

She checked again. "Yes," she said. "It looks like we'll land behind this mansion, but if Father told us to find three men, why would we land behind a house?" She asked.

Whampire had a thought and called up all the maps at once to get a better picture and they saw it was a mansion with a huge backyard and a forest behind it. "Secluded," he said thoughtfully.

Rachel then projected their flight path. "Father chose a route where we wouldn't attract attention," she said. "Even in stealth mode."

"You know, I bet the three men your father told us to find are at that mansion," the Vladat said suddenly. "But, who are they?"

She shook her head. "I honestly don't know," she said. "If they're allies, why would Father have allies this far out?"

"Maybe he suspected one of his trusted officials would turn on him, or maybe he did so to protect you, Rachel," Whampire said.

"You think so?" She asked. "But, protect me how?"

He fell into thought. "From someone trying to kidnap you perhaps, or force you into marrying someone who wouldn't love you and treat you right," he said, sure of it.

She nodded. "That makes sense," she said and then sat down. "Father invited many royals with their sons and I would spend a day with them to see if they caught my interest. I even had a list of questions I'd ask and see what they'd say."

Whampire smiled. "What was the result?"

"Not one passed my test," she said in disgust. "And what was worse was they never complimented me outside of what I was wearing."

That surprised the Vladat. "You mean…not one of them told you that you were beautiful or complimented on your kindness and such?" He asked in disbelief.

She shook her head. "You were the first, actually," she said. "But…,"

"We see each other as brother and sister," Whampire finished for her, smiling as he pulled her into a comforting hug. "Someday, some man will meet both your standards and mine. If they don't, I'll scare them off."

Rachel began giggling a little. "You are too overprotective," she said half-seriously, half-jokingly.

"And you're glad for it," he answered back with a smile.

"Yes," she said seriously.

Just then, the proximity sensors went off and they saw they were nearing the Planet Earth. Whampire took over the controls and began following the projected path to the mansion, hoping it would be a smooth landing, for both his and Rachel's sakes.

Alright! They made it! What will happen next? Stay tuned! :)

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GoldGuardian2418