Here is a chapter for all of Fauk's fans!

All My Bags Are Packed

Romelle was at the spaceport, but had not boarded the Odeon ship yet. Nanny and Erik were already on board, and she knew that she should be getting along also. Even though it had been a good visit to Arus, she was ready to go home. The wedding had brought home what her wedding wasn't and the sad state of her life right now. That breakfast with Sven had been almost too much, and only the memory of Fauk at the dinner helped her through it.

She had been relieved that Sven had started having Nanny bring Erik to him, removing the need for her to deal with him. Romelle kept Bandor's plea in mind, to keep the peace with Sven, so she gave him lots of access to his son. Erik was with him in the mornings, until lunch, and then Sven took him again after his nap, until dinner.

Where Sven ate she didn't know, and really didn't care either. Romelle had been busy helping with Larmina's gifts, and spending time with Allura and Elena. She would have been happy to spend time with Fauk too, but didn't want any gossip to happen. Elena was a lovely girl, and she was so happy that Bandor was marrying her. Romelle had been concerned about her relationship with Allura, after their conversation the night of the wedding and the reference to Fauk.

When Allura had invited her to a private lunch yesterday, she had been concerned that her cousin was going to bring the subject up again. Romelle was surprised when she found out what Allura wanted to talk about, which was Sven and the haggerium treatment. It had cheered her that Sven would be getting some help, feeling like anything that would make him easier to deal with would be good. Allura had confided that Keith and Lance were going to make sure Sven followed through. Her cousin also told her that she would stand by her, no matter what.

Standing in the spaceport now, she wondered if Sven would come say goodbye to her. She had gone down to the room he was staying in earlier, but had been told he was in a meeting with Keith. Romelle sent him a note saying she had stopped by to say farewell to him. She didn't add anything else, not really being sure what else to put.

"Your Highness?" A holoscreen popped up, and she heard a female voice hailing her. Romelle reached up and touched the screen, and a woman in a GA uniform appeared on the screen. "Your Highness, Sgt. Reed here. You had asked about the status of Commander Holggerson's craft, and I have the information for you and His Majesty."

Romelle had used the excuse of Bandor wanting to track the Polluxian craft that Sven flew to contact the space traffic tower. She smiled at the woman now and inclined her head, waiting for the information. What she heard caused her to suck her breath in so hard her stomach hurt.

Fauk was entering the waiting room of the spaceport, pleased at how this trip to Arus had worked out. Allura and Lance had welcomed him like an old friend, and Romelle had, he knew, enjoyed his company. He had also been thrilled with how Sven had behaved, blotting his copy book so well. Bandor had told him about the latest plans for Sven, and the cadet to go back to Crydor with him. Fauk had to wonder what the cadet had been promised to agree to the idea, but kept that to himself.

He had been over the moon when he'd heard about the problem with the hyper drive on Bandor's ship. Fauk had wasted no time in offering the Polluxian party a ride home on his ship. He had been sure that he would get no more time with Romelle until Elena's wedding, but now he would have two whole days with her. Bandor would be glad to have lots of time with his bride to be, and wouldn't be suspicious if Fauk spent time with his sister.

This morning Allura and Lance had hosted a family breakfast, to say goodbye to Bandor and Romelle. Of course he and Elena had been invited, with him being paired with Romelle. It was nice to be seen as a family member, and Fauk had been careful to be casually friendly to Romelle, but nothing more. He knew the Arusian queen missed nothing, and Lance was a ladies' man who would see if Fauk was up to anything. The Odeon prince had been surprised at how much he liked the idea of being with Romelle, not just for sex, but as a friend too. The experience was new for him, and he was still processing the whole thing.

Fauk entered the waiting room, wanting to get on board his ship and make sure that Romy was properly settled and comfortable. His transport was brand new, state of the art, beautifully decorated, and the last word in luxury. He was looking forward to showing her how a princess should be treated, and taken care of.

As he entered the room he heard voices and saw that Romelle was standing in front of a holoscreen, with her back towards him. She was wearing the yellow sweater, and matching pleated skirt that she'd worn to breakfast, which had looked so good with her red hair. Her outfit though had been eclipsed by Allura's, which was a knit suit from St. John's latest collection.

Fauk wished he could take Romy shopping to give her the kind of clothes she should be wearing, as well as appropriate underwear too. He had done lots of research on the shop in Paris that Lance had taken Allura to, which Entertainment Tonight had reported on. The establishment actually had an on-line shop that he had enjoyed pursuing, picturing the red haired princess in some of the pieces. Taking his mind off of her clothes, he listened to what the woman on the screen was saying.

"Your Highness, Sgt. Reed here. You had asked about the status of Commander Holggerson's craft, and I have the information for you and His Majesty." Fauk watched as Romelle inclined her head and asked the woman to go on.

"Polluxian NCR789 cleared Arusian airspace half an hour ago, and is enroute to Crydor as we speak. ETA is around 1700 hours this afternoon." Romelle couldn't believe that Sven had left without even trying to say goodbye to her or Erik. She sucked in a breath so hard her stomach hurt, and she heard Sgt. Reed asking her if there was anything else.

Fauk knew that Romelle had been asking about Sven's craft, and could tell from the way she went stiff, as well as the tone in her voice that she was very upset. He knew because by now Fauk was familiar with her mannerisms, especially those in relation to her husband. It impressed him how well she was controlling it though, in front of the GA person. The news regarding Sven, while making Romelle unhappy was like gold for him though. Romy was going to be upset, and much more receptive to his attention.

In that moment Fauk changed his strategy for the trip, as he carefully made his way back out of the room. The new plan would take longer, but reap so many more benefits, he thought to himself. Fauk also said a private thank you to Sven, for how easy the man was making it for him with Romelle. He knew that Romy had been so wrapped up in the news about Sven that she had not heard him enter the room. Fauk stood outside for two minutes, before he re-entered the room.

"Romelle, you are not on board yet?" Fauk asked innocently, as he came up next to her while giving her a happy smile. He saw that she was working to contain her hurt, and it took a great deal of control not to put his arms around her, to comfort her.

"Hello Fauk, I just had one more thing to take care of before we left. Nanny and Erik are already on board, as are Bandor and Elena." Romelle noticed how glad he really was to see her, and it made her feel better. "Thank you again for letting us come along with you." She told the handsome man, admiring how nice he looked in a blue designer polo shirt that matched his eyes, crisply pressed light colored slacks, accented by a belt, and tasseled loafers of soft brown leather. Everything was in mint condition, and his thick blond hair was well cut and brushed.

"It is my pleasure, of course. I am glad that you haven't boarded yet, because it will give me the chance to show you around personally." Fauk almost beamed at her as he opened the door to the ramp, and waited for her to go through first. His manners were always impeccable, and he'd had lots of experience in knowing how to make a woman feel special and protected. In his mind, no one had ever needed that as much as Romy did.

When they arrived at the transport craft a steward was waiting for them and bowed as they walked into the small hallway. They then entered the main salon of the ship and Romelle was astonished at what she saw. The room was paneled in smooth wood, the rug underneath was thick and soft, while the furnishings were fine quality upholstered in colors to compliment the rug. Crystal chandeliers hung from several places, giving the room a rich feel.

Bandor's personal craft was certainly nice, but several years old and not appointed like this one was. She couldn't believe that she was going to be transported in such luxury as she looked around the room. Romelle saw that champagne and finger food had been laid out in the corner, which she guessed was for them.

"This is beautiful Fauk! It looks like a room at the palace, not a ship!" She enthused, as she turned to look at him. Romelle noticed how close he was standing to her, almost close enough to kiss her. The minute that thought popped into her mind it both dismayed her, and excited her too.

"I do not see why one should be uncomfortable if you don't have to be. Let me show you around, and then we will come back and have refreshments." He replied smoothly, liking how impressed she was with his ship. Fauk was right next to her, their bodies almost touching, and when she had turned to face him their lips could have met. The idea thrilled him, and he wished he could have acted on it, but he had long range goals in his mind.

In addition to the main salon there was a dining room, and a small reading room, on the main level. The bedrooms were downstairs, and Fauk showed her the one she would be staying in. It was decorated in soothing blues and grays, giving it a very feminine feel. It was nicer than the one at her house on Pollux, which she told Fauk.

"Maybe you need to redecorate then, Romelle! You should live somewhere very nice, with lots of flowers of course. That is the only drawback to the ship, is that we don't have fresh flowers. At the palace on Odeos, every room has some type of floral arrangement in." Fauk told her in winning tones, and Romelle couldn't help but think how different the man was than Sven, who hated cut flowers.

"Oh, another reason I gave you this room is because it has a door to connect it to the room next door, where Nanny and Erik are." Fauk added, informing her "That way, if you need to get up in the middle of the night to check on him, you won't have to go out into the hall." By now Romelle was feeling overwhelmed by all the luxury, and by how solicitous Fauk was with her. He had thought of everything to keep her comfortable, and no one besides Bandor had ever done that before.

That thought, coming on top of the hurt and anger she had experienced in the spaceport with Sven, caused her eyes to start to tear up, and she was crying before she realized. Fauk saw that, and took her arm gently, leading her to a small alcove at the end of the hall. He would have been happy to have stayed in the bedroom, but didn't want to risk being caught. His plan would be harder to implement if there were any gossip regarding them.

He took a soft, white linen handkerchief out of his pants pocket and gently blotted the tears coming from her eyes. Fauk still had his one hand on her arm, which he moved to gently encircle her shoulders. Their bodies were almost touching, but he was not going to move any closer to her. Romelle cried a few more tears, and then recovered her composure.

"I'm sorry Fauk, I didn't mean to cry, and it wasn't anything you did. Well, I mean you did because you are so nice, and thoughtful." Romelle stammered feeling like her heart was in her throat, and butterflies in her stomach. Fauk's arm around her felt so strong and she was catching whiffs of his fresh smelling cologne, as his blue eyes shone with kindness.

"Romelle, is there something going on, a problem? Please, we are friends and I would be glad to listen." His voice was soft and concerned, and she remembered how well he had dealt with Sven at the after party. She also knew that Bandor was telling him everything that was going on with Sven, and Fauk was almost family.

She took a deep breath, and looked at him "It's, I don't know why it upset me so much. Just before you came into the waiting room I had found out that Sven left Arus without saying goodbye to me or Erik. I know that things are not good between us right now, but I didn't think he would leave without a word!" It still perplexed that he would leave like that.

"Poor Romy, he should not be allowed to cause you so much pain and hurt. You deserve to be treated better." Fauk consoled her, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze "That man is unfeeling, and uncaring!" His voice took on an indigent note, and Romelle could just see him taking Sven to task. She gave him a grateful look, letting him know that his plan was working. It was very hard not to take her in his arms, but he didn't want to do that yet. There was also the fact that they were in a semi-public place too. If anyone saw them right now, they would just see the prince consoling her, but nothing else.

"Please don't be upset with your brother, but he has told me everything that is going on with your husband. Bandor has also told me of your desire to try to work with the man, for the sake of your son." Fauk seemed to hesitate, as if trying to find the right words "Romy, I admire you for that very much. However, I think the time is coming that you need to realize that your husband doesn't seem to have any interest in working with you." He let the words hang in the air, as she thought about all of Sven's actions towards her.

Romelle heard Fauk, and reviewed all of Sven's behavior in her mind, rolling the handkerchief she was holding into a ball. The comments he'd made at the after party, and his behavior at breakfast all lit up in her brain like a neon sign. The panic and worry she'd felt when she had found out that Sven had taken Erik came back to her too. Against that, she thought about Fauk caring about the room arrangements so she could be close to her son.

"Fauk, thank you for saying that! And for letting me cry. You are right; I do need to look at the situation as it really is." Romelle finished drying her eyes, and passed the handkerchief back to him. "I feel better for talking to you. Shall we finish the tour, and have some champagne?" She could see what Fauk was saying, that it was time to stop putting her life on hold. Sven was not going to change, as was very clear by his leaving without saying goodbye.

The prince removed his arm, and escorted her upstairs, a very pleased smile on his handsome face. Honestly, he thought privately, could Romy's husband really be so stupid and/or short sighted?