Moira waited on the veranda of the palace. Her ship would be soon to carry her away from all she'd ever known, away from everything she loved. But she would learn to love again. She would have to.

"Moira." A voice said. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply in. Then she turned.

"Rath." He hurried to her.

"I thought you didn't want to see me again. After the other night, on the lake..."

"I know what I said, but not asking you to come...I would have regretted, not saying goodbye."

"Moira, I swear, I'll find a way to see you again..."

"There is something to happen Rath, something terrible. I saw it in my dreams last night." She whispered this, the fear in her voice growing with each word. "War is coming and it will be someone close who causes death."

"Moira..." He tried to calm her but she shook it off.

"It's coming, and you and Zan and Ava and Vilandra...you'll all be it's first victims. Please...I love you. Just be careful Rath. I will live with only the hope to see you again."

"Moira, you are being delirious. Stop it, and do not worry. Antar has no enemy, and even if war was to come to pass, we have always been the dominant power."

"Promise me you'll be careful." She said. The soft sound of a ships engine could be heard outside the palace. "Promise me that Rath."

"I promise." He kissed her. "I will see you again. On everything that is holy, it will be you that I will be with in the end of this."

"Moira." Vilandra spoke from behind the pillars of the veranda. "The ship is waiting."

"I love you." He said. Moira's eyes met his and she nodded. With one last kiss, she whispered the same. Then she left, leaving him there alone.

"I will try and be the best wife you can have, Rath." Vilandra said a few quiet moments later, stepping out from behind the pillars. She was not a kind of woman to be jealous, and she wasn't. She wanted another man, needed to be with him, but couldn't. "Until we can rightly correct our lives and be with the ones who truly hold our hearts, I will be a good wife."

He turned to her and hugged her. With a soft kiss on the cheek, he whispered in her ear. "Be a good friend and a wife; that is all I ask."

And with that, he departed to his chambers. After the two women that he loved most in the world had left him this day, he needed some alone time.
__________

Vilandra peeked around the palace corridors, hoping no one would see as she was to meet the mystery man in her life. No one except her knew who he was, although they respected her privacy. After all, she was the princess.

"Vilandra." A soft voice beckoned her from beyond the statue in the corner. Inconspicuously, she drifted to the corner, her hand outstretched to meet his. He took it and pulled her toward him, his mouth coming down on her own instantly. She encircled her arms around his neck to hang on as she deepened the kiss, and they stayed that way for a few moments. Then they pulled away. "You're so beautiful."

"Kivar..." She breathed with a smile. "Thank you. What took you so long?"

"I had some...business, to attend to." He said with a small grin.

"Business?" She inquired. He brushed it off with a wave of his hand.

"Nothing of importance." He said, taking her hand. "Let's go."

He led her out of the palace doors quietly, trying not to disturb what may be happening. Quickly, they made their way to his vehicle, then sped off without a word. Their relationship was completely secret, and it needed to stay that way.

________

Elora sat at the window of the small home she now occupied. It was a small village she lived in and she had already, in her two days there, met the majority of the people around her. She had explained her circumstance, of how she was with child, that the father had been killed as he tried to help fight the small resistance forming on Antar. That was a lie. There was no husband...just an illegitimate child, the result of an impossible love.

They pitied her, and she felt guilty. They all seemed willing to help, but she had lied. She would live that lie, and her child would grow with that lie. The child would never know its real conception.

Her hand went to her abdomen. In 3 moon cycles, the child would be born. A short time, she had scarce time to get prepared, but all the other women in the community were determined to help. Again, a weight fell on her heart. She hated to betray these people with such a story, but it was important.

A light rain had begun to fall as she stared outside, matching her spirits exactly. She wondered, as she sat there, if Zan was enduring the same heartache. If he even knew she was gone...

_____

"Larek." Zan called. "Larek!"

"I'm right here Zan, no need to shout." The man said. His hair was cut short and spiked, his eyes green. He was seen as one of the most eligible bachelors in the kingdom as very good looking indeed. But that was of no consequence to what Zan needed now.

"Sorry, Larek. But I need you...could you get Elora for me? I've tried to get a hold of her at home, but I'm unable to reach her."

A look passed over Larek's face. He, along with few other royal friends and family members knew of the secret relationship, although it was rumored all over the kingdom. The look was a pained one, one of reluctance.

"Larek? What is it?"

"She didn't tell you? No one has told you?" He asked.

"Told me what?" Larek placed his arm on the shoulders of his friends' shoulder because he knew he would need comfort.

"She's gone, to the Klieg quadrant. She's found a suitor, a husband." He said. Zan's face paled. "I'm sorry Zan, but..."

"Could you leave, Larek?" He asked, his voice strained.

"But Zan..."

"Larek, I said go!" He shouted, turning away. Without a word, Larek turned and walked out quickly. Zan was left alone, feeling more than ever like he had no one. With an angry whisper, he picked up a vase and pitched against the wall in quiet fury. He sat on his bed, ready to just sleep, to relax. His thought went somewhere else. He had to talk to Rath, and quickly.

_____

A/N: Not terrific, I know. And short, I know. But my last semester EVER of high school just started and the teachers are bound and determined to break every senior of their senior-itis. so. Not a lot of time. Sorry.

To my one reviewer: Thank you so much! I was thinking of writing like a sequel after this of Liz and them. Yes, Elora is Liz, and Moira is Maria. So hopefully, if I can get more reviews...please? :)