True Colors

Chapter 14

"Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday… dear Ailiana, happy birthday to me…" Lana softly sang, silently whispering her name into the darkness. She had just watched the sunset, and was now surrounded by the beauty of the night, the stars and the five moons – one of them full. She wasn't able to see Antar just yet, but it would appear soon enough, right below the third moon.

The sun was down, and now that its warm rays no longer reached this part of Kravoo, it was getting chilly on Avandra's balcony. Lana slightly shivered. She always felt so lonesome, so forlorn on her birthday, somewhat disappointed with the lack of congratulations and celebrations. She hadn't told Avandra or Namra about her true identity, so there was nobody who knew that today was her birthday.

Nobody knew that today was her eighteenth birthday.

One of the people who did know about it, was down in the dungeons, all by herself.

Lana had visited Iria as many times as possible, but when she had almost gotten caught, Iria had threatened to commit suicide if Lana would visit her once more. Iria believed that if she would be dead, Lana wouldn't have any reason left to risk her life.

Iria would have done it, she would have killed herself – Lana knew – if it meant that she would be safe. So she had pretended to obey Iria's order and mind-warped a couple of Iria's fellow-prisoners into taking care of Iria, so that she would get enough food and water.

Sometimes, at night, when she'd feel lonely, she'd sneak out of her room and make her way to the dungeons. She carefully hid herself from everyone, including Iria. She would sit by her, watch the old woman sleep, softly stroking her wrinkled forehead and hollow cheeks, caressing her hair. Tears would be stinging her eyes, and there were times when Iria would awaken, alarmed by a sound in the dungeon. She would look around her, softly whispering Lana's name, her arms hovering in the air, reaching out to where she stood, touching without feeling her.

Lana wasn't there, yet she was.

She treasured those stolen moments in time, those moments between dusk and dawn, and looked forward to her next visit. The mind-warps were very draining though, and she couldn't visit Iria too often. Namra had once found her missing, and when she had confronted her with this information, Lana had been too afraid to tell her the truth.

Namra had suggested that she'd been off to meet a secret lover, and Lana had just laughed along with her, leaving the real reason for her little escapades unknown.

She shivered again, and sighed. It was a clear night, which made the temperature decrease faster than usual. She waited until Antar was visible, its image reflecting in the ocean below her, illuminating the already starlit coast. Admiring the scenery, she stayed outside for another minute, and then pushed herself off against the railing of the balcony.

Avandra was writing something, a letter perhaps, and she approached her quietly, catching a glimpse of the letter's heading – Your Highness, - before Avandra saw her and quickly folded the letter.

Harsh screams, sounds of terror and loud footsteps could be heard, penetrating the thick walls of the palace. Lana's curiosity was aroused, and she opened the front door to see what was happening. Soldiers and servants ran through the hallway, and a few women passed her, tear streaks visible on their faces, some of them still crying.

Lana shut the door tight and leaned onto it, trying to digest what she'd just seen. One of those women had screamed something similar to "Ailiana," her very own name. Would Antar have finally broken through Kravoo's defenses? That wasn't possible, right? She hadn't heard any gunshots or bombs, and the horn of Kravoo that was supposed to warn them in emergencies hadn't sounded either.

She blinked once, and bit her lip, literally trying to bite back the tears. Those women, children and even a few men… they had seemed so… devastated, so utterly lost, without any hope…

"Not a pretty sight, huh?" Avandra, who had quietly observed her, softly said.

Lana shook her head slowly, as if contemplating her answer, and swallowed once. "What's going on?" she asked, trying her utmost to keep her voice even and her appearance calm.

Avandra stood up and put her letter in a large, white envelope. Looking at Lana, a weak smile filled with pity and sarcasm – mock, maybe? – formed itself on her face.

"You haven't noticed, then? It's all about the so-called 'Princess of the Second Moon of Antar, Ailiana,' who's supposed to be captured in the dungeons," Avandra informed her.

Lana didn't notice the venom with which Avandra spoke her name; her attention was fully directed at her own turmoil of thoughts.

When Avandra realized that Lana didn't understand the relation between the Princess and the commotion outside, she hasted herself to elucidate her earlier words and clarify them to her.

"It is said that she died a couple of years ago in the dungeons. The guards would have wanted to keep it a secret, and in an attempt to cover it up, they have thrown her corpse away, without notifying Khivar of what happened."

Avandra paused to see if Lana was able to follow her and understood what she meant, but she failed to see the relieved expression on Lana's face.

The Kravorians obviously didn't even consider the possibility that she had escaped, being sure that nobody could ever leave their dungeons, the best-guarded in the whole solar-system.

After stalling a little longer, Avandra continued her story.

"Khivar sent someone to retrieve the Princess yesterday, but couldn't find her anywhere. He interrogated the guards and some soldiers, but when they kept denying that she was dead, he murdered them."

Lana's head shot up with those last words.

Innocent people had been killed because of her. Indirectly, she had killed a person.

It didn't matter whether it had been a Kravorian, or an Antarian: it had been a person with a mind, a heart and a soul.

Avandra interpreted her reaction incorrectly. "I didn't know about her either, but it's said that Khivar had planned on marrying her," she said, jealousy dripping off of her words.

Lana was aware that Avandra envied the Princess because of this. She had been sure that she would marry Khivar, seeing that she was the most important unwed Princess of all the Moons of Antar, but now it seemed as if there was a Princess that was more important than her.

Feeling sorry for her friend, Lana decided right there and then that Avandra could have Khivar. She would willingly give him to her, and – when needed – tie a neatly colored ribbon around his head.

Lana could get along with Avandra fairly well, but there were just too many things in which their opinions differed. The most pertinent must be Khivar's way of ruling the planet and his whole warfare. Usually, she'd carefully avoid that topic when Avandra was around, and only discuss it with Namra.

"Well, anyway, as I was saying, the deaths of those guards caused an uproar in the palace and in the capital, in which thousands of soldiers and women took part. Khivar has crushed the revolt with a lot of violence, and at least forty people have been killed, and a lot of people have been injured." Avandra confided her.

Lana trembled with rage, restraining her fury and feelings of hatred towards Khivar. She hid her anger fairly well and managed to keep an almost blank expression on her face.

"What's he planning to do next?" she asked, her voice surprisingly even and emotionless.

Avandra wearily shook her head. "At the moment he's interrogating this old woman, Ailiana's supposed guardian."

Lana gasped shocked, a gasp of pure horror. She had heard of Khivar's way of interrogating people. The more commonly used term for his interrogations would be 'torturing' and often ended in the death of the prisoner.

She had to get Iria away from there, as soon as possible.

"Where…" her voice faltered, and she tried again, "Where is she being held?"

Avandra looked slightly surprised by her question, and she scratched her eyebrow. "I don't know," she replied, "Namra will probably know, though."

"Namra knows?" Lana asked Avandra hopefully, who disapprovingly nodded back at her. "She's with that Xander again." She uttered those words with such an obvious distaste that it surprised Lana. She knew that Avandra did not like Xander, but had never been aware that she hated him with such a vengeance. Giving Avandra a quick, sympathetic smile, she headed for the door. She was halfway out of the room when Avandra called her back.

"When you see Namra, tell her to pack her things, okay? You should also pack, preferably tonight."

She questioningly looked at Avandra. "Why? Where are we going?" she curiously asked, for a second forgetting about Iria, and immediately feeling immensely guilty about it.

Waving with the letter, Avandra smiled triumphantly at her. "I've been invited to go to Antar. The Alliance wants Zan, the First Prince, to marry me, in order to get peace," she explained.

A pang of hurt hit Lana, jealousy welling up inside of her. She just nodded though, quickly made her way out of the room, and ran blindly through the hallways, bumping into some people while doing so.

Antar.

The First Prince.

Zan.

The man she was supposed to marry when older.

The man to whom her parents had betrothed her.

The boy with the raven hair and amber, gold-specked amber eyes.

Zan.

Her Zan.

She sighed, not at all pleased with the sudden turn in events, and the bittersweet feeling of butterflies mingled with an immense sadness in her stomach. Trying to ignore her feelings, she ran even harder, needing to forget Zan.

He was just a part of her past, nothing more, nor anything less…