Chapter Fifteen- Close Call
Deuteronomy4:4- "but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are
still alive today."
Rashea and her mother carefully shut the bedroom door as they left, leaving everything as it had been before. Then they headed out to the gathering flock of colonists; outsiders rarely came to Kansoth and so it incited the curiosity of the former slaves.
The hover-cars were growing closer, and Rashea silently prayed to God, hoping that they weren't here to find Chayden and the princess. *At least even if they get Chayden, the princess is safe,* she thought, and that somewhat eased her troubled mind. *They can't get the princess.*
** Tielle made her way through the Farearian spaceport, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. This was enemy territory, and every one of the people she passed hated her. She unconsciously ducked her head and looked down when she walked in an effort to be less noticeable.
*There's no reason that they will notice you,* she chastised herself. *Indeed, the last place in the galaxy they'd expect the Crown Princess of Hidon to willingly come to is Fareari.*
Thinking of herself as the Crown Princess felt strange, and Tielle realized that she had grown used to being just Ella, a normal person without any titles or responsibilities. But being a fugitive had created new responsibilities, ones that Tielle had not been trained for, and she realized that she was looking forward to being Princess Tielle again. At least then there would be a sense of normalcy, even if she still didn't know how that was going to happen.
Finding the right shuttle, Tielle nervously stepped on, but fought down her anxiety. *They can sense your emotions,* she reminded herself. *They will grow suspicious if you are nervous. Calm down.*
But as she took a seat across from an elderly man, Tielle found she couldn't. Closing her eyes and bowing her head slightly, Tielle uttered a short prayer. *Dear God, I need your help. I can't do this on my own; my anxiety will become too obvious and I will be discovered. I need Your peace, God- there's nothing else that can help me right now. Please God, help me to just trust You.*
An amazing peace settled over Tielle then, and she instinctively knew that she was safe now. None would be able to penetrate her mind and notice her emotions. She would be safe.
** As the hover-cars reached Kansoth, and Rashea quickly scanned the swarm of them and counted over a dozen, each with one driver and most with another passenger also. *These men mean business*, Rashea realized, and knew that they were in fact looking for the prince and princess.
"Mom?" she looked to her mother and saw the same realization in those dark eyes.
The hover-cars reached them then, and a man jumped off the one that had been in the lead. "My name is Pentros Laymal. I am looking for two criminals," he smoothly explained. "We have reason to believe that they may be here."
Tesian stepped to the front. "Who is it you search for?"
The man pulled out a small device and pressed a button on it. Two 3-D images of Chayden and Tielle appeared. "These two, both criminals of Fareari."
*Liar!* Rashea thought furiously but remained silent.
Entos opened his mouth to say something, but Tesian cut him off. "There are no Farearians here. There were, a few days ago, but the girl left and was followed by the boy just this morning."
Entos looked at her, and Tesian nodded. "He left after that. incident, upset by it."
"Might we have a look around?" Pentros politely asked. "They are devious and may just be hiding here, unbeknownst to you."
Rashea immediately saw the quandary that the man had put her mother in. Say yes and run the risk of Chayden being discovered; refuse and make the man suspicious and go in by force anyway. Obviously, Tesian had to agree, and Rashea prayed a short prayer that the prince wouldn't be found.
"Of course," Tesian smiled, but to her daughter the smile looked very forced. "We do not want any criminals here."
The man barked a short laugh, knowing full well that Diresh was nothing more than a planet of fugitives. "Indeed." He nodded to his men, and they all disembarked from their 'cars and proceeded with entering all of the houses and searching through them.
** Chayden sat in the hidden room for what seemed like hours to his bored mind but was more likely only half an hour. *I wonder how much longer I will have to stay in here?*
He decided to occupy the time by praying and found that once he started, he couldn't stop. There was just so much to pray about. His safety, Tielle's safety, his family, Tielle's family, Tielle's dying world, Jenai, the colonists on Diresh...
He prayed mostly for Tielle, though, asking God to spare her life and let them be reunited. He wanted to tell her he loved her, and that he never wanted to be away from her again. He wanted to hold her, he wanted to see her beautiful smile, he wanted to make her laugh. He told God all this, and received no answer from heaven, no flash of insight, but felt better nonetheless.
Sudden footsteps sounded above his head, but they were louder, harder than Tesian and Rashea's had been. He knew that they were the people looking for him and instinctively drew back farther into the corner.
**
Tielle breathed a sigh of relief as the shuttle shot away from Fareari into light-space. Now it was a matter of mere hours- seven, to be exact -until she would be back home.
Home. A smile danced on her lips at that thought. Finally, she would be home. After all this time, all this danger, all this pain..
Tielle let her mind drift back to the kidnapping and subsequent stay at the Purification Retreat, where she had met Chayden, and where Arilana had been killed..
Tielle's eyes narrowed. Chayden had told her that his father had not arranged for her younger sister's death, and they had never figured out who had. Maybe Tielle should quietly look into that, also, while she was on Hidon.
Settling deeper into her seat, she pulled out a book and determined to lay all these issues to rest for now.
** Muffled voices could be heard through the floorboards, but they were not understandable to Chayden. They stilled, and footsteps sounded once again, this time going away.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Chayden offered a prayer of thanks to God. *Guess if you wanted me caught, I would have been a long time ago, huh?*
But Chayden knew that the danger was not over. If his father had tracked him this far, he would be watching Diresh's spaceport very closely. Chayden was going to be stuck on Diresh indefinitely.
** Faihn glanced over the latest reports. They had grown more dire, and the king couldn't see how anything short of a miracle could save these people now.
Everyday he spent on the diseased planet he risked his life, since none knew how the illness was transmitted, but so far he had managed to avoid any sickness by refusing to see anyone who had been in the presence of a Hidionian- unless, of course, they were medics who had been properly protected while in the Hidonians' vicinity.
King Partini remained comatose, and none could predict when he would regain consciousness (if he ever did), and how much damage might be sustained to his brain. His wife, Queen Shari, remained at his bedside around the clock, weeping and praying, but so far her god had neglected to make any motion to heal her husband.
Although Faihn had to admit that his own gods hadn't been doing much to send any knowledge to his medics, who just fretted and attempted to keep those who weren't too badly infected from becoming more so. He was growing increasingly impatient with them.
*Tonight the last shuttle of medics arrive,* he reminded himself. *If they cannot make any progress or discover anything, then I will leave and let this forsaken planet die.*
Rashea and her mother carefully shut the bedroom door as they left, leaving everything as it had been before. Then they headed out to the gathering flock of colonists; outsiders rarely came to Kansoth and so it incited the curiosity of the former slaves.
The hover-cars were growing closer, and Rashea silently prayed to God, hoping that they weren't here to find Chayden and the princess. *At least even if they get Chayden, the princess is safe,* she thought, and that somewhat eased her troubled mind. *They can't get the princess.*
** Tielle made her way through the Farearian spaceport, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. This was enemy territory, and every one of the people she passed hated her. She unconsciously ducked her head and looked down when she walked in an effort to be less noticeable.
*There's no reason that they will notice you,* she chastised herself. *Indeed, the last place in the galaxy they'd expect the Crown Princess of Hidon to willingly come to is Fareari.*
Thinking of herself as the Crown Princess felt strange, and Tielle realized that she had grown used to being just Ella, a normal person without any titles or responsibilities. But being a fugitive had created new responsibilities, ones that Tielle had not been trained for, and she realized that she was looking forward to being Princess Tielle again. At least then there would be a sense of normalcy, even if she still didn't know how that was going to happen.
Finding the right shuttle, Tielle nervously stepped on, but fought down her anxiety. *They can sense your emotions,* she reminded herself. *They will grow suspicious if you are nervous. Calm down.*
But as she took a seat across from an elderly man, Tielle found she couldn't. Closing her eyes and bowing her head slightly, Tielle uttered a short prayer. *Dear God, I need your help. I can't do this on my own; my anxiety will become too obvious and I will be discovered. I need Your peace, God- there's nothing else that can help me right now. Please God, help me to just trust You.*
An amazing peace settled over Tielle then, and she instinctively knew that she was safe now. None would be able to penetrate her mind and notice her emotions. She would be safe.
** As the hover-cars reached Kansoth, and Rashea quickly scanned the swarm of them and counted over a dozen, each with one driver and most with another passenger also. *These men mean business*, Rashea realized, and knew that they were in fact looking for the prince and princess.
"Mom?" she looked to her mother and saw the same realization in those dark eyes.
The hover-cars reached them then, and a man jumped off the one that had been in the lead. "My name is Pentros Laymal. I am looking for two criminals," he smoothly explained. "We have reason to believe that they may be here."
Tesian stepped to the front. "Who is it you search for?"
The man pulled out a small device and pressed a button on it. Two 3-D images of Chayden and Tielle appeared. "These two, both criminals of Fareari."
*Liar!* Rashea thought furiously but remained silent.
Entos opened his mouth to say something, but Tesian cut him off. "There are no Farearians here. There were, a few days ago, but the girl left and was followed by the boy just this morning."
Entos looked at her, and Tesian nodded. "He left after that. incident, upset by it."
"Might we have a look around?" Pentros politely asked. "They are devious and may just be hiding here, unbeknownst to you."
Rashea immediately saw the quandary that the man had put her mother in. Say yes and run the risk of Chayden being discovered; refuse and make the man suspicious and go in by force anyway. Obviously, Tesian had to agree, and Rashea prayed a short prayer that the prince wouldn't be found.
"Of course," Tesian smiled, but to her daughter the smile looked very forced. "We do not want any criminals here."
The man barked a short laugh, knowing full well that Diresh was nothing more than a planet of fugitives. "Indeed." He nodded to his men, and they all disembarked from their 'cars and proceeded with entering all of the houses and searching through them.
** Chayden sat in the hidden room for what seemed like hours to his bored mind but was more likely only half an hour. *I wonder how much longer I will have to stay in here?*
He decided to occupy the time by praying and found that once he started, he couldn't stop. There was just so much to pray about. His safety, Tielle's safety, his family, Tielle's family, Tielle's dying world, Jenai, the colonists on Diresh...
He prayed mostly for Tielle, though, asking God to spare her life and let them be reunited. He wanted to tell her he loved her, and that he never wanted to be away from her again. He wanted to hold her, he wanted to see her beautiful smile, he wanted to make her laugh. He told God all this, and received no answer from heaven, no flash of insight, but felt better nonetheless.
Sudden footsteps sounded above his head, but they were louder, harder than Tesian and Rashea's had been. He knew that they were the people looking for him and instinctively drew back farther into the corner.
**
Tielle breathed a sigh of relief as the shuttle shot away from Fareari into light-space. Now it was a matter of mere hours- seven, to be exact -until she would be back home.
Home. A smile danced on her lips at that thought. Finally, she would be home. After all this time, all this danger, all this pain..
Tielle let her mind drift back to the kidnapping and subsequent stay at the Purification Retreat, where she had met Chayden, and where Arilana had been killed..
Tielle's eyes narrowed. Chayden had told her that his father had not arranged for her younger sister's death, and they had never figured out who had. Maybe Tielle should quietly look into that, also, while she was on Hidon.
Settling deeper into her seat, she pulled out a book and determined to lay all these issues to rest for now.
** Muffled voices could be heard through the floorboards, but they were not understandable to Chayden. They stilled, and footsteps sounded once again, this time going away.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Chayden offered a prayer of thanks to God. *Guess if you wanted me caught, I would have been a long time ago, huh?*
But Chayden knew that the danger was not over. If his father had tracked him this far, he would be watching Diresh's spaceport very closely. Chayden was going to be stuck on Diresh indefinitely.
** Faihn glanced over the latest reports. They had grown more dire, and the king couldn't see how anything short of a miracle could save these people now.
Everyday he spent on the diseased planet he risked his life, since none knew how the illness was transmitted, but so far he had managed to avoid any sickness by refusing to see anyone who had been in the presence of a Hidionian- unless, of course, they were medics who had been properly protected while in the Hidonians' vicinity.
King Partini remained comatose, and none could predict when he would regain consciousness (if he ever did), and how much damage might be sustained to his brain. His wife, Queen Shari, remained at his bedside around the clock, weeping and praying, but so far her god had neglected to make any motion to heal her husband.
Although Faihn had to admit that his own gods hadn't been doing much to send any knowledge to his medics, who just fretted and attempted to keep those who weren't too badly infected from becoming more so. He was growing increasingly impatient with them.
*Tonight the last shuttle of medics arrive,* he reminded himself. *If they cannot make any progress or discover anything, then I will leave and let this forsaken planet die.*
