Chapter 4
Justine's Secret
The first thing Justine thought when she woke was 'Harper! What have they done to him?' The second thing that crossed her mind was 'He found me.' She didn't feel anger or dread or even fear. Just nothingness. She knew that if she let her emotions take over at this point neither she nor Harper would ever make it off of the Maru. She also knew that unless she told Harper everything, the stubborn earther would never cooperate with her. As if he read her mind, a groggy Harper said, "Justine, I'd really like to know what's going on here, and I have a feeling that you know."
Their captors had temporarily left them, but she had a feeling that they wouldn't stay gone long. As much as she hated having to tell him, she knew that it was now or never.
"Shay, you remember the day we were separated; the day a Drago came and dragged me away from you?"
"Of course, how could I forget?" he asked, tearfully recalling the scene in his head as if it were yesterday. He didn't let her finish, he had to let her know that he didn't give up on her without a fight. "I assumed that he got what he wanted and then left you for the magog. After a week of searching had gone by and there was no sign of you, I wasn't the only one who thought you were dead."
"I know, Shay, but that's not my point. My point is that your assumption was completely wrong!" She cringed at how hateful that sounded, but continued without stopping to apologize. "The Nietzschean who captured me sold me on the slave market to another Drago. I soon became his favourite wife, and we had a son together." She could see her sweet Shay's heart breaking, but he remained silent.
"Believe me, all I could think of was you. How much I knew this would hurt you, how much I wished I was with you instead of him. And also I thought mostly about how much I loved you. But I grew to love my son as much as you. I even started imagining that he was our son, and I named him after you. Shay, I need you to help me rescue our son!" she begged with desperation in her voice. "I ran away from my husband, promising Seamus that I would come back for him exactly one week ago. Running into you was a miracle from the divine, exactly what I had been praying for. I was so happy to find out that you really had survived earth!"
Harper was still trying to comprehend this. "So all this time, you've been in bed with a Drago?" he asked, unbelieving. The saddest part was that when she looked into his eyes, she saw that he wasn't hurt because she betrayed him, he was hurt that she had to endure all of these years under the control of a Drago. But he still had questions. "Our captors...?"
"Some of my husband's best trackers, he warned me that if I ever tried to escape him, he would find me, make me watch Seamus die, and then he would kill me. That is why we have to get rid of our captors and get him off of that planet immediately! But first, we have to fix that arm of yours," she said as she remembered that he was hurt.
"Don't worry about that," he told her. "I think I have a few ideas about how we can get Seamus away from him...." Harper said as he grinned maliciously. The only thought in that genius' head was to get revenge on the bastard that separated him and his Justine, the bastard that had hurt her.
Justine's Secret
The first thing Justine thought when she woke was 'Harper! What have they done to him?' The second thing that crossed her mind was 'He found me.' She didn't feel anger or dread or even fear. Just nothingness. She knew that if she let her emotions take over at this point neither she nor Harper would ever make it off of the Maru. She also knew that unless she told Harper everything, the stubborn earther would never cooperate with her. As if he read her mind, a groggy Harper said, "Justine, I'd really like to know what's going on here, and I have a feeling that you know."
Their captors had temporarily left them, but she had a feeling that they wouldn't stay gone long. As much as she hated having to tell him, she knew that it was now or never.
"Shay, you remember the day we were separated; the day a Drago came and dragged me away from you?"
"Of course, how could I forget?" he asked, tearfully recalling the scene in his head as if it were yesterday. He didn't let her finish, he had to let her know that he didn't give up on her without a fight. "I assumed that he got what he wanted and then left you for the magog. After a week of searching had gone by and there was no sign of you, I wasn't the only one who thought you were dead."
"I know, Shay, but that's not my point. My point is that your assumption was completely wrong!" She cringed at how hateful that sounded, but continued without stopping to apologize. "The Nietzschean who captured me sold me on the slave market to another Drago. I soon became his favourite wife, and we had a son together." She could see her sweet Shay's heart breaking, but he remained silent.
"Believe me, all I could think of was you. How much I knew this would hurt you, how much I wished I was with you instead of him. And also I thought mostly about how much I loved you. But I grew to love my son as much as you. I even started imagining that he was our son, and I named him after you. Shay, I need you to help me rescue our son!" she begged with desperation in her voice. "I ran away from my husband, promising Seamus that I would come back for him exactly one week ago. Running into you was a miracle from the divine, exactly what I had been praying for. I was so happy to find out that you really had survived earth!"
Harper was still trying to comprehend this. "So all this time, you've been in bed with a Drago?" he asked, unbelieving. The saddest part was that when she looked into his eyes, she saw that he wasn't hurt because she betrayed him, he was hurt that she had to endure all of these years under the control of a Drago. But he still had questions. "Our captors...?"
"Some of my husband's best trackers, he warned me that if I ever tried to escape him, he would find me, make me watch Seamus die, and then he would kill me. That is why we have to get rid of our captors and get him off of that planet immediately! But first, we have to fix that arm of yours," she said as she remembered that he was hurt.
"Don't worry about that," he told her. "I think I have a few ideas about how we can get Seamus away from him...." Harper said as he grinned maliciously. The only thought in that genius' head was to get revenge on the bastard that separated him and his Justine, the bastard that had hurt her.