The Night The Dreams Died
New Day, New Life
Chapter 53
LIII
Liz awoke early to the dawning of her second day at the palace, and her third day on Antar, feeling unusually refreshed and well. She stretched her arms out as far as they would go and yawned then relaxed again, letting her head sink back into the large, fluffy pillow. The sun was only beginning to rise outside, but every now and then, something belted out a bright-sounding, "Ch-week-o-rrrree-coo-oo, ch-week-o-rrrree-coo-oo." Liz knew it was a bird. It reminded her a lot of a rooster crowing… though it clearly wasn't a rooster.
Liz rolled over and looked at Max… and smiled. He was still asleep. Their first two days on Antar had been busy ones. They had met Ta'lan and befriended the jah-ees in this dimension. They had defeated Nicholas and his soldiers and permanently removed them from the palace. And Max had met with and secured the loyalty of two of the faction leaders who had been vying for the throne in his absence, Kay'lan and Lojo. This had gone remarkably well, all things considered. Both Kay'lan and Lojo had once been loyalists, so bringing them back into the fold had not been particularly difficult. They only needed to be convinced that Max was the true king. Both Kay'lan and Lojo initially suspected that someone had faked the sky symbol; but seeing Max on the throne, they realized it was real, that the throne had accepted Max, and that he and the throne were producing the symbol synergistically. Max still didn't know how he did this or what he might be doing to cause it. But the fact is, he didn't have to do anything. It happened because he was who he was, not because of anything that he did.
Kivar and Nicholas had both sat on the royal throne, and both had tried every conceivable method to deceive the throne into producing the symbol in the hopes of gaining some measure of respectability and acceptance, albeit fraudulently. They had failed. Kivar's scientists –those who swore him loyalty- never figured out how the synergy worked. The other scientists -the ones who refused to swear their loyalty to Kivar- were deposed to distant planets, sold into slavery, or killed by Kivar outright.
Kivar had little patience with scientists, or with anyone else who would not swear him allegiance, but he had used scientists as much as possible… when they would cooperate. Nicholas appeared to prefer brawn over brain. Whereas Kivar had tried to deceive the throne by trickery, Nicholas tried shoving, pushing, and kicking it to cause the symbol to appear. He had even jumped up and down on it. Both had gotten the same results in the end.
But today, neither Kivar nor Nicholas was anything more than a mere memory at the palace. The bright-sounding Ch-week-o-rrrree-coo-oo outside Max and Liz's balcony heralded the dawn of a new day on Antar in more ways than one. The real king had returned… and he had brought with him a new bride.
Liz breathed in the fresh air that was coming in through their third floor balcony door, then she rolled over and looked at Max again. She kissed him lightly on the lips. Max smiled in his sleep, and Liz smiled back, as the rising sun shining in through their balcony door played serenely… beautifully… over her hair and face.
Standing up carefully to avoid waking Max, Liz made her way to the balcony and looked out at the morning sun. It was wonderful… It warmed her whole body almost magically.
"Ch-week-o-rrrree-coo-oo."
Liz looked down at the gardens below. A large number of long-tail golden zerpias could be seen roaming the grounds. She wondered if they had made the crowing sound.
"Ch-week-o-rrrree-coo-oo."
That hadn't come from the gardens; it had come from above her… and much closer. Liz looked up at a tree branch that hung just over the edge of the balcony, near her head. On it was a tiny bird no bigger than a hummingbird…
"Ch-week-o-rrrree-coo-oo."
Liz rubbed her eyes and looked at the tiny bird again, incredulous. "Did you do that?"
"Ch-week-o-rrrree-coo-oo."
"Omigod! It is you! You're so little! How do you do that?"
Liz held out her hand, and the tiny bird hopped onto her finger then back onto the branch again.
"I wonder what they call you here. You're the littlest rooster… bird I ever saw. That's what I'll call you… a little rooster-bird… a little rooster-hummingbird! How about that?"
"Ch-week-o-rrrree-coo-oo."
"Good morning to you, too!" Liz replied happily. She closed her eyes and spun around several times on the balcony, soaking in the warm sun. It felt good.
As Liz reopened her eyes, she suddenly noticed something that she had not previously seen… people. Lots of people. They were standing outside the palace grounds in the streets. She wondered where they had all come from so quickly. As Liz looked around, she saw even more people beginning to gather in the nearby fields. They continued to arrive, until the streets and nearby grounds were filled to overflowing everywhere she looked. This all happened within minutes… perhaps less. One moment, the sun had been coming up and the little rooster-hummingbird was crowing… the next moment, people were filling the streets and grounds every way she looked. Liz turned back toward Max with a stunned expression on her face.
"Max… I think you'd better see this."
"Mfskxzzz… huh? What is it?"
"Put your bathrobe on and take a look out here."
Max rolled over and noticed Liz standing in the doorway that led out onto their bedroom balcony. The look on her face was serious. Quickly, Max slipped on his pants and shirt, then he walked out onto the balcony with Liz. As he did, the air literally erupted in a thunder of cheers from the streets… from the fields… from the nearby hillside… in fact, from everywhere they looked. Max stood on the balcony, momentarily stunned, then he realized what was happening. The people were coming to get a look at their king. They had heard the news that he had returned and they had come to see for themselves. Max smiled, now fully awake but unsure exactly how to react. He lifted his right hand and waved at the gathering crowd, and at the same time, he put his other arm around Liz and pulled her close to him. The crowd seemed to approve, because the sound of the cheers rose from ear-splitting to deafening. Then, just when he thought it couldn't get any louder, it did. Max looked over to his left and saw that Michael and Maria had come out onto their balcony a bit further down to see what was going on.
Many in the crowd began to chant… "Rath! Rath! Rath!" alternating his name with chants of "Long live Zan! Long live the King!"
Michael smiled and stood up straight, then waved, as Maria hugged him and waved with her other hand. The crowds responded enthusiastically, cheering all the louder and longer.
Moments later, another third floor balcony door opened, and Isabel and Alex stepped out onto their balcony; and almost at the same moment, Kyle and Angie Lee opened their bedroom door and stepped out onto their balcony nearby. Already clearly in a celebratory mood, the crowds went wild again, not that they had every really settled down, much less stopped.
Isabel looked at Alex and grinned, and Alex shook his head with a smile, "Well, it looks like the welcome wagon has found us. I'm glad to see the natives are friendly."
Isabel wrinkled her nose puckishly but just smiled.
"Diane should be here, too," Alex said, "She's one of us now. Our doubles should be out here, too… and the other Kyle." Passing his hand over a sensorcom just inside his balcony door, Alex quickly notified Diane Casey and asked her to contact the others. Soon, Diane stood on the balcony with Kyle, Alex and Isabel.
"Are the others coming," Alex asked.
Diane shook her head then smiled and waved at the crowds. No one out there knew who she was… but it didn't seem to matter. They cheered all the same. They had pretty much figured out that Liz and Maria were Zan and Rath's mates, or were destined to be so very soon, and that Alex was most likely Vilandra's. And Ava, who was actually Angie Lee, had probably chosen the good-looking guy standing beside her. It would all require some explaining sooner or later, but for now, it was enough. It would provide hours on end of conversation and gossip, as people conjectured and wondered and waited impatiently to learn more about the newcomers and the obvious changes in their royal family.
Seeing their royal family regrouped like this, with new faces in the group, might have been a greater shock if rumors had not run rampant throughout Antar for years that the royals… or their bodies… or their DNA… had been spirited away to a very distant planet to hopefully return one day in the future. The possibilities inspired by these rumors spawned an uncountable number of theories and enough uncertainty, and hope, that the people were ready to accept almost anything… as long as it included Zan. Seeing Rath and Vilandra and Ava here, too, was more than almost anyone had ever dared to hope for. It made any changes all the less important… for now.
Diane glanced over at Alex… "They said to tell you that this is YOUR moment. It's you… and their king… that they want to see. Besides, the people here still don't know everything about us. Max's double thinks that seeing them, too, could be confusing to the people."
"Zan! Zan! Zan!" the crowds shouted over and over. Many added Rath's name alongside Zan's in their chants. Still others added "Vilandra" to the chants from time to time.
"Pretty impressive, huh?" Max said, turning to face Liz. Liz nodded, and her eyes became misty.
"What are you thinking?" Max asked.
Liz shook her head and smiled. "Just crazy stuff."
Max lifted Liz's chin gently and stared into her eyes lovingly. "If you're crazy, Liz, I'm a hopeless lunatic. Tell me. We're in this together all the way."
Liz smiled. "I was just thinking about Judge Lewis… after all he tried to do to us, putting me and Alex in an insane asylum… trying to sell us all out… and get us killed… I wonder what he'd think… if he could be standing here right now and see this…"
"We'd probably have to mop up the street where he was standing," Max retorted.
Liz closed her eyes and snorted, then nodded. "And those guys that shot us… Culpepper…" Liz glanced up at the rising sun.
"Culpepper may be watching," Max said, "but you're looking for him in the wrong direction, I'm pretty sure. Those guys are all gone now, Liz. They're just a bad dream in a distant past. We don't have to ever worry about them anymore."
Liz took a deep breath of the light, rose-scented Antarian morning air and let it out slowly, enjoying the adulation being heaped on them by the crowds more than she ever would have admitted.
"I knew I had to wake up again, Max."
"Huh?"
"The last time I woke up… after a long sleep… I was paralyzed… and you and Michael and Isabel and Maria were all dead. This morning I woke up, and I'm the queen… married to the handsome King of Hearts… loved by all… all those people out there. You and Michael and Maria and Isabel are all alive… and I can walk, run… and even dance! I feel like I could almost fly if I just tried! If this is a dream, don't ever wake me up, Max! I like this dream better."
Max smiled, then he nodded, as his own eyes became slightly misty…
"I do, too," he said simply, then he took Liz into his arms and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her passionately. The crowds outside went wild. But neither Max nor Liz heard them anymore.
tbc
Coming up: The Ke'cjes' gift, and the doubles leave for home in their own dimension