Heir to the Throne

By blueangel9903 of the xsorbit4 rebelfic board.

Disclaimer: I take no credit in this story it was created by blueangel9903, who does not own Roswell.

My mother says my father was weak. She tells me the story of her life on Earth. How she once lived in human skin. My father, Zan, went by the name, Max, on this planet. He was different; everything was different.

She came back alone with only me inside her. She thought all her memories, as "Tess" would vanish once she returned to Antar, but they remained, like a punishment from Kivar for not delivering the remaining three of the Royal Four. She was suffering from remembering. Just like when she had the memories of Ava on Earth. Now the memories as "Tess" haunted her. Sometimes I would catch her by herself, her eyes staring into nothing, her mind a million miles away, on Earth, on Max.

"Your father was weak," my mother says. "But you are strong. You are the heir to the throne."

The throne that rightfully belonged to my father. My father. Two empty words that still meant so much.

"Drink this and you shall see."

I took the potion from the witch. "I shall see my father?" The dark liquid beckoned me to drink.

The witch smiled at me. "If that is what you want to see."

So I drank.

I see two hands with five fingers on each. A light color skin, not gray like my own. They belong to a dark haired human boy. He seems to be deep in thought. "Max?" A dark haired human girl joins him. Their voices turn into whispers and it is hard to hear them speak. Then, they embrace. Anger fills me. My father, this boy, had abandoned my mother to be with this human girl. I think about the sorrow in my mother's eyes. And here is my father in the arms of another. I want to run to him, but I cannot move. I open my mouth, but no words come out. My father and the human girl start to leave. I watch him take her hand. "Father!" my mind screams. But all I can do is watch him leave me again.

My eyes fly open. Max. Dark hair. Two hands with five fingers on each. My father. My mother is with me. She caresses my face. "You're all I have," she says. I can't get the image of my father and the human girl out of my mind. It repeats over and over. "You're nothing like your father," my mother continues. "You're--"

I take her hand. "I know, Mother. I'm strong."

Kivar looks at me, disgusted. I am a constant reminder of Zan and Ava. My father and mother. But he knows how important I am to Antar. How I am the heir. So he hides his hate and nods when I pass him. Whether out of respect or if he's playing a role, I do not know.

My mother is at the lake where she and my father first met. She has a small smile on her face. "Let me tell you a story," she says.

"I already know all your stories." Ever since I was small, she told me about her life as Tess. She told me about Vilandra, my aunt. Rath, my father's second in command. She would mention the humans from time to time, but never any names or images.

"But you do not know this one." She reaches for my hand. "Your hand. So strong, so warm, just like--" Her voice trails off, unable to finish, unable to say my father's name.

"Tell me the story, Mother," I say.

She tells me about how brave my father was, how handsome, how noble, what a true leader he was on Antar and on Earth. "Your father wasn't weak," she says. "He was strong."

"How can he be strong? He doesn't love you," I say. "He doesn't love me."

My mother only smiles. "He loves us, my son. He's just scared."

"You pay well, my prince," the witch says, her greedy eyes on the riches I had given her.

"Are you certain this spell will work?" I look at the brew the witch is preparing for me. It is think and dark.

"Yes. I assure you it will," the witch says. "But may I ask you a question, my prince?"

"What is it?"

"What is on this planet Earth that you want?"

I drink the brew in one gulp. It is bitter and it burns all the way down. "A resolution," I say. "Say the words, witch. Send me on my way." The brew makes me feel light-headed.

The witch begins. "Spirits of beyond, let this being reach his destination for he needs to find a resolution. Be his guide. Let nothing hide."

The first thing I see is the sun. A bright orange ball in the blue sky. Then I see myself. A human boy with dark hair and blue eyes. I am surrounded with other humans, and structures and contraptions.
Then I see him. Max. I follow him into a place named CRASHDOWN. He sits down with two other humans. A girl with long blond hair and a boy, whose hair was slicked back. My instincts tell me that they are Vilandra and Rath. I sit not too far away from them and watch. I try to imagine them on Antar. Vilandra, a fearless fighter with Rath by her side. My father and mother leading them all. Now they are stuck in between: half human and half alien. Not truly anything. I use my powers and go inside Max's head. I see images of Vilandra and Rath; human parents; the dark haired girl from before. And I see my mother as Tess. Blond hair and blue eyes. He is still thinking of her.
Max looks over at me.

"What's wrong, Max?" Vilandra asks.

He gets up and walks to me. "Did you--" He had felt me inside his mind. "Who are you?" he says.

I glance over at Vilandra and Rath; their eyes filled with confusion and wonder. I look back at Max. "I'm your son."

They take me to a place called a park. The ground is green and there is plant life everywhere. My eyes are still getting used to the sunlight. We sit down at a table. Their faces are filled with amazement.

"Are you really Max's son?" Vilandra asks. She reaches over to touch me, to see if I am real.

"Yes, I am," I say.

Rath looks at me suspiciously. "Then, where's Tess? Here did you get here? Is Kivar involved?"

"Michael, stop." Vilandra smiles at me. "We're just surprised to see you here, on Earth."

I look at my father. The only person I want to talk to isn't even talking. "I just wanted to see for myself. My mother, she told me about all of you. My father, Vilandra, Rath--"

"It's Isabel."

"I'm Michael." They jump to correct me.

"Why do you hide from your true identity? They are just human names," I say.

"We're not hiding anything," Rath says. I still feel his uneasiness about me.

"My mother told me stories of her life on Earth. How she was reunited with you three. Everything you went through."

"Did she tell you how she killed Alex?" Vilandra says. She looks away from me.

"Alex? Is that the name of the human she mistakenly killed?"

"It wasn't a mistake," Rath says. "It was murder."

"She remembers it all," I say, quick to defend my mother. "That's enough of a punishment."

And then my father spoke. "Tess? Is she all right?" His voice is soft.

I wish my mother were here with me at this moment. To hear my father ask about her. I wanted to see her smile.
"She thinks of you everyday," I say.

My father and Vilandra take me to their human home. Their human parents greet us. "Who's your friend?" the woman asks.

"Um, this is Joe," my father says. "From school."

"Did you want anything to drink?" the woman says.

"No, Mom. We're okay," my father says.

I follow them down a hallway and into a bedroom. They close the door.

"What is your name?" my father asks.

And I tell him.

"Max, he looks so much like you," Vilandra says.

My father looks at me from head to toe. "Why isn't Tess with you?"

"She doesn't know I'm here. She would probably think it was too dangerous," I say.

"And it is," my father says. "Isabel, can we be alone?"

Vilandra nods and leaves the room.

I notice a picture on my father's table. I see my mother and father, Vilandra and Rath, and other faces.

"That was taken at a party. Prom," my father says.

I put a finger on my mother's smiling face. "She has always been beautiful."

"Tess and I--"

"Her name is Ava and you are Zan! You're husband and wife! My mother and father!" Tears emerge in my eyes. "Why can't you understand that?"

"How can I be something I don't even understand?" my father says.

"My mother is right," I say. "You are scared."

"What else has she told you?"

"How brave and noble you are; how handsome; how much you love us! So, tell me father, is it true or has she been lying to me all this time?"

My father is silent. Then, he reaches for me and holds me in his arms. But as I look down at my hands, I could see through them. I was fading away.

"What is it?" my father says.

"It's time for me to go," I say.

My father calls out my name just as I disappear.

I enter the palace, eager to tell my mother about my visit. I notice there is no one around. No guards, no servants. It is an eerie kind of quiet. I go to my mother's chambers. Empty. I go to the throne room and I see Kivar sitting on the king's throne. The sight angers me.

"What are you doing?"

Kivar smiles. "Getting used to this seat."

"Where is my mother?"

"She is safe. Now tell me, where have you been all day?" Kivar says.

"That is none of your business."

"Let me guess. Earth, visiting your father perhaps?" He laughs. Two guards bring out the witch and toss her to the floor. She is in chains. Kivar continues. "I knew you were up to something and I was right. After I threatened the witch's pathetic life, she told me everything. The spells and the potions to go to Earth. And what a coincidence, your father is on Earth. Now what were your reasons, my prince?" He says 'prince' as if he was spitting out venom. "Is Zan planning on coming back to Antar? And Vilandra? Rath? What are you all up to?"

"It has nothing to do with the war, Kivar," I say.

"You lie so easily. Your mother--"

"Don't you dare hurt her!"

"That is up to you," Kivar says. "I want something from you." I listen. "The witch will make the brew again and send you back to Earth. You meet your father, but this time, you will kill him."

"I will not kill my father!"

"Not even to save your mother?" he says. "And why should your father live? He abandoned your mother. He never cared for you. This life doesn't even exist for him."

I think about my mother. Kivar would definitely kill her without giving it a second thought. I close my eyes and sigh. I open them back up and look right into Kivar's eyes. "I will do it."

I watch the witch make the brew. Kivar and his men are standing not far from us. The witch hands me the drink and she slips me a small vial. I look at her questioningly. "You and your mother must drink this. You have to make three wishes and you can change all of this," she says.

Kivar sees us talking. "What are you saying to him?"

The witch throws magic dust to the ground and a cloud of smoke appears between Kivar and us. "Your mother is being held captive in the dungeon. Go to her now." Suddenly, a dagger hits her in the chest and she collapses to the ground, dead.

I run off, but Kivar and his men are right behind me. Two guards stand outside the dungeon door. I use my powers: with a wave of my hand, they are lying unconsciously on the ground. And I place my hand on the locked door and it opens up for me.

My mother embraces me. "My son!"

I lock the door behind me. "Hurry, Mother, we don't have much time."

"Kivar. I tried to use my powers, but he made the witch take them away. I couldn't do anything," my mother says.

"Drink this," I hand her the vial.

"What is it?"

"Our last hope."

We drink the brew. Kivar's shouts are coming closer.

"I'm scared," my mother says.

"We're going to be safe now."

Kivar and his men are banging on the door now.

I hold my mother and close my eyes. And I make my wishes: for my mother to be happy, for my father to be happy, and for their troubles to go away. I open my eyes back up and the last image I see is Kivar charging at us, weapons in hand.
-

-

-
SEPT. 23
Max pauses outside the Crashdown Cafe.

"What is it?" Michael says.

"I don't know, but all of a sudden, I'm not hungry anymore."

"Are you sure you don't want to go in?"

Max nods. "Yeah. Lets leave."
-

-

-
A FEW MONTHS LATER
Max stares at the OPEN sign hanging out the Crashdown Cafe. He is not sure if he wants to go in or not. He reaches for the door handle just as another hand does. He looks over at the blond hair girl. She smiles at him. "Hi."

"Hi," he says.

She looks at his hand, which is still over hers. "Are you going in?"

Max's cheeks grow warm with embarrassment. "Oh. Sorry." They walk in together. "Eating alone?" Max says.

She smiles. "Not anymore."

They sit down at a booth.

"I'm Tess. I just moved here."

"Max."

"Nice to meet you, Max. So, is it true? That someone was shot here?"

His eyes fill with sadness for a moment. "Yeah. Her name was Liz Parker. She was a waitress."

"Did you know her?"

"Not too well."

Max looks at Tess. He seems memorized by her blond hair, blue eyes and fair skin.

"What?" Tess says.

"I know we just met, but I feel like I know you."

Tess slowly smiles. There is a twinkle in her eye. "Maybe from a past life."

THE END