Chapter Two
Gannon was able to smuggle the woman out of Area 51 without too much trouble. He hurried her back to his apartment, not bothering to answer her questions about where she was, what year it was. He had to get her out of there, and out of Nevada before his former employers realized she was gone. As soon as he reached his apartment he grabbed her by the wrists and dragged her inside.
"You don't need to be so rough," she said, mildly annoyed.
"You were in great danger back there, Princess. You still are in great danger! Hell, you've gotten me into great danger, too!"
"How so?"
Gannon shook his head, not sure he would be able to explain. "You were in that crystal for a very long time...you're on a planet called 'Earth'. They found your crystal on our planet's moon nearly twenty years ago. You seemed to be dead. So they brought you back to a place called 'Area 51', a top-secret research facility. If I had left you there when you awakened, I imagine they'd be dissecting you right now."
The woman gasped in horror, gray-green eyes widening.
"And if they find out I smuggled you out, I am going to be in a lot of trouble..."
"I did not intend to put you in any danger, sir!" the woman said, lowering her head. Gannon laughed nervously. "Don't worry about it, Princess..."
"Queen," the woman corrected.
"Oh...forgive me...Your Majesty--"
"No need for such formalities," the woman interrupted, "I'm not a queen any longer, am I? It must have been quite some time since...well, never mind. Now, how am I to get you out of danger?"
Gannon scratched his head. "For starters...you need a name. And a birth certificate, and an age...and a social security number..."
She watched Gannon head for the phone and pick up the receiver. "What are you doing?" she inquired.
"Making a phone call. Oh. You don't know what a phone is. It's a kind of...communication device," Gannon explained as he punched in the numbers. The Queen remained silent, fascinated. "How primitive!" she laughed. Gannon ignored her.
"Hello? I didn't wake you, did I? It's Gannon. Yes, Gannon Perry. Look, I have an emergency. Can you come to my apartment right away?" He was quiet for a few minutes, then, "Thanks. See you when you get here." He hung up the phone and looked back at the woman. "What was the kingdom on the moon like?" Gannon asked after a long, awkward silence.
"The moon?" the woman said, confused, "Oh! You mean...the moon of this planet, don't you? I...don't know. I'm not from that moon. I don't know how I got there..."
"What do you remember?"
"There was a bright light...I was surrounded by people..I think I was trying to get into a spaceship...and then..." She shook her head. "I'd rather not talk about it."
Gannon nodded. They were quiet again, for quite some time. The woman stood up and looked around the apartment again. To Gannon's surprise, she pulled her mirror out of her pocket and gazed into it.
"Did you take that out of--"
"Yes," she said quietly, "I can't just leave it laying around." She smiled slightly and looked back into the mirror. Gannon approached her and held out his hand.
"May I see that?" he asked, reaching for the mirror. The woman shook her head.
"No, sir!" she exclaimed. She tucked the mirror back into her pocket. "I'm sorry to be so impolite."
"It's all right," Gannon whispered. For a minute, they locked eyes. Then the doorbell rang, breaking whatever spell might have been cast on them. "There's Beverly," Gannon said quietly, "Wait here."