[u]Chapter 48[/u]
Liz opened her eyes and found herself staring up at a star-studded sky. She felt her heart start to pound even more quickly than it had when she'd placed her palm on the silver hand-print that she had instinctively known was Rowena's. This time the beating wasn't caused by anticipation, however.
No, this time she was afraid.
And she was afraid because she was alone.
Where were Max and the others? But, more specifically, where the heck was [I]she[/I]? She hadn't expected to be transported anywhere physically in the granolith, but looking around, she knew she had been. She was outside. How had this happened? Had something gone wrong?
Her heart contracted briefly at the thought of Max. Where was he? Was he okay?
Liz climbed carefully to her feet. Looking around, the desolation of the field in which she found herself made her bite her lip.
She was used to emptiness. She spent a lot of time in the desert, after all. But this was not the desert.
Glancing down, Liz confirmed what she had felt under her back upon waking. She was standing on well-manicured grass. Or something [I]like[/I] grass, anyway. She couldn't quite make out what was different about it in the dim light thrown by the stars, but she knew somehow that it was altered.
It was only after she straightened that Liz's mind registered something else that had been different when she had looked down. Quickly glancing over her body again, she was amazed to confirm that she was wearing a long blue dress, not the jeans, sweater and leather jacket in which she had been clad upon entering the pod chamber. Not only that, she was barefoot.
Liz was perplexed. She was still afraid, but more curious now than anything. Was she taking part in some kind of strange Antarian rite? Why had Whittaker not told them that this would happen when they were in the granolith? Did she not know? Of course, Whittaker hadn't seemed to know much, in spite of being Serena, the nominal "inventor" of the increasingly confounding alien artifact.
Looking around again, Liz noticed that the ground inclined slightly above her, in a gentle slope. She wondered what she would find on the other side of that hill. Taking a deep breath, she started to walk. Her steps were tentative, as she somehow knew already that what she was going to see once she reached the top was going to make this situation even stranger.
She was not mistaken. And, yet, it was still beyond her wildest dreams. Gasping, she fell to her knees, her eyes staring in disbelief.
Laid out before her was an absolutely magnificent building, lit up as though a thousand spotlights were shining from within it. It seemed to shimmer against the black sky, its several towers reaching towards the heavens.
"Your highness!"
The voice came from behind her. Liz blinked, whirled, still so shocked, all she could manage to say was, "Oh!"
"Are you well, your highness?" A tall, burly man stood in front of her, a slightly anxious expression on his face. "I told you it would be too cold for you out here. I hope you haven't caught a chill."
Liz looked behind herself, to make sure that he wasn't talking to someone there, then turned back to the man. She had no idea where he had appeared from, but there was no question that he was addressing her. "I.I'm fine," she managed to stutter. "Er.where did you come from?"
"You wanted to be alone," the man shrugged. He motioned towards some tall tree-like plants standing nearby. Liz stared at them. They looked like nothing she had ever seen before. "It is my duty to follow, however. I shifted into the trees." He sounded wary, as though expecting a reprimand.
But it never even crossed Liz's mind to demand why he had been following her. She was too focused on the fact that he had just admitted that he had [I]shifted.[/I] Liz felt her heart drop slightly. A shapeshifter. But why on Earth was he being so open about who he was? The Wendarians were their enemies!
Although, why on [I]Earth[/I] was probably a poor choice of words, Liz thought, almost hysterically. Because, she was beginning to suspect that she wasn't on Earth at all anymore.
"Your highness?" The shapeshifter was starting to sound even more worried. "Are you quite well?"
Liz managed to force herself to focus on maintaining some kind of normal conversation. She knew that she was staring at him like he was some sort of freak, quickly dropped her eyes, as her mind raced frantically.
If she wasn't on Earth, then she had to be on.Well, there were really only five other places she could possibly be. She shook her head in amazement. It was the only explanation that made any sense. She had to be on another [I]planet![/I]
And, yet, this didn't seem to make sense either. Because if she was on Antar, or one of the other planets in the Antarian system, then why did this man look human? And why were they speaking English?
"I'm sorry," Liz eventually replied. "I'm fine."
The man didn't look convinced. "Well, I think you better return to the palace now. Prince Zan will be arriving at any time. You need to be waiting for him."
Liz felt her hear leap. Max! She refused to allow her hopes to rise though, until she confirmed what the shapeshifter was saying.
"Zan?" she inquired tentatively.
"The crown prince of Antar," the shapeshifter reminded her, really frowning now. "He is coming to make his decision about the trade agreement? You [I]invited[/I] him, your highness!"
The trade agreement? Liz felt her heart stop. And, suddenly, she understood everything. She had somehow gone back in time. She [I]was[/I] Rowena and she had ended up back on Valonia, at Rowena's summer palace, right at the point in Antarian history when everything had changed.
This could not be good. Oh no. Not good at all.
Nor did it explain why she was still human if she was Rowena. Because holding her hand up in front of her face now, it looked exactly the same as it always had.
"Of course," Liz made herself reply briskly, as she lowered her hand, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to ask any more questions without raising the shapeshifter's suspicions even further. Until Max arrived, she was just going to have to play along. "I just received a message that he might be delayed until morning. Didn't I tell you?"
For the moment, she would pretend she understood exactly what was happening here. She would play the part until Max arrived and they could figure out how to fix this mess together. Because, this time, there was absolutely no way she was dealing with this alone. Her experience with Future Max had more than taught her a lesson. This was bigger than she was capable of handling by herself.
If what she was beginning to suspect was true - that the granolith had somehow launched her back in time, into Rowena's body at the point when the entire war could still be averted - then there was no way she was going to make any decisions without Max.
God. Why couldn't he be here [I]now[/I]?
"No," the shapeshifter was responding, relaxing slightly.
"Well, I guess I don't tell you everything.do I?" Liz attempted to sound haughty, tried to throw herself into her role, but the last came out slightly squeaky, it suddenly occurring to her that she didn't know whether or not Rowena told this guy everything. What if she [I]did?[/I]
"I don't expect you to, your highness." He sounded offended, but no longer wary. Liz let out a tiny breath of relief, although she felt a slight twinge. Was Rowena generally so rude to her servants?
She didn't address the shapeshifter's annoyance, however. Since she didn't know if it was usual or not, she decided just to ignore his reaction for the moment. Once she understood what was happening here, she could always apologize. And, for all she knew, he was evil. After all, Rowena had been unaware of it at the time, but Liz knew that the Wendarians had been working against the princess the whole time they had been in her employ.
This thought made her back straighten slightly. She might be completely in the dark about some things, but there were other things that she knew, which put her in a position of strength.
Liz started to walk down the slope of the hill, in the direction of the blazing lights, before she abruptly realized that she had no idea where she was going. Not to mention every step hurt. The grass under her feet was far coarser than that on Earth, and it was scraping up the soles of her bare feet mercilessly. She stopped moving. The shapeshifter had moved past her before he realized that she had halted.
He turned to look back at her. He was beginning to sound annoyed when he demanded, "Is there anything amiss?"
Liz felt a slight tremor of fear. Something had flashed briefly in his eyes.Something she thought she recognized as disdain.
Oh yes. There was no question now. The Wendarian plot was well underway. She wasn't the only one playing a role here.
"I'm.I'm fine," Liz finally replied. "I was just wondering." Inspiration hit her like a bolt of lightening. "Where is my sister? Where is Serena?"
Tess. Tess [I]had[/I] to be here somewhere. Zan had known her during the period when he and Rowena had fallen in love after all, which meant that she had to be here. Liz's heart was pounding in anticipation of no longer being alone.
"In the lab, your highness," the shapeshifter replied readily enough. "Where she always is."
"Oh," Liz said, searching her mind for a way to get him to tell her where the lab was, without making herself even more foolish than she did already. Only one solution presented itself.
She placed a hand on her temple, swayed slightly.
"Your highness?" The shapeshifter rushed forward, grabbed her by the elbow, but quickly retreated, as though he had been burned. "I'm sorry, your highness!"
Liz grabbed his arm before he could move away. He was looking at her, his mortification apparent. "For what?" she demanded.
"I touched you without permission."
Liz blinked. "Oh. It's okay. Er." She clutched at his arm, allowing herself to stumble slightly into him. It went against every instinct of self-preservation to be this close to someone who was very likely her enemy, but she had no choice in the matter. Until she figured things out, she was going to have to put on the performance of her life. That she wasn't a very good actress, she knew already. After all, it hadn't taken Max more than a couple of days to figure out that she was lying about having slept with Kyle.
No, she had her work cut out for her, Liz reflected, almost wryly. She felt the urge to laugh again, understood that she was becoming hysterical. Taking a deep breath, Liz looked up at the shapeshifter, who was staring down at her, his confusion clear. "I think you were right," she said quickly. "I think I've caught a chill. I don't know that I can walk back to the palace. I know it isn't usual, but would you please help me to my chamber, so that I can rest before receiving Prince Zan? I then need you to go get my sister. Serena is the only one who can help me now."
The shapeshifter relaxed slightly under her hand. "Very well, your highness." He reached out, tentatively placed an arm around her waist. Liz leaned into him, barely managing to refrain from cringing. The shapeshifter couldn't seem to resist adding, "Maybe next time you'll listen to me, Princess Rowena."
[I]I wouldn't count on it,[/I] Liz thought, her fear starting to be out- maneuvered by her suspicions of this man. After all, her gift was to "see clearly." She was pretty sure she had seen this man's true nature during that split second earlier, when he'd appeared about ready to blast her, his innate sense of superiority almost defeating the carefully laid plot of which he was a part.
The granolith had sent them back here for a reason. Liz would, with the help of Max, Tess, and hopefully the others, figure out what it was, and, then, she prayed, this peculiar nightmare would end.
***
Liz was tapping her fingers impatiently against her thigh, as she awaited Tess's arrival. Or, at least, she was desperately hoping that it would be Tess who showed up in her high-vaulted chamber. She wasn't quite sure what she would do - or say - if Serena proved [I]not[/I] to be Tess. The mere thought of being here all by herself was about enough to shatter the fragile calm she presently possessed. Liz grit her fingernails into the palm of her hands, forced herself to take deep breaths.
She was seated in a fairly preposterous chair at the moment, which stood beside an even more preposterous looking bed. Liz had barely refrained from allowing her mouth to fall open in astonishment as the shapeshifter - whom she now knew was called Yorvin due to the blessed guard who had called a greeting to him as they had passed by - had escorted her to her rooms. The absolute magnificence of the entire palace had been breath-taking, and not a little off-putting. For a scientist, Rowena seemed a little preoccupied with ridiculously opulent decor. Of course, she couldn't entirely blame Rowena, Liz suspected. She had a feeling that the palace probably far out-dated her. Passing through a long hallway, Liz had stared up at frieze after frieze, all of them depicting past rulers of Valonia, and, she assumed, her alien ancestors. They all looked human to her, but Liz knew that they had been far from that at heart.
She still hadn't managed to figure out why everyone looked like they would be able to walk down the main drag of Roswell quite comfortably, without raising an iota of suspicion. She hoped that Tess might have some idea, or might at least be able to help her sort through her own thoughts on the possibilities.
As Liz thought of Tess, a light knock sounded on the door that led to the outer antechamber.
[I]Finally![/I]
"Come in," Liz called out, her heart in her throat. [I]Please be Tess. [/I]Please[I] be Tess.[/I] It did not escape Liz's notice that, not three days before, Tess would have been the absolute last person in the universe she would have wanted to be dependent upon in these circumstances. Standing quickly, she shook her head at the absurdity of all they had learned in such a short time.
Now, except for Max, Maria, and Alex, there was no one she'd rather see.
The door opened. Liz held her breath, letting it out in a great gasp when the familiar curly-haired blonde crossed the threshold.
"Oh, thank God!" Liz exclaimed, flying across the room and throwing her arms around her sister. She pulled back, stared into Tess's blue eyes. "Is it you?"
Tess was staring at her just as hard. She bit her lip, then whispered tentatively, "Liz?"
Liz hugged her again. "It's me! Thank God!" She could feel Tess clutching at her just as desperately. Liz finally pulled back again. "Are you okay?"
"I guess so," Tess replied. "Except for being completely confused." She smiled slightly. "Oh, and except for the fact that I'm about three feet tall and grey. And I thought I was short before." She giggled, sounding about as hysterical as Liz felt. "Well, at least I'm not slimy. Or green."
Liz stared at her. "What? You're not grey! You look exactly the same!"
Tess blinked. "No I don't. Liz, I've seen myself in the mirror. They're all over the place in that lab I showed up in."
"Tess, you look human." Liz paused, perplexed. "Is that why you asked if it was me?"
"Yeah," Tess confirmed. "It [I]sounded[/I] like you, but I wasn't sure, because you sure don't [I]look[/I] like you."
Liz pulled away from Tess, and hurried to the mirror across the chamber. Staring into it, what she already knew to be true was proved. She looked exactly the same as she always had. Long dark hair, brown eyes, even, but kind of boring, features. She looked over her shoulder at Tess. "I look like [I]me[/I], Tess."
Tess sat down on the chair Liz had recently vacated, shaking her blonde curls. "Not to me you don't."
Liz frowned, searching her mind for an answer. When one finally came to her, it seemed so obvious, she couldn't understand why she hadn't thought of it before. "Oh my God. It's my gift."
"What?" Tess demanded.
"Think about it. Rowena sees people as they really are - their true natures. We're here, we're back living the lives we screwed up so royally last time." She paused, wrinkled her nose, "Excuse the pun. But I must be seeing us this way because I know who we really are. We're still Liz and Tess. Inside, I mean." She stopped again, shaking her head. "That still doesn't explain why everyone [I]else[/I] looks human to me.
Tess shrugged. "Well, it sounds like as good an explanation as any. I don't really care anyway. What I want to know is, how the heck did we get here? I mean, obviously the granolith, but why did it send us [I]back[/I] here?"
Liz went and sat in another chair, which faced Tess's at an angle. "I'm assuming it wants us to fix things."
"Oh," Tess sighed, falling back into her chair wearily. "Because time travel worked so well for us [I]last[/I] time. What with all the emotional devastation and all."
"Well, it kind of did," Liz said, forcing the image of Max's face when he had caught her in bed with Kyle from her mind. "I mean, we know a lot more than we ever would have otherwise."
"We assume we know more," Tess reminded her. "We don't know for sure. Thanks to Future Max and his stupid rules."
"That's true," Liz admitted.
They sat in silence for a long moment, simply staring at each other, brown eyes glued to blue.
"What are we going to do?" Tess finally whispered.
"We wait for Max," Liz replied. "He should be here anytime."
"Really?"
"Don't you know when this is?" Liz asked.
"No," Tess replied. "I didn't ask any questions. I just tried to get through it. I was apparently in the middle of some huge experiment when I suddenly popped in here." She grimaced. "I'm pretty sure my lab assistants think I went momentarily insane."
"What do you mean?" Liz asked.
"Well, since I had no idea what I was doing, I just started accidentally dropping things so that I wouldn't screw things up for good," Tess answered, sounding a little embarrassed. "I'm assuming she was working on something to do with the cloning. The last thing I wanted to do was mess that up. I mean." She trailed off, raised her eyebrows meaningfully.
"Without Serena's experiments, we wouldn't exist," Liz finished for her.
"Right."
"Good thinking," Liz told her. "But we better hope that Serena's already designed the basic gist of it, because otherwise we're in big trouble. If that cloning doesn't happen eventually, we'll go poof back on Earth."
"But are we still on Earth?" Tess demanded. "I mean, how can we be? We're here."
"I'm assuming that our bodies are still on Earth, but our essences are here," Liz said. "I've been thinking about it ever since I realized what must have happened. It's the only thing that makes any sense."
"So the granolith was designed for time travel all along, but only of our essences?" Tess guessed.
"I think so," Liz replied. "When Future Max came back, Serena.well, you." Liz sighed. "No, I guess it must have been Serena/Whittaker who did it.Anyway, she must have modified it to take his [I]physical[/I] form back in time, not just his essence."
"How do you figure all this stuff out?" Tess demanded. "I'm getting a headache just thinking about it. And I'm supposed to be the one with all of it in my brain somewhere."
"Well, we're clones," Liz said. "It's got to be in both of our brains."
Tess laughed slightly. "How weird is this anyway?"
"Pretty weird," Liz admitted. "You know what I was thinking before you came in here?"
"Let me guess," Tess suggested, sounding wry. "That you couldn't believe that you were actually hoping it was [I]me[/I] who came in. And how strange that was, because a week ago, I would have been the last person you'd want to see."
Liz stared at her. "How did you know that?"
"We're sisters, Liz," Tess replied. Liz liked the way she said it deliberately, as though avoiding the use of the word [I]clone[/I] at any cost. Because, in the end, even though they might share DNA, they were still two entirely different people, shaped by their separate experiences and souls. "But, up until a day ago, we also hated each other's guts. And I was thinking the exact same thing as I waited for you to tell me to come in. I have absolutely no idea what I would have done if it hadn't been [I]you.[/I]"
Liz smiled, leaned forward and squeezed Tess's hand. "You would have managed, Tess. We both would have. I'm just glad we don't have to."
"No kidding," Tess agreed. "And when Max gets here, we can all figure this out together."
Liz felt her heart lighten even more. Maybe this wasn't as bad a situation as she had originally thought. After all, they had enough information about what had gone wrong to hopefully change things for the better. The war didn't [I]have[/I] to happen. A lot of it had been caused by simple misunderstanding, and also by behind the scenes manipulation. They could stop it all this time.
It was then, and only then, that the ultimate complication in all of this occurred to Liz. She sank back in her chair, her hope draining out of her so quickly, even the thought that Max would soon be with them wasn't enough to console her.
"What's wrong?" Tess demanded. "Liz, are you okay?"
"I just realized.Tess, if we change things." Liz swallowed, met her sister's wide, concerned eyes. "Tess, that can't be the reason we're here. Or, if it is, I don't know if we can actually do it."
"Why not?" Tess asked, beginning to sound frightened again.
"Tess, if we change what happened in this system before we died here." Liz trailed off, closing her eyes against the headache that was starting to pound through her head. She took a deep, fortifying breath before continuing. "If we change things, Tess, then there won't be any need to send us to Earth. We will no longer exist there. Absolutely [I]everything[/I] will change."
Liz heard Tess gasp slightly, but didn't open her eyes. She didn't want to see the horror and fear she was feeling reflected on her sister's face. She didn't want to see Tess realize what she had instantly grasped.
With the fate of five worlds balanced upon their actions here, there was really no choice. They could not allow the war to happen. Which meant that their lives in Roswell would never exist. They would never [I]need[/I] to exist.
They were never going home again.
After that, she and Tess sat in silence until Yorvin came to tell them that Prince Zan's shuttle had landed.
Because, in the end, there was nothing left to say.
***
In spite of the fact that she was excited to see Max, Liz's mood was heavy as she stood beside Tess on the landing platform. Her thoughts were in turmoil, her heart having been in debate with her head since she had realized what their interference in the Antarian system's history was really going to mean.
[I]At least I have Max and Tess,[/I] one argument went. It was quickly countered by, [I]But can you really live without seeing your parents, or Alex, or Maria, again?[/I]
[I]I have a responsibility to millions of people[/I], her brain reminded her. [I]But I didn't choose to be queen! Why is it [I]my[/I] job?[/I]
[I]Because that's what being queen is going to [/I]mean, her head replied impatiently. [I]You, and what you want, [/I] doesn't [I] come first. Haven't you learned that yet?[/I]
Apparently she had not. Because, even though she knew what they had to do, even though she knew she would have Max, even though she wasn't a completely selfish wench, something still seemed off with the entire situation. There was no [I]choice,[/I] and, yet, she also knew that the entire extent of what was going on here had not been fully revealed. She wasn't sure [I]how[/I] she knew it, but she did.
Later, looking back, she understood that it was because she was already trying to connect with Max on the shuttle, even before it landed, that her uncertainty was so pronounced. But, at the time, she was so preoccupied, what with the fact that Max was actually arriving on a [I]spaceship[/I], and they were somehow going to have to accept the fact that they were never going home, that it wasn't until the shuttle's gang-way lowered that Liz realized what was [I]truly[/I] wrong.
She couldn't sense Max. He was supposed to be on that ship, but something had obviously gone wrong. Because, he wasn't. Reaching out with her senses, Liz frantically searched through the many essences crowded into the small shuttle.
Nothing.
Liz grabbed Tess's hand. "Te.Serena. I don't think he's on."
She frowned when an honor guard of six soldiers, wearing grey armour with the familiar whirlwind galaxy insignia, descended the ramp, preceding the dignitary. If it wasn't Max - Zan - it was obviously someone of equal importance.
It couldn't possibly be Max. She would [I]know[/I] if it was Max.
And, yet, in the end, it was.
He appeared at the top of the gangway, his face an unreadable mask. He looked out, and his dark, familiar eyes met hers. Liz couldn't read what he was thinking, but he was [I]there[/I]. And he looked human, too.
Their gazes locked for that one brief moment, and in that instant, Liz was sure she was wrong, that everything would work out somehow. Because, of [I]course[/I], it was Max. She was just confused, upset. That was why the connection was so screwy.
He looked away, glanced at Tess, and seemed to relax slightly.
Liz's mouth dropped and, then, tears filled her eyes. She couldn't help it. Because it had suddenly dawned on her exactly what was wrong.
Glancing down at her simple gown, and her still bare feet, she realized that he didn't realize she was Rowena, the princess. He recognized Tess, in her more sumptuous attire - and she [I]was[/I] dressed more regally, Liz noted for the first time - as being his royal welcome to the palace. In fact, if he was seeing Tess as Tess was seeing [I]Liz[/I] - as a small, grey alien - then there was no question he'd think she was Rowena.
Zan was not supposed to know there were two of them. Not at this point in history. It was obvious that this was indeed true, as his eyes shifted from Tess, the more clearly royal of the two of them, to Liz, who was dressed simply, but was, Liz realized, likely identical to Tess, in Zan's eyes.
She recognized the mild interest on his face, as well as the surprise. After all, this was [I]Max[/I]. She knew him. She knew exactly what he was thinking, just from the expression on his face. He had not known there were two of them until this instant.
But, if he didn't know about Serena, it was clear that he didn't have Max's memories. In fact, it meant that, in spite of how he [I]looked[/I], he wasn't Max.
And, if he wasn't Max, that meant that he did not know [I]her[/I], Liz, at all.
To be continued...
Liz opened her eyes and found herself staring up at a star-studded sky. She felt her heart start to pound even more quickly than it had when she'd placed her palm on the silver hand-print that she had instinctively known was Rowena's. This time the beating wasn't caused by anticipation, however.
No, this time she was afraid.
And she was afraid because she was alone.
Where were Max and the others? But, more specifically, where the heck was [I]she[/I]? She hadn't expected to be transported anywhere physically in the granolith, but looking around, she knew she had been. She was outside. How had this happened? Had something gone wrong?
Her heart contracted briefly at the thought of Max. Where was he? Was he okay?
Liz climbed carefully to her feet. Looking around, the desolation of the field in which she found herself made her bite her lip.
She was used to emptiness. She spent a lot of time in the desert, after all. But this was not the desert.
Glancing down, Liz confirmed what she had felt under her back upon waking. She was standing on well-manicured grass. Or something [I]like[/I] grass, anyway. She couldn't quite make out what was different about it in the dim light thrown by the stars, but she knew somehow that it was altered.
It was only after she straightened that Liz's mind registered something else that had been different when she had looked down. Quickly glancing over her body again, she was amazed to confirm that she was wearing a long blue dress, not the jeans, sweater and leather jacket in which she had been clad upon entering the pod chamber. Not only that, she was barefoot.
Liz was perplexed. She was still afraid, but more curious now than anything. Was she taking part in some kind of strange Antarian rite? Why had Whittaker not told them that this would happen when they were in the granolith? Did she not know? Of course, Whittaker hadn't seemed to know much, in spite of being Serena, the nominal "inventor" of the increasingly confounding alien artifact.
Looking around again, Liz noticed that the ground inclined slightly above her, in a gentle slope. She wondered what she would find on the other side of that hill. Taking a deep breath, she started to walk. Her steps were tentative, as she somehow knew already that what she was going to see once she reached the top was going to make this situation even stranger.
She was not mistaken. And, yet, it was still beyond her wildest dreams. Gasping, she fell to her knees, her eyes staring in disbelief.
Laid out before her was an absolutely magnificent building, lit up as though a thousand spotlights were shining from within it. It seemed to shimmer against the black sky, its several towers reaching towards the heavens.
"Your highness!"
The voice came from behind her. Liz blinked, whirled, still so shocked, all she could manage to say was, "Oh!"
"Are you well, your highness?" A tall, burly man stood in front of her, a slightly anxious expression on his face. "I told you it would be too cold for you out here. I hope you haven't caught a chill."
Liz looked behind herself, to make sure that he wasn't talking to someone there, then turned back to the man. She had no idea where he had appeared from, but there was no question that he was addressing her. "I.I'm fine," she managed to stutter. "Er.where did you come from?"
"You wanted to be alone," the man shrugged. He motioned towards some tall tree-like plants standing nearby. Liz stared at them. They looked like nothing she had ever seen before. "It is my duty to follow, however. I shifted into the trees." He sounded wary, as though expecting a reprimand.
But it never even crossed Liz's mind to demand why he had been following her. She was too focused on the fact that he had just admitted that he had [I]shifted.[/I] Liz felt her heart drop slightly. A shapeshifter. But why on Earth was he being so open about who he was? The Wendarians were their enemies!
Although, why on [I]Earth[/I] was probably a poor choice of words, Liz thought, almost hysterically. Because, she was beginning to suspect that she wasn't on Earth at all anymore.
"Your highness?" The shapeshifter was starting to sound even more worried. "Are you quite well?"
Liz managed to force herself to focus on maintaining some kind of normal conversation. She knew that she was staring at him like he was some sort of freak, quickly dropped her eyes, as her mind raced frantically.
If she wasn't on Earth, then she had to be on.Well, there were really only five other places she could possibly be. She shook her head in amazement. It was the only explanation that made any sense. She had to be on another [I]planet![/I]
And, yet, this didn't seem to make sense either. Because if she was on Antar, or one of the other planets in the Antarian system, then why did this man look human? And why were they speaking English?
"I'm sorry," Liz eventually replied. "I'm fine."
The man didn't look convinced. "Well, I think you better return to the palace now. Prince Zan will be arriving at any time. You need to be waiting for him."
Liz felt her hear leap. Max! She refused to allow her hopes to rise though, until she confirmed what the shapeshifter was saying.
"Zan?" she inquired tentatively.
"The crown prince of Antar," the shapeshifter reminded her, really frowning now. "He is coming to make his decision about the trade agreement? You [I]invited[/I] him, your highness!"
The trade agreement? Liz felt her heart stop. And, suddenly, she understood everything. She had somehow gone back in time. She [I]was[/I] Rowena and she had ended up back on Valonia, at Rowena's summer palace, right at the point in Antarian history when everything had changed.
This could not be good. Oh no. Not good at all.
Nor did it explain why she was still human if she was Rowena. Because holding her hand up in front of her face now, it looked exactly the same as it always had.
"Of course," Liz made herself reply briskly, as she lowered her hand, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to ask any more questions without raising the shapeshifter's suspicions even further. Until Max arrived, she was just going to have to play along. "I just received a message that he might be delayed until morning. Didn't I tell you?"
For the moment, she would pretend she understood exactly what was happening here. She would play the part until Max arrived and they could figure out how to fix this mess together. Because, this time, there was absolutely no way she was dealing with this alone. Her experience with Future Max had more than taught her a lesson. This was bigger than she was capable of handling by herself.
If what she was beginning to suspect was true - that the granolith had somehow launched her back in time, into Rowena's body at the point when the entire war could still be averted - then there was no way she was going to make any decisions without Max.
God. Why couldn't he be here [I]now[/I]?
"No," the shapeshifter was responding, relaxing slightly.
"Well, I guess I don't tell you everything.do I?" Liz attempted to sound haughty, tried to throw herself into her role, but the last came out slightly squeaky, it suddenly occurring to her that she didn't know whether or not Rowena told this guy everything. What if she [I]did?[/I]
"I don't expect you to, your highness." He sounded offended, but no longer wary. Liz let out a tiny breath of relief, although she felt a slight twinge. Was Rowena generally so rude to her servants?
She didn't address the shapeshifter's annoyance, however. Since she didn't know if it was usual or not, she decided just to ignore his reaction for the moment. Once she understood what was happening here, she could always apologize. And, for all she knew, he was evil. After all, Rowena had been unaware of it at the time, but Liz knew that the Wendarians had been working against the princess the whole time they had been in her employ.
This thought made her back straighten slightly. She might be completely in the dark about some things, but there were other things that she knew, which put her in a position of strength.
Liz started to walk down the slope of the hill, in the direction of the blazing lights, before she abruptly realized that she had no idea where she was going. Not to mention every step hurt. The grass under her feet was far coarser than that on Earth, and it was scraping up the soles of her bare feet mercilessly. She stopped moving. The shapeshifter had moved past her before he realized that she had halted.
He turned to look back at her. He was beginning to sound annoyed when he demanded, "Is there anything amiss?"
Liz felt a slight tremor of fear. Something had flashed briefly in his eyes.Something she thought she recognized as disdain.
Oh yes. There was no question now. The Wendarian plot was well underway. She wasn't the only one playing a role here.
"I'm.I'm fine," Liz finally replied. "I was just wondering." Inspiration hit her like a bolt of lightening. "Where is my sister? Where is Serena?"
Tess. Tess [I]had[/I] to be here somewhere. Zan had known her during the period when he and Rowena had fallen in love after all, which meant that she had to be here. Liz's heart was pounding in anticipation of no longer being alone.
"In the lab, your highness," the shapeshifter replied readily enough. "Where she always is."
"Oh," Liz said, searching her mind for a way to get him to tell her where the lab was, without making herself even more foolish than she did already. Only one solution presented itself.
She placed a hand on her temple, swayed slightly.
"Your highness?" The shapeshifter rushed forward, grabbed her by the elbow, but quickly retreated, as though he had been burned. "I'm sorry, your highness!"
Liz grabbed his arm before he could move away. He was looking at her, his mortification apparent. "For what?" she demanded.
"I touched you without permission."
Liz blinked. "Oh. It's okay. Er." She clutched at his arm, allowing herself to stumble slightly into him. It went against every instinct of self-preservation to be this close to someone who was very likely her enemy, but she had no choice in the matter. Until she figured things out, she was going to have to put on the performance of her life. That she wasn't a very good actress, she knew already. After all, it hadn't taken Max more than a couple of days to figure out that she was lying about having slept with Kyle.
No, she had her work cut out for her, Liz reflected, almost wryly. She felt the urge to laugh again, understood that she was becoming hysterical. Taking a deep breath, Liz looked up at the shapeshifter, who was staring down at her, his confusion clear. "I think you were right," she said quickly. "I think I've caught a chill. I don't know that I can walk back to the palace. I know it isn't usual, but would you please help me to my chamber, so that I can rest before receiving Prince Zan? I then need you to go get my sister. Serena is the only one who can help me now."
The shapeshifter relaxed slightly under her hand. "Very well, your highness." He reached out, tentatively placed an arm around her waist. Liz leaned into him, barely managing to refrain from cringing. The shapeshifter couldn't seem to resist adding, "Maybe next time you'll listen to me, Princess Rowena."
[I]I wouldn't count on it,[/I] Liz thought, her fear starting to be out- maneuvered by her suspicions of this man. After all, her gift was to "see clearly." She was pretty sure she had seen this man's true nature during that split second earlier, when he'd appeared about ready to blast her, his innate sense of superiority almost defeating the carefully laid plot of which he was a part.
The granolith had sent them back here for a reason. Liz would, with the help of Max, Tess, and hopefully the others, figure out what it was, and, then, she prayed, this peculiar nightmare would end.
***
Liz was tapping her fingers impatiently against her thigh, as she awaited Tess's arrival. Or, at least, she was desperately hoping that it would be Tess who showed up in her high-vaulted chamber. She wasn't quite sure what she would do - or say - if Serena proved [I]not[/I] to be Tess. The mere thought of being here all by herself was about enough to shatter the fragile calm she presently possessed. Liz grit her fingernails into the palm of her hands, forced herself to take deep breaths.
She was seated in a fairly preposterous chair at the moment, which stood beside an even more preposterous looking bed. Liz had barely refrained from allowing her mouth to fall open in astonishment as the shapeshifter - whom she now knew was called Yorvin due to the blessed guard who had called a greeting to him as they had passed by - had escorted her to her rooms. The absolute magnificence of the entire palace had been breath-taking, and not a little off-putting. For a scientist, Rowena seemed a little preoccupied with ridiculously opulent decor. Of course, she couldn't entirely blame Rowena, Liz suspected. She had a feeling that the palace probably far out-dated her. Passing through a long hallway, Liz had stared up at frieze after frieze, all of them depicting past rulers of Valonia, and, she assumed, her alien ancestors. They all looked human to her, but Liz knew that they had been far from that at heart.
She still hadn't managed to figure out why everyone looked like they would be able to walk down the main drag of Roswell quite comfortably, without raising an iota of suspicion. She hoped that Tess might have some idea, or might at least be able to help her sort through her own thoughts on the possibilities.
As Liz thought of Tess, a light knock sounded on the door that led to the outer antechamber.
[I]Finally![/I]
"Come in," Liz called out, her heart in her throat. [I]Please be Tess. [/I]Please[I] be Tess.[/I] It did not escape Liz's notice that, not three days before, Tess would have been the absolute last person in the universe she would have wanted to be dependent upon in these circumstances. Standing quickly, she shook her head at the absurdity of all they had learned in such a short time.
Now, except for Max, Maria, and Alex, there was no one she'd rather see.
The door opened. Liz held her breath, letting it out in a great gasp when the familiar curly-haired blonde crossed the threshold.
"Oh, thank God!" Liz exclaimed, flying across the room and throwing her arms around her sister. She pulled back, stared into Tess's blue eyes. "Is it you?"
Tess was staring at her just as hard. She bit her lip, then whispered tentatively, "Liz?"
Liz hugged her again. "It's me! Thank God!" She could feel Tess clutching at her just as desperately. Liz finally pulled back again. "Are you okay?"
"I guess so," Tess replied. "Except for being completely confused." She smiled slightly. "Oh, and except for the fact that I'm about three feet tall and grey. And I thought I was short before." She giggled, sounding about as hysterical as Liz felt. "Well, at least I'm not slimy. Or green."
Liz stared at her. "What? You're not grey! You look exactly the same!"
Tess blinked. "No I don't. Liz, I've seen myself in the mirror. They're all over the place in that lab I showed up in."
"Tess, you look human." Liz paused, perplexed. "Is that why you asked if it was me?"
"Yeah," Tess confirmed. "It [I]sounded[/I] like you, but I wasn't sure, because you sure don't [I]look[/I] like you."
Liz pulled away from Tess, and hurried to the mirror across the chamber. Staring into it, what she already knew to be true was proved. She looked exactly the same as she always had. Long dark hair, brown eyes, even, but kind of boring, features. She looked over her shoulder at Tess. "I look like [I]me[/I], Tess."
Tess sat down on the chair Liz had recently vacated, shaking her blonde curls. "Not to me you don't."
Liz frowned, searching her mind for an answer. When one finally came to her, it seemed so obvious, she couldn't understand why she hadn't thought of it before. "Oh my God. It's my gift."
"What?" Tess demanded.
"Think about it. Rowena sees people as they really are - their true natures. We're here, we're back living the lives we screwed up so royally last time." She paused, wrinkled her nose, "Excuse the pun. But I must be seeing us this way because I know who we really are. We're still Liz and Tess. Inside, I mean." She stopped again, shaking her head. "That still doesn't explain why everyone [I]else[/I] looks human to me.
Tess shrugged. "Well, it sounds like as good an explanation as any. I don't really care anyway. What I want to know is, how the heck did we get here? I mean, obviously the granolith, but why did it send us [I]back[/I] here?"
Liz went and sat in another chair, which faced Tess's at an angle. "I'm assuming it wants us to fix things."
"Oh," Tess sighed, falling back into her chair wearily. "Because time travel worked so well for us [I]last[/I] time. What with all the emotional devastation and all."
"Well, it kind of did," Liz said, forcing the image of Max's face when he had caught her in bed with Kyle from her mind. "I mean, we know a lot more than we ever would have otherwise."
"We assume we know more," Tess reminded her. "We don't know for sure. Thanks to Future Max and his stupid rules."
"That's true," Liz admitted.
They sat in silence for a long moment, simply staring at each other, brown eyes glued to blue.
"What are we going to do?" Tess finally whispered.
"We wait for Max," Liz replied. "He should be here anytime."
"Really?"
"Don't you know when this is?" Liz asked.
"No," Tess replied. "I didn't ask any questions. I just tried to get through it. I was apparently in the middle of some huge experiment when I suddenly popped in here." She grimaced. "I'm pretty sure my lab assistants think I went momentarily insane."
"What do you mean?" Liz asked.
"Well, since I had no idea what I was doing, I just started accidentally dropping things so that I wouldn't screw things up for good," Tess answered, sounding a little embarrassed. "I'm assuming she was working on something to do with the cloning. The last thing I wanted to do was mess that up. I mean." She trailed off, raised her eyebrows meaningfully.
"Without Serena's experiments, we wouldn't exist," Liz finished for her.
"Right."
"Good thinking," Liz told her. "But we better hope that Serena's already designed the basic gist of it, because otherwise we're in big trouble. If that cloning doesn't happen eventually, we'll go poof back on Earth."
"But are we still on Earth?" Tess demanded. "I mean, how can we be? We're here."
"I'm assuming that our bodies are still on Earth, but our essences are here," Liz said. "I've been thinking about it ever since I realized what must have happened. It's the only thing that makes any sense."
"So the granolith was designed for time travel all along, but only of our essences?" Tess guessed.
"I think so," Liz replied. "When Future Max came back, Serena.well, you." Liz sighed. "No, I guess it must have been Serena/Whittaker who did it.Anyway, she must have modified it to take his [I]physical[/I] form back in time, not just his essence."
"How do you figure all this stuff out?" Tess demanded. "I'm getting a headache just thinking about it. And I'm supposed to be the one with all of it in my brain somewhere."
"Well, we're clones," Liz said. "It's got to be in both of our brains."
Tess laughed slightly. "How weird is this anyway?"
"Pretty weird," Liz admitted. "You know what I was thinking before you came in here?"
"Let me guess," Tess suggested, sounding wry. "That you couldn't believe that you were actually hoping it was [I]me[/I] who came in. And how strange that was, because a week ago, I would have been the last person you'd want to see."
Liz stared at her. "How did you know that?"
"We're sisters, Liz," Tess replied. Liz liked the way she said it deliberately, as though avoiding the use of the word [I]clone[/I] at any cost. Because, in the end, even though they might share DNA, they were still two entirely different people, shaped by their separate experiences and souls. "But, up until a day ago, we also hated each other's guts. And I was thinking the exact same thing as I waited for you to tell me to come in. I have absolutely no idea what I would have done if it hadn't been [I]you.[/I]"
Liz smiled, leaned forward and squeezed Tess's hand. "You would have managed, Tess. We both would have. I'm just glad we don't have to."
"No kidding," Tess agreed. "And when Max gets here, we can all figure this out together."
Liz felt her heart lighten even more. Maybe this wasn't as bad a situation as she had originally thought. After all, they had enough information about what had gone wrong to hopefully change things for the better. The war didn't [I]have[/I] to happen. A lot of it had been caused by simple misunderstanding, and also by behind the scenes manipulation. They could stop it all this time.
It was then, and only then, that the ultimate complication in all of this occurred to Liz. She sank back in her chair, her hope draining out of her so quickly, even the thought that Max would soon be with them wasn't enough to console her.
"What's wrong?" Tess demanded. "Liz, are you okay?"
"I just realized.Tess, if we change things." Liz swallowed, met her sister's wide, concerned eyes. "Tess, that can't be the reason we're here. Or, if it is, I don't know if we can actually do it."
"Why not?" Tess asked, beginning to sound frightened again.
"Tess, if we change what happened in this system before we died here." Liz trailed off, closing her eyes against the headache that was starting to pound through her head. She took a deep, fortifying breath before continuing. "If we change things, Tess, then there won't be any need to send us to Earth. We will no longer exist there. Absolutely [I]everything[/I] will change."
Liz heard Tess gasp slightly, but didn't open her eyes. She didn't want to see the horror and fear she was feeling reflected on her sister's face. She didn't want to see Tess realize what she had instantly grasped.
With the fate of five worlds balanced upon their actions here, there was really no choice. They could not allow the war to happen. Which meant that their lives in Roswell would never exist. They would never [I]need[/I] to exist.
They were never going home again.
After that, she and Tess sat in silence until Yorvin came to tell them that Prince Zan's shuttle had landed.
Because, in the end, there was nothing left to say.
***
In spite of the fact that she was excited to see Max, Liz's mood was heavy as she stood beside Tess on the landing platform. Her thoughts were in turmoil, her heart having been in debate with her head since she had realized what their interference in the Antarian system's history was really going to mean.
[I]At least I have Max and Tess,[/I] one argument went. It was quickly countered by, [I]But can you really live without seeing your parents, or Alex, or Maria, again?[/I]
[I]I have a responsibility to millions of people[/I], her brain reminded her. [I]But I didn't choose to be queen! Why is it [I]my[/I] job?[/I]
[I]Because that's what being queen is going to [/I]mean, her head replied impatiently. [I]You, and what you want, [/I] doesn't [I] come first. Haven't you learned that yet?[/I]
Apparently she had not. Because, even though she knew what they had to do, even though she knew she would have Max, even though she wasn't a completely selfish wench, something still seemed off with the entire situation. There was no [I]choice,[/I] and, yet, she also knew that the entire extent of what was going on here had not been fully revealed. She wasn't sure [I]how[/I] she knew it, but she did.
Later, looking back, she understood that it was because she was already trying to connect with Max on the shuttle, even before it landed, that her uncertainty was so pronounced. But, at the time, she was so preoccupied, what with the fact that Max was actually arriving on a [I]spaceship[/I], and they were somehow going to have to accept the fact that they were never going home, that it wasn't until the shuttle's gang-way lowered that Liz realized what was [I]truly[/I] wrong.
She couldn't sense Max. He was supposed to be on that ship, but something had obviously gone wrong. Because, he wasn't. Reaching out with her senses, Liz frantically searched through the many essences crowded into the small shuttle.
Nothing.
Liz grabbed Tess's hand. "Te.Serena. I don't think he's on."
She frowned when an honor guard of six soldiers, wearing grey armour with the familiar whirlwind galaxy insignia, descended the ramp, preceding the dignitary. If it wasn't Max - Zan - it was obviously someone of equal importance.
It couldn't possibly be Max. She would [I]know[/I] if it was Max.
And, yet, in the end, it was.
He appeared at the top of the gangway, his face an unreadable mask. He looked out, and his dark, familiar eyes met hers. Liz couldn't read what he was thinking, but he was [I]there[/I]. And he looked human, too.
Their gazes locked for that one brief moment, and in that instant, Liz was sure she was wrong, that everything would work out somehow. Because, of [I]course[/I], it was Max. She was just confused, upset. That was why the connection was so screwy.
He looked away, glanced at Tess, and seemed to relax slightly.
Liz's mouth dropped and, then, tears filled her eyes. She couldn't help it. Because it had suddenly dawned on her exactly what was wrong.
Glancing down at her simple gown, and her still bare feet, she realized that he didn't realize she was Rowena, the princess. He recognized Tess, in her more sumptuous attire - and she [I]was[/I] dressed more regally, Liz noted for the first time - as being his royal welcome to the palace. In fact, if he was seeing Tess as Tess was seeing [I]Liz[/I] - as a small, grey alien - then there was no question he'd think she was Rowena.
Zan was not supposed to know there were two of them. Not at this point in history. It was obvious that this was indeed true, as his eyes shifted from Tess, the more clearly royal of the two of them, to Liz, who was dressed simply, but was, Liz realized, likely identical to Tess, in Zan's eyes.
She recognized the mild interest on his face, as well as the surprise. After all, this was [I]Max[/I]. She knew him. She knew exactly what he was thinking, just from the expression on his face. He had not known there were two of them until this instant.
But, if he didn't know about Serena, it was clear that he didn't have Max's memories. In fact, it meant that, in spite of how he [I]looked[/I], he wasn't Max.
And, if he wasn't Max, that meant that he did not know [I]her[/I], Liz, at all.
To be continued...