A/N: Ben 10 does not belong to me in the least.
"Here." She blinked up at him, then took the offered tea. He hoped it wouldn't kill her, knowing his cooking skills. But she set it down in the small table, ignoring it, staring blankly down at her hands. "Where would you like to start?" She sniffed, wiping at her nose with a tissue.
"I… suppose with my name…" She looked up at him briefly, then back down. "I thought I should sound more… American. To fit in better. I'm—I'm a Matara. From the planet Marea." It sounded vaguely familiar, but he let her continue. "You could say it's small… Maybe just a little smaller than Earth. Which, as I understand, is still pretty big. But still small enough that it's ruled in a… I think you'd call it a monarchy. Marea is ruled by a King and Queen. They have power, but the Lorzikal controls most of the daily operations."
"Lorzikal?" The term was unfamiliar.
She blushed. "S-sorry… I believe you would call it a 'Council'. It's made of an official from each of the… states? Well, from each of the areas of Marea." He nodded.
"I don't suppose just anyone can leave Marea and travel to a distant planet." She shook her head, clasping her hands together tightly.
"No… They can't… Not very often, anyway." He watched her silently as she swallowed thickly. "I'm sorry… I've lied to you for so long… people don't lie to their friends…" She reached a hand up, her fingers ghosting over her cheeks. "But I… trust you, Mr. Pierce." Her smile wavered and she pulled at the ID mask that he never knew was there. He blinked as pink cascaded into his vision. "My name is D'Aurora Mefaalis Resura, Princess of Marea. My father is King Agio the Third, Twelfth Lord of the Sun, Guardian of hylet, and son of Raveras, Gods protect him. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you."
"Uh… What now?"
"Fitori." Syvin looked angrily at the hologram of his sister's bodyguard. The man let out a small breath. "How could you let this go on for so long?" To say he was upset was an understatement. The man gave a small shrug. "Answer me." The man looked away.
"I attempted to stop her. But, she is your sister. And I obey my orders." Syvin hissed in contempt, raking a hand through his hair. He had to think. He had to fix this. He had to make this right. How would he make this right with that—that boy in the way? How would he get her to come back?
Who was he kidding. She wasn't coming back. He would have to go and get her. He thought about that for a moment, then shuddered.
What would their father say?
Rachel hummed to herself the next day, wiping a table clean. "Rach?" She smiled, straightening.
"Well hey there, Pierce!" She grinned, showing her teeth. "How was your date?" He rubbed at the back of his neck, not meeting her eyes. "Hm." Her own golden orbs narrowed. "Pierce. What did you do?" He met her gaze for a moment, then shook his head, turning his body towards the door. "Oh?" Private, hm? Interesting. "Mike, I'm taking a break now!" Mike waved her off. There was no one in tonight so far, which was surprising, but not unheard of. She linked her arm with his, sashaying out and practically tackling him into the grass. "Alright, spill! What did you do?" He had expected as much—she was surprisingly protective of the girl.
"I didn't do anything. It was all her." Rachel's golden eyes narrowed on him and he saw her growing angry. "She's not… Rach, she's not what you think."
"And what do you know, Pierce?" She hissed at him. He pushed her off, resting his arms on his knees.
"She's not human." She rolled her eyes, sitting crosslegged and frowning at him. "None of her siblings are and neither is she. Not at all."
"I know."
"They may appear—wait, you know?" He looked at her. She gave him a dark look. "Oh. Right."
"She smelled different than normal humans, even mixed. And I know there's no language as 'Matarian'." She looked away. "That night on the hill… We never told you. When we found Dal, before we could do anything, there was cold." She saw Pierce's confusion, but didn't clarify. "We were nearly on the ground with the pain of it. Fitori came shortly after that, almost killed him. I thought then, thought she wasn't entirely human, like her siblings. Jamie confirmed it. I won't admit this often, but, he knows more than I do, most of the time. When I first met her, I knew something was off."
"Is that why you took to her so quick?"
"One of the reasons. That and she's just so darn cute." Pierce shook his head, sighing. "So… She told you last night? Everything?"
"Just the basics. Her name, where she's from, what she is, some bits about her family. Not much else. She was really upset about it all. I told her to get some sleep." Rachel smiled at him, pulling her knees to her chest.
"She must like you, to trust you that much." He raised a brow, giving her a blank look. "Oh, right, because, who're you gonna tell? Who'd you out her to without outing yourself? Idiot. She hasn't told me yet, she trusted you with her secret." Pierce shrugged. "Whatever. I have to get back to work." She rose, brushing herself off.
"She has to go home, Rachel. Her brother told me something real bad would happen if she didn't." She twitched, turning her back to him and starting for the door. "I know you really like her, Rach, but we don't know what's going on."
"If she goes home, she dies. If she stays here, she dies. What's the difference?" Pierce rose, watched as she tried to ignore him.
"She'd see her family."
She stopped, hands curling into fists at her side.
"Fine. She'll go home. Have fun kicking her out!" She stormed towards the diner, wiping harshly at her eyes, ignoring her oldest friend and slamming the door behind her.
"Meena." She sighed, brushing her hair from her eyes, frowning at him. She hadn't wanted to let him in because she knew all he would do was harass her, but so far, he'd just asked for some coffee and sat quietly, waiting for it. He took a sip, then set it down. "You have three months. Please. Return when your time is up. We all need this." She sat across from him, clasping her hands in her lap. "Please."
"I know, but… Fitori… If I go home, I'll just…" He closed his eyes, a hand pressing at his temple.
"Don't you think I'm aware? I've been here just as long as you have, Meena." She blinked, her brow furrowing, trying to process why he looked so upset. When they first came, he was so emotionless, so rigid on returning home. "Being among humans has had its effect on me as well." A hand flew to her mouth, masking her surprise.
"O-oh?" He opened his eyes, giving her a level look. "I-I mean… um…"
"But what you feel for this boy… You know why you can't." Her eyes narrowed a bit.
"And you can?" She bit out, angry. "Everyone always makes my choices for me. Why can't I ever be like everyone else?"
"The obvious answer." Time among humans had also made him less patient, more sarcastic. "You know what's going on, even now." She looked away, angry.
"You don't need to remind me, Raydorner. I know about the tensions." He settled aback against the couch, crossing his arms.
"Do you?" Her eyes flew to his and he saw a dark fire burning in them, hatred and rage pooling within her. "Hm."
"I'm through with taking orders. Leave. Now." He rose silently, crossing the floor and pausing at the door.
"They've taken captives and they're getting restless, Mefaalis. If you don't come home as planned, executions will take place." He watched her shoulders tremble and he was satisfied, knowing that she was now fully aware of what was going on. "I'd hate for someone you know to be taken because you went back on your word, for your dereliction of duty, Princess." She whirled around, rising, ready to attack him, but the door clicked closed behind him.
Rachel watched, the girl she liked so much in a foul mood today. She wasn't smiling and she gathered up the glasses and plates with such a force that two had already broke. Rachel made the executive decision to deal with any and all customers herself. She didn't even want to know why she was so angry, but she felt it best to just wait it out. Eventually, Meena would talk to her, tell her what was wrong.
Otherwise, they'd lose a few more glasses.
"Miss Rachel, I'm going on break."
"Alright, sur—" the bell jingled loudly as the door was pulled open and slammed closed. Rachel gazed at it for a few minutes before making her rounds, refilling drinks and bringing out orders. She just hoped whoever had made her so upset was lying in pain somewhere.
"Xantres, I'm just so—so angry!" Meena glowered into the trees. Her oldest friend looked up at her sadly. The small device in her hand had been her only way to contact him, but she hadn't until now. "I know what's going on! I'm not stupid!"
"It's not fair that everything rides on you." She shifted her gaze to him, wondering if he was mocking her. He wasn't. "But, I suppose that's what happens in royal families."
"Well, I hate it!" He shrugged. His hair was bright orange and tied back, trailing past his shoulders and ending at his waist. His eyes were almost the exact same color as hers. "Everything would just be so much easier if Father could just swallow his pride and apologize! But no! I'm sacrificed!" He closed his eyes. "And…" Her bottom lip trembled, tears pooling. Xantres looked up in alarm. "And I finally found… I have friends here…" He stared up at her, watching as the tears spilled over.
"It's more than that, isn't it, Mefaalis?" He knew her so well. She gave a slow nod, pulling at her sleeve, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry. He must be special."
"I… I saved his life, Xantres! Twice! He must be the unluckiest person I've ever met!" He smiled, crossing his arms lightly over his chest.
"Is that so? He must think you're cute and throws himself into trouble." She laughed, smiling down at her friend.
"I… I showed him. He's not human, he's a mix. I knew… I knew he would understand why I would hide. I thought he would accept me." Xantres' eyes softened, obviously sensing her distress.
"And… did he, Mefaalis?" She gave a nod and a smile. His eyes widened a bit. He knew all their lives were riding on her, but if she and this boy… What a tragic ending they had. "Mefaalis…"
"I-I know… Fitori… reminded me of my duty."
"I'm sorry, Mefaalis." She took a deep breath, wiping at her eyes once more.
"So am I. I'll see you soon, Xantres." He smiled up at her sadly, his eyes showing the pain she couldn't show anyone else.
"Famavar, Mefaalis." She clicked the device off, cutting off communication with her best and oldest friend.
"Famavar, Xantres."
Aaand that's the end of chapter 13! We're just swimming along here, aren't we~?