Suddenly,I felt terribly dizzy and staggered a little, probably because of the anemia. The two in front of me quickly came to my rescue. The unmistakable shock still danced in his features.
"What happened? Why do you all look at me like that?" I asked slightly irritated by their reaction.
"No.... Don't you remember?" Siever still had his arms outstretched in my direction, as if he were afraid that I would stagger back and fall, but the other quickly recovered his composure and put some space between us ― "We were just...."
What they "were", I did not know. The other man was with a grim face. He seized Siever's arm, and dragged him into the palace under his noisy protests. After that, I could not judge who was in the greatest anger. One shouted at the other things that, from a distance, the translator could not discern, until they disappeared through the corridors of the palace.
Confused and still slightly dizzy, I returned alone to the room where I was staying. I lay down on the bed and waited in the dark till I sleep, clinging to the blankets that were so comfortable that they seemed impossible to exist. The fear of staying, and the fear of returning were fighting in my mind.
I definitely had not had a bad life. Until four months ago, at least. I had a comfortable room with my own Link, a holographic communicator, a digital table, games, hobbies, clothes, makeup... The bed was always neatly trimmed with nice bedspreads and I usually went out for a walk with my colleagues.
When the first "lie" escaped, they believed in me, of course, and for a very brief moment, I had gained a kind of popularity because I was the first in the class to go to another planet. Alan, my brother, who was studying at the same school as me, was the first to deny the story. If I had just been in this, my social life would still have some salvation. But often, when the subject came up, sometimes in class, I had memories of places I'd never been. And the worst: I talked about these places to others, as if I felt a compulsion for it.
Gradually I gained the bad name of a liar, and when the teachers stopped giving credibility to what I was saying too, those "colleagues" realized that. They abused the opportunity to commit petty crimes and vandalism at school, and then assembled as witnesses to the improper behavior I was supposed to have had.
I even tried to justify myself at the beginning. I even revolted at the situation. But even at home I was no longer credited with the truth, so why would they bother to check the facts? As punishment, my mother, who had always been very demanding, started to cut of my benefits. First the dates, then the money.... my electronics devices internet and macronet access.... my hobbies .... all my little luxuries ... even the clothes and the decorative furniture. All I was receiving was a warm bed, a roof over my head, and the poor meals that were still offered. For a naive and childish moment, I wished for at least one more day of comfort in that palace before I had to go back to the reality where, as far as everyone knew, I was crazy.
Anyway, I had yet to see the dawn time. The whole night was being punctuated by frightening nightmares without form or situation, sometimes only having the strong feeling of despair. Not to mention that the tenacious memories of that morning's torture making me tremble. There was no way I could be calm if there was a guy on one side who had tried to strangle me and in another a guy who had ordered to torture me.
Hours later, but still long before dawn.
Someone shook me urgently, with hands that were terribly hot. It was Siever.
"Wake up, come on.... We gotta go…"
There were at least two seconds I did not remember who he was or where I was until I could clear my sleepy mind.
"It's time to go back already?" I looked half groggy at the outside of the window and everything was still too dark "I thought the ship would only be ready after dawn."
"Hurry up!"
Siever grabbed my hand and pulled me out of bed, he did not even gave me any chance to straighten up, and dragged me down to the dark, empty corridors.
"Wait... I'm a mess!" I tried to protest, but Siever showed no sign that he would let me go, and he even put a finger on my lips and shush me. His hurry scared me to death. We were certainly running away from something.
A civilian ship was parked in the garden, so compact and lowered that it was almost hidden by the corners and shadows of the night. It seemed to be a very expensive and recent model, privately owned, the kind that is kept in the riches garages. I did not understand much about transport, but I knew enough that this type of ship was not very common for people who were not really rich. I also did not see any pilot. Who was going to drive it?
"What's going on?"
"Quick... We don't have much Time!" Siever pushed me through the passenger door, and was already turning around to occupy the pilot's seat, but when I turned around, to our astonishment, he was instantly busy. Siever snorted "Marco!!"
"You can't do this Henry. You know your responsibilities!"
It was the man with the lilac eyes. I thought my heart was going to run away without me, because of the fright, and I sank into the seat as I hurried and clumsily ran my fingers up to the door handle, but he had been faster and locked the doors with the pilot's control. He drummed sadly, looking bored with who it seemed he was going to discuss like I was a little child.
"IT IS NOT YOUR OBLIGATION TO REMEMBER ME FROM MY WORK! GET OUT, LEAVE HER! SHE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE INVOLVED!!!"
Now I was definitely terrified. Siever shivered outside as he let the fury explode with his screams.
"How will she not get involved? You saw it earlier! There is no other choice! There is nothing more to discuss…"
Siever, enraged, lowered his fist to the outer body of the ship, carving the mark of his angry fingers on the gleaming metal. I was already panting heavily, fear growing uncontrolled, as if it were rising from my stomach and keeping me from breathing properly.
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Siever yelled louder this time.
Then something happened. I did not see it, and if I had, I would not have understood either. In a split second Siever was somehow pushed away from the ship by an invisible energy wave, and before he had finished rebalancing himself and rushing back to where he was before, the ship had already vanished.
I could only scream in fear, and I gripped the seat tightly, even if I had been pressed by the incredible acceleration of the ship. Whatever this man's plan were, it could not be a good thing. Siever had tried to smuggle me away hidden, he had tried to save me, and yet this mysterious guy had managed to intercept me.
"Ms. Mark…" I tried to beg.
"Actually, It's Marco. Marco Gionardi, but you can call me Marco for now" he corrected, seeming slightly offended, but still forcing an educated tone.This name of his rang bells in my mind.
"Okay, I'm sorry, you still have not told me your name, but I will not forget, it's a famous name…" I tried to keep my voice steady, and even tried to flatter the pilot a bit as I stared in terror at the window and saw the floor staining more and more behind at every second.
Then something occurred to me suddenly dancing in my thoughts, how could I have ignored this evident plot in the end? I was in Keret... at the Royal Palace of the Human Imperial Conglomerate... next to a man named Marco Gionardi. What kind of joke was that? It was too surreal to be true, but I had to ask:
"You are the Emperor!" the question came out a little crooked, as if in a statement, as if I was accusing him in the middle of my astonishment. He rolled his eyes impatiently. "Aren't you?"
Without answering, Marco stopped the ship at once, leaving it floating in mid-air. The ground was already so far away in the gloom that I could already see the arc of the planet on the horizon where the sun seemed to be rising. I almost stop with my head on the ship's panel. I was without the safety locks.
"Hum.... It's more sensitive than I expected…" he said thoughtfully assessing the pilot's controls. "Anyway, we should have a few seconds alone before he reaches us…"
He turned to me and stared at me. Again I felt the depths of those eyes, and I thought what the hell it was, but this time it was different. At least his gaze was not displaying the arrogant and intimidating feature like before. It was more resigned and tired.
"What.... Wha…" I felt again that I could not help but hold my gaze and had to struggle to finish the question "What do you want from me?"
"Just that you look at one thing... if nothing happens, than nothing happens... and I will not want anything else." he said, picking up a small box that resembled a reliquary attached to a delicate, golden chain.
Then three things happened in a single instant: Marco opened the reliquary and an intense blue light shone from within; Henry appeared literally fluttering by the passenger window and punched a window that was resistant to the impact of meteorites; and lastly, the cold. Cold that maybe even ice locations could not have. Soon after, the light was gone, and I was pulled out of the ship by Siever.
I could see the ship moving away — or we were the ones moving away from the ship as we started to fall from the skies — and that overwhelming cold was growing more and more throughout the rest of my body.