"What?" Ren and Cilan said out loud, flabbergasted at what Lucilia said.
Ren and Cilan didn't know how to react to Lucilia's proclamation; both of them were very confused about what her intentions were.
"I want you to marry me." Lucilia plainly stated.
"Madam, this is too much he-" Cilan said before being interrupted.
"He what, Cilan?" Lucilia said this while staring daggers at Cilan.
"...Nothing Madam." Cilan said, backing down.
Cilan had been around Lucilia since she was a little girl; he has served the Caelum family all of his life and holds great respect for the members of it; however, he was less than pleased with how Lucilia was acting. Ren was from Earth, their enemy, and not who she should have married. She was royalty, and she should've gotten married to a noble from their planet; it shouldn't be him, no matter what.
"Uhm, Lucilia..." Ren was saying before being interrupted.
"It's Princess Lucilia; treat her with respect." Cilan said it with anger in his eyes.
"It's fine, Cilan; I want him to use my first name." Lucilia said once again, starring daggers at Cilan.
"I understand, princess..." Cilan responded before going back to cleaning the kitchen.
"Now, Ren, will you marry me?" Lucilia asked again with a giant smile on her face.
"Lucilia... I think you're skipping quite a few steps. We just met today." Ren said.
"I know that, but because of certain steps, I have to change plans. My original plan was to hide you from the public eye for awhile, but due to the giant celebration and Cilan gathering the entire group of maids to welcome me home, things had to change. I have no doubts; my father has already heard of your arrival, and I don't know what steps he will take against you. He doesn't like people from your planet very much, and neither does my oldest brother. So my new plan is that when I am eventually called to talk to my father, I will introduce you as not only my personal knight but also my future husband." Lucilia explained.
"Will that work? I mean, you said it yourself, your father and brother won't be too pleased that I'm here, and no offense, but I don't have any rights here since I'm still technically a prisoner of war. So what will be your plan then?" Ren asked.
"Nobody will touch you; if they even think of daring, I will make them regret it." Lucilia said, with darkness covering her eyes.
"Are you okay?" Ren asked, noticing that.
However, Lucilia immediately jumped back to normal, smiling while looking at Ren.
"So here's the thing, Lucilia, we literally met...today, and while you are very beautiful, I'm not interested in marriage, especially a major political one that could very well cost me my life." Ren explained with a serious expression.
Right now, there was very little maneuver room for him to take when told to do things; after all, if Lucilia decided Ren wasn't worth keeping around, he could be shot out of an airlock in space or even tortured to death. So he had to be very careful with how he said things.
"You think I'm beautiful?" Lucilia said.
Ren was shocked at her reaction. "Is that all you heard?" he thought to himself.
However, Ren started to think about Lucilia and how she acted.
"Overprotective, almost to the point of obsession, smiles every time she looks at me, threatens anyone who will try to harm me, and already wants me to marry her...oh no."
Ren had seen too many animes with girls fitting this exact description, and now he feared for his life if he was right. After all, the first image that popped into his head was a certain pink-haired girl from an older classic anime he watched.
"Please don't be what I think it is; hopefully it's just me overthinking..." Ren thought to himself before continuing his conversation with Lucilia.
"Like I said, I have little interest in a political marriage; there aren't any guarantees for my safety except for your word, and no offense, Lucilia, but you haven't shown me that I can trust you with my life quite yet." Ren said.
His saying that saddened Lucilia a little bit, but she knew he was right, so she had to reveal her plan.
"I understand, Ren, but please hear me out. Next month, we will be heading back into space to visit a planet we haven't explored yet. I want you to come with me; that way, my family can't get to you, and you will be alive. Nobody in my crew would dare try to harm you, and we should be on that planet for awhile." Lucilia explained.
"So...basically, your going to hide me on some mysterious alien planet?" Ren asked.
"Pretty much." Lucilia said.
"Okay, let's say I agree to that. What then?" Ren asked.
"Well we will adapt to the situation, sadly you can't plan too many steps ahead." Lucilia said.
"Best laid plans often go awry?" Ren said.
"What does that mean?" Lucilia asked.
Ren smiled at her reaction. "It's a quote from our world. Well, not the full quote, but the message is still the same."
"So do you agree with this idea?" Lucilia asked.
Ren sighed and said "I'm still unsure about this marriage idea, but going to that planet sounds like the safest bet for me."
Lucilia smiled upon hearing Ren's response; now she just had to get him to buy into the idea of marrying her.
"Thank you, Ren; I promise you won't regret it." Lucilia said.
"I hope I don't." Ren responded.
Ren was unsure of what Lucilia's true objectives were, but right now she was his best bet at making it home alive.
Lucilia, however, had other thoughts in her head: "Soon he will actually be mine...is this what love feels like because it's pure bliss..."
What Ren didn't know; he just signed a deal with the devil.
*New York City, United States, Earth*
Scarlet just arrived back at her house, along with Lily, who was next to her. They had just gotten back home after the Battle of the Kuiper Belt, which they lost, but the battle wasn't the only thing that was lost. Ren was declared missing in action, and despite all the steps taken to find him, there was no success; his sentinel was not recovered among the debris of the battle.
Scarlet had barely slept since the battle; on the ship, every day she slept in Ren's bed, just trying her best to feel like he was there with her, but even then, there was still the emptiness of her being alone. Lily stayed in her room and slept on Scarlet's bed. She tried her best to comfort Scarlet, but there was little success.
Tyler didn't know what to do or say in this situation; after all, he was affected as well. He even started to talk to the ship therapist about not only the battle but also the pain of losing his best friend, possibly forever. He didn't feel he was in a position to help Scarlet when he himself needed help.
Serenity like Scarlet was heartbroken at losing Ren; however, instead of going home to Miami for the leave, she decided to stay on the ship, which certain people are allowed to do if they don't live in the area where the ship is docked. She had been working on her sentinel and trying her best to upgrade it; it was her way of coping, forcing herself into work. She had just been reunited with someone she truly cared for and was immediately separated from him again.
Scarlet looked at her house's door and knocked on it.
*Knock Knock Knock*
Scarlet was terrified of how she would react when seeing her mother.
However, her fears were met quickly as her mother opened the door.
"Scarlet? You're already back." At first, Rose's expression was excitement seeing her daughter; however, she saw the expression on her face and knew something had gone badly. "Wait, what's wrong?"
Scarlet didn't say anything as she immediately buried her face in her mother for a hug.
Rose immediately had a feeling about what happened, seeing both her daughters and Lily's expressions. Something happened to Ren. The Earth News had already released certain details about the Kuiper Belt battle; however, the full casualty list hadn't been released to the public yet.
Once Rose managed to get Scarlet to settle down, she told Rose what happened during the battle and the uncertainty of Ren's fate.
Hearing this hurt Rose, she always thought of Ren as family, and seeing not just Scarlet but Lily, who was also like a daughter to her, hurt so badly emotionally that it only hurt her worse.
Rose could only think of one thing: "Ren, please be safe...wherever you are."
*Volaria, Nighttime*
"Uh...Lucilia...why are you in my room?"
Ren was looking at Lucilia, who was lying on his bed. Ren had just gotten back from the bathroom to see Lucilia lying on his bed in a black nightgown. The nightgown fit her perfectly, showing a good amount of the top of her breast as well as being see-through around her stomach. Her legs were also showing, and Ren couldn't help but notice how her thighs looked in that nightgown.
"What do you mean 'your room'?" Lucilia asked.
"You told me I would be sleeping here?" Ren asked.
After the meeting they had earlier, Lucilia showed him an extremely fancy room that looked almost as big as a small house.
"I did tell you that; however, I never said this was your room." Lucilia said it with a devilish smile. "It's our room."
Ren was dumbfounded by what she said, and all he could think of was "I'm not safe..."
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