Ren opened his eyes; He felt extremely weak, and his body couldn't decide if he was too hot or too cold.
"Ugh...what happened..." Ren said still groggy.
"It is good you are awake." a voice from the side said. "You've been out of it for a bit now."
Ren turned and laid eyes upon Dr. Anessa, and after seeing her, he nearly jumped as he sat straight up.
Ren had never seen a true alien species before, and Dr. Anessa's appearance was nothing like how the people from Volaria looked.
"What are you?" Ren tried to say, but his throat was dry.
"Hear, drink this." Dr. Anessa said as she gave him a cup of water.
Ren looked hesitant, but he felt too thirsty to deny the drink.
Once Ren finished his drink of water, he was able to finally speak. "What are you?" he asked again.
"I'm a Cresonian from the planet Cresonia; however, as of right now, I am your doctor." Dr. Anessa explained.
"Doctor?" Ren asked.
"Yes, you were poisoned, don't you remember?" Dr. Anessa asked.
"I remember eating some type of cake then..." Ren remembered what happened after he tried the fruit on the cake.
"It seems you remember enough. In short, someone poisoned you, and you were at the point of near death. Princess Lucilia called me here, and I treated you." Dr. Anessa explained.
Ren took a second to gather his thoughts before thanking Dr. Anessa for what she had done. Dr. Anessa bowed before walking out the door, and shortly after, the door slammed right open.
"REN!" Lucilia yelled before jumping onto him as he laid on the bed with the biggest smile.
Ren grunted in pain and said "Lucilia I appreciate the hug, but everything hurts right now..."
Lucilia jumped up, realizing that she had just hurt Ren. "I'm so sorry..." she said, looking very apologetic.
"It's fine, Lucila. Just take it easy for a bit..." Ren said with a little laugh.
"Well, aren't you two just the cutest..." Ivy said from the side of the room.
Ren looked over at Ivy, and his jaw nearly dropped at the sight of her. She looked just like Lucilia, but she was older, but not by much, and her body had a very mature charm to it.
"Hello, are you Lucilia's older sister?" Ren asked.
Ivy smiled hearing what he just said "Oh, Lucilia, you didn't tell me he was such a charmer; I may have to just take him for myself~"
Lucilia looked at her mother with anger in her eyes and said "Try it; I dare you."
Ivy laughed at her daughter's reaction and said "I'm sure he wouldn't mind having two brides."
"What's going on?" Ren said, trying to figure out what the hell they were on about.
"Ren, this isn't my sister; she's my mother..." Lucilia explained.
"...What?" Ren was shocked at Lucilia's revelation. "There's no way...she so young..."
"Keep up the praise; it feels good to be complimented." Ivy said with a hint of blush on her cheeks.
"Her name is Ivy, and for better or for worse, she is my biological mother." Lucilia said.
"Hey, you know you love me, but yes, Ren Volarian women tend to look a bit younger than they actually are. There are also medicines that help us look younger, of course." Ivy explained.
Ren forced himself to stop looking at Ivy's beauty and asked Lucilia something he had been meaning to ask "So tell me what happened in detail if you wouldn't mind."
Lucilia sighed and told him everything that had transpired, from when he was poisoned to Cilan's confession and reasoning.
Ren took a minute to think about what she had just told him and asked "So what will you be doing with him now?"
"Even if I wasn't his target, he did attempt to poison me; by Volarian law, that means death." Lucilia said.
"And his death is not going to be a quick death." Ivy said.
"Who cares about him now? The only thing you have to focus on is recovering. So I will not leave your side until you're feeling better." Lucilia said changing the subject because she didn't want to think about how Cilan almost killed Ren, so she decided to change the subject.
"But you're always by my side..." Ren said.
"Yeah, but now you're not leaving my sight...ever." Lucilia said with a scary smile on her face.
"I think I'll be staying here too." Ivy said it with a teasing smile on her face.
"You're what?" Lucilia said, staring daggers at her mother.
"I meant I'm staying here at the house; after all, like you, I'm also assigned to going to the planet Titania, and I want to spend time with my daughter and future son." Ivy said.
"Future son?" Ren thought to himself but decided not to press the issue.
"I refuse!" Lucilia said. She wanted this trip to be just her and Ren for the most part; having her mother there was the second worst thing possible for her; the worst would be her father for obvious reasons.
"Well, you don't really have the choice, Lucilia, my dear; after all, I am an empress." Ivy said with a smile.
Ren saw her smile and thought to himself "If she was anymore seductive, I could swear she would say ara ara to end her sentences."
Lucilia kept going back and forth with her mother, and Ren just observed their conversation; he even smiled at some of their responses. He felt weird getting comfortable in this environment; he was fighting a war against these people not too long ago and was taught how evil and cruel they were. However, seeing these two like this definitely didn't paint that picture; in fact, they were just like how a mother and daughter would act on Earth.
"Should I also sleep in his bed like you?" Ivy asked her daughter.
Okay, maybe not just like...
It was then that the door to Ren's room had a knock on it, and a guard opened it.
"Colette? Is there an update?" Lucilia asked, still annoyed with her mother.
"Yes, ma'am, Cilan has received his punishment. Our duty was accomplished." Colette explained.
"Good work; thank you for everything." Lucilia responded.
"No thanks are necessary, ma'am, but it is greatly appreciated." Colette responded.
"I wonder how they punish criminals here?" Ren thought to himself after thinking about what Ivy said earlier.
*Cliff outside of the ocean*
"HELP ME!" Cilan yelled as loud as he could.
Cilan was hanging at the bottom of a cliff without clothes; his arms and legs were latched onto metal cuffs on the side of the cliff, right where the ocean was. Waves would hit the cliffs violently, exactly where Cilan and other criminals were located. Cilan would feel the pain of every wave hitting him with force, as the coldness of the water was already making him feel sickly. Cilan's screamed as loud as he could, but due to the noise of the ocean, none of it was heard. He would suffer in silence as he suffered due to the waves hitting him. He would always regret that he didn't come up with a better method to kill Ren.
"Ren...I will forever damn your name. Even as I descend to the lowest depths of the underworld, I will forever damn your name until I see you down there myself."
Cilan would later die less than a day later due to extreme hypothermia and infection in the wounds the waves caused him. Once he had died, his body was shown no respect; it stayed on the cliff forever, like many other criminals before him.
*New York City, Earth*
Scarlet, Lily, Serenity, and Tyler were all aboard the USN Eternity that was docked in the space port as Captain Aurora played Ren's final message to them. Each of them was in tears after hearing the words he said.
They all realized this was possibly the last time they would hear his voice.
"Was there really no sign of him?" Tyler asked Captain Aurora, who was also there.
"No, the UNS Kyoto reported there wasn't anything inside the sentinel besides this message." Captain Aurora explained.
"Where is his sentinel now?" Lily asked.
"The UNS Kyoto recovered it, and it is being repaired in the sentinel bay as of this moment." Captain Aurora said.
Scarlet didn't say anything as she walked away. Tyler, Serenity, and Lily tried to stop her, but she ignored them all and walked towards the sentinel bay.
Once she arrived, she saw the damaged sentinel that Ren piloted; it was missing an arm, and the outside damage was significant.
"You fought to the end, didn't you, Ren? But why...why didn't you come back to me? All I ever wanted was to be with you, but now...you left me...WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME REN?" Scarlet yelled at herself in her thoughts.
Her fists clenched, and tears ran down her face. She had to accept it now; he was gone, and she wouldn't see him again, but something inside of her just kept telling her that he was out there somewhere.
"Ren, if you're out there somehow...please...find me. I need you."
--------------------------------------------------------
If you guys want to to support me check out my patreon, it's as cheap as a dollar!
Patreon:
https://patreon.com/Alex_Blackwood628
Discord:
https://discord.gg/97ejzvAGKb