Sulis II. A moon, smaller than its brother and much closer to the main planet. It really does put into perspective how huge these planets are. Hundreds of thousands of miles away and the planet still looks like it's right next to me. Marcus sat in the pilot's seat in front of me. We were in his personal ship. He called it the "Fury." I'm sure he has a story behind it but he was strangely quiet during the flight. The ship was a small two seater. It had two large thrusters in the back and the cockpit was shaped similar to that of a fighter ship in low orbit. In fact it reminds me a lot of the fighter ship Soul inhabits. The "Luther" flew behind us, heading for the same destination. I found myself not very comfortable in the seat. I like to think I'm a smaller than average size but it still felt like a tight fit in this thing. Mostly because the sides of the ship were covered in monitors. The top of the ship was just a giant window, ending at the back of the ship where the engine sat. Marcus' notices me fiddling in the back seat.
"You ok back there?" he asks.
"Kind of a tight fit, don't you think?"
"See the blue button on your left?"
I follow his directions and spot the blue button on the monitor.
"Yeah I see it."
"Push and hold."
I press the button and a motor in the monitors starts to spin up. As soon as they are at full speed, the monitors spread apart and press against the back wall. With the new found freedom, I stretch my arms forward and lay them on his shoulder before hugging him from behind.
"Thank you." I said.
"Care to explain to me why I am even here, captain?"
"Today I am not your captain. You call me Demi today."
Marcus quickly turns his head in excitement, smiling from end to end.
"Does that mean…-?"
"-Not a chance."
"Aww, you break my heart Demi."
"Sorry."
"You still haven't answered my question by the way."
The comms alarm sounds off in the ship before I get to answer and Marcus turns back around to answer it. A broadcast plays on the other end on a wide spectrum.
"Attention ships. You are entering Sulis II's sphere of influence. Enter your I.D. codes now before entering the atmosphere."
Marcus pulls a panel on his right. Inside was a keypad. He enters a 10 digit code before closing it again. Another message plays through the comms.
"Code accepted, please stand by for further instructions."
Another sound plays. Marcus presses a button on his console and the nose of the ship opens up, blocking out the front view. An alarm fires as we approach the moon. Red plumes of fire start to build around the ship as we press through the moon's atmosphere. The weight of the planet was constantly felt, like being pulled from two different directions. Eventually, the moon becomes the dominant force and I am pulled back into my seat as the ship accelerates. The heat shield the nose created dissipates the heat and soon we slow down as we arrive above the cloud level. The heat shield compresses back onto the nose and we are left gliding through the clouds. Marcus tips the nose down and we dip into the clouds, passing through the layer and arriving on the other side.
There we are greeted by the large city below. Its architecture was much different from that of Sulis III. Whereas Sulis III was sleek, bright, and in your face, Sulis II was darker and muddied down. It was very depressing to look at. The vibrant colors didn't exist, the only thing there was gray and brown tones and the light of the gas giant in the sky. Below us sat a huge building, framed similar to that of a large indoor concert hall. Flags of the sultarian empire lined its walls and it stood like a fortress as soldiers stood on every corner. These aren't the same as the SDF that surrounded the royal family. These were military men, like me, armed to the teeth and ready for a fight. Marcus lands the ship on a pad at the top of the building. At the entrance to the building stood two soldiers and a man and woman, waiting for us as we exited the ship.
"Who is that? Is that the…prince?" Marcus asks.
"The prince?"
The seats inside the ship retreat and we are pulled into the back of the ship where we are allowed to stand up and move around. The ramp opens on the side of the ship. Marcus allows me to exit first before following behind me. The man walks up first to greet me.
"Commander Demi. It's good to see you again."
The man's hair was still as curly as ever and wore a dark suit, similar to when I last saw him with back on Cloud. The woman wore a simple black dress and her black hair was long and elegant. Her green eyes were bright and filled with life.
"Prince Dillon. Princess Estella. What brings you here?"
"I never did get the chance to thank you for saving us. I wanted to do it personally." Dillon said.
"But, I didn't, though. Your father…I-"
"Don't. There is no way you can keep track of everyone on that kind of scale. Don't beat yourself up over it."
He was surprisingly calm. I thought he would be angry but, like his sister, it's like he doesn't care or something.
"Plus some seats just opened up next to us." Estella says, "Thought you would want to get the best seats available."
Marcus shortly shows up behind me.
"Hi." He says.
"Sorry, I don't think we met." Dillon says as he reaches out his hand. "My name is-"
"-Prince Dillon. Sorry I'm just so…I'm a huge fan."
"Is that right?"
"Sorry." I said, "This is my pilot, Marcus. He flew the Boseman."
"So that was you flying that thing, huh?"
Marcus chuckles nervously as he attempts to thank him. A soldier approaches from behind and whispers into Dillon's ear. He nods and the guard walks away.
"Come everyone, They want us inside."
Dillion and Estelle walk inside with us in tow. We entered a long hall. There were no windows and the walls were barron. I felt as if it went on for miles. Marcus, a bit star struck, runs up to Dillon and attempts to walk and talk with him.
"So. If you don't mind me asking, the princess…"
"Seriously?" I ask.
"...what makes her tick? What is she into?"
"My sister?" Dillon asks. "You want to know about…my sister."
I could see the prince as we walked down the hall but his entire demeanor changes as he speaks, like he doesn't want to talk about his sister. Marcus backs down and continues with another conversation.
"So uh, I don't understand what is going on here. Why does the princess need to do this meeting with the people's council?"
"We don't have absolute power. Because of some events long before I was born, a council was created to keep the king in check, in case he were to go rogue or something."
"In check?"
"The council will look at my sister and vote on if she becomes queen."
"Wait, so she doesn't just get the title when the king dies?"
"Nope, not here, it doesn't."
We arrive at the end of the hall where chatter starts to echo out of the other room. The guards walk ahead and open the doors. An enormous thrust of sound drowns out the hall and everything opens up in a massive auditorium. The stage was front and center with 5 seats evenly spaced and lined across it. On the out edges were the seating areas, one on each side. Each looks to be able to hold about 50 people. All of them wore expensive looking suits and dresses. I felt very out of place here and I am standing here with the prince of the Sulis Empire. What the hell did I do to deserve to be here? We arrive at the back of the building. There was a small seating area just for us and we all sat down, waiting. Estelle sits next to me with Marcus on the other side. Dillon sits at the far end next to Estelle. I peak my head over the railing down below. A long walkway ran underneath us and toward the stage ahead. Estelle starts to get very jittery as time goes on, smiling and laughing to herself as the building begins to fill.
"I am so excited!" Estelle cheers.
"Excited?" I ask.
"Yeah! Cadence is going to become queen. I'm so happy for her."
"I guess so."
"Did you ever get to talk to her about her little project, yet?"
"Project?"
"Her Starfire."
"How do you know about that?"
"I'm a princess too, you know. I am required to know everything."
"Oh. I'm sorry if I offended you princess."
"-Please." she says, waving her hand in front of me to stop. "I require my friends to call me Stella instead."
"I'm your friend?"
"Yeah, of course. Plus Estelle is so tiring sometimes."
"Oh."
She smiles and continues to observe the gathering. I'm her friend? I admit I am a bit caught off guard by it. I barely know this girl and she already thinks of me as a friend. My annoying friend, D, leans over my shoulder, smiling next to me.
"So, we are making friends with princesses now? Color me impressed." He says.
"Shut up." I sneer toward him.
"Oh my."
"Don't you have anything better to do right now?"
"Well, not really. Plus I want to see the storm about to brew."
"Storm? What storm?"
"Watch and learn."
The lights start to dim with the exception of the lighting over the sultarian flags on each end. Three men and two women enter the stage and everyone in the build erupts into thunderous applause. They sit down and the man sitting in the middle waves his hand, making everyone go quiet. The five men and women wear a variation of the same robe, covering themselves from head to toe. The man in the middle was most elaborate and had a golden mask, covering his face. He speaks and his voice echoes through the building with power and force.
"My people of Sulis, welcome."
Everyone applauds and stops when he waves his hand again.
"Today, mourn the loss of our king who we lost during the tragic events of the planet Cloud."
There is a gentle chatter amongst everyone as he makes the announcement.
"We will find who did this and they will feel the wrath of the Sulis Empire."
Everyone applauds and he waves his hand.
"First some announcements. It has come to my attention that the savior of our king's children is here."
Savior?
"Will Demi of the Nasa Clan please stand?"
Wait what? The applause resumes. I turn to Marcus who is just as confused as I am. Then I turn to Stella and Dillon, who are both encouraging me to stand. The man on stage already knows where I am. His hand is reaching out in my direction. What should I do? What should I say? All eyes were on me as I stood to my feet. The thunderous applause escalates so much I can no longer hear myself think. My ears rang from the loud sounds of two hands crashing together and the floor shook from the crashing of feet. Eventually everyone stands and cheers as loud as they can.
"Commander Demi." The man continues, "Thanks to your heroism, our king's children have returned safely and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts."
Everyone cheers again. Soon they calms down as the man returns to his seat and the woman then stands.
"Before we begin," she says, "We shall now pray."
Everyone sits and starts to bow their heads. The roof opens above us, revealing the planet Sulis and the star it orbits on the horizon.
"We stand here today, greeted by our mother and father, who watch us from above."
Mother and father? Is that what they are calling the planet and star?
"Lord, we pray that today is a productive day. We thank that everyone had a safe travel and that we represent your will and leadership. We pray you guide our king's children and protect their savior from any harm that comes to her. For our mother, who watches us and for our father, who guides us. Hail to the empire!"
"Hail!" Everyone yells.
"Princess Cadence, step forward!"
Everyone applauds as she appears below me. She was beautiful. Her long black hair stood out from the long black robe she wore, like a bright light in the middle of the dark. She stands on the podium in the center of everyone and everything. All eyes were on her. The man in the center stands once again.
"Princess Cadence. You stand here before us, representatives of the will of the people. We welcome you."
"Welcome Princess." chant the other reps.
"Today marks a beautiful day. Today we determine if you are to be ascended into queenship. Let us begin."
The woman stands up next and the man returns to his seat. She stood tall and spoke into the microphone.
"Princess Cadence. In accordance with the People's Accords of 1523. The people have gathered here today to vote on your ascension into queenship."
The woman then pulls a piece of paper out of her robe. The anticipation in the room grows as she organizes and flattens the paper on the desk before her. Stella leans in for a closer look. I can see the excitement growing on her face.
"Here we go." She whispers.
The woman continues fiddling with the paper and desk. An eerie silence falls in the room as everyone waits in participation. Not even the sound of a cough filled the air.
"Princess Cadence. In accordance with the will, the people have spoken! We hereby deny your ascension to queenhood."
An echo of gasps emanates across the building followed by an explosion of chatter. Stella falls back into her seat. Her hand covers her mouth and the look of shock is written all over her face. As for Dillon, I saw no emotion in him, as if he were either expecting it or didn't care. He just leans forward as the chaos continues. Marcus whispers to himself but he was loud enough for me to hear it.
"Oh shit." He says.
D laughs behind me.
"Let the storm brew." He says.
Cadence stands up in a sudden motion and starts to shout at the council.
"What is this?" she yells, "Why do you deny me this?"
"Princess Cadence!" Yells the man in the center. "You are not to speak until we are finished. Is that understood?"
Cadence stands there, quietly. Eventually she sits back down and the woman returns to her seat and continues.
"You have shown you have the ability to both give to the community and its people. However, your ability to lead has been called into question."
The man on the far left speaks next.
"The council has interviewed many survivors of the ordeal. Explain to us why you showed no leadership qualities and why Commander Demi was the one everyone turned to."
Then the man on the right speaks.
"She ordered the evacuation of the planet. She, along with the rest of her crew, went out and saved millions of lives. What did you do?"
Cadence didn't say anything, she just stood there in silence. From where she stood I could see her silhouette. It stood firm, taking in all the damage it was given, but I could hear my heart beat again. The sounds of the chatter and wind above start to fade into silence. The lights start to dim and all eyes focus on the center stage. Cadence's right arm was on her exposed leg. She was twisting something, slowly. I couldn't see from where I was and I needed a closer look, but I can't do that from here. So I lean in, closer and closer. I recognized the barrel. It freely rotated and a light display was on each end. The same gun she had while talking to me. Her hand shook and her veins looked as if they could explode at any moment. They were starting to turn red and I knew what they so much wanted to do. D leans into my ear again.
"Look how angry she is," he says. "You can see her veins from here."
"Shut up." I said.
"Am I breaking your focus?"
"Princess Cadence." The rep continues, "Have you nothing to say now?"
Cadence still stares into the ground. She is just as shocked as everyone else is by the news. Honestly, when your entire world rides on one decision not even made by you, that's her first mistake. I think she assumed it would all go her way. Cadence shakes her head in disappointment. The council continues on.
"For now, we will focus on our late king and prepare his last will. After that, we will resume this matter internally. For our mother and father, hail to the empire."
"Hail!" Everyone chants.
"You are dismissed."
In one fell motion, everyone stands to their feet and leaves. Everyone except me. I'm watching the princess. She's as still as a rock. Not a single muscle in her body moved. Its as if she's stuck in her own head, unable to escape. The auditorium is soon almost empty. Princess Stella approaches me and places her hand on my shoulder.
"Demi? Are you ok?" She asks.
"Huh? Yeah, sorry."
"Come one, everyone has left already."
I observe my surroundings to find that no one is left in my section of the auditorium. I nod my head to her then stand up to leave. I give one final glance to Cadence down below, she still hasn't moved and I am starting to think she never will.
I follow Stella out of the stands but detour behind her back and head down stairs. I arrive at the long hall where Cadence stands, still staring into the floor. I walk up the hall quietly as if to not make a sound or startle her.
"Demi." She says, "What are you doing?"
I stop dead in my tracks, how did she even know I was here?
"I can hear your footsteps." She continues, "If your goal was to kill me, you suck at it."
"I just wanted to check in on you, if that's alright."
"I am fine. I just need time to think."
I walk down the hall until I am standing next to her and sit in the nearest chair.
"Is there anything you need me to help you with?"
Confused, Cadence turns around and stares at me for a moment, like she's contemplating life or something.
"Why are you even here?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you down here? You worry of matters that don't concern you and yet..."
"I...I don't know."
She stands up and places her hand on my head, smiling as she does it.
"Thanks for checking up on me. I'll contact you soon."
She walks down the hall and leaving the auditorium.