The nighttime sky on Glacion, was like something out of a movie. Glistening stars glowing against a black backdrop. A moon which illuminated the ice below, making it seem like something one could only see in their dreams. It was truly a sight to see, I mused, leaning back against my window seat, having just finished filing for a temporary stand-in. After the incident in the hallway, I had made sure to keep my distance from the woman, not wanting to have to explain yet again, that I had no intentions of marrying. I already knew many of my people called me crazy for not wanting a consort, but I stood firmly aside my beliefs. I didn't want my planet..my people to suffer for my choices. So love was completely out of the question.
I did often wonder, though. What was it like to be in love? What was it like to have a warm body pressed upon my own, in a dance of passion? Would my stomach flutter, like those in stories? Would I feel as if I were on a cloud of bliss?
With those thoughts, however, I had to remind myself why I chose not to fall in love in the first place. What if I made the same mistake as my parents had? What if I left my people vulnerable in order to save one life? It didn't seem worth it. I was too protective over my own people to allow such things to happen.
Was that wrong of me? To put my people's needs above my own? I doubt it. Though, I was sure some people felt differently than I did. I didn't blame them. Each person was entitled to their own opinion, anyway.
Blowing out a puff of air, I stood up from my seat and made my way out into the hallway, seeing a few servants scurrying about to get their chores finished. I spotted a young boy watching everyone move with wide light green eyes. I caught his gaze and waved him over, watching him stumble on his little feet as he rushed to my side.
"Your Highness! Whatever do you need?"
I smiled fondly at him and knelt down to his height, ruffling his short platinum blonde hair. "I need you to contact Cuban and ask him to whip me up some Bloomberry tea. Tell him also to give you one of those iced rolls for your help."
The boy nodded eagerly and rushed to do my bidding, nearly tripping a couple of the servants in the process. I chuckled quietly and walked back into my room, pulling out my small glass tablet. I pressed the icon to get into it and began scrolling through my emails, deleting those that had nothing to do with me, and responding to those that needed my immediate attention.
I noticed that I had quite a few invitations to parties and balls, from the planet Hewon, to a small moon base in the Corvan galaxy. In order to keep up my appearance and status in the royal world, I sent a message out to my tailor, asking her to create two outfits for me. I also responded to the emails, assuring them that I would be making an appearance at the party and ball.
After all of that was taken care of, I carefully sat my tablet down onto my pod, yawning as there was a small knock on my door. Assuming it to be my tea, I walked over and opened it, smiling down at the tiny boy. He handed me my cup of Bloomberry tea, and I nodded my thanks before he ran off, probably to brag to his friends. Ah, to be a child again, I thought, frowning as I was suddenly hit with a blast of sadness. Even though my parents both were killed for a mistake, I still had moments where I missed them dearly. I could still remember the days where a tinier version of me would be running down the hall, a smile on my chubby face as my father chased after me. My mother would be sitting in the open ice garden laughing as she sipped at some Harwin Wine. My mother and father were so happy, then. They weren't the typical serious king, or queen. They joked around with the servants, and even occasionally ate with them from time to time.
I sighed and walked over to my mirror, staring at my white hair and white eyes, both inherited from my mother. My sharp features were from my father, from my narrow nose, to my full lips and sharp chin. Even today, people remind me that I looked so much like them.
I frowned, brushing my long hair over my shoulders, the silky strands hanging down to my waist. And it wasn't uncommon for the Glacic males to have long hair. Nor was it strange for a Glacic woman to have short hair. Although, it was usually royalty that fell under this category. Another thing that set us apart from a lot of species, other than our extreme pale qualities and razor sharp teeth, was our lack of ears. Now, I wasn't saying we didn't have ears, since we did, but our ears were holes on the sides of our heads. Our planet was so cold, that if we had ears...say, like a human's, they would have froze and broke right off. We were the perfect creatures to inhabit an icy planet like this.
A sudden ringing sound had me looking away from the mirror, my thoughts long forgotten as I made my way to my tablet. I picked up the delicate thing and swiped the screen, showing a nearly realistic hologram of an older woman, her dark hair piled up on her head, a few curls escaping to stop above her dark blue eyes.
"King Asurah! I'm so glad that you accepted our invitation to the Hewon Ball! Everyone will be ecstatic to see you attending!"
I nodded, sitting down on my pod. "Well, as a king it is mandatory to attend such things. Although, I do look forward to your wine and delectable dishes."
Lorah clasped her hands excitedly, a smile on her worn face. "I will have your favorite there, too! I heard from a little bird that you enjoy Hera's pickled greens."
I felt a smile form on my lips at the information. "I look forward to that. The Hewon Ball is next week, right? Just to make sure."
Lorah nodded, her curls bouncing ecstatically on her head. "Indeed, on the day of the Moon Harvest."
"Then I shall see you there, Queen Lorah."
"And I you, King Asurah."
With that the call ended, letting me place the tablet down. I sighed and rubbed at my face, lifting my arms above my head to stretch. While I claimed I was excited to attend the ball, I was actually not. I was sure that they would have invited some of the people I disliked, including Prince Ogton from Jehne, or even Princess Dommonah from Xecto. I had no desire to converse with those I disliked, but that is basically what being king meant. It meant we had to go places and converse with those we hated.
It sucked that it was on the day of the Moon Harvest, as well. I had actually had plans that day, but it seemed like I would have to cancel in order to make it to the ball.
I scrunched up my nose and shook my head, disappointed. Well, there goes my free day. Ha. As if kings had free days. I ran my fingers through my hair and began undressing, ready to rest after a long day. After I was nude, I placed my garments by the door, so that a servant could pick it up and properly wash it. I walked over to my pod with the intentions to lay down, only to pause as everything began to shake. My eyes wide, I listened to the screams in the hallway, as the whole palace...nay...the whole planet shook. And suddenly everything stopped, not even a whisper sounding in the dark, until what sounded like metal being scratched sounded, the palace shaking once more.
What the hell just happened?
I rushed and yanked my garments on, manually opening my bedroom door just as a servant was doing the same. The hallway was completely dark, save for a few beams of moonlight illuminating through the windows.
"Your Highness! It seems that something has crashed by the Wynter Village!"
"Crashed? Is it a ship?" I demanded, making my way to one of my small ships.
The servant nodded vigorously, her white hair billowing out behind her as she moved. "It's nothing we have seen, Your Highness. At least, not on this planet. It seems that the craft is Human made."
I stopped in my tracks, staring at the servant with a look of disbelief. "Humans? Why would they be out this far in the universe?" I shook my head and gave the servant a stern look. "I will need a few soldiers to assist me in capturing these humans. I want to know why, and how they are here."
The servant nodded and rushed away, leaving me with my thoughts. Were they here to destroy us? Better yet, how did they get here? From my knowledge, humans weren't nearly capable of making ships that could make it this far into the universe. Hell, they could barely even make it to their own moon, let alone a planet billions of miles away. I guess there was only one way to get answers. And that was to capture and question them. I could only hope that they were not here for malicious reasons. Or else we would have to once again, go to war.
A/N: And here is chapter two! I hope you are enjoying it so far! Let me know what you think about it, and if I'm doing alright in this Sci-fi genre. :)