Star Crossed: Finding the other - 7. Ride with Me

Mekaias

“You want me to what?” I stare in disbelief at Aileta.

She wants me to go with them!

Away from Utrio!

I don’t even think I can survive without her!

I used to lay under that glass ceiling and stare at the sky. I would keep hoping for some way to be free and explore the places my mother had told me.

Now that I am given the chance to do that, I am not so sure.

I can’t leave Aileta and Arnio here alone!

“I promised your mother that I would try and give you freedom by getting you off this planet," says Aileta. "You are still not free. You have the slave markings. Everyone still lives by the ways of before; we simply do not have a King in charge now.”

She grabs my arm and squeezes, “I want you to at least get a taste of it. If it is not to your liking, then you may come back, but only if you do not like being out there. Promise me that you will try and give it a chance?”

What do I even say to that? A life away from Utrio?

I have no idea what is out there!

I have seen how everyone is working around the city. They continue their lives as if the King’s death did nothing. All that changed was that the slaves are now able to walk in the higher districts on their own.

I don’t really want to keep living like that. Working under people in power has left a rather large scar on me.

I did say that I would try to get out for Lucain and my mother. I am fairly sure that they would not want me to be living under Aileta’s new business.

I sigh and nod my head.

“I promise, but is there a way that I may speak to you? I don’t want to just leave you both forever.”

I look over at Arnio next to me.

He isn’t too happy with the idea of me leaving, but he wants me to be free as well.

“Kane will provide everything for you," Aileta says. "I will make sure he has a way for us to keep in touch.”

She runs her fingers against the tattoo on my cheek.

“This is for the best," She nods.

She almost looks like she wants to cry, but the stubborn woman is fighting it back.

I hug her tight and keep my eyes shut to prevent my own tears from falling.

~~
~~

Norian

“We will be leaving in the morning. Get some sleep wherever you can.” The Director claps his hands together and then goes upstairs with Aileta.

“I call the couch!” Remelia jumps onto the couch and stretches her body on it to keep everyone else off.

Remy and George are taking the two rocking chairs and that leaves the floor for me.

Great.

Mekaias and that bouncer, Arnio, are making a sort of bed on the floor in the dining room.

They aren’t going to sleep together are they?

The bouncer lays down and Mekaias immediately curls up against him.

What the fuck?

I feel rage burning in my chest and do everything I can to not walk over and kill the alien that is with my soulmate.

That should be me!

The lights go out and everything is silent. Every now and then I hear Arnio and Mekaias whispering in their language. I hear one of them sniffing as well.

I hope that’s not Mekaias. I don’t want him to hate us for pretty much taking him away from his home.

I watch him silently in the dark.

After what is possibly half an hour, I see him get up and walk outside.

He isn’t running away is he? I don't really know him enough to know if he would or not.

I wait a couple of minutes to see if he comes back.

When he doesn’t, I get up to look outside.

One peek out the door shows that he is sitting on the ground, hugging his legs and watching the sky.

The moon gives a ethereal blue glow on his skin.

I stare for a few moments trying to keep this image in my mind.

A small sniff breaks the silence however.

“I know you are there,” He says without turning towards me.

His ears are turned into my direction however.

“I just wanted to check on you,” I walk over and sit next to him.

His eyes are wet and his arm is scarred.

“I didn’t know you had been hurt from earlier,” I say and reach out to look closer.

He pulls away at first, but eventually lets me look.

A clean cut.

“Yeah, from...earlier,” He barely whispers and looks at me.

I feel my heart beat a little faster as I see his eyes practically glowing in the moonlight.

“Why are you awake?" He frowns. "Didn’t Kane say you should be sleeping?”

“I barely sleep," I chuckle. "I don’t exactly get amazing dreams.”

He gives a small smile in response.

“Me neither,” He runs his fingers into the sand on the ground.

“I have a projector that covers the ceiling of my room with stars," I say. "When I can’t sleep, I just start counting them. One by one. I'll keep counting until I can barely stay awake.”

He circles a finger in the air and a small purple light floats in front of us. It then splits into three small lights that swirl around.

They keep splitting and then a small violet galaxy is floating above us.

It disappears in a shower of purple dust.

“When I was younger," Mekaias says, "my mother would make different creatures made of light dance around and lure me to sleep.”

A small wisp from his palm floats out and then a birdlike creature with a long neck materializes. It flaps it glides around us before disappearing into a cloud of energy.

“Now I can do it myself, but it’s not the same.”

“How are you able to do that?” I ask, unable to help myself.

Teleporting and summoning weapons was new to me, but seeing all this...it's amazing!

I haven’t met any other species that can do this.

I am still not entirely sure what his species is. First one I’ve met of his kind; that’s for sure.

“It’s magic,” He says.

I give him a confused look and he laughs.

As soon as I hear it, I automatically I love that sound.

It’s all light and bubbly.

I smile as he tries to explain the wonders of his powers.

~~
~~

Mekaias

I don’t know why I told Norian all those things. Nobody else knows that my mother used her magic to help me sleep.

That is personal and I told him it like it was nothing!

I even gave him a small show like my mother used to do for me.

He seemed to enjoy it. He almost looked like he was going to fall asleep.

I found that pretty cute honestly.

“You know, you are very strange.” He says out of nowhere.

“Why do you say that?” I smile and lay down on my back.

“The first time we met, you smelled like spices, but now you smell like mangoes.” He gives a big smile at that.

I just look at him in confusion.

“Is that good?” I ask. "I don't know what that is."

He laughs and shakes his head.

“It is a fruit back home on Earth," He says. "You should try it when we get there.”

At that his eyes go wide and his smile gets even wider.

“I wonder what else you haven’t tried," I poke my chin. "I can’t wait to get you to try all these different foods and things!”

“Now I am nervous,” I smirk and close my eyes.

After that, we laid there in a peaceful silence.

I honestly thought I was just going to rest for a few minutes.

It ended up being a few hours.

I am surprised I slept so well last night. I didn’t even use Arnio for body heat!

I woke up in Norian’s spot on the floor.

Aileta had to get Arnio to wake me since I do not do well with mornings.

I know I shouldn’t have stayed up so late last night, but I needed some space to really think about what is coming next for me.

Norian coming to see me was a nice surprise.

I get up and ready before grabbing the only thing that I own.

The life stone.

Aileta ended up packing a giant bag filled with clothes and most likely more of that fancy underwear.

She added a hammock as a goodbye present.

Arnio gave me one of his feathers.

After I had put all my stuff on the ship, it was time to say goodbye.

I gave a tight hug to Aileta, thanking her for everything she had done for me and my mother.

She actually started to cry.

It was very strange to see and it brought tears of my own.

I hugged Arnio and kissed his cheek.

Pretty sure I heard someone huff at that.

I thanked him for being a great friend and wished him well.

As I was walking on the ship, I turned to wave one last goodbye.

Aileta and Arnio both used their fingers to touch their foreheads, and then the area over their heart, and then held their palm forward.

That is a wave used to those that are getting off of this planet. It is rarely used.

To see it now brings a new set of tears to fall.

I go to sit next to Norian and strap myself in.

Off to a new adventure I go.

~~
~~

Norian

“Welcome to our building!” Remelia hauls Mekaias by the arm past the door.

I never really realized how short he is until I see him next to literally anyone else.

I am used to practically everyone being smaller than me, but seeing your mate next to others that are taller is a little intimidating.

I know he can most likely handle himself, but it still leaves me a bit on edge.

I carry his suitcase and put it in the empty room next to mine. It is a little smaller than all of the others, but I am sure he will be fine.

Not to mention that I am hoping he would move in with me instead.

Remelia finally brings him to his room and we leave him to get settled in.

I immediately go to find the Director.

I should probably tell him that Mekaias is my soulmate.

I find him in his office as usual.

He looks up as soon as I walk in. “Need something, Norian?”

“Um, yeah. It’s kind of important.”

Why am I feeling so nervous all of a sudden? It’s not like this is his dad, right?

“Is it more soulmate stuff? I think I know a big planet we could visit. It has a history of helping Metonian’s match with their mates.” He smiles and fumbles through his monitor.

“It is soulmate stuff, but we don’t need to look for them anymore.”

He stops and looks up at me. At first he is confused, but then realization seems to dawn on him because he grins and laughs.

“So Mekaias, huh? That’s great! Good thing you told me this now and not in front of Aileta. She would have tried to make him stay back on that planet.”

He chuckles and has a fond smile on his face.

“I would have left the squad and stayed on the planet," I frown. I don’t even hesitate when I say that.

I know it is true. I know that without a doubt, I would’ve moved there; even if I don’t know the language.

His smirks and shakes his head. “Well, my man, what are you going to do?”

“I was kind of hoping you’d help me figure out something," I say. "Since you knew him from before.”

“Listen, the last time I saw him was twelve years ago. Sure, I knew him when he was a lot younger, but a lot has changed since then. He has slave tattoos and the dead king’s symbol tattooed on his cheek. To say I don't know what he’s like now would be an understatement.”

“Slave tattoos? I didn’t see any slave tattoos.” I furrow my brow and sit down in the chair by the desk.

“The eyeliner around his eyes? Yeah that’s not makeup. They tattooed onto his eyelids because he would heal any burns from being branded," He says. "He was tortured and abused for years, Norian. Aileta told me. She even sent me clips that they had stored. I was going to tell you and the squad later today but I wanted you all to help him get settled.”

“W-what did they do to him?” I feel my voice shaking from anger.

Why the hell would anyone want to hurt him?

I hate whoever hurt him, but I can’t help but hate myself for taking so long in getting to him!

“Are you sure you want to know? I would prefer if I told you all as a group.”

I just nod and he continues.

“The videos show three Firelight captains abusing him. Two would cut him practically everywhere on his body. You will not see any scars now because his species has the ability to heal themselves rapidly. They can practically heal anything. Well, not everything. He used to have a tail. A long black thing. He was rather fond of it from what I remember. Well they cut it off. I guess he couldn’t regenerate a cut off tail."

The Director sits his elbows on the table. "Norian, I am going to have to ask you to let go of that chair. You are going to break it.”

I look down and see I am gripping the armrests tightly and the metal is starting to bend into my fist. I let it go quickly.

“Sorry,” I say sheepishly.

“Do you want me to continue?" He asks. "They have done worse. I only want you all to know that he has been through a lot. Just be gentle with him.”

I give a small nod and get up to leave.

Now I really want to get out of here.

At the door I stop, “I’ll tell them you want to talk to the squad tomorrow. I’ll stick with Mekaias. I don’t really want to hear the rest. I can piece it together already.”

“Very well," He nods and turns to his monitor.

I walk back to the building and see that Remy and Remelia are cooking up something to eat.

Mekaias is sitting at a stool watching them and smiling.

I go to stand next to him and end up hugging him instead.

He looks a little shocked at first but doesn't pull away or anything.

“Are you...alright?” He asks. I just smile and nod.

How can he naturally ask me that? Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?

I say goodnight to everyone, saying I am not hungry, and go to my room.

I strip down to my boxers then sit on the edge of the bed and stare at my hands.

Right now I feel like a failure.

I know I can’t go back in time and get to Mekaias faster, but the guilt of coming so late is eating at me.

He went through ten years of that hell!

All those dreams of being locked in a glass room, the marks on the wall that represented a day there...how can he even smile right now?

He seems much too normal and happy to look like someone who suffered for that long.

I will have to ask him one day; when he trusts me enough to tell me.

I do not want to push him.

Too hard.

~~
~~

Mekaias

I close the door to my new room and look around.

I have a bed, bathroom, and a monitor that covers half the wall.

Remelia says the monitor is the biggest one in the house. I don’t really know how it works so I leave it alone.

I go to the bathroom and start a shower.

I strip from my clothes, then remove the cloths and beads from my hair.

I step into the hot water and stand there, letting it hit my face for a minute.

This is all very weird. I haven’t been in a place like this. There is so much green and blue on this planet. There is mainly grey though. Grey buildings and roads are everywhere. There are still beautiful plants and animals of many new colors however. It is pretty nice. Everything is just nice. Seems built to perfection compared to the homes on Utrio.

The only downside is that I don’t have the familiar comforts of home with me. I do have the life stone, but that is it.

I finish washing up in the shower and then wonder into my room.

I sneak under the covers of my giant bed and turn the lamp off.

It feels like I am in a palace, although everyone on this planet seems to have all these things in every household.

It’s strange.

Why didn’t anyone help my planet? Surely there was something to spare for us?

I lay there for awhile, until I hear a knock at the door.

I get up, pull a knife out and then open the door slowly.

Norian smiles at me with a giant machine in his hands. He looks down and his eyes go wide.

I dispose of the knife but he looks away immediately.

“Um, I-I thought I’d set this up for you.” He stammers, offering the machine to me.

I take it and bring it inside.

I set it on the bed and look back at him.

“What is this?” I ask.

He still trying to look anywhere but at me.

“I-It’s a planetarium projector. M-Mekaias? Can you put on some underwear or something, please?” He turns his back to me and I look down.

Oh.

I go to the suitcase and pull out a pair of shorts and put them on.

“Is this fine?” I ask.

He turns, his face very red.

“Not really but good enough,” He huffs out a small laugh.

He walks in, plugs a cord into the wall, then puts the projector on the side table. He cuts the lights off and then turns the projector on.

Thousands of stars are then shining on my ceiling and I can’t help but gasp and lay back on the bed.

I stare wide eyed as stars and planets of different colors are sitting up there for me to watch.

“Thank you,” I whisper, unable to take my eyes off.

“You’re welcome,” He chuckles and then goes to leave the room.

“Wait,” I sit up and reach out for his hand. “Can you sleep with me? I-um...my kind usually needs body heat to sleep.”

He stares back with wide eyes for a moment but then he slowly nods.

He does something I did not expect.

The rocky parts that stick out of his body sink into his skin until it's all completely smooth. His skin then turns from a dark grey into a lighter grey.

He seems even more nervous now.

I pull him into the bed and under the covers.

As soon as he is comfortable, I lay down against him.

He sighs and brings his arms around me. He hugs me tight and I hear him sniff my hair, his nose tickling my ears.

“Just like mangoes,” He gives a small laugh and starts to rub my arm.

I breathe him in and sigh against his chest.

“Goodnight, Norian.”

“Night, Mekaias.”