SWNOVELS Chapter 20
"Officer Meldow, hello." I say as she comes up beside me.
"The glass can handle being hit by meteorites, I think it can handle holding you and I don't think anyone would mind you stepping out into it. Patrick does it all the time." She smiles. I tilt my head as I haven't heard anyone else call him Patrick.
"Are you sure?" she looks at me and holds her hand out. I slip off my shoes and step out into the glass and walk forward. It takes my breath away as it makes me feel as though I am flying through the stars with no aide.
"It's one of my favorite thing." I turn to see Patrick joining me as Officer Meldow walks into the captain's office. I look at her for a moment knowing Patrick's parents had just been on a call. Why was she going in?
"It's amazing." I say as he put his arm around me drawing my attention back to him. We stand there together quietly looking out at the universe speeding by and for that second it feels like everything has lifted away.
"The council is almost ready." The captain says as he steps up to the edge of the glass.
"The captain isn't so brave; he says it feels like he is going to fall out here." Patrick says and I giggle a bit. The captain just smiles with a look of sarcasm on his face as though he wanted to rebut Patrick but knew he was right.
"It is good to see your spirits lifted even if it is on my behalf." I look at him as he holds out his hand to aid in my balance as I slid my shoes back on. The captain then goes ahead of us but I pause at the door as I look in only a few faces are back up.
"What is wrong?" Patrick asks as he has taken a step in the looks back at my frozen form.
"They are going to vote against me being isolated, they are going to vote I be locked away and never released." I know it and I can see it in the few faces that have come onto the screen.
"We will be together and that is all I care about. Come on we will face this together." He holds out his hand and I take it as we step up to the table and as per usual he pulls out my chair for me. I look at the melted table that now held the two hand prints melted into it from earlier. At this point I have to admit I am grateful he had pulled me back as I truly don't need any more ghost in my head. I watch as one by one all the screens come back on including his fathers. I am glad to see that the phone call wasn't bad news. Now I have to focus though on what is about to happen even though I can tell what they are about to say. I know that my choices are now very limited.
I sit literally on the edge of my seat as I wait for them all to come back onto the screen. "Are you capable of continuing now Councilman Wolf?" Maggie asks as everyone is back in their seats and ready to end this two-day ordeal.
"Yes I am." He says.
"Might I please beg you all to reconsider this idea of sending me to a prison planet, please?" I ask but sadly they just look at me as though nothing I said would change what they have decided.
"It is a refurbished prison Princess Laoonica and can be designed to you specifications." The red headed man responds.
"The key word in your sentence is prison councilman." I do not hide my irritation at this man.
"I understand your stand, where you are coming from Princess, but in light of what I have witnessed there is no other way." Maggie says. There is no way this woman could ever understand what a prison truly is. I doubt very seriously given her position she had ever spent a second in confinement.
"If you knew of a way to control your powers, any way what so ever, then we would reconsider. As it stands at this moment I am agreeing with Council woman Maggie. All in favor of a vote say I." Patrick's father speaks. I watch in horror as all the members of the council agree to take a vote. All eleven of the members go one by one go through and express their individual opinions, but everything I hear is not good. Every single one of them agree now that I should not be isolated. Every single one of the council members are for surrounding me with people. I cannot believe that this is really what everyone wants. I look over at Patrick his head is now hung looking down at the table. My stomach turns twisting with nausea at the thought of what might happen to all the innocent people that would be locked away with me.
He whispers to me, "I am sorry, but at least we will be together." I say nothing back I am devastated. No one seems to understand why they are so willing to chance the death of their people. I feel betrayed by Patrick, but I am not angry anymore at him. I know he was doing what he thought was right, but it didn't help my case to be isolated.
"Now that everyone has spoken, it is clear that we are all in agreement in three days a ship will arrive to transport you to Nabotia." Maggie says. "Your new orders Lieutenant Wolf will be in your progress report no later than tomorrow. Now if there is nothing else..." I look at Patrick and back at them as she speaks. I know that the captivity I have grown up with would eventually break him and I couldn't do that to him.
"Wait," I can't believe I am about to do this but they have left me with no choice, "Please wait I..."
"Yes princess?" Patrick's father answers which shut everyone up so that I could speak.
"You said that if there was another way to control my powers you would reconsider your decision." I don't look over at Patrick but I feel his eyes upon me.
"If there were away to have you control your powers to the point that our enemy to gain access to your abilities we would allow you to spend your life the way you see fit." Maggie answers. I could feel my heart racing in my chest as I know my father would not have approved of what I am about to do.
"There is away. I didn't bring it up because of the sacrifice that would have to be made." I glance out of the corner of my eye to see Patrick look at me confused. I can tell that he is a little hurt as well that I have not brought it up prior to today.
"And what is this way?" Maggie looks at me. I sit silently for a moment contemplating rather it is truly worth the sacrifice also I want to tell Patrick before I tell them. I want him to be the first to know the truth. I also want to be able to explain why I have not come forward with it till now.
"I have one request before I do say anything." I say hoping they will agree.
"What is it that you need?" His father asks.
"I wish to call a recess till tomorrow." I am shaking as I thought more and more on it. This was it no more me, but maybe it is for the best seeing what I can do.
"Very well we will reconvene tomorrow. Whatever you have to say better be able to change our minds I will postpone any orders until after you fill us in tomorrow." Maggie says with a scolding look at me. The screens go blank and the captain, who has sit quietly looks over at me.
"What is it that you are hiding Princess?" he asks; I look at him then back at Patrick who is staring at me impatiently.
"I feel that it is best if I fill Patrick in first." I answer as I stand up and began to pace a bit. It is funny how right he was about eating, that and my nerves are now causing my head to race as well as my heart.
"Of course I will leave you two alone." I look over at Patrick as the captain leaves the room to give us some privacy. He is looking back at me so I look to the floor. I am not entirely sure how to tell him about this part of the prophecy. I have shared most of it with him. This part I have held onto because I just don't want to become subservient to anyone. How will he react?
"Maybe we could go allow me to change and perhaps dinner or something." I say in a method to try to stall the outing of the truth. He raises an eyebrow as I glance up at him.
"Okay let's go." His voice is a little sterner than usual, but he still manages to smile at me and he still puts out his arm to escort me. We leave the conference room and enter the elevator. The trip down to the room is spent in an extremely awkward silence. We don't even look at each other the entire trip and as we enter the long corridor to our room he keeps glancing over at me as though he is trying to gage what I have to tell him.
"Patrick I am sorry I had to hide things from you but I hope that you will understand why after I tell you." I say as I look up at him once I start to head into the room to change. He just stares at me for a second.
"Well I guess you have your reasons. I am not really so upset with you." He responds as he loosens his tie a bit. That part he can do without help as I can tell he doesn't really like them.
"I hid things from you how can you not be angry?" I ask a bit confused by the notion. I have yet to change as I am putting forth my best effort to come out with it.
"The same way you didn't stay angry with me after what I did." He smiles but there is still worry in his face.
"Is it your father?" I ask as he tosses the tie to the side of the couch.
"I saw how bad my father was looking. I don't guess that he will make it too much longer." He says as he flops down on the couch.
"I am sorry but in truth I had no idea that I could do what I did for you. And I don't think in his condition that he would be able to make it here, or if I could even bring myself to repeat it." I am still avoiding the subject of giving up myself to him, for him to control my powers.
"It is ok I promise I am not mad at you. My father made his peace when he first got sick. He has accepted his fate, but he and my mother have been putting pressure on me to quit and come home to continue in his footsteps. I spoke to my mother this morning in the rest room and she says the doctors don't think that he will make more than a week. That there is no other way to do this other than for me to come home." So that explains the woman's voice, however it doesn't explain why it sounded so familiar. I shrug it off, perhaps it was just me trying to find something to cling to after my world was destroyed. He, for some reason, is telling me everything he has been trying to hide.
"Why are you telling me all this?" I ask a bit confused as they had just said he would be ordered to come with me. Wait why did his mother call him twice in one day? I must really be nervous, he is so sincere in his feelings towards me and hasn't given me any reason to doubt him.
"If I have orders to go with you then I won't have to return home then I can be with you instead of taking take over for my father. It is why I did what I did. I knew that if they saw the better side of you they would chose to send you to Nabotia. What else was I supposed to do I can't have a life without you in it. I am sorry for my behavior I know it is not what you wanted." I am taken by surprise. He has done all this just to be with me. I don't say anything to him I am deep in thought over what he just told me. I turn into the bedroom and close the door. I exhale a deep breath then walk over to the closet to pick out a green and white sun dress that I had managed to make in what little free time I seemed to have the last few days. It has thin straps and a tight, white bust leading down into the green floral knee length pleated skirt. I fix my wild hair and brush my hands down my skirt, mainly because my hands were sweaty due to the building anxiety.