The Talamute Prince

I'm led to a side hall that leads to a staircase that spirits up around inside wall of the hall circling up and around the throne room. Everything was made from nature. There were flat landings that lead out from the steps into other floors of this magnificent structure. The wood glowed in the sun light. I looked up at the ceiling studying every aspect of the oversized tree house. It seemed they didn't have any electricity so the lights jars with some sort of flammable liquid pooled in the bottom. They hung several feet from the ceiling. Although they didn't let off much of a glow at the moment. The natural light drowned out the light from the flames. There were an abundance of windows to maximize the natural light of day.

'They lived so primatively. Yet it felt so free open and comfortable. Strange.' I thought to myself. 'I've never felt more at home.' There was something truly freeing in the openness of their building. I shook off the feeling and focused on the task ahead.

Once we reach the top I can see a room at the end of the hall that seems to be as busy as a hive of bees tending to their queen. At the end of the hall is a huge fur curtain of multiple colors being lifted and ruffled as people come and go. I see a basket in a woman's hand.. it is filled with clothes covered in blood and a greenish ooze.. the smell of decay gags me a bit as she walks past. I pause my heart in my chest as I hope that I can do something, anything to repay Darevan for setting me free. He has brought great danger to his people by doing so.

'Wait.' I Grip my stomach but the worry I had of harming my unborn child fades quickly. I can feel that it is ok what I'm about to do. It's amazing that I can feel him so strongly even though I'm only a few months along. It's as if I can hear him say it's okay in my mind. I drop my hand and take a deep breath.

"I warn you, our king doesn't look to well." Bowerd pauses at the top step..

"I don't think it will shock me. You have no idea the things I have seen in such a short time span. I don't think my eyes are sheltered anymore. I can handle it." He looks at me in silence for a moment.

"The poisons from the floating city gives him sores, his color is almost orange, and he is very sick." He steps toward the door.

"I can handle it." I reassure him. The huge fur curtain is lifted up to the side to allow me in. I look at the elderly man sitting up in a bed made from tree branches, rope, fur, and some sort of stuffing that I'm unsure if it is straw or some other plant. There was barely any room to move with the amount of people tending to his needs. The room didn't seem to be designed for more than sleeping in as it wasn't large like the ones on my planet or in the city above.

"Your majesty." I bow slightly. He moves his hand waving it toward the door but with his palm facing down to shew away the extra people.

"Ah, you my beautiful lady are a most welcome site to these old eyes." His voice cracked as he spoke. But despite the sickly appearance his eyes still had a bit of shine in them.

"You are too kind. I've come to see if I could help you. Your son has done so much for me it is the least I can do." I walk to the side of his bed. I study his wounds. I had seen sores like his before. The raspites I was forced to heal to try to weaken me. Some festering as the ooze a green substance that is quickly cleaned away only to be quickly replaced by more. His eyes are yellowed and his form looks like a skeleton with skin draped over it. There is no muscle tone left on the gentleman who tries to smile but his eyes show his pain.

"You must be our Goddess, Gomania returned to us in our greatest hour of need. My son has not lied about how amazingly beautiful you are." He stopped to heave a cough producing blood as he covers his mouth with a cloth to catch the uncontrollable spray. Darevan stands to the side helping to hold his father up.

"I'm not your Goddess. I'm Laoonica, just a cursed being bound by the laws of my prophecy I can't escape. There is something I can do for you though." I place my hand on the back of his and lightly grip it.

"I'm not sure you have anything that can help me my dearest Goddess." His voice is rasping still from his coughing fit.

"Please, call me Laoonica, I prefer it." I place my other hand on his shoulder just left of a large opened wound.

"As you wish." He coughs again.

"I don't think this will hurt you, it shouldn't but just bare with me I don't have full control." I take a deep breath in.

"Full control of what?"

"She can heal people." Bowerd chimes in. The king looks at him and back at me.

"But you're not a Goddess." I can tell by the expression on his face it was rhetorical.

"I was born this way, doesn't make me a Goddess simply a uniquely cursed individual." I place my hand on his arm just above one gapping wound and one that had only begun to form. I close my eyes and focus all I can on him and his illness and healing it. I wasn't prepared for the pain that came with trying to heal him. I open my eyes and see the wound by my hand slowly shrinking. I know I have more in me,, I know I can do this.. I close my eyes focusing as hard as I can now. I start to collapse to my knees as the physical signs of his illness slowly start to fade. I feel the tears fall down my cheeks as I fight the pain as much as I can trying to heal more. The sickness soakes every cell in his body. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold my powers in active mode as I cling to his arm crumbling to the floor beside his bed.

"Laoonica let him go." I hear Darevan's voice behind me. I keep hold until I let a blood cuddling scream escape my lips and nothing. Not even a dream as I feel my body lifted and floating through the air. I could feel the breeze against my skin as my limbs dangled freely in the midst of my floating. I'm sure I was being carried but it felt like I was drifting through space again.

My eyes squint as I feel light stretch over them. They flutter open as I stretch my hand in front of the window to ease the transition. I slowly glance around the room which is similar to the kings as well. Very basic layout as though they really didn't care for excessive features which wouldn't explain why this tree house was so big.

"Are you okay?" The look of relief I see flush over Melena's face is comforting. She no longer wears her uniform from Raspacity. Instead she is dressed in brown clothes that seem to camouflage her. The pants look comfortable but the top looks a bit more revealing than she is use to. I've watched her pull at it twice in less than a few seconds.

"Yes, I'm fine. How long was I asleep?" I look around the room. I'm in the middle of a bed much like the one the king was on and to one side is a fur curtain blocking the way into what I assumed was the tree castle. There was a huge wide open widow facing out and away from most of the other houses. I could only see the side of another but could tell that there wasn't a way they could see me.

"Almost a week." I turn quickly from the window.

"A full week, what of the Raspites? What about the king?" A smile stretches across her lips.

"There has been an increase amount of activity from the city starting to stretch futher and father out. Not to worry we are well hidden here. And as for the king most of his physical appearance has returned to normal. He says he can still feel the sickness but..."

"But he is up and about, looking as he did several years ago before all of this started." Darevan had come through the curtain also smiling.

"I'm glad I could help him. I'm sorry I couldn't completely cure him."

"I'm glad you are okay. Your body felt lifeless in my arms. I was worried." He runs his hand through his thick hair causing it to fall in a hypnotic way back to the sides of his face.

"I'm not sure I can die so don't be worried. I'm just tired from it. As I said, I don't have control over my powers." He comes to the side of my bed.

"We, my father, my people, and myself are indebted to you." He bows his head and places his fist upon his heart.

"You freed me, no matter how short lived it is, you owe me nothing. I'm worried that you bringing me here has put your people in great danger." He sits on the foot of the bed. He places one hand on top of the blanket where my feet are.

"There isn't anyone here that will regret an honorable death, and protecting our Goddess is one of the most honorable things we can do." His smile is bright and his eyes sparkle as he speaks. I can see he believes that I'm this Goddess and I feel a deep sadness that he won'tbe convinced otherwise.

"I can't stay in your village." his smile fades.

"Why?" I can hear disappointment in such a short phrase.

"There is something out there on the planet that calls to me. I've felt it since the moment I saw this planet rising into view on the space ship. I have to find it. I feel as though it is a key to being able to be free from this curse." He tilts his head to the side and looks at me.

"Please feel free to leave whenever you are ready, I will make sure you have something to help hide you on your journey and if you wish a guard to help protect you." He says.

"I should go with you. You can't risk being caught again." I look at her.

"I promise you I won't be caught." I look at them both.

"May I request you stay long enough for the feast my father has planned. He has set up the throne room as a feast hall and has made our most prized meals. Most of the village will attend." I nod he grips my hand and kisses the back of my hand before dashes out of the room.

"I really don't think you should go out there alone." Melena insists..

"I have the ability to explode things if I fell like I'm in danger.. I have to find what I seek and I won't put anyone else in danger while I search."

"What do you think is out there?"

I don't know, you see I thought it was the prince that was pulling me to the surface but it's not. Now that I'm here I can feel it out there. There's something begging for me to find it. An answer I must have if I'm to find a way to control my powers." I stare out the window as we sit in silence for a few moments.

"My Goddess I was sent with these for you to wear." A small girl squeezes in the side of the curtain holding a pile of brown clothes for me to choose from. She sits them on my bed and quickly vanishes.

"I'll see you down stairs." Melena says as she too dissappear out of the curtain. I look at the clothes knowing that it is best to wear things that didn't stand out down here. From the stories above the raspites weren't the most dangerous things here.