Chapter 1: Shining Prince

Eva Wei – May 7th 2085 – 11:45 pm – Excalibur Base, Byrus

Every Rebel Byrian, formerly imprisoned human (aside from myself), and whatever other poor aliens the Crogs had been abducted from their home worlds and dumped here on Byrus, were all asleep. It was just me and my half-redheaded self all alone sitting on the top of the metal roof gazing out at the glittering stars above. All alone now but not for long; I succumbed to a smile that not even the training bruises on my back or the scars on my body could hinder at the thought of who'd be ''joining me'' tonight.

I'd never met him but I would know him the moment I saw him by the way he described himself to me. He had crimson skin tanned by the sun of his planet. I could clearly see his blue eyes twinkling in the night. His auburn hair could only be outmatched by the golden sun. He was a great warrior, an honorable knight and kind prince and to top it off he was nineteen making him only a year older than I was.

But even with all the daydreaming there was still a great darkness within him. He was helpless as the invaders (who I took to be the Crogs) ravaged the capital city, murdered his people, and forced him and his own fellow knights to fight for the invaders and do the same horrible things they'd done to his home to do to other planets or else the invaders would wipe them out.

He knew just as well as I what it was like to take life to save others, what it was like to be kicked around in a fight and to be beaten senseless because someone above us had the power to do it and get away with it.

I saw the gashes on his back just like he saw all of mine. We were soldiers; getting nearly killed was just a part of the job description. But just because we were soldiers and were beaten on a regular basis didn't mean we didn't feel the pain; spectators like to believe we were just so strong that life-threatening injuries didn't even faze us. Well that was the reason they were spectators and we were soldiers. We did feel the pain and it hurt like hell every time. We weren't super heroes (though we could sure as hell use one) we were only normal people with normal limitations who chose to fight back. The only thing that really separated us from them was that over time we numbed the pain to save ourselves. But that numbness could only cure us for so long and we had to wake up and deal with the pain whatever way we could.

My Shining Prince and I dealt with the pain together. We eased each other's pain and we shared a genuine happiness few others knew.

A whisper from the stars called out to me and I knew it was him.

''Shining Prince… I missed you…'' I whispered back to him, failing to hold in the giggle.

He laughed sweetly as well and asked what was so funny.

''We have to stop meeting like this…I want to see you…I want to know you're name and for you to know mine,'' I told him.

He sensed my hidden frustration and caressed it with the right words and a promise.

''As long as I'm waiting for you, I'll wait beyond forever.''

That was all he needed to hear to warm his heart the only way he would ever let anyone.

My Shining Prince was far from perfect. So far that there was once a time he was sure he would kill himself because of the endless pressure he suffered on his home world. I made him swear to me that before either of us died, we would meet each other and know each other's names.

''One day soon…not even the rule of the stars will keep me from knowing your name,'' I said.

He said one more nothing before he wished me sweet dreams and said three words that melted my heart every night he said them.

''I love you, Shining Prince.''

The only way we could ever hurt each other was by saying good night, so we never said it and always ended with the same three words that were more than enough.

The cold wind from the night air forced me into the base and back to my cabin that I shared with a stray dog whom I had dubbed Boxer. He was brown haired, scruffy, but loyal mutt that was once the beating toy of a few young Crogs and had all the old broken bones to prove it. He was asleep. Boxer knew he could follow me anywhere but he hated the cold nights and much preferred the cozy sheets of my bed.

That night, just the same as every other night, my Shining Prince did the impossible and took my mind off of the war.