By David C. Daoust
The cold wind whipped hair into her face as she finally let her hands flop down over her head in defeat. Mari felt all her hopes recede as the mysterious ship grew ever smaller, she let her arms fall completely to her sides just as the vehicle finally vanished in the distance. Mari found herself alone… she should not be surprised. The hope that welled up, had been unexpected– As unexpected as the ship itself when it appeared in the skies.
The lonely woman turned on her heel, walked boldly into the biting winds. Truly, it was nice to feel anything at this point. The cold wind, at the very least, reminded her she was alive. She existed. She was not a long-lost ghost come to haunt this empty structure. Mari made her way back to the doors she had thrown open to gain access to the temple’s rooftop. She sank back into her truth, into the acceptance of her reality. She walled off the hope along with the biting winds, when she sealed the doors behind her.
It was explained to Mari, that she was going to be alone for quite a while longer. The solitude, that had threatened her very sanity, was at last interrupted by her secret visitor. A secret visitor who wanted nothing more than to clue her in on all the secrets of the universe.
It was heady information, to say the very least.
The Highborn Arkroy made her way back through the oversized corridors. Corridors that had become oh so familiar to the former Princess. She was born in silk and surrounded by Servitors, yet her days as a royal were far behind her. Mari was not satisfied with such a life– nor the future it promised. She craved adventure, excitement. Tales of starship battles filled her imagination. She clawed her way up out of the creature comforts of her people and found herself enlisted. Soon after, found herself a soldier in a war. Battle after battle, she became less of what she was— the naive little girl that thought such battles might be fun. Until she just sat coldly with the reality of what she had become.
Mari did not leave the battles behind on her own, she had met her future husband in that war. She was a starfighter pilot, while he was a mechanic; an engineer that ran maintenance on her fighter. The two had toured the Onion together. When all was said and done, she knew he was the only one that could understand her.
The two went on to get married and start a family. A family that was rejected by her Highborn family. They rejected them both, rejected him as a commoner, and her newborn son as well.
The Arkroy was a race of man spawned from the thirteen royal families of the Ark Age, which more and more, saw themselves as something greater than. There were Highborn and there were Lowborn— commoners simply did not count in their eyes.
The Swans rejected her, the Arkroy as a whole rejected her, yet she was warmly welcomed by her new family.
A family that put down roots on the small moon Twin Crown.
When the Black Lung infection spread among the population, she watched her husband choke as the black liquid sputtered from his lungs… watched him choke to death, helplessly.
Yet, there he was, again and again, her secret visitor, reassuring her– they had a plan.
Apparently, it was only a matter of synchronizing their intentions.
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