Max and Michael stared at the very much alive Alex Whitman in surprise but it was nothing compared to Tess’s reaction. She started to shriek as she tried her best to back away, as Alex approached them, “NO, IT CAN’T BE YOU! YOU CAN BE HERE! YOU’RE DEAD!”
“No, I’m very much alive, despite your attempts to remedy that situation.” Alex informed her. He stared at his would be killer with loathing. Max and Michael were shocked to see anger in his eyes. It wasn’t that Tess didn’t deserve it, it just wasn’t very Alex like.
Max was about to say something when he heard movement behind him. Around a dozen men, aliens, had come up and were arranged in a large circle around them, they were surrounded. He heard Khivar speak in a familiar sounding language before two of the men came forward to restrain a hysterical Tess. They hadn’t even touched her yet when Tess lost it. “MAX! Please! Don’t let them take me.”
“Tess, Max has no way to stop us.” Khivar informed her before he glanced up at his adversary. “He knows that he is severely outnumbered. And I have a feeling that he wants you to pay for your crimes without getting his hands dirty? Am I right, Max? Or in this life can you kill in cold blood and revenge as easy as you did before?”
The men led the out of control Tess away but no one paid attention. They were too busy watching the stand off between Max and Khivar. Even without his men, an onlooker could see that his side had the greater number, Liz, Alex, Kat, even Kyle stood by to do what they could if Max made a move.
Everyone could see Max’s face darken in anger, confirming Khivar’s statement no matter how much he argued. “You’re one to talk about cold blooded murder. After all, wasn’t it you who is responsible for the four of our deaths? So that you could take my throne.”
“Very true.” Khivar answered. “But the attack that killed you was in retaliation for what you did to Enola and my brother. I didn’t need to kill you to take over as king. You had already dug your own grave in that aspect.”
“Your brother?” Max asked confused.
“That’d be me.” Alex butted in. He saw the new surprised faces and couldn’t help adding. “Amazing how things just come together isn’t it?”
“Now I’ve got to ask, how is it possible, man? That you’re alive?” Michael asked overcoming his shock. “We saw your body and everything.”
“Thankfully it seems it takes a lot to kill me.” Alex stated. “Khivar’s men were able to rescue me from the morgue before I died and healed me.”
“But I tried…I tried to heal you.” Max said.
“I had too much brain damage for you to connect. I had to be healed a different way and there are more than one way for us to heal.” Alex explained.
Max turned his attention to where Liz was standing with Khivar, “You knew he was alive. That’s why you didn’t go to Sweden isn’t it? Somehow you found out everything.”
Liz nodded slowly. “That’s right. When I left Roswell for that short period of time, I found out the truth about everything. It’s amazing how your perception of something changes when you know both sides of the story. Things would have been a lot different over the last few years.”
“So what happens now?” Max asked the sardonic tone easily heard. “You kill me again?”
Khivar was about to answer when Liz stopped him, “No, you don’t get off that easy. I have something much worse planned for you.”
This time even Khivar looked at Liz with surprise at what she said. He knew she might have a hard time with what Max’s fate would be and thought she might try to talk him into having Max live out his life in prison. He couldn’t imagine what she might have come up with to punish the fallen king. “Liz?”
Liz looked at him away that told him to go along with her. She looked back at Max and began explaining, “You might have killed me before but in this life you saved my life. Because of that, you won’t be executed.”
“And you can do that?” Max asked surprised. “You have that much power.”
“She does.” Khivar answered. “She’s queen or at least the closest thing our planet has to one and that gives her the power. And if she feels so adamant about it, I won’t vetoed her decision.”
Liz saw Max’s eye twitch at the reference to her being queen. “Instead of dying here today or going back to Antar and being executed like Tess, you’ll stay here on Earth. Your supporters on Antar will be told that you died so you will have no hope of going back.” Liz explained and she saw the relief flood Max’s face.
“But you might wish you’d been killed. Because for the rest of your life, you’ll remember about your life as Zan and the selfish bastard you were and the memories of what has happened here. You’ll have to live with your memories and the knowledge that I’m on Antar. That I’m living happily on Antar with Khivar.”
Liz had never thought of herself as a cruel person but right now all she wanted to do was hurt Max for everything that she was feeling, everything she had experienced because of the things he had done. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew Max pretty well, the good and the bad parts. And she knew that her idea would be a worse punishment than death. Max would run thing over and over in his head and it would make him miserable. She could feel his emotions and she felt like she was standing in the middle of the ocean during a storm as they hit her.
Max felt like a statue as he listened to her and allowed her words to sink in. She definitely knew where to hit him at his weakest point. She knew that he would suffer knowing that she was in the arms of another man, being by his side as he ruled, having his children. The knowledge would eat away at him. “I never thought I’d see the day you put so much of your intellect into planning revenge.”
“I told you before Max…” Liz said. “I’m not a perfect person. We all have our dark side.”
“I guess you’re not the person I thought you were. If you were, you would never turn on me like this.” Max argued. He looked from her to Isabel. “Do you feel the same way?”
Isabel looked unsure of how to answer for a moment before she said, “I think you should except this Max. You’ve hated the idea of being King ever since we heard the message from out mother so here’s you chance to get rid of. Just let someone else do it, someone who wants it and is capable of doing it.”
“So that’s it? You’re just siding with them?” Max asked surprised by her answer. Isabel had always stuck by him. “How do you know they’re telling the truth?”
“Because Alex told me all about and I trust him. So yes, I am siding with them.” Isabel explained. “Alex loves me and has never lied to me.”
“I can see now that I was wrong about you Isabel. You’re just like Vilandra. She betrayed her brother and so are you.” Max said fuming.
“That was uncalled for Maxwell.” Michael said.
“I don’t really care what you think Michael.” Max snapped.
“No, you wouldn’t, would you? Why would you?” Michael asked.
“Right now is not the time to be talking about this Michael.” Max stated.
“Well I feel like talking about it. And you’re in no position to walk away so you’re going to hear me out.” Michael declared. “Ever since we came out of the pods, Isabel and I have always looked to you to lead us. I don’t know if somewhere inside we remembered or we were engineered that way, either way it doesn’t matter. Because we have the choice to not follow you any more.”
“So you’re siding with them as well?” Max asked.
“I’m not siding with anyone but myself at the moment. Unlike you and Isabel I have no memories of Antar. I don’t know who was better Zan or Khivar when it came to leadership. But I can tell you that I don’t like what I’ve heard about Zan so far and like I said, you’re starting to act like him.”
“So it looks like I’m a King without any followers.” Max said looking over at Isabel. “It’s that close to what you told me at school? Fine, if that’s how you feel then I’ll stay out of your lives.”
Before any of them could say anything, Max spun on his heal and headed towards the jeep. Khivar signaled his men to let Max go. He hopped into the driver’s seat and within seconds he sped off in a cloud of dust. The group of seven watched on as he disappeared.
Isabel watched as her brother vanished into the desert and couldn’t help but feel the loss from it. He was after all her brother but she had chosen her side and that included the man she loved. She turned away from the shrinking jeep to look at the others and asked, “What do we do now?”
“We go home.”
PART 34
“When you say home, you mean home?” Michael asked pointing up at the sky.
Khivar nodded. “You’ve proven that you’re at least trustworthy to Liz. I’m sure you know that there is a faction of skins who would like to see you as King but as long as you don’t oppose my reign and try to rise against me, I have no problem with you coming with us.”
Liz could see that Michael was weighing his options but was unsure. She leaned up and whispered an idea in Khivar’s ear. He nodded after she explained and she started to put in plain words what she was thinking. “Michael, I know you’re probably thinking about your memories and stuff but they can be restored before you make your decision. Khivar has a way, a device that will help you recover them. It activates the part of your brain that holds your memories. At least it should, it did for Alex and I but our makeup is a little different than you.”
“How are you different?” Michael asked.
Liz was about to answer his question by telling him the story when Isabel spoke up. “The differences aren’t that big, I’ll tell you about it later.”
“You know Isabel, the offer for the memory retrieval stands for you too. If you want to do it, just say the word.” Khivar informed her.
Isabel looked at Alex and thought about what he had told her about the procedure. It was painless but disorienting when you woke up. She didn’t mind a little discomfort and afterwards she would remember her life as Vilandra. And now that she knew that she had not been an evil person she would like to know. She wanted to remember the other life when she loved Alex or actually Ardeth. Of course doing that would also bring the memories of how she felt when he died; an event that she was sure had devastated her but she wanted to remember. “I’ll do it.”
“Isabel…” Michael warned.
“Don’t try to talk me out of this, Michael. Alex and Liz went through it and they are fine. I want to.” Isabel stated firmly. She knew things were moving quickly and she was going to have to keep up with it. She was standing by her decision to gain her memories; it was the first step in several decisions she was going to have to make. Decisions that would end up greatly affecting her life.
She realized something else, all her life all she wanted was an average life, something she couldn’t have. But she had had it before on Antar. Granted the life of a princess had probably not been ordinary but it was a life where she didn’t have to hide a part of herself. She had had a mother who knew who she was and although she knew that her Antarian mother and her had disagreed on certain viewpoints, it still meant a lot to her. She pulled herself from her thoughts and said, “Okay, where do we go and when do we get started?”
Liz admired her friend’s courage and said, “First thing we need to do, is work something out with your parents. You don’t have to tell them the truth but they’re going to notice that you’re gone.”
“You’ll going to be gone at least another night.” Alex jumped in. “Like I told Liz, the whole thing takes a lot out of you and you’ll be asleep for a while. But don’t worry, I’ll be there when you wake up.”
“So where are we going?” Michael asked gruffly.
“There’s a compound with Khivar’s men not twenty minutes away.” Liz explained.
“So let me get this straight, you want us to go to the Skins’ headquarters?” Michael asked. It was clear by the look on his face that he thought they were insane.
“It’s not all Skins, there are some of our race too.” Liz argued.
“As I said, you’ll be safe from my people.” Khivar stated. “If you decide you don’t like the situation when you get there, you can leave of your own free will.
Michael stood there for a few minutes, thinking it all over before he grumbled out his answer, “Fine, let’s get this over with before I change my mind.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Michael rode with Liz in her dad’s truck while Isabel rode with Alex and Khivar. Kat and Kyle went back to Kyle’s house to try and start explaining to his dad what had been going on over the last few weeks. He knew that his dad was going to be upset about Tess’s betrayal and hoped that it wouldn’t be the last straw for him. He had been suffering since he lost his job and Kyle could see he was just threading water.
Michael was surprised by how close Khivar’s headquarters was to Roswell without them even knowing it. They could have attacked at any time and they never would have expected it. As they drove, Liz filled him in on everything from her finding out that Alex hadn’t gone to Sweden to the events of that morning. She even answered some questions regarding their Antarian history. She admitted that she had never really been close to Rath and then explained that after she started seeing Khivar, he had shunned her out of loyalty to Zan. Michael was relieved to find out he had nothing to do with Zan’s attack on Enola and Ardeth. That was where they were when they pulled up at the compound.
Michael climbed out of the truck and cautiously looked around. It appeared to be deserted but he knew that it was deceiving. To prove his point, a guy who appeared to be older than him suddenly appeared before them. Michael knew he had never seen the guy before but his snide smile and the look in his eyes struck a familiar chord in him that only took him a second to figure out. “Nicholas.”
“Figured it out a lot quicker than I gave you credit for Michael.” Nicholas jibbed. “Seems you’ve come across a couple more brain cells.”
“Looks like you finally made it out of puberty.” Michael snapped back.
“Yeah, well it seems like many things have changed since the last time we’ve seen each other.” Nicholas stated. “Finally see the error of following the idiot boy king?”
“Nicholas,” Liz growled in warning, “Stop baiting Michael. Or you just might find yourself on the wrong end of a vacuum cleaner.”
Nicholas was about to say something when Khivar threw him a look. “I suggest you show Liz the proper respect before I decide to not forget the many mistakes you’ve made since you arrived on Earth.”
Nicholas was not stupid, he knew by Khivar’s tone that his king was deadly serious. He should have expected no less, he remembered how Khivar favored anything Enola wished on Antar and should have assumed it would occur again when the two lovers were reunited. So he held his tongue, he knew that he was only hanging onto his life by a string after his failed attempts on Earth to kill Max and his followers. It would drive him insane to put up with Michael but he’d do it to save his own skin. “The arrangements you ordered for your guests have been taken care of, I’ll go check on security.”
Michael watched a defeated Nicholas leave and smirked, “That was fun.”
PART 35
Thankfully the compound had two healing tubes so Isabel and Michael were allowed to go into them at the same time. Alex kissed Isabel quickly, told her he be waiting for her and then helped her inside. Michael waited until she was settle before he too climbed inside. Then it was time for Liz and Alex to wait. While Alex stayed, Liz went off to find them some clothes and other things for the two. After a morning in the desert and half a day sleeping, they would probably feel like freshening up. She also arranged for rooms for them and some food to be waiting.
Later after finishing up her errands and spending some time with Khivar, Liz went to check on Michael and Isabel. They had finished up their time in the tubes and been moved to one of their rooms. Alex was still by their sides. As she entered Liz asked, “How are they doing?”
“Kat checked on them not long ago and she said everything looks good so far. They should be waking up at any time.” Alex informed her.
“How are you doing?” Liz asked as she put her arm around her long time friend.
“I’m okay.” Alex stated. “I mean I know it’s a safe procedure and we both went threw it with no problem but I still worry. I don’t want anything to happen to her. Or Michael for that matter. I don’t think Isabel could have handled it if both he and Max turned away from her.”
“Michael was a surprise but a nice one.” Liz commented.
“Surprise is an understatement. You know, if someone would have told me a few months, last year or even back on Antar how things would turn out, I would have laughed my head off.” Alex joked.
“If we’ve learned anything, it’s to expect the unexpected.” Liz laughed. The two kept talking idly as they watched over their friends. After what seemed like hours, they finally started to stir.
Isabel’s eyes fluttered open and Alex’s face was the first thing she saw. She gave him a small smile, but also had a tear running down her cheek. “You’re here.”
“Of course I’m here, I told you I would be.” Alex said.
“I know but after…” Isabel trailed off remembering what had floating around in her head.
Things were still fuzzy and coming together but she remembered Zan’s men coming to her chambers and informing her that she was confined to them. Her anger at him had only been surpassed by the news of her lover’s death. When she learned that Ardeth had been killed, she didn’t care about leaving her quarters, she didn’t care about anything. She had sunk into depression that no one had been able to pull her out of. Zan, her mother, even Rath had tried but to no avail. Rath had actually been the only one she had even spoken to. He did his best to comfort her, and told her that their marriage would be a platonic one. He was not in love with her and respected the love she had for Ardeth. He was only going through with the marriage because they had been obligated to.
Alex was pretty sure he knew what was affecting her now and pulled her close in a hug. He ran his hand over her hair in a soothing manner and said, “I’m here Isabel, I’m not going anywhere. I’m alive and we’re together. Nothing’s going to tear us apart.”
Isabel nodded slowly. Before she had been leery of going back to Antar but now she felt sure about going. She was going to let her heart lead her go where she had always fought against, going home. She was just going to have to figure how to deal with her parents. She was about to say something when a loud groan came from the other bed. It was Michael, and like normal, he wasn’t waking easily.
Liz moved to Michael’s side, “Michael are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Michael said rubbing his temples as he sat up. “Just remind me that I owe Nicholas some major payback for killing me. Little coward blasted me in the back.”
“Well I’m sure you’ll figure out something…maybe he could have an accident where something falls on his back.” Liz commented. She always knew that Nicholas had been valuable in the war but she had never liked him. There was just something about him that made her skin crawl. She placed her hand on his forehead and sent some energy into him to heal his headache. “Better?”
“Tons.” Michael said. “Thanks.”
“No biggie.” Liz said shrugging as she took her seat. “Well you got your memories back, what do you think about everything now?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It didn’t take Liz long to find Khivar, after she checked his rooms and found them empty, she headed for the control center and there he was. He was standing in front of a large table surrounded by half a dozen of his men; Nicholas included and appeared to be organizing the trip back to Antar. It would take a few months but the trip wouldn’t be bad. Liz knew that he had people in charge back on their planet running thing in his absence. They were doing such a good job that the general populous didn’t even know he had left. And the other ruling families were still so upset by the incompetent attempt at a peace summit that exchanges with Khivar had slacked off giving him the chance to slip away to Earth.
He must have sensed her presence because she only stood there for a minute before he looked up at her. He winked at her before turning back to finish up. Deciding not to hover she moved towards one of the outer doors and stepped outside to wait. She looked out over the desert and thought about leaving. She wanted to, but she was starting to feel strange about it. She wondered if this was similar to how people felt when they moved away from their parents’ house. In both lifetimes she had lived with her parents so she had nothing to base her feelings on.
She was deep in thought when she felt a familiar pair of arms come around her and a masculine voice in her ear. “How are our guests doing?”
“Good.” She leaned back and turned her head. She kissed him firmly on the mouth before pulling back and continuing. “Their heads are still kind of jumbled but they’re dealing.”
“I’m going to feel left out soon, I’ve only lived one life.” Khivar chuckled.
“And that’s just the way I like it.” She said smiling. “Everything ready?”
“Yes. We can leave whenever but it needs to be soon.” Khivar informed her.
“Michael’s set to go. He’s always been the one to want to go home the most except maybe Tess.” Liz said. “And Isabel is getting there. She’s just trying to figure out what to do about her parents.”
“Speaking of parents. I recorded an encrypted message to some of our people earlier to let them know of our plans. But I have everything on stand by so you can add one to send to your parents.” Khivar explained.
Liz smiled at his thoughtfulness and spun around to wrap her arms his neck in a hug of thanks. “I would love to. Thank you so much.”
“They will be pleased to hear from you. Although they probably won’t believe that it’s you until they can touch you. I felt the same way.” Khivar stated. He lowered his head to capture her lips again. He didn’t think he’d ever take the feel of her lips for granted another moment of his life. He had wished for it for too long.
Liz was the one to break the kiss; “Can we go somewhere? Away from everyone and just be with each other. As just us, it’s been a really long day.”
“We could go back in to my rooms?” Khivar suggested trying to think of somewhere they could be completely alone. “It’s about the only spot that I can guarantee we will be alone.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Liz said smiling.
Khivar nodded before going back inside for a minute to let his men know so that no one would panic. He headed back out to Liz and offered his hand to her. “Shall we go?”
“We shall.” Liz said before the two headed off.
**Warning NC-17**
PART 36
The two of them reached Khivar’s rooms without running into anyone who needed his input in anything. It wasn’t until they were inside that Liz felt a little nervous. After all, they were alone and the last time she had been in there with him, she had had to hold herself back from doing more than kissing him. She had good self-control but there was only so much she could handle. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Khivar’s voice.
“You seemed to be in your own world when I joined you outside, anything you feel like sharing?”
“I was just thinking about going back to Antar, and leaving Earth. After all it’s been my home for many years.” Liz stated as she sat down on a nearby stool. “But don’t think that I’m backing out of going, just feeling nostalgic.”
“It’ll be good to have you back there, to see you happy.” Khivar said.
“It scares me somewhat.” Liz admitted. “Here, our life on Antar is still like a dream. I mean yeah, I have my memories but it still seems so far away. When we go back, boom it’s there and I don’t know if…”
“If…”
“I can stop myself from taking things from where we left off.” Liz whispered. She wanted that, wanted to be with him, really be with him again. No hiding or anything like they had been since being reunited. She ached for him, she wanted him. She wanted all of him and in every way.
Leaning down, he kissed her deeply and Liz felt herself relax against him. She felt his hands move soothingly over her back and she cuddled closer still. She loved his mouth and the way he kissed her. She moaned as he caught her lower lip in between his teeth and sucked lightly on it. His hands were roaming freely now and she reached up to his shoulders to anchor her, as her breathing grew ragged from his attentions.
She felt him cup her butt in his hands and lift her against him. He fit himself to her and she gasped, instinctively wrapping her legs around him. He moaned against her mouth and pressed her closer. Liz moved against him and felt a heat pool low in her belly. She made a surprised sound when Khivar lifted her a bit further up but then sucked in her breath when his mouth found her breast and started to suckle her though the thin material of her shirt. She arched against him and cried out as pleasure ran like fire from her breasts to the very center of her.
Though a haze, she felt herself being placed on the bed and she opened her eyes. Lying next to her, Khivar leaned over her and lightly kissed her neck and shoulders as he slowly tugged the bottom of her shirt up and over her head. Feeling a blush rise to her cheeks, Liz raised her hands to cover herself. Khivar blushed but he smiled at her tenderly and took her hands in his own. “Let me see you Liz, please?”
Feeling silly, she dropped her arms she watched him look at her. He seemed fascinated by her and she shivered as he gently ran his palm around the side of her breast.
“You’re as beautiful as I remember, I think even more so.” he whispered.
Liz closed her eyes and shook her head in denial. “I’m not, I’m just-“ she gasped and opened her eyes as the heat of his mouth closed over her. “Oh!”
Liz grabbed the back of his head and arched against him as pleasure splintered though her. He started to tug on her lightly with his teeth and she thought she’d go mad with the dizzying sensations.
He lifted his head for a moment and looked at her. He was breathing heavily as she was and he smiled at her in such a way that made her squirm. Her nervousness was mounting but she took a steadying breath. This was Khivar after all. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her.
His mouth kissed hers softly. He gently ran his tongue along her lips and then delved into her mouth. He rubbed his tongue against hers playfully and she joined in his game until they were both breathless with want. He moved his mouth down the side of her neck and nibbled on the juncture of her shoulder, causing shivers to race down her spine.
He moved his head down and Liz waited in painful anticipation until he closed his mouth around a distended nipple. Her chest heaved as he laved her with his tongue and then pulled her into his mouth with a force that made her cry out in pleasure. He moved to her other breast and she arched up to meet him. Shifting her lower body against him as the heat built within her.
Her movements must have caught his attention as his hands slowly smoothed down her hips and thighs. Up and down until she wiggled impatiently against him. She heard his low laugh and gasped has she felt him kiss her navel. He explored her with his tongue and a jolt of pleasure zinged though her as he pulled down her pants and panties as well as shed his own clothes. He tossed them away before moving his hands back and stilled as he found her most vulnerable point. He gently opened her outer folds and she could feel his breath on her.
Liz felt herself bushing bright red but she closed her eyes and let her legs relax. She felt him move her feet wider apart and then he lightly brushed her with his thumb. She bit her lip as he did it again. He explored her deeper and she let her head fall back to the bed.
She widened her legs a little bit more and gasped as he rubbed against her faster. She started to twist against him as the heat started to coil inside of her like a tightly wound spring. He opened her with his thumbs again but this time, she didn’t care that he was looking at her. She arched up against him and moaned, wanting his fingers again but was shocked when she felt the warm wetness of his mouth and tongue against her instead. “Khivar!”
He didn’t stop. He rubbed his tongue against her, finding the spots that made her whimper. She thrashed her head from side to side as he pulled her into his mouth and she thought she would die with the pleasure. It built and built until suddenly, the tension sprang free and she exploded against him, screamed as ecstasy shuddered though her in convulsive waves.
His mouth moved over her until she lie limply on the bed. He moved up her body, placing soft kisses along the way. When he reached her mouth, she was startled to taste herself on his lips. She opened her eyes to find him breathless and grinning at her as he crawled up her body.
He leaned down and kissed her deeply. She could feel his heart thudding against her and he brought her closer to him. She felt his arousal against her stomach and reached down to touch him. He moaned and tightened his hold on her. Nudging him on to his back, she looked at him curiously. His body had changed some over the years, his muscles seemed taunter and harder and she was sure she saw a few faint marks of scars that had not been their before.
She took her attention away from his upper body to concentrate on his lower body. She stroked him for a moment and he groaned and gasped at her attentions. Her breath and pulse sped up as she watched him. He reared up suddenly and rolled on top of her.
“Liz,” he gasped. “Please, let me…”
She nodded and spread her legs for him. He settled on her and she felt him slowly push inside of her. Khivar sucked in his breath as he felt the tearing inside of her. “Are you okay?”
Liz tightened herself around him and moaned when he started to move against her. “It’s like…”
Khivar started to move faster. He held her gaze as the pleasure started to build like wildfire inside of her. “Like coming home,” he whispered.
Liz met his pace and wrapped her legs around him. She reached up and grabbed the headboard as he pounded into her. The now familiar sensations built in her mercilessly. She felt herself crest and cried out just as Khivar stiffened and shuddered above her. He called her name hoarsely as he spilled into her, his chest heaving.
It was a long while before either one of them was able to move. Liz gasped slightly, trying to breathe with Khivar draped over her and he rolled to his side and pulled her with him. Settling her on his chest, he tenderly smoothed her tangled hair from her face. “I love you, Liz.”
She reached up and touched his cheek. “I love you Khivar.”
Feeling tears come to her eyes, she kissed him softly. “You were right.”
He cocked an eyebrow and smiled at her. “About what?”
She kissed him again. “It is like coming home.”
The two of them laid on the bed legs and bodies intertwined. Khivar saw Liz was too comfortable to move and he felt the same way so he pulled the blanket up to cover them and reveled in the warmth of her body.
PART 37
Alex knew that Isabel and Michael were getting antsy to go back to Roswell to finalize things but needed Liz to drive them back. Therefore they went looking for their missing friend. He didn’t think anything about it when one of the guards told them they were in Khivar’s quarters. So when Alex opened the door, all three of them were shocked to find both Khivar and Liz in Khivar’s bed. There was a sheet half haphazardly thrown over them but plenty of naked flesh could be seen. They looked at the intruder and yelled. “ALEX!”
“Woah!” Alex said putting his hand over his eyes. “Talk about Déjà vu! I remember walking in on you two more than I care to think about.”
“Then you should probably knock, if you don’t want to see us.” Liz stated. She saw the three of them frozen still and asked. “Can you guys leave so we can get dressed?”
“I don’t know, what do you guys think?” Alex asked Michael and Isabel.
“OUT!” Both Khivar and Liz yelled. The three intruders hurried out just in time to be missed by the slamming door. They all looked at each other before they burst out laughing. Isabel, Michael, and Alex collapsed on the outer room furniture and continued to chuckle at what they just walked in. A few minutes later, Liz and Khivar strolled out of the bedroom, not looking very happy at the intrusion.
“Sorry we barged in on you but we were wanting to go back to Roswell to get stuff settled.” Isabel said informing her. “And you’re our ride.”
“Apparently we’re not the only ones.” Michael snickered earning a glare from Liz and Khivar and a pillow thrown at him. At first he didn’t know where it had come from until he saw that Liz had used her powers to hit him. He tossed it back at her but she quickly made it soar over and hit Alex upside the head.
“HEY!” He exclaimed.
“Come on. Before I make you walk back.” Liz said half joking. She was glad to see Michael fitting in with them. She gave Khivar a quick kiss goodbye, and whispered a promise in his ear that she’d be back soon before the group traipsed out to the Parker truck and back to Roswell.
They dropped Isabel off first since she was going to need the most time then she took Michael to his apartment before heading home. Her mom had come out to the compound while Isabel and Michael had been recuperating and Liz had told her of the plans to go back to Antar. Her mom had said that they had expected that she would be leaving but Liz could see that it was affecting her more than she let on. Liz had told her that both of them could come with her and her mom said she’d bring it up to her dad and they’d let her know.
She went in the private entrance and saw her dad’s office door was open and knew that he was inside. She knocked lightly on the door, “Dad?”
“Come in Lizzie.” Her dad called out. She walked in and saw both her parents were inside. “I just came by to…see if you had made your decision yet.”
The two parents looked at each other for a minute before her dad spoke. “Liz, I know that you really wanted us to go, and we thought about it. But we’ve decided to stay on Earth, you’re grandparents have to. Our lives are here; your mom and I have never even stepped foot on Antar. We’d be the aliens there.”
Liz felt tears spring to her eyes but she bit the inside of her cheek to keep the sob back. She didn’t want to cry she knew that it would just get her Mom crying. She didn’t want them to stay on Earth; she wanted them to be with her. She understood their reasoning but they had been her parents for the last seventeen years. She was going to miss them. Miss wasn’t even a strong enough word for how she would feel without them.
Nancy could see how upset Liz was and moved to embrace the girl who had been her daughter for so long. It was going to be hell to let her go, they had known from day one that she wasn’t really theirs to begin with but that didn’t make it any easier. Things would just have to heal. “Liz, it doesn’t matter where you are, or what planet you’re on, we’ll never forget these years we had with you.”
Liz hugged her back and she felt her dad come up to embrace them both. “You’re our daughter in every way that matters and you’ll always have a home here if you come back.”
“I will.” Liz said firmly. “I’ll come visit. I promise.”
The three continued to hug for a few moments more before they headed upstairs to Liz’s room. She had a few things she wanted to take with her, and she wanted to spend as much time as possible with the both of them. She only had a small number of hours left on Earth.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Like Liz, Isabel was going through her room trying to figure out what she wanted to take with her on the trip to Antar. But unlike her friend, her parents didn’t know that she was leaving. It had been strange when she walked into the house knowing it was her last time doing it. She had stood in the living room and just took in the memories. It still seemed odd to have memories from two childhood’s floating around in her head.
She knew that her parents deserved more than to just find her gone but she couldn’t bring herself to look them in the eyes and tell them. True, she had wanted to tell them for years but now that she could, her fears outweighed her wants. She didn’t want their last few hours together to be happy and not of them yelling that she was a monster. She planned on leaving them a letter, telling them the truth about everything what she was, the fact that Alex was alive, and where she was going. She didn’t think about the fact that Max was going to be stuck here after they read the note, she was only going to mention herself and Michael. If Max wanted to come clean, it was up too him.
Isabel hadn’t seen Max since she’d been home. She heard music blaring from his room when she had first arrived but shortly after it had stopped and she had a feeling that he had left. She didn’t ask her parents, not wanting to bother them plus she knew that he wouldn’t tell them anything anyways. She couldn’t imagine how he would be feeling right now, abandoned by her and Michael but he had dug his own grave so to speak and he would just have to live with it. She would leave him a short note as well just to say goodbye.
She pulled out some stationary she got for her birthday and started to write. It took some time, and many sheets of paper but eventually Isabel wrote everything she had wanted to for so long. She told them about her history and what she was. How she had come to be on Earth and the years that followed. She told them everything about finding out who she really had been and Alex being alive. But she had also told them how special they had always made her feel, how accepted and loved despite the fact that she was different. And how she had wanted to tell for so long but it hadn’t been totally her decision to keep it a secret but she wanted them to know now.
She had just finished with her letter when her mom yelled that dinner was ready. She made her way downstairs and sat down for her last dinner as Isabel Evans. They were half way through dinner when there was a knock at the backdoor. Isabel got up to answer it and was surprised to see who was there. “Michael, what are you doing here?”
“I just…I wanted to say good bye.” Michael told her before he glanced over at her parents. He had already gone to Maria’s and told her goodbye. They might be broken up but he didn’t want her to wander what had happened to him. It had been an awkward conversation but it had been done.
Isabel nodded in understanding, although he never felt completely comfortable around them, her parents and Michael had become closer after his emancipation. They were the closest thing he had to parents here on Earth. Her mom called out when she saw Michael, inviting him to eat with them.
Afterwards, they all sat around and just simply enjoyed the others company. Isabel and Michael knew what time Liz was coming to get them and knew the Evans would be in bed by that time. As if on queue, thirty minutes before Liz would show up, the Evans excused themselves to go to bed. They looked at Isabel strangely when she hugged them tightly but didn’t ask about. Michael said goodnight to them as well and they went up to their room. Once they were gone, Michael pulled Isabel to him in a hug, trying to comfort her.
They sat like that for some time until they knew Liz would be there. Isabel snuck into her room to grab her bag then came back down to meet Michael. They walked outside to wait and he retrieved his bag. Liz pulled up a few minutes later and they climbed into the truck. As they pulled away, the three of them saw a familiar jeep pull into the driveway.
Max climbed out of the jeep and just stared at them as they sat in the truck. They knew he understood what was happening, that they were leaving. He nodded to them before turning around and walking into the house.
As they pulled away, Isabel turned and looked out the back window. “Good bye Max.”
PART 38
When they pulled up at the compound they saw that it was a hive of activity. Everyone was getting ready to go, making room for the ten extra people not including Tess. In addition to Liz, Isabel, Michael and Alex, both sets of Alex’s grandparents as well as his parents were going. The Parkers were going to take care of selling their house under the guise that the Whitmans moved away to start over after Alex’s death. Michael, Isabel and Liz’s disappearances were going to be explained in a similar fashion.
They also saw the Valenti’s vehicle parked out front next to Liz’s mom’s car, obviously there to say goodbye. Th three teens hopped out of the truck and grabbed their belongings. A few women and men came forward to take them into the ship that would carry them back. The ship was cloaked. No one would know that it was sitting only an hundred yards from the compound except for those who already knew.
Alex must have been watching for them because he appeared at the door just as they reached it. He could see Isabel was upset, just as he knew she would be and wrapped an arm around her. He hugged her close, trying his best to comfort her. “Hey Beautiful. Everything go okay?”
“Yeah, they didn’t suspect a thing.” Isabel informed him. “I’m going to miss them Alex.”
“I know you are.” He said.
“Isabel, if you want to, you can come back to see them.” Liz interrupted.
“I can?”
“Yeah, I talked to Khivar a few nights ago about leaving and told him that I wanted to come back to visit. He agreed to it, it won’t be right away but we can come back eventually to visit.” Liz explained. She watched as relief and happiness flooded Isabel’s face at the news.
They continued inside until they came to a large commons room where Khivar and Kat were talking to Kyle and his dad. They noticed the new arrivals and turned their attention to them. Liz smiled at Jim and hugged him, “Hi, Mr. Valenti. How are you taking everything?”
“It’s all a shock.” He informed them. “I thought I had become unaffected by alien stuff then this all happened. I didn’t think anything could surprise me as much as when I first found out but this takes the cake.”
“I understand.” Liz said trying to make him more comfortable. She walked over and moved to stand between Khivar’s legs. “I felt the same way at first, thought it was some plan to get close to Max. Then I realized that we just didn’t know everything, far from it.”
“And Tess.” He said astonished. “When Kyle told me, I just couldn’t believe that she had lived in my house and we never had a clue.”
“I’m sorry for that.” Liz apologized.
“You shouldn’t be, you didn’t have anything to do with her living with us. That was Max’s idea and I condoned it.” Valenti stated.
“Yeah, one of his more idiotic ones.” Kyle mumbled from where he was sitting next to Kat. “I’m surprised he didn’t get us killed sometimes.”
Liz laughed and as she did she noticed that there were a few bags sitting around Kyle’s feet. “Uh, what’s going on? Why do you have bags packed?”
“We’re going with you.” Kyle answered.
Liz thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head from shock. She hadn’t seen that one coming. “You’re coming? You mean to Antar?”
“No way.” Michael said unable to hold it back.
“Yeah.” Kyle said. “I’ve been talking to Kat and she’s not sure how Max’s healing might affect me. If it had been something minimal, she doesn’t think it would do anything. But since he essentially brought me back from death, there could be some side effects.”
“Max transferred a lot of energy into Kyle.” Kat jumped in. “Unlike with you whose body is completely Alorian and could absorb the healing energy with no complications, Kyle is human. His healing might have changed Kyle, evolved him to the point that he could develop powers.”
“And I don’t really feel like being on my own when that happens.” Kyle said looking over at Kat. “And from what I’ve seen Antar looks like it’d be a cool place to live so why not?”
“At least if there are any little green men around, you’ll fit right in.” Michael teased him. The comment earned him a slap on the shoulder from Kyle.
Liz shook her head at the two before looking at Kyle’s dad. “Are you going too?”
Mr. Valenti nodded. “I’m not Sheriff anymore and with Kyle gone, there’s not much left for me. Your parents said they’d look after my dad.”
“Grandpa being looked after by aliens. If he only knew.” Kyle joked.
“That’s another reason I’m going. My father lost his job and reputation because he was trying to prove that aliens exist. I know that they do. He would jump at an opportunity like this, and I’m going to do it for him.” Valenti explained his reasons. “He’d want me to.”
“I offered the opportunity to the two of them and they took me up on my offer.” Khivar threw in. “Besides, I don’t think my sister would forgive me if we didn’t take Kyle along.”
“Hey!” Kat exclaimed at his teasing. “Kyle made his own decision, I’m not responsible for abducting him.”
“I wouldn’t mind being abducted if all the aliens looked like you.” Kyle teased back at her. This time he was the one who was slapped on the shoulder. The two had just started horsing around when one of Khivar’s men walked in. He spoke quickly in Antarian to Khivar before retreating out of the room.
“I’ve just been informed that it’s time for departure.” Khivar stated.
He released Liz from his embrace so that Liz could say a final goodbye to her parents. As she approached them, Michael was shaking Jeff’s hand. “Thanks for taking a chance on me with the job and keeping me on. Not a lot of people would have considered me thanks to my record. You really saved my ass.”
“I just let you in the door, your hard work kept you there.” Jeff stated.
“Well still, thanks.” Michael said before he moved out of the way for Liz.
Liz launched herself into another hug from Jeff. He hugged her back tightly in response. “We’ll be okay Lizzie, don’t worry about us.”
“I know.” Liz said muffled against his chest.
Nancy came up next to them and took Liz away from Jeff. “You’re going to be fine. When you get home, you’ll be so busy that you won’t even think about us.”
“I won’t forget you. I know I’ll see my birth parents who I love but you’re my parents too.” Liz explained as she gave them one final squeeze.
Khivar took her hand and led her away. Alex, Kyle, Isabel, Kat, and Michael as well as the former Sheriff followed them outside at to the ship’s loading ramp. They all waved to Jeff and Nancy before disappearing into the ship. Although they remembered what the ships looked like, they were all still struck dumb by the sight, Michael especially. It was like a dream come true for him to be going back. “I know you’ll all want to look around but that will have to wait until we reach open space. Then you will be shown to your quarters.”
They all went to a room filled with seats. They sat down and strapped themselves into the safety harness. They heard the engines power up and lift off. They gazed out the window and with one final look at the desert that had been their home, they accelerated into the stars.
PART 39-EPILOGUE
It’s been two Earth years since we left. The trip felt long but mainly because we were cooped up inside. But we learned a lot. Alex, Isabel, Michael, and I were caught up on everything that we had missed while we had been on Earth while we helped Jim, and Kyle adjust to their new lives. They picked up Antarian speech rather quickly especially Kyle. Of course I think that’s because he had a special tutor in Kat.
When we arrived, there was no fan fair since the mission was held in secret. It wasn’t until the next day that the news was leaked that we had returned and all hell broke loose. But the first night gave us the opportunity for Alex and I to be reunited with our parents. The reunions were ones filled with tears and smiles from everyone in the room.
When the reports of our arrival reached the general public, everyone wanted to see the evidence for themselves. Khivar held a rally of the people and presented the lady Enola to them. At my side, stood the King’s brother Ardeth, the former Princess Vilandra and former second in command Rath. Seeing Rath on Khivar’s side surprised them but they were quickly informed that he was now in allegiance with him. News also spread that the reincarnation of Zan would not be returning to rule Antar and with Rath and Vilandra’s support, the war ended not long after their arrival. Everyone was tired of the war and was willing to lie down their arms.
Tess was held in the garrison until she was presented for her crimes. The evidence was stacked against with Alex, and Kyle’s testimony, the mindwarp she had used on Kyle had been wiped from his mind, and she of course was found guilty. I stood and watched her just before her execution. She no longer looked like the blonde temptress she had been when she came to Roswell. I could clearly see that either being imprisoned or the weight of what she had done had weighed heavily on her and she was quite mad. I felt bad about my part in her down fall then. I knew it was partly my fault for what I did but I also knew that I was only helping her to live up to what she had done. But as much as I hated her, I couldn’t watch her die, and I left before the deed was done.
In public we went by our former names but in private, we still referred to each other by Earth names. Strangely enough, Michael became close with both Kyle and myself. He found out that his parents died during the war from disease. It was quite a blow to him so I took him, Kyle, and Valenti to stay with me at my parent’s house after the buzz died down. The quietness of the woods and the seclusion were exactly what he needed and my parents didn’t mind the extra guests.
After the war was officially over, Isabel did get to see her birth mother. She asked me to come with her. It was a strained meeting to say the least but I knew that she needed to see her. Her mother asked about Max and Isabel told her about him. She also told her that his actions towards the end of her stay on Earth were what led her away from him and back to Khivar’s side. When she left, things were still awkward but better.
I did not move into the palace straight away but lived with my parents for a while. I needed to get reacquainted with them. But eventually I was spending so much time with Khivar, getting things even more on track with our relationship then they already were that I moved back in.
One night not long after I moved back in, Khivar asked me to marry him. Again. Khivar and I were out in the gardens having a late dinner in celebration of him returning from an extended trip when he asked. It was so romantic under the stars and the moons shining brightly.
Isabel as well as Kat went into full planning nazi mode while they helped me to prepare for the wedding. It was a whirl of fabric, flowers and food. I kept the two from stressing out completely and we actually fun with it. Kat had a great time teaching Kyle how to dance since he was going to be Kat’s date. Those two are getting along so well that I have a feeling that Kyle and I are going to be related eventually by marriage.
I don’t know how I slept last night, I felt so nervous. Kat said she was going to knock me out if I didn’t stop pacing. But everything was wonderful and perfect. The wedding was beautiful…
“Liz…” Khivar’s voice called out to where she was sitting on their balcony. He walked out to see her sitting in a recliner wrapped up in the robe he had given her shortly before, it was the same color as the dress she had worn years ago when everything between them got started. He smiled at her and asked. “Are you going to sit out here all night or do I get to continue to ravish my wife on our wedding night?”
“I’m just writing in my new journal. After so long not writing, I couldn’t resist.” Liz said shrugging. She had left her journal behind in Roswell and hadn’t had a chance to get another one.
“Where did you get it?” Khivar asked with interest.
“Michael. He slipped it to me earlier.” Liz told him. “He told me he didn’t think I’d get a chance to write it for a while since he didn’t think I’d be out of bed but wanted to give it to me before we left. I don’t think he planned on getting up early enough to see us off in the morning.”
They were heading to the other side of the planet for a short vacation, a type of honeymoon. The region they were going to was filled with beautiful lakes and streams that allowed the area to be very lush and beautiful. The serenity was exactly what they were looking for.
“What are you writing about?” Khivar asked.
“Pretty much everything since we left Earth.” Liz told him. He sat at her feet and pulled them into his lap. “I figured that was the best place to start with the first entry.”
Khivar nodded and started rubbing her legs and feet as she finished up writing. She had barely sat the book aside when Khivar swept her up into his arms. “Khivar!”
“I’m sorry, I just can’t stand waiting a second more.” He said before giving her a kiss that would have knocked her off her feet if she’d been standing. As it continued, Liz felt the softness of their bed underneath her back. He broke off the kiss and stared deeply into her eyes. “Now it’s time to stop thinking and let me worship you, your highness.”
Liz smiled, “Well who am I to go against the wishes of the king?”
“My thoughts exactly.” Khivar said before he fulfilled his promise.
THE END
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