Frightening Possibilities

“Captain Treavor?” a squeaky voice called softly.

With a silent sigh, Rand turned to face the hesitant young man. He had been up long before dawn, overseeing the preparations for the final guests’ departure. His eyes ached and his head throbbed in counter rhythm to each other. Only a few guests remained, and hopefully the next day would witness their exit as well.

“Can I help you?” Rand asked, trying to hide his bone-deep fatigue.

The young man face went crimson and one of his hands plucked nervously at the hem of his jacket. “Well, Captain, I think. . . I’m afraid that I’ve. . . I don’t know the way to my room.”

Rand smiled gently at the boy. Since he was the son of a newly elected mayor, this was his first official visit to the palace. He could hardly be expected to know the complex layout of the palace so soon.

“You’re not too far off,” Rand replied. “In fact, go the way you came and take the second passage on the left. You’ll be right there.”

The boy nodded absently, committing the directions to memory. “I thank you, Captain.”

“No need, lad,” Rand stated with a broad grin. “It takes everyone quite some time to learn their way around the palace.”

Again, the young man nodded. With a final bit of gratitude, he turned and trotted out of the hall. Once more alone, Rand ran a weary hand over his eyes.

He suddenly froze. He could barely hear the quickly fading foot steps, but he knew he had heard them. He gave up any thoughts of bed and went in the direction of the sound.

Walking silently, Rand managed to catch a glimpse of a dark green skirt as the mysterious walker rounded a corner. The material made the captain of the guard pause. He knew only one person who had worn a gown of that color.

‘What is the Princess doing at this time of night?’ he wondered.

Whatever her errand was, she wanted to be alone. He had heard no other foot steps in that direction but hers. Yet, his duty was to guard and to protect her. With a sigh, he just hoped that Princess Lita would see it that way.

* * * * *

The night air was cool and quiet, a stark contrast to the current atmosphere of the palace. Although she enjoyed the company of many of the guests, she began to dread the murmurs of sympathy and the stolen glances of pity. Yet, she hated the marked looks of interests from many of the men even more.

She sat down on the garden bench, briefly closing her eyes. Taking deep breathes, the princess tried to let all the worries and fears seep out of her. However, after a few moments, she realized she was just too worked up for the technique to work.

She glanced up at the stars, admiring how different they appeared on Jupiter than they did on Earth. How many nights had she come to this garden just to get away, to think, and to remember? How many happy moments did she and Logan spend there?

She flinched at the name of her husband. Closing her eyes to hide the tears, she lowered her head. Alone, away from the ever watchful eyes, she made herself remember those final moments with him.

* * * * *

“You’ve been a little terror today,” Lita murmured softly, lovingly stroking her now peaceful daughter’s face.

In an unusual spell of crankiness, Leda had spent most of the day fussing. Nothing that Lita or Logan had done seemed to appease the child for more than a few moments. Concerned that their child was sick, they had taken her to the palace physician, but he had been unable to find anything wrong with the child.

Finally, the baby had just simply worn herself out. Logan had gone out to the garden to relax, while Lita had carried their daughter to the nursery. Giving the girl a soft kiss on the forehead, Lita smiled at the nurse and left the room.

‘It will be nice to have a few moments together,’ the Princess mused, as she entered the garden. Between their various duties and the demands of their daughter, she and Logan had found little time for themselves. However, the situation did make them cherish the time they had together even more.

“Logan? Where are you?”

The garden was completely still, she suddenly noticed. There was no breeze or the usual chirping of the birds. Something was wrong.

“Logan?” she called, not hiding the nervousness in her voice. “Logan, where are you?”

Picking up her skirts, she ran through the garden. She looked desperately for any sign of her husband. Hearing voices, she froze.

“It was foolish of you to think you could escape,” a voice growled. “You are only delaying the inevitable.”

“The Child of Darkness will never succeed,” Logan replied. “The Child of Light will always prevail.”

“Not this time, dear prince,” the voice stated.

“Logan!” Lita screamed, running toward the voices. Despite the racing of her heart, she heard his gasp and the thud he made as he fell to his knees.

“With your bloodline gone, dear prince, there shall be no Child of Light,” the voice said, ringing with satisfaction. “Hecate will win.”

A shadowy figure brushed by Lita as she entered the small clearing. However, Lita didn’t stop it as she ran to her husband. “Logan?”

His gray eyes were prominent in the ghastly pallor of his face. “Lita.”

She held him, pressing his hands harder against the wound in his abdomen. “You’re going to be fine, Logan,” she said, tears pouring down her face. “I’m going to get you out of here, and you’ll going to be fine.”

He shook his head. “Lita, I love you so much.”

“Logan, don’t do this,” she demanded, her hold tightening into a vice, as if she could physically keep him with her. “You can’t leave me. You can’t leave Leda!”

“You must watch over our daughter, Lita,” he stated, fighting to keep his eyes open. “She will be stronger than either of us. She will end this, all of this.”

“Logan, save your strength,” she ordered. “You can explain all of this later.”

“No,” he barked, startling her. “Lita, I don’t have the time. We both know that.”

She bit her lip as she swallowed a sob. He was even paler now. As he spoke, he fought to get the breath needed for the next words. She was losing him.

“Leda is the last of my bloodline,” he explained. “She is the Child of Light. She alone will have the power to stop the Child of Darkness.”

“Logan, I don’t understand,” Lita whispered, shaking her head gently. ‘This can’t be happening,’ she thought.

“I know, but maybe some day you will,” he replied with a soft smile. “I love you, Lita. Promise me that you’ll love again, that Leda will have a father.”

“Logan, please,” she begged, unsure of what she was asking of him. She rested her forehead against his, desperately needing to be closer to him. Yet, she knew that the contact wouldn’t be enough.

“I should have told you this a long time ago. I should have trusted you with my past, as I did with my heart. Darling, I’m sorry.”

She kissed him. These were her last moments with him. She didn’t want to hear anymore about what he had kept hidden from her.

“Logan, I love you.”

He reached up and gently touched her cheek. Then, his arm fell limply to his side. “I love you, but my name was never Logan.”

* * * * *

Lita hastily wiped her tears away, the moisture blurring the appearance of the grass. She had spent numerous sleepless nights after Logan’s death, pondering those words over and over again. If she never knew his true name, what else did she not really know about him?

Even now, all these months later, people still watched her intently, wondering if what they were seeing was a façade or not. Lita laughed bitterly at the thought; she really didn’t know the answer herself. Only when she was with Leda or truly alone did she not have to worry about keeping the majority of her emotions concealed.

Despite the efforts of the palace guards and the help of Crystal Tokyo, they had found no trace of Logan’s attacker. To maintain the peace, Lita had ordered that the circumstances of her husband’s death be kept quiet. The general populace believed that the prince’s death was the result of a tragic accident.

With a sigh, Lita wished that it was the truth. Whoever had killed Logan knew him from his past and had killed him to stop him from having any children. The princess shuddered, hoping that the person still believed he had succeeded.

‘You must watch over our daughter, Lita,’ he had told her. ‘She will be stronger than either of us. She will end this, all of this.’

‘Stronger how, Logan?’ Lita wondered. ‘What did you mean?’

The planet of Jupiter had just celebrated the third birthday of its future ruler, explaining the presence of the so many notables at the palace. At first glance, Leda appeared a normal child. However, Lita and other residents of the palace knew how deceiving that first appearance was.

The precocious young girl had quickly mastered the use of sentences. Soon, she began to have strange, somewhat cryptic dreams, which usually warned against some up-coming endeavor. Generally, the dreams were accurate and were about subjects Leda had no way of knowing about.

Throughout their relationship, Logan usually had strong hunches, which were almost always right. Were Leda’s dreams a legacy from her father? She suddenly recalled the unusual behavior of her daughter on the day her father was attacked. Had Leda known that something was going to happen, even as a toddler?

“Was that what you meant by stronger?” the princess wondered aloud.

A slight rustling drew Lita from her thoughts. She jumped to her feet, body poised for attack. However, she relaxed and gave a slight smile when she recognized the intruder.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” she said, crossing her arms. “It seems that I can’t hide anything from you.”

Rand chuckled. “If you were able to, Princess, you would give my job to someone else.”

Leda merely smiled and sat back down. “How long have you been out here, Rand?”

The captain of the royal guard shrugged. “Long enough,” he replied after a pause. “I heard you leave the palace and decided to follow.”

Lita rolled her eyes. “Because it is your duty to protect me, to guard me, to watch over me. Did I leave anything out?”

Rand shook his head as he leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree. “Pardon, Your Majesty, but I don’t think I will credit that remark with a response.”

Lita sighed and rubbed her temples vigorously for a moment before looking back at Rand. “I’m sorry, Rand. I shouldn’t take this out on you. You’re only doing your job.”

“I try to think of it as more than just a job, Princess,” he replied gently, “but you have nothing to apologize for.”

She took a shuddering breath. “I don’t know about that, Rand. I don’t know about a lot of things now.”

She didn’t notice when he sat down beside her. She only became aware of his closeness as he leaned toward her. “If I may,” he murmured, hesitantly placing his arms around the princess.

Lita sobbed against his chest, surrendering to the emotions that she had been fighting for months. She finally managed to rein in the tears and leaned weakly against Rand, as he simply stroked her hair. With a final sniffle, she slowly pulled away from him.

“Thank you,” she murmured, once more wiping away her tears.

Rand merely nodded. “If you ever want to talk, I’m available at anytime.”

She nodded absently.

“And after all,” he continued, “it looks like I will be spending most of my time chasing you anyway.”

She laughed gratefully at the joke. “Perils of the job, Captain, I believe.”

He grinned. “Maybe, my lady, maybe.”

The two sat in companionable silence for several moments before Lita sighed.

“I think we should be heading in,” the princess commented. “I know I’ve had a long day, but I do believe that you’ve been up a bit longer than I have, Captain.”

Rand shrugged. “Just a bit, perhaps. May I escort you, Your Majesty?”

When she nodded, they began to walk back to the palace. However, as they neared the doors, Lita paused, grabbing the captain’s arm. At her touch, Rand stopped as well.

“Thank you, Rand,” she said sincerely. “I appreciate your listening to me. It’s means a lot.”

“You don’t have to do everything alone, Princess,” he stated solemnly. “Remember that.”

Something flashed in his dark eyes. However, it was just her imagination, she decided, a product of the late hour. She merely smiled at him with a nod of thanks. Finally, letting go of his arm, she entered the palace and a world of new and frightening possibilities.


Frightening Possibilities “Captain Treavor?” a squeaky voice called softly. With a silent sigh, Rand turned to face the hesitant young man. He had been up long before dawn, overseeing the preparations for the final guests’ departure. His eyes ached and his head throbbed in counter rhythm to each other. Only a few guests remained, and hopefully the next day would witness their exit as well. “Can I help you?” Rand asked, trying to hide his bone-deep fatigue. The young man face went crimson and one of his hands plucked nervously at the hem of his jacket. “Well, Captain, I think. . . I’m afraid that I’ve. . . I don’t know the way to my room.” Rand smiled gently at the boy. Since he was the son of a newly elected mayor, this was his first official visit to the palace. He could hardly be expected to know the complex layout of the palace so soon. “You’re not too far off,” Rand replied. “In fact, go the way you came and take the second passage on the left. You’ll be right there.” The boy nodded absently, committing the directions to memory. “I thank you, Captain.” “No need, lad,” Rand stated with a broad grin. “It takes everyone quite some time to learn their way around the palace.” Again, the young man nodded. With a final bit of gratitude, he turned and trotted out of the hall. Once more alone, Rand ran a weary hand over his eyes. He suddenly froze. He could barely hear the quickly fading foot steps, but he knew he had heard them. He gave up any thoughts of bed and went in the direction of the sound. Walking silently, Rand managed to catch a glimpse of a dark green skirt as the mysterious walker rounded a corner. The material made the captain of the guard pause. He knew only one person who had worn a gown of that color. ‘What is the Princess doing at this time of night?’ he wondered. Whatever her errand was, she wanted to be alone. He had heard no other foot steps in that direction but hers. Yet, his duty was to guard and to protect her. With a sigh, he just hoped that Princess Lita would see it that way. * * * * * The night air was cool and quiet, a stark contrast to the current atmosphere of the palace. Although she enjoyed the company of many of the guests, she began to dread the murmurs of sympathy and the stolen glances of pity. Yet, she hated the marked looks of interests from many of the men even more. She sat down on the garden bench, briefly closing her eyes. Taking deep breathes, the princess tried to let all the worries and fears seep out of her. However, after a few moments, she realized she was just too worked up for the technique to work. She glanced up at the stars, admiring how different they appeared on Jupiter than they did on Earth. How many nights had she come to this garden just to get away, to think, and to remember? How many happy moments did she and Logan spend there? She flinched at the name of her husband. Closing her eyes to hide the tears, she lowered her head. Alone, away from the ever watchful eyes, she made herself remember those final moments with him. * * * * * “You’ve been a little terror today,” Lita murmured softly, lovingly stroking her now peaceful daughter’s face. In an unusual spell of crankiness, Leda had spent most of the day fussing. Nothing that Lita or Logan had done seemed to appease the child for more than a few moments. Concerned that their child was sick, they had taken her to the palace physician, but he had been unable to find anything wrong with the child. Finally, the baby had just simply worn herself out. Logan had gone out to the garden to relax, while Lita had carried their daughter to the nursery. Giving the girl a soft kiss on the forehead, Lita smiled at the nurse and left the room. ‘It will be nice to have a few moments together,’ the Princess mused, as she entered the garden. Between their various duties and the demands of their daughter, she and Logan had found little time for themselves. However, the situation did make them cherish the time they had together even more. “Logan? Where are you?” The garden was completely still, she suddenly noticed. There was no breeze or the usual chirping of the birds. Something was wrong. “Logan?” she called, not hiding the nervousness in her voice. “Logan, where are you?” Picking up her skirts, she ran through the garden. She looked desperately for any sign of her husband. Hearing voices, she froze. “It was foolish of you to think you could escape,” a voice growled. “You are only delaying the inevitable.” “The Child of Darkness will never succeed,” Logan replied. “The Child of Light will always prevail.” “Not this time, dear prince,” the voice stated. “Logan!” Lita screamed, running toward the voices. Despite the racing of her heart, she heard his gasp and the thud he made as he fell to his knees. “With your bloodline gone, dear prince, there shall be no Child of Light,” the voice said, ringing with satisfaction. “Hecate will win.” A shadowy figure brushed by Lita as she entered the small clearing. However, Lita didn’t stop it as she ran to her husband. “Logan?” His gray eyes were prominent in the ghastly pallor of his face. “Lita.” She held him, pressing his hands harder against the wound in his abdomen. “You’re going to be fine, Logan,” she said, tears pouring down her face. “I’m going to get you out of here, and you’ll going to be fine.” He shook his head. “Lita, I love you so much.” “Logan, don’t do this,” she demanded, her hold tightening into a vice, as if she could physically keep him with her. “You can’t leave me. You can’t leave Leda!” “You must watch over our daughter, Lita,” he stated, fighting to keep his eyes open. “She will be stronger than either of us. She will end this, all of this.” “Logan, save your strength,” she ordered. “You can explain all of this later.” “No,” he barked, startling her. “Lita, I don’t have the time. We both know that.” She bit her lip as she swallowed a sob. He was even paler now. As he spoke, he fought to get the breath needed for the next words. She was losing him. “Leda is the last of my bloodline,” he explained. “She is the Child of Light. She alone will have the power to stop the Child of Darkness.” “Logan, I don’t understand,” Lita whispered, shaking her head gently. ‘This can’t be happening,’ she thought. “I know, but maybe some day you will,” he replied with a soft smile. “I love you, Lita. Promise me that you’ll love again, that Leda will have a father.” “Logan, please,” she begged, unsure of what she was asking of him. She rested her forehead against his, desperately needing to be closer to him. Yet, she knew that the contact wouldn’t be enough. “I should have told you this a long time ago. I should have trusted you with my past, as I did with my heart. Darling, I’m sorry.” She kissed him. These were her last moments with him. She didn’t want to hear anymore about what he had kept hidden from her. “Logan, I love you.” He reached up and gently touched her cheek. Then, his arm fell limply to his side. “I love you, but my name was never Logan.” * * * * * Lita hastily wiped her tears away, the moisture blurring the appearance of the grass. She had spent numerous sleepless nights after Logan’s death, pondering those words over and over again. If she never knew his true name, what else did she not really know about him? Even now, all these months later, people still watched her intently, wondering if what they were seeing was a façade or not. Lita laughed bitterly at the thought; she really didn’t know the answer herself. Only when she was with Leda or truly alone did she not have to worry about keeping the majority of her emotions concealed. Despite the efforts of the palace guards and the help of Crystal Tokyo, they had found no trace of Logan’s attacker. To maintain the peace, Lita had ordered that the circumstances of her husband’s death be kept quiet. The general populace believed that the prince’s death was the result of a tragic accident. With a sigh, Lita wished that it was the truth. Whoever had killed Logan knew him from his past and had killed him to stop him from having any children. The princess shuddered, hoping that the person still believed he had succeeded. ‘You must watch over our daughter, Lita,’ he had told her. ‘She will be stronger than either of us. She will end this, all of this.’ ‘Stronger how, Logan?’ Lita wondered. ‘What did you mean?’ The planet of Jupiter had just celebrated the third birthday of its future ruler, explaining the presence of the so many notables at the palace. At first glance, Leda appeared a normal child. However, Lita and other residents of the palace knew how deceiving that first appearance was. The precocious young girl had quickly mastered the use of sentences. Soon, she began to have strange, somewhat cryptic dreams, which usually warned against some up-coming endeavor. Generally, the dreams were accurate and were about subjects Leda had no way of knowing about. Throughout their relationship, Logan usually had strong hunches, which were almost always right. Were Leda’s dreams a legacy from her father? She suddenly recalled the unusual behavior of her daughter on the day her father was attacked. Had Leda known that something was going to happen, even as a toddler? “Was that what you meant by stronger?” the princess wondered aloud. A slight rustling drew Lita from her thoughts. She jumped to her feet, body poised for attack. However, she relaxed and gave a slight smile when she recognized the intruder. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” she said, crossing her arms. “It seems that I can’t hide anything from you.” Rand chuckled. “If you were able to, Princess, you would give my job to someone else.” Leda merely smiled and sat back down. “How long have you been out here, Rand?” The captain of the royal guard shrugged. “Long enough,” he replied after a pause. “I heard you leave the palace and decided to follow.” Lita rolled her eyes. “Because it is your duty to protect me, to guard me, to watch over me. Did I leave anything out?” Rand shook his head as he leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree. “Pardon, Your Majesty, but I don’t think I will credit that remark with a response.” Lita sighed and rubbed her temples vigorously for a moment before looking back at Rand. “I’m sorry, Rand. I shouldn’t take this out on you. You’re only doing your job.” “I try to think of it as more than just a job, Princess,” he replied gently, “but you have nothing to apologize for.” She took a shuddering breath. “I don’t know about that, Rand. I don’t know about a lot of things now.” She didn’t notice when he sat down beside her. She only became aware of his closeness as he leaned toward her. “If I may,” he murmured, hesitantly placing his arms around the princess. Lita sobbed against his chest, surrendering to the emotions that she had been fighting for months. She finally managed to rein in the tears and leaned weakly against Rand, as he simply stroked her hair. With a final sniffle, she slowly pulled away from him. “Thank you,” she murmured, once more wiping away her tears. Rand merely nodded. “If you ever want to talk, I’m available at anytime.” She nodded absently. “And after all,” he continued, “it looks like I will be spending most of my time chasing you anyway.” She laughed gratefully at the joke. “Perils of the job, Captain, I believe.” He grinned. “Maybe, my lady, maybe.” The two sat in companionable silence for several moments before Lita sighed. “I think we should be heading in,” the princess commented. “I know I’ve had a long day, but I do believe that you’ve been up a bit longer than I have, Captain.” Rand shrugged. “Just a bit, perhaps. May I escort you, Your Majesty?” When she nodded, they began to walk back to the palace. However, as they neared the doors, Lita paused, grabbing the captain’s arm. At her touch, Rand stopped as well. “Thank you, Rand,” she said sincerely. “I appreciate your listening to me. It’s means a lot.” “You don’t have to do everything alone, Princess,” he stated solemnly. “Remember that.” Something flashed in his dark eyes. However, it was just her imagination, she decided, a product of the late hour. She merely smiled at him with a nod of thanks. Finally, letting go of his arm, she entered the palace and a world of new and frightening possibilities.


Chronicles