Lost in Space

Images are licensed through Shutterstock

Princess Willow of the Spring Court looked around her in trepidation. This was her first visit to the human village to negotiate trade. Even though her personal guard, Rowan, was with her, she was still nervous to be the face of her kingdom. She glanced at Rowan out of the corner of her eye as she checked her hairstyle one last time, making sure the long, blonde hair was still secured in its braids. Rowan looked back, his face half-shaded from his hood and nodded reassuringly. Willow looked forward again towards the portal the servants had opened for her and took another deep breath. Straightening her spine, she smoothed her dress and began to walk forward.

"Let's be off," she said and Rowan shadowed her. It was only them going to the village this time, as the rest of the court was busy with her older sister's wedding. A fae wedding happened rarely, and they were big events. Willow hoped that they would be back in time, but who knew how long it would take to negotiate with the head villagers.

Walking through the portal, she closed her eyes as the wave of nausea hit, but kept moving forward. Rowan was only half a step behind her and glanced back as the portal shrunk to the size of a coin, then vanished with a soft puff of air. He knelt and collected the portal token and tucked it into one of his belt bags. They would use it to summon the portal again once they were done with negotiations. Looking up to see Willow watching him, he swallowed hard, unable to look away. Her long, almost-white hair was pinned up in an elaborate braided style, while her deep green gown complemented her bright green eyes. The slit in the gown gave her plenty of freedom of movement, but also showed a lot of her leg and Rowan had to jerk his head away.

Meeting her eyes, he saw the gentle confusion there and tried to smile. "I'm ready when you are, Your Highness," he said softly. Willow nodded, then turned towards the cobblestoned road they had landed beside.

"Then let's be off," she said with a strained voice. "The sooner these negotiations are done, the sooner we can go home." Rowan nodded and they stepped onto the road.

They'd only gone a few steps when there was strange buzzing in the air, like a swarm of bees was around them. Willow paused, turning to look around them for the source of the buzzing. Rowan already had his sword half-out of its scabbard in preparation to fight whatever was making the noise. It was his job as the princess's personal guard to make sure she was safe, and this buzzing didn't feel natural.

He moved closer to her, eyes still scanning the area around them. There was a sudden inrush of air, hard enough they both staggered and Willow went to one knee. Rowan immediately knelt beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist before looking up as an enormous shadow dropped over them.

A huge silver disc hovered over them and both the princess and the guard gaped at the sight. The outer rim of the disc appeared to be rotating and there were strange, colored lights almost like faerie lights around the edges.

"What.... what is that?" Willow whispered, her voice tight with fear.

Rowan just shook his head, his sword unsheathed as he stared upwards. He would protect the princess with his life, but he'd never experienced anything like this before and no training could have prepared him. A softly glowing light began to radiate from the bottom of the disc, reaching out towards them.

"Run!" he roared, pulling her to her feet and they both shot down the road. They only managed a few steps before some preternatural force caught them, pulling them back. In desperation, Rowan shot balls of pure fae power at the disc, trying to make it let them go, but they just shimmered and dissipated as soon as they hit the silver metal.

"Rowan!" Willow screamed as she was dragged backwards. He abandoned his attack and leapt forward to grab her hand, trying to pull her towards him. But whatever force was pulling them was stronger than his fae strength and her hand began to slip. Refusing to give up, he stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her flush to him to make sure he stayed with her.

The force inexorably pulled them back until they were directly under the middle of the disc. Willow trembled as she felt Rowan's hand press her face into his shoulder, holding her tightly. She'd dreamt of times that he would hold her like this, but this certainly wasn't one of those daydreams. She wrapped her arms around his waist, refusing to let go of him as they began to rise. It took all of her strength to hang on, as the force was only holding on to her.

Rowan clung to her, refusing to let her be abducted alone. As they rose in the air, Willow closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face in fear. Rowan looked up, and realized there was an opening now in the silver disc and they were headed straight for it. He thought about flinging a bolt of power into it, then looked down and realized just how far they were from the ground. Growling in frustration, he continued to hang on, glad of his supernatural strength to keep with the princess.

Soon, they'd risen so far that Rowan was able to see the inside of the silver disc. To his surprise, it was a vast, open space. Gritting his teeth, he looked around and saw no one was there. Willow screamed in fright as a floor suddenly appeared beneath them, closing off their view of the outside world.

The invisible force vanished and they dropped to the floor. Rowan twisted, trying to take the brunt of the force as Willow landed on top of him. They were both breathing heavily and Willow had buried her face in his shoulder.

"Willow?" he whispered. She shuddered again and he could feel the wetness of her tears against his neck. "Are you alright?"

She sniffled one more time, but pulled back and nodded slightly. Rowan sat up slowly, easing her up but casting his gaze around the space they were in.

"Where are we?" she whispered. Her hand clung to his and kept the grip as he stood up, helping her to her feet. When she didn't let go, he glanced at her, but didn't comment on it.

"I don't know," he said flatly, trying to assess if there was a threat here. They were in a domed circle of shiny metal. The floor was flat, but it arched up into rounded walls and met over their head. Directly above was a light source, giving out a soft, even white light. Willow's hand was still intertwined with his as he slowly turned, and she turned with him.

There was nothing else there, he realized. They were in a simple, empty space. He squeezed her hand once then let go and walked forward. Willow clasped her hands to her chest but hurried after him.

"Rowan?" she whispered. "What are you doing?"

"Checking the walls," he replied. Tossing his hood back, he rested one hand on the wall and looked up as it curved above him. Rowan was not a short fae, easily towering above most of the court, but these walls were far above him. Frowning, he looked back to the wall directly in front of him and then stepped back. "Stay behind me," he ordered.

Willow obeyed immediately, ducking behind him as he raised his hand. A blast of fae power shot from his open hand into the wall. With a boom that Rowan expected to blow out the metal, it hit the wall. But rather than creating a hole for them to escape from, it dissipated across the surface, the faint light of his power fading.

"Why didn't that work?" Willow whispered, crowding against his back. Rowan shifted, wrapping his arm around her waist again so he could make sure she was safe. At least, that's what he was telling himself. Willow didn't object, her hand clutching his shirt to keep him close.

"I don't know," he said quietly, more disturbed then he liked to admit. "I'm afraid to do it at full strength though."

Their conversation was abruptly cut off as they were slammed to the ground. Rowan hit the metal floor hard, his breath leaving him as Willow landed on top of him again.

"What was that?" Willow almost shrieked, scared out of her wits. Rowan couldn't answer for a moment as he sucked in his breath, trying to get his breathing back under control.

Sitting up, he shook his head. "I don't know. It almost felt like the force we use when we're going through a portal. Like we're moving, maybe."

"The portal!" Willow exclaimed. "Maybe we can get a portal out of here!"

Rowan nodded and moved so he was kneeling. Digging into the belt pouch, he pulled out the token. Infusing it with a bit of magic to alert the fae on the other side, he set it down on the ground and they both watched it, breathless.

Rather than raising into the air however, and opening a portal, it remained on the ground, not moving. "I think there's a barrier to our magic," Rowan finally said.

"What do we do?" Willow whispered.

Rowan shook his head as she clung to him again. "I don't know."

---

Xandro flicked some keys on the panel in front of them, curious. This was a routine abduction from the third planet in this galaxy but there was something odd about the creatures they'd abducted.

They flipped through the log on previous abductions from this planet, noting the interactions between the scientists and the abductees. Ah, there it was. They peered closer at the record, nothing that while previous abductees had a similar outward appearance to the current prisoners, their internal physiology was quite different. Also, there was no record of an energy blast from previous experiments.

Humming to themself as they worked, they continued to flip backwards through the records until with a quiet noise of triumph, they found the record they were looking for. Noting the similarities, Xandro smiled, pleased at the finding.

These creatures were a rare find indeed, capable of power without an external source. Rubbing their hands together with glee, Xandro hopped off their stool and made their way to the holding cells. They needed to inform the scientists of this new finding so that proper preparations could be made for the creatures' holding.

Watching the prisoners on the holopad as they walked down the corridor, Xandro faltered. There was something odd about one of them. Their internal physiology was similar and presented as child-bearing versus the other prisoner, but they possessed no power generation. Now frowning, Xandro redirected themself to the docking bay, intent on looking into this mistake before the scientists found out about it.

They soon arrived and waited impatiently for the sample ship to arrive. Crossing their arms, they tapped their foot, drawing irritated gazes from the other engineers working in the bay. Xandro ignored them, far more curious about the new discovery.

Finally, the ship slid into place with an audible thump and Xandro sprinted for the doorway. Before entering, they activated their protective shield just in case the male subject decided to throw an energy blast their way. The door slid open at their approach and they walked in, quickly shutting the door behind them.

Studying the subjects, who had been obviously startled at Xandro's arrival and had turned to face them, Xandro found himself fascinated by their appearance. These were not the normal race for this planet, as evidenced by the glowing eyes and long, pointed ears of their subjects. The male, who faced Xandro with a determined look on their face, was tall for this planet, with deep brown hair tucked into a hood that was currently down.

His clothing was simple attire, but Xandro noted it looked highly made, with a remnant of the energy that the male could produce at will.

Xandro strained their head, attempting to catch a glimpse of the female cowering behind her protector. All Xandro could really see was bright white hair in elaborate braids and a bare glimpse of bright green eyes.

"Welcome to Rurrine Ship #564," Xandro began, crossing their arms formally. They weren't supposed to be actually interacting with the subjects, that was reserved for the scientists, but Xandro needed to know why the female wasn't generating any internal power. "I am Xandro."

---

Willow jumped almost a foot in the air at the sound of the voice. It certainly didn't appear to come from the creature in front of them, but rather in the space around them. The appearance of the creature had been surprise enough. It was short, barely coming to her waist, with a smooth, bulbous head and gray skin. Its eyes were huge, taking up almost half of its face and a shiny, solid black.

It had arms and legs, and long, big-knuckled fingers that were currently crossed in front of them. The only thing she could find similar between them was that it also wore clothing, a tidy white body suit with thick-soled boots. It also had vambrace on one arm, but it blinked and glowed with multi-colored lights.

"And you are?" the voice said after introducing itself.

Willow started again, still clinging to Rowan's cloak. "I am Rowan, of the Spring Court, personal guard to Her Highness, the Princess Willow," Rowan said, glancing back at her before re-focusing his attention on the creature.

"The Princess Willow of the Spring Court?" Xandro asked, their fingers twiddling on the vambrace and making more lights flash. "And why does the Princess not possess the same powers that you have, Rowan of the Spring Court?"

Willow flushed a bright red and buried her face in Rowan's cloak. She didn't even know this creature and it already knew she was powerless?! It was a deeply held secret in the court that the Princess possessed no fae abilities, not even the simple trick of supplying magic to a portal token. It was one reason she was so close to Rowan, as he helped her navigate the Fae Court and was one of the few who knew her secret.

The only others were her immediate family and her closest handmaid, who was there when Rowan coudn't follow her somewhere.

"What are you talking about?" Rowan snapped, his automatic defense when the princess was accused of being powerless. "The Princess does have normal fae powers."

"Not according to our scans," Xandro said mildly, not moved by Rowan's anger. "The scans reveal you have an internal power source which is what generated the energy blast you utilized during your abduction." Xandro continued to talk, using terms and phrases that were beyond Willow's understanding.

"How does it know?" Willow whispered. Rowan shushed her quickly, then turned back to the figure.

"I don't understand anything you just said," he said flatly. "But I order you to return us to the Spring Court." He hesitated. "And to keep her secret. If the princess was found out...," Rowan trailed off, the implications clear to Willow.

---

Xandro watched them, fascinated by the interaction and the quick defense that the male had presented at Xandro's statement. It was obviously a sensitive topic. When the Princess Willow peered at him from around Rowan's shoulder, Xandro blinked in surprise.

It certainly wasn't the physical appearance, but something in her eyes struck them as familiar. A pleading, a need for protection. Xandro frowned, realizing the female reminded them of their own progeny. Their big, dark eyes that were so trusting and dependent upon Xandro from protection. The vulnerability that Xandro saw there made them close their eyes for a moment, trying to distance themself from the subjects.

Opening their eyes, Xandro sighed. It would be another mark against them, but they couldn't let this poor creature be examined by the scientists. Eventually, she would be dissected and studied, most probably right next to her protector, to find out what made her different. The trust she showed in her protector was so similar to what Xandro saw in their own progeny. Xandro shook their head again, then backed away, the door sliding open behind them. Rowan and Willow were frozen, watching, as Xandro exited the craft. The door slid shut behind them, blocking Xandro's view of the subjects.

Glancing around, making sure that no one was watching, Xandro quickly flipped a few switches on their holopad, marking the pod in front of them as empty and erasing the log. The pod jettisoned outwards from the main ship and vanished into the dark space below them, spiraling towards the bright planet below.

Xandro winced at the thought of being discovered, but knew that they wouldn't do anything different. Turning on their heel, they headed back to the control room, intent on making sure the pod deposited the now free subjects onto the planet.

#

Willow yelped as the pod suddenly shifted, immediately after Xandro had replaced the wall they'd vanished behind. "Rowan?" she asked cautiously. "Did it just send us back?

Rowan had turned as they moved through space and wrapped his arm around her waist again. "I think...," he began, then hesitated. "I think he took pity on us."

Willow couldn't find it in herself to be offended at the thought of something taking pity on her, and instead let out a breath of relief. She clung to Rowan, burying her head in his shoulder. "Thank you, Rowan," she whispered.

Rowan shook his head and hesitantly, not sure how she would react, kissed the top of her head. "I don't think I really did anything," he admitted.

"You got it to send us home, somehow," she said, reveling in the feel of his arms around her, not sure how much longer he would hold her once they were home. She would take advantage of the time while she could.

Rowan didn't answer, instead pulling back a little to look her in the eyes. "We don't tell anyone about this?" he suggested.

Willow nodded vigorously in agreement. "No one," she confirmed. Then, unable to resist his face being that close to hers, she leant forward and kissed him. To her surprise, he kissed her back, holding her close to him.

When they parted, he had a slight smile on his face and brushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'm not sorry it happened, after that reaction," he said.

Willow flushed, but smiled and leaned against him. "Me neither." They stayed that way until they felt themselves stopping, and then they slowly drifted downwards. They were only a few feet from their footprints from earlier, to Willow's relief. Looking up, they watched the silver disc shoot up and away, and it was soon out of sight.