by Ashley West
"What?" Luther asked. "No. Why would you think that?"
"I don't know. You're making that face like something horrible has happened, so I just started guessing. Why don't you tell me what actually happened?"
He sighed and stared down into his drink. "Her Majesty is sending Alanna home," he said.
When Clio didn't say anything for a long time, he looked up, meeting her eyes. She looked...resigned, and a bit sad, and Luther frowned. "What?"
"Are you in love with her?" she asked him.
"What?"
"Are you in love with her? With Alanna."
"Why would you ask me that?"
"Because her going home is a good thing, Luther."
"What? I thought you liked her."
"I do like her," Clio said. "And that's why I think it's a good thing. This isn't her home. Her family isn't here. Her friends aren't here. She didn't ask to be brought here. She was snatched up and crashed here, and could have died in the process. Doesn't she want to go home?"
Luther looked away, sipping at the drink. "Of course she does." Although...in the past few weeks, he hadn't heard her lament being stuck on Lin-Vayel nearly as much. Still, he knew this wasn't an ideal situation for her.
"Then, it's good that she gets to, right?"
"Yes," he agreed.
"Then why do you look so sad?"
And that was the million pearl question, wasn't it? Because Luther cared about Alanna, and she wanted to go home. So it should have followed that he was happy for her that she was finally getting to. Instead all he could think about was how empty his home was going to be without her.
"I'm not in love with her," he said finally, aware that it didn't sound very convincing. Clio looked skeptical, so he said it again, firmer. "I'm not in love with her. I haven't been in love with anyone since...well, since you. And I know I'm not in love now. But I do care for her a great deal. She's been...It's been so nice to have someone, and I'm going to miss her."
"That's understandable," Clio said, patting him on the shoulder. "She's your type, of course. You've always been drawn to women who can challenge you in some way. The ones who frustrate you at first and all that."
Luther sighed, and he drained the rest of his drink in one go, not even noticing the burn. "I should be happy for her," he said. "She wants to go home. She never deserved to be wrapped up in whatever this mess is at all. But..."
"But you want her to stay with you," Clio murmured.
He nodded, admitting it to both himself and Clio.
"Does she know she's welcome to stay?" Clio asked.
"No," Luther replied. "At least, I've never mentioned it. I don't even know if she is welcome, to be honest. The queen never said anything about that."
"And you would need her approval to bring a human here to live. You could mention it to her. To Alanna, I mean. See what she thinks about it. At least you'd know where she stands before you had to get the queen involved."
Luther was fairly certain that he already knew where Alanna stood with regards to going home. She wouldn't want to stay here. Why would she? All she would ever be here was an outsider, and no one wanted to feel like that all the time. Luther couldn't even imagine how that would feel.
He left the cantina after a couple more drinks and commiserating to Clio. Once the cantina started to fill up with the usual crowd, he excused himself and walked home.
Alanna was in the front room when he got there, an easel set up and paint splattered all over her clothes. She grinned when he came through the door and put down her brush to kiss him hello.
"How was your meeting with the queen?" she asked. "You look exhausted."
Luther opened his mouth to tell her what the queen had told him, that she was free to go home, probably within the next week or so, but he couldn't. The words stuck in his throat, and he called himself a coward.
"It was fine," he said finally. "Long. There was much to discuss."
"Anything interesting?" she asked, turning back to her painting.
Luther shook his head. "Not especially. Just...some glimmers of things to come. How was the rest of your day?"
It was much better to listen to her talk about how she'd gone for a short walk, just around the outside of the house, looking for inspiration. She showed him the painting she was doing of one of the flowers native to this area, and Luther smiled to see it. He praised it, as he usually did, and listened attentively to her explanation of her methods.
It was funny, really. He could use his body as a conduit for water, even turn his form into liquid, but that seemed much less amazing than Alanna's ability to make beautiful things seem to appear from nothing.
She always insisted that it wasn't that miraculous, but Luther had seen the pleased smile on her face before she'd turned away that first time.
Of course, guilt hounded him for the rest of the night. He knew he had to tell Alanna the truth, but he just...he didn't know how to. And if he was honest, he didn't want to see the look of relief on her face when she found out that she was no longer stuck here. He knew it was going to hurt to see how much she'd rather not be here with him.
The night turned into day, and that day passed, and Luther still didn't know what to say.
He was summoned to the palace again, this time to discuss a dive and to find out that one of their supply carriers had gone missing before making a drop to a neighboring planet. Varen was livid, and insisted that taking Alanna back could wait until they had gotten to the bottom of this.
Luther felt a sense of relief. And then immediately he felt guilty, and he sighed and forced himself to go home.
"Alanna," he said, when he came through the door. "We need to talk."
She looked alarmed at first, and she sat down on the couch. "What's happened?"
"It's...you're going home."
For a long moment, she didn't say anything. There was a shocked look on her face, and she seemed to be having some trouble taking it in. "Oh," she said finally. "Okay. When?"
"I'm not sure yet. It was going to be soon, in the next few days, but there was an issue with one of our supply ships going missing, so the queen would like to figure that out before she sends us off."
"Us?" Alanna asked, eyebrows raised.
Luther nodded. "I am to escort you back."
That made her smile, and something tight and afraid in Luther loosened just a bit. At least she was happy he was accompanying her. "That's a relief," she said.
"Which part?" he couldn't resist asking.
"Both parts, I guess. I mean. I want to go home. I like it here, I like it here so much, but I just..."
"I know," Luther said. "I know."
And that was the last thing that was said about it that night. They had to wait to hear more from Varen anyway, so they put it aside in favor of doing other things.
They had dinner, and then Alanna asked if she could sketch him, so he got comfortable on the couch and let her do as she pleased.
"Are you going to draw me like you draw your Earth men?" Luther asked, smiling.
She rolled her eyes. "No. This isn't really my medium, to be honest. I like drawing and painting, but I'm much better with clay."
"Have you used the claw the queen gave you?"
She shook her head, eyes on her paper as her hand moved in fluid lines, guiding the charcoal across the page. "Not yet. I don't know what I should make. It seems really rude to use such a fine gift to make a cup or something."
"I don't think Her Majesty really cares what you make with it," Luther pointed out.
"I know," Alanna said. "But I care. I want it to be nice. I guess I have to get started on something soon."
She didn't say 'because I'll be leaving', and Luther didn't say 'you could take it with you' because he didn't want to think about her leaving.
Both of them seemed to be content to not discuss it, and Luther tried to put it out of his head as best he could.
There were other things to think about, of course, as the days went by
. The supply ship was found, several planets away from the one it was supposed to have docked at, in pieces and picked clean.
It wasn’t unheard of for things like that to happen, really. Supplies and their carriers went missing all the time because of bandits and scavengers, people who didn’t have anything better to do than derail the work of honest people. It wasn’t even the first time one of their ships had gone down somewhere.
But in light of all the other strange things that were happening around them, it did seem odd. The queen refused to let it go, too. She wanted answers, and no one had them for her, which just made her mood fouler and fouler until she was shouting at her warriors and Prinna.
The tension was high in the air, and Luther wanted no part of it.
He came home one evening to find Alanna sprawled on the couch, and he made a decision. “Come with me,” he said.
“Where are we going?” she asked, sitting up and tipping her head to one side.
“I have something I want to show you.”
Alanna looked curious, but she nodded, getting up and putting on her shoes. She followed him out of the house and down the road, and when it was apparent that there weren't many people out and about, Luther reached down and took her hand.
That got a surprised smile from her, and Luther smiled back, heart heavy. He was so full of thoughts of what could have been between them that he didn't know what to do with them all, and he held back the sigh and kept them moving.
"I love this planet," he said. "I love everything about it. I love the water and the people. I love knowing that I can protect it. But sometimes...sometimes everything here gets a little too loud. Sometimes the queen is in a foul mood or a dive doesn't go well. Sometimes I feel lonely or worried about the future. Do you ever feel like that?"
Alanna snorted softly and sighed. "Of course I do. I think everyone does from time to time. It's a very human thing. Or...a very person thing, I guess, considering you aren't human."
Luther gave her an impish smile at that. "What do you do when you feel that way?" he wanted to know.
"I guess I work on my art," she said. "I try to channel it into something creative, to use the feeling instead of letting it use me."
"Admirable," he said and meant it.
"Eh, sometimes I just get drunk," she said, shrugging a shoulder, but her fingers tightened around his. "What do you do?"
"I leave everything behind," Luther replied. "As best I can, anyway. I don't think about work or the queen or other people. I walk until I get to my favorite place."
"Where is that?"
"Just wait."
They finished the walk in silence, just holding onto each other as the sun set around them. It was the perfect time of day to go to this spot, in Luther's opinion. The setting sun turned the sky into a riot of color, and the water that was everywhere reflected it beautifully.
They came to a high hill where the concrete of the city gave way to a grassy knoll. It was higher than almost any other point in the main part of the city, and you could see for miles at the top of it. If you turned to the north, you could see all the way to the palace. If you turned to the east, you could see the entertainment district, all lit up for the night. If you turned to the west, the loading docks were in clear vision, little dots of people milling around, always busy. But if you turned to the south, you could see Luther's favorite view. The sea, as it stretched seemingly endlessly into the horizon, sparkling in the fiery light from the sunset.
He held Alanna's hand and turned her in the right direction, watching her face as she took it all in.
"Oh my god," she breathed. "It's..." She shook her head, seemingly speechless, a look of naked awe on her face.
Luther had probably seen this sight at least once a week since he had been old enough to come here on his own, but it never failed to take his breath away.
He kept a hold of her hand as they stood there in silence, watching the sun go down over the horizon, watching the sea sparkle and shimmer with it before it grew dark. He looked at Alanna, watching for any trace of fear, but there didn't seem to be any on her face. She just looked entranced by the sight.
"Thanks for bringing me here," she said eventually, finally breaking the spell of silence.
"You're welcome," he replied softly. "I thought...I thought you would appreciate it."
"I do," she said. "I wish I could paint this, so I could see it forever. But it wouldn't be the same."
Luther nodded, understanding her meaning. "It's so vast, all of that out there. It makes me feel so small, but also so connected. Because all of that moves through me. It moves through all of us here, and so everything is a part of everything else." He didn't even know if that made sense, but it was how he felt. It was something his mother had told him years ago, before she'd died, and he'd kept it to heart.
Alanna smiled slowly, nodding as well. "I think that's beautiful," she said.
They smiled at each other for a bit, and then Luther couldn't help himself. He bent down, cupping her face with his free hand so he could tip it up and press a kiss to her mouth.
She shivered against him, and he let go of her long enough to take off his jacket and pass it to her. "So you don't get too cold," he murmured.
"Thank you," she murmured back, and then they were kissing once more.
Chapter Seven: A Time to Say Goodbye
Alanna's last days on Lin-Vayel were some she knew she was always going to remember. At the beginning, this had been hellish, being stuck on a different planet, not knowing whether she was going to make it home or not, or if she'd be killed or forced to stay here for the rest of her life.
But Luther had taken care of her and shown her that this place was more beautiful than she would have ever imagined a place could be. He'd taken her under his wing and made it possible for her to have a life here.
And she was going to miss it.
She was going to miss the water and the constant sound of waves, the way the sea air whipped around her when she got close enough to the shore, the food, the people, all of it.
But most of all, she was going to miss Luther. Never had she met someone like him before. Someone selfless and kind, encouraging and strong. And yeah, really good in bed. The thought of not seeing him every day...it made her not want to leave. It made her want to consider how things could be if she stayed on Lin-Vayel and never went home.
It was a fantasy, though. She knew she had to go back. It was where she belonged, though she didn't think she had ever felt as strongly about it as Luther felt about Lin-Vayel. And that was fine. Not everyone had to love their home with the intensity that Luther loved his. Sometimes home was just a place where you could rest and be comfortable, and she could do that in her home. It would be fine.
"I suppose I should give the clay back to the queen," Alanna said one night as they were laying together as they usually did. Even when they weren't having sex, it was nice to be touching.
"You should keep it," Luther said. "It was a gift. Something to remember us by."
"As if I could forget you," Alanna returned.
As if she could forget any of this. One of the worst things that had ever happened to her had somehow turned into something wonderful. She was still trying to work out exactly how that had happened, but she was drawing a very large blank. One minute she had been terrified, wanting nothing more than to leave, and the next she was sad to say goodbye.
At least Luther was going with her. He was going to accompany her to Earth and then stay for a few days to make sure nothing else came after her.
"The queen's orders," he'd said when he told her.
"I'll show you all of my favorite places," Alanna promised. Although she knew they would pale in comparison to what Luther had shown her. There was no way around that, really. Earth was nothing like Lin-Vayel.
She spent her last days there enjoying herself. She went to a fancy dinner with Luther, she hung out with Clio at the cantina, she sat on the grassy hill by herself and tried to g
et the colors of the sea just right in her book of paintings. She walked the marketplace, getting little trinkets and snacks that put her in a good mood.
And she was summoned to come stand before the queen.
It was a first. In the nearly three months since she'd come to this planet, the queen had never asked to see her personally. She'd spoken to Luther, who had relayed whatever messages there were to Alanna, and that had seemed to suit both of them fine. But now Queen Varen wanted to see her face to face, and Alanna was nervous.
"It won't be that bad," Luther said, trying to soothe her and not doing a very good job of it. "I'm sure she just wants to say goodbye."
"She never said hello," Alanna protested, trying to get her hair to lay down so she'd look somewhat presentable before being brought before the queen of the whole place.
"True, but I can assure you she doesn't mean you any harm," he said. "I will walk with you there."
That helped to settle her nerves a little, having Luther beside her always did wonders for her anxiety, which was something she was trying not to examine too hard.
She'd gotten plenty of glimpses of the palace, but never had been close enough to see it properly. It was beautiful, a marvel of construction that seemed to be laid with pearls and shells of all hues and sizes. Ostentatious, to a degree, but beautiful.
There was a woman standing outside of it, straight backed and still, and Luther smiled at her as they approached. "Prinna."
"Luther," she replied. "And you must be our resident human."
Alanna bit back the instinctive 'who else would I be' and nodded. "Yes. I'm Alanna."
"I am called Prinna," she said. "I am Her Majesty Queen Varen's right hand. I will take you to her now." She glanced at Luther. "And you have not been summoned."
"I know," Luther said. "I was just bringing her here, and I will wait outside."
Prinna nodded and turned sharply, heading inside. Alanna sent one last concerned look over her shoulder at Luther, and then followed.
The palace was just as beautiful inside as it was outside, and their footsteps echoed on the lovely marbled floors. Prinna didn't seem like one for small talk, so Alanna kept her mouth shut and focused on following her so she didn't get lost in this massive place.
