Title: The Story of Wendy and Peter
Part Nineteen
Category: Future Classic
Rating: PG-13 /Teen
Author: At the time I was Queen Lea’, now, it’s simply Elle.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except what I created.
Notes: This was started around the second season of Roswell. It is only now that I am drudging it to completion. Note that I have taken liberties with certain facts among the Roswellians, bear with me. Second, gratitude towards Captain Average, RoswellNET list (long since gone), and of course, my cohort in every crime, Princess Nic, known simply now as Nic.
Musical Note: Quite a few of these songs were written by me in the context of the band, however some are actual songs from actual bands.
Comments: Battle scenes suck. That's it.
******************************************************
The three of them sat down in the cold hotel room. Far removed from
the underground caves they were using as base; each of them in a corner
of the room.
“YOU PROMISED WE’D FINALLY HAVE POWER!” Umbra (aka
the Vice-President’s Wife, Julia) seethed. “You promised Diara that once
and for all that Antar and its glory would be ours!”
“WOULD YOU JUST SHUT-UP? What do you know of power you
sniffling wanna-be?!? Let me remind you the Betrayer is your niece, the
one who spilled forth the less-than-worthy heir is your kin.” Diara raged
back.
“The Betrayer you let escape from our grasp.” Syne’ (aka the
Vice-president Paul) spoke oozing discontent.
“What usage did she serve? None. She will run back to them
and give us nothing but time as we accumulate our waiting forces. Forces
I put into place, forces under MY command. For you two this is nothing
more than a power move- CHECK…for me, this is everything-
CHECKMATE…do you understand the difference? Max must die. Michael,
Isabel, and Mary and Sebastian will die. But most of all, Liz…L.Y.A. she
must perish like her parents- her blood is mine. Continue to do what I say
and screw the Presidency- we’ll conquer a world.” Diara’s eyes gleemed
in frightening hell-ish light. A woman, an alien, purely possessed by evil.
Good never really won- if so, she would have died long ago. But she
lived, they had all lived, to not claim only Antar but the universe. This was
war and the forces were coming- all she had to do was wait a little longer.
*************************************************************
It was cold in the Underground. Long, dark caverns built for a
moment such as this. Maria could do nothing but wrap her sweater around
her tighter and continue following the path to the main conference room.
She knew that she would not be fighting. It wasn’t that this wasn’t her war-
but it wasn’t her battle. She was sorceress with her pen, a dangerous
siren with her voice, but while music is the gateway to the soul- it would
do nothing to stop physical harm from coming to her or the others. She
then wondered what she could give? Liz had given her a cause- protect
Mary and Chloe at all costs. Liz had confided Mary was pregnant and
there was no chance she’d be in combat. Chloe, who was almost the
same age as they were when it all began, was told she would remain with
Maria and Mary. Not by her request but the orders of her parents,
siblings, and Michael. Michael was fierce in his charge she stay safe in the
Underground. It was out of a mixture of fear and respect that Chloe
relented on fighting. Maria knew those feelings; they were her old friends.
She smiled slightly at the times she both feared and respected the man in
front of her; leading her to her shelter.
The path was longer than she remembered and it gave her
time to reflect. Reflect on what was going to happen at the dusk of the
day-under the cover of night. There, in her sands, a revolution would
occur and like before- only they would know what had happened. Was
that why Liz really left? Is that why she left? Why she sought the spotlight
and the attention of the masses? She simply wanted recognition of a life
that was not normal-beyond it. She used her music to tell the world of
what they were stupid of- the fact that aliens existed and that there was
an intergalatic war going on. But no one ever really read into her music
what was there…no one saw the darkness and horror that was masked by
smooth melodies and enchanting harmonies. It was then it struck her
what she would really do in the Underground.
The Conference Room, as it had been dubbed, was large and
spacious and held a heavy wooden round table Michael and Sebastian had
created. On the trim inlay, in a language Michael could not grasp but
Sebastian could, the story of them all. It began from the time of the births
of Xan and Lya and continued to the moment Liz had left. An intruder
would have assumed it was merely a form of ancient hieroglyphics. But
like the heavy wood, it held much deeper mysteries to its owners. There
were twelve chairs. Each chair made with the same wood was engraved
with symbol on the back. Together, they were the words of the twelve
ideals of Antar: Love, Peace, Harmony, Courage, Happiness,
Perseverance, Patience, Truth, Compassion, Sacrifice, Wisdom and Hope.
These were the banners of war and peace for their world. Tonight, they all
took their rightful places.
In unity sat the Royal Family, the Ancient Beloved Clan, and
the Great Allies. Chloe stood in the corner- her time had not yet come.
Truthfully, she thought the whole “knights of the round table” deal was a
little corny. Nonetheless, the seriousness of what was taking place wasn’t
lost on her either. Tomorrow she could be like Liz and lose all she ever
had and ever wanted. That scared her; scared two times over.
The room grew darker when Grandfather walked in and took
his place. He was the oldest among them and possessed the most wisdom
of the old ways. He could never forget what they were up against. He sat
down and the rest followed suit. No one spoke until he had placed both
aged hands upon the table and the inlay- the old story began to glow a
brilliant blue.
Max stood, his face- his face looked regal lit eerily by the blue
glow. Perhaps, this what they really looked like on the inside. This was
what it meant to be alien. When he stood, everyone at the table bowed
their head in reverence to the King. Max’s voice was no longer the sweet
idealism of a confused boy but that of a man certain of what destiny really
meant. “This is it. No more talking. No more running. No more hiding. We
already know what we have to do…it is no longer fighting a good fight. We
will fight the war. We have all taken oaths, old and new, to this cause. But
for whatever it be- we’re not fighting for planet, a world, or mistakes
made- we’re fighting for the sake of freedom. Freedom to not be afraid of
who we are and who we have become. We fight to give the future a
freedom that we’ve never known. Over 60 years ago, there was a crash…
here at this very spot. It’s time to clean up that mess. If you can fight,
fight. Fight till you die, fight knowing you and I are giving our lives for
something bigger than universes for the very existence of an ideal:
peace.” He paused- dramatically and emphatically. “No more words. It’s
time to speak by our actions. And so we will go.” The weight of Max’s
words bore on all of them. For that single moment in space and time, they
weren’t alien or human or hybrid… they were one solitary being.
Redeemed by Destiny to live and go forward.
Chloe was silent and though impacted by her brother’s words,
it was her mother’s that crept into her mind.
Once upon time, there was a boy named Peter Pan. A boy taken away from his parents by fairies to live in a land beyond the North Star. And this boy would never grow-up. He would never know stress, worry, heart ache, or fear. He would be the courageous and happiest boy in all of Never-land- who could fly, crow, think happy thoughts and rid their world of the evil bitter Captain Hook. But one night, Peter flew beyond the North Star to a window-once again chasing after his shadow. An open window of young girl, crying at the sill.
“Why are you crying?” Peter asked.
The girl looked up and was startled. “My brothers and I are here alone- our parents have left us again. I don’t want to grow-up to be like them, that is why I am crying boy.”
Peter smiled, “My name is Peter Pan and I can take you to world where you will never grow up but live each day as a child. In my land there are fairies and mermaids and Indians and magic. Will you come with me?”
“Wendy. My name is Wendy. Can my brothers come to? I would hate to leave them alone.”
“Alright. Let’s go. First I must catch my shadow- then I and Tinkerbell will give you magic fairy dust. And if you think good thoughts- you and I will fly beyond the North Star to Never Land.”
“Oh that sounds like so much fun. Let’s go Peter…”
The old bedtime story played in her head with the characters alive and
bouncing about her imagination. It dawned in her eyes that night- who
Peter and Wendy really were. They were two kids who had seen enough
pain and sadness and had found a better world. A world that drifted away
when the sun rose…and she and Peter were faced with the truth…we must
all grow-up. No one ever told the story of Peter and Wendy after their
adventure and the death of Captain Hook. Chloe knew why- what’s so
interesting about growing up? If only they had known Max Evans and Liz
Parker- they would have seen that the real adventure began when they
came to this world and faced everything they had flown from…she made a
mental note. Someday she would write a sequel to the old bedtime story…
or she would hire someone to write it. And they would tell of this moment
and though things looked dark and dim---everyone knows that heroes
and heroines of the nighttime myths live happily ever after.
The Story of Wendy and Peter (CC/Teen) COMPLETE
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Rowedog, ISLANDGIRL5, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, FSU/MSW-94, Forum Moderators
The Story of Wendy and Peter- Part 20 (CC/Teen)
Title: The Story of Wendy and Peter
Part Twenty
Category: Future Classic
Rating: PG-13 /Teen
Author: At the time I was Queen Lea’, now, it’s simply Elle.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except what I created.
Notes: This was started around the second season of Roswell. It is only now that I am drudging it to completion. Note that I have taken liberties with certain facts among the Roswellians, bear with me. Second, gratitude towards Captain Average, RoswellNET list (long since gone), and of course, my cohort in every crime, Princess Nic, known simply now as Nic. Another note I owe a great deal to my brother for explaining heavy weapontry to me and telling me if we went to war what type of weapons we'd really want.
Musical Note: Big musical note: the song in this part is More Than It Seems by Kutless- but supposedly written by Maria. I do wish I had written it- it is an incredible song.
Comments: This part was really hard to write- not just because of the battle scene but because I had to move the story to the place I knew it would always go. I am in huge admiration of Shonda Rhimes who manages to do what I have done and with such conviction. If I had but that...
*******************************************************
Mary sat in a corner of the room in a large overstuffed ratty chair. A
soft fleece blanket lay over her and around her. She was dazed by events
taking place…the room still hazed an eerie blue. She wanted to be on the
field, fighting but her stomach moved and she knew she couldn’t really.
Two very small lives grew within her and they needed to live- they needed
to reap the lives she never really had. But sitting here was grating her
tattered nerves.
In the opposite matching ugly chair sat Maria- her guard.
Maria could no more guard her than puppy. Maria was sitting in the chair,
wrapped in her sweater and a pen and pad in her lap. Her eyes were on
the table and her heart…was like Mary’s, with a warrior. Chloe, who
seemed older than ever before sat on a shaggy run at Maria’s feet with
Maria’s electric blue guitar in her lap.
“Writing a song?”
Maria looked across the room at Mary and smiled everso. “The
melody is there, I think…but the words.” She sighed. “The words are
bigger than me and I have no idea how to put them down. I am at a loss
for words.”
“I understand that to be a first…” Mary chuckled and jabbed.
Chloe laughed too as she strummed the guitar. The melody in
the three chords and their new dance was timely. Maria listened- this was
the melody. Chloe had tapped into her melody but why couldn’t she put
anything on paper, Maria grimaced.
“It’s not easy.”
Maria nodded. She needed no further explanation. “Ya know, I
use to have these dreams when we were kids. Dreams of all of us living in
houses in a row- with kids, and dogs and fences. There wasn’t baggage or
panic attacks or uncertainty. It was…”
“Normal.” The girls all echoed.
“Yeah…normal. We’re beyond that…we’re capable of more than
that nowadays.”
“No more running to that day dream?”
“No…” Maria replied soberly. She had grown-up. She had
ventured back to the real world and then---then she found her song. Her
pen hit her paper and her battle began in every echo with the battle above.
*************************************************************
This was war. This is what they learned about in the history books,
what men and women died for, what old veterans sang of on wooden
porches in wooden swings.
Two sides, taking their ground, with silence and miles of land
between them. Sally remembered not the days of the war in Antar, but of
the book she read her daughter, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Two sides, good and evil, with a menagerie of creatures to them each
roaring and shouting for battle. She remembered the passage describing
Peter on his white unicorn ready to take the White Witch. Her eyes
watched carefully her son. He had no white unicorn to carry him off or
magical sword to save him; only a weapon once used in a time he could
not remember. They all brandished weapons; weapons that were meant
but for one thing- death.
She didn’t bother pondering on how they got here, she knew.
Like the mystical land of Narnia, it was time to fight the good fight and let
freedom loose on them all at last. She shut her own heavy eyes and far
far away she heard a melody, a song with a voice that had seen what was
and what had to be. She listened to the song, never straining to hear the
words.
Is my imagination running away
Or is all this really happening to me
Am I a prince in a far away land filled with fantasy
Where is reality and what are the actions that will define who I am?
I am holding onto the visions I've seen of what I could be
It's what I should be
They stood in a line. Solid, strong, and unbreakable line- all of them
ready at their leaders’ command. Michael, Kyle, Tess, Sebastian, Isabel,
Alex, Gary, Sally, and Grandfather. In front of them stood two: Max and
Liz. Neither would concede to let the other wage the war alone and neither
would concede to let the other stand alone. Two had become one…but
would it be enough to win? Max dared not turn his back, but spoke clear
and strong one last time, his voice unfaltering in his final belief, “This is
where we stand. We can do no otherwise. We fight not to win but redeem;
to pay with our lives so that others will live unlike we have these years…”
Together, he and his beloved resounded the call to
the desert and war, “WE WILL NOT FAIL! FOR ANTAR! FOR EARTH! FOR US
ALL! FIGHT!”
A thunderous sound rose from the line, a sound that
shook the world. And beneath them, in them, above them- the melody of
the song grew louder and it resonated in all their ears.
More than it seems these dreams inside
Show me the way to these dreams
Blur reality's line
'til there's nothing that's left of me
If I could believe the dreams aside
Show me the way to these dreams
I am capable more than it seems
They met in battle with earthly guns firing rounds, weapons of mass
destruction in another place fazing every piece of flesh, and their own
powers doing what they could. It was revolutionary.
Stephen was the first of their line to die. His body was torn from him
with a dark meticulous green power blast sent by Diara as he ran to
protect his Lya from a surprise attack. Her back had been turned and she
had not seen Diara’s advance and Stephen…Mika, knew what he must do
as he had done before and he stood in her place. The strangeness was
when Stephen’s life drained from his body, they all felt it- human and alien
alike.
In rage of the death of his kinsmen and friend, Sebastian took
his large stolen RPG (Rocket Propel Grenade) and aimed for the Paul and
Julia-both standing side by side relishing in Stephen’s death. With one shot
he took them both out- knowing exactly where to shoot and removing
them far enough away from any type of saving attempt. Tess stood right
behind him and in the moment, he felt guilt over the death- though he had
killed before in another life. He had finally made Tess an orphan. She
placed a hand on forearm and said only two words, “Good shot.” And
Sebastian and Tess smiled one moment more and continued fighting.
Passing through darkness into my own world
Will I be more than when I left
than when I left
Never letting go of the lessens I learned
This will make a change
A change within me
Isabel, Alex, and Kyle brandished their own weapons-taking their
aim when they could as the stood behind the natural fort stone walls.
Isabel took a gaze at Alex and watched as he aimed and fired and hit an
enemy solider. Her breath skipped- realizing she had been away from him
for too long. Her sweet, peaceful lanky school boy-nerd had become a
fierce-tall-sure-fired man. Kyle gently kicked Isabel in the leg from her
right side. “Hey Evans, there is a fight goin’ on here---we all know
Whitman’s sexy with the weapon and all but get your head in the battle.”
He smirked.
Isabel turned and faced him, her Desert Eagle and cocked
it. “Bite me, Buddha Boy.” Turned back around and took out five of her own soldiers.
More than it seems these dreams inside
Show me the way to these dreams
Blur reality's line 'til there's nothing that's left of me
If I could believe the dreams aside
Show me the way to these dreams
I am capable more than it seems
Sebastian and Michael sat crouched behind a huge boulder.
Sebastian still carrying the large stolen military grenade launcher while
Michael held tightly to a weapon resembling the human Uzi. Two brothers,
fighting together again. It was in their blood and it felt pretty damn good
to be side by side.
“How many?” Michael breathed.
Sebastian took a quick look over the boulder and was back
down. “Twenty…give or take.”
Michael looked directly at his brother as they replied
together. “Take.” They ambushed from behind the boulder, guns blaring
and the heat of the desert on their backs. The noise of war never
drowning out the sense- the instinct of what to do next. Seconds were
lives taken and before they knew it, twenty down. Michael lowered his
weapon along with Sebastian.
“God…I’ve missed this…” He said, patting his brother on the shoulder.
“Finally…” Sebastian sighed. “I’m going to the south end to help
Max and Liz, I think they are barricaded in the Doon Cave.” He had only
turned when number twenty one aimed, shot, and the pain tore through
Sebastian’s body. Reaction demanded Michael shoot back and shooting
wasn’t enough- Michael raised his hand and took the bastard out the old
way, before running to where Sebastian’s body was lying a good forty feet
away. Shots suddenly tore around him, he felt one graze his shoulder and
his own throbbing wound began to bleed a trail to his brother’s body. He
kneeled by Sebastian’s body---Sebastian was hanging by every moment,
gasping for the breath he could not catch. Michael grabbed his brother’s
hand that had lifted, Tian’s eyes opening and closing slowly. Bullets, shots,
power surges mattered little. Tian looked into his brother’s eyes and knew
his time had come, time for Rath to become what he should have become,
a good man. “Take care of them, Rath. All of them.” He breathed heavily…
each syllable in each word a second longer. “Take care of my so…my…”
He coughed blood and it spewed out the side of his mouth. “My sons. For
Antar.” And one more died and Michael died a little too. He picked his
brother’s body up, ignoring his flesh wound and physical ache, and carried
him to the cave. His bother had carried him for lifetimes, and Michael
finally carried him and he heard the song louder.
More than it seems these dreams inside
Show me the way to these dreams
Blur reality's line 'til there's nothing that's left of me
If I could believe the dreams aside
Show me the way to these dreams
I am capable more than it seems
This time I won’t run away.
The numbers weren’t growing, on either side. Yet someone was
winning, someone oh Lord had to be winning, Liz thought from the
barricaded Doon Cavern. Inside the small space was Max, Gary, Sally,
Isabel, and Alex. Tess was lying on the floor- never fully recovered from
her torture her scars had reopened in the struggle and Kyle stood near
guard. Liz and Max had offered to heal- to take them away but she
refused. Her scars- her lasting proof she wasn’t she once was. That
moment Liz had more respect for her than anyone among her
acquaintance- looked like Tiger Lily had become Wendy’s friend at last.
Max stood at the door of the Cavern with a Mothberg 500 Persuader from
Kyle’s arsenal. Persuader, a very appropriate name for the weapon as it
could persuade a great many when unloaded. She, carrying her own
weapon, and ancient rifle of some sort, walked to him slowly and spoke in
hushed under tones.
“This has to end Max.”
He didn’t turn. “Yes, it does, but not at the cost of one more life.”
They had seen Michael. They had seen Sebastian and Stephen.
What could be said other than freedom was never free and never did two
men understand that more.
“Max…your own father has taken a shot to the leg, God only
knows what injuries Michael has sustained, and there are two bodies to
bury. Umbra and Syne’ are gone. We get Diara and we go home, we leave
this here and wasn’t that why we fought?”
“It is…it was. This isn’t kid stuff anymore, we don’t walk away
to another life after this one- no more second chances.”
“Max…” Her voice lowered and she clung her weapon closer to
her chest, quietly cocking it. “Love, one chance is enough. You and me.
King and queen- this is for all our people. Let’s go.”
Max didn’t reply- he didn’t answer. Just cocked his own weapon
and with no warning they left the barricade with the screams of the others
in the far distance. They didn’t take particular aim or care but just fired-
fired till they saw their target. Diara stood on top of a cave, the very place
at one point they had all stood for below her feet lied the beginning of it
all…the Graniolith. Diara noticed them as the bodies fell to their feet in a
deadly reverence. She took a few steps closer and called to them both.
“Your Majesties…” She raged.
“They’re gone Diara. Your followers, your plan, your
everything…it’s gone and it is time for you to pay for your crimes.” Liz
ordered, her voice never quavering and her weapon aimed tighter.
“Pay for what? The fact you and your pathetic race took
everything from us and that you, oh King Xan, left us a world depleted and
destroyed.”
“If Antar is nothing more than that it is because your brother
was a fool and received his fool’s reward.” Max reacted.
“HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT MY BROTHER?!? He deceived
you, and your lovely little Liz. He left you here on a planet that wants
nothing to do with you. You’re a freak, Max Evans…an orphaned freak.”
She took point with her own hand and shot forth a blast and Liz Parker-
Evans fell to the ground. Max fell to her body and threw open her shirt and
laid his hand on hers, lifting her head to bring her eyes to his. Focus on
me Liz, he pleaded silently- beginning to connect with her.
I found the strength to face life's long days
This time I won't run away
Diara moved closer and stood over Max, unaware of her presence, and said, “A widowed-dead freak…”
Before Diara could take Max’s life and then Liz’s, a blast so
powerful shook the core of the ground. There were no flashes when Max
connected with Liz- it was different. They, along with all the others:
Michael, Isabel, Alex, Gary, Sally, Kyle and Tess stood in a line again.
Standing in the same exact place Diara stood- was Grandfather. Beside
him, Sebastian and Stephen. Neither spoke, only Grandfather in words
older than themselves- words all could understand. “It is finished. For
Antar.” And he, with the two others, surged out of their bodies into three
blue power auras- each a different shade, taking every last enemy and
turning them to ash. When Liz opened her eyes, ash was everywhere.
Slowly, through the dimming sun, Michael, Isabel, Alex, Kyle who was
carrying Tess, Sally and Gary walked towards them. They like Max and Liz
were covered in the ash of the end of the war. Liz gave one small smile to
Max as she touched the silver glowing handprint on her stomach and then
with her right free hand, laid it in the sand. The wind stirred greater than
before and the ash lifted from place and mixed with the sand and into a
whirlwind into the night sky.
More than it seems these dreams inside
Show me the way to these dreams
Blur reality's line 'til there's nothing that's left of me
If I could believe the dreams aside
Show me the way to these dreams
I am capable more than it seems
We have found the way to these dreams…
Maria’s pen touched the paper with her last words. It was finally over.
******************************************************
Part Twenty
Category: Future Classic
Rating: PG-13 /Teen
Author: At the time I was Queen Lea’, now, it’s simply Elle.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except what I created.
Notes: This was started around the second season of Roswell. It is only now that I am drudging it to completion. Note that I have taken liberties with certain facts among the Roswellians, bear with me. Second, gratitude towards Captain Average, RoswellNET list (long since gone), and of course, my cohort in every crime, Princess Nic, known simply now as Nic. Another note I owe a great deal to my brother for explaining heavy weapontry to me and telling me if we went to war what type of weapons we'd really want.
Musical Note: Big musical note: the song in this part is More Than It Seems by Kutless- but supposedly written by Maria. I do wish I had written it- it is an incredible song.
Comments: This part was really hard to write- not just because of the battle scene but because I had to move the story to the place I knew it would always go. I am in huge admiration of Shonda Rhimes who manages to do what I have done and with such conviction. If I had but that...
*******************************************************
Mary sat in a corner of the room in a large overstuffed ratty chair. A
soft fleece blanket lay over her and around her. She was dazed by events
taking place…the room still hazed an eerie blue. She wanted to be on the
field, fighting but her stomach moved and she knew she couldn’t really.
Two very small lives grew within her and they needed to live- they needed
to reap the lives she never really had. But sitting here was grating her
tattered nerves.
In the opposite matching ugly chair sat Maria- her guard.
Maria could no more guard her than puppy. Maria was sitting in the chair,
wrapped in her sweater and a pen and pad in her lap. Her eyes were on
the table and her heart…was like Mary’s, with a warrior. Chloe, who
seemed older than ever before sat on a shaggy run at Maria’s feet with
Maria’s electric blue guitar in her lap.
“Writing a song?”
Maria looked across the room at Mary and smiled everso. “The
melody is there, I think…but the words.” She sighed. “The words are
bigger than me and I have no idea how to put them down. I am at a loss
for words.”
“I understand that to be a first…” Mary chuckled and jabbed.
Chloe laughed too as she strummed the guitar. The melody in
the three chords and their new dance was timely. Maria listened- this was
the melody. Chloe had tapped into her melody but why couldn’t she put
anything on paper, Maria grimaced.
“It’s not easy.”
Maria nodded. She needed no further explanation. “Ya know, I
use to have these dreams when we were kids. Dreams of all of us living in
houses in a row- with kids, and dogs and fences. There wasn’t baggage or
panic attacks or uncertainty. It was…”
“Normal.” The girls all echoed.
“Yeah…normal. We’re beyond that…we’re capable of more than
that nowadays.”
“No more running to that day dream?”
“No…” Maria replied soberly. She had grown-up. She had
ventured back to the real world and then---then she found her song. Her
pen hit her paper and her battle began in every echo with the battle above.
*************************************************************
This was war. This is what they learned about in the history books,
what men and women died for, what old veterans sang of on wooden
porches in wooden swings.
Two sides, taking their ground, with silence and miles of land
between them. Sally remembered not the days of the war in Antar, but of
the book she read her daughter, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Two sides, good and evil, with a menagerie of creatures to them each
roaring and shouting for battle. She remembered the passage describing
Peter on his white unicorn ready to take the White Witch. Her eyes
watched carefully her son. He had no white unicorn to carry him off or
magical sword to save him; only a weapon once used in a time he could
not remember. They all brandished weapons; weapons that were meant
but for one thing- death.
She didn’t bother pondering on how they got here, she knew.
Like the mystical land of Narnia, it was time to fight the good fight and let
freedom loose on them all at last. She shut her own heavy eyes and far
far away she heard a melody, a song with a voice that had seen what was
and what had to be. She listened to the song, never straining to hear the
words.
Is my imagination running away
Or is all this really happening to me
Am I a prince in a far away land filled with fantasy
Where is reality and what are the actions that will define who I am?
I am holding onto the visions I've seen of what I could be
It's what I should be
They stood in a line. Solid, strong, and unbreakable line- all of them
ready at their leaders’ command. Michael, Kyle, Tess, Sebastian, Isabel,
Alex, Gary, Sally, and Grandfather. In front of them stood two: Max and
Liz. Neither would concede to let the other wage the war alone and neither
would concede to let the other stand alone. Two had become one…but
would it be enough to win? Max dared not turn his back, but spoke clear
and strong one last time, his voice unfaltering in his final belief, “This is
where we stand. We can do no otherwise. We fight not to win but redeem;
to pay with our lives so that others will live unlike we have these years…”
Together, he and his beloved resounded the call to
the desert and war, “WE WILL NOT FAIL! FOR ANTAR! FOR EARTH! FOR US
ALL! FIGHT!”
A thunderous sound rose from the line, a sound that
shook the world. And beneath them, in them, above them- the melody of
the song grew louder and it resonated in all their ears.
More than it seems these dreams inside
Show me the way to these dreams
Blur reality's line
'til there's nothing that's left of me
If I could believe the dreams aside
Show me the way to these dreams
I am capable more than it seems
They met in battle with earthly guns firing rounds, weapons of mass
destruction in another place fazing every piece of flesh, and their own
powers doing what they could. It was revolutionary.
Stephen was the first of their line to die. His body was torn from him
with a dark meticulous green power blast sent by Diara as he ran to
protect his Lya from a surprise attack. Her back had been turned and she
had not seen Diara’s advance and Stephen…Mika, knew what he must do
as he had done before and he stood in her place. The strangeness was
when Stephen’s life drained from his body, they all felt it- human and alien
alike.
In rage of the death of his kinsmen and friend, Sebastian took
his large stolen RPG (Rocket Propel Grenade) and aimed for the Paul and
Julia-both standing side by side relishing in Stephen’s death. With one shot
he took them both out- knowing exactly where to shoot and removing
them far enough away from any type of saving attempt. Tess stood right
behind him and in the moment, he felt guilt over the death- though he had
killed before in another life. He had finally made Tess an orphan. She
placed a hand on forearm and said only two words, “Good shot.” And
Sebastian and Tess smiled one moment more and continued fighting.
Passing through darkness into my own world
Will I be more than when I left
than when I left
Never letting go of the lessens I learned
This will make a change
A change within me
Isabel, Alex, and Kyle brandished their own weapons-taking their
aim when they could as the stood behind the natural fort stone walls.
Isabel took a gaze at Alex and watched as he aimed and fired and hit an
enemy solider. Her breath skipped- realizing she had been away from him
for too long. Her sweet, peaceful lanky school boy-nerd had become a
fierce-tall-sure-fired man. Kyle gently kicked Isabel in the leg from her
right side. “Hey Evans, there is a fight goin’ on here---we all know
Whitman’s sexy with the weapon and all but get your head in the battle.”
He smirked.
Isabel turned and faced him, her Desert Eagle and cocked
it. “Bite me, Buddha Boy.” Turned back around and took out five of her own soldiers.
More than it seems these dreams inside
Show me the way to these dreams
Blur reality's line 'til there's nothing that's left of me
If I could believe the dreams aside
Show me the way to these dreams
I am capable more than it seems
Sebastian and Michael sat crouched behind a huge boulder.
Sebastian still carrying the large stolen military grenade launcher while
Michael held tightly to a weapon resembling the human Uzi. Two brothers,
fighting together again. It was in their blood and it felt pretty damn good
to be side by side.
“How many?” Michael breathed.
Sebastian took a quick look over the boulder and was back
down. “Twenty…give or take.”
Michael looked directly at his brother as they replied
together. “Take.” They ambushed from behind the boulder, guns blaring
and the heat of the desert on their backs. The noise of war never
drowning out the sense- the instinct of what to do next. Seconds were
lives taken and before they knew it, twenty down. Michael lowered his
weapon along with Sebastian.
“God…I’ve missed this…” He said, patting his brother on the shoulder.
“Finally…” Sebastian sighed. “I’m going to the south end to help
Max and Liz, I think they are barricaded in the Doon Cave.” He had only
turned when number twenty one aimed, shot, and the pain tore through
Sebastian’s body. Reaction demanded Michael shoot back and shooting
wasn’t enough- Michael raised his hand and took the bastard out the old
way, before running to where Sebastian’s body was lying a good forty feet
away. Shots suddenly tore around him, he felt one graze his shoulder and
his own throbbing wound began to bleed a trail to his brother’s body. He
kneeled by Sebastian’s body---Sebastian was hanging by every moment,
gasping for the breath he could not catch. Michael grabbed his brother’s
hand that had lifted, Tian’s eyes opening and closing slowly. Bullets, shots,
power surges mattered little. Tian looked into his brother’s eyes and knew
his time had come, time for Rath to become what he should have become,
a good man. “Take care of them, Rath. All of them.” He breathed heavily…
each syllable in each word a second longer. “Take care of my so…my…”
He coughed blood and it spewed out the side of his mouth. “My sons. For
Antar.” And one more died and Michael died a little too. He picked his
brother’s body up, ignoring his flesh wound and physical ache, and carried
him to the cave. His bother had carried him for lifetimes, and Michael
finally carried him and he heard the song louder.
More than it seems these dreams inside
Show me the way to these dreams
Blur reality's line 'til there's nothing that's left of me
If I could believe the dreams aside
Show me the way to these dreams
I am capable more than it seems
This time I won’t run away.
The numbers weren’t growing, on either side. Yet someone was
winning, someone oh Lord had to be winning, Liz thought from the
barricaded Doon Cavern. Inside the small space was Max, Gary, Sally,
Isabel, and Alex. Tess was lying on the floor- never fully recovered from
her torture her scars had reopened in the struggle and Kyle stood near
guard. Liz and Max had offered to heal- to take them away but she
refused. Her scars- her lasting proof she wasn’t she once was. That
moment Liz had more respect for her than anyone among her
acquaintance- looked like Tiger Lily had become Wendy’s friend at last.
Max stood at the door of the Cavern with a Mothberg 500 Persuader from
Kyle’s arsenal. Persuader, a very appropriate name for the weapon as it
could persuade a great many when unloaded. She, carrying her own
weapon, and ancient rifle of some sort, walked to him slowly and spoke in
hushed under tones.
“This has to end Max.”
He didn’t turn. “Yes, it does, but not at the cost of one more life.”
They had seen Michael. They had seen Sebastian and Stephen.
What could be said other than freedom was never free and never did two
men understand that more.
“Max…your own father has taken a shot to the leg, God only
knows what injuries Michael has sustained, and there are two bodies to
bury. Umbra and Syne’ are gone. We get Diara and we go home, we leave
this here and wasn’t that why we fought?”
“It is…it was. This isn’t kid stuff anymore, we don’t walk away
to another life after this one- no more second chances.”
“Max…” Her voice lowered and she clung her weapon closer to
her chest, quietly cocking it. “Love, one chance is enough. You and me.
King and queen- this is for all our people. Let’s go.”
Max didn’t reply- he didn’t answer. Just cocked his own weapon
and with no warning they left the barricade with the screams of the others
in the far distance. They didn’t take particular aim or care but just fired-
fired till they saw their target. Diara stood on top of a cave, the very place
at one point they had all stood for below her feet lied the beginning of it
all…the Graniolith. Diara noticed them as the bodies fell to their feet in a
deadly reverence. She took a few steps closer and called to them both.
“Your Majesties…” She raged.
“They’re gone Diara. Your followers, your plan, your
everything…it’s gone and it is time for you to pay for your crimes.” Liz
ordered, her voice never quavering and her weapon aimed tighter.
“Pay for what? The fact you and your pathetic race took
everything from us and that you, oh King Xan, left us a world depleted and
destroyed.”
“If Antar is nothing more than that it is because your brother
was a fool and received his fool’s reward.” Max reacted.
“HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT MY BROTHER?!? He deceived
you, and your lovely little Liz. He left you here on a planet that wants
nothing to do with you. You’re a freak, Max Evans…an orphaned freak.”
She took point with her own hand and shot forth a blast and Liz Parker-
Evans fell to the ground. Max fell to her body and threw open her shirt and
laid his hand on hers, lifting her head to bring her eyes to his. Focus on
me Liz, he pleaded silently- beginning to connect with her.
I found the strength to face life's long days
This time I won't run away
Diara moved closer and stood over Max, unaware of her presence, and said, “A widowed-dead freak…”
Before Diara could take Max’s life and then Liz’s, a blast so
powerful shook the core of the ground. There were no flashes when Max
connected with Liz- it was different. They, along with all the others:
Michael, Isabel, Alex, Gary, Sally, Kyle and Tess stood in a line again.
Standing in the same exact place Diara stood- was Grandfather. Beside
him, Sebastian and Stephen. Neither spoke, only Grandfather in words
older than themselves- words all could understand. “It is finished. For
Antar.” And he, with the two others, surged out of their bodies into three
blue power auras- each a different shade, taking every last enemy and
turning them to ash. When Liz opened her eyes, ash was everywhere.
Slowly, through the dimming sun, Michael, Isabel, Alex, Kyle who was
carrying Tess, Sally and Gary walked towards them. They like Max and Liz
were covered in the ash of the end of the war. Liz gave one small smile to
Max as she touched the silver glowing handprint on her stomach and then
with her right free hand, laid it in the sand. The wind stirred greater than
before and the ash lifted from place and mixed with the sand and into a
whirlwind into the night sky.
More than it seems these dreams inside
Show me the way to these dreams
Blur reality's line 'til there's nothing that's left of me
If I could believe the dreams aside
Show me the way to these dreams
I am capable more than it seems
We have found the way to these dreams…
Maria’s pen touched the paper with her last words. It was finally over.
******************************************************
elle NEw
The Story of Wendy and Peter- EPILOGUE (CC/Teen)
Title: The Story of Wendy and Peter
EPILOGUE
Category: Future Classic
Rating: PG-13 /Teen
Author: At the time I was Queen Lea’, now, it’s simply Elle.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except what I created.
Notes: I can't believe it's over. Almost five years and this fic is done...thank you all for reading, for the comments, criticisms and the push to finally end one part of my obsession with a great show. To the characters I have come to know and love, an even greater thanks.
Musical Note: Songs not owned or written by me, but I think soundtracks are lovely.
Comments: This is it.
*******************************************************
Epilogue
Alex stared up at the stars. They were so beautiful and calm out here
in the night sky. He still admired their calmness amidst the bustle of
Washington, D.C. He was always so amazed that the lights of D.C. didn't
drown the stars into the black sky. Alex inhaled the cold November night
air, and stepped back inside his warm high-rise corporate apartment.
When he walked in, he came face to face with the reality of his life. He
was now 33 years old and in spite of everything, far far away from the
desert confines of Roswell, New Mexico. He remained living in a small
West Virginian downtown suburban high rise. His apartment was furnished
in the familial colors of reds, oranges, and greens. His walls were covered
with pictures of his closest friends and family. In the corner sat the most
high tech computer America had to offer and a heritage rocking chair right
beside it. He turned on the gas fire place and threw himself on the yellow
and orange Ethan Allen designer couch. His eyes focused on the absolutely
mesmerizing sight of his wife, walking into the room, with a little baby girl
wrapped in her bare arms. His wife was tall, but not as tall as him. Blonde,
but not as blonde as she once was and still the most attractive woman in
the world to him. Even attractive in a ripped pair of painters overalls and
blue tank top, hair pulled tightly on her head. Her own focus was the
bundle that slept so quietly and soundly in her arms, wrapped in a little
pink afghan her grandmother had knit for her.
Isabel Whitman, gently sat down beside her husband on the comfy
couch she had chosen and let him in on her delicious surprise. Alex placed
one arm around his wife and the other fell to softly caress the cheek of
daddy’s little girl.
Allie let out a little sigh, and one would have thought she was
performing Mozart if they looked into her parents’ eyes.
“So, no work tomorrow?”
“No work. No office. No calls. In fact, I gave my cell phone to
some homeless man on the street today.”
Isabel rolled her eyes and looked at him. “Good. I talked to
mom this morning, although I can’t tell who’s more excited- dad has baby-
proofed the place from top to bottom. Mom says he locked in her the
basement in the process… she didn’t sound too pleased.”
Alex laughed in nothing more than a whisper. “Is Chloe going to be there?”
“She’s going to try, but between Yale and the actor, they’re not sure.”
“They’re still calling him the actor? He has a name and he
happens to be on that very popular TV show where he plays a doctor. He
might not actually be one, but I think playing something on television
should be enough.”
“Yes, never mind that. They aren’t impressed with the fact they
have yet to meet him and they discovered the relationship in People
magazine. It might be the best idea ever if you didn’t mention that we
have met him.”
“I wouldn’t even dare bring up the topic- your dad still scares
me. Your mother does too. Chloe would have scared me but how could I
be afraid of the First Daughter who had a crush on me.”
Fire lit in Isabel’s eyes. “WHO TOLD YOU?”
Alex laughed again, just a bit louder so much that Allie moved in
her mother’s arms. “She did. After our wedding, during the reception and
dance…she mentioned it. But I set her straight that my heart belonged to
her big sister.”
Isabel leaned over and gave her husband a small sweet kiss on
the cheek. “I think I am going to enjoy this visit- we haven’t been to see
them since they moved there and between your job at the Bureau and
mommy hood…” She paused and shifted the little girl to daddy’s arms,
which were waiting. “There’s been no way.”
“There’s no denying it- she takes after you. Needs constant attention and primping.”
“I do not primp Alex Whitman. I don’t need to- I’m just that
beautiful. And your daughter, Alexie Bella Whitman, takes after you. She’s
quiet, shy and possibly terribly too smart for her own good.”
Alex beamed. “Let’s compromise…she’s our daughter. 100% you and 100% me and without a doubt, 100% loved.”
“Deal.”
***************************************************
Maria slammed the door. God, she hated the male species. They were
pigs, the whole lot of them-or well, at least the one she was involved with
at the moment. Maria walked over to the kitchen of her flat, and grabbed
a Diet Coke from the fridge. She sipped it silently as she turned on her
satellite radio.
This is Hilary Denton with X285 and tonight you’re listening to “Request Line 101.” We take your calls or emails and your requests. Our next e-mailer calls himself Burgerboy and sends this song, as an I’m sorry to the Pixie Girl he loves. Here by request is one of my new ‘old’ favorites, from Maria Delucca’s debut solo album-a cover of Anna Nalick’s Breathe.”
Maria slammed her fist against the kitchen counter and tried not
to smile. He did it again. Just when she was ready to let go of him, he
went and pulled a dirty-under-handed-freak’n-romantic-trick. She wanted
to be done with Michael Guerrin, but how could she when he called the
radio and dedicated to her -her own song that she had sung and dedicated
to him? She turned around and hopped on the counter to listen. Her eyes
darted around the room.
Her solo career had gone very well. Bottles had gone platinum
and made her a solo success. The album was hailed as one of the most
personal and prolific works by an artist in a century. And the best thing
about it- she did it on her own terms with her own label, Tabasco Shampoo. Her terms meant her first single would be the one she wanted and not what the money bags of the tight-fisted major label makers would have deemed- hit worthy. It was the smartest move she ever made.
Her single, More Than It Seems had resonated with masses
amidst the finality of the War of Millennium II. The war between Earth and
Peleope, a world in Antar’s system, was finished and Earth had won at the
cost of many soldiers both here and on Antar, which had allied themselves
with Earth in the Inter-glacial Compact of the Moon System. What every
fighter, loved one, and citizen heard in Battle Song was what they deeply
felt about their own conflict. They believed this song was written for that
moment and it touched them to their souls. They never knew the song was
written not about that war but another. One that had cost lives that would
only be remembered by the world through her song. When President
Roberts and the First Lady left office, Maria had the honor of singing that
song at their farewell celebration. She won her own Grammy that year.
Maria wiped the tears from her eyes at the sad memories and
picked-up the phone. She hated being sentimental. It messed her up and
around but oh well, she was too old to regret who she was. She punched
the numbers and listened to the phone ring once…twice…
“I still hate you.” She said before the voice on the opposite end could answer. “But I love you too.”
“You heard the radio…”
“You knew I would hear the radio.”
“Alright, so you heard the radio- what’s your answer?”
“Wait, I call to tell you I forgive you and all you have to say is ‘What’s your answer?”
“Forgive ME?!? I asked you to marry me and you flip out and
then when I called you a basket case you ran out on me?!? What the…”
“YES. There are you happy my answer is Yes, but if you don’t straighten up Michael Guerin, so help me God…”
He was laughing. On the other end of the phone he was
doubled over in laughter. Maria took the moment in at the restaurant. She
and Michael had been dating on and off for nearly five years. Off moreso
when he escorted Mary and her two young boys home, back to Antar after
the first war. Maria never faulted him that- she knew Michael felt
responsible for Mary, James and Thad since Sebastian’s death. Michael
returned to Antar and stayed only long enough to help Mary begin
reconstruction. He returned and they were on again. But off, when he
decided to join the Inter-glacial Forces. She had enough to worry about,
let alone the fact she might loose him again. The war fought in Roswell
had left scars inside her- scars of fear and rage that he would go and fight
and never come back. Maria threw herself during their so called “breaks”
into her music. Her solo album and then her debut as Elphaba in Wicked had been complete successes. By the time everything was over- he was home and she was ready to start again. Fame hit her and threw Michael for a loop and they were off. But the past year had been good-they were on yet again.
It started when Mary had come back to Earth with the boys.
James and Thad looked so much like their father it took one’s breath
away. Mary brought word that Antar, along with the help of America, was
thriving under democracy. Gone were the old ways, Mary had known- she
told them, but change cannot be stopped and it was time. Mary was not
pleased to know that Michael and Maria had not yet settled down. In fact,
she did all but force them down an aisle, any aisle- pick one, she had said-
towards commitment. Maria wasn’t sure she wanted to be tied down and
let someone into all her messes and complications. Apparently, Michael
was ready.
He proposed. Maria freaked and that is why they were fighting
but that is why she said yes. They fought…all the time. It was who they
were and Maria knew it would never get better than this.
She thought of Mary. Mary who had loved Sebastian with
abandon, loved him enough to go on and have their sons. Mary would
carry on with everything her husband had believed in because he could
not. She would return to their land and finally finish their mission of
redemption- a lifetime of redemption.
She wanted to love like Mary did- with surrender, with faith,
with a heart worth the breaking. She owed it to her, to Steven, to
Grandfather- to live lives they could not.
“Maria?”
She forgot Michael was on the phone with her. “Michael…” She
replied- her tone edged with seriousness and authenticity. “I want to marry you- I love you.”
There was a pause. He spoke, he spoke as the time when they
had first made love and when he held her, braced her for Liz’s departure,
when the war was over. “I want to marry you too, because I love you as I
have never loved anyone-now or then.”
“Just one thing…”
“What’s that?”
“No Metallica at the reception.”
“Maria….” And they were at it once more- constant as the moon and sun.
*************************************************************
Tess walked through the aisles at the Sprawl-mart. She hated
grocery shopping…well, not really. Secretly, on a weird and sick and
twisted level she reveled grocery day. It wasn’t about spending money. It
wasn’t about the fascination of how Sprawl-Mart managed to suck you into
buying new tires and flip flops when all you needed was a gallon of milk. It
was about for once in her life being absolutely fantastically normal. Tess
Valenti was normal. She wasn’t a betrayer or outsider any longer. She
was redeemed and married and settled well into being a mom. The PTA
mom she had seen on TV, the regular suburban mom.
Leaving Roswell had been the best move she and Kyle had
made. He took a job in Laramie, Wyoming in their police department.
Nestled right below the mountains she loved, was their home. A home
they had built together and would live in till the day they died.
“Did you get the Diet Coke?”
“Yep, the 24 pack. Who loves you, baby?” She joked with her husband as he approached their buggie.
“You do.” He said, kissing the scar- his favorite- lightning shaped on her right cheek beneath her eye.
“DAD! Could you please leave the PDA at home…” His son pleaded.
Kyle laughed inside- he felt Tess’s heart’s laughter too. The
most ordinary of ordinaries they had become and never did two revel in it
more.
************************************************************
“Wendy simply smiled at Peter. Was this it? Was this growing up? Had this been what they had all been afraid of for so long? Wendy pulled her daughter ever closer to herself, knowing Never-land would call for her one day. The days of pixies, pirates, and dreams past the North Star lay long beyond her own grasp. It was a sky full of stars away… but as it had called her time and time again and brought her to a place of delight and amazement---it would call her daughter, too. Their daughter. For how does the daughter of such famous parents ever escape their tall tales and magnificent bedtime stories? She doesn’t. She never would. Peter walked to his wife and nuzzled his daughter’s soft face next to his own. She gazed at them with a small smile as if she knew their story might be at end but hers…hers had just begun. ‘Think happy thoughts.’ Peter spoke over the baby girl. And happy thoughts she thought of for the rest of her life and she never stopped flying.”
I let out a huge sigh of relief. My story was finally done, over, no
more endless nights of writing what I never really wanted to write. I
stepped sideways to give room to my editor, a short- slightly balding man
with spectacles, the microphone. His voice was low pitched and oddly
sweet. “Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve had the extreme honor of listening
to New York Bestselling author, M. Claudia read and excerpt from what
Cook Mc. Publishing is certain to be her next success, The Story of Wendy and Peter, Beyond Never-land and the North Star.”
Cue applause. He continued. “This is Miss Claudia’s third novel
but first non-fiction work. Her other two fiction novels, The Red Journal and Dinner Party, have spent numerous months in critical
acclaim. We are proud to be a part of her new venture in telling her own
epic narrative story.” More applause. Even I clapped, as I scanned the
crowd of the Cook Mc. decorated festive suite, before seeing them. They
were all there- they had always attended even though I assured them
they needn’t. Seattle was far for them all but tonight they needed to be
here. I needed to say good-bye to the past year of my life- and their lives.
The lives of Michael, Maria, Kyle, Tess, Mary, Alex, Isabel, my
grandparents, my aunt Chloe, my younger brother and sister-Alison and
Gregory and then most of all- my parents- my Wendy and Peter. My
mother’s eyes were misted and my father’s eyes were filled with a new
sense of pride. I felt it- I felt the pride that I could be a part of their lives
and share with the worlds what and who they were and why…why they
mattered to me.
My eyes scanned on and I left a smile cross my lips. He was
leaning in a corner- removed from all the people and he---he smiled to
when I saw him. Then the stranger winked. I loved it when he winked. I,
the brazen girl who had spent years in my heart writing our story, winked
back. I gave a small bow, plowing my way through the masses to reach
him.
“You came?” I asked a bit shocked.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“You’re a surgeon and last I heard on call.” I countered him,
beginning to wrap my arms around his neck.
“I wanted to surprise you Madelyne Evans. I hope it’s not a bad
surprise.”
“You, Adam Valenti are the best surprise of my life.” And then he kissed me, the real kiss, not the thimble kind.
“It’s over…afterall doesn’t your name mean the end?” He
replied- giving a cocky know-it-all smile.
“Oh no dear boy, this is just the beginning.”
The End
EPILOGUE
Category: Future Classic
Rating: PG-13 /Teen
Author: At the time I was Queen Lea’, now, it’s simply Elle.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except what I created.
Notes: I can't believe it's over. Almost five years and this fic is done...thank you all for reading, for the comments, criticisms and the push to finally end one part of my obsession with a great show. To the characters I have come to know and love, an even greater thanks.
Musical Note: Songs not owned or written by me, but I think soundtracks are lovely.
Comments: This is it.
*******************************************************
Epilogue
Alex stared up at the stars. They were so beautiful and calm out here
in the night sky. He still admired their calmness amidst the bustle of
Washington, D.C. He was always so amazed that the lights of D.C. didn't
drown the stars into the black sky. Alex inhaled the cold November night
air, and stepped back inside his warm high-rise corporate apartment.
When he walked in, he came face to face with the reality of his life. He
was now 33 years old and in spite of everything, far far away from the
desert confines of Roswell, New Mexico. He remained living in a small
West Virginian downtown suburban high rise. His apartment was furnished
in the familial colors of reds, oranges, and greens. His walls were covered
with pictures of his closest friends and family. In the corner sat the most
high tech computer America had to offer and a heritage rocking chair right
beside it. He turned on the gas fire place and threw himself on the yellow
and orange Ethan Allen designer couch. His eyes focused on the absolutely
mesmerizing sight of his wife, walking into the room, with a little baby girl
wrapped in her bare arms. His wife was tall, but not as tall as him. Blonde,
but not as blonde as she once was and still the most attractive woman in
the world to him. Even attractive in a ripped pair of painters overalls and
blue tank top, hair pulled tightly on her head. Her own focus was the
bundle that slept so quietly and soundly in her arms, wrapped in a little
pink afghan her grandmother had knit for her.
Isabel Whitman, gently sat down beside her husband on the comfy
couch she had chosen and let him in on her delicious surprise. Alex placed
one arm around his wife and the other fell to softly caress the cheek of
daddy’s little girl.
Allie let out a little sigh, and one would have thought she was
performing Mozart if they looked into her parents’ eyes.
“So, no work tomorrow?”
“No work. No office. No calls. In fact, I gave my cell phone to
some homeless man on the street today.”
Isabel rolled her eyes and looked at him. “Good. I talked to
mom this morning, although I can’t tell who’s more excited- dad has baby-
proofed the place from top to bottom. Mom says he locked in her the
basement in the process… she didn’t sound too pleased.”
Alex laughed in nothing more than a whisper. “Is Chloe going to be there?”
“She’s going to try, but between Yale and the actor, they’re not sure.”
“They’re still calling him the actor? He has a name and he
happens to be on that very popular TV show where he plays a doctor. He
might not actually be one, but I think playing something on television
should be enough.”
“Yes, never mind that. They aren’t impressed with the fact they
have yet to meet him and they discovered the relationship in People
magazine. It might be the best idea ever if you didn’t mention that we
have met him.”
“I wouldn’t even dare bring up the topic- your dad still scares
me. Your mother does too. Chloe would have scared me but how could I
be afraid of the First Daughter who had a crush on me.”
Fire lit in Isabel’s eyes. “WHO TOLD YOU?”
Alex laughed again, just a bit louder so much that Allie moved in
her mother’s arms. “She did. After our wedding, during the reception and
dance…she mentioned it. But I set her straight that my heart belonged to
her big sister.”
Isabel leaned over and gave her husband a small sweet kiss on
the cheek. “I think I am going to enjoy this visit- we haven’t been to see
them since they moved there and between your job at the Bureau and
mommy hood…” She paused and shifted the little girl to daddy’s arms,
which were waiting. “There’s been no way.”
“There’s no denying it- she takes after you. Needs constant attention and primping.”
“I do not primp Alex Whitman. I don’t need to- I’m just that
beautiful. And your daughter, Alexie Bella Whitman, takes after you. She’s
quiet, shy and possibly terribly too smart for her own good.”
Alex beamed. “Let’s compromise…she’s our daughter. 100% you and 100% me and without a doubt, 100% loved.”
“Deal.”
***************************************************
Maria slammed the door. God, she hated the male species. They were
pigs, the whole lot of them-or well, at least the one she was involved with
at the moment. Maria walked over to the kitchen of her flat, and grabbed
a Diet Coke from the fridge. She sipped it silently as she turned on her
satellite radio.
This is Hilary Denton with X285 and tonight you’re listening to “Request Line 101.” We take your calls or emails and your requests. Our next e-mailer calls himself Burgerboy and sends this song, as an I’m sorry to the Pixie Girl he loves. Here by request is one of my new ‘old’ favorites, from Maria Delucca’s debut solo album-a cover of Anna Nalick’s Breathe.”
Maria slammed her fist against the kitchen counter and tried not
to smile. He did it again. Just when she was ready to let go of him, he
went and pulled a dirty-under-handed-freak’n-romantic-trick. She wanted
to be done with Michael Guerrin, but how could she when he called the
radio and dedicated to her -her own song that she had sung and dedicated
to him? She turned around and hopped on the counter to listen. Her eyes
darted around the room.
Her solo career had gone very well. Bottles had gone platinum
and made her a solo success. The album was hailed as one of the most
personal and prolific works by an artist in a century. And the best thing
about it- she did it on her own terms with her own label, Tabasco Shampoo. Her terms meant her first single would be the one she wanted and not what the money bags of the tight-fisted major label makers would have deemed- hit worthy. It was the smartest move she ever made.
Her single, More Than It Seems had resonated with masses
amidst the finality of the War of Millennium II. The war between Earth and
Peleope, a world in Antar’s system, was finished and Earth had won at the
cost of many soldiers both here and on Antar, which had allied themselves
with Earth in the Inter-glacial Compact of the Moon System. What every
fighter, loved one, and citizen heard in Battle Song was what they deeply
felt about their own conflict. They believed this song was written for that
moment and it touched them to their souls. They never knew the song was
written not about that war but another. One that had cost lives that would
only be remembered by the world through her song. When President
Roberts and the First Lady left office, Maria had the honor of singing that
song at their farewell celebration. She won her own Grammy that year.
Maria wiped the tears from her eyes at the sad memories and
picked-up the phone. She hated being sentimental. It messed her up and
around but oh well, she was too old to regret who she was. She punched
the numbers and listened to the phone ring once…twice…
“I still hate you.” She said before the voice on the opposite end could answer. “But I love you too.”
“You heard the radio…”
“You knew I would hear the radio.”
“Alright, so you heard the radio- what’s your answer?”
“Wait, I call to tell you I forgive you and all you have to say is ‘What’s your answer?”
“Forgive ME?!? I asked you to marry me and you flip out and
then when I called you a basket case you ran out on me?!? What the…”
“YES. There are you happy my answer is Yes, but if you don’t straighten up Michael Guerin, so help me God…”
He was laughing. On the other end of the phone he was
doubled over in laughter. Maria took the moment in at the restaurant. She
and Michael had been dating on and off for nearly five years. Off moreso
when he escorted Mary and her two young boys home, back to Antar after
the first war. Maria never faulted him that- she knew Michael felt
responsible for Mary, James and Thad since Sebastian’s death. Michael
returned to Antar and stayed only long enough to help Mary begin
reconstruction. He returned and they were on again. But off, when he
decided to join the Inter-glacial Forces. She had enough to worry about,
let alone the fact she might loose him again. The war fought in Roswell
had left scars inside her- scars of fear and rage that he would go and fight
and never come back. Maria threw herself during their so called “breaks”
into her music. Her solo album and then her debut as Elphaba in Wicked had been complete successes. By the time everything was over- he was home and she was ready to start again. Fame hit her and threw Michael for a loop and they were off. But the past year had been good-they were on yet again.
It started when Mary had come back to Earth with the boys.
James and Thad looked so much like their father it took one’s breath
away. Mary brought word that Antar, along with the help of America, was
thriving under democracy. Gone were the old ways, Mary had known- she
told them, but change cannot be stopped and it was time. Mary was not
pleased to know that Michael and Maria had not yet settled down. In fact,
she did all but force them down an aisle, any aisle- pick one, she had said-
towards commitment. Maria wasn’t sure she wanted to be tied down and
let someone into all her messes and complications. Apparently, Michael
was ready.
He proposed. Maria freaked and that is why they were fighting
but that is why she said yes. They fought…all the time. It was who they
were and Maria knew it would never get better than this.
She thought of Mary. Mary who had loved Sebastian with
abandon, loved him enough to go on and have their sons. Mary would
carry on with everything her husband had believed in because he could
not. She would return to their land and finally finish their mission of
redemption- a lifetime of redemption.
She wanted to love like Mary did- with surrender, with faith,
with a heart worth the breaking. She owed it to her, to Steven, to
Grandfather- to live lives they could not.
“Maria?”
She forgot Michael was on the phone with her. “Michael…” She
replied- her tone edged with seriousness and authenticity. “I want to marry you- I love you.”
There was a pause. He spoke, he spoke as the time when they
had first made love and when he held her, braced her for Liz’s departure,
when the war was over. “I want to marry you too, because I love you as I
have never loved anyone-now or then.”
“Just one thing…”
“What’s that?”
“No Metallica at the reception.”
“Maria….” And they were at it once more- constant as the moon and sun.
*************************************************************
Tess walked through the aisles at the Sprawl-mart. She hated
grocery shopping…well, not really. Secretly, on a weird and sick and
twisted level she reveled grocery day. It wasn’t about spending money. It
wasn’t about the fascination of how Sprawl-Mart managed to suck you into
buying new tires and flip flops when all you needed was a gallon of milk. It
was about for once in her life being absolutely fantastically normal. Tess
Valenti was normal. She wasn’t a betrayer or outsider any longer. She
was redeemed and married and settled well into being a mom. The PTA
mom she had seen on TV, the regular suburban mom.
Leaving Roswell had been the best move she and Kyle had
made. He took a job in Laramie, Wyoming in their police department.
Nestled right below the mountains she loved, was their home. A home
they had built together and would live in till the day they died.
“Did you get the Diet Coke?”
“Yep, the 24 pack. Who loves you, baby?” She joked with her husband as he approached their buggie.
“You do.” He said, kissing the scar- his favorite- lightning shaped on her right cheek beneath her eye.
“DAD! Could you please leave the PDA at home…” His son pleaded.
Kyle laughed inside- he felt Tess’s heart’s laughter too. The
most ordinary of ordinaries they had become and never did two revel in it
more.
************************************************************
“Wendy simply smiled at Peter. Was this it? Was this growing up? Had this been what they had all been afraid of for so long? Wendy pulled her daughter ever closer to herself, knowing Never-land would call for her one day. The days of pixies, pirates, and dreams past the North Star lay long beyond her own grasp. It was a sky full of stars away… but as it had called her time and time again and brought her to a place of delight and amazement---it would call her daughter, too. Their daughter. For how does the daughter of such famous parents ever escape their tall tales and magnificent bedtime stories? She doesn’t. She never would. Peter walked to his wife and nuzzled his daughter’s soft face next to his own. She gazed at them with a small smile as if she knew their story might be at end but hers…hers had just begun. ‘Think happy thoughts.’ Peter spoke over the baby girl. And happy thoughts she thought of for the rest of her life and she never stopped flying.”
I let out a huge sigh of relief. My story was finally done, over, no
more endless nights of writing what I never really wanted to write. I
stepped sideways to give room to my editor, a short- slightly balding man
with spectacles, the microphone. His voice was low pitched and oddly
sweet. “Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve had the extreme honor of listening
to New York Bestselling author, M. Claudia read and excerpt from what
Cook Mc. Publishing is certain to be her next success, The Story of Wendy and Peter, Beyond Never-land and the North Star.”
Cue applause. He continued. “This is Miss Claudia’s third novel
but first non-fiction work. Her other two fiction novels, The Red Journal and Dinner Party, have spent numerous months in critical
acclaim. We are proud to be a part of her new venture in telling her own
epic narrative story.” More applause. Even I clapped, as I scanned the
crowd of the Cook Mc. decorated festive suite, before seeing them. They
were all there- they had always attended even though I assured them
they needn’t. Seattle was far for them all but tonight they needed to be
here. I needed to say good-bye to the past year of my life- and their lives.
The lives of Michael, Maria, Kyle, Tess, Mary, Alex, Isabel, my
grandparents, my aunt Chloe, my younger brother and sister-Alison and
Gregory and then most of all- my parents- my Wendy and Peter. My
mother’s eyes were misted and my father’s eyes were filled with a new
sense of pride. I felt it- I felt the pride that I could be a part of their lives
and share with the worlds what and who they were and why…why they
mattered to me.
My eyes scanned on and I left a smile cross my lips. He was
leaning in a corner- removed from all the people and he---he smiled to
when I saw him. Then the stranger winked. I loved it when he winked. I,
the brazen girl who had spent years in my heart writing our story, winked
back. I gave a small bow, plowing my way through the masses to reach
him.
“You came?” I asked a bit shocked.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“You’re a surgeon and last I heard on call.” I countered him,
beginning to wrap my arms around his neck.
“I wanted to surprise you Madelyne Evans. I hope it’s not a bad
surprise.”
“You, Adam Valenti are the best surprise of my life.” And then he kissed me, the real kiss, not the thimble kind.
“It’s over…afterall doesn’t your name mean the end?” He
replied- giving a cocky know-it-all smile.
“Oh no dear boy, this is just the beginning.”
The End
elle NEw