Title: Time After Time: Inside Your Heaven
Author: ISLANDGIRL5
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Max, Liz, Maria, Michael, Isabel, Alex, Tess, and Kyle are the sole property of the powers that be. Although having ownership rights to Kyle would present an interesting idea…
Rating: Mature
Category: M/L, mainly. A healthy dose of all of our favorite Roswellians.
Summary: Max Evans is a sailor on the Santa Maria, and the famous Columbus voyage. Will people he finds in the New World that are just like him make him want to stay behind when the ships set sail back to Spain? Or will the people he finds that are so different from him push him away from someone he was looking for all along?
Author’s Note: The characters, all of them, speak English, and the reasons for that will be explained later. The Mamalu’s also have their own native language, and for my fic, I’ll be using Samoan words, the language of my heritage. I’ll post at the end of the chapter what the words mean.
Thanks:To tequathisy, Neve, my beta. Her FB and help is going to keep this story from turning into a pile of words. To Anniepoo98 for the gorgeous banner. And to Fred, for coming up with the Time After Time Challenge.
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INSIDE YOUR HEAVEN
Chapter 1
Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Maxwell Evans inhaled the salty scent of the sea. It was fresh. Clean. Burning to the nose at times, yet refreshing for the soul. It was something he was sure at first he’d never tire of. He opened his eyes, and gazed up at the night sky. It was a clear night, and the thousands of stars that sprinkled the heavens above twinkled with their unearthly light. He sighed as he looked upward. How many times had he been here? Not here as in out in the middle of the ocean here, but here as in, staring up at the night sky, searching the stars? He’d been here countless times, he was sure in numerous lifetimes, searching through the heavens in a vain attempt to find home. He’d known then, though, just as he knew now that the search would be fruitless. He was destined to live on this planet. Destined to stay in a world that wasn’t his own. So that he could find someone that would accept him as he was. So that he could find the woman that would save his planet. So that he could find her, the woman that would be his queen, and provide him with a savior for his people.
Maxwell Evans had been sent to earth for a reason. His people were destined to be massacred. His kingdom was destined to be destroyed. His planet was destined to become an unwilling pawn in an evil opponents plans to take over any and every world he could find. Unless he, Max Evans, the boy King written of in the stars, could find the woman that would prove to be the beginning of the end for his people, his planet, his home. He’d been resigned to the fact, long ago, that his destiny had been written out for him. He’d reluctantly accepted the fact that his life had a plan to it, and since then, his sole focus had been to search for the girl, the other piece of his life, that would make it all come together. He’d searched the streets of Spain. He’d been with the rich, the poor, the young, the old. He’d romanced them, and left them, his heart and his body still pure, and longing for the love of the one person that would complete him. It had been 26 years since he’d been born, and he still hadn’t found her.
He was determined to find her. He was determined to succeed. He was determined to live. This time, at least. He didn’t remember them all. The failed attempts to procure his destiny and secure the future of his throne for his people. He could see some of them. He would sometimes remember things that he knew he’d never experienced. At least, he as in Maxwell Evans, born in 1466, had never experienced them. But he as in Maxwell Evans, boy king of a distant planet, traveler of the stars had experienced them. He wasn’t sure why, or how, but somehow, something had gone wrong in his past attempts. He’d either found her and lost her, never found her at all, or found her, but not accepted his destiny or his fate. He was sure, though, that they’d all failed. Or he’d never have been sent back again. To live it over.
He’d hated his life in Spain. He’d never wanted for anything, for although he and his brother, Michael, had been orphaned, they’d always had enough to get by. But he’d always felt a nagging emptiness in his life, and he knew it wouldn’t be filled until he found his soulmate. The yearning in him had urged him to keep looking, keep searching, for his destiny. He’d never felt content, but had never thought to leave Spain. Until the call had gone out that men were needed to sail on a voyage to discover a New World. The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria were being used to sail an expedition headed by one Christopher Columbus. The boats were staffed with crew members, but they still needed additional people. They would be paid, and set sail from Spain, returning after the expedition was complete. It was supposed to be a trip to discover the new land, so that they could find a westward route to Asia for trade. Max had volunteered, on a whim, some unknown force in his body compelling him to join the expedition. He’d convinced Michael to come along on this temporary trip to another land.
That was how he found himself at the bow of the Santa Maria, hundreds, possibly thousands of miles out to sea, on a clear October night.
They’d made several stops along the way. The first had taken them to the Canary Islands, and the stop had been longer than expected, for repairs had been needed. But now, it was almost two weeks into October, and after more than a month of sailing and no sight of land, he was growing as restless as the rest of the crew.
The rest of the crew had been restless for sometime. The men were itching to find land and step foot on solid ground. There had been signs…falling meteorites, surrounding weeds, other bad omens, that left the men requesting the ships be turned back towards home. Their requests had fallen on deaf ears, and now there were talks and whispers of a mutiny against Columbus, to force him to turn back.
Max shook his head. Christopher Columbus was a man to be admired. He’d began this journey, just a dream in his mind, and just over a month earlier, his dream had come true. He’d been granted permission, and three ships to sail to this New World of his. The ships were now far away from home, and still, it seemed, no closer to land. The men were growing restless, and it was only a matter of time before all the tension among the ranks exploded into a sure disaster.
Just yesterday, Max had walked into a heated conversation between some of the larger and more aggressive men on the ship. Voices had been raised, and tempers were flaring. Max took one look at the men’s faces, and backed himself out of the cabin. The last thing he needed was to be involved in an uprising.
“It’s getting worse.”
Max turned abruptly and looked at the owner of the voice. Michael, his brother stared back at him with narrowed eyes.
“I know, Michael. It has to hold out, though. It has to. Michael, if we don’t make land-“
“Don’t be foolish, Max, we’ll make it.”
Michael and Max turned towards the ocean once more, their eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of the land they’d set sail to find.
The two brothers could not be more alike, yet so different. Both Max and Michael were tall, with broad shoulders and deeply tanned skin. But that was where their physical similarities stopped. Michael had long, dark blond hair, pulled into a neat ponytail. Max had dark unruly hair, that he left loose. They had the same eyes, piercing and swimming with emotion, but Michael’s were a piercing crystal blue, and Max’s an indescribable shade of warm honey.
Michael was a rebellious, smart witted, and cunning. He was a soldier and a protector, and had proven to be a master at both the sword and the gun. Max, on the other hand, was gentle, shy and compassionate, and he’d proven on more than one occasion to be an honorable leader, and someone Michael was fiercely loyal to.
“She’s out there, Michael. I feel it in my bones. In my body, my soul. The books say I will find her. That she is my mission in this world. But if I feel her, if she seems so close, how can she be so far away?”
“How do you know she’s far away, Maxwell?” Michael asked.
Max raised an eyebrow. “You can’t be serious, Michael. We’re on a boat surrounded by nothing but angry men teetering on the edge of a mutiny. Of course she’s far away.”
Michael shook his head. “I didn’t mean in the literal sense, and you know that. I just meant that any day now, Max. Any moment you could happen on the girl of your dreams. You just have to be patient, Max. You will find her. It’s written in the stars, it will come to pass.”
“What if this trip was the wrong thing? What if I’ve just separated myself from her forever?”
Michael rolled his eyes. “You are kidding me, Max?” he asked incredulously. “We will be returning to Spain. She’ll be waiting for you when you get home.”
“I hope you’re right, Michael,” Max said, as he retreated towards the sleeping quarters and his cot in the corner of the lower deck.
“You two always stay up after everyone else has gone to sleep?”
Max whirled around, startled by a voice from the darkness. He squinted his eyes and watched as a figure emerged from the shadows. He stepped back, realizing it was none other than the leader of the expedition. Columbus himself.
“We don’t usually, sir,” Max said respectfully.
Max watched as the man smiled slightly. He raised his chin, and narrowed his eyes, studying Max’s face carefully.
“Should I be scared of you?” he asked.
“I am restless, and weary for land, just as everyone else,” Max replied. “But I assure you, I will cause you no harm.”
Columbus nodded and looked towards the ocean. “The men are plotting against me. They are getting more volatile by the minute, but that is not what I’m asking you.”
Max searched the man’s face. “I don’t believe I understand what it is you’re asking me.”
“You fell yesterday, in the hold, and had a jagged cut down the side of your leg, did you not?”
Max’s eyes widened in realization. He’d thought he was alone yesterday. He’d slipped down to the hold to put an empty box in the dark corner when he slipped, and fell, a rusty nail leaving a jagged bloody cut down the side of his leg. He’d been positive no one had followed him in, and the hold was completely quiet. He’d taken for granted he’d been alone and had healed the cut. Then he removed any traces of the blood and fixed the tear in the leg of his pants. He didn’t know anyone had been there. “I can explain..”
Christopher held up a hand and waved it at Max. “You know, people called me crazy for my beliefs. I know what I know. I have my reasons, but no one will listen. People have ridiculed me, turned against me.” He paused to take a puff from the pipe Max noticed he’d been holding in his hand. “I can’t explain to people who don’t want to listen why I believe the things I do. About life, about this earth. If people would just take me at my word, I know I’m right. I feel it. But still, no one will listen. I learned a long time ago to just take a person’s word. All I want from you is a yes or no. I can take your word.”
Max took a deep breath and raised his chin. “No. You have no reason to be scared of me.”
Columbus nodded his head. “Very well.”
“Please, you can’t—“
Columbus held up a hand. “I can’t tell what I don’t know.”
Max let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” he whispered quietly.
Max could do nothing but nod his head. He took a few steps back towards the bow of the ship and leaned against the railing.
Max watched as Columbus lifted a pipe to his mouth. He took a long drag, and the sweet scented smoke drifted and disappeared into the air. “I fear what will happen if we do not reach land soon. They will kill me, for sure. I’ve narrowly escaped violence already.”
“I beg your pardon, sir, but what does this have to do with me?”
Columbus shook his head. “Nothing and everything. If you have no part in my downfall, so be it. But even so, it will affect you. You’ll be at the mercy of the other men. You have never given me any trouble, sailor. Whatever happens, I wish you luck.”
Max nodded his head. And was about to speak when he stopped short, the other man already leaving.
“If we don’t reach land soon, I may not get to say that to you on dry land.”
Max watched Columbus’ back until he disappeared in the darkness. Then finally, he turned to head downstairs.
It wasn’t until Max was stretched out in the darkness that he felt the odd change in the air…or was it him? He didn’t know what, but he knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that things were about to change.
He replayed his conversation with Christopher Columbus in his mind.
He and Michael had decided long ago to never tell anyone about their differences. Their powers. Their otherworldly home. Their past lives. Their destinies in the fate of the world.
They’d known that if people knew what they really were, that they were visitors from a world far away, that they would be feared. Ridiculed. Maybe even killed. They had come to believe that their lives depended on the importance of the secret they held between them.
But as he lay in the dark, he couldn’t help the comforting feeling swirling inside of him. That someone knew he was different. And that someone hadn’t minded at all.
Some hours later, awakened by something, but not quite sure what, Max strained his ears for the sound that had pulled him from hi s sleep.
He heard the rushing of several pairs of feet above him, and the loud excited shouts that followed, he raised slightly, trying to decipher what they were saying.
It wasn’t until he heard the unmistakable 4 letter word he’d been waiting to hear for weeks that he threw his feet over the side of the bed and said a silent prayer of thanks.
They’d sighted land.
Max jumped out of bed dressed quickly, and wound his way around the room, to find Michael already up and pulling on clothes.
“This is it, Maxwell. He was right. We found the New World,” Michael said excitedly.
“I’m having second thoughts, Michael. What if we were supposed to stay in Spain? What if this trip wasn’t in my destiny?” Max asked hurriedly.
Michael got up, and motioned for Max, as they followed the rest of the crew up on deck. “It’s too late to turn back now, Max. Look,” he said.
Max turned and looked in the direction Michael was pointing.
There, in the distance, were the unmistakable shadows and forms of land. Max had never before been so happy to see something in his entire life. Not until that very moment did he notice just exactly how badly he’d wanted off the ship. His feet were twitching to step food on solid ground, and his legs all but ached to feel the sensation of standing still without swaying side to side with the ocean’s changing movements.
Michael and Max walked to the edge of the deck, and watched, quietly, with the other sailors as the distant landforms slowly grew larger the closer they got.
To Max, it seemed the longer he stared, the slower they went towards the looming forms. But he couldn’t turn away.
Quiet mumbling and sporadic laughter filled the next few hours, as the entire crew, too restless and excited to sleep, waited until they were close enough to row to shore.
Hours later, after the sun’s first rays of light, Christopher Columbus stood on deck, organizing his men into parties.
The first two boats headed out towards shore, the first one carrying Columbus, along with Max, Michael, and more sailors
In the third boat were the remaining sailors, save for the few left on the ships to keep them.
As they neared the beaches ahead, the men craned their necks and rowed sporadically, causing the boats to sway back and forth with movement. They were too excited and intent on where they were going to worry about getting there safely.
As the boats got closer to shore, the men began jumping out to steer them onto the sand. Some men, too eager to wait, jumped out while the water was still past their waist. Most waited until the bottom of the boat hit the sand before they jumped out in the ankle deep water.
Michael raised an eyebrow as one sailor pushed past him and flung himself to the ground. He leaned down, kissed the ground, then picked up handfuls of the sand and let it run through his fingers.
Max stopped and looked around. In either direction, to his right or his left, it looked like the beach went on and on. But, having seen the land from a distance, Michael knew it didn’t. They were on an island, and they’d seen several smaller ones surrounding this one.
“What do you think, Michael?”
Max looked around a moment before dropping to ground and sitting with his legs out in front of him.
“I think it feels like heaven to sit on something that’s not moving.”
Max chuckled. “I was talking about the land.”
Michael looked around. “I think it is heaven. I’ve never been so happy to a little bit of sand and some trees in my entire life.”
Max nodded his head and looked around him. Several of the men had laid down on the ground. Some of the men were sitting, just looking around. Others rested on their knees, and still others stood perfectly still, eyes closed, just happy to be on solid ground. “Well, I think the feeling is mutual.”
Almost an hour later, the men were all up and wandering around. Columbus, just as excited and grateful as his men that they’d reached land, had been all too happy to allow the men time to relax and enjoy the land. But it would be getting dark soon. The land needed to be explored. They needed to find out if there was food, water. Or at the very least, people. This was a new land. Uncharted territory. But they could not assume, safely, that there would be no people here.
Not every man had come armed, but most of them had. Max and Michael had both come with a handgun. They knew that if things got dangerous, they had other means, but they brought the guns along anyway.
Separating into small groups, the men spread out and went in different directions. Max and Michael went along with two other men that they didn’t know well. The men introduced themselves as Nicholas and Sean.
As the men went in the direction they were told, their conversation was sparse. They were either too excited to be on land, or too excited to discover what it was this new land held in store for them.
No words were needed.