Finding Stardust

They spontaneously ran toward the s.h.i.+p and waited there, panting. Shortly after, a door opened, and a metal ramp slid down onto the gra.s.s.

Emma and Haoran hurriedly took their two suitcases from their rental car trunk and walked onto the plane without hesitation. The metal ramp slid up, and the door closed as soon as they entered. The s.h.i.+p interior looked futuristic and straightforward.

Haoran and Emma admired the s.h.i.+p and tilted their heads trying to find anyone they could talk to. They were surprised to find there was n.o.body on board. There was no pilot in the control bridge either. The two looked at each other in puzzlement.

Inside the bridge, there were some comfortable chairs with seat belts and various screens on the wall. In the middle, there was a control panel with many b.u.t.tons. They immediately concluded that this was the pilot control bridge. But there was n.o.body here.

Then, who drove this s.h.i.+p here?

"Welcome, Princess. Please sit back and fasten your seat belts, we will depart soon."

Suddenly a screen turned on, and AWA"s face appeared on it. She gave instructions for Emma and Haoran to sit down and get ready because the s.h.i.+p would immediately take off.

"Wait, we"re bringing our suitcases. Where should we keep our belongings?" asked Emma.

"Princess, you can keep it in the storage room to your left."

Emma signaled to Haoran to open the door to the left. Inside was a small enough s.p.a.ce to put their belongings. After placing the suitcases there, the two walked back to the control bridge.

"The s.h.i.+p is about to take off. We have to sit down and put our seat belts on," Emma told Haoran, pointing to a row of chairs inside the bridge. Haoran nodded.

Emma and Haoran looked for adjacent seats and then sat down and fastened their seat belts. All the lights on the plane turned on, and suddenly, soothing music played softly in the background. Haoran held out his hand and held Emma"s.

The plane shook softly and soon, they felt a strong wave outside the s.h.i.+p, followed by the sound of ZING.

Although Haoran had never been on a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, he could feel that their s.h.i.+p was taking off and was now bolting toward outer s.p.a.ce. During the first ten minutes, he felt slightly uncomfortable because the vibrations from the plane were strong enough to shake his body.

However, not long after, the initial shock was gone, and the journey became smooth.

"We"ve already crossed the Earth"s atmosphere," Emma said, turning to Haoran. The young man nodded in understanding. He just realized that the shock they had felt must have been due to friction between this s.h.i.+p and the atmosphere.

Now that they had left the earth, their s.h.i.+p was gliding smoothly in the vacuum of s.p.a.ce. If AWA"s calculation was correct, then in 2.5 hours, they would land on the moon.

It wouldn"t be long now.

Haoran and Emma looked at each other and smiled. They didn"t say anything, because, at this point, words were not needed.

***

After half an hour, AWA told the two pa.s.sengers that it was safe for them to get out of their seats to explore the s.h.i.+p.

"There is food and drink for Princess and your guest in the lounge. You can also walk around and stretch your legs."

"Thank you, AWA." Emma immediately unfastened her seat belt and rose from her chair. Haoran followed in her steps.

They walked around the bridge room, checked the control panel, and entered the backroom that seemed to be a place for resting. There they saw a comfortable divan, several soft chairs, and a counter with many drawers underneath. Emma opened one of the drawers and found several bottles containing drinks and another drawer containing cups.

"Do you want a drink?" Emma asked, pulling a bottle from a drawer and two cups.

"Thank you." Haoran nodded. Emma opened the bottle and poured the contents into a cup for her and another one for Haoran. The two then drank together while trying to make sense of what was happening.

They were moving away from the earth toward the moon in warp speed. It"s finally happening...

***

Therius was enjoying wine in hand while staring at the s.p.a.ce from the large window in his room. His face was devoid of expression like usual, but his topaz eyes looked somber. Their journey was almost over. According to the officer who reported to him earlier, they were almost there.

For the past three months, he had kept himself busy with training, studying various laws and policies that had been his duty so far, and reading many books.

Therius was not someone who liked to stay idle. Although he was the crown prince, he never considered that position as an excuse for him to slack. He knew, if he was not careful, some people would find ways to bring him down from his position as the future king.

King Rhemus of Akkadia had three daughters and one son, the crown prince, namely Prince Darius. Since Darius died before he produced an heir, the crown prince position was fought over by several of his nephews, including Therius.

Among King Rhemus" three grandsons, Therius was the king"s favorite. Since he was very young, he was sent to live with the king because he had lost both parents. His father was a famous general who was killed in a fierce battle during the war with the rebels when Therius was only five, while his mother pa.s.sed away due to grieving.

King Rhemus made the decision to appoint Therius as the new crown prince before he went to the academy. Not all family members supported the decision, and secretly there were talks to prevent Therius from ascending the throne to replace his grandfather in the future.

For this reason, Therius was always mindful. He continued to work hard to secure his position. Later, once the power was in his hands, he would deal with them. Now ... he must establish his status.

KNOCK

KNOCK

Therius could guess that the person knocking on his door was his best friend, Xion, who must have woken up from his long slumber.

"Come in," said Therius.

The door slid to the side and entered a handsome young man with long golden hair with his usual indifferent expression. The man wore gray casual clothes and walked over to Therius.

"We"re almost there," commented Xion.

Therius nodded. He pointed to the wine bottle beside him and signaled Xion to pour himself a drink.

Xion took a half-empty wine bottle and a gla.s.s and then poured the contents for himself. His eyes briefly narrowed to see that there were two other empty bottles piled in the corner. He turned to Therius, who kept looking out the window expressionlessly.

"Jeez ... Why you drink so much? What"s wrong?" Xion asked in amazement. "You"re not a drinker, but yet you"ve emptied two bottles?"

Therius did not answer. This made Xion upset for not having the ability to read minds. His friend was very stingy with words, and sometimes Xion was forced to guess what was really happening to him, even though they had known each other for so long.

Because Therius did not answer, Xion finally tried to draw his own conclusions.

"Are you nervous?" He narrowed his eyes and looked at Therius with an amused look. "Gosh, the Crown Prince of Akkadia is nervous because he is about to meet his future wife. Ahh.. how adorable!"