We waited in the darkness. The only noise was the occasional beeping by Amsi. I was glad she was there. I figured she’d tell us if we were about to run out of oxygen. Not that there was much she’d have been able to do aside from an emergency beaming back to the ship. Telton had assured me it was possible, and Caspian had agreed. Considering how obsessed Caspian was with Rachel, I assumed he wouldn’t have sent us down if there was a chance of really getting stuck. Once again I was relying on the word of others. That level of trust felt foreign.
There wasn’t much room in our little boxed in area of the tunnel, but we were able to sit down on opposite sides with our legs crisscrossed over each other’s. Amsi sat directly beside Rachel. There were so many things I wanted to say, but I had been the one warning Rachel about saving oxygen. Instead I thought over every horrible possibility in my head. Plus I worried about Angie.
I had no idea how much time had passed, but it felt like over an hour when there was a squeaking noise and a light turned on above us.
“I am very sorry.” A male voice called from somewhere nearby. “I am terribly sorry.”
I stood up and helped Rachel to her feet. We both stretched and looked around for the voice.
“Just this way.” The wall where we’d hit the dead end opened.
I didn’t particularly want to continue down that path, but there were no other options available at the moment, and I was in a hurry to get out of the tunnel.
We started to walk and the tunnel opened up, eventually depositing us into a bright and airy room surrounded on all sides by glass.
“Once again I extend my most sincere apologies for the wait.” A man dressed in an old-fashioned looking outfit consisting of a vest over a white shirt and pants stepped into the fishbowl room. “I am very sorry for the delay and the subpar waiting room. We are taking extra precautions at the moment due to the influx of refuge seekers.”
“Will we be receiving a temporary safe harbor?” That was the first question to get out of the way.
He nodded. “You may expect safe harbor for as long as you need.”
“Thank you.” Rachel let out a sigh of relief. I assumed it was more that she was afraid we were going to end up back in that tunnel then that we’d be sent back.
He held out his hands. “The Princess would like to invite you to stay in the castle.”
“The castle?” Now that wasn’t something I was expecting.
“Yes. I assure you we can transport you there without any potential exposure to unfriendly air. We are equipped to protect all species, including Earthlings.”
“Especially Earthlings.” A red-headed woman dressed in a flowing gown walked in. “It is a pleasure to have you here.”
“I told you I would transport them.” The man turned to the newcomer.
“I know, but I was so excited to meet them, and you were taking too long.” She brushed in front of the man. “My name is Ella. Welcome to North Star.” She held out her hand and shook Rachel’s hand first, then mine.
“Are you the princess?” Rachel asked.
“I am, but it is not a title I generally use.”
“Ok. He mentioned it.” Rachel pointed to the man.
“My brother is more interested in our titles than I am.”
“Brother?” I didn’t see a huge physical resemblance between them, but then again Angie and I didn’t look particularly alike either.
“I am very sorry for the treatment Etan bestowed upon you.” Ella glared at him.
“Security cannot be rushed,” Etan grumbled. “We had to ensure they were not followed.”
“Look at them.” The girl grinned. “True starmates. I never thought I’d see that again.”
“Starmates?” I repeated the unfamiliar term.
Ella beamed. “I sensed it as soon as you entered the atmosphere. It woke me from my long sleep.”
“Long sleep?” Rachel appeared just as confused as I did. Evidently this was all new for her too.
“My sister has been sleeping for two hundred fifty of her years waiting for another starmate pair to appear.” Etan straightened his shoulders.
“Two hundred fifty of her years?” Did she live by a different set of time or something?
“There is so much to discuss. Let us take leave for the castle.” Ella bounced up and down.
“Can’t you explain more first?” I wasn’t in a hurry to rush off with these people without getting some more information. “Maybe give us some insight into what starmates are.”
“You don’t know that which you are?” Ella and Etan exchanged looks.
“Perhaps the bond has only now been awakened, sister.” Etan looked between Rachel and me. “You yourself just awoke.”
“Yes, perhaps.” Ella rested her chin on her hand. “But how could they not know what is true to their souls?”
“Does it matter?” Etan ran a hand through his long brown hair revealing pointed ears not that unlike what you’d expect an elf to have. Maybe Dale hadn’t been that far off with his fairy land comment. The dress certainly suggested it. “You see it as true as day, as do I.”
“But if they fail at their destiny what result will the universe see?” Ella’s bubbliness had disappeared, replaced by disappointment.
“And that.” The girl pulled the medallion out from under Rachel’s bodysuit. “How can she wear that?”
Rachel paled. “It wasn’t by choice, I assure you.”
“And you didn’t protect her?” Ella scowled at me.
“I didn’t know her yet. We’ve only known each other a few days.” Once again I’d probably shared too much information, but the truth seemed so much easier.
The girl released the medallion and put a hand to her head. “This is most distressing. We must go to the castle.”
“We are fine here.” Rachel tapped her toe on the glass-like floor. “But we need information.”
“You are starmates that don’t understand your true nature and you expect us to keep you here in holding? You are out of your mind.”
“Maybe we are,” I admitted. “But we do need information. We need to know who the Emperor is working with.” Okay, maybe I should have been more subtle, but I had no idea what was going on with these two and they appeared to be in charge. If they weren’t going to be able to help, then we needed to consider going back to the ship—as long as we knew Rachel was safe that was. Everyone seemed to know what the medallion was, and that made me nervous. Ella had even noticed it when Rachel kept it hidden.
“You are starmates. Once you understand that you can glean any information you wish.”
“Uh…” I looked at Rachel. “Like I said, we don’t even know what that means.”
“We will explain everything.” Ella’s expression lightened.
“Can you take this off?” Rachel picked up the medallion. “I know its Narva gold but...”
“Only the Emperor can do that. As he controls the forge.”
“So being starmates doesn’t give us that power?” I guess that was hoping for too much. Not that I really thought I was a starmate, whatever that was.
“Ok. Where is this castle?” Rachel tucked the medallion back under the top of her bodysuit.
“Across the way. We can go there quickly by coach.”
By coach? I looked at their clothes. He looked like he was from the middle ages. She was dressed like a fairytale princess and was talking about a coach. This wasn’t like another planet, it was like some weird time mashup or storybook.
“Come. Come.” Etan gestured for us to follow him through the small space between the glass panels. We stepped back into a long hallway, but this time there was a carriage waiting—drawn by two robots that kind of looked like horses.
“I take it this is the coach?” I gestured to the carriage.
“Of course. Isn’t it delightful?” Ella asked.
“Uh huh.” I nodded.
Ella and Etan got into the front row, and Rachel and I sat close together behind them. I tried not to look at the creepy horse robot things as they took off running down the tunnel. I couldn’t even imagine what Dale would be saying at this point. It was probably good he was back on the ship. Although I really hoped things were going okay up there.