Royal Hearts Read online

  “I’ll get one for you right away,” she told him then went down the hallway.

  This couldn’t be happening. It had to be some joke. He shuffled to the queen’s bedchamber as fast as he could, ignoring the pain in his side and his mounting headache. When he got to the bedchamber, he almost bumped into the small table his mom used to keep by the door. Ann had set it to the corner of the room after she moved in. But it was back where it used to be. And worse than that, he was looking at all his mother’s things.

  What was going on here? There was nothing of Ann in this room.

  “You’re tracking dirt all over this place, and I just cleaned the floor!” a female servant complained when she saw him.

  “My mother is the queen?” he asked her, ignoring her agitation.

  “Of course. Who else would rule Raz?”

  His mind worked through the situation, desperately eager to put the pieces together.

  “There you are,” his mother said, shaking her head. “You really shouldn’t run off like that. Here’s the mirror you requested.”

  He took it from her and examined his reflection. He almost dropped the mirror. He looked younger. Years younger.

  “You are badly bruised. What happened?” his mother asked.

  “What year is it?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Things aren’t right,” he told her. “What year am I in?”

  “It’s 34.1974-2.”

  He dropped the mirror. He was six years in the past? He was no longer twenty-seven? He was twenty-one?

  “What’s going on?” she asked. “Do you remember who I am? Do you remember who you are?” When he didn’t answer, she turned to the doorway and yelled, “Where’s the doctor?”

  “I need to sit down,” Hathor whispered before he lost consciousness.

  Chapter Five

  Six years in the past

  Ann’s Private High School

  Dayton, Ohio

  Planet: Earth

  On the way to the cafeteria, Ann searched for her friends, but they found her first. She laughed as she caught them running down the hall to meet up with her.

  “Where’s the fire?” Ann asked.

  “Have you seen the new boy? He’s so hot!” Teresa said with a giggle. “He’s a junior, just like us. I think I’m in love.”

  Stacey rolled her eyes. “As if you don’t fall in love all the time, though I admit this guy is gorgeous.”

  “Is he in our lunch period?” Ann asked. If her friends were gushing over him, he must be worth looking at.

  “He’s right there,” Stacey whispered, pulling them over to the wall. “He’s the blond one with the red shirt.”

  “And muscles. Lots of muscles,” Teresa added. “He can lift me up in those strong arms any day.”

  Ann wrinkled her nose. “He’s okay.”

  Teresa gasped. “Are you kidding?”

  “Well,” Ann shrugged, “it’s just that he has blond hair.”

  “And your point would be…?”

  “I guess I’m just attracted to guys with dark hair. I can’t see myself with a blond.”

  “We’re not asking you to marry him. We’re asking you to appreciate his good looks,” Stacey said, shaking her head.

  “And his excellent body,” Teresa added.

  “It’s no use, Teresa. She’s too serious about this stuff.”

  “I have better things to do than ogle boys I’ll never date. He’s way out of my league.” Ann pulled money from her purse. “I’m going to grab something to eat. Do you guys know what they’re serving today?”

  “I think it’s fish again,” Teresa replied.

  Ann groaned. “I guess it’s better than the meatloaf.”

  As they continued to the cafeteria, Stacey asked Teresa, “Did Ann tell you about Lisa wanting to fix her up with a guy?”

  “No,” Teresa replied. “How come I’m the last one to know these things?”

  “It’s no big deal,” Ann said. “He’s just someone that her boyfriend knows. Besides, the only way I can get a date is to be fixed up.”

  “Considering you’re the only one of us going on a date, you’re doing better than we are,” Stacey replied.

  “Yeah, so see if this guy has any cute friends and hook us up,” Teresa teased.

  “I have to meet him first,” Ann said in amusement. “But if I happen to come across any cute friends, I’ll be sure to find out if they’re available.” Chuckling, she stopped at the lunch line and listened as they told her the latest gossip.

  ***

  Six years in the past

  Spaceship entering Average Galaxy

  Omin-2 figured that by now Ann should be back in her past, and he had followed her through time. Stage one of Omin’s plan was complete.

  Stage two was to enslave the human race. During this time, he would kill the future queen. He couldn’t have her getting in his way like she’d done with Omin. After he completed this mission, he’d take his slaves back to Pale, and then he’d use them to take over the planet.

  All he needed to do was find a suitable location where he could quickly ascend to power. Since his technological knowledge was much more advanced than the humans’, he knew he could easily impress them. But he couldn’t just barge into the United Nations.

  He would have to make the right connections and gain respect and power so that no one would question where he came from or what his motives were. He knew he could do it. It was just a matter of how long it would take to get back to Pale.

  “In good time,” he whispered. “All in good time.”

  ***

  Six years in the past

  Hathor’s Bedroom

  The Royal Palace

  Planet: Raz

  Hathor was lying in his bed, bandages wrapped around his ribs. He had already tried to get out of bed, but he was still too weak to stand for longer than a couple minutes.

  He had to find Ann. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew that Ann had to be in some kind of trouble if she wasn’t with him.

  His mother entered his room. “How are you feeling?” she asked as she sat next to his bed.

  “Horrible,” he admitted.

  “The doctor says it will take you a couple of weeks to fully recover from your injuries. You need to get as much rest as possible.”

  “I can’t rest. I have to find Ann.”

  “Who’s Ann?”

  He started to answer her but wondered if she’d believe him. The whole notion of traveling back in time was crazy, after all.

  “Earlier, you asked what year it was,” she said. “What year did you think it was?”

  He told her.

  “But that’s six years from now. Why did you think it was that year?”

  He could see that she was struggling to understand his predicament, which meant there was a chance she might believe him. He told her about the future, about bringing Ann to Raz to be the next queen, about marrying her, and about the mission they were on when he suddenly found himself back in time.

  “Pale and Raz will be on good terms in the future?” his mother marveled.

  “Yes, but I’m worried about Ann. For some reason, she’s not with me. I don’t know where she went or how to find her. When I tried the Book of Spells, it brought me to you because you’re the current queen.”

  After a moment, she frowned. “I hate to bother the Great Magician since he’s usually busy, but I think he’ll make an exception for this. If anyone can tell us where the next queen is, it will be him.” She stood up and left the room.

  Hathor took a deep breath and sat on the edge of his bed. He hadn’t been in his old bed since before he married Ann. It felt strange to be in his old bedchamber, surrounded by his old things. But it only emphasized how wrong this whole situation was.

  He knew he should take it easy, but Ann could be in danger at that very moment. He didn’t want anything to happen to her. Raz may have a secure future with their daughter, but he didn’t want to s
pend the rest of his life without her. Once he found out where she was, he was going to find her and bring her back to Raz where she belonged. Somehow, someway, he would do it.

  ***

  Present day

  Alpha Head I

  Planet: Pale

  Leader Paff hadn’t slept at all since finding out about Omin’s clone. How did Omin develop the technology to make a clone? Paler Law, even under Omin’s leadership, specifically forbade any cloning, so the technology for it wasn’t even produced. At least, Paff hadn’t thought so.

  He sighed. He hated Omin. More than that, he feared him and the clone he created. If that clone was anything like Omin, a horrible war was about to ensue on Pale.

  He glanced out of his office window. Everything looked so calm and peaceful. Palers and Laxes were casually walking around, doing their usual business. Pale had improved a great deal from its morbid condition two years ago, right after Omin died.

  Now that Palers and Laxes had worked on building peace and eliminated the few outbreaks of rebellion that had occurred, Pale was better than ever. Lush, white vegetation grew out of the ground. Fruits and vegetables were everywhere. White grass, flowers, and trees gave the landscape an attractive appearance.

  The Laxes had greatly improved the look of the steel buildings which had at one time been gray. They had put various colors on the buildings so the area radiated of blues, greens, and yellows. The sunlight glistened off the buildings, creating a sense of warmth that Pale had lacked before.

  He looked up at the sky. He fully expected to see a spaceship carrying Omin’s clone with a multitude of his allies following him. But the sky was pure blue. There was no sense of the impending disaster about to strike at them.

  “Leader Paff?” someone asked from behind him.

  Startled, he whirled around. He sighed with relief when he saw that it was Zak. Now that he knew Omin’s clone was on the loose, he didn’t feel safe anywhere.

  “I’ve been trying to reach you on your intercom, but you didn’t respond,” Zak explained.

  “It’s been a long two days.” He smiled wearily. “Did you hear anything from Queen Ann?”

  “Nothing. I don’t know how long we should expect her to be gone. With the Book of Spells, she and Hathor should have arrived on Olympia as soon as they left here. I know the Olympian gods and goddesses like to entertain their guests for at least a day before hearing the guest’s request. She must be explaining the situation to them as we speak.”

  “I hope so. The longer she takes to get back to us, the worse my bad feeling gets.”

  “Do you think Omin’s clone already got her?”

  Paff tensed at the thought. He liked the queen and didn’t want to see anything bad happen to her. “How much time should we give her before we send out a search party?”

  Zak paused then said, “Let’s give her a couple more days. If, at that time, we don’t hear from her or Hathor, we will act.”

  Paff nodded.

  “You should go home and rest,” Zak said. “You’re the only one who hasn’t gotten any sleep.”

  “I know. You’re right. I won’t be any good defending Pale if I’m exhausted.”

  “Second Commander Jaz and I will notify you if anything happens,” he promised.

  “Alright. I’ll go home and rest.”

  As Paff left the building, he couldn’t push aside the uneasy feeling that kept creeping up in his gut. He just knew that he’d be sending out a search party to find Ann in two days’ time.

  ***

  Six years in the past

  William’s High School

  Dayton, Ohio

  Planet: Earth

  It was amazing. William remembered everything that had happened in his future six years, yet he was eighteen again. He was a senior in high school and living with his parents. He looked younger and felt younger. It was like going through a second birth. He hadn’t felt this optimistic in years.

  Finally, things were going his way.

  He sat in class, mindlessly scribbling in his notebook, pretending to take notes. He didn’t care what the teacher was saying. He was anxious for tomorrow to come because that would be the day he met her: Ann Kerwin. And she wouldn’t remember him.

  It was hard to imagine. If someone had told him he could go back to the past and undo a mistake he had made long ago, he would have laughed. Now he knew better than to dismiss something that seemed impossible.

  A folded up piece of paper hit his arm, interrupting his thoughts. Startled, he glanced back at his best friend, Carson McCoy. He took his friend’s note and slowly opened it so that the teacher wouldn’t notice.

  This is going to be on the test. Why aren’t you taking notes? Carson had written.

  William rolled his eyes. He had forgotten that Carson had been such a nerd. He shook his head. No wonder they drifted apart after they graduated. Carson had gone onto college to pursue an engineering degree, and then he moved to Colorado where he met his wife. Currently, in high school, Carson was dating Lisa, but William knew that wouldn’t last much longer. Those two weren’t meant to be together.

  I’m not going to need this in real life, William wrote back. Spanish is so lame. He returned the note.

  He heard Carson scoff under his breath, clearly upset at William’s disdain for education.

  But William didn’t care. He knew he would never speak another Spanish word once he got out of high school. It was pointless to even take the class. Fortunately, Study Hall was his next class, so he could make plans on what to say to Ann when he saw her. Last time, he had sounded like such a dork. This time, he would have a chance to change all of that. He would sweep her off her feet.

  As soon as the bell rang, he slammed his notebook shut.

  “What’s wrong with you today?” Carson asked as they walked out of class.

  “What do you mean?” William replied.

  “You’re acting strange. It’s like you’re someone else.”

  He stopped walking in the crowded hall and gave Carson a good look. He was impressed. He didn’t realize Carson could be so perceptive.

  “You’re starting to weird me out,” Carson said.

  William chuckled. “I shouldn’t be. But you’re right. I’m not the same person I was a day ago.” In your time. “I’m better than that person. I’ve got a new outlook on life.”

  Carson didn’t look convinced. “Okay.”

  “Look, we’re getting together to double date, right?”

  “Sure. If you still want to…”

  “That’s all I need to know. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  As William walked to Study Hall, he couldn’t help but notice the high skirts some of the girls wore. He grinned appreciatively. They were just asking to be stared at, and he was happy to oblige them. Hey, he wasn’t on Raz yet. He still had time to look around before he became king of the foreign planet.

  Chapter Six

  Six years in the past

  Throne Room of the Royal Palace

  Planet: Raz

  “Are you sure you’re ready to see the Great Magician?” Hathor’s mother asked as he entered the room.

  “I’m fine,” he assured her despite the sharp pain in his side. He had to find Ann. He could worry about himself later.

  “Alright,” she reluctantly complied. “I never knew you could be so stubborn, although it will make an excellent trait when you’re the future king. A queen needs someone who will risk his life to protect her.”

  She led him to the room behind her throne where the Great Magician usually consulted her. Hathor noticed that the gray-haired magician wouldn’t change much in the next six years. The magician must have been born old, for Hathor couldn’t remember a time in his childhood when the man looked young.

  “Welcome, Hathor,” the magician said with a smile. “I’ve been informed that you have come from the future.”

  “Yes. I’m twenty-seven, but I’m in my twenty-one-year-old body. I don’t know how I got back in
time.”

  “This is interesting. Razians don’t often take part in time travel. It’s usually something the queen only does in an emergency.”

  “I think the future queen is also back in this time, but she’s not on Raz.”

  “Ah…good news on that count at least.” The Great Magician smiled. “You see my queen, you will succeed in finding a successor to the throne. All will be well with Raz.”

  “Yes, that is good news,” Hathor’s mother said.

  “But I don’t know where Ann is right now, and she could be in trouble,” Hathor spoke up.

  “Ann? Is that the future queen’s name?” the magician asked.

  Hathor nodded. “Ann Kerwin from planet Earth.”

  “Earth? My goodness, why would Raz pick such a boring planet to take its next queen from?”

  “She’s an excellent queen. Raz picked the right person. As boring as Earth is, it must have its good points.”

  “You love her a lot,” his mother said, her voice soft.

  Hathor cleared his throat and turned back to the magician. “Do you know where she is and how I can get back to my time?”

  “Let’s see what we can do,” the magician said.

  Hathor followed him to his crystal ball.

  “You say her name is Ann Kerwin and she came from Earth?” the magician asked.

  “She has a birthmark on her wrist,” Hathor said. “It’s in the shape of a crown. That’s her identification mark.”

  “And you think she went back in time, like you did?”

  “I think so. We were together when it happened. But there was something—some kind of force—that pulled us apart.”