Sorry for the wait, I hope you like the chapter!

IN THE MIDDLE of the night a sound roused me from my sleep; muffled yet unmistakable - sobbing.

With a glance over my shoulder I found Jason still asleep and snoring loudly. Initially I was relieved to find him like that, all tousle-haired and seemingly content, only to realise a moment later that if Jason hadn't been the one to wake me, then who?

Suddenly concerned, my head turned towards the exit, to where the fireplace sectioned off the shelter from Louis' room. The sound was coming from the other side of the door, undoubtedly from Louis himself and that realisation alone made my heart constrict.

Louis was crying?

Trying my best not to disturb Jason, I slowly wriggled out from beneath the covers and tip-toed towards the door. I glimpsed over my shoulder one last time before heaving the fireplace open to make sure the coast was clear.

My eyes instantly darted to Louis' bed – which, to my horror, was empty. Where had he gone? That split second of not knowing where he was caused my stomach to churn uncomfortably. I scanned the room for any sign of him, a relieved sigh blowing past my lips when I finally spotted him sitting on the padded window-seat, looking out at the sky.

The grand chambers looked vastly different to how I'd last seen them. Before Jason and I had left for bed, Louis' room had been spotless – now the desk had been swept clear of all its paperwork, pages littering the floor like a second layer, the plush upholstery of the furniture looked like it had been shredded by a wild animal and the doors to the wardrobe had been thrown open, an array of expensive looking garments strew across every surface the eye could see.

I took a moment to ponder why Louis had caused such havoc. Out of anger? Sadness? Then, as I looked from left to right, I wondered how he had managed to do so without disturbing myself or Jason.

Until he'd started to cry.

It took me a moment to realise what else looked different about the room; not only was the place a mess, but it was entirely washed in a scarlet hue. Realisation grabbed me as I looked back at Louis and then out through the window. Due to the primary sheen of the night sky, the room was entirely bathed in red, as was Louis' usually calm and collected expression – now it appeared stony and particularly pained under the harsh light.

I slowly padded over to him, tightening the strap of my robe as I moved.

He sniffled and wiped a tear away from his eye. The very sight made me want to shed a tear. There was just something utterly devastating about seeing a man cry. Witnessing Louis in such a way only deepened my interest as to why he was crying in the first place. Though I could hazard a fairly appropriate guess, I remained gentle with him.

"Louis?" I whispered when I was close enough.

He mustn't have heard me coming for he jumped at the sound of my voice and frantically began to blink away his tears. He drew his knees up under his chin and wrapped his arms around them as if he were embarrassed to be found in such a vulnerable state.

"Flora," he said, his voice strained. "Did I wake you?"

"Yeah." I took a step closer and plopped myself down on the seat opposite him, my head leaning back against the wall. "It's fine, though. Don't worry." I focused on his swollen eyes and asked, "Do you want to talk?"

He sighed loudly. Louis wasn't stupid – he knew there was no point trying to divert the conversation. I'd caught him at his worst and he knew I was persistent and therefore would want to help, comfort him if he so wished. "There's been a lot on my mind," he admitted after a moment.

"Understandably," I chuckled before placing my hands over his. "Talk to me. I'm here to listen."

It felt good knowing that I was one of the only people Louis trusted whole-heartedly. His father was a definite to-be-avoided when it came to heart-felt conversations and Louis confided in me that his mother, as understanding as she was, still held a very high standard and wanted her son to try taking on board more royal duties in the near future. As if he weren't already in over his head. Most of his friends – not that there were many, he said - were from the other royal families throughout Junito and he hardly ever got the opportunity to see them, unless a special occasion were to occur. In other words, he was lonely.

"I'm just so nervous," he finally told me. "I'm ... honestly, I'm so scared, Flora. I'm worried for you, my crew and what my father will think of me after all this."

I chose my next words with caution. "Put it this way, Louis – after you expose Klaru and the whole kingdom knows what she's been up to, if your dad doesn't do something to stop her, then ... is he really your dad?"

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if he does nothing after you prove to him that she's a traitor then ... I can't think of any other way to say it - if he does nothing, how much do you mean to him as a son?"

My words must have made the cogs turn in his brain because a moment later he was wiping away more tears.

You should have kept your mouth shut, Flora.

"I don't want it to be true," he murmured. "It can't be true. I know he's my father and he only wants what's best for me but..."

I squeezed his hand. "I'm afraid we'll have to wait and see."

He nodded solemnly. "Yeah," he whispered.

We sat there for a moment in silence, both our heads turned towards the window. The view from his room was spectacular and the sky in particular made me sigh in awe. It wasn't like the usual evening sky back home, this was like watching a crackling log fire, the bright colours swirling and interacting like watercolours. It was almost bewitching, so much in fact that I barely noticed that Louis had been watching me the entire time.

Without looking at him, I said, "I can feel you staring."

He cleared his throat. "I apologise. I just love watching you react to new, wonderful things. It's amusing, actually. Like you've never seen something as ordinary as the sky before."

"Well, technically I'm looking at a different sky," I pointed out. "Back home, we never get anything as gorgeous as this. Maybe the Northern lights but I've never seen those."

"Even so, it's amusing," he replied, grinning. It felt good to see him smile.

"Not as amusing as you running around Earth screaming at the mail," I said and he just scoffed.

"I was in new, unfamiliar territory. Everything was a possible threat." Louis laughed softly, his head shaking from side to side. "I can imagine it being hilarious to you but for me it was terrifying. Yet, I would do it all over again if I could, no matter how scared I was at the time. All of that uncertainty and overcoming new things was nothing compared to the catastrophe occurring at the moment."

I squeezed his hand tighter as his eyes dipped to the floor. Little gestures went a long way.

"Hey," I said. "Try not to be so glum. Everything will work out in the end. We're going to make your dad believe everything, I promise."

"Like I've said, it's not just my father that worries me. It's your safety, my friends and crew. Pfft, even Jason! If anything were to happen to a single one of you because of me... If I hadn't been so determined to prove to everyone that you existed then perhaps this wouldn't have happened."

I shook my head, trying to imagine just how dull my life would have been without him. "No, not really. It wouldn't have changed the fact that the Councillors and Klaru are evil and power-hungry."

He pursed his lips and nodded slowly. "True. However, it would have prevented your life-"

"Ending up in danger?" I cut him off, a little louder than I'd intended. In all honesty, I was sick of him worrying about me like I were a helpless child. Sometimes he worried too much, forgetting that I was a fully-grown woman that could handle things on my own.

He closed his mouth and looked back outside. "I'm sorry. I just can't help but feel like I'm responsible for getting you caught."

"Hm, you actually are the reason I was caught, Loudrix. If you'd landed anywhere else on Earth I wouldn't even have met you."

"And how regrettable that would have been, Earthling."

"Very. I would still be in that damned supermarket, selling customers horrifically over-priced items. Do you know how much that place charges for pancakes nowadays?" I said, slightly altering the conversation. For a moment his eyes lit up at the mention of his favourite snack.

"No?"

"A lot."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Sorry..."

"You should be. I'm dreading looking at my bank account after the amount I spent feeding you those unhealthy things. Why couldn't you have lived off of something like apples? Or cabbage?"

"I like strawberries on my pancakes," he pointed out. "Those are healthy."

"I suppose but compared to the amount you were eating in pancakes, that doesn't even matter. I'm surprised you're as thin as you are after eating so many." I glanced at his slender frame, noticing how his clothing almost hung from his limbs. I shuddered.

"Would you rather I had starved to death?" he teased and I shook my head instantly.

"Of course not," I told him. "That would have broken my heart."

His interest piqued at this and I raised a brow as he altered his position, sitting cross-legged before me. I withdrew my hands and clasped them in my lap as his attention zoned fully on me.

"How come?"

"What do you mean 'how come?'" I returned, frowning.

"Well, how would it have broken your heart?"

I laughed, exasperated. Sometimes I wondered if he were genuinely naïve when it came to fairly obvious things or if he just wanted to hear me say it. "Because seeing someone you love die isn't exactly happy, is it? Well, unless you hate them which therefore means you wouldn't have loved them in the first place..."

My mumbling made him laugh but almost as quickly as the smile broke his glum exterior, did it vanish once again. He asked me, "You love me?"

It was as if the entire world froze in that moment. His quizzical eyes were glued to my face and mine were staring back like a deer caught in the headlights. As I recalled my last choice of words, my mouth fell open as if to speak, only nothing came out – I didn't know what to say. What could I say?

I cleared my throat. "As friends do."

"Oh," he mumbled, averting his gaze momentarily. "Yes, as friends do."

His jaw tensed and I couldn't help but wonder why. "Louis?"

"Hm?"

"You seem disappointed," I noted. "I thought you were desperate to be friends?"

"I am! Well, was. I wanted to be your friend from the day we met. After all, landing on a foreign planet is almost as terrifying as contemplating what creatures inhabit it. It's just..." he trailed off, his finger picking at the red sash across his chest.

"What?" I softly urged.

"Well," he began, his cheeks suddenly darkening. It was almost difficult to tell under the light. "I guess it sort of happened when we kissed for the first time..."

Thinking back to our first kiss caused all sorts of fond memories to resurface. Though it was nothing more than an innocent peck on the lips – nothing too heavy or sickeningly romantic – it had somehow managed to remain embedded within my brain ever since. I'd felt both disappointed and joyful that day, not to mention slightly confused as to why the prince's lips had never touched another's. It would be a lie to say that the kiss had made me feel nothing yet an overstatement to say it had left me longing for another.

"When we kissed," I said as if reminding myself of that precise moment our mouths brushed. "What happened when we kissed?"

Louis suddenly looked bashful.

"What?" I laughed, leaning towards him attentively.

He cleared his throat and mumbled, "Um, well ... I guess you could say that I like you, Flora. And I like you ... perhaps as more than an acquaintance."

I could only stare at him. What exactly was he trying to simplify? "Oh," I muttered, unsure of what else to say. "Alright."

Louis laughed. "That's it? Heck, I thought you would have some sarcastic comment to pass or you'd make fun of me."

I shook my head. "Nah. I think you've been through enough as it is, Loudrix."

"Yeah," he returned, smiling at me. His eyes were no longer teary I noticed and after he'd perked up he seemed more in the mood to chat. He asked me, "Do you like me?"

"Of course I do," I instantly replied. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know... I realise I must have been terribly annoying back when we first met. I caused a lot of problems for you, Flora, and I can't believe I'm apologising only now."

"You were no problem at all," I promised him, reaching forward once again to take his hand reassuringly. I brought his knuckles up to my mouth and kissed his skin. "I promise you that it was perfectly all right."

His fingers gently began to tangle with mine and he nodded once. "Yes, you say that but I'm not sure you entirely realise just how much of a burden I was in your life. Am in your life."

Frowning, I could only shake my head as he continued to point out all the negatives of our otherwise perfectly wonderful time together on Earth.

"Hey, stop that. You can't keep on dragging negatives into the conversation."

"It's rather difficult when everything happening around me is a struggle. The only positive thing in my life right now is being here, with you."

My heart fluttered in my chest without warning. It was the cute little things he often said that made me care for him even more and that both intrigued and terrified me. During our time together, I'd spent so much time worrying about him that I hadn't been able to take a step back and appreciate how I truly felt when I was with him.

Be careful, Flora, the voice whispered, don't allow your heart to be vulnerable once again. You saw what happened last time.

I took a deep breath. "Louis," I began softly, "this whole thing, no matter how dangerous or life-threatening, has been incredible. I need you to stop worrying about me so much and thinking that all of this is your fault; it's not. As for me - I'm not a child. I voluntarily asked to help you, to get you back home safely and I did it because I wanted to. Stop beating yourself up about what's happening right now. You had no idea that this was going to happen and neither did I. But we're fine and we're going to be fine. So please," I bowed my head momentarily, "please stop worrying about me."

Louis' fingers clasped mine tightly as he shuffled a little closer. There was hardly any space between us and I could feel his breath on my face. When he leaned his forehead against mine, closed his eyes and said, "How can you ask me to stop worrying about the girl I'm in love with?" I knew in that moment just why I'd been so worried about him all this time, why I'd enjoyed the adventure through all the ups and downs and why when I was around him I felt at home.

All that time I'd unknowingly been falling for him too.

"Louis," I breathed.

"Shh, you don't have to say anything back," he said, opening his eyes to meet mine. "All I ask is that you let me kiss you again."

Before I could verbalise a response, his lips were on mine and this time I wasn't disappointed but completely content. This time I did feel the fireworks, I did feel the butterflies in my stomach and most importantly I felt like the only girl in the entire universe.

At some point Louis' hands had moved up to my shoulders. He was pulling me closer. Instead of allowing him to awkwardly tug me over his legs, I reached up and moved his hands to my hips. After a moment of familiarising himself with the new location of his hands, his grip tightened and he tried once again to pull me towards him.

I pulled back and laughed. "What're you trying to do?"

And then I was momentarily hoisted into the air and into Louis' arms. He was surprisingly strong given how weak he looked and a surprised squeal tore from my throat as he manoeuvred us on the window seat so that he had his back to the window, and me sitting in his lap with my legs either side of his waist.

"I've never held a woman this way," he admitted, looking up at me with his icy blues. "I'm not entirely sure what to do now, I just thought it would be romantic to sweep you off your feet."

"As princes do," I chuckled and he smiled at me. "What do you want to do now, Your Majesty?"

"Um..." he thought for a moment, frowning at me. He looked so timid I couldn't help but grin at him. "I'd like to kiss you some more. Please?"

There were only a select few times I could recall where my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest – this was one of them.

As I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him softly I couldn't help but wonder just how long I'd been unaware of my feelings for him. Overshadowed by the looming threat of the Councillors and Klaru's surprise appearance, my emotions had been thoroughly neglected, cast aside as I focused all my time and energy into helping Louis return home.

My head was finally clear. I could think, I could breathe and it was all because of him.

"Louis," I mumbled against his mouth. "Wait."

"What?"

"This is wrong," I began, pushing back on his chest. "I can't do this."

His face fell quicker than my heart did at the very sight. "Why?" he practically blurted.

I grinned wickedly at him and placed my hands upon his cheeks. "I can't kiss an engaged gentleman," I teased, squeezing his cheeks like you would to a toddler.

"Flora!" he groaned, shaking my hands away. "Don't do that, my heart was about to break."

"I wouldn't break your heart," I promised him. "I'm not a bitch like that."

"But you will break my heart," he muttered forlornly. "When all of this is over, and Klaru is no longer our biggest problem ... what will happen with us?"

Us, not you, I noticed.

"I'm not quite sure," I answered with a shrug. The thought of us being apart frightened me and not only because the it would remind me that adventure would was over but because I couldn't imagine a world where, after everything we'd been through, we couldn't be together.

"What do you want to happen?" he asked.

Again, I could only shrug and I immediately felt terrible for it. Louis wanted an answer and there was no doubt that he wanted me to say that there was no other option than for us to be together, somewhere, somehow. But in my heart, I knew that it was a romance fit for disaster. "I don't know. I know what I want, it's just the trying to obtain it that will be a challenge."

Pressing his forehead to mine, Louis said, "I don't ever want to part from you. I want us to be together."

"I want that too," I said, "but the odds are against us. You belong here on Junito and I belong on Earth. I don't see how we could make something like this-" I gestured to the space between us, "-work out."

His silence was deafening. The hammering of my heart seemed to echo throughout the room. It was a bittersweet realisation that we had fallen for each other and there was nothing more tragic than a love that was not to be.

"What do you think we should do?" he eventually asked me. "I'm a prince, I need to be here to take over from my father. And you have your life – your family, your friends – back on Earikom."

I laughed at his use of name for my home. It was almost a shock to the system to hear the Junite term considering how quickly he had picked up English. There were times where he just seemed so human.

I placed a hand on his chest. "How about we just focus on getting out of this alive first?" I suggested. Grinning at him, I gave him one final peck on the cheek before I began to untangle our limbs. He allowed me to shift and stand away from him, following closely after until we stood face-to-face.

"But I already know everything will be fine!" he surprised me by saying. "Yeah... I have an idea. If my father shuns me and no longer sees me fit to lead Junito then I'll come home with you, Flora. If you'll have me, of course. I could live with you."

"Louis-"

"You're right, I'm jumping too far ahead." He flashed me a cheeky grin. "I should probably ask you if you'd like that."

He'd caught me off guard. I'd never had a man ask me if he could move in with me, certainly not so suddenly and out of the blue – especially not an alien.

"You want to live on Earth with me?" I blurted stupidly. "Louis, calm down."

"What? Your genetic makeup wouldn't be able to maintain a life on Junito. You're human-"

"And you're an alien," I pointed out before he could finish. "You wouldn't exactly fit in on Earth very easily."

He frowned. "I was doing a pretty good job, was I not?"

I nodded. "You were. That was only a couple months though. I'm thinking long term. You'd have to explain where you came from, about a human life that you'd never have lived. It would be tricky-"

"But not impossible," Louis added with a grin.

I spread my arms out in an overly exaggerative manner and said, "Well, look where I am, Louis. All of this is supposed to be impossible. For a human at least."

"I dare say," Louis murmured. He reached out for me, fingers spread. "Here."

I intertwined our hands and smiled at him. "What?"

"I'm sorry for being all doom and gloom. I can only tell you how hard it's been for me these past few days, not show you. I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone." His eyes darted to the floor. "I am trying to look past it and think in a positive manner but it's just not working – it's not helping me or distracting me from the inevitable."

"The inevitable?"

He nodded. "That there is a good chance Klaru will win and get what she desires. If she gets that crown, becomes Queen and sets her unthinkable plan into action then there is no hope, not future for my people. Or for me, you or anyone in general."

I squeezed his hand. "You're doing it again," I jokingly pointed out. "Doom and gloom."

Louis shook his head and groaned. He seemed more frustrated with himself than anything else. "You're right. Let's just enjoy each other's company for the time being." Louis pulled me forward and wrapped his arms around me. "However long or short that may be, Earhtling."

Thank you for reading, as always. You guys are so patient and amazing and I really can't thank you enough. Also, Merry Christmas to you all, I hope you had/have/are having a wonderful time!

Again I can only apologise for the wait but I've never been so unmotivated, wow. I'm hoping to blitz through the last few chapters in the new year *fingers crossed* so be prepared for the ending DUN DUN DUN.

Space joke: What did earth say to the other planets? Wow you guys have no life!

Cazza