I try to keep my breath steady as I leave the tent with Commander Rigel and Joon by my side. I can't understand what just happened. 

First Lucian plagued me with guilt then he angered me till I was ready to boil over like the burning rocks lining the surface of this planet. 

Now I'm left with this deepened curiosity and void because he isn't around me anymore. 

My skin is prickled with irritation, face burning like it's been set on fire and I don't remember the last time I felt this..this alive. 

I swallow hard, realising how I shut down after escaping from Pluto. I had a brief moment of happiness when I first reached Earth but that was quickly extinguished by Lazarus and that useless deputy director Maximus. 

I shut down again after that, my heart nothing but a black void filled with regret. 

Our argument has sparked a buzz of electricity down my spine and now my heart is beating with a desire to fight with him again. 

I catch the culprit who has caused this weird mixture of feelings walk into the tent next to the one we were just in.

The rebels have prepared a space for Lucian's mini brigade to have a meal with the rest of us. I walk into the tent and look up at the white flowers that have been strewn across the top four corners. They stick out like a sore thumb against the plain green. 

"That was not there before," Catori mutters dryly when she joins me. 

"The flowers?" 

She points at a young red haired girl standing by the refreshments, who's eyes are fixed on Lucian as he converses with his squad members. Two other girls who look just as young join her, their gazes starry eyed and one of them holds a bunch of white flowers in her hands. 

He has a fan club already?

I roll my eyes feeling annoyed with him and the flowers and everything. 

Cat chuckles at my reaction and someone pulls her away for a chat. I walk over to the table, my shawl now wrapped around my head even though most of the people here already know who I am. 

I pile up my plate and turn around to look for Joon but he is busy talking to the older man who escorted us to our tents previously, Hugo. I walk over to an empty bench and take a seat, ignoring the curious stares from a few Plutonians who stand around me. 

All of them know who I am but no one says a word. They've all seen the way Lucian reacted to me and I have a feeling no one wants to piss off their leader by conversing with the one person he hates the most on this planet. 

I don't realise that I have stabbed a piece of meat with my fork till a delicate voice interrupts me from my thoughts. 

"This seat taken?" 

I nearly choke on the food in my mouth when I look up to see Luna standing with a plate in hand. 

I shake my head more vigorously than I would have liked and she sits down next to me, earning more stares from the people around us. 

She fiddles with her food, her slim fingers curving around her spoon as she stirs the contents in her bowl. 

"Is it good?" She asks me and it takes me a minute to register that she is talking about my food. 

I nod, feeling nervous and apprehensive for some reason. Luna reminds me of those beautiful girls in the slave quarters, the ones everyone wanted to be friends with. Her smile is delicate and her long hair has been braided down her back. 

Up close I can see that her face is flawless, her skin a pale canvas of perfection. She bats her long eye lashes at me when I don't answer and once again her large eyes remind me of those princesses in those cartoons I used to watch as a kid. 

I briefly wonder if this is actually what she always wanted. To sit still and look pretty while on the arm of a powerful Plutonian like Lucian or Lazarus. 

Being the generals daughter, Luna holds almost the same amount of power as Lucian and Lazarus but I've never seen her show her authority or ambition. 

"Are you alright?" She asks me. 

"The broths good but it would be best to let it cool first," I finally recover and pretend to busy myself with my food as well. 

"You must be wondering why I'm here," She laughs an airy laugh, the type that makes me think we're on vacation and not in a tent full of soldiers. 

I give her a weak smile and nod. Definitely not the company I was expecting. 

"I believe we started off on the wrong foot, you and I. I kind of hated you in the beginning but now I realise how childish I was." Her face is serious while mine is plastered with shock at her admission. 

"I'm sure it was all a misunderstanding," I try to clear the air as well, wanting to put everything behind us. Even the fact that she almost married the biggest lunatic in the universe. 

She grabs my hands and I freeze instinctively, not expecting the contact. 

"Yes, it was. But I feel the need to explain myself. You see I love Lucian and I love Lazarus as well, I think I will always love them both but it took me awhile to realise that the love I have for them is the kind of love that blooms when people grow up together. I held on to something that was purely platonic and I shouldn't have." 

I gulp slowly, wondering why she is telling me this but also vaguely happy for her. At least she knows where she stands in her love life. 

Mine is currently a big fat mess.

"That's...nice to know." I am so awkward, I want to slap myself. 

Luckily she ignores me and carries on speaking after she releases my hands. 

"I actually came here to thank you for helping me realise this," She smiles at me and then takes a sip of her soup. Her smile widens after her first mouthful. "This is delicious." 

My eyebrows knit together in a frown as I stare at her. "Thank me for?"

"You chose yourself over the person you love. You went for what you truly believed was right by leaving Pluto and heading to Earth. That takes guts and seeing how you made that difficult decision helped me make mine," Luna takes a few more mouthfuls and she holds up a hand, wanting me to wait for her to continue.

"That was when I decided to leave Lazarus and join Lucian's side to fight for what I felt was right as well. Lazarus is way out of line and I can't fathom a peaceful empire under his rule. I guess I always knew but was never brave enough to make the decision." 

My chest feels heavy as I realise that I am looking at someone who might not be so different after all. She made a choice and lost her planet, her fiancé and her luxurious life because of it. 

My heart swells as I come to realise that I might actually like this Luna. 

"Where's General Ursae?" I ask, wondering where her mother is and I notice her hand stiffens around the ladle of her spoon. 

"She chose to side with Lazarus but died during the fight before we left Pluto." She closes her eyes and I wonder if she witnessed the horrible sight firsthand and is trying to erase it from her memory. 

Now it's my turn to place a hand above hers. "I'm sorry for your loss." 

To my surprise, she shrugs her shoulders and continues eating her food. "She made her bed and now she is lying in it." 

Her reaction or lack thereof startles me but I nod and continue to eat my food as a comfortable silence settles between us. 

"You know he still loves you, right?" Luna murmurs after a while. 

"Hey girls," Catori sits down across from us and takes a bite of the charred meat on her plate. "What's the topic of discussion?"

"Aria's heated love life. I'm hoping she doesn't give up on Lucian. He's stubborn and can be an ass sometimes but he still loves her. I know him," Luna says and Cat grins.

"You better work on it fast. His fan club is growing as we speak."

Cat nods towards the refreshments and sure enough the group of girls who were admiring Lucian seems to have tripled. I wonder who let them in here, they don't even look old enough to fight. 

Luna laughs. "That's Lucian for you." 

"There's nothing to fight for. It's over," I admit dejectedly and my eyes find his smiling form in the crowd. 

He is talking to Altair and Commander Rigel, the three of them too engrossed in their discussion to notice the group of girls by the back. 

"Every relationship has its ups and downs. If the foundation is strong enough, it should be able to withstand even the harshest weather," Luna's words give me hope that I don't want.

"It's hard. She thinks like a human, he thinks like a Plutonian. I'm surprised they even fell in love to begin with," Cat waves her hand in the air like she is discussing the weather but then she notices the dark cloud on my face. "I think we need a few drinks." 

Joon is about to join us when she orders him to get us an entire tray of something that is supposed to calm our nerves and make us feel good. 

He joins us and we drink down a few cups till my mind goes slightly numb. Even Luna is giggling for no reason, a pink tinge in her otherwise pale cheeks. 

I laugh at her random outburst and notice Lucian staring at me from across the room. He eyes the glass in my hand, suddenly making me self conscious. 

Why am I bothered about what he thinks? I feel a rush of anger and drink the whole thing in one gulp just to spite him. 

Sure enough, his eyes narrow on my face and he whispers something to Remulus. 

"Ughh, you don't have to follow me around here as well. Can't you see I'm safe?" Luna grumbles and it is only then that I notice Pollux sitting by the far corner of the table, peering at us surreptitiously over his computer screen. 

His face turns red and his eyes widen in guilt. I've never seen him look at something other than his computer for this long. 

"PG Lucian instructed that I keep an eye on you, PG Luna," He mumbles and then he dips his head, hiding behind the screen. 

Luna rolls her eyes just as Remulus takes a seat next to me. 

"She used to be his screen saver when we were young," Remulus whispers in my ear and I watch Pollux sneak a peak at Luna again. "Guess now he finally has a chance."

Looks like even the anti social Pollux has a crush. 

Rachel sits down next to Remulus and I notice a deep blush in her cheeks when he talks to her. I want to roll my eyes at the playboy but then I notice him sneaking my drink away. I immediately grab it from him. 

"Don't you think you've had enough," He says, trying to take it back. 

"I know who told you to do this. Tell him to do it himself if he cares so much," I bark back and my hands tighten around my glass. 

"Listen guys, if we want to drink, we will drink. We have a mission tomorrow and this shit makes everyone grow a pair. We need it," Cat says. 

Luna, Joon and I hum in agreement and Remulus sinks back, defeated. He shrugs at Lucian and I watch him scowl. 

The gathering in the tent carries on but we soon find ourselves by the waterfall when it grows dark. I stare at the water, the need to jump inside more than ever. I want the waves to engulf me, to fill the void in my heart now that Lucian isn't by my side anymore. 

We head back to the tent and everyone disperses to get some sleep but I keep tossing and turning as the water calls out to me. 

Drinking that liquid made me numb but it also made me feel so alone. I feel like I have no one and nothing to live for anymore. 

I get up and stumble outside while Cat sleeps soundlessly. I make sure the coast is clear and then make my way to the waterfall's edge. 

I don't know what kind of drink we had but it sucks because I felt so free just now and it's like the high has worn off and now I'm left with an all time low, I've never felt so down, so alone, so empty. 

The void in my chest grows as I realise I don't have anyone.

How could Luna admire me for making a decision that resulted in so much destruction and death? 

How could anyone love someone like that?

I don't deserve Lucian's love. He is right to feel the way he does. 

I place my feet inside first and the cold water makes me shiver. I take a deep breath and push myself forward, letting the beating waves wash the pain away. 

Every night I feel this void and every night the waterfall comforts me by washing some of it away. 

I close my eyes and the darkness surrounds me, pulling me further into it's embrace. 

Something tugs at me and I wonder if I am imagining things but then the tug is harder, jolting me from my calm state. I'm pulled forwards and suddenly my face is hit with cold air. 

I open my eyes, blinking profusely and then I see Lucian staring down at me, wet hair sticking to his forehead and clothes drenched. 

"Wha-?" I whisper, confused. Am I dreaming?

His arm is wrapped around my waist, holding me up but his gaze is cold. It breaks my heart seeing him look at me this way. 

"Were you trying to kill yourself?" He asks me and I blink again. 

"No, "I reply, realising how it must have looked even though all I wanted to do was take a dip. 

"When are you going to stop making stupid decisions, Aria?" 

My lip trembles as I ponder on his question. It's as if he read my mind. 

"I wasn't-"

Lucian places his thumb on my cheek, his touch so tender it silences me immediately. 

"You've been having nightmares," He states. Not a question. 

I gulp when I realise his face has softened, his gaze warm. This is the Lucian I know, the vulnerable side he hides from everyone else.

"You have been too," I say, my voice thick with emotion. 

"No, I learnt how to deal with the nightmares, remember?" He smiles ever so slightly. 

"But the dark circles?" 

"Sometimes the good dreams can be worse than the bad ones," He says.

My chest tightens as I wonder if he is talking about me. Has he stopped sleeping properly because he has been dreaming of me?

"Lucian, I," I stutter and he releases me, confirming my suspicions. 

He follows me to my tent as we both walk in intrepid silence. I want to say something but a ball of guilt has lodged itself in my throat. 

"Dry yourself and go to sleep," He says once I am inside and then he leaves me to my thoughts and the growing void in my chest.

Heyy, not much action in this chapter but I hope you enjoyed the calm before the storm hehe.