(Music Interpretation)

Meirit sat with her hands tucked in her lap, her hidden ankles crossed beneath her large purple dress not only due to habit but to keep her legs from bouncing with excitement. Her nearly golden eyes scanned the quickly filling room soaking in the colors of the guests' clothing. The floor to ceiling windows of the Intrepid Major Ballroom showing off the dark, sparkling expanse of space making the colors look like Bright blues, dark greens, gold with splashes of white, solid black, and even some purple. Meirit wanted to wear blue with faint airbrushes of white and green but Katherine was insistent on her wearing the purple, it brought out her eyes.

Step-mother Katherine meant well but Meirit had given up hope in finding a husband long ago, perhaps even before she was presented as the Princess of the Stars. Apprehension for her future filled her chest again as she let her mind wander to what it would be like to not be the Princess of the Stars and be able to choose her own destiny. Others would find it a great honor to be presented as the female figure of their spatial independence, but Meirit wasn't like most others. In fact, there were only three people like her on their large floating home, including herself.

Turning away from the now bustling ballroom, Meirit looked to the stars, the other parts of the Intrepid glowing with the night's festivities. Off in the distance, she could spot a few repairmen floating about, their tools shining along with the decorative lights that littered the ballroom. The tall ceiling made it easy to look nearly all the way up and around the room, save for one spot.

The North East corner of the room did not have a window. The North East side of any part of the Intrepid was uninstalled of its windows long before Meirit was even a twinkle in her parents' eye. All her generation, and more, knew of the Hidden Space was that it held no stars and was darker than a black hole ever recorded that they say if one even just so much as looked at it they would find themselves rushing to leave the safe confines of the space station just to join the utter darkness that was shamelessly beckoning for visitors.

Meirit found it odd the space pioneers of old decided this was a good place to set up camp. But then again she didn't know everything, no one did these days, so perhaps it wasn't here when they got here. Perhaps it had grown over time just like her own black hole that plagued her body.

A hand touched her shoulder, making her jump out of her thoughts and be thrown back into the party. Her father's robes filled her vision as he gave her an embarrassingly adolescent side hug as he continued to stand next to her, his chest rumbling with a laugh she reciprocated with a smile. Pulling away, they looked to each other, Merits apprehension from before successfully squelched as her father came to kneel before her.

She shared very little in resemblance with her father save for a slight dimple on their corresponding left cheeks. King Alic Bozmain's blond hair and slightly graying beard day to her jet black hair of night. Blue eyes smiled at her, shamelessly reminding her why her mother still put up with this fully grown child as he were. Their nearly identical personalities made up for that they lacked in matching appearances. Several times Meirit was told by her father how much she looked like her mother. Her biological mother.

King Bozmain reached up and tucked a hair behind his daughter's ears. Slowly, he pieced his words together for her to understand.

"You look lovely this evening, my dearest."

"Thank you, papa," Meirit whispered, smiling as her heart lurching at his earnest blue eyes. She leaned forward and kissed his brow in thanks before nodding to Katherine who sat just behind her where the Queen sat with the King. Alic glanced back at his Queen and smiled but didn't leave his daughter just yet. Meirit gave him a puzzling look.

The King smiled, looking down almost sheepishly before looking her in the eyes again. "I have a gift for you, but you must promise me to not get mad when it is presented to you."

With a weary look, Meirit nodded, her hands fidgeting in her lap, her legs itching to bounce. Alic nodded, standing as he placed a hand on her head with a gentle weight of comfort. Then he turned back to go sit at the head of the room with his wife. Meirit refrained from looking back at them, the image of the newlyweds still a slight slap in the face so soon after her mother's passing.

The smell of food quickly brought her mind back to the party at hand, her lips pulling up into a smile at the thought of finally getting something to eat. But not before Meirit had to perform the dance of the Shooting Stars. She had practiced this dance several times and felt confident in being able to execute it well, but she knew not who her partner was. She was to be taken to the middle of the room, her eyes closed and her curiosity soaring. No Princess of the Stars knew who the Prince of the Night was until they opened their eyes and started dancing.

That was how her parents met, though it was her father who was the Prince of the Stars and it was on the third and final night of the celebrations that he chose her, having rejected the other two Princesses of the Night that his mother had picked for him. Meirit didn't think even using up all three nights to dance the Shooting Star would grant her a man who she would feel at all comfortable with deceiving him into thinking she was a deserving catch. With a sigh, Meirit retreated into herself, forcing her mind to let her enjoy herself for one night before she rejected all three men her father chose and resolve herself for a life of solitude.

The men and women of the ball turned to the royal family, signaling to her that the music had ended and her father was about to announce the start of the festivities. Carefully, Meirit watched the faces of her guests, searching for not only how they would react to the announcement of the dance of the Shooting Stars but for the man who she would be sharing it with.

The crowd smiled and cheered politely, their finery glinting off the variou candles and lights strewn about the room nearly blinding Meirit. But she feigned a bright smile and nodded to those who gently tossed her flowers and jewelry as tokens of good luck. Glancing back at her father, Meirit took a deep breath, her nerves threatening to take over her senses and rush her out of the room.

King Bozmain smiled and nodded, signaling for her to close her eyes and await the escort to the middle of the ballroom. Turning back to the crowd, Meirit smiled for their sake, uncrossed her ankles, and took a deep breath. She let it out as she closed her eyes her body slowly relaxing as she awaited the practiced hand on her back of her escort to her Prince.

But she never felt the hand on her back. Keeping her eyes closed, Meirit continued to wait. But no one came. Tears threatened to fall as her greatest fear slowly inched into the light of possibility. Had her secret been revealed and shamed everyone to the point of humiliating her on the night of her first, and probably last, dance? Daring to break protocol and open her eyes, Meirit bowed her head and let out a slow breath, keeping her tears at bay.

Suddenly, the air around her shifted. Two dark boots stepped up to her making her eyes go wide. Afraid to move, Meirit took measured breaths, her heart hammering in her chest as she tried to make sense of what was going on. Slowly a hand came into view as her unexpected guest shifted his footing to sand off to the side. She closed her eyes to reign in her emotions, taking in a deep breath through her nose and with it her mind exploded with images. He smelled of warm coffee, clean sheets and drowsy mornings. Comfort immediately installed itself in her core as she found herself reaching out to take his hand.

Warmth spread through her arm and down her body, her cheeks no doubt tinted red. Standing, Meirit kept her eyes averted from her savior of humiliation to turn to her father. She didn't expect him to look almost cold, his hand not holding Katherine's curled into a fist. Katherine, on the other hand, looked surprised but recovered, sending Meirit a warm smile and nod to go on. Grateful for her tentative step-mother's encouragement, Meirit slightly tightened her hold on the man's hand as she turned to him.

The first thing she noticed was his kind, soft eyes. They were a warm hazel and held her gaze with a kind of gentle invitation that matched his hold on her hand. His smile was small but enough to crinkled his eyes a bit. His left eyebrow was interrupted with two scars that trailed down from his temple to his chin. His hair was a dark blond but where the light hit it just right she could see it was a bit red. Meirit had to clench her dress with her free hand to refrain herself from reaching up and touching it.

He smiled a bit more, lowering his head as he took a step back and pulled his hand over, bringing Meirit to his side. With sure steps and his head held high, her bold partner walked her to the middle of the room, the puzzled and shocked eyes of the crowd not deterring him for a moment. Meirit adopted his air of confidence, her mind momentarily forgetting that what he was doing was against tradition. He stopped her in the center but pulled her to his chest where they adopted the first position of the dance.

A small blinking light near his neck made her stare for a moment. Just peaking out of his shirt was an unmistakable piece of an EBI, Electrical Body Implant. It was a chest plate from an injury that accompanied the scars on his face. But she then noticed that if she looked hard enough little lights blinked through his shirt and down the left side of his body. That would mean his shoulder wasn't hard from toned muscle. She wondered if his left hand on her waist was modified too.

Slowly he nodded to the King, then her partner turned back to her, awaiting her response, ready to begin the dance. As custom, it was the Princess of the Stars that was to start the dancing. Biting the inside of her cheek, Meirit, turned to her father. He still looked a bit ruffled but gave her a smile nonetheless. Katherine stood then spoke, announcing the start of the dance of the Shooting Stars.

With practiced steps and perfect timing, Meirit lost herself in her mind as she solely concentrated on keeping her illusion up and her feet off his toes. Glancing up at him, she realized she had forgotten to ask his name, but she was sure if she tried to speak now, she would stumble and fall. He looked down and smiled at her, his lips moving as he spoke words she couldn't hear.

Fear bubbled up inside Meirit as she suddenly lost count. She knew it was in three/four time but the memory of how to keep going escaped her. He was oblivious to her pain, to her fear, as he kept them dancing. Breathing became difficult as her body started to heat up. Her chest felt tight and her eyes flitted around the room wildly, trying to find any sort of visual clue to what part of the song they were at. She refused to be the first Princess of the Stars to fail her first night of festivities. Perhaps she had put too much stock into her other senses to realize that her disability was, in fact, debilitating.

Ready to flee from the room, Meirit took a step back, trying to pry herself from her Prince of the Night, but he held her fast. He showed no signs of irritation or frustration. Instead, without missing a beat, he leaned his face down so she was forced to look at his lips. With carefully dictated movements of both his mouth and his steps, Meirit read his lips.

"I will be your ears, my lady."

Then he started humming.

She felt it in his chest as he pressed her close to him, closer than what the dance called for. But she didn't pull away. What had felt like an eternity of panic was just a few seconds of uncertainty that he easily compensated for as if it was planned. Without any sense of hurt pride, Meirit gladly let him take the lead. Suddenly it was like she was gliding on air, her body moving in perfect synchronization with his. Something about him felt so familiar, so comforting, so calm.

Meirit's fear fell away and was soon replaced with a content reserved calm. She could close her eyes and not worry for a moment that she was going to be misled. Perhaps Meirit should be alarmed that she found herself trusting this man so completely, but then again, he was the first to accommodate her lack of hearing with something so simple as holding her close and humming.

Not bothering to wonder if he had a deep voice or was horribly out of tune, Meirit sighed against his rumbling chest as they continued to dance. Having never heard the song before, she had the freedom of imagining what it was she was dancing to. Sometimes during practice with her escort, she would imagine it being full and loud. Other times it was soft and teary. But at the moment, she could feel it coaxing her into a gentle sleep.

With nothing to keep her mind busy now that her Prince had come to her rescue, Meirit thoroughly lost herself in his arms and his gentle guidance around the room. The colors seemed brighter, the smells of dinner were richer, and the dark expanse of space no longer had it's fearful pull on her like it did before. The world was always silent to her, a void she could never escape. But in the arms of her Prince, she was free.

~~~~~~

All too soon, the dance had ended and the crowd erupted in applause, but Artek was oblivious to it. He stood there, breathing heavily as he looked down at the wonder of a woman in his arms. Her hair was slightly mused but she was smiling so wide he couldn't help but chuckle at how slightly wild but real she looked. She smiled up at him and stepped away but never let go of his hand. He was supposed to take her back to her throne but the Princess had other plans.

With her hand tightening around his, she took off running, dragging him along as he chuckled. Pausing at the base of her parents' thrones, Princess Meirit signed with one hand for them to continue with the festivities and that she will be joining them shortly. Artek had just enough time to bow to them before he was dragged away again but not before he saw the Queen smile and smack the perturbed King's arm.

The night Artek was told he was picked as the first Prince of the Night he could hardly breathe. He almost called for his name to be resigned so he could escape to be a guard on the mining stations on the nearest planet just to avoid the possibility of having to see the Princess again. When he submitted his name and profile, he didn't' think he would be picked, he was just doing it because all his other friends were. Plus, he didn't think they would take an EBI embedded soldier as opposed to the plentiful supply of wealthy, perfectly sculpted noblemen.

Despite having met her before, he didn't want to force her to have to choose between two perfectly good strangers and the boy who embarrassingly assumed she was a girl he could freely pursue. But he decided to try and make up for his adolescent blunder and by going and apologizing.

The moment he saw her sitting there on her lone throne, looking lost and nearly afraid, Artek was glad he hadn't resigned his name. So he did the only thing he knew he could; follow his heart and take her hand. He knew of her inability to hear and hoped his years of sign language training was enough to portray his remorse for his past actions. Maybe then they could part as friends.

Princess Meirit pulled him down a dark hallway nearly behind the thrones and just outside the ballroom then into a room that he could have easily missed. The light of the other parts of the station shown through the thin drapes that covered the opposite wall from bottom to top. The other walls held bookshelves and there in the middle of the room was a space heater surrounded by comfortable looking seats and throw blankets. The quiet was a nice change from the loud business of the ballroom.

Placed against the middle of the windowed wall was a long reading bench. Princess Meirit pulled him over to it, nodding for him to sit as she took a seat, her hand still in his. Sitting down, but not too close to her, Artek turned to face her just as she turned to face him. He opened his mouth to say something just as she did the same, making the both of them smile. She laughed lightly, her voice slightly different but still light and gentle. It made him want to hear her speak.

Artek nodded to her, squeezing her hand gently. With his other hand, he motioned for her to go first. Her smile widened as her eyes moved between his face and his hand. She scooted closer, her eyes eager as her leg bounced.

She spoke, her voice slightly heavy as if she were speaking with a cotton ball in her mouth, "It's you. I knew you seemed familiar."

Artek's eyes widened. "You remember me?" He signed.

Princess Meirit smiled, nodding eagerly. She dropped his hand and started to sign frantically to the point he couldn't understand what she was saying. Artek chuckled placing his hands over hers and gave her a smile. Placing his right hand atop his left-hand, face down, he moved his right hand from the tips of his left hand to the wrist, signaling for her to slow down.

Princess Meirit apologized then took a breath, starting again. Artek smiled.

"How could I forget the only boy who ever saw me as a normal girl instead of the mysterious princess who never hung out with people."

Artek chuckled nervously. He signed back, "That's why I am here."

The Princess sat up straighter, her face looking puzzled. Artek cleared his throat. He took one of her hands and placed it on his chest so she could feel him speak, his hands shaking too much for him to sign. He made sure she wasn't touching his EBI.

"I am so sorry for those things I said. It was assuming and I was out of place." He bowed his head as he signed with his hand, "Forgive me, Princess Meirit."

He felt his face be lifted by Princess Meirit's other hand, her smiling eyes meeting his penitent ones. With a shake of her head, she spoke again.

"You made me feel like a real girl. I never want you to apologize again. I cherish that memory above most others." She scooted closer to him. "And please, call me Meirit."

Artek gave her a small smile as he dropped her hand so she wouldn't feel how hard his heart was beating. She granted him the privilege to call her by her name. Now he had to answer back with a question. He kept her hands in his as he tried to muster up the courage to ask the question each Prince was told to ask at the end of their dance. He had practiced it over and over again, but now his words were lost to him.

Meirit cocked her head to the side, a smirk growing on her lips as he assumed she knew what he was thinking. That didn't make it any easier on him. Standing, he turned away from her, clasping his hands behind his back as he tried to regain his composure. When she told him she cherished the memory of his slip up he wanted to laugh, to tell her how she has freed him, to pull her close and hug her. But now he couldn't even look at her in fear of slipping up again but doing much more than complimenting her beautiful eyes and dark hair.

Closing his eyes, Artek took a deep breath and let it go. Having recorded the song he danced with Meirit in his EBI in his left ear, he thought to play it just to keep him calm against the silence that suffocated him. But then he remembered that the woman sitting so beautifully behind him had never lived a moment without stifling silence, Artek changed his mind. With one last fortifying breath, Artek turned and strode up to the Princess and knelt before her.

Reaching up to place a strand of hair behind her ear, he tried to keep a smile off his face as he signed and spoke.

"Princess Meirit of the Stars, will you grant me the privilege to be your Night?"

Meirit smiled and moving off the bench, she came to kneel in front of him, taking his hands in her. Her golden eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she nodded, her smile never wavering.

"Yes, Artek, I grant thee to be the Night that I choose to shine."

Artek should be elated. He should be smiling along with her and he should have returned her hug as she flung her arms around him. But he was motionless, his eyes staring at the curtained window just behind Meirit. Color drained from his face as his brain processed what he just saw.

The mushroom cloud that had darkened the window was now twice its size and flames were bright through the thin gray curtain. He heard the explosion while Meirit spoke well before he saw it. It took all his training not to flinch or reach out and cover her. He didn't want to alarm her. But as he sat there, his arms slowly wrapping around her protectively, he could hear the explosions of the other parts of the Intrepid along with the muffled screams and cries of the guests in the ballroom.

Artek pulled Meirit close, his arms not letting her go as she tried to pull away. The explosions were getting closer and now he was sure she could feel the ground rumbling from their aftershocks. He placed his left hand on her head and with his enhanced power he held her gently but resolutely against his chest. He spoke, not sure if she could see his lips enough to read what he was saying.

"Princess, my dear Meirit, close your eyes."

She understood him. "Why," she whispered as she ceased struggling.

He turned away from the window and pulled her away just enough to look her in the eyes but kept her back to the horrors that continued as the ground shook more.

"Do you remember what I told you before?"

Meirit nodded. "You will be my ears."

Artek smiled sadly, "Yes. So can you trust me to be something else for you?" He made the sign of pleading.

Merit froze, her eyes searching his desperately. "Of course. But you are scaring me."

Artek winced. "I'm sorry Princess. But promise me to not let go. Trust me to protect you."

He glanced behind her again as she visibly struggled to accept his words without explanation. The explosions were getting closer and the light from the blasts was now filling the room. Finally, Meirit collapsed into his arms, her body shaking. He could feel something wet against his neck as she held onto him tightly.

"I trust you my Night," she whispered just as the nearest explosion shook the room enough to make metal from the ceiling fall along with bookshelves and their books topple to the ground.

Artek wrote against her back with his finger. "Hold your breath."

He held her close as he turned the both of them so it was his back to the window, shielding her as best as he could. With another deafening explosion, the room shook and the windows blew in. Meirit screamed and Artek tightened his grip not only on her but on the leg of the bench that was soldered to the ground.

The both of them laid sprawled on the ground, their arms and legs intertwined as they remained motionless. The space station's emergency airlock collapsed against the broken windows, stopping the room and its inhabitants from being sucked out into space. Nothing moved. The air was thin and cold. The sounds of the crying people were quickly silenced as the explosions stopped.

Artek laid there still protecting Meirit as the whole of Intrepid became blanketed in an eerie silence. Meirit's life was now everyone's reality save for one thing.

Softly and slowly, slightly broken up and full of static was the sound of their dance of the Shooting Stars echoing off the broken walls of the dark hidden room. It's lullaby notes conjuring the ghost of the last dance that will ever grace the Intrepid's grand ballroom.