"He says my name the way a wolf howls at the moon. With a raw understanding, a deep respect for what it means when I turn my head."
~Mia Hollow

Lilly

I sat on the roof of my apartment amongst the trees and flowers, staring up at the star-filled sky, mulling over my discussion with Esmeralda. She alleviated my nerves somewhat, but I remained steadfastly worried that, by some weird stroke of misfortune, I'd be voted Queen of Vasileia. Part of me would feel honored if that happened because it meant the public trusted me. The other, larger part of me wholeheartedly believed I shouldn't be allowed to rule. I wasn't from this place, and it didn't matter that I shared powers with them. I'd grown up on Earth, and as similar as the two planets were, they were still vastly different.

"Hey there, Stargazer," Caleb said, strolling over. "What are you doing up here?"

"Thinking. No one really comes up here, so it's a good place to do so," I replied. "You're welcome to join, though."

"I'm not interrupting?"

"You? Never." I looked him up and down, noticing his elegant black suit. "You sure look sharp. What's the occasion?"

"I had dinner with Esmeralda and caught up with her." Caleb sat down beside me. "Speaking of which, I know you're thinking about your newfound candidacy, which you didn't sign up for. Need to vent?"

I fiddled with my necklace, wondering where on earth to begin. I sighed and decided to start from the beginning when I found out about my candidacy from Shane after he followed me on my run to 'keep an eye on me.'

Caleb snorted and said, "I'm sure when he told his guards he was going to hang out with you, he failed to mention he was going to stalk you."

"Yeah, I have that feeling too," I agreed, returning my attention back to the stars. "When I talked to Esmeralda, she said she put mine and Vivienne's names in the mix because we're the children of the prophecy and because she believes either one of us would make a good queen. I'm flattered she thinks so highly of me, but at the same time, I know next to nothing about Vasileia's politics, I don't want to be in politics, and I know the chances of me getting elected are slim to none, but there's still a chance, and it's terrifying."

"You could always support Vivienne's claim."

I buried my face in my hands. "Would it be awful for me to say I don't think my best friend should be queen either?"

"Coming from some people, it would, but not you. Although you can't tell me that and then not explain why you think it."

"I don't know. It's just... Viv and I are complete polar opposites. She trusts everyone, and I trust next to no one. You can't be either as a politician. I'm worried people would try to take advantage of her trust if she became queen." I whirled on Caleb. "You can't tell anyone I said this!"

He held up his hands. "Your secret is safe with me. What else is on your mind?"

"Shane made a comment saying Esmeralda is throwing her weight behind Viv and me in the election process, but he noted it seemed to be mostly towards me. I'm worried with her influence, people will turn to voting for me, and I can't exactly go out in public and tell people I love them, but I don't want to rule them. I don't know how I could say that without sounding insulting because as much as I have a way with words, I don't when it comes to stuff like that."

"You could always do some form of character assassination," Caleb suggested. Judging by his tone, I knew it was more of an off-handed comment than anything serious, but it gave me inspiration.

"I have an idea!" I exclaimed, turning excitedly to him.

He raised his eyebrows. "What's the idea?"

"Probably stupid but worth a shot."

"I'm intrigued."

"I have to choose at least two bodyguards to protect me now that I'm a candidate, right?" I said, and Caleb nodded to confirm. "Vivienne already has Dylan and Chad as hers, so what if I choose Shane as one of mine?"

Caleb stared at me like I'd lost it. "Shane? You want to choose Shane Calhoun? The guy who murdered his family and tried to get into your head the moment he met you? Not to mention the guy who apparently stalked you earlier today."

"I know, I know, but as weird of a feeling as I get from him, I truly don't believe he's out to hurt me. Not anymore, at least. Plus, he's well-known to be a bad guy amongst society, and who in their right mind would vote for someone when they're associating with a guy like him? I would bet you anything that Shane is not opposed to using people to get what he wants, and right now, I'm not either. At least when it comes to him. To be honest, I bet if I told him my plan, he'd probably be happy to do it. He likes helping me, for some bizarre reason."

"Okay, say you do choose him, and he agrees, then who would be your other pick?"

"My first instinct was you, actually," I admitted, finally glancing away as a blush crept up my cheeks, "but I don't want to take you away from your lab work."

"Lilly, I would be honored to be your guard. I know I don't have any superpowers, but I'd guard you with my life," Caleb said sincerely. "Look at it this way, too: when you're not training, you're nine times out of ten in my lab, so you wouldn't be taking me away from my work at all!"

"Are you sure? I don't want to-"

"Positive," he interrupted, smiling assuredly. Caleb nudged me with his shoulder. "Is that all on your mind? You still look troubled."

"I miss hanging out with Vivienne," I admitted. "Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled she's excelling at her job and her power and that she's even got a love life, but I just don't see her anymore, and whenever I've tried bringing it up, she's either called into work, or Chad comes up, and I sure as hell don't want to mention any of this in front of him."

"Want me to talk to her?"

"No, it's fine. I'll wait it out." A shooting star blazed across the sky, causing me to switch gears and ask, "I know part of my training is to learn the basics of flying a spaceship, but when exactly is that going to happen? I'm stressing myself out thinking about it, and I want to get it out of the way."

Caleb stood up, extending his hand out for me. I took it, curious. Without letting go, he escorted me downstairs, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. Part of me wondered if we were going to have my spaceship lesson now, but I figured doing it at night was not the best idea.

However, according to Caleb, it was because we ended up in front of a small ship outside Esmeralda's apartment. Caleb threw his arms open and said, "Meet Skywalker! Yes, it's a Star Wars reference, yes, it's my ship, and yes, you're learning how to fly it starting now."