Falling Stars

Calli squinted at the sheet of canvas in front of her, her tongue peeking out the corner of her lips as she concentrated. Julian had been extremely busy in the month since his coronation, and she knew he missed painting. She was trying her hand at it; attempting to recreate the beach on Travenia at sunrise. It was a slow-going work in progress, but she was determined to get it perfect before she surprised Julian with it as a gift.

She was pleasantly surprised that General Li hadn't tried getting her back yet; the army could probably use her help right now. But Calli was now charged with protecting the king of Centauris from very imminent and real danger, and that trumped everything else. Calli had to admit that she missed life on the base; missed her friends and her daily sparring matches and being a captain. Her cover had nearly been blown at the coronation party; some military members had been in attendance and some of them were from her own platoon. They had spotted her and almost called her Captain before she had given them a sharp head shake. They had instantly understood, but took full advantage of the opportunity to exaggeratedly compliment her dress, flirt with her, and goad her into a couple of dances.

She had sworn she would kick all their asses when she got the chance, but she couldn't actually be mad at them. It was good to see them again, and it had made her feel a little homesick. But she knew Julian needed her, and she was more than content to stay here in the palace with him.

She was starting to consider telling him who she really was and why she was here. She felt bad for deceiving him, and she didn't want to keep secrets from him. Even though she was harboring another, possibly larger one from him these days. As much as she had tried to control her emotions, she couldn't deny that her feelings for Julian were growing by the day, far beyond regular "best friend" feelings. She wasn't sure how to cope with this realization, especially when it was coupled with the dull ache of guilt she still felt over Gerald's death.

She did her best to act as though nothing were out of the ordinary, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling every time she saw Julian, and she took every opportunity she could to hug him or hold his hand, and probably always lingered longer than she should have. But he didn't seem to notice, and she was at once relieved and disappointed.

A knock sounded at her door and Calli sprang up and almost dropped her paintbrush.

"Just a minute!" She hastily hid the half-finished canvas and the paints in her closet before opening her door to find a tired-looking Julian. He hurriedly pushed into the room and shut the door.

"The council members won't stop hounding me about every little thing," he complained, rubbing a hand over his face. "I haven't had a moment's peace since dawn and I am exhausted."

Calli shooed him to the bed and raided her mini fridge for tiny cakes and some fizzy fruit juice she had brought back from Travenia.

"Is this ever going to get easier?" Julian grumbled. Calli stuffed a cake in his mouth.

"It'll get easier," she promised. "Give it time. You've only been doing this king thing for a month."

"Only a month? It feels more like twenty years."

"Then imagine when it actually has been twenty years," she teased and Julian grimaced.

"Assuming I make it that long without my eyes twitching out of my skull or something," he replied. Calli patted his head sympathetically.

"You're doing a good job," she assured him.

"I wish I could go back to the days when my dad was still the king and I could bum around all day with you."

"Yeah. I wish we could go back to those days too," she said softly. Julian let his head thunk back against the headboard and closed his eyes. Calli scooted closer and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Butterflies erupted in her stomach and Calli laid her head against his shoulder, glad he couldn't see how fluttery it made her feel.

"You're going to be a great king, Julian," she said. "And I'm not just saying that because I'm your friend. I really think so."

He cracked a smile. "Thanks, Calli. But do you mind if I just stay here for a little bit and pretend I'm not a king?"

She laughed lightly. "Yeah. You can stay here for as long as you want."

Calli savored her moments with Julian, far and few between as they were these days. He still brought her to any meetings or events as he could, when the council didn't pitch a fit over it. It seemed to have become more or less accepted that, though no one was really sure who she was or where she had come from, she was now a constant part of Julian's life.

Calli could tell that some of the advisors were a little suspicious of her, others just mildly baffled by her presence. But Lorian and Julian both vouched for her, so there was nothing the rest of them could do about it.

When Julian was off doing some kingly thing that she couldn't attend with him, she occupied herself in the library or checking all her hidden cameras around the palace. One day as she was adjusting one on the windowsill in the main wing, she heard an irate shout from the council room, and then a red-faced Lorian came storming out.

"Are you all right, Advisor Lorian?" she asked, watching the other advisors file out of the room. None of them looked Lorian's way, though he glowered at them.

"Fools," he muttered angrily. "All of them."

"What's wrong?" Calli had never seen Lorian so incensed before.

"They want the galaxy to seem more united, and instead of just having Julian make nice with the governors and under lords, they want to marry him off! He's not ready for something like this, what are those idiots thinking?"

Calli leaned against the wall, feeling like she'd just taken a kick to the chest. She felt the blood drain from her face as Lorian's words echoed in her mind. Marry him off. The council was going to make Julian get married. She was going to lose him, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"They're marrying him off?" she said weakly. "You have to stop them!"

"I tried, but they all voted against me. This is completely outrageous."

"You have to do something, then! You can't just make him marry some stranger! It's not right and it's not fair!" Calli realized her voice had risen and now Lorian was looking at her. She snapped her mouth shut and clenched her teeth to keep her lower lip from quivering but realization still dawned on Lorian's face and sympathy began to overtake his ire.

"Calli," he said, sighing. "I wish there was something I could do, but the council voted and the decision has been made."

"And Julian doesn't even know about this? You're all just deciding his life now?"

"Calli-"

"How long?" she interrupted, her voice quieter now. "How long before they do this?" How long before you all tear him away from me?

"They're bringing her here within the month," Lorian said. "I'm sure they'll arrange for the wedding not long after that."

Calli closed her eyes for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was resigned and hollow. "After the wedding, I'd like to be sent back to my base."

Lorian looked startled. "What?"

"You won't need me anymore, with the security of two planets around. I'm sure the army needs help with the growing skirmishes on the outer planets."

"Calli, don't make hasty decisions. You don't have to-"

"Since you're in the habit of keeping secrets from Julian, I trust you won't tell him about this," Calli interrupted. "I'll tell him goodbye before I leave."

"Don't make any final decisions until the wedding," Lorian said gently. Calli nodded but her heart was squeezing painfully in her chest. Her mind was already made up. She didn't really belong here, and once Julian was married he wasn't going to have time or need for her anyway. She walked back to her room in a fog, curling up on her bed and feeling a pang as she realized it would be one of the last times she was in this room. She almost wished Lorian had never brought her here.