Kaya a Tale of Elvan

Two people haunted by painful pasts, brought together find new meaning to life with each other. Forgiving and moving forward with life.

Kaya: A Tale of Elvan

Prologue

The planet Earth went through many changes especially when space travel was no longer just a dream but also a possible everyday occurrence for even the common person.  It was near the end of the 21st century and the ability to travel from Earth to the Unicorn Galaxy in three months was thus becoming the norm.  The entire Earth was being enveloped in the industrial leap that occurred even in the deepest, darkest part of the South American jungle.  In that rain forest was a tribe whose beauty of their skin, hair, and eyes seemed supreme to all the others of the world.  For centuries, this tribe had been hidden but now three years into being among the rest of the world and already almost half of their children had been kidnapped.  Not once was a ransom demanded, the people simply wanted the children for their beauty to be sold as playthings for rich people; mostly elderly rich folk who wanted to collect them.  Thankfully all the children were returned thanks to the international police force, but the tribe had enough of constantly looking over their shoulders to make sure no one had been stolen.  An experienced space traveler came to them with an offer of buying a spaceship to find another planet to live.  At first the tribe was leery of the traveler for fear of being tricked.  Once he revealed that he was a priest who had been out spreading his faith to the universe, he told the tribe that he had heard of what was happening to them and wanted to be of service and help them.  He had received permission from the Pope to go with them and take them to a place where such things could never happen to their people.  After confirming his story from a particular detective who investigated it for them and had been the one to return many of their children.  The tribe pulled their money together and got the with the traveler who flew the ship for them, for the priest had to learn in order to be able to travel on his own.  Together they traveled for years in the ship, which was named Jericho, finally landed on a planet in the Regina Galaxy.  No one knew where they were or even what had even happened to that tribe of beautiful people.  All that was confirmed was that they had left the planet Earth and not a trace of their DNA could be found anywhere.

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                                                                                    Part I

2219 was a mournful year for the peacekeepers of the universe called the Galaxy Defense Force.  Losing their most promising officer, already a colonel on the path to becoming a brigadier general, yet with one small mistake he left them, or so it appeared.  Stripped of all but a thousand dollars, the clothes on his back and a handful of weapons.  For protection just in case someone would come around seeking revenge for any reason, after all he had put a lot of people in jail.  He found an old spaceship fixed it up to make it look as if a poor man owned it.  On the outside it looked battered even worse than when it was bought, the paint looked scratched and peeling when in fact it was brand new.  Even bits of the hull of the ship looked as though they could fall off any moment when really, they were just spare parts attached to the outside.  However, on the inside, as he was taught to, she had a good warp drive, some of the most advance weaponry, cockpit, controls, everything on the inside was brand new and perfect like the ship just came off the production line.  After fixing her up so good, he named her Fortuna, the hope of his fortune was riding on this ship, good or bad. He began obtaining artifacts that were believed to never be removed from their resting places as well as others that were thought to be lost forever. With his accumulated knowledge he was able to achieve the once thought of unachievable.  Truly, it seemed as though he had good fortune.

Landing in a small port town, many people saw the landing and many people were very curious who was coming to their small town.  Yet as the man came out of the docking bay everyone walked around him, as they were all still shocked at his presence among them.  Not to mention he did not seem friendly with a constant stern look on his face.  Walking into a building with a sign above the door proclaiming to all that the owners had dubbed this building Prance Brook Inn and a bell told the workers that more customers have walked in.  Usually, the person or group would say ‘hello’ to someone and be friendly even if it was just to the closest person, regardless of knowing them.  However, with this customer he walked in and just stood there looking around then went to the bar.  The woman working the bar that day saw this man through the window as she poured a drink.  Her first impression was of a man in a maroon cape, pants the same shade of black as his boots, shirt of forest green, red hair with blonde highlights, seeming very mysterious.  But she did not have time to analyze him she had dedicated customers to attend to.  When he sat down, she noticed the sign of a scar on one of his checks, but oh well who really cared about what this passerby, had happen in his past life.  He was more than likely a nobody as were all the people who just stopped by for a drink before heading to the bigger city, on the other side of the planet.  This man noticed her immediately when he walked in the door, with black hair down to the middle of her back, lightly tanned colored skin, and how she gave off the impression of confidence.  She was the first to approach him giving a work smile that still showed with a brilliance of originality.

“What would you like, Mister?” she started as she walked over to where the man was sitting.

“Tequila,” his voice was ruff.

“Sorry, but the strongest we have is beer.” She told him.

“Fine that will work, just make it the biggest you got.” He replied, she handed him a pint and he chugged that down and asked for another which he sipped.  The inn locked up hours later, the woman was the only employee left in the building.

“Looks like I was right.” The forgotten man said, he had been sipping at his second drink without saying a word the whole time.

“Ah!  You scared me!  What were you thinking, Mister?”

“Sorry I suppose.”

“You suppose?  You have no manners, do you?” the woman quipped.

“On the contrary I just chose not to use them at the present time.  Now can I get a room here as well as meals for some time?” his voice seemed to have soften a little.

“Yeah, but do you not have to leave soon?”  She thought for sure the man would want to leave soon and had business in the big city not this quite place.

“Nope, I will pay when I am done with this business being very lucrative.  Now my room please, Miss?”

“Sure,” sigh, “follow me.”  She took him up to a room on the top floor which looked out over the forest.  Handed him his key, “This is it; hope you enjoy your stay, Mister.”  She turned to leave for her room when he cleared his throat, so she turned back to him to see what was wrong.

Turning to her after he opened the door he replied, “The room is fine.  I would like to be called 'Sir' though if you do not mind and please tell me your last name, Miss.”

“Mendellaze, Sir” she said tentatively.

“Thank you, Miss Mendellaze that will be all.” He told her and entered his room.

She went to her room which as she entered, she thought how odd it was that she had to give him the room right across from hers, yet it seemed like it was the only room available especially with the scheduled guests coming tomorrow.  Tomorrow, that will be a crazy day, for she had neither an idea what it would bring nor any clue anymore.  She was a little scared for her life used to be predictable until a couple of years ago, first it was the death of her parents, then the dream, wrapped with this odd ‘Sir’ it felt like everything was messed up.  That night the dream came again.

It is all dark then,  suddenly, a soft pink light starts to emanate from somewhere and surrounds her.  The strangeness of it scares her a little then she sees a man is standing there just on the edge of shadows with no face or really anything else to identify him, other than he is tall and well-armed, she knows nothing of the weapons on him, just that they must be weapons.  Again, the feeling of sadness was overwhelming her mind replacing the fear and controlling her emotions.  She tries to ask who he is and what is his significance to her.  Was it his entire fault for something or was he just trying to help bring her closer to something as Ellie had suggested.  ‘Ah, help!’ a man’s voice called ‘Why are you screaming?’ but her question was not asked and the man in her dream was not making a sound.  Sitting up suddenly she realized that the voice had come across the hall and was real not a dream.

Across the hall in Sir’s room, he too was suffering from a recurring dream, only his was a nightmare.  The fire consumed him again as he saw over and over his father yelling for him to get out then as he finally obeyed the dream switched to a crash and the death of two people a man and a woman.  Then it would switch back to the fire and this time his mom was getting Lizzy telling him to run and then it went back to the crash then he screamed himself awake calling for help.  He never did that last bit before (other than at home) so what was different this time?  Getting out of bed he went to the window; he looked out at the forest knowing that somewhere in there was what his client wanted.  The door was opening, and it was the sound of a young lady’s footsteps, he had not heard that sound in a while.  Turning ever so slightly he realized it was Miss Mendellaze entering in her pajamas, at the same moment he realized that he only had his pants on, which made him feel uncomfortable to have no shirt on around such a dignified walking lady.  Thankfully, he had only turned his head.  Hopefully, it was still dark enough to keep the faint scars on his lower torso hidden still.

“Yes?” he asked curtly.

“I thought I heard a scream and a call for help?” came her timid reply.

“I’m sure you did; no worries it was nothing just some bad space travel that does not sit right with sleep.”  He had heard of that illness before and figured it was a good excuse now even though he was never actually affected by it.

“Alright then, see you in the morning, Sir.” And she left.

He listened as she closed the door and walked back to her room.  Wait, was that a mistake?  Or did she only go across the hall?  The foot falls in that room matched with hers, in fact he had just memorized them, so he was sure of that.  Turning his whole body to look at the door he wondered why she would give him the room across from her own.  It did not make sense he knew nobody would never trust him here as they did everywhere else; in fact, he was never trusted as he had always been placed as far away from the workers rooms as was humanly possible.  Or maybe, he thought, they are expecting someone with a high status and did not wish to put them at risk after all that has happened before too.  Or had she even done it knowingly or was it an accident?  No that couldn’t be she seemed way too smart for that, but then again this was a very remote planet, in fact the only heavy space traffic here was going from one side of the planet to the other, even then no one really left orbit all that often.  Other than that, there is only one true city on the other side of the planet that deals with travelers from off world.  Maybe I finally learned how to play this new game right, so I no longer seem that threatening anymore?  Yeah right, but all these things were troubling him as he went back to sleep.

The next morning, he went down to the bar, and it seemed like everyone else was working but Miss Mendellaze.  Yet, he knew she was awake because he heard her moving around in her bedroom as he came down the stairs.  Other people were talking to him, trying to take his order and one guy eyed him in a not so pleasant way.  Perhaps he knew who he was, yet he was sure he had never seen that man before in his life.  Sir decided to keep a close eye on this guy, just in case and not leave anything to chance.

She had wakened up a little late but knew it would not matter, after all everyone else would be there on time.  She finished braiding her hair in one long braid down the back for the day and went downstairs, a five-foot ten man with brown hair and a waiter’s uniform was leaning next to the bottom of the stairs.  She knew by that pose a customer was being a problem and everyone else was taken care of.  She had her regulars and was about to assume that last night had not even happened when she saw Sir sitting at the bar in the same location as last night.  I bet it is him who is being troublesome, she thought as she reached the bottom.

“Morning John,” She said pleasantly as usual and Sir looked up at her with a look that said, ‘you’re late.’ She hoped John didn’t notice because he always freaked out when someone gave her a bad look or any look for that matter.  He loved her but there was absolutely no returning emotion on her part.  No matter how many times she even told him that, John refused to let up.

“Morning Kaya,” he replied also looking up at her with a bit of longing, or was it?  She could never truly discern what that look meant with him, “All of them are taken care of except for the stranger.”  He said a bit agitated, that always bugged him when people would only be served by her.

She walked over behind the bar, “So what would you like for breakfast, Sir?”

“I will take bacon, scrambled eggs, and hash browns with a pint of beer if you would be so kind, Miss Mendellaze.”

“Certainly, but you will only get a half pint because you drink too much.”

“Fine,” Sir replied that put John over the edge; he went back with Kaya to get the food.

“I don’t like this guy.” He whispered harshly once they were in the kitchen.

“I do not care because you do not like any guy who talks to me.  I know how you feel John, I have even told you my response already, but regardless of that, this time I am asking you to trust me.  Besides, this guy cannot be all that harmful or else he would have done something last night.”

“So, he did spend the night here?!”

“Yes, so did Jasmine.” Kaya informed him.

“Yeah, but Jasmine is another girl not a guy who could do God only knows what to you!”

“Hey!  Do not say that, you should have learned by now that I do not like hearing that phrase anymore.  Sir will not do anything, besides the Elite are coming today and if they trust him then the rest of us must.” They were at the door to the kitchen Kaya bringing the order she was asked to deliver.

“It is not a good idea to have this guy near the Elite.” John protested a little.

“Drop it now, we have work we need to do.”  It was not just a lie this time either, though she had told him this on several occasions before, then proceeded with busy work instead of real work.  She gave Sir his food and got to work making sure everyone was satisfied and the place cleaned up properly.  It was an honor to house the Elite during their journey and she knew this meant quality time with Ellie.  Sir concluded from the conversation he eavesdropped on; he had guessed right about the lady making the choice consciously about where to put him.  Once he was done eating, he left for the forest to let them clean up and be prepared for whoever the ‘Elite’ might be.  When he returned for dinner, it did not seem as if any sort of ‘Elite’ people were there.

“What would you like for dinner Sir?” Kaya asked coming over to him at the spot on the bar that now seem to be his.

“Where are your Elite?” For this truly was of interest to him, he had met many elite people in his time and wondered who the people of this planet considered to be elite.

“How did you hear about that?  No one in this town knows they are coming except those who work here, and we are under oath not to tell a soul.” She whispered, confused, and very worried.

“I overheard you and him,” flashing a quick glance at John, “so my question still kind of stands, Miss Mendellaze.”

Kaya looked to the door as it opened, “Well they just arrived,” she told him in her normal voice.  It was best not to ask how he overheard when there was a wall in the way, and really the fact that Ellie was now here drove it out of her mind.

Looking at the door from the corner of his eye he saw coming in were six people.  All seem to have auburn hair, skin that looked slightly tanned all over, with eyes that had blue for the part that was normally white and white for the iris with pupils of pale green.  Three were men the other three were women all were wearing the exact same traveling clothes.  Mendellaze went straight up to them and handed them their individual keys to their room and took down their orders.  On her way to the kitchen, she stopped by Sir, and he ordered a slice of ham, potatoes, peas, and his half pint of beer, she did not even have to force the half pint this time.  Most of the Elite went to tables with other people, but no matter who these strange people sat with the ordinary people certainly did show them great respect.  But one came over to the bar; it was one of the girls and she seemed to be staring Sir down almost obviously so, but he just ignored it.  Mendellaze was able to give all seven people their dinners at about the same time.

“Well Ellie what do you think?” Kaya asked the girl at the bar.

“Shush!  You should show some privacy about that.” Replied the girl apparently named Ellie.

“I do not think it really matters that much with him.  But I kind of need to know what you think.” Kaya insisted with a sideways glance at Sir.

“Well…he certainly can be dangerous; I also sense a greater pain than what you have.  As far as I can tell he is perfectly harmless to you, but I cannot guarantee anyone else’s safety.” Ellie whispered.

“Good, I have a feeling Sir will not be talking to really anyone else anyways.” Kaya whispered back.

The two girls talked off and on throughout the remainder of the night, but Sir went upstairs the moment he finished dinner and cleaned his weapons to make sure they stayed in good working order.  He listened for everyone to go to bed; Miss Mendellaze was the last to come upstairs and he hid in the shadows of his doorway.

“So, I passed a test?” He asked softly so only she could hear; she was still startled by his presence and voice though.  She was sure everyone was in bed by now.

“Yes,” she replied just as soft, “trust me it is a good thing because then you can stay here.”

“Did you really question my integrity?  After all it was you who put me in this room.”

“I only put you there because no other rooms were available.” She explained.

“I figured after your conversation this morning.  But exactly what kind of test was I put under?”

“Just to see if you were safe to have around and not a stranger who was going to corrupt the society here, but you don’t have to worry like you guessed, you passed.”

“For you, I am not safe for everyone else on this planet?” he questioned.

“Like I told Ellie, I really do not think you have the intention of talking to anyone else.  So if nobody bugs you and you do not bug anyone else then it should be fine.” She said.

“Glad for your vote of confidence but you are right.  You are the only one I will be conversing with and as far as my meals go, they will be the same as today for as long as I am here.”

“Then it is safe to assume you will be doing the exact same routine tomorrow as well, Sir?” she asked.

“Yes” he replied.

“Please tell me if you need anything to assist you during your stay then please.”  Although Kaya mostly said this as a waiter which they both knew without saying.

“One last thing,” said Sir before he went back into his room, “how exactly was I tested she just stared at me?”

“Hmm, not sure this time, usually it involves a plant or two.” Kaya replied thoughtfully.

“Are you saying I was tested while in the forest?” Sir questioned.

Kaya thought for a minute before replying. “Maybe, I am not privy to how everything is done by the Elite.  Only a handful of Elvanians are even part of the Elite and know all the rituals and tests.”

To that Sir gave a swift nod and a grunt in acknowledgement, then went back to his room.  The week finished out with Sir doing exactly as he said he would do.  Kaya was kept busy tending mostly to the Elite and Sir.  Sure, she helped serving other people, but the Elite had special needs that had to be met and Kaya was the only one qualified to do so.  Sir saw one of these deeds near the end of the week by accident.  He was coming in from the forest and he saw Miss Mendellaze coming out as well just fifteen feet from him.  She was carrying a basket filled with greens and berries which reminded him of purple leaf lettuce and a blackberry strawberry mixed type berry.  He moved over and walked beside her as they walked back to the Inn and asked softly what it was.  For her even softer reply was a salad that had to be specially made.  Besides the extra courtesy everyone gave these six people, no other obvious signs were given that someone special was in town.  But Sir noticed a different smell some nights and could hear candles or incense being burn.  On their last day at dinner time, Ellie came over to Sir to eat once again neither spoke until he was about to go to his room.

“Take good care of her.” Ellie suddenly said to him.

“Pardon?” he asked.

“You heard me take good care of her.” She repeated.

“Who do you mean by that?” He gave the impression of being confused but had a vague idea who she was talking about.

“I am leaving tonight.  I will not see her again for years possibly and you have more in common than you may think or rather than even what she may think.” She paid for her stay and left.

Sir waited in the shadows of his door again he was trying to understand what Miss Ellie had said.  For that matter just how much did she know about him and the true personal purpose of his visit to this planet?  How could she know anything when she never asked him anything?  When Kaya came up stairs for the night, she saw Sir he wasn't trying to hide himself this time.  She had seen Ellie talk to him and expected that he would probably say something about it, so she turned to face him right there in the hall.

“Yes, Sir, what do you need?” Kaya asked.

He waited for a second deciding on what to say then finally decided on how to proceed and what to say.  “How well do you know of old buildings hidden in the forest?”

“Very well actually, may I ask why?”

“I have need to find some things and I am having no luck by myself if you can spare some time and show me what I need to find?”

“Perhaps but I suppose you won’t tell me what you are looking for until we have left the town.” It was more of a statement than a question she had noticed how much he preferred to keep things to himself, after all he did not talk to anyone and never very much to her either.  This was only the fourth time they had a real conversation.

“Yes.” He knew she would be taking a leap of faith, but this had to be done.  Especially if he were to accomplish his goal.

“Nothing dangerous or illegal I hope?’

“Nothing illegal but it is always dangerous wherever I go; even your friend knew that.” Sir was referring to Ellie’s first statement about him.

“What did she say to you?” Kaya’s interest was piqued Ellie never talked to outsiders, and it seemed or rather felt Ellie had mentioned something about her to him and that was why he was asking for her help now.  Which was even odder because Ellie would not have even talked to Kaya’s parents about her either, when they were alive.

“Will you help me?” Sir asked ignoring the question, she would find out soon enough, whether he wanted her to or not.  His personal goal would be achieved before leaving this planet.

“What if I say no?” Kaya felt a little scared as she knew nothing of this man.

“You can give me an answer in the morning, but I plan on leaving in two days counting tomorrow even if you do say no.  I will find what I am looking for with or without your help.” He told her, Sir then entered his room to allow her time to think.  Fully aware he had not truly answered her question, but it was better to let her know that later, in two day's time he was leaving this inn either way.  He was not sure what to do if she said no either if truth be told.

Kaya entered her own room to think and decide what to do.  Either way that man was leaving in two days with or without her.  That night she had no dreams but tossed and turned; Sir could not sleep either he stayed awake looking out his window and listening to all that he could.  He wanted her to come so he could find what he needed professionally, but also it would be easier to accomplish his personal mission if they could be alone.  Then again what Miss Ellie had said disturb him slightly which is why he even made the offer, and it wasn’t even about what he had in common with Miss Mendellaze.  It was the fact that one of their 'Elite' and Miss Mendellaze's best friend was not only giving permission for him to take her, but that Miss Ellie had assumed it would be years before they saw each other again.  As he listened to his surroundings, he heard Miss Mendellaze tossing in her sleep a little more than usual when he heard a glass move, he decided to check on her.  Sir crossed the hallway noiselessly, entered her room just in time to see her rolling over and got to her side just as she was about to fall off.  He caught her just in time to keep her from getting hurt, made sure she was in the middle of her bed under her covers; he brushed her hair out of her face noticing how peaceful she seemed now.  In Kaya’s sleep she finally decided to go with him feeling that she just might be safe with him.  She thought as well that someone was stroking her head when she opened her eyes, she saw Sir leaving her room.  Which left her to wonder, what he had even been doing in there in the first place and if he was the one stroking her hair?

That following morning, she was downstairs before Sir and informed everyone what her choice was and almost immediately John started to argue.  Everyone else figured one of the Elite, perhaps Ellie, had suggested such an arrangement so they stayed out of it.  John on the other hand could not help but find things wrong with the idea.  They were still arguing when Sir finally woke up, he went to sleep after putting Miss Mendellaze back to bed.  He wasn't feeling awake enough to listen for the whole thing but as he came downstairs he heard very clearly what was being said without even trying to.

"What if he tries to rape you while you sleep?  Or even worse kill you?"  John was arguing, how stupid, Sir just had to think.

"If he really wanted to hurt me, don't you think he would have done it already?  After all he has been here for little over a week already." Kaya argued back.

"But the Elite arrived after he came maybe he had heard about them and was scared." John tried to counter.

"I doubt he would be scared of people he has no knowledge of Sir does not strike me as someone who scares easily.  Besides the Elite weren't here last night and he did come into my room then and I am still perfectly fine." Kaya countered. Not the smartest thing to counter with, after all it only slightly proves your point. Sir thought as he sat down at the bar.

"What was he doing in your room?" John was now truly furious Kaya never let him into her bedroom she was rarely truly alone with him anymore, at least not since he first confessed to being in love with her.

"None of your business!" Kaya snapped and regretted saying anything, she did not even know why he was there.  She spotted him just then at the bar and went over to him being very crude to John in the process.  She normally never just left a conversation like that.

“Your decision I take it is a yes, Miss Mendellaze?” He asked first thing as she came over to greet him.

“It is I will get your breakfast.”

“Don't bother,” was his calm reply which made her turn back to him, “we will leave this morning so as not to make you be a victim of this irate man any longer.”

“Very well Sir, I will go get my supplies together.”  With that she went upstairs to pack Sir followed her up to do likewise for he did not have any of his weapons on him when he first went downstairs.  Right before they left Sir paid what was due with a 12% interest and promised she would be safe, and as he turned to her, he gave a flash of a small smile.  Both these things startled her as he had never done either one before.  Together they walked out of the town down the cobblestone road, Miss Mendellaze had a pack on her back while he was exactly as he was when he came into town.  They traveled for an hour into the forest when Sir finally spoke to her.

“Starvast; we are looking for a Catholic Church that is said to be destroyed, but in actuality survived.”

“I understand the second part but what is a ‘star vast’?” She asked.

“No, not a what, that is my last name; when we are not in a village of any kind than you may call me Mister Starvast.” He explained.

“Oh, so why can I now call you by your last name?” Kaya asked slightly confused.

“It is what I was trained to have done Miss Kaya.”

“So why are you calling me by my first name now?”

“I already told you.”

“Right, um, it will take two days to get to the place you want to go to.”  She was even more confused.

They walked the rest of the way that day in silence; even made camp without saying a word.  Putting down her sleeping bag Sir, or rather Mister Starvast, just slept on the ground made the fire, ate dinner, and then went to sleep with an agreed silence.  Rustling woke Starvast in the night, to see a huge boar coming into their camp he thought it would make a good breakfast, so he got up and slit its throat.  He had the animal cleaned by three hours till sunrise just enough time for some more sleep.  He was awake again before Miss Kaya started to stir and he could not just help feeling so at ease at the sight of that purple-gold sunrise.  When he felt eyes on his back he simply said, “It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, it is,” she agreed, “but what is a carcass doing here?”

“That boar was coming through our camp last night so I thought it would make a good breakfast.”

“Well, it looks like breakfast was able to hurt your ankle a bit first.  Do you need first aid?” Kaya commented.

“Huh?  Oh, yeah, apparently it is not clear enough yet that I must have black leather holsters for my knives not brown.  There is a stream close by, I will go fill up the canteens and wash it off.”  With that he took the canteens and left.  Kaya restarted the fire and cooked up some of the meat.  The rest was already packaged up to use later.  When he came back the meal was ready.

"It's called a bellsac by the way not a boar.  How did you know about the stream?” She inquired.

“I heard it last night, while I was cleaning the animal, but I did not think that the blood was so thick that it would seep through the leather, even with it being brown.  Black holsters tend to hid stains better.  Where I come from a creature like that is called a boar so excuse my misnaming.”  He sat down and started eating, his tone was not rude or anything just factual the whole time.  When they were finished, they closed camp and continued to walk.  Midday they came upon some salvage in a clearing that had been overgrown from what looks like the past twenty years or so.

“This is it.” Kaya told him.

“I believe I was lied to for I was under the impression that nothing had to be salvaged or put back together.  It was supposed to still be standing.” He wondered how he was going to get paid this time.  He could not do his job if he had to put it together himself first.

“Who, told you about this place anyway?  Only the animals, Elite and a handful of Elvanians know about this church.” Kaya told him.

“No kidding, why would anyone else want to come to some place that looks like it was ground zero for a bomb.”  Mister Starvast replied sarcastically.

“It was going to be, but it was hidden first.”  Kaya replied seriously she went into the middle of the wreckage and while lifting some debris reveled it was actually a trapped door.  Now he understood why his client was willing to pay so much; the building had been moved to directly below where it once stood and that was the trick about finding it that he was warned about.  They walked down a spiral staircase and what he saw made him gasp.  The alter was solid rose colored marble, the cloth covering it was of vivid greens and gold embroidery of life and growth in plants, animals and crosses hidden in every scene., then the tabernacle was obviously pure gold and silver with designs of various cross designs from all over Earth, he recognized the European and multiple Celtic designs.  From the inscription on the underside, it had come from Earth a long time ago.  Statues of the Holy Family separate and together, apostles and other more famous saint such as John the Baptist, Saint Paul, St. Anthony, St. Teresa, and St. Christopher made of various woods that he recognized being from the planet that looked like hemlock, redwood and birch. As well as all sorts of rocks from marble to quartz to granite, decorated the entire perimeter and even up into the rafters.  The procession cross was made of solid willow wood with a Risen Christ made also of willow wood; the one hanging above the marble alter was of a combination of quartz that he recognized as rose, tiger eye, milky quartz and a few others he didn’t recognize  The pews were chairs with designs of various bible story scenes embroidered with silk thread into the hemp made fabric that covered them; the pictures that portrayed the Stations of the Cross were clearly hand painted by a paint that he was totally unfamiliar with guessing they must have been done either on this planet or when the ancestors of these people first headed to this world his closest guess was oil paints.  Kaya was just watching the shock and awe on Sir’s face as he looked all around him.

“What is the matter, Sir?” She was slightly pleased to see his filled with such amazement.

“Starvast, unless other people are here, which there are none.  Nothing is wrong it is just so incredible that I never imagined how much history would be here in this Church.” He said with that he began to work pulling out a little device from his pocket and started to scan the closest artifact.

“What are you doing?” She asked haughtily feeling the Church was being violated.

“Calm down, just pray like a good Catholic girl does, and I will explain when we are back outside.” He said quickly and immediately continued with his work.  He did not like doing things like this but considering this was his biggest paying client ever he was not going to back down or take long for the scans.  If he missed a small detail, it was only because it still felt like he was raiding from this planet some of its history.  Not that it usually bothered him but this time it all belonged to the Catholic Church and that one hit home a little more.  Starvast may not have been a model Catholic but that was still a prime factor in who he was.  It took only 50 minutes which was a record for how many things he had to scan; he tapped Kaya on the shoulder and led the way out.  When they were outside, he shut the trap door and started walking further into the forest.

“You are free to go; I have what I came for.” Although he only meant professionally.

“Hold on, you said you would tell me what it was you were doing down there!” Kaya was angry; she did not like being lied to.

“I did, but perhaps it is best if you did not know.” He stopped when she stood directly in front of him looking straight into his eyes.

“I just showed you an important part of our life here!  I deserve an explanation like you promised right now!  No putting it off, Mister Starvast!”  Her anger was rising.

She was so angry and so close, he wondered what choice he had; sure, he could run and hide easily.  But those eyes were so intense and there seem to be traces of blue in the whites, green in the pupil.  He was so caught up with her eyes that he nearly forgot himself and was about to take her into his arms and kiss her.  He hadn’t expected this, and it was so tempting and oh how easily it could have been done; how sweet it just would be to kiss Kaya.  She was set up for it too and was so beautiful like this more than he had realized.  He had not noticed girls a lot since the fire but here and now he could not help but notice her with all her potential and strength both of which he had already suspected.  Was that his heart speeding up or hers or both?  He could not tell and did not care either.  His hands were about to move to her face to engage in this new fantasy.

“I’m waiting.” Her mouth said, to her he seemed distracted about something but what she could not tell.  He suddenly turned sideways his face away from hers she could see his scar very clearly.  Seeing it now looked as though it was deep and hurt, she wanted to touch that cheek and ask if such a deep wound still hurt.  Fortunately, Kaya wanted answers about what he did down in the church more, so that question would have to wait.

I can’t do that to her he thought what would she think of me then? But why do I even care?  Nobody has had a hold on me like this before and I still have something else to do.  He turned back to her ready to spill and this time more ready for what she had thrown him for.  But he would not say everything just yet, it would be best to wait a little longer on the other thing after all.

“I am a bit of an official tomb raider,” he pulled out his device, “with this device I take detailed scans of anything I want.  Then I go home and recreate the object down to almost the last detail from there it is sold to the highest bidder who are interested in those kinds of artifacts and in this case, I had a client who made a request.”  He waited for her reaction.

She turned to think about what he said, about all she had been taught then concluded. “Would you be interested in more historical sites and history of the planet?”

“Of course, but I would not feel right just taking anymore.”  Besides, he didn’t even have a client for anything more.  Not that it ever stopped him before, there are always history buffs who pay a fortune just for the chance to look at such close replicas of history.

“Well, at least you have a conscience.  No, I will take you only to a place I know can be shared with other people, not at all any place where the Elite only are allowed to go.”

“Well then, I say lead the way.”  They made eye contact for ten seconds and Kaya led the way deeper into the forest.  They traveled through the forest for several miles then they entered a cave with writings and pictures on the wall.

“What is all this?” He asked truly amazed, for the second time that day.

“Our history from the beginning to present day; the Elite keep it updated by adding in details as they pass through conferring with the planet to tell all and keep it accurate.” Kaya replied, “Chances are it will take you a few days to copy it all if you want to do it accurately.”

“That I always do; only as long as the Elite will not mind?” He had to be cautious with some stuff like this.

“To be honest there are a lot of misunderstood stories going around that we have heard over the years, so I don’t think they will mind having the story being passed on straight.” Kaya informed him, what she did not tell him was that Ellie had hinted at wanting the story told when she and the others had passed through the inn.

“Well then, I better get to work.  Where does this all begin?” He asked and she led him several miles into the cave where it was the very end, and the back of the cave began as well as the story.  She told him to first start at the very bottom, work to the ceiling then the left wall.  Kaya went out to get firewood and supplies of fresh forest greens for lunch and dinner.  He worked in silence that first day but when they settled down for the night, he grew curious about what the cave walls said.  So, as he lay down on his side watching her, he decided to ask.

“What does all this say anyway?”

“It would take months to explain it all.”

“Well then get started.” Mister Starvast said.

“How about I do not?” Kaya countered.

“Why should you not?” This confused him she just said she would explain the writings.

“Because it is really long, and I am really curious about what you used to do as well as what you do now.”

“Well, I do not feel like telling because then I would be a tattletale and I choose not to do so.” He replied with a sly smile, he felt as though he could really be relaxed and maybe even have some fun with her especially since she was playing a game with him right now.  Besides, his second task was after all to meet and come clean with this girl.

“Someone will give in, and it will not be me.”  Was her stubborn reply and they spent the rest of the night in silence.  Then the following morning was spent Kaya asking questions and Mister Starvast asking his own questions neither telling the other what the other person wanted to know, he was having fun with this on his own part.  But by the second day of this Mister Starvast realized that she was right, despite his fun he was wearing down fast while she held strong.  He understood why he was losing this battle of wills for once in his life; he did have something he had to say.  So, this time when she asked about where he was from again, he decided just to answer and let her have it her way.

“A planet in the Milky Way Galaxy, but I refuse to tell you which one.”  He stated with defiance and defeat or so he allowed her to hear.

“Told you I would win this little battle,” she said gleefully, “now then.  What did you use to do before you were a tomb raider?”

“I am not exactly a tomb raider, but whatever,” his voice was annoyed and grouchy this was not supposed to be common knowledge; “I was a member of the GDF or Galaxy Defense Force.  Basically the peacekeepers of the universe having access to almost everything.  We were not supposed to exist sometimes and other times we were treated like the universe's heroes.  Enough yet for you Miss Mendellaze?” Thinking that would throw her.

“Not by a long shot, Sir.” She realized what he was trying to do, “My next question is what kind of things you were doing?”

“Why do you want to hear about this?” Now he was curious about her curiosity.

“Because I have been on this planet my whole life and I’m curious about what is out in space.” Her face got dreamy then sad, “My parents were out looking for a suitable space station to move to with me, but they died in a crash apparently the other person survived, and the courts claimed it was his fault.  I think it was an accident.”

“Why do you think that?”  His voice was gentler and softer almost sad now she noticed; for him, his suspicions were confirmed even more.

“How about we not change the subject anymore?  Answer me first, please.” She said kindly.

“Well maybe if you tell me then I will know what story to start with.” He had to find out the answer to this no matter what.  After all, he had pleaded guilty, even changing the records with a favor, for the public records to show he was at fault.  The compromise was that his name was redacted.

“Oh, all right then,” she could not believe she was breaking so quickly but she did want more questions answered, “because I see him in my dreams sometimes, not in any detail just his shadow really, and I feel the regret he has.  Not to mention a wave of pity and confusion, almost like he has no idea how he lost control or something like that I am not entirely sure.  So, now that you know that.  Answer my question!”

“Well now, I know exactly what to begin with,” this was going to be both easy and hard, “the way to tell you is in a story.  Some of the deaths that I caused were on purpose, some were unavoidable, and two deaths were just pure confusing.  That is the best place to start, but I think that four lives stopped that day.  Now I cannot tell you everything about being part of the GDF as much of it was top secret and remains classified, but I will tell you what I can.”

“Wait how can four lives stop if only two died?” she asked.

“Will you just let me tell the story?”

“Sorry.” Kaya felt confused already and the look on Mister Starvast’s face was somber..

“Alright then, I usually fly my ship manually and this time was no different.  I had just finished a job on a planet, I was forced to shoot a guy mostly because he had fired first, and he was wanted for several things; but that is not one of the deaths I was referring to.  That man did not stop until he was dead, I had a partner that day who came late but came just in time none the less.  When we were done, he said he had something to do on another planet, I of course believed him without question.  So, I turned the fugitive’s body into base, on that planet myself, and my partner had already gone off on his errand.

“I went back to my ship and started back towards headquarters with my ship on manual.  I was feeling a little tired but nothing I could not handle, but then a new smell entered the air supply and by the time I realized what it was…my ship was a wreck.  I had crashed into somebody else, and their ship was far worse, although I must say both ships did a good job of keeping sealed so there was no vacuum, mostly thanks to forcefields.  I towed that ship to a nearby station, it was two hours before all the fumes had escaped and it was safe to enter the other ship.  The people in the other ship were dead and all I got was this scar.” Mister Starvast put his finger along the scar on his cheek and continued.

“Turns out it was a couple who had a daughter, but their daughter was not there thankfully.  In the cockpit I found a picture of her which is how I knew she existed,” he reached into his shirt and pulled out a picture “I looked at this for a long time.  Her picture is the only clue as to who they are for the guy who leased the ship would not tell anyone of where they came from.  He said he couldn’t pronounce the name either, now I have concluded that he may not have been told their real names.  Such an angelic looking young lady, and I had no way to say I was sorry… that is until I met…” He trailed off the whole time his voice was soft and gentle.

He handed Kaya the picture and saying he was terribly sorry, that even though it was an accident he felt responsible, but she was tuning him out.  The girl in the picture was eighteen, the last time her family had been together as well as the last time she took a picture.  Her mind was swarming with confusion now; it was like this man who just admitted to being the one who killed her parents had sought her out just to say he was sorry.  No, he had done just that, sought her out, and all to say ‘sorry.’  This was the man in her dreams; this was the guy she was trying to soothe in her sleep and now knew why he cried.  She remained silent for the rest of the day, and he did his work; at supper time he started to act like he was leaving.

“Where are you going?” She asked a touch sad she did not want him to leave just yet.

“Well, I am sure you do not want me around anymore, so I am going home.  I will leave you alone and never harm you again.” He replied, he hated to leave but he had finally done what he really came here to do, and it did not seem as though he was going to be forgiven.  He really didn’t blame her for that, was not even sure he wanted her to forgive him.

“No, I want you to stay.” She told him softly which surprised him.

“Only because of the history,” yes that was it, “someone else who is more trustworthy can do that.  I lied to you by not saying the truth immediately upon seeing you.  I should have told you when we first met at the Inn.  I am sorry.” He couldn’t look at her anymore, so he hung his head and began to walk away but she surprised him again by grabbing his arm making him stop.

“No, there is no one more trustworthy than you to get Elvan’s history out right.” She could feel that wave of sadness again she wanted it to stop. “Look I forgive you; I know it was an accident and besides what you have now is useless without the rest or I to tell you what it all means so please stay.  Please...,” he had turned to her now and she had begun to cry, “stay, I feel safe around you and reassured that everything will work out.  Please stay?”  She could not explain what just came out of her mouth, but it was the truth, that much she could at least feel.

This really threw him for a loop, how could he refuse but how could he at the same time stay?  Honestly, it bothered him a little, “you really trust me?”

“Yes, with my life and everyone else’s life on the planet.”

“Very well I will stay to finish but you need to tell me what this all means as I go then.”  He smiled to himself as she glowed with joy and that spark of trickery again; she was up to something else now he just knew it.

“I have a better idea, how about I go with you back to where you came from and explain it as you recreate it all.”  She told him.

“No.” he said sternly this time he didn’t want to give an inch if he could help it.

“Well why not, Mister Starvast?”

“Because I said so, Miss Mendellaze that is why.”

“Then how about you think about it and tell me more about yourself because I won’t be sharing anything until I’ve been to outer space!”  She was defiant and stubborn he was really starting to like that about her.

“Ha ha, you are hilarious!  What makes you think I will share anything more of myself?  Much less take you into space?”

“You want information, do you not?” She tried.

“You cannot blackmail me like that.”

“You’ll cave, just like you did this last time.”

“What makes you so confident on that one?”

“You did cave, didn’t you?  You will get curious, say yes, and tell me about yourself some more.” She gloated.

“Man, you just do not give up!” He exclaimed with a smile of disbelief on his face.

“Not in my vocabulary.”

“I just may have to put it there.”

“Oh, yeah, how will you do that?”

“I will think of a way, but not today.” He informed her.

“Giving up then?” This felt too easy.

“I do not seem to have a choice.  So, yeah, I am agreeing to take you to outer space with me, where you will learn the meaning of ‘give up.’  Among other things more than likely, in the meantime I guess I will tell you a bit more about myself, but I must warn you it is not at all roses and lilies.”  He didn’t like giving in but somehow it seemed okay with her; from time to time at least although he was spoiling her this time.  She was too much fun to be around, having her around on more adventures could perhaps be even more fun.

“That’s okay, I can deal with it.” This made her wonder just what he had happen to him, to make him give in so easily this time.  None of that really mattered though, he was smiling again at her, that smile made her feel good.

“This is all under a few conditions of my own.”

“Which is what exactly?”

“I am allowed to stop for meals, sleep, and none of this interferes with my work, so I will not be talking while working it will only be when I take breaks.  In addition, I stop when the job is done.”

"So that means you won't be telling me very much at all will you?"

"I've told you before that I can't reveal very much.  Those are the conditions if you don't like them, then I don't have to say a single word about myself.  That being said I will still take you with me into space, that part I will honor."

“Guess you are stubborn." Kaya thought about it a little before giving her reply.  "Deal, I guess I'm going to have to gather things and take baths while you are working.”

“That works fine for me, there is not a lot to tell and a lot I can't tell.  However, I will not have you wandering off too far on your own so if you must go a long way, wait for me.  That is the only way I can guarantee your safety.”

“Fine I guess I can deal with that if it makes you feel better, well then get started.”  She told him, at times while he told his story they would also take baths in a nearby natural pool, and she hung to his every word.  It was very fascinating for her to hear about everything that this mysterious man had been through.  As Mister Starvast told the story in pieces it took him back a little but not so much that he got lost in retelling a bit of his life to this young woman.  Kaya, for her part never once had to remind him where he had left off at even with all these many gaps in storytelling.

“I was sixteen when I joined up with them.  Everyone thought I was nuts, but I was of legal age according to the galaxy to make up my own mind.  Even with the disagreements I was respected for my decision, when the recruiter drove up to where I lived, and he tossed me a clip board with forms to fill out.  When I was all done, I handed it back to the man he told me to get my stuff and I did just that.  As he drove me away to our transport, he told me that if I had dropped the board that would have been it right then and there.  Plus, there would be a lot more challenges to overcome that would decide my fate in an instant and I would not know which ones they were until after the fact.  We met our ship and went into space.

‘Will this be your first time in space, young man?’ My guide asked me before we left the atmosphere.

‘Yes Sir, it is.’

‘Why did you want to join the GDF?  After all you are a bit unusual, you contacted us, normally people who join as young as you we contact them.’

‘It felt like the right thing, plus there is nothing really left here for me but pain.  Sir, I would prefer not to talk about it.’

‘That is perfectly fine we really do not want to hear your long sob story anyway.’

“By the way neither will you." Mister Starvast added towards Kaya, that made her feel a little cheated but understood, "After that nobody really did any talking other than lessons.  My first year was filled with getting to understand the basics of everything.  School was 24/7 with gun care / shooting, fencing, martial arts, military strategy, and poisons.  The last was a bit out there but I soon realized that once you know exactly what can kill you then you can know how to defend against it.  So, it was with all the classes; we first learned how to kill and destroy.” Kaya interrupted only long enough to force him to explain his classes in as much detail as he could, which he did with every class he had over his time there.  “Back to about what happened to me and not just classes.” He said when he was done, “as I am sure you are curious there were at least five others in my rank and class.  Their names were Jason, Ray, Ken, Terry, and Andrew.  They are nice guys but all of them older than me by nearly ten years, yet they were cool about me learning right beside them.

“We were all quick learners and in a matter of two years we had all graduated.  Our Master said that we were two years ahead of schedule than any other class they ever had.  But we were incorporated into the other ranks rather quickly, the skills and knowledge we had developed was greatly needed.  One man however was not at all fond of how well we did, especially me.  He thought that I was a poor excuse of a human, but of course I did not find this out until after your parents’ deaths.  Until that time, he was nice to all of us even me.  We were almost best friends, but after the accident we found out that he was really planning on cutting us all down to destroy us and at least kick us out of the GDF, he could not handle any competition at all.  For the six of us had advanced in through the ranks quickly, far quicker than he ever had a chance to.  

“He was the partner I told you about who was late to the assignment and then left early.  It was him who put an aromatic toxin in my ship that forced me to black out; the drug is call Surpotious and is rather deadly in huge amounts.  It was thru a thorough investigation that it was even discovered what had happened.  That’s why it was an accident but could also have been prevented.”

“What was his name?” Kaya interjected again.

“Evan Hyde”

“What a weird name.”

“Yep, well I am all done here let us head back so that I can get paid.  I have a feeling my expenses might be going up soon.”

“Just because of me I take it?” She inquired.

“No, because of how long I have been here already, it has been a little over two weeks now.” He told her.

“True.” She agreed.

It was odd for them both to be talking, not just Mister Starvast.  On the walk home Mister Starvast insisted that he keep silent to fix his throat; claiming that his voice was sore from talking so much for so long really, he just wanted a little bit more silence like he was used to.  Kaya made some hot tea on the second day back with herbs from the forest, so that by the time they got back to the town he felt much better, he really was feeling a little better.  She collected the last of her things and left to join him on his ship into space.  Sir went ahead to warm up his ship and told her which docking bay to meet him in.  Not that it would have taken her long anyways since there was only two long term docking bays.  On her way there she got stopped by someone she was hoping to avoid entirely.

“What do you think you are doing, Kaya?” Questioned John, he had walked right into her path to the docking bays.

“Going on a little trip, I will not be back anytime soon.  Not sure exactly when I will be back, but I certainly hope to find you married to someone else.” She curtly replied to him.

“I would never do that!  I love you!” John told her adamantly.

“That is a simple three-word sentence that anyone can say to anything.” She knew why he said such a thing, but it would not work, for she knew he did not truly love her.

“You must believe me, Kaya.” He was desperate.

“Why do you love me, John?”

“What do you mean by that?  I thought for sure the answer would be obvious to everyone, especially you.” He defended himself with.

“Well, then if it is so obvious then please make sure we are on the right page.”

“I love you because of you.”

“What part of me?” She questioned again.

“You”

“What part?” She was getting annoyed with him; he did not even understand what she was asking for.  Or rather he most likely did but was choosing to ignore it.

“I already gave you an answer, you!” John repeated.

“Oh, right me!  Well, I want to know exactly what about me, attracted you to me in the first place?” Kaya was getting irate herself.

“I don’t have to answer that.” He said defensively.

“If you want me to stay you do.” She argued back defiantly.

“That is not right; you should stay because it is the right thing to do!” John insisted.

“Perhaps you should leave her alone and let her trust herself.  She does not need you to tell her what to do all the time.”  Growled a voice from behind John, who turned around to see Sir snarling at him.  Kaya quickly moved to his side as Sir turned to leave, the two of them went inside the docking bay.  John was so petrified that he could not move and pale white, so Sir decided that John would no longer be a problem for their departure and let the man stay in that spot alive.  He and Kaya got on the ship and took off.  John could only watch as they left the planet together.  He felt small and helpless.  Watching the only woman, he felt was meant for him.  Leave with a stranger.  She was the only Half around anymore and now she was gone; he swore he would only marry the Half years ago.  Now he swore to find a way to get his Half back.

Author's Note

This is the first story I every wrote. I have been trying to make it better and this is only part one of about 5. Not going to be perfect grammar or punctuation wise, what I am really looking for is honest opinions if it is any good.