Over the years, the Orakians proved to be worthy opponents for the former general of Laya and were able to withstand his multiple attacks on their kingdoms. Lune refused to give up, though, and became even more dedicated to his cause of wiping out the opposing race. Additional training camps were built on Dahlia and his soldiers traveled to the Layan cities to recruit as many young men as possible for his army, even going as far as the distant land of Draconia. In the dungeon beneath his palace, he began breeding new biomonsters, modifying them to be stronger than ever before. The destruction of Satera had been his last significant victory and as more and more time passed, he grew even more frustrated and irritable.
He and several of his most trusted comrades were standing around a table, staring down at the maps of the different lands that they'd been studying for the better part of a decade. They were covered in various markings and symbols, signs of all the failed attacks, their disappointments and embarrassments. Divisia had continued to be their primary target, due to its close proximity to their base, but the well-guarded kingdom had refused to fall into their hands.
“If we can find a way to get through that forest, we could - ” Lune stopped abruptly when he felt something tugging at his pant leg. He glanced down at the small child poking at his thigh. “What are you doing?” he sternly asked.
She stared up at him with her round eyes that were darker than the eternal night that surrounded the purple satellite. “Can I help?”
“Help? What? No!” Lune closed his eyes and shook his head. “Alair!” he hollered for his sister.
Alair appeared in the doorway in a matter of moments. “Kara! There you are!” she exclaimed. She gave Lune an apologetic look as she entered the room. “I'm sorry, I was checking on lunch and - “
He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “I don't have time for this.”
She bent down and took the child's hand. “Come, now, it's time to eat.”
“No!” Kara shrieked, wrenching herself out of her aunt's grasp. “I want to stay here with Father!”
“Alair, I thought we had an agreement,” he reminded her as she tried unsuccessfully to pry his daughter off his leg.
“Come on, Kara!” Alair tried to remain cheerful. “After lunch, we can go outside and play some games.”
“I don't want to play, your games are stupid and boring!” Kara's disdain for her aunt and her apparent lack of authority was obvious. “I want to stay here!”
Lune was quickly losing patience. “Kara, go with your aunt,” he commanded.
She loudly burst into tears, but allowed herself to be dragged out of the room. With an exasperated sigh, he turned back to his soldiers and continued planning the next attack on Divisia.
Later that evening, as he was in his quarters preparing for bed, Lune suddenly had the feeling that he was being watched. He spun around to find Kara hovering in the doorway, her pale face illuminated by the dim lights surrounding the entrance. Resisting the urge to summon his sister again, Lune didn't send the child away, but he didn't welcome her into the room, either.
As her father busied himself around his bedroom, Kara tiptoed inside and gingerly perched herself on top of a footstool, hugging her knees to her chest. She didn't say anything, just waited to be acknowledged. Minutes passed, but she was willing to wait patiently as she sat perfectly still, her dark eyes following her father's movements.
Lune finally paused and faced her, giving her a quick look up and down. He tried to remember how old she was...seven? Eight? He didn't think it had quite been ten years since the distraction had first arrived, though to be fair, she hadn't been that much of a nuisance in the first years of her life. She seemed rather small for her age, he thought, before realizing that he really didn't have any standards to compare her to. Her straight, pale green hair was an exact replica of his, but her pitch black eyes were like nothing he had ever seen on a Layan before.
He raised an eyebrow at her and finally spoke. “Yes?”
“Can I go with you the next time you go down to the big spaceship?” she asked.
“No.”
“Why not? I want to see the other worlds!”
“You'd be too much trouble to keep track of, I don't have the time to make sure you don't get in the way,” he said plainly.
She seemed slightly hurt by the implication that she would be a burden, though she'd grown used to that sentiment over the years. “Aunt Alair could come with us,” she offered.
Lune snorted. “Alair personally knows the dangers of leaving Dahlia, she is in no rush to do it again.”
“When can I go with you, then?”
“I currently do not have any plans to take you down to the Alisa III.” He watched her look down, trying to think of another argument to make for her case but coming up short. “Isn't it past your bedtime?”
Kara slid off the stool and stood up. She opened her mouth as if to speak again, but closed it without saying a word. Knowing that any outward displays of affection would be rebuffed, she simply nodded towards him before leaving for her own bedroom.
Several days later, Lune prepared for a lengthy journey to Elysium. The various supplies were packed and loaded into the cargo area of the shuttle and he was waiting for the last of his men to board. When everything appeared to be in place, he climbed aboard the small ship and was about to settle into his seat for the flight when he heard a bit of a commotion coming from behind him. Standing up, he turned around only to find his daughter being led to the front of the ship by a confused soldier.
“We found her hiding in the back of the shuttle, sir.”
Kara remained silent as Lune grabbed her by the elbow and forced her down the ramp. His grip on her arm never loosened as he stormed through the hallways in search of his sister. Without bothering to knock, he pushed open the door to her quarters and all but flung the small girl inside.
Alair put down the book she was reading and looked up at the unexpected visitors in surprise. “Kara! You're supposed to be in your room!”
The thwarted stowaway still said nothing as Lune folded his arms across his chest and tried stay in control of his temper. “I cannot even begin to fathom how disastrous this mission could have been if she hadn't been discovered before takeoff.”
For once, Alair agreed with him. “Kara, what were you thinking? You could have been in so much danger!” Though she was reprimanding her niece, her voice lacked the authoritative edge that was always present in that of her brother.
“I'm tired of being stuck on this horrible satellite! You always tell me about the other worlds on the spaceship, I wanted to see them for myself!”
Alair started to comfort the angry child, but Lune stepped between them. “We had a deal,” he reminded her. “I was willing to let you keep her here as long as you kept her out of my way.”
Her eyes darted to Kara, who was listening intently to every word. “Lune, I don't think this is the time or place - “
“You are failing to hold up your end of the bargain. I have made my expectations clear on many occasions and I have yet to see an improvement.”
“I'm not going to lock her up in a cage,” she snapped. “Even if that's how you've dealt with things in the past.”
“Figure something out. We cannot have this happening again, I simply do not have time to deal with things that are your responsibility.” He turned around to face his daughter. “You are not to go anywhere near the shuttle. That area is off-limits to you. Understood?”
She mirrored his gesture of crossing her arms and glared at him, but managed to keep her brief response respectful. “Yes, Father.”
“I expect things to be different around here when I get back,” he directed towards Alair. Without bothering with a polite farewell, he made his way back to the shuttle, grumbling about the inconveniences the two women had a tendency to cause him. Though he was met with a few inquisitive glances upon his return, he chose not to acknowledge them and sat down in his seat for the second time that day. As he closed his eyes, he realized that for once, he was glad to be escaping his home and desperately hoped that his frustrations would have subsided by the time he returned.
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