Distant Lands
Standby

New graduates are on standby. So whenever they need us, we have to report and go on assigned missions. In the meantime, I’m living in my stepmother’s house. Also, Ethan has been teaching me how to drive the car and the hoverbike. I prefer the bike. I got the hang of it quickly, and I even went back to the city on Ethan’s motorcycle and bought some more gifts. I’m not sure how seasons work in this world, and no, I didn’t bother looking it up, but on Earth, it’s December, and it is Christmas.

“Merry Christmas!” I happily raise my arms.

Everybody looks at me and then at each other. I wanted to share one of my favorite holidays with them.

“Why is there a tree inside the house?” Emerald asks. I think about it. Why do we bring trees in for Christmas?

I shrug a shoulder, “That’s just what we do on Christmas, back on earth. It’s some kind of symbol.”

Emerald shrugs her shoulders at Ethan. But Alan and Rita look excited when they see the gifts under the tree. I reach under the tree, and I take a gift out for them. I don’t have any presents, but seeing them open their gifts with happy faces is enough for me.

Emerald smiles when she sees the necklace I bought for her, it has an emerald rock on it. I bought Ethan a dark brown leather jacket, Rita some cute blouses, and Alan some toys.

“Oh, I love them, thanks!” Alan hugs me.

“You’re welcome, little cousin,” I smile, ruffling his hair. I get a hug from each of them.

“But we didn’t get you anything,” Ethan says.

“I don’t expect anything. You guys have done so much for me already,” I say.

“Wait, how did you pay for these gifts?” Emerald asks. I hesitate to speak, and a sudden knock at the door saves me from explaining. Thank god. Emerald goes and opens the door, and Ivan comes through the door.

“Hey Ivan, Merry Christmas!” I grab a gift from under the tree. Ivan looks confused but smiles when he sees the tree. I hand him his gift. I gave him a thigh-length black leather jacket.

“Wow, this is nice. Thank you, Elizabeth,” Ivan looks over the jacket with a smile from ear to ear. He will look good in it, and so will Ethan in his.

“I have a gift for you too,” Ivan says, handing me a small box. I try to contain my excitement, grab it from him, and open it.

“It’s a watch,” Ivan grabs the black watch and puts it on my right wrist. He then turns it on and shows me many numbers, looking excited and expecting me to be.

“What do those numbers mean?” I ask.

He looks at me like I should know. “It’s your bank account, and you have all that money in there. It’s been accumulating since you registered.”

I look surprised but confused at the currency. “Wow, I’m rich, thank you, Ivan.” I hug him.

“Well, I wouldn’t say rich, but it is a lot,” Ivan hands me a white envelope. It has a silver seal on it. I stare at it for a few seconds, I can already guess what this is, and I hope I am wrong. I carefully break the seal and read it.

I silently look down at the letter dreading its words, “The king and princess want to meet me because I stopped the thief. Can I just decline to meet them? Say I’m sick or something?”

We stay silent. We all know that this event might be what exposes me, us.

“What do we do?” Ethan asks.

“She has to go." Emerald looks at Ivan. "She can’t decline. That would be disrespectful.”

Everybody turns to Ivan, expecting him to come up with a solution, and he seems cornered, unable to replace a way out.

“Maybe I should just turn myself in,” I say.

“No," Ivan says. "You can do this, Elizabeth. It’s just going to be a quick meeting. Emerald and I will be going with you.”

A quick meeting? I guess it would be an honor to meet royalty. But I’m not doing any of that curtsy or kneeling nonsense. Why should I? They are not my kings. I also don’t want to offend them; maybe I’ll just give them a slow hello nod like they do in movies. I look at the date of the invite.

“It’s tomorrow!?" My eyes widen, "That’s not enough time to prepare. When did you receive this?”

Ivan puts his hands in his pant pockets, looking nervous. “It arrived at the ranch a week ago. I was so busy. I just didn’t notice it. I’m sorry.”

“Ethan, do you want to take my place? I don’t mind,” Emerald says. Ethan pretends he didn’t hear the question, says something, and follows Alan as he passes by. I can’t believe Emerald would try to abandon me.

“Your name is on the invitation." I glare at her, "And I’m allowed to choose another guest.” She looks down to the floor, mumbling something in annoyance.

I read where this will occur, “The location is in Argent. Where the hell is that?”

“It’s on planet Argent,” Ivan says.

“A different planet? We need to travel through the doorway?” I ask. Ivan nods. I shake my head, knowing what I will have to endure. I don’t know if I can go through that again. The darkness, the feeling of falling, of not being able to breathe, I don’t think I can.

“There is a way to enter the doorway that won’t cause too much discomfort. We are going to teach you,” Ivan says.

“Well," I sigh. "I guess we don’t have a choice, do we? Let’s just meet the royals and get the hell out of there as soon as possible.”

“Yes, it needs to be a quick meeting," Ivan says. "The longer we stay there, the more chances they will notice that you are not from Azure. I will meet you and Emerald tomorrow at the Ranch doorway.” He goes over to Ethan to say goodbye.

“What are you going to wear?” Emerald asks me.

“This,” I say, looking down at myself.

“You wear that jacket every day,” she points out.

“Yes, I know, I love it. This leather jacket reminds me of my brothers. It’s special to me,” I say. Well, I hope Ivan is right, and It’s just a quick meeting.