Page 2 of Dark Princess: Shadows

She had no idea what he was talking about, but it was nice to listen to something other than the thoughts swirling in her head.

"Who is he?" she asked, but her mother had already faded away, leaving her alone in the darkness.

The voice continued, weaving tales of a world similar to the one Morelle had left behind and yet so vastly different that most of what he was describing did not resonate with her. She lacked the context to connect his words with familiar images or processes.

Still, as she listened, she felt a pull toward wakefulness, curiosity warring with her reluctance to leave the comforting oblivion of the dreamscape.

As the darkness around her began to lighten, transforming into a soft, warm glow, Morelle became vaguely aware of other sensations, like the weight of the blanket covering her supine body, the gentle whisper of air that did not sound like wind but rather like something mechanical, and other noises that seemed artificial rather than natural.

It made sense, given that she was in a stasis chamber inside of a pod, surrounded by a variety of life-supporting equipment, but who was the male speaking to her?

Was it one of the gods back on Anumati? Broadcasting through the speakers in the stasis chamber? But then, why was he talking about strange and unfamiliar things?

Her mother had said that thousands of years had passed while Morelle had been asleep in stasis, so maybe things at home had changed beyond recognition, and that was why she could not understand most of the things the god was saying.

How was he speaking in Kra-ell, though?

Had the gods who had been exiled to Earth adopted Kra-ell as their official language?

That was not likely, even though their rebellion had been on behalf of the Kra-ell. It wasn't as if their Kra-ell collaborators had been sent into exile with them. The Eternal King had only punished his people who had risen against him. He made a peace treaty with the queen of the Kra-ell and even supplied her with the ship to take settlers to Earth.

She was dreaming.

That was the only explanation.

"...and that's why I think we need to focus on educating the younger generation," the voice was saying. "If we can teach them to think critically, to question and verify facts, we can combat the spread of untruths."

Part of it resonated with her, and part of it sounded like gibberish.

"What do you think, Princess? Ready to join the fight for truth when you wake up?"

Morelle had never thought of herself as a princess because no one had ever regarded her as such, and being of mixed blood, she would never have become her mother's successor, so perhaps this wasn't a dream after all.

But how did the god know that she was the queen's daughter?

Did he also know that she could never ascend to the throne?

If she were fully Kra-ell, she would have been the crown princess, her mother's successor, but as a hybrid abomination, all she could do was hide or run, and she had done both.

By sending her to Earth, her mother gave her a chance to change her destiny, but first, she needed to wake up.

2

BRANDON

The steady beep of the monitors provided a soothing backdrop to Brandon's mutterings. He'd been talking for what felt like hours, pouring out thoughts and feelings he had never shared with anyone.

After spending so many years in Hollywood and faking everything from who he was to what he believed in and what mattered to him, it was refreshing to just speak his mind, even if the person he was talking to couldn't hear a word he was saying.

Maybe that was why he felt free to do so.

If Morelle had been awake, he would have most likely assumed the persona everyone was familiar with and expected, and he would have charmed her with tales sure to fascinate her.

"You are a very good listener, Princess Morelle," he said, "I wonder if you can even hear me and, if so, if you can understand what I'm talking about. You come from a world that's so different from this one, and what you were told about Earth before embarking on this journey is no longer true."

He leaned back and sighed. "If you were awake, I would talk your ear off about all the wonders of our modern civilization and how bright humanity's future is thanks to all the marvelous innovations the clan has been slowly introducing to humans ever since we deciphered portions of Ekin's tablet. I would boast about the lofty ideas of democracy and equal rights that we have been propagating. But since you can't hear me, I can admit the truth, and it's not as pretty. Rot is festering everywhere nowadays, and so far, we have been able to bring light and prosperity to just a portion of this planet's inhabitants, but not enough. A large chunk of this planet's population is still living in poverty and misery. Barbarism and savagery are rampant and growing, and I don't know how we will ever be able to fulfill our mission of spreading the light to every corner on Earth. There just aren't enough of us, and humans are not picking up the slack. On the contrary. the children of those we have lifted up are letting themselves be seduced by the darkness."

He leaned closer to the hospital bed. "But that is not what you need to hear from me, right? I should be coaxing you to wake up, and instead, I'm giving you reasons to stay asleep."

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