Chapter 3

Traugott rushed into the command center of the main fleet ship at the sound of the warning alarm blaring.

“Report!” He shouted furiously, waiting for anyone to give him some sort of update.

“Sir, it’s Prince Leonidas!” One of the men responded, pointing to an image on the enormous screen.

“I’m aware, you incompetent dolt! What is he doing??” He shot back, staring at the image and already knowing the answer.

“Well, sir. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was flying.” The man replied nervously, waiting for his commanding officer to insult him some more. However, it never came. Traugott stared angrily at the screen, watching as Prince Leo clumsily lifted higher in the sky almost like he was doing the crawl stroke vertically. There was nothing graceful about his ascent as he eventually steadied himself dramatically, holding out his hands like he was balancing on a tightrope. Just then, he spun midair to look directly at the command ship and let out an over-the-top laugh with his whole body.

“All forces, apprehend the prince! It’s a trick, don’t let him fool you!” Traugott ordered, sending everybody into a flurry. As they were all scrambling around, the prince composed himself, then began tightening his fists at his side, contracting his muscles until his veins could be seen popping out of his temple and neck. He shook with exertion, his face turning bright red with concentration before his eyes shot open and he spun towards the city to punch the air. Traugott blinked at the sight, wondering what he was doing, until he felt it.

Everyone on deck not strapped to their chair was sent crashing to the ground while Traugott gripped the control panel to stay upright. The sound of the explosion was massive and rattled the ship from the proximity, going so far as to rock the flooring. The man glanced at the screen to see a mushroom cloud billowing up from the center of the city.

“There’s no way…” He murmured to himself as everyone else flew into crisis mode and Prince Leonidas dropped from the screen. Traugott snarled venomously and snagged one of his men by the collar of his shirt as he was about to dash by. “Get me Princess Tyra this instant!”

~0~

“You were flying?? That’s so cool! Show me how, show me how!!”

“That explosion was sick!! I can’t believe that worked!”

“Do you really think I’m qualified to help you pilot a spaceship?”

Leo’s eyebrow twitched from all the shrill voices talking over each other. They’d snuck aboard an unmanned cruiser in the unattended lot. Right now, the entire battalion was out looking for him for two very clear reasons. First, they wanted him dead for whatever purpose, and second, Magik was a lost art forbidden by his father’s grandfather. If the king knew his son was in possession of one of the items, he’d be in deep trouble, regardless if he was being hunted by an army.

“Oldest sister, don’t let go of the controls.” He pointed out, flicking some switches and pushing some buttons. She squeaked when she realized she broke rule number one before her eyebrows knit together with frustration.

“I have a name, Mr. Arrogance! It’s Adira.” She reminded him in a snotty tone. “The middle one is Simone, and the youngest is Harlow.”

“Hi!!” Harlow announced with a radiant smile. Leo rolled his eyes.

Simone and Harlow were strapped into seats directly behind their oldest sister and the alien prince aboard an extremely technologically advanced ship capable of deep space travel. Three days ago their planet had been invaded by hostile creatures, and war had engulfed the world resulting in unprecedented loss of life. Simone felt tears collect in her eyes as she looked out the observation window at the giant fleet vessel currently being boarded by everyone she ever knew. At least, those who were still alive.

“Is there really nothing we can do to help them?” Simone asked, her tone quiet but desperate. Harlow seemed to realize the severity of their situation when she looked at her sister and immediately began tearing up as well.

“No.” The tinny voice of Leo’s translator replied. “But we can slow them down.”

With that, the ship roared to life and took to the sky, sending everyone deeper into their seats.

“This is amazing!” Harlow cackled, seeming to forget the rest of the situation. Adira sat ramrod straight, her knuckles stark white with how hard she was gripping the controls. Leo flew like it was no big deal, flicking switches, pushing buttons, and going so far as to use his foot to toe a control. Adira stared at the prince, flabbergasted, until she pieced together some information.

“Wait, do you literally just need me to sit here and hold this thing in place?” She asked, confounded it could be something so simple.

“Correct.”

Adira did a doubletake. “Are you serious??” She felt mortified as he lined up the ship and began flicking other switches until the sound of something lowering beneath them could be heard followed by the sounds of shots being fired.

“Would you like to switch?” Leo asked, a devious smile on his lips. Adira stared in horror as the landing gears of the main fleet ship were shot out from under it.

“No, no. I’m good.” She countered, sinking down in her seat as she realized they were in a lot of trouble. Harlow whooped and hollered at the display, encouraging the prince in everyway he didn’t need it.

“Uh, Prince Leonidas, sir…!” Simone spoke up, having to project her voice over the cacophony of noise. “We’ve got company!”

Leo turned the spacecraft to point the gun turrets at the other docked ships, firing on what he could before he had to race out of the area pursued by his former subordinates. They took a lap around the city in an attempt to shake off their pursuers, but to no avail. Without a proper copilot, their enemies began closing the gap between them quicker and quicker. Leo cursed under his breath and aimed for the sky, figuring he’d done enough for today and it was time to regroup and formulate a plan.

Simone watched as her home was quickly left behind and couldn’t believe how quickly they arrived in outer space. The feeling was unimaginably frightening, but in their last moments near the ground, it looked as if the people being forced to board the transport ship were cheering for them.