47

As Regan stood outside, her breath was uneven and her mind raced with unsettling thoughts. She couldn't get over the fact that he had just grabbed her by the waist. It raised a surge of anger through her. It made her furious and bewildered at the same time. She even found it difficult to breathe, thinking it all over again.

"How dare you!" she fumed.

Artemis and Liv quickly approached, "Cornelia, come, we need to leave as soon as possible," she urged.

Regan didn't move, "No, he won't get out of this."

Artemis shook her head and grabbed her hand, "Just forget this. Now let's just leave and mind our own business."

"I've minded my own business my whole life, Artemis! I didn't choose any of this!" she snapped back, jerking her hands away, "I won't let that slide. That's such a shame."

"Well, I told you to stay quiet and not cause a scene," Artemis retorted, getting annoyed as well.

"Well, it's not my fault that he fights with others," Regan shot back, "I mean, I wasn't the reason for it."

"Yeah, yeah, you weren't," replied Artemis, her voice sarcastic.

"That bartender was a creep," Regan spat, unable to hold it back anymore. "And he deserves it. But I wasn't the reason, okay?" 

"So you're going to thank Sirius about saving you?" her sister retorted, sighing heavily.

"I can handle myself," Regan shot back, "And no, I won't thank him. That's not what concerns me...." She trailed off when she saw him emerging from the tavern, his long black coat wiping the dusty roads.

Without thinking, Regan followed him and grabbed his arm.

"Why did you do that?" she demanded, her voice like a serpent's hiss. Sirius turned to look at her with narrowed eyes, his eyes flicking to her hand, then back to her face. He didn't answer, he simply stared.

He's so beautiful, Regan thought and she felt a stupid blush creep on her cheeks. There was something about the way he looked at her, something that made her heart race. His gaze was intense and unwavering, as if he could see right through her. For a moment, she forgot about everything else: the fight, the crowd, the anger. All she could focus on was him.

"I don't owe you any explanation," Sirius broke the spell, his expression hard, "Now get the hell out of here before I change my mind and turn you back to my place." His voice was still filled with the anger from what happened earlier, but there was also a sense of amusement, as if he was restraining himself from smiling. 

His eyes lingered on her hand and Regan quickly withdrew it, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over her.

"You're going to apologize for grabbing me like that!" she snapped, anger taking over again.

Sirius scoffed, "Oh, please. I didn't even know it was you."

"I don't care! You're going to apologize! You should be ashamed! You.... you're no one to me!" Regan shouted, her anger fueling her words, although she felt awkward as well. Sirius raised an eyebrow, the smile finding its way on his lips.

"I'm your enemy, my dear. And enemies watch after each other, if you don't know that yet. I know what you feel, but I'm not going to apologize for anything."

"I'm not your dear," Regan spat, noticing the stares she was getting from the aliens around. She didn't know if they knew the man before her was their ruler, but she didn't care. "And you don't know anything about what I feel. And you know what? I don't really care, don't apologise. But I won't forget this."

Sirius's eyes glinted with something she didn't know, because she found it awkward to look at him, "Oh, I know you won't forget. And neither will I."

Artemis was watching, but she had enough of it. She grabbed Regan's arm and pulled her away, "Stop it. It's worthless."

Sirius's gaze turned to Artemis, his expression turning dark, "If anything like that happens again, you won't get out of it so easily," he threatened, a menacing chillness in his voice that made Regan's heart flutter. She didn't know what the hell was wrong with her. It wasn't like she believed that he did it to protect her, he could've had it personal with the bartender.

"We were j-just going t-to leave. Just leave us alone." Artemis stuttered, clearly intimidated by Sirius's gaze.

"You don't get to tell me what to do," Sirius snarled, "If you disobey, you're going to pay the consequences. And you're going to pay them dearly."

Artemis shrieked away but he didn't speak anymore, because that was the last he said. He turned and walked away, not looking at them anymore. The last look was on Regan, cold and stern. He was bipolar, she was sure.

Artemis grabbed Regan's again and forcefully led her away, the servant following close behind. She had watched the whole scene with a glint in her eyes.

Regan felt another sting of embarrassment at being pulled by the arm like a child. They hurried out of the square, not looking back. Once they've gone farther, Regan yanked her arm free from Artemis' grasp.

"Look, I know you're angry but we're in danger," Artemis quickly whispered, "We can't just pick fights everywhere. Now, let's just leave the hell of this place."

"Fine," Regan snapped. She knew Artemis was right, but she couldn't help but feel frustrated by the situation. They turned to leave, making their way through the crowd. As they walked, Regan couldn't shake the feeling that Sirius was still watching her. She glanced back once, but didn't see him anywhere.

Just a bit of time later, Artemis trailed in her steps, her hand reaching to her ear. "What's wrong?" Regan asked, noticing her sister and Liv had stoped few feet behind her.

Artemis looked at Liv, then back at Regan, her expression now a mix of panic and fear, "Damnit," she muttered under her breath.

"What? What's wrong?" Regan asked, getting seriously worried.

"Nothing. Let's just go," Artemis answered, as if she hadn't just acted weird. The servant leaned closer to her, "What is it, my lady?"

Artemis's jaw was clenched, "Change of plan's," she whispered back, totally displeased, "We can't go now to the guardians. It's too far."

"But lord Sirius's order-"

"We'll get in big trouble if we don't go to North first," Artemis said, her tone urgent. "I can manage something for her. We've wasted enough time in that forest."

"Did the prince....?"

"Yes," Artemis replied tersely.

"What's wrong with you two?" Regan snapped, knowing they were hiding things from her, "What's it with the whispering?"

"It's nothing, Cornelia. We're just discussing the travel," Artemis said, trying to put a calm facade.

"I don't even know where I'm going," Regan muttered. "And this bastard...." she stopped talking when she noticed the aliens were giving her weird looks.

They were just adding up to her frustration, making her feel like suffocating. She gripped her cloak and lowered it down her face as much as possible.

Soon, they reached a lively station, buzzing not only with alien's voices, but also with loudspeakers. The surroundings made Regan slightly forget about her messed up state. They entered a large white modern building that seemed to be a station. Outside it was flashing with lights, although day, and inside was still glimmering with lights. The station was busy, with some hurrying up and down the platforms, some waiting impatiently on benches, others just standing around chatting.

As she walked, she could see the mounted televisions on the walls, displaying advertisement or whatever they were. She wondered if Sirius had these on his castle.

Artemis led them to a subway and to what seemed like a train. The train was rectangular with white and blue lines, it was very clean and modern and it seemed to stretch endlessly into the void of the unknown.

"I thought we were going to interstellar traveling," Regan muttered in boredom, noticing the train. She had thought something more thrilling. Like a floating train."

"Yes, we will. This takes the route to other planets within the system. It's a pretty nice one actually," Artemis explained. She glanced at Regan, trying to gauge her reaction. "It's important that we arrive there without causing any more trouble. Do you think you can calm down a bit?"

"I'm already calm," Regan shot back, her voice anything but calm.

The train came to a halt at their platform and they boarded along with the other people that were waiting outside. Artemis led them through the aisles and to a comfortable-looking compartment. The seats were plush and the walls had a soft, soothing blue hue. A panel above their heads displayed the station's name and their destination. As the doors closed, Regan let out a sigh, trying to calm herself down.

She found a seat on the window's side. Beside her, sat Artemis and Liv sat to her side.

As more passengers entered in, the loudspeaker echoed around in an unknown language. It seemed to notify the train's start and it started to move. 

Regan lost track of its movements quickly. She became nauseous, her mind spinning, when the train started to move with an extremely rapid speed. Then, it came to stop abruptly. She wondered if it stopped itself, but as she looked out of the window, all she could see was grey and nothing else.

Artemis opened the package that she had brought from the tavern and took out some packed food, "Take this, you're hungry," she said as she handed the food to Regan.

"I'm not hungry," Regan dismissed, her expression taken one of indiference and dullness.

Artemis pursued her lips and tried to change the subject, "When we'll arrive in my place, we're going to hide your identity as well," she said in a low voice, that Regan heard very well.

"You said something about the guardians first," Regan retorted. She didn't even know what to believe anymore, who to trust.

"And that was the plan," Artemis said frustratedly, leaning back on her seat, "But I have to return to the North first."

"And what are the guardians? You were going to leave me there alone?"

"No," Artemis replied. "Don't worry, I'll see what I'll do with that. I'll figure out something."

Regan agreed reluctantly, then remembered the servant, how she was skeptical about her, "You know....Artemis, I don't really trust your servant. I mean, if you trusted her too, you wouldn't have left me alone with these monsters."

"It's not just about trusting. No one should know about you," Artemis whispered back.

Regan nodded, though not fully convinced, and turned her head again toward the window. But now, all she saw, was a glitching view, like she was stuck in some sort of computer program. Different flashes of green and pink filled her vision, pulsating and twisting. Her eyes went wide in shock and uncertainty.

"What's that?" she asked in awe.

Artemis shrugged, "It's just the train, travelling."

"And where is it travelling? Inside a program?" Regan scoffed.

"Uhh, no? It's a hyperspace tunned. And it's very fast.

"How fast?"

"I don't know how to explain it well, but these trains are super fast. The distances are vast and you should get the hang of it."

"Faster than the speed of light, then?"

"I suppose so," Artemis replied, shrugging.

Regan didn't ask further. It was already obvious that the train was travelling at an extra speed and perhaps Artemis had other ways of referring to the speed of light. So, she leaned on her seat and stared at the view.

She glanced at Artemis who was still holding the packed food. Hungrily, she took it and opened the pack. It was indescribable but Regan called it like some sort of bread with vegetables and sauce.

She took a bite and then put it back in. It wasn't really bad and it tasted good. Her throat was dry, out of thirst and she felt a bit awkward to ask Artemis about that.

As she continued to eat, her mind was again preoccupied with the previous happenings. She found herself thinking about Sirius again, his image never leaving her mind. Suddenly, she remembered the tavern, in which he had not only grabbed her waist, but also stroked her hair.

The thought made her angry and she almost choked on her food.

"Ugh! That bastard even grabbed my hair! What in the world?!" Regan vented again, her voice slightly loud. Artemis shot her a reproachful look.

"Please, calm down. Maybe he didn't know it was you," Artemis whispered, trying to calm the matter down.

Regan scoffed, "He knew it was me, I know it. It's the-"

"You're way too obsessed, you know?" Artemis interrupted, crossing her arms.

"Obsessed?" Regan retorted, heat creeping up on her cheeks. She still had the mask on, so it was not visible, but she could feel it. "I'm not obsessed! I'm just mad and frust-"

"Hey, you two!" A female voice interrupted her. Regan turned to see a tall alien female, with a layered short blonde cut, wearing a tight bodysuit. She had a tattoo of a moon on her left cheek and her eyes were of the same color, as the deepest oceans, "You better shut your mouths or you'll be in trouble. This train is no place for your bickering," she hissed.

Regan glared at the woman, "We're not your servants. You don't tell us what to do," she retorted.

The woman sneered, "I manage the flight, woman. Now, if you two want to keep your seats, you'll behave." With that, she turned around and walked away.

Artemis glanced at Regan and sighed, "See? Now you've made things worse."

Regan rolled her eyes, "Well, she started it."

They lapsed into silence again. The train continued its journey at an unimaginable velocity. It was hard to believe they were even going somewhere. Regan kept gazing directly at the black void, filled with distant stars and planets. It was mesmerizing and she felt a sense of awe and fascination washing over her.