Royal Hearts (18 page)

Hathor winced at the thought of her with
William. Yes, in her mind, she was seventeen and just meeting both
of them for the first time. She didn’t know that she was married
and had a daughter. She didn’t know about her role on Raz and how
much everyone there needed her. Technically, Raz was still safe
because of Katherine.

But if William got his way and she chose him,
then that would disturb future events. Hathor would still fulfill
his role and bring her to Raz, but he would be bringing William
with her. The realization made him cringe. She was too good for
William. The queen of Raz deserved someone who could honor her.
More than that, Ann deserved someone who could love her for who she
was instead of what she could give him.

He wanted to tell her everything, but he had
been warned not to. She had to be ready. But even so, he kept
wondering if there was a part of her—buried somewhere deep—that
remembered something about him and the life they’d shared on Raz.
Surely, there had to be an echo from their past that told her this
wasn’t right, that she didn’t belong here anymore. Or, perhaps, it
was wishful thinking.

***

William glanced at Carson as they played a
computer game in his bedroom. It was fun to watch Carson lose.
William had had more practice since he had played it for years, but
Carson didn’t know that. To Carson, William was a natural
winner.

Carson had been so smug, so sure of himself
all of his life. He was better in school, better with getting
girls, better in sports. Carson excelled in everything he ever
tried, which was why William had planned to put a wedge in his
relationship with Lisa in the past.

It had been a month after Ann went to Raz,
and William was sick and tired of watching Carson and Lisa, the
happy couple, going out all the time. Once again, he was left with
nothing while everyone around him got exactly what they wanted. It
was so unfair. Carson had everything. It wasn’t his girlfriend who
left for another planet, destined to rule there.

William figured it was time to wipe that
annoying smirk off of Carson’s face. So he planted a rumor here and
a rumor there. He worked his way subtly through their mutual
friends, never coming out and saying anything but offering little
tidbits of gossip. And it worked. Within three months, they broke
up.

For once, Carson understood what it was like
to lose something. For once, they actually had something in common.
But his plan had backfired because Carson found out what happened
and never talked to him again. He had the nerve to say William
wasn’t his friend. William rolled his eyes. Carson always believed
the world was full of good things, that everything was fair and
nice to everyone. William was only showing him that it wasn’t. If
anything, Carson should have thanked him for the lesson he’d taught
him.

Just thinking of Carson’s ungratefulness in
the past compelled him to win another round of the game.

Carson sighed and stood up. “I’m tired of
this game. Can we do something else?”

Why? Can’t you handle the fact that I’m
better at something than you? William thought. “What do you want to
do?” he asked Carson, his expression void of any emotion.

Carson walked over to the couch and sat down.
“Why did you show up at Lisa’s today?”

“What?”

“Look, I promised myself I wasn’t going to
bring this up, but it’s been bothering me all night. You already
knew that Ann was seeing someone else, and I trusted you enough to
tell you that Lisa was going to meet him so that Ann could get
Lisa’s opinion about him. Since you’re my best friend, I told you
what was going on, and I told you I was going to tell you what Lisa
said. I had you covered. But then you showed up as if it was a
coincidence. I think Ann saw right through it. You might have just
blown whatever chance you had with her.”

William bit his tongue to keep from saying
anything inappropriate. He didn’t appreciate the lecture from Mr.
Perfect. But Carson was probably right. Ann might choose Hathor
now, especially since Hathor told her he and William already
met.

“I want to see you get a girl who’ll treat
you right for a change,” Carson continued. “I’m on your side.”

William forced himself not to laugh at the
comment.

When he didn’t respond, Carson asked, “Don’t
you have anything to say?”

“I screwed up,” he finally replied, trying a
tactic that he hadn’t used before.

His friend blinked in surprise. Obviously, he
wasn’t expecting a confession.

“I’m sure she won’t see me tomorrow,” William
said. “I had a good thing going and I ruined it. I guess I just
wanted to see how Hathor and Ann looked together. You know, to see
if they were serious or not. I was stupid.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean to come down on you so
hard. It’s easy to make a mistake like that. I’ll tell you what,
I’ll explain everything to Lisa and she’ll call Ann and tell her
how sorry you are.”

“No. I don’t deserve it. Ann should have
someone who’s going to be honest with her.”

“And that is what you’re being. I’ll work
things out for you. You’ll see.”

As Carson picked up the phone to talk to
Lisa, William grinned. Carson was so easy to manipulate. Too bad
Ann wasn’t quite as easy. She was turning out to be more difficult
than he’d planned. He figured it would be easy to get her. All he
had to do was pour on the charm and tell her what she wanted to
hear. Then she would fall in love with him and take him to Raz
where he would be a king. The plan was so simple. It was supposed
to work. Until Hathor intervened. William couldn’t believe the
audacity of the Razian. Hathor had had his time to be with her and
rule with her on Raz. Why couldn’t he let someone else have a
turn?

While Carson was busy talking to Lisa,
William pulled open a drawer in his desk and saw the strange device
that had given him his second chance. He didn’t know who sent it or
why, and he didn’t care. Instinctively, he knew that he had to make
sure no one found the thing. If anyone tampered with it, he might
end up back in the future he had just come from, and he’d had
enough of that misery to last him several lifetimes. As long as
Hathor didn’t get his hands on this device, he should still have a
chance of getting Ann. Then his life would finally be complete.

***

After the movie, Hathor and Ann went out to
eat at a fast food restaurant. All of this was new to him as well,
although he had eaten at one such place in the mall. He’d eaten the
rest of his Earth meals in the campus cafeteria.

“I hope you don’t mind tacos,” she said as
she parked the car. “I especially love soft tacos.”

“Soft tacos?”

“One of their tacos,” she explained as she
took the key out of the ignition. “The hard shell tacos are good,
too. Don’t get me wrong. It’s just that with soft shells, I don’t
have to worry about the shell falling apart while I’m eating.”

“What’s a taco?” He asked the question before
he had time to think about it. He was desperately trying not to
give his true identity away, but he was so used to being able to
discuss anything with her that it was natural to ask her about
Earth-related things.

She turned to him and laughed. “Everyone
knows what a taco is. It’s as common as a hamburger. Just what kind
of place did you come from?”

He looked away. He knew she meant it as a
joke, but the comment stung. Was this how she felt when he assumed
she should know something about Raz that she didn’t?

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.
Hathor, will you forgive me?”

The sincerity in her voice made him look back
at her. He knew she hadn’t meant to be mean. She was just
surprised. Someone from Earth would know what a taco was because it
was common on this world.

“Of course,” he replied, reaching for her
hand. It was something he often did when she was troubled, but it
was different this time. He wasn’t touching her as a queen. He was
touching her as someone equal to him.

She blushed and smiled. “Thank you. I don’t
make it a habit of sticking my foot in my mouth, but sometimes I
slip up.”

He returned her smile.

“So, are you ready to try your first taco?”
she asked. “I think you’ll like it.”

He nodded. If she liked it, then he had no
doubt he would, too.

They left the car and walked into the
place.

He examined his surroundings, just as he did
at the movie theater when they first got there. Was Omin’s clone
here, watching them? No doubt the clone would assume the identity
of a human in order to blend in. But Hathor didn’t see any human
who looked suspicious.

He breathed a sigh of relief. It looked as if
she was still safe. He was hoping that they could continue their
date without having to face Omin’s clone. He was enjoying his time
with her. He had missed her so much. For tonight at least, he
didn’t want to be her protector. He simply wanted to be her
companion.

He ordered the same thing she did. After they
sat down at a booth, he tried his first taco and found that it was
delicious after all. Surprisingly, Earth wasn’t as dull as he’d
originally thought. Between the varieties of food, the entertaining
movie, and many stores, humans had plenty to enjoy.

“I don’t know how well you know William, but
I just met him,” she said.

The mention of William’s name brought his
attention back to her.

“Lisa and Carson introduced us the weekend
before I met you, so it’s not like I’ve been seeing him for a long
time or anything,” she said. “I just didn’t want you to get the
impression that we were serious.”

He put his half-eaten taco down. “I know of
William more than I actually know him. I have only talked to him
once.”

“So you’re not friends with him?”

“Are you kidding? He’s the last person I’d be
friends with.” The comment came out before he could stop it.

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Is he really that
bad?”

How much could he tell her without coming off
as negative? It seemed there was a fine line between the truth and
scaring her away by revealing too much. She wasn’t used to concepts
like time travel, magic, or life on other planets. She’d forgotten
all that stuff.

“It’s hard to explain,” he finally said.
“Let’s just say that he’s not my favorite person.”

“Hmm… It seems that a lot of people have been
telling me that.”

He leaned forward. “They have?”

“Well,” she began, “first there was Lisa.
She’s the one who fixed me up with him, but she’s regretting it now
because she said he’s changed. She even said that Carson says he’s
different than he used to be, and Carson has been his best friend
for years. I don’t know how it’s possible he’s changed so fast, but
apparently he has.” She shook her head. “I guess something just
seems wrong somehow.”

His ears perked up. Maybe she did remember
the future on a subconscious level. Maybe going back in time hadn’t
completely wiped her memory as Omin’s clone and William had hoped.
“Do you have any idea what that something is?”

She chuckled. “This is going to sound stupid.
I mean, there’s no way it can be possible.”

“Maybe it’s not as stupid as you think. What
is it?”

“Well, I guess it doesn’t add up. Carson said
William had no plans of going to Florida or even going to college.
But when I met William, he said he was doing both, and I happen to
be moving there. It just seems like it’s more than a coincidence.
Then there’s other stuff. I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel
right.” She chuckled. “Listen to me. I sound paranoid, don’t I? I
promise, I’m not.”

“I know you’re not,” he replied. “You’re just
listening to your instinct. If something is telling you to be wary,
you should listen to it.” He really hoped she would listen to it.
It might be the thing that would save her.

“
I told you she’d be here,”
someone said.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Stacey
with another teenage girl heading their way.

“Oh, hi.” Turning to Hathor, Ann said, “You
know Stacey. This is Teresa. Teresa, this is Hathor.”

“Hathor? That’s an unusual name,” Teresa
replied.

“I think it’s cool,” Stacey added.

Ann shot him an amused grin then asked them,
“What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you could let me see your
notes from English Lit,” Teresa said. “I’ve been trying to reach
you, but you’ve been impossible to get a hold of lately.”

After a moment, Ann’s face lit up. “My notes
are at home, but I can go over to your house tomorrow to drop them
off.”

“Aren’t you busy tomorrow?” Teresa asked.

Stacey nudged Teresa in the side, and
Teresa’s face turned red.

Hathor guessed they were aware that Ann had
made plans to see William the next day and Stacey was trying to
warn Teresa not to let him know about it.

“We have a test on Monday,” Ann told Stacey.
“If Teresa needs those notes, then she’ll need them tomorrow, and
since I haven’t had time to study for the test, I think it would be
fun to study with her.”

Stacey seemed confused for a moment but
nodded. “In that case, it’s a good thing we found you here. Sorry
to interrupt your date though.”

“No, it’s fine,” Hathor replied, his spirits
lifted now that he knew Ann wasn’t going to see William
tomorrow.

Teresa excused herself to go to the
restroom.

“I asked her to wait until you got home, but
she’s been panicking since this afternoon because she lost her
notes,” Stacey said. “I told her you were on a date and everything,
but you know how she gets when she’s upset.”

“Yeah. Nothing stops her.” Ann grinned.
Glancing at Hathor, she shrugged, “Some things work out at the
right time I guess.”

He returned her smile. It seemed that she had
made her choice, and he was glad she’d done it on her own, without
having to be told William was bad news. That made things much
easier.