Two Sides of the Same Coin

Chapter 15: Saehiter

"Well, there she is. Saehiter," Neil announced a few days later.

We looked out of the front window to see a dirty-looking planet. It was almost sad seeing how run down it looked, even from outside its atmosphere.

"Why does it look so barren? Did something happen to it?" I asked, thinking back to what Dad told me.

"Geez! You really don't know anything, do you? Fine. I guess I'll have to tell you before we land," Neil sighed, getting ready for a long story. "I take it you know about the political turmoil that forced you to flee to Earth, right?"

"Yeah. My dad told me a little bit about it. He didn't know much though."

"Ok. So basically some extremists started attacking political figures like dukes and stuff until they finally made it to the royal family. When the castle was attacked, the king managed to send you away before he was captured and imprisoned. Now, the world has pretty much crumbled because the extremists only thought about themselves and not about the people of the world."

"So my dad's alive?" I asked, surprised that he wasn't killed by the extremists.

"Yeah. That's part of the reason why I went to Earth."

"What do you mean?"

"I came to get you, Prince. You're going to save your kingdom and planet. That's why you wanted to come, right?"

"Woah. Hold on. How am I supposed to save this planet? To me, it looks like it's already completely lost. Besides, I know nothing about the place besides what you just told me. You can't just expect me to do this without any plan."

"Who said we didn't have a plan?" Neil smiled smugly. "Strap yourselves in. We're in for a bumpy landing."

Before Alexa and I could get strapped in, the spaceship jolted violently as we landed on the uneven terrain of Saehiter. After being jolted for what seemed like hours, we finally stopped near what looked like a ghost town.

"We're here," Neil said with a smile on his face.

"Ugh. The world is spinning," Alexa grumbled dizzily.

"Where is 'here' exactly?" I asked, also feeling dizzy.

"This is the base of the rebel army. C'mon! I'll introduce you to everyone."

Neil took both of our hands and led us outside the spaceship. There, a bunch of people greeted us. Not surprisingly, they looked like they hadn't eaten much or bathed in days. This rebel army looked more like a ragtag group of homeless people.

"I'm glad to see you made it back, Neil. After the Xs shot at you, I was afraid you had been killed," an old man said, walking up to us.

"You worry too much, old man. I'm just fine and, as you can see, I brought back the reinforcements we've been looking for."

"Y-you mean this young man is Prince Elax?" the old man's eyes widened in astonishment. "Who might the young lady be? Is she the prince's fiancee?"

"Excuse me, but I'm also your prince. Sorry to disappoint you," Alexa grumbled.

"What is she talking about?"

"It's a long story. I'll fill you in later," Neil whispered to the man.

The old man walked over and looked at me, full of pride. Then, he turned back to the others, who were standing in front of us, looking a little lost.

"Citizens of Saehiter! Our prince has finally returned home to us. Now that he's here, we can save this planet and return it to its former glory," the old man announced boldly.

The people cheered and cried at the old man's brave statement. I couldn't believe these people had so much faith in me when they didn't even know anything about me. For all they knew, I could be a psychopath. Even still, they cheered. I guess I was their only source of joy during these tough times. I just hoped I wouldn't let them down.