Drowsy, dull grey clouds. Rigid hospital sheets. The odd smell of disinfectants left a bitter taste in her mouth. All things that little Mallory disliked, but at that moment, she didn't care.
Her father was laid on the hospital bed, his body was shrivelled up and he had the sickly pallor of a ghost; A fragment of that energetic, charismatic dad he used to be. Filled with dread and disbelief, Mallory held his withered hands, "Papa?"
Like a man bewitched by a resentful ghost, an onslaught of violent coughs took hold of him, "Mal...ory..."
.
Mallory shook off the memory, recently her thoughts had been drifting towards that fateful day when she was 10. If only things were different, if only he was alive...
But now wasn't the time, she had to focus.
Mallory felt the soft hum of the spaceship under her touch, solid proof that she was safe and alive, that she was present in this moment. Her family had always consisted of explorers, and now here she was, the first of her lineage to explore beyond the solar system! she recalled the days when her father would come home, carrying wonderous tales of a lone moon and twinkling stars; now it was her turn to find a story.
Peering through a porthole, Mallory noticed something strange; an asteroid was closing in on her! Mallory stumbled backwards and cried, "Darby!"
Darby, who was in charge of steering the ship, perked at the sudden noise, "What?"
"There's a damn rock heading straight at us!"
Mallory was generally a calm person. She would usually stop herself from panicking in stressful situations. However, this was different; her heart was racing, and she felt so small and insignificant in the vastness of space.
If she died here, her family wouldn't even know.
Darby started beside her, his grey eyes wide with fear; she probably had the same expression. "Hey, maybe we'll get lucky and miss it..." he chuckled nervously, tousling his mousy hair.
"It's the size of a boulder," Mallory sighed, leaning against the sturdy wall.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang. Darby collided with the controls, and the spacecraft plunged downwards onto another planet, burning up precious fuel. "Quick! take the wheel!" barked Mallory, but it was too late.
There was a deafening roar of smashing metal, and then the world fell silent.
---------
When Mallory awoke, she first noticed pain coursing through her body; her parched tongue felt like sandpaper. Her eyes struggled to adjust to the blinding light, but eventually, her vision returned to her piece by piece.
She saw a glamorous chandelier, glinting with gold, hung upon the ceiling. The room was large, beautiful furniture with detailed carvings and exquisite paintings of an unfamiliar land was on display.
The ivory bedding she laid upon was soft and comforting. Yet, where was she? Mallory figured she was in a bedroom, and by the looks of things, in a rich person's bedroom but, how did she get here?
Craning her neck to the side, Mallory spotted a figure sitting by her. She winced as a sharp pain shot through her skull.
"Mal, you're up!" It was Darby. He looked healthy, sporting a white tunic and his face radiated with joy. He handed her a tall glass of water, which she gratefully gulped down.
"Not so loud, Dar," Mallory groaned, she was relieved to find a familiar face, but any noise or movement caused her to have a massive headache.
Darby grinned, "Ah, that's just the side effects of being healed for the first time! hurts like hell, right?"
Mallory looked up at him, her deep blue eyes wide with confusion. "What? I... guess? where are we?"
Darby struggled to find an explanation, luckily, he didn't have to.
A tall, broad-shouldered man strode into the room, his presence felt intimidating and commanding, despite looking no more than a couple of years older than Mallory herself.
He had a face carved from marble, with high cheekbones and lips that curved at the end in a good-humoured smirk. His silver hair brushed his eyebrows, giving ample attention to his long lashes.
Mallory flushed, she shouldn't be appreciating this stranger's good looks when she could very well be in danger.
The man turned to face Mallory, his dazzling, ruby eyes arresting her soul.
It was as if she was peering into a frozen lake that reflected the benevolent sky, opening up its cloudy stitches and oozing out the thick, warm blood of a sunset onto its icy surface.
She felt like she was being observed through a magnifying glass, scrutinised like an unknown specimen.
And then it suddenly clicked.
"Y- you're not human, are you?" Mallory paled, her trembling fingers gripped tightly onto the covers.
The man threw his head back and erupted with laughter, the sound deep and rumbling. He brushed a fair strand of hair behind his ears and shot her a toothy grin.
"No," he smiled, "I am Ethar."
"What? you're an 'Ethar?'"
"That's my name," Ethar coughed, "Forgive me, it's been a long time since we last had visitors. We do have a name for our kind, but there is no definite word for it in the human tongue. I suppose you would call us aliens? or wizards?"
Mallory glanced at Darby, who was sweating; he definitely spewed all that nonsense to Ethar. She couldn't believe it, sure standing before her were extraterrestrial beings, but wizards? seriously? there was no way they could perform magic.
...Right?
Mallory fiddled with her fingers, and then paused, "Wait... How come you can speak English?"
"Oh, is that what it's called?" Ethar smiled sheepishly, drawing a chair forward and sitting on it as if he was getting ready for a lengthy conversation, "Well, you're currently on the planet Thyzlr, and our kind is gifted; this gift is a power, a magical ability that is randomly assigned upon birth. I have been blessed with the gift of speech, meaning I can communicate with any breathing organism I wish."
For a moment, Mallory was speechless; she just stared at Ethar, her mouth agape like a fish plucked out of the sea. Then she remembered what Darby had said, 'Healed'... Thoughtful, she scanned her arms for any wounds...
Nothing.
Her skin was unmarred; Mallory frowned, surely she would have attained some injury? after all, she did survive a shipwreck in space. "Was I healed... Magically?"
"Yes," Ethar replied, "By Miss Gwenore, I suppose you could say she's our Royal physician," he waved a hand in Gwenore's direction, standing behind him and beckoned her forward. Gwenore was tall and spindly, with faint green hair tied up in a tight bun.
"Hold on, Royal?"
"Did I not tell you? I'm Prince Ether, sole heir to the throne and future ruler of the Aechmea Empire."
---------
The Empress' chamber was a grand, luxurious room, fit with pillars of spiralling gold, scarlet walls with traditional mural art painted meticulously by great artists, and short steps that led up to the Empress' expansive bed, which was obscured by deep, juniper-green drapes.
Ethar kneeled respectfully in the centre of the room, "Mother."
The air was crisp and cold, a haunting contrast to the benign days he would spend playing in his mother's room as a child. Everything felt so warm and fuzzy back then, what had happened? Ethar thought, bitterly.
"My son," the Empress' voice was harsh and brittle, she breathed so unevenly as if that was a task too hard for her, "I wish I could've met those humans, but alas, my condition is too poorly."
That left a sour taste in his mouth. Ethar recalled the dreadful night demons had reached the castle, they broke in despite the formidable security, wreaking mayhem on the innocent, defenceless workers that were in their way.
When the Empress heard of this, she immediately set off to eradicate the intruders, with great power and fury in each step she took. However, during battle, a demon had sunk his piercingly sharp teeth, dripping with poisonous saliva, into her flesh.
Since then, Ethar had often blamed himself for letting that happen; the saliva of a demon was deadly and had no cure, he should've been the one to get bitten. It was torture to him, watching the Empress suffer but knowing that there was nothing he could do to help.
The Empress sighed ruefully, "I have a request, my dear son," her voice faint.
"Yes?"
"I'm quite fond of fire lilies, could you fetch me some? they remind me of my youth," she laughed, softly. Before Ethar's father passed away, he would usually gift the Empress fire lilies.
Ethar grinned, "Of course."
---------
Mallory was in awe.
An entire week had gone by but she still couldn't believe she was on another planet. Everything was sorta similar but somehow different. It's mind-boggling how much you think you know about the universe until you actually leave Earth.
With that said, Mallory hadn't been outside yet. Turns out she bore the brunt of the attack on the spaceship, while Darby was left mostly unscathed, so Mallory was stuck waiting in the infirmity. Her legs broke under the impact of the spaceship crashing against her so it took longer for her to heal than Darby.
With that said, Mallory was feeling a whole lot better, she felt like she could walk again; Mallory yearned to get outside and investigate this unknown planet. She had a voracious appetite for knowledge so the opportunity to learn about this strange and foreign land enticed her greatly.
However, her mind would often drift back to the spaceship. Back home. Darby had mentioned that Ethar sent workers to mend their spaceship which eased her worries, yet, she couldn't help but miss the benign sun and the warmth of her family.
How long has it been? Months? Years?
Too long.
Mallory would often find solace in these memories during the lonesome ride in the spaceship. Of course, she had Darby for company, but having only one person to talk to gets tiring after a while.
Even now, the only person she could speak to other than Darby was Ethar, since he could speak any language, but how could she speak casually to some Prince from another planet? it was insane.
"I feel like we're in Harry Potter or something," sighed Darby, chewing on what looked like golden grapes, the food here looked surprisingly similar to the food back on Earth.
Mallory shut the book she was reading and reclined against the wall on her bed; it's not like she was really paying attention to the book, she couldn't comprehend any of the writing, or the symbols, but looking at the various pictures was intriguing.
Mallory rolled her eyes, amused, "Last time I checked, Harry Potter was set on Earth, Dar."
Darby shook his head and rambled on, "But they can perform magic! isn't that crazy?" spitting out bits of juice. Without warning, a soft knock sounded on the oak door, interrupting Darby's energetic babble.
"May I come in?" It was Ethar.
He ambled in, clad in a thick, stygian-black cloak that hung upon his shoulders.
"Care for a stroll outside?"
---------
A stroll? Mallory didn't know what Ethar considered a 'stroll' but right now? she was flying.
Flying on a tremendous gryphon.
Mallory shrieked, clinging to the gryphon's feathers, she was riding on the back of a gryphon. Something she'd only fantasize about, and now here she is, riding a winged creature above the clouds!
Ethar chuckled at her horror and amazement, which Mallory pointedly ignored. Mallory just focused on the feeling of the wind's embrace and the sweet taste of freedom that made her drunk on giddiness.
However, the trip was cut short. They had arrived at their destination.
Before them, was a field of fire lilies, blazing in the glimmering sun. Mallory grinned, when was the last time she had seen such a wonderful sight?
Ethar eased his way down from the gryphon, "Come, I wanna show you something," he smiled, before walking away. Mallory groaned, she wanted to admire the picturesque scenery safely on the gryphon but grudgingly obliged.
And then she saw it.
Creeping up behind Ethar was a stout creature, its pitiful eyes bulged outwards and stubby horns protruded from its skull. It had a sickly yellow complexion and razor-sharp, prong-like claws that lusted for blood; Its fangs glinted with malevolence.
A demon.