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, followed by Cora, saw Regan just there, and Artemis quickly approached, "Regan, 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, "Regan, 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, removing her hands, "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.
Regan's annoyance greatly increased, "The bartender deserved what he got, still. But I wasn't the reason, okay?"
Artemis let out a tired sigh, "Whatever, let's just leave now, before matters get any worse."
Before Regan could retort, Sirius emerged from the doors of the tavern. Without wasting time, Regan followed him and grabbed him by his arm.
"Hey, you!" she hissed, "what the hell were you thinking back there?"
Sirius looked at her in confusion and then narrowed his eyes. He glanced down at her hand but didn't move. He simply stared.
"You're so beautiful," thought Regan, surprised by her own thoughts as she gazed into his blue eyes. 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.
"Let go, girl," he finally snapped her out of thoughts, his voice dripping with annoyance and some sort of amusement. She realized she was still holding onto his arm, and quickly released her grip.
"You're going to apologize for grabbing me like that!" she snapped, fury taking over her 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! Who the hell do you think you are?" Regan shouted, her anger fueling her words, although she felt awkward as well. Sirius raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable.
"Look, Regan," he said, his voice low and calm, "I meant no disrespect, and I know what you think and feel. But I won't apologise for anything," he smirked, "you wouldn't want me to fake an apology now, would you?"
Regan's eyes narrowed and her fury was palpable. She glanced around, noticing a lot of weird stares she was getting from the crowd.
"You don't know what I think and feel. You're not me!" she spat. "And you know what? I don't really care, don't apologise. But I won't forget this."
Sirius's smirk widened into a smile, "Oh, I know you won't forget. And neither will I."
An arm pulled Regan away, it was Artemis with Cora behind her, "Regan, just stop, this is worthless." Artemis said, her eyes filled with some uncertain fear.
Sirius's gaze turned to Artemis, his expression turning dark, "You," his voice cold, "I should've known better from a loser like you. It's my fault I let you handle this," he yelled at her menacingly.
"We were j-just going t-to leave. Just leave us alone." Artemis stuttered, clearly intimidated by Sirius's gaze.
"Don't you dare talk to her like that. You're the one who started this whole thing." Regan added, glaring at him.
Not wasting more time, Artemis grabbed Regan again and forcefully led her away. Regan couldn't help but feel a sting of embarrassment at being pulled by the arm like a child. They hurried out of the square, not looking back at Sirius. Once they were further, Regan yanked her arm free from Artemis' grasp.
"What the hell was that about?" Regan demanded, anger still coursing through her veins. "He was being such a jerk, and we let that slide."
"Look, I know you're angry but we're in the verge of danger. 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 the tavern was already lost among the other buildings.
Just a bit of time later, Regan started fuming around about the audacity he had. The civilians were looking at her weirdly, hearing her loud words. But Regan couldn't swallow her negative thoughts.
She wasn't mad only at him, was at herself too. She mentally called him beautiful. But she couldn't help it, he was. And it infuriated her even more.
Artemis was getting more and more nervous and annoyed with each step, while Cora, the maid spoke to Artemis in a low voice, "My lady, aren't we attracting attention? She needs to stop."
"I know, Cora, but she's my friend, and I can't just shut her out." Artemis replied, a hint of desperation in her voice.
Regan tried to keep quiet, noticing how she was getting weird looks. The creatures around 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 people's voices, but only with loudspeakers. The surroundings made Regan to slightly forget about her messed up state. They entered a large 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.
Regan's eyes kept wandering around, seeing how civilians looked more normal there. They looked human-like and were dressed in modern clothing. 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 space traveling," Regan muttered in boredom, noticing the train. She had thought something more thrilling.
"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?"
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 Cora 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, "Regan, when we'll arrive in my place, I'll call you with another name. And we're going to hide your identity as well," she said in a low voice, that Regan heard very well.
"Fine, but where is this place?" Regan asked.
Artemis sighed as she leaned on her seat, "I don't know.... I'll figure out something as soon as we arrive there. Something is for sure, my place is nothing close to safe."
Regan nodded, then remembered the servant, how she was skeptical about her, "You know....Artemis, I don't really trust your maid, I mean, she already knows and witnessed a lot of things," Regan said, her voice was skeptical and wary.
"Don't worry. I've told her you're my friend. What matters the most is that no one should find out about your origins," her sister replied.
Regan nodded in disbelief and she turned her head again to 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.
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 rose shivers on her and she almost choked on her food. Then, the fury and confusion took place again, as she really did want to burn something over.
"Ugh! This is intolerable! The bastard even grabbed my hair! What in the world?!" Regan vented again, her voice slightly loud. Artemis shot her a reproachful look.
"Regan, please, calm down. Maybe he didn't know it was you," Artemis whispered, trying to calm the matter down.
"I don't believe this," retorted Regan, "sure thing he knew I was there."
Artemis sighed and crossed her arms, "Regan, you're way too obsessed, you know?"
"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-"
Regan was interrupted by an alien female who had a short bob blonde cut and was 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. "Hey, you two!" she hissed, "you better shut your mouths or you'll be in trouble. This train is no place for your bickering." Her voice was cold as ice.
Regan glared at the woman, "We're not your servants. You can't tell us what to do," she retorted.
The woman scoffed, "Oh, please. You don't know who I am. I'm not some pushover. 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.