"This is ridiculous," Damian said, exasperated.
The royal guards had denied him entry again. He tried his best to communicate, but it didn't seem to be getting through to them.
Damian did not have time for this. He needed to get inside the palace now. He'd been waiting three years for this. He wasn't going to wait any longer.
"I know the princess, if you would just let me speak with her—"
"What's going on?"
They all turned to find the owner of the voice was Princess Mar'i, descending down the stairs.
Damian's heart skipped a beat when he saw her. And when their eyes met, he swore that it had stopped.
He had not seen her in years, but she was still as beautiful as ever. The nearly sheer purple gown she was wearing flowed with every step she took and her royal headdress perfectly framed her face.
She looked stunned to see him.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice becoming softer.
Her question stung a little. "Nice to see you, too, Grayson," he mumbled.
"Princess, he has been requesting to see you, but we did not recognize him," a guard spoke to her in Tamaranean.
"I've been trying to tell them that I know you," Damian told her.
"Princess, if you do not want him here..." the other guard began to say, glancing warily at Damian.
"No, no, it's fine, really. Could you please give us a minute?" Mar'i spoke to her guards in their native tongue.
They gave her a curt nod and left.
"Damian..." Mar'i began, still trying to process that he was there. "Why are you here?"
"Why am I here?" Damian repeated. "You never came back. You haven't made contact with anybody for two whole years."
Mar'i looked down at the floor, not wanting to meet his gaze. "You know why I couldn't come back."
He knew what she was referring to. The death of her mother and scrambling to find a leader for Tamaran. But that was no excuse to cut off all contact.
"I know. But—"
"I'm all that they have left, Damian. There is no other heir to the throne. I had no choice. Tamaran needed me. They still do."
"Mar'i, your mother never wanted this life for you. And neither does your father. He wants you to come home." He took her hand and locked eyes with her. "I want you to come home."
Mar'i gently drew back her hand, biting her lip.
"I can't. You know I can't. I'm sorry, Damian." She sighed. "You should go back to Earth," she turned around to head back up the stairs.
Damian was completely dumbfounded. This was not how this was supposed to happen. This wasn't like Mar'i at all. Her mother's death had affected her greatly, but he never imagined it would change her this much.
"You did love me once," he said, making her stop in her tracks.
"And you told me you'd come back, because you loved me," he continued. "You said that the space between us would never affect our relationship. Then you went a few days without calling. And when you did, they were always cut short. Your father and I begged you to come home after the first year and you said 'No'. Then you stopped calling entirely. Because apparently Tamaran mattered more than your family. I guess they needed you more than I did."
Mar'i was still frozen in place, but Damian could tell she was crying.
He waited, debating on whether to approach her or not. But Mar'i finally turned to face him, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Once?" She echoed, pain glistening in her eyes. "I never stopped loving you. There hasn't been a single day when I haven't thought about you. There have been so many times that I wish I could have just packed up and left—"
"Then why didn't you?" Damian asked her, wiping a tear off her cheek, his hand lingering to cup her face.
"I didn't have a choice," Mar'i admitted.
"What do you mean?"
Mar'i drew in a shaky breath, finding it difficult to say.
"The Grand Counsel felt that because I am not fully Tamaranean, I'm not fit to rule. At least... not by myself," she had paused. Damian knitted his brows together in confusion, slowly retracting his hand from her face.
"What do you mean 'not by yourself'?"
She bit down hard on her bottom lip, holding back a sob. She drew in another deep breath, and looked him in the eyes. She hesitated. Damian found himself holding his breath. He was absolutely terrified of what she would say next.
"Damian, I'm married," she choked out.
His entire world just came to a violent stop.
Damian couldn't find the words to speak, but found himself shaking his head in disbelief.
"It was arranged, I didn't want to go through with it. That's why I stopped calling, I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone," Mar'i cried. "I couldn't bring myself to tell you. I'm so sorry..."
More tears streamed down her face and she clung to him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Damian instinctively wrapped his arms around her, but was in more of a daze. He felt numb. The only woman he ever loved, the woman he promised himself he'd spend the rest of his life with, was bound to another man. A total stranger. He couldn't believe it.
"Can't you just... run away?" Damian asked her softly, heartbreak evident in his voice.
"I wish I could," Mar'i whispered.
"Then run away," he pulled away from her so that he could see her face. "Come back to Earth with me. You would see your father again, and Lian, and all your friends. You could come back to the apartment and see Titus, he's missed you terribly. And maybe..." he paused, a small, hopeful smile tugging at his lips. A truly rare sight. "Maybe we could get married one day? If you still want to," he added.
They had always talked about the possibility of marriage in their future, but he didn't want to overwhelm her.
For the first time in years, he saw Mar'i smile. It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. She nodded tearfully.
"Take me away from here. Dami, please take me home," she said.
Damian closed the space between them by leaning in and kissing her. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to kiss her. She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him back. Her tears wet his cheeks, but he didn't care. All he cared about in this moment was feeling her again, slowly moving his lips against hers.
A sudden exclamation made the estranged lovers flinch apart. Standing at the top of the stairs was a man with long red hair and a headdress similar to Mar'i's. This must have been her husband.
Mar'i was absolutely petrified. The man spoke to her again in Tamaranean, looking hurt and betrayed.
She tried to provide him with an explanation, but he interrupted and shouted something, becoming angry. Damian could not understand exactly what was being said, but he knew that he and Mar'i were in big trouble.
The husband rushed down the stairs and Mar'i protested as he came closer, but he pushed her to the ground. The man shouted something and promptly, a dozen guards with spears entered the room.
He shouted another command and pointed at Damian, Mar'i's eyes going wide in terror. She got back up to plead with her husband, but he held her back.
Damian's hand went to reach in his back pocket, where he had stashed a retractable staff. He was fully prepared to fight if it meant bringing Mar'i home.
The guards began to close in on him.
"Damian, go!" Mar'i shouted, her husband pushing her back.
He didn't listen and pulled out his staff, allowing it to spring open. The guards let it warrior-like cries and charged at him.
"Run!" Mar'i shouted again.
This time, Damian obeyed. He sprinted out of the room and out of the palace, only looking back once to look at Mar'i. From the glimpse he caught of her, she was on her knees, sobbing, as her husband shouted at her.
Damian made it to his shuttle just in time and blasted off into the stars, speeding away from the planet.
He was not going to leave her there. He would come back for her. And the next time, he would come prepared and with backup. Damian made it a promise that he would bring her home.