As I began my climb up the stairs to the top of the airship, the control room, I could only think of how I got here. It seemed only yesterday that I had walked down this same hallway. I had been minding my own business when a university professor bumped into me, knocking me with him and into a loft full of machine parts. I had been thrown into a small pile of metal, when a man had suddenly appeared.
He was tall, but he didn't appear as though he took pride in his stature. His dirty brown hair was a little long about the neck, but he wore it as if to look as though it was the best he could manage. His vest was a simple brown, not anything fancy; no gemstones or ornaments anywhere about his person. He had the beginnings of a beard, a beard that made it look as though he had forgotten to shave for too long. You could tell that he had forgotten his face was shaved when he reached up to scratch his chin.
"My, that's a feisty one, isn't she?" He asked without even looking at me. He was dressed in a button down yellow flannel shirt with the sleeve rolled up. His eyes were the same brown as his hair, but even more unsettling was that his eyes were wild.
Of course I didn't know at this point, but this was my destiny. It was clear that my father was too busy with his science to be bothered with little hairs like myself. How was it that I ended up here? I was such a party pooper that my father had arranged a marriage for me. I was a proper young lady, even though I was not the prettiest of girls.
"That's a bad one. I'm sure your father didn't plan on having you wind up knifed in an alley. It's too bad it had to happen in such a rough part of town." He said, standing up and rubbing the back of his head as if he wasn't even touching it.
The alley was not the worst part of town. It was the opposite. I had heard stories about the palace, taller than anything under the giant canvas roof in town, but I never thought that I would have a chance at it.
"I don't understand. Why was I ... I mean we ... I'm sorry, but could you please tell me what is going on?"
I stood in the loft for a moment, watching my suitcases being dragged across the ground by his force. I tried to follow the suitcases, but they would only go so far as to the end of the loft.
"Your name is Anabelle, right?" He asked.
I tried to look past him to determine where I was to be taken, but he was the only thing in my view. He had stopped to look at me, like he was asking for a response, but I wasn't even sure he was waiting for a response.
"Yes, and you mister...?"
"Max."
I took a step toward the man that seemed to make quite an entrance to my home.
"And you are taking me where?" I asked.
"It's not where, but rather 'who' I am taking you, but I'll explain as I go. It's a long story, but I'm the only one who can help you now. We have to get moving."
I didn't know what to make of this man. He seemed to know what was happening, but even with the information, I still didn't understand.
"Going?" I asked.
But then I turned to my situation. I was no longer in the loft of my home, but had been teleported downstairs into my living room.
"Hurry. They're coming for you." He said as though he was absolutely certain.
I grabbed a suit case, and found myself in the back of a carriage. The dust flew as we raced down the streets.
"Who is coming for me?" I asked him.
"Husband hunters. They catch young girls like you and sell you to the highest bidder. Men who want a young bride, but aren't the type to deal with a long courtship."
I sat beside him. I tried not to show my fear, but my hand was shaking and I kept trying to hold it still, but it would not comply. I held the reins, but not quite. I tried to stay calm, but it felt like years since I had been out in the fresh air. I could tell that this man had spent a good deal of his time outdoors, but he did not smell like the soil. He smelled clean, as if he had never washed off the grime of being on the airship. Still there was something, a faint smell, something in the air.
"And you are going to take me to the palace?" I asked.
"It would be nice if I could get you to the palace, but I would rather take you somewhere that isn't as dangerous. If you'll just wait right here, I'll return in a moment."
He then darted from the carriage and disappeared into the night. I shouted after him to wait, but he did not. I sat in my seat, holding his reins as I waited for him to return. He was taking too long. I began to yell, but he never returned.
"Well, Anabelle. I'm afraid you are in a bit of a pickle. The good news is that you won't have to worry about your father or your fiancé anymore."
I turned around to face the man who was not Max. He was the image of Max, but there was something off about him. I had no idea what it was, but I knew that he was not the man I had thought him to be.
"What do you mean? If he was to come back, then I was supposed to get on a ship and be taken to the palace."
"It's been too long, and if he is coming, then he will not be accepted there. There is no fiancé for you anymore, so your father might as well just move on."
I looked at this man with his brown hair, his brown eyes and his brown beard and wondered why I was so focused on this man. "Who are you? What can you do for me?"
He looked, turned away from me and spoke to the cobblestone sidewalk. "What I can do? What can I do for you? Well... I can take you to a safe place, wherever that is."
"But I don't know how I got here. I'm not even sure where here is, but I was at my house and then I was at the loft... you don't seem to understand. You were the one who took me...?"
He looked at me, as though he was just now realizing that it wasn't the first time I had spoken to him. He had been avoiding my gaze the entire time.
"I did? Yes, I did, but if I'm not mistaken, then you were really asking if I could take you to a safe place. If you're looking for the palace, well... I'm sorry, but that won't be possible."
"And why not?"
"The palace isn't a safe place for young girls right now. They have been taken over by a queen of sorts. She is a dancer, trying to help women like you, but this is not the job for her."
I took in a deep breath and looked at the man. His beard was dirty, much like the brown hair that was parted from his face. Something about this man was different, but I could not tell what. There must have been something about me though because he looked at me.
"What, you wonder?"
"You just don't seem to be the type to be willing to give up on this queen, but even if you sided with her, you would never make it through the space between the palace and here."
"What do you intend to do then?" I asked.
"Why, I had planned on heading into the palace and just taking you up there, but this is far better. I'll get you off this planet, but you will have to pilot the airship. You don't want to end up with this lot."
I could not leave. One, I wanted to find my father and the queen. Two, I did not wish to be alone. And three, I no longer wished to go to the palace.
"So, will you help me?"
He nodded.
"I've got a long way to go, but I'm willing to travel your path."
"Good, now we can get to business. Here, take these." He said. He handed me a few of the small decorations that he had been carrying. I did not know what they were for, but I did not question it. I took what he said, but then he suddenly darted off toward the airship.
"I'll keep them for when you need them, but they're mecenins of sorts. They don't work for nothing and you don't have a whole lot of time. I have to get us in, but I'll let you get us off if you want."
I felt the ride to be less jarring as he piloted the ship. He seemed to know his way around the ship like he knew his way around air. But then, I suppose he did.
"Get us off?" I asked.
"Well, you didn't think that the way would stay open for you, did you? You won't make it to the palace with any of these machines. They're too loud to fly until you get past the perimeter around the palace. I assume that's where you want to go."
"But I don't. I know that I was supposed to, but it's not going to happen. I don't think I would ever be happy anywhere but on this planet."
"You don't have much of a choice now. The only way you're going to get to the palace is if you join the aliens.