“You know, from all the people I expected to see visiting my family, you were not my first guess… Not that I’m complaining, you look great in that blue bikini.”
Romelle laughed softly, closing her eyes and enjoying the gentle breeze the sea brought. She heard a satisfied sigh from besides her, knowing the person was looking at her with bluest blue eyes, warm and gentle.
“You know, I wanted to be a pirate when I was younger.”
“Aren’t pirates bad people?”
“I mean, without the stealing a killing part. I wanted their freedom.”
The girl opened her eyes, taking in the beauty of Lance’s home planet. She could understand why he loved the beach so much. The noise of the sea was deafening at first, but a few visits later, it sounded comforting, as if a constant humming in the background. The sand was… well… Sand. A whitish, yellowish beige. It was hard to describe, but not less beautiful to look at.
She had wanted to go see that beach ever since Lance told her about it, all the way back in the Red Lion, blue eyes filled with longing and smile void of sadness. He never looked so beautiful—for no one could deny the boy’s attractiveness—before, even though back then she didn’t knew him very well. She had wanted to see his piece of Heaven. Then, when they got on Earth, she met his family. Lovely, lovely family, a family that without hesitation welcomed her, during the war and after. Romelle finally understood then that Lance’s Heaven wasn’t only the beach, but the people connected to it.
Romelle found herself wanting to be part of that Heaven.
“Pirates are free to sail on the sea, only them and it. Free. Taking each day as it comes, without having to answer to no one. Finding new places and new people. One day is an amazing adventure; the next is a relaxing day of rest, just them and the world.”
The alien stared at him, drinking the view of the dark skinned boy dressed in blue swimming shorts gazing lovingly at the ocean. The setting sun made him glow, but she couldn’t tell if it was all the sun’s job or part of it was natural of the boy. The breeze caressing brown hair. His eyes, pools of melted iron mixed with the blue ocean, shinning like two stars, searching for the adventures his thin lips liked to talk about.
“Why go to space, then?”
“Because I wanted freedom.”
She didn’t need any more words to understand. He wanted to be free, to live his life as he pleased, to live each day without worrying about the bigger picture or the greater good.
Warriors, the old Altean legends said, liked freedom. They liked to choose what they would fight for, what they would die and live for. They liked to live their lives as they chose to.
Warriors, the old Altean legends said, carried war in their minds and peace in their hearts.
And freedom in their souls.
“That’s why you left?”
“Yes. I still fight for what I believe I should, I still protect what I believe I should, I still live for what I believe I should. But I want to see beyond the stars. I want to see what the Universe has to show me.”
In that split second, Romelle made a decision she knew would forever change her mind.
“I will go with you.”
Lance looked at her, intense, unwavering. She could see in his eyes everything his mouth wasn’t sure how to say. The warnings. The hopes. The fears. The joyfulness. It would be a big change, the blue irises told her.
She would be leaving a lot behind.
She would be facing a lot.
“Would you like to come?”
Taking his hand on hers, seeing his smile grow, Romelle found out she didn’t mind doing so by his side.
i’m so tempted to start shipping romelle and lance just because of the ship name. romance. i mean that’s perfect!! it’s the most satisfying ship name to exist ever and i feel like i need to ship it just so i can use the name.
