A Home That Far

Chapter 9 No Where Else to Run

The bazaar was fantastic. The children all seemed to have enjoyed themselves, the adults as well. The teens described the games they had the opportunity to play, and the kids all talked about the new friends they'd made. Storm and Jean looked over schedules of the village classes, and how many teachers there were, to be sure the kids of their group weren't overloading thecherchers too much, and even found time for tutors for themselves.

As the professor sat listening to his charges, he thought maybe the news he was to give wouldn't be as hard hitting to them as he thought. "Professor?" asked Jean, noting how solemn he seemed, and how shielded his mind was for some reason, even from her.

"I'm alright Jean. Is everyone here?"

"No," Scott cursed under his breath. "Kale is off somewhere, and I bet I know who with."

"That's quite enough Scott. I'll take care of this." He sat quietly for a moment, as he reached his thoughts out to the castle grounds. He could always find Kale, even though he couldn't read her thoughts as he could everyone else. She was the consciousness that seemed blank to him. As he found her presence, he searched for a mind near by that was familiar, and found Duncan. He hoped he didn't mind.

"He's been going out day after day," Duncan explained, patting the black face of the King's e. \e. "Leaving before sunrise, and returning after sunset. I've yet to have the guards keep up with him. He's determined to find my white horse."
"So he doesn't know? About me?"

"No. He hasn't been around long enough to listen to the gossip. According to the last gate sentry to see him he didn't look too rested. He's got a few scratches that he could see on his face. But when he was asked, the guard said that he didn't want to let me dowe wae was the one to let my horse get away, and he was determined to get her back. He then disappeared into the trees again." Kale sat herself down on the bales of hay, trying to still her spinning vision. "You ok?"

"No. I think I'm drunk. Or on the way to it."

"What? What did you drink?"

"A bit of everything at the bazaar. They were so good, and I didn't think that a little of each beverage would do any harm. Besides, I didn't want to insult our new neighbors by refusing some of the samples they worked so hard to bring. The poor Andreenids were freezing their exoskeletons off out there."

"One beverage in great quantities, no, but if you mix certain ones, you get the equivalent of wine, or stronger. Did you try any of the Avion beverages?" She nodded. "The Selian?" Again she nodded. "Don't tell me you drank some of the Andreenid Honey Soda?" Again she nodded, holding up five fingers. "Five cups?"

"It was my favorite. That's when I started to feel dizzy. I wanted a place to sleep it off, whatever it was that I put myself under, and I wound up here."

"Those three drinks in combination are notorious for inducing a kind of inebriation. You're lucky you can still stand up."

"They didn't tell us anything like that."

"They probably thought you already knew." He sat down next to her, holding her to him as she tried to clear her mind. "It will pass, not to worry."

"Couldn't Scott be the one to get drunk, and not me? Jean could really have her fun then, maybe loosen the guy up a bit. Did you see the way he was looking at everyone at the bazaar? Like they were sizing us up for slaughter or something."

"Take it easy, you'll be ok....huh...?" Duncan felt something at the edge of his thoughts, like a tickle, or maybe...yes...a whisper.

"Duncan, this is Xavier, please excuse me. Could you bring Kale to the main dinning hall? I've something to tell everyone."

"What's wrong?" Kale asked, seeing the sour look spread across Duncan's kind face.

"Your professor just paid me a visit. He wants you in the dinning hall." "Oh, ok."

"Why didn't he reach to you? I hate it when strange telepaths barge into my thoughts like that."

"I'm sure he didn't mean to offend you. But because I can change my shape, including the size of my brain, believe it or not, he can't reach my mind like he can yours. Something to do with continual cellular flux or something, I'm sure you can work something out."

"Yeah, come on, before he sends someone to find you."

"I'm thinking..."

"You can still do that in your state of mind?" he chuckled, watching her stagger to her feet, before finally getting her to ditch one of her crutches and held her up himself. "Very funny. No, about the boy. If he's so bent on bringing back your white horse, maybe he should. I didn't exactly leave him in good spirits you know."

"You feel up to that?"

"Of course I do! I'm not that drunk...hup...! Could we make a stop along the way please?"

Storm took the glass from Kale as she finished the water. Her face was completely without color. Storm nearly got pushed to the floor as Kale tried to run into the common bathroom nearest the dinning hall. She'd never seen Kale so sick. "Feeling better?" the woman asked.

"Oh yeah. Much. After making offerings of mass quantities to the great porcelain throne god, I'm just great. Could I have some more water please?"

"What in the world did you eat?"

"It isn't so much what I ate, but what I drank," she confessed sipping at another glass of water. "That honey soda really packs a punch. Whatever you do, don't mix it with anything. You'll end up like me."

"Your friend Teela warned me about that, but she couldn't find you to do the same. Where did you go?"

"I was getting dragged around by the power triplets. Finally they split up after nearly sending a Selian through his booth."

"Is that what the commotion was?"

"Yeah. The Selian didn't seem to mind. Said it was the best charge he got out of a bunch of kids in a while. I think he was being sarcastic though."

"Well, all is well. Other than your absence from sobriety, you enjoyed yourself?"

"Yeah. And I found out that the kid that helped look after me as a horse, is still out looking for that same white mare. He's gona be sick if we don't do something soon. It's all my fault."

"Oh Kale, don't start crying, for heaven sake."

"I'm sorry. I can't help it."

"I think you best go to bed, I'll explain to the professor."

"OH NO! You say a word, and Scott will blame the humans here for trying to poison us. No, I'm going. Just, stop spinning around the room will you."

"This is going to be interesting."

"You're telling me."

Storm helped Kale back into the hall, and with Duncan at their side, she helped Kale find a place to sit near the far end of the table from Scott and Jean. Kale nodded politely to King Randor, as he too took a seat at the table, along with several other Masters, who were the rulers of their own domains. Once all were settled, Xavier began.

"As you know, we have a problem. We were supposed to meet up with Lalandra's people in space, but we ended up here. While you were all occupied today, and I hope you enjoyed yourselves, I searched the depths of space for Lalandra, or anyone in the She'ar Empire, and their allies.

"It took all afternoon, but I finally got a responsis nis name was Toklen, the commander of a troop transport, some distance form here. When I asked him to get a message to Lalandra, he gave me some very grave news.

"They are not sure why, but the ship we build didn't make it to the rendezvous point with Lalandra's ship. They spent years searching space for us, to no avail. Lalandra thus waited, ten years, normal for her people to wait for a missing spouse to be found, then she remarried. We were all declared dead.

"She lived her life, had several children, and passed on at the age of one hundred eighty two. That was over fifteen thousand years ago." You could almost hear all the chins hit the floor.

"In the following five hundred years after we left Earth, The Human's were forced to develop a cure for the virus that they developed to kill us, for the people that were left, were too few to carry on the species.

"In time, they used genetic manipulation to force into dormancy all X genes. And used drugs, to continue that in the lives of all their people. When the species was of sufficient numbers again, they then turned their sights to the stars, and ventured out of their solar system.

"They met with representatives of the She'ar some thousand years after Lalandra passed away. But the humans did not learn anything. They started a war, not just with the She'ar, but with every race of beings out there that they came across that didn't look human.

"And to this day the war continues. Toklen has promised to relay our whereabouts the current reigning Emperor, for there is still a search going on for our remains. But it is with his advice that we remain where we are. We should not try to leave this planet.

"This world, and many others, are in a protected area of space. Because these people do not have the capability of space flight, their planets have been deemed off limits to travelers, and visitors. Though we crashed here, and cannot leave, he will implore the Emperor not to remove us. For the simple reason, there is no place safe for us to go.

"King Randor, you offered us a place to live, and we thank you, I must now ask you, as Ruler of Eternia, we ask for Political Asylum on this world."

"NO!!" Scott shouted. "There has to be a planet we can go to. Someplace were there are no humans!"

"Scott, sit down, now!"

"Professor, I've been tolerant, I've been patient, but enough is enough. You've contacted the She'ar, have them come and get us! NOW!"

"BE SILENT!" Everyone turned to Randor. No one, not even his own son, heard him yell that aggressively before. "You are acting like a spoiled child! This world is safe. Do you really wish to take these children into a war zone? You will most certainly be killed! Think of them, not of your self!"

"I am thinking of them, human! I will not stand by and let your people plot behind our backs! Waiting for the moment to kill us! We are all that is left of our people. We once ranged in the hundreds of thousands, and..."

"No Duncan," Kale whispered, watching Scott intently. "Let him go, he's about to break anyway. Let him get it out of his system." Duncan retook his seat. Maybe this was what he needed.

"...In a matter of hours...I watched, thousands of our people die." Tears started running freely from beneath Scott's visor, his voice began to crack, but still he would not allomselmself to cry. "...I watched friends, people I knew, kids we watched over, who were trapped outside, die on Television! Humans laughing, mocking as they died in agony! Calling us filthy mutant scum! I will not...I will not...!!!"

Slowly Randor came around the table and took Scott by his shoulders, making him face him. "There is no place left for you to run, my friend," the king said softly. "You are safe here. I will use every weapon at my disposal to make sure of that. I will stand before your enemies at your side, ready to fight, all to keep the remaining survivors of your people safe. You are welcome here, and I grant you Asylum."

Scott just collapsed, he was shaking, and everyone knew he was crying, but he didn't make a sound. Logan and Jean helped the man to his feet, and took him to his room. Perhaps now, he'd be better to live with. Perhaps now, his paranoia would fade.

Kale pulled her blanket over her head as the pounding between her ears got worse. The constant knocking on the door didn't help either. She moaned as the pounding got worse. Futilely she threw one of her pillows at the door. "Go away!" she yelled, regretting her own voice.

The door slid open and the discarded pillow collected. "Kale?" asked a man's voice. "Kale...?"

"Go away, please?" she muttereom uom under her pillow.

"No Kale...we have to find Tobura. Remember?"

"Yes...But I'm not awake yet."

The man pulled the pillow from her head. Her white hair lay like several squashed spiders over her face & bare shoulder. He kneeled next to her bed, smoothing the mimicking strands to order, away from her face. "Hung over?" he whispered.

"Not so loud Duncan. Please!" she whimpered, grasping her pillow back and burying herself into her bedding once more.

"Come on, or I'll pull the covers off you."

"You wouldn't dare!" In one smooth motion, the blankets and pillows were on the floor next to him, and before he could glimpse her, she was crouched on the floor on the other side, using the bed to hide behind. "DUNCAN!! I'm not wearing anything!"

For a moment, one far too short for his liking, he wished he could see her, just once, this way. Instead, he quickly closed his eyes and turned away. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I thought..."

"Top sheet please! Just chuck it over." She caught the fabric as it went sailing over her head. "Thank you."

"I'm very sorry Kale. Really."

"Its ok," she said, wrapped in the sheet and gathering her new dress from the wardrobe in front of him. "Just, don't tell anyone that I'm shape shifting."

"Oh?" he asked.

"Hank told me not to, but Tobura won't listen, if you tell him I'm your horse." She disappeared into the bathroom and turned on the cold water in the sink. "Has Tobura left yet?" she asked.

"Not yet, I believe," he said, still with his eyes closed. "I'm beginning to have doubts about this idea."

"Why's that?" she asked, emerging from the bathroom, now dressed, and drying her face. The cold water felt good on her skin, and it seemed to ease her headache. She then noticed his eyes were closed. She smiled, envisioning different things she could do, but braced herself against her mischievous nature. He was a kind and dignified man, he wouldn't have appreciated her advances that way, she was sure. "You can open your eyes now."

He chanced just a glimpse, in case she was messing around, though it didn't seem like her, he wished she was. Seeing her dressed in the green gown the Queen had given her, he opened both eyes and watched her, as she sat at the vanity, brushing her hair. "If your own physician doesn't want you to use your powers, perhaps you shouldn't. we can find another way."

"Don't worry. I've got it all worked out."

"Oh?"

"I'm not going to be moving around a lot, if that's what you're thinking."

"No..." then he noticed that she hadn't once used her crutches. He picked them op from the end of her bed, and handed them to her, clearing his throat as he did so.

"Don't' be like that," she pleaded. "I've not used them at all in the mornings for the past few days. My legs are getting stronger."

"Not strong enough, if you still need them later in the day."

"Now you're sounding like T'near."

Duncan lay the crutches on the floor as houchouched next to her, his voice soft yet full of concern as he spoke. "Kale, you've been through a lot. I'd like to see you at full strength. I don't want to see you hurt yourself."

She laid the brush on the dresser, leaned over, and gently kissed his brow. He didn't dare move, he couldn't believe she'd just kissed him. He wanted so much to hold her, to bring her lips to his, to feel bre breath quicken with his own. But the all too brief kiss ended, and she was once more unreachable. "You're sweet to worry about me. But I'm fine."

"Use the crutches. Or T'near and Hank will learn that you haven't."

"You wouldn't!"

"I would," he whispered, and moved closer to kiss her at last.

Or he would have, had someone not knocked on the door. "Yes?" she asked, quickly turning. Duncan sighed & stood up, disappointed that his chance was thwarted.

"Its Jean, can I come in?"

"Yeah," and the door slid open to admit the red haired woman.

"Storm and I are making schedules," she said, not watching where she was going, and walked right into Duncan. Surprised she gathered her papers, and stepped around him. "Sorry, excuse me."

"No harm done."

"What schedules?" Kale asked.

"Yes," Jean replied, handing Kale a paper. "Our tutoring classes. Even the Queen is teaching us."

"Don't' blame her. 137 houseguests are getting to be like week old fish. I think she'd be happy we left."

"You think?"

"Yes!" Kale laughed. "Two meeting rooms were converted into dorms, every guest room has at least two people occupying them. This room is one of Duncan's personal rooms. That's the only reason I don't have a room mate."

"I think there's more to it than that," Jean hinted quietly, glancing in Duncan's direction as he stoked the fire. "Can we talk alone?" she asked.

"Its rude," Kale stated. "But I'll ask..."

"No need," Duncan said heading for the door. "I've been around long enough to know when girls start whispering, its time to leave the room."

"Sorry Duncan."

"Not to worry Kale. I'll be outside. Mrs. Summers, make sure she uses her crutches." And the door slid shut behind him.

Jean sighed and turned to Kale. "I know you've heard it often from all of us, but Duncan is human...are you sure you can trust him?"

Kale put her brush down once more, as she looked at Jean in the mirror. "I've heard. Yes. But if Duncan really wanted all like us dead, he would have let me die, and kill both Storm and Scott, long ago. He hasn't, and he's done all he to hto help us. I find it difficult to miss trust someone like that."

"He's hiding things."

"So do we. So don't' go poking around his mind. He doesn't like that."

"Its not that...Its just, certain times he's easy to sense, then others he's guarded, like he's deliberately trying to hide things...maybe even from himself."

"Then don't worry about him. They are his problems, his secrets. They've nothing to do with us."

"I don't think I could love someone with secrets, much less a human."

"I don't' love him..."

"You sure about that? Even you are conflicted. I may not be able to sense you, but I can see it in your face."

"Would you stop! I'm old enough to make my own decisions. I don't need your help, or your approval."

"That's just it. We wont approve. If you choose him...After all that has happened to us, you'd still choose a human?"

"I..."

"Think about it carefully," Jean warned, heading for the door. "What you choose...will cost you dearly...or not." The door closed, leaving Kale alone, yet again.

She picked up her brush once more but threw it down without using it. How dare she! How dare Jean threaten her like that. It isn't' like she was planning to spend the rest of her life with Duncan. But she would need someone even as a good friend. Then why were all her desires turning to Duncan? Why did she want him to always be near? Why did she feel so insecure, even with her own people around, when Duncan wasn't near? Most importantly, why did she kiss him? Sure it was just a tiny peck on his forehead. But still, why'd she do it?

She picked up one of her crutches and tucked it carefully under her right arm. She only needed one, it wer rer right leg that was weak, after all. She made her way to the door, slipping her feet into her boots and grabbing her coat as she went. She found Duncan waiting in the hall, quietly talking with one of the guards of the palace. Seeing Kale was ready, he sent his subordinate on his way, and guided Kale to a waiting flyer outside.

"Am I being raked over the coals again?" he asked her, for she was hardly ever silent, or without a pleasant grin at least.

"What? Oh no. but your ears must have been burning all the same."

"Why?"

"No, its just a saying. If your ears are warm, it means someone's talking about you."

"I see. Any others I should be aware of?" he asked, removing his left glove to scratch his hand.

"Yeah, an itchy left hand is a sign you'll be coming into some money. An itchy right hand, and you'll shake hands with a stranger."

"I had to ask. Come on, get in."

"Man-at-Arms! Sir! Wait!" the pair turned to another guard running form the barn. "Sir, I'm sorry, we lost him."

"Great."

"Which way was he going?"

"Towards the canyons."

"That's crazy!"

"It would make sense," she said. "Once you check all the places a wounded horse could go, look in the more unconventional places."

"Alright. Bring the men back. We'll take it from here."

"Yes sir. Oh, did you check the race board yet?" "No I didn't. Who won?"

"The horse from Timran, ah...can't remember the name..."

"Sentena?"

"Yes, that's right. Whoever put a bet on him is getting quite the purse. A hundred to one odds...its going to pay out really well."

"Thank you. Return to your post."

"Yes sir."

Duncan climbed into the flyer and hit the ignition switch. "Left hand itches you say?"

"Yeah."

"Teela & T'near talked me into placing a bet on a horse in the Eternia Stakes, the last and richest race of the year."

"And?"

"He won. I'm apparently getting quite the winnings."

"Well there you go."

"I think life with your people is going to be very interesting."

"Is that so?" she asked, sliding sideways on the seat as he banked the craft hard left. Rather than scurry back across right away, she nestled closer to him, his warmth adding to her own against the cold wind chill. "I guess we can brighten up life, add a little spice when needed. We'll see."