It's Not A Ghost Story, It's A Love Story: A Xephmadia Tale

Chapter 3

-----Author's Note-----
Sorry it's so short, I'm already working on the next chapter!
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-----Two Years Later-----
Xephos's POV:
Two years had gone by since Lomadia had left on her mission with the Skylords , and not a day went by when he didn't think of her. Now he was sat in his room, looking over pictures of him and Lom.
Some they had known were taken, others had been sneak shots taken by Crystal. There were pictures of the duo asleep on the sofa at Crystal's house on Christmas Eve after dinner. Another was Lomadia laying on the grass, her head resting in Xeph's lap, both of them stargazing.
Lomadia's eyes glittered as the stars' faint glow caught them.
"They're beautiful aren't they?" Her eyes never wavered from the stars above.
"More than you know." Xephos responded, Lomadia never knowing he wasn't talking about the stars.
The memory ached in his heart, filling him with a sense of longing as he continued to look through the photographs.
He had to stand and take a break from the pictures as tears began to blur his vision. Despite the time that had gone by, his heart still wished to see her...
'What I wouldn't give to hold her one more time.' He thought as he slumped down onto the couch..

Lomadia's POV:
"What's wrong Lomadia?" Her friend Nano asked.
Lomadia had made friends with the people on this planet after her ship had gotten caught in the outer gravity shell and crashed, killing everyone in her crew but her.
"Hu? Oh, I'm fine." She shook off the thoughts.
Nano wasn't going to let the subject drop, "You're obviously not 'fine'. You look like you haven't slept in days...so what's up?"
Lom sighed. "Two years ago today, I had to leave my home and everyone I loved." Her heart broke slightly at the thought of her mother and Xephos. "It's also been about six months since the crash..."
"I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" The fluxed girl cried.
"Don't worry about it...I'll be fine." The witch walked off without another word, back to the place where she had set up since the crash.
She had found out, not to long after she had arrived, that there was a dwindling population of owls. Wanting to do something to contribute to the community, that had so graciously accepted her, she started a sanctuary for the birds on an island not too far out in the harbor.
Many of the people in the area lived around the harbor, making travel and messaging quicker, but something drew Lom to the island. She still felt cut off and different from the others, so the island offered a sort of safe haven for her, not to mention it was beautiful.
When she was upset, or missed Xephos, like she did now, she would run off, deep into the woods that covered the majority of the island, making her nearly impossible to find. She would find a tree and sit next to it or climb it and sit in the crook of the branches and listen to the owls coo.
Soon she was doing exactly that, perched in a large willow tree, cradled by the limbs, tears streaming down her cheeks.
A large, brown, barn owl flew down and landed on the branch next to Lom and nuzzled her shoulder as if trying to encourage her as a sob escaped her lips.
"Thank you Mr. Owl." Lomadia sniffed, petting the feathers on the head of the owl that had become one of her best friends on this new planet.

Xephos's POV:
'I can't keep doing this, it's killing me. I have to at least try to find her, even if I fail, I have to try.' Xephos decided.

-----One Year Later-----

"Xephos, we need you to go on an expedition to the craftia system." The admiral stated.
"And how do you suggest my crew and I get around the gravity shells sir?"
"That's part of the expedition Commander, you have to find out if it's possible."
"And if it's not?" Xephos's voice was tinted with irritation.
"Don't forget, you signed up for this, you knew there were risks." The admiral replied, looking at Xephos with steely eyes.
"Understood...sir." Despite his irritation and fear, a spark of excitement lit up inside him at even the slightest possibility of seeing Lomadia again. "When will we be leaving?"
"As soon as possible...but we understand if you want a few days."
"Is tomorrow a good time?" The commander questioned, not wanting to spend anymore time on this planet than he had too.
"I'll alert your crew." He responded coolly, "You are dismissed."

-----Later-----

"You can't go!"
"And why is that?" Xephos responded, trying to push down the anger that was threatening him.
"You can't go running halfway across the galaxy for some girl! Stay here because we love you!"
Xephos's temper snapped as his mother spoke. "Love me?" He asked, his voice quiet with rage.
"Yes dear." His mother was oblivious to his anger.
"Love me?! Is that why you kicked me out of the house for weeks at a time?! Is that why you cared so much for me when I finally ran away?!" He was yelling now. "That girl I'm running halfway across the galaxy for, he name is Lomadia and she loves me more than you ever did! And I'll be damned if I don't do everything in my power to get her back, the way you never did for me!" Xephos turned on his heel and headed for the door.
"Wait!" The older woman called after her son, but he was already gone.