Loveless Ages

Chapter Eight

I just told them the secret that I promised my mother I would keep. But secrets are meant to be told, aren’t they? All secrets reach the surface at one point or the other, and I sacrificed my secret for the greater good. Xander and Josh are both staring at me with astonishment.

“What do you mean your mother is the monarch?” Josh asks.

“I mean what I said,” I tell them, “She’s my connection.”

“This is insane,” Josh says. Xander hasn’t said anything yet. I look at him and he seems to be avoiding eye contact.

“Xander?” I say. He blinks a few time and then turns to look at me.

“How do you know that?” he asks, “You aren’t supposed to know that.” His reaction is strange…

“Did you know?” I ask. He looks around the room.

“Maybe.”

“What the hell?” I say, “How? How did you know? How long did you know?”

“Don’t you worry about that,” he says, “You better not let anyone know that you know. It’s dangerous.”

“In what way?” I ask him.

“The Schlutonian government doesn’t like it when people know things they shouldn’t,” Xander says.

“Yes, but my mother is the leader of them all,” I say. He smirks.

“The government is more loyal to itself than it is to its monarch,” Xander says. What is that supposed to mean? I’m not in the mood to participate in Xander’s cryptic games.

“So what are we going to do?” Josh asks.

“I think we should find a way to cure everyone,” I say. Xander sighs loudly and sits back in his seat.

“Is there a problem Xander?” I ask.

“I just think it’s a stupid idea,” he says.

“Are you serious?” I ask.

“Yes! It was one thing when you wanted to cure one person but the entire nation? You are just one teenage girl Malinda. You can’t heal the world,” he says.

“If we don’t do it who else will?” I ask.

“No one,” Xander says, “Can’t you just leave things alone?”

“Are you really saying this right now?” I ask. The baby begins crying. I groan and stand up.

“I can take her,” the blonde girl offers. I look at her.

“I mean, you and Xander seem to be…talking and I wouldn’t mind taking her outside for a little bit,” she says.

“You don’t mind?” I ask.

“Yeah, it’s fine. I love babies,” she says with a wide smile. She comes over and takes Luna out of my hands.

“I’ll go with you,” Josh says to her. They leave Xander and I alone in a large and quiet room.

“What do you have against changing everyone back to the way they should be?” I break the silence.

“The word back,” Xander says, “It isn’t true.”

“How do you mean?”

“These people never had emotions in the first place,” Xander says, “What gives us the right to change them into something they never were?”

“It’s how they’re supposed to be!” I say.

“Who are we to decide how people are supposed to be?” Xander asks.