Fantasy Stuff that took forever

Chapter 5

Selia found Galilea sitting in the cockpit, pushing buttons and punching keys furiously. "Hey guys!" she called to the two boys. "She's in here!"

Warren stood and brushed off his pants. He'd been looking under the workbenches and in cabinets, thinking that she had hidden there. Marvel stepped down from his stool he'd been using to look out of the topmost window.

"What's wrong?" Selia asked Galilea. Her aunt kept working, her fingers flying furiously over the keypads and buttons.

"Changing coordinates," she grunted briskly. "Difficult."

"I wonder how they got changed in the first place," Selia whispered under her breath. It was incredibly odd. Selia wondered exactly who had done it. Could the coordinates be altered from outside of the vehicle? "Galilea, could the coordinates be changed from outside the ship?" Selia asked her aunt.

"No, the computer doesn't work that way, it must have been a malfunction," Galilea continued with uncertainty. But, when Galilea kept glancing at Marvel with a suspicious expression, Selia knew she was lying. Selia could tell Galilea knew something they didn't, or maybe shouldn't know. But, only the four of them had been into the cockpit at one point or another, and Selia couldn't imagine any of them doing something like that. Selia tried to cast the thought from her mind, but the uneasy feeling refused to leave.

"What was that loud noise we heard?" Warren asked, interrupting Selia's train of thought.

"The assassins boarded my ship and demanded to know where I was keeping you three. I lied and said I had dropped you off by the gates, which means we have approximately two hours before they come looking for us." Galilea explained hastily, her pace never slowing.

Marvel either didn't notice the looks he was receiving or didn't care, because his expression remained cold and serious as he stared straight ahead. "What are we gonna do?" he asked.

"Stop talking to me and hope for a miracle," Galilea paused briefly to gaze up at him, their glare softening for a split second. Warren and Selia exchanged odd glances. Selia knew her aunt had raised Marvel, but she didn't expect her behavior towards him to be so complicated.

Finally, after endless minutes of tapping, their coordinates finally changed. "There," Galilea announced, leaning back and sighing. "I re-entered our position."

"Good." Marvel said unexpectedly. "Now, let's get going."

"He's right," Warren agreed, even more surprisingly. "What's our next move?"

Simultaneously, all three of them turned to Selia and looked at her expectantly. Selia blushed and her eyes widened. She knew Galilea had said the whole "You're team captain" speech earlier, but Selia hadn't known she'd meant it.

"I, uh, well....." she spluttered, tugging on her braid. "What about seeing those Celestials in high places you were talking about? You know, to change our looks?"

"Excellent," Galilea praised, as if Selia had passed some sort of test. "I hoped you'd remembered. Yes, my friend's name is Liberty. She's a rebel assassin who works for the queen directly undercover. But, even Liberty has secrets that Osp'ru doesn't know about."

"That sounds awfully shifty. How are we supposed to know what Liberty is and isn't telling the Queen?" Warren asked. He'd had enough changes in character to last a lifetime! All their jumbly feelings made him confused and anxious.

"That's simple," Galilea answered, "We don't."

"So, you're giving our lives to an assassin, which, mind you, we're trying to run away from, who also happens to be Queen Osp'ru's personal killer and secret agent?" Marvel said with sarcastic enthusiasm. "What could go wrong?"

"Well, we could sit around arguing about it until our time runs out. Unless, you have a better idea?" Galilea responded cooly.

When Marvel's face grew redder and redder, Galilea nodded. "That's what I thought. Now, get ready everyone." she said, pulling her aviator goggles onto her head. "It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"

Selia's face grew pale.

"Not again." Warren groaned.

Galilea smiled devilishly and pushed a lever forward dramatically. Instantly, Selia was flung backward and onto her back. Marvel latched onto a cabinet and gripped it tightly. Warren squealed and landed in the pile of their old clothes. Selia had forgotten they'd kept their servant attire, but had barely enough time to think about it, because as soon as she was distracted by Warren, Galilea turned up the speed one notch. Selia slammed her head in the back of a pillar and everything went black. Before she drifted off, she heard the faint yells of her companions.