Disguised In Stardust ✔

Chapter Four

After I took him home, I got him dressed in real clothes. He couldn't wear my shirts comfortably because of his wings. After I convinced him to tolerate it, the chaos began.

He complained endlessly, throwing fits like a child. He rambled about how all humans were cruel and selfish; I tried my best to ignore him. I still had an essay due, and considering my circumstances, I couldn't focus on that right now.

"Will you even tell me your name?" I asked him, interrupting a spew of his nonsensical cavils.

"A peasant like you doesn't deserve to know royalty." he turned his head away from me and kept fiddling with my baseball cap.

"Royalty?"

"Ugh." He tossed the cap aside and shot me a droll stare. "You really are unlettered."

I tugged on a pinkish lock of hair, feeling the silky texture of it. His breath hitched audibly, eyes keen on the way my fingers threaded through his hair. "We've just discovered your homeland. It's millions of light years away. How are you to tell me that I'm unlettered, when you come from an entirely different planet?" I asked gently.

A blush spread rapidly across his face, trailing over his cheeks and nose. A fine shiver passed through him as he shoved my hand out from his hair. "Don't speak to me that way.." His voice wavered.

I suggested, "Instead of yelling at me for not knowing something, why don't you explain it so I do know?" He seemed to actually consider that.

"If I must.." he sighed.

"I come from Silleon C88. We have two moons, Dapra and Neiter. There are two sides of this planet. Faerie Folk rule one half and Austere Dwarves rule the other. I'm of the Faerie Folk." He gestured to himself.

He continued, shaking off any hesitation, "I am Prince of the Oletis Empire." (Oh-lay-tis)

"So you are royalty." I gaped, running my eyes over him. It did make sense that he had sovereign blood. His disrespect and snobbiness was likely for a prince.

"You didn't believe me?" he warned.

"I was just confused." I raised my hands in surrender before he could tell me off again.

"Anyway," he cleared his throat, "we have ancient history involving... mates. Whoever is the next heir's mate will reign with them for the following hundred xaits or so."

"X...aits?"

He looked at me for a while until he realized. "Oh. Xaits are a unit of time for us. Just like your hours, minutes, seconds... Xaits are about two years in your units. So 200 years for you."

"Oh.. Well have you found your mate yet?" I asked animatedly. He didn't take that kindly; however, he did reply.

This time he went silent, then hid his face in his hands. He peeked through his fingers so I could see his bashful grey eyes.

"I have."

_

From what the alien told me, his father went by Lord Halvor. He gave me more insight on Silleon, and his hometown of Hazelshire. The border between the Dwarves and Faeries was called Farfront.

The Dwarves broke off as a revolution against the Faeries a few thousand "xaits" ago. The Dwarves had their own royal system too; they called it the Rathage Empire. Their palace was called Gatterlen Keep.

Silleon was practically the eye of a war between fire and decay, Dwarves and Faeries.

Something about the way he told me all this, worried me. His voice was solemn and low, almost as if he were lamenting. His eyes didn’t reach his words, as they were somewhere else entirely. When I tried consoling him, he just pushed me away. I wondered why he was so defensive.

I tried prodding more but he avoided everything. Instead of answering my questions, he insulted me and argued like a child. He called me nosy and "overly talkative." I couldn't blame him.

"So..." I tried changing the subject, "are you going to tell me your name now?"

He just glared at me and turned away.

"I need something to call-"

"Faelin."

"What?"

“Faelin Zyldi.. my name.” His cold gravel eyes flicked away. He pouted a little, but only enough for me to barely catch it.

“Oh.. Thank you. Also, please don't be so dense. I’m glad you told me.” I reached out but he shot back with a grimace.

“That doesn’t mean I granted you permission to touch me!” he snapped, putting his leg between us. My clothes looked good on him, especially the cloth pants. They hugged his curves like a second layer of skin. He didn’t like the rough feel of jeans and he said they were unfamiliar.

“My ancestors would scold me if I were to even mingle with one of your kind, let alone cross skins.” His face contorted painfully as he spoke.

“Don't you have a dad, uhh... Halvor?”

“Yes, he is Lord of Oletis. His time on the throne is dwindling and here I am, stuck on this rock with seven billion mindless swindlers.” he sighed exasperatedly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“What about your mom?" I added.

“My what? I never had one. My other father died a three xaits ago. That’d be around six years for your kind. We were attacked. He fought well, not once did he falter. When someone loses their mate, they lose a part of themselves…”

He stopped himself from continuing. His eyes went red rimmed, but he turned away before I could see him weep. He wiped at his face vigorously, grumbling under his breath. When he looked back, a minute petal fluttered down his cheek.

Before I could ask, he waved his hands rapidly and shushed me. He let out a stressed huff, plucking the vines from his eyelids.

“Adrobi Willowherb.” he spoke, softer this time, “Unlike humans, we cry poisonous flora. The detestable Dwarves cry ashen smoke instead.. How—”

My phone went off, cutting Faelin’s words short. He scoffed, like the grand royalty he was, and turned ungraciously. “Hello?” I asked, even though I already knew who I was talking to.

“The alien escaped.” Seth’s terse voice crackled through.

Oh God. I glanced over to Faelin, watching as he bounced his knee in irritation. "Yeah I heard.." I winced at the sound of my blatant lie.

"Are you kidding? You 'heard?' Have you checked the social medias? The news? There's a video spreading and you're in it."

"Look man- I had nothing to do with it," I panicked, "I don't know where it went!"

"I saw you with it before the video ended. You couldn't have lost it that easily."

"Okay so I accidentally touched the exhibit and melted the whole thing." I said hastily, nearly stringing my words together.

"What happened? What did you do?!" I could practically hear his brow raising in suspicion. Damn, I was a horrible liar.

"It ran away..." I sighed.

"No, it didn't. You know where it is."

Shit.

__