The Princess and The Commoner

"I fully intended to remain on Earth until we completed your degree, then explain my position to you in hopes you would agree to accompany me home as my husband. Unfortunately, that became impossible when I had to return home early and take over the Empire when my father died unexpectedly."

"I, uh. You're an Empress, and you want me to return to your home with you? How do you know we're genetically compatible? For that matter, what about Earth?"

"Earth is a protectorate of my Empire, Randy. One of our large exploration ships crashed on the planet, and before we could rescue the crew and passengers, they supplanted your neanderthals, becoming the dominant species on Earth. Since your people are descended from mine, I know we are compatible.'

"If that's the case, why don't you just take over and bring us into your Empire?"

"We can't. A sentient, indigenous population must attain spaceflight on its own and then request admission to the Empire. After the request, we assess their culture, laws, and potential before approving or denying their entry. I'm sorry, but Earth probably will not be approved for membership unless it changes its ways. The violence, lawlessness, and prejudices in all nations are awful. We've never seen a planet so socially horrible at all. My parents hesitated to let me land to assess your suitability as a consort, fearing the corruption was bad enough even you would be unsuitable or I would be injured."

"But you said we descended from your people, so aren't we, by definition, of your Empire?"

'Not by our laws. That would have been so had we planted the colony, but we did not. Had we found the crew promptly after the crash, we would have planted a colony here and repatriated the first crew to our home worlds, but we did not. It took many generations before your world was discovered by another exploratory ship, and by then, you were deemed an independent planet."

"Ok, what would I do if I came with you? What about my family on Earth? Even after you deserted me, I still loved you. I told myself it wasn't your fault you left, that your guardians forced you to leave. I never could get over you. Every relationship I attempted ended because they weren't you."

Nat scooted closer to Randy. She cupped his face with her hand and gave him a gentle kiss. She rested her cheek on his chest and sighed, then smiled when she felt him wrap his arms around her as much as he could in their position. She raised her hand and rested it on his chest beside her head before she sighed and said, "It wasn't my fault I left. I told you I had to."

Before the quiet became unbearable, Randy asked again, "I still love you so much, Nat, but I'm angry too. I want to go with you, but I'm scared to leave Earth and everything I've ever known. Will being with you be enough? Will I fit into your society? And again, what about my family? Would I ever see them again?"

"Honey, I know it's a lot to consider, to take in, but I assure you, you'll fit in very well. Our society is calm and peaceful, and most of my people act like those few friends we had while I lived next door to you. Yes, I'm sure you'll fit in. If they're willing, we'll take your family with us. If they want to stay on Earth, you can visit whenever you want. Isn't the only family you have your sister and parents? There wouldn't be anyone to miss any of you, other than a few of your parent's friends and work companions. It would be easy enough to do."

"I need to think. I can't just decide right now. How long do I have to make a decision?"

"As long as you need my love. We're hidden behind the moon now and invisible to any Earth detection devices. If you take too long to decide, I may have to return home without you. The demands of my job are heavy, and while I can do most of my work from this ship, occasionally, I have to make a personal appearance."

Nat and Randy spent the next ten days getting to know each other again. Randy fell deeper in love with her every day and missed her badly during her office hours, although he was welcome to come and go as he pleased. On the tenth day, while in Nat's shipboard office with her, he received a frantic phone call from his sister. As was his habit, he answered the phone while putting it on speaker. He never thought to question how he received a cell call while in orbit around the moon. "Randy, where are you? Never mind, you need to come home as quickly as you can. Daddy had a bad heart attack and is in ICU. Mom's a wreck," she said as soon as he answered.

"Shit! I'm, uh, crap. I'm several miles away, interviewing for a new position. Look, stay with them. I'll be there as soon as I can," he said.

When Nat heard the initial conversation, she stopped what she was doing and pressed a button on her console. When the Captain answered, she said, "Captain, return to Earth orbit immediately. I want a geosynchronous orbit directly over Smalltown. Prepare my shuttle for immediate departure when we arrive. Be sure the doctor and a nurse are aboard the shuttle when Randy and I board."

Randy was still talking to his sister, and Nat's conversation was transmitted over his phone to his sister. She said, "Randy, where are you? What did I hear about an Earth orbit and a shuttle? I thought you were interviewing for a job?"

"Uh, I'm... It's an aerospace company. Don't worry. I'll be there as soon as I can. Love you," he stammered before ending the call.

Nat stood, walked around her desk, and grabbed Randy's hand as she almost flew past him. "Come on, Honey. We'll be in orbit now before we can board the shuttle. Do I remember correctly, there's only one hospital in Smalltown?"

"Yeah. What're you going to do? I should get home as soon as possible, but what about the radar?"

"Don't worry. We have good stealth technology. If they detect the ship again, we'll do whatever is necessary. Hopefully, we won't be detected."

"Ok, but what about people seeing us? Where can we land?"

"Let the Captain worry about that. It's his job," Nat said as they entered the shuttle. Before they were seated, the shuttle launched and entered the atmosphere, rocking and bucking while it slowed. Nat explained the situation to the doctor while the shuttle descended to the helipad on the hospital roof.

Nat, the doctor and nurse, and Randy all rushed out the shuttle door after it opened and entered the elevator that descended and opened outside the emergency room. The ER receptionist looked up in surprise when she heard the dedicated elevator doors open before she asked, "How did you people get in that elevator?"

The doctor stepped forward and replied, "Never mind that. I believe you have a Mr. Herbert here. I'm Dr. Green, and the family has asked me to check on him. Where can I find him?"

The woman didn't think. She clicked a few keys on her computer and said, "He's in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, room CI-14. Go down the hallway, turn left and first right."

The four were already moving before she completed her sentence. Nat threw a "Thanks" over her shoulder while following the other three.

The four visitors rushed past the CICU nurse's station and into room 14 before the nurses could greet them. One of the nurses hurried to follow while the other picked up the phone to call security. Randy followed the doctor and nurse into his father's room. While the doctor examined Randy's father, Randy hugged his mother and sister.

After a few seconds, the doctor said, "Your Highness, we should get this man to the ship immediately. We can clone another heart and have him as good as new in a couple of weeks, but we should go now. He won't last much longer in this place."

Without thinking, Nat said, "Do it. Let's go, everyone."

Randy began herding his mother and sister out of the room while the doctor and nurse unlocked the bed wheels (after figuring out how it worked) and began pushing the bed out of the room and down the hallway.

The nurse who followed them into the room was trying to prevent the removal of Mr. Herbert while Nat ran interference. When they moved past the nurse's station on the way out, that nurse also joined the attempt to prevent what they saw as a kidnapping. The two nurses followed everyone into the elevator, leaving just one nurse at the station.

When the doors opened on the flight deck, the nurses stopped in shock at the sight of the shuttle instead of a helicopter. When they got Mr. Herbert's bed next to the shuttle, the doctor and nurse helped Mr. Herbert up and rushed him into the shuttle with the remainder of the group following. The shuttle door closed, and it was gone in a flash, leaving the shocked nurses standing and watching in fear and a little awe.

By the time the shuttle was airborne, Randy's mother and sister had recovered somewhat from the initial shock and began questioning him. Surprisingly, Sylvia's first question was, "You're Natalie aren't you?"

Nat smiled and said, "Yes. I'm surprised you remembered me."

"You hurt Randy so much when you left. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Mom," Randy said. "Not now. We've gotten past that, and I'll explain later. Right now, let's get dad well."

Linda, Randy's sister, looked around again and gasped. She yelled, "Look outside! Is that the Earth? Oh, my God. A spaceship! Randy, what's going on? Wait," she said and turned to face Nat again. "That man addressed you as Your Highness. Just who are you, and how did we get here?"

Nat sighed before she smiled and said, "I'm Natalie, as your mother asked. I'm also the Empress Natalie Antonette Regis, Empress of the Sirian Empire and, I hope, Randy's future wife."

"Oh, God, this can't be true."

This time when they broke Earth's orbit, the ship didn't stop behind the moon. It continued into deep space and, with a little shudder, into FTL travel. Six days later, they arrived at Sirius, and Mr. Herbert was transferred to the hospital wing of the palace. A new heart clone was begun, and a more in-depth explanation of things was given to Randy's family.

Three weeks after Mr. Herbert received his cloned heart, he sat watching his only son marry Empress Regis. After the wedding, the entire family took up residence on Sirius to live the remainder of their long lives.