My heart was pounding against my chest as I looked down at my wife. Her long, blonde hair splayed out on the purple grass outside our little house.

I trailed one finger over her pouting, pink lips. “It’s my duty, Love. Please try to understand. I know more about war and the palace than any other person in our settlement.”

“But you told me you wanted nothing to do with the uprising, Caleb.” Emerald’s eyes searched mine. “What if something happens to you?”

I smiled and kissed her forehead. “Worried about me, are you? How perfectly sweet you are. We’ve only been married for a few days, and you fear my death.”

“You are walking right into a war. Of course, I fear your death, husband!” Her hands ran over my broad shoulders.

The two suns shown overhead, pink clouds filled the sky as a gentle breeze blew. The red forest was in the background, and the scene was beyond gorgeous, but all I saw was her.

My beautiful wife lay on the purple grass, and I lay beside her, stroking my fingers back and forth over her stomach. I leaned in to kiss Emerald.

Her hands ran through my auburn curls, and she swirled her tongue around mine as we kissed. My heart swelled with love for her, and I knew only one thing for certain. She would be at my side through anything.

If we were able to gain control of the palace, it would be the two of us who would take over the ruling of Euthenia. A thing which hadn’t sunk into either of our heads completely.

My fingers found the buttons of her dress, and I unfastened them, freeing her breasts. I took one of the plump mounds in one hand and fondled it.

Her moan let me know she would like a little more than that and I pulled my mouth from hers, finding her blue eyes gazing up at me. “Caleb, I love you.”

The heartbeats stopped, and I held my breath. She loved me. It was the first time she’d told me those words. Finally, my heart resumed beating, and I said, “I love you, Emerald Booth.”

Kissing her again, hard, this time, I pushed the dress from her shoulders, and she unbuttoned my shirt. In no time at all, we were naked on the grass in front of our home in the Euthenian countryside.

She sighed as I entered her and then she ran her long legs around me, holding me to her. It was obvious she enjoyed me as her body reacted to mine with excitement.

Long strokes I made as I moved inside her. She arched up to meet my strokes and moaned at the pleasure I was giving her.

My mouth left hers, going to her neck. She made a low groan as I nipped at it and then sucked the tender flesh just behind her right ear.

I growled as I increased the speed and hardness of my strokes. The need for her grew. Her breath was coming in sharp pants as my force was pushing air from her lungs with each hard thrust.

“Caleb! Yes! Yes!” she cried out as her body pulsed and squeezed around me with her release.

I could take it no more and gave into the need to let go. My climax took me to another place. A place where only the two of them existed.

“I love you, Emerald. I will always love you.”

I left soft kisses all over her face until her hands took mine in them and she stilled me, making me look at her.

“I will always love you too, Caleb. If you feel you have to lead this rebellion, then I will do as you wish.”

“Thank you. I want you right by my side. Always, right by my side. Together we can show these people how we can all exist together, no one a step ahead, no one a step behind. Together, equals.” I kissed her as I hoped we could pull it all off.

When I was at the castle, Kerr and I had long discussions about the future of The Euthenia Nebula. It was Kerr’s intention to change the way things were done.

Kerr wanted to co-exist peacefully with the Earthlings. Treating the people from Earth as pesky nuisances wasn’t going to cut it, though.

If I could manage to take the palace over, then when the royals arrived back home from their trip to Earth, Kerr and I could work out an agreement that would benefit everyone.

The King would be a problem. I knew he’d have to be taken out, but I would need it to look like an accident. An illness of some kind, maybe.

It was something my mother was working on. A poison they could slip into his food or drink. Or perhaps a germ he could be infected with.

Whatever the cost, things on The Euthenia Nebula had to change. Though not a thing I wanted, the responsibility had been placed squarely on my shoulders and I meant to do my best.

The touch of Emerald’s hands as they roamed over my back brought my attention back to her.

“Have you begun to realize your new home will be the palace, Love?” I kissed her pink cheek.

Her eyes rolled. “Let’s not talk about such things. I am happy here, with you. I don’t even want to think about the other.”

“You have to think about the other, Emerald. You and I will help rule this planet.” I pulled away from her and stood up, taking her with me.

Holding her hand, I led her to the pond just inside the woods. Strolling along naked as the day we were born, as no one was anywhere near where I’d built the small hut, we made our way to bathe.

“The King will never allow that, Caleb. It’s a dream, and I am not into looking at a future that is impossible.” She gasped as I stopped and picked her up in my arms and carried her.

“Nothing is impossible, Love. You’ll see. Very soon you will see.”

She let out a shriek as I jumped into the freezing cold water with her in my arms. “Caleb!”

With a hearty laugh, I asked, “Cold?”

Her teeth were chattering, and she tried to get away from me and out of the cold water. I let her out of my arms but got in front of her so she couldn’t make it out of the small pond.

She giggled and splashed water at me. “This is much too cold. We’ll have to gather water in buckets, warm the water over the fire and then bathe in it.”

I swam to her and took her in my arms. “At the palace heated water flows from spouts like magic. They have a central water system, and all the residents have it in their homes. They refuse to allow us to tap into it or create our own. Were you aware of that, Emerald?”

She ran her arms around me and pressed her body to mine. “I was not. I thought we all wanted to live off the land. You know a simple existence.”

“So you’d rather lug heavy buckets of water just so you can bathe in comfortable temperatures rather than have access to it right in your own home, just like all the other residents of Euthenia have?” I ran my hand through her hair and kissed her cheek.

“Caleb, that’s what we came here for. To live simple lives. It’s not the fault of the Euthenians, and there is no need for us to rebel. We picked this life.” She kissed my lips gently. “Call it off Caleb. Use your experience to talk them out of this. People will die.”

“True, but what about our children? Do you wish them to grow up and live in a world where they’re considered only a bit above animals?” I asked her.

Her brows furrowed with the thought. “I suppose they could go back to Earth if they don’t like the way things are done here.”

I shook my head and laughed. “Your parents didn’t explain things to you I guess. You were too young, and they made the decision for you. Signed the paperwork for you.” I tweaked her nose, and she wrinkled it. “None of us can ever return to Earth. It’s over-populated. We all had to sign away our rights as citizens of Earth to come here. Our children can’t just go back. And there’s no room to if we could.”

“So, what you’re telling me is we are stuck here, whether we want to be or not?” Her expression was one of concern. “Caleb, I had no idea. I honestly thought we could leave if we wanted.”

“Other planets won’t allow us to go to them either. We have to make this place our home forever.” I led her out of the pond as her lips had turned blue, and we began walking back to our little house.

I was sure her silence was because she was taking in everything I’d just told her. She had been left in ignorance for far too long.

Now that she knew the truth, perhaps she’d change her mind about the uprising. Maybe she’d want to help me with the integration that had to happen if the children of all the settlers were ever to have decent lives.

The truth was I always knew this time would come. As bad as I wanted peace, I wanted a place my children could call home and feel a part of. I’d fight for that, kill for that, and even die for that if it came to it.