The sun shining out the window wakes me. Confusion fills me as I look around and realize the ship is on the ground.

But where is Kataline?

What happened? When did we land? How long have I been asleep?

Getting up, I stagger to wash my face and try to wake up. I feel as if I’ve been drugged.

Running my wet hands over my hair, I look at my reflection and see quite a bit of stubble as it looks as if I haven’t shaved in some time. Though I distinctly recall shaving.

Noise in the corridor has my curiosity piqued, and I go and open the door of my room. A few of the royal guards stagger looking about as confused as I feel.

I stop the one nearest me. “Guard, do you have any idea what has happened?”

“I just woke up. I was on the floor in the galley. There were others sleeping in there as well. I suppose some type of gas was used to put us all to sleep, Prince.” He staggers away, holding onto the wall to keep himself up.

Finding my body weak, I think it’s safe to say we’ve been asleep for some time. I find some water and drink it down to quench a fierce thirst that further convinces me of my suspicions.

The door to the ship is open and the few who are awake, walk out of it and then come right back in. There are five men, and they all have their fingers in their mouths telling the rest of us to be quiet.

Once they get to me, one whispers, “Princess Kataline has the King kneeling on the ground outside.”

“What sort of weapon does she have?” I ask.

Another shakes his head. “None, Sire.”

My heart pounds in my chest as if a thousand equines are charging through it.

I cannot allow her to kill my father!

“Come! She has to be stopped!” I tell them. “Stay behind me, though. I might be able to get through to her.”

Just as I walk out and spot my wife and father, I stop and stare at how she’s looking at him and listen hard.

I hear my father, not pleading but speaking with a calm voice, “Kataline before you send me from this world, I want to apologize to you. I have been an old fool and know well what I have done. Please know I take responsibility for all of my actions. I was given great power and did nothing good with it.”

I watch Kataline’s eyes twitch. That deep voice I’ve heard come from her says, “How clever you must think yourself, King. Your apology will not save you.”

I can wait no longer and begin to move out of the cover of the edge of the ship. Just as I am about to speak, I hear a shriek coming from Kataline.

My father looks up at her from his place on the ground in front of her. “Child, are you alright?”

Her hands go to hold either side of her head, and she holds it as she screams and screams. Then it stops suddenly. She seems to be reeling with shock.

Kataline looks down at my father. It’s her voice that speaks, “Rise, Sire. I will not allow them to take your life.” She holds her hand out to him, and he accepts it.

“Kataline, you’re back,” he says. “How did you manage to get back?”

“I took myself back over.” She smiles at him with that wonderfully sweet smile of hers. “There is a demon or two in all of us. We struggle all the time with them. But in the end, good must prevail.”

My father scoops her up in his arms and hugs her. “Glad to see you won the battle, child.”

He lets her out of his grip, and she looks at him. “And I know your demons waged a battle in you once and you lost it to them for a while. But you managed to silence them, and now it is time to right your wrongs, Sire.”

“That it is, Princess,” he says.

More people have woken up, and some begin to come out of the other ships. Everyone looks confused, and finding the King and Kataline in the middle of all the ships, as they’ve landed in a circular formation doesn’t help anyone understand things any better.

Aunt Nar comes to meet them as do I. She asks, “What is going on, Your Highness?”

My father looks at her and waves his hand, gesturing for all to gather round. “I have a confession to make.”

I take Kataline’s hand, and she looks at me. “Kerr, did you sleep well?”

“Um, not sure. I remember nothing,” I tell her. I place a kiss on her cheek. “Do you think you have that under control now?”

She nods and smiles. “I do. I have been waging a war inside my head, but I won out in the end. It is the dark one who slumbers in the warm liquid now, and I plan to keep it there.”

It seems as if all have woken up and gathered around us. My father raises his hands above his head as if in surrender. “I have done an awful thing, and I will accept any punishment the royals deem appropriate for the crimes I have committed.”

I place my hand on his shoulder. “Father, perhaps you and I should talk in private about this matter.”

He shakes his head and pats my hand. “No, son. It’s time to come clean.” He looks back around and his eyes land on Nar who stands near him. “I had my brother kill the Queen and then because of my hate for what he did, I took him to another planet and dumped him. I have no idea if he’s even still alive. I highly doubt it.”

My ears cannot believe what they’ve just heard. “No, Father. Please tell me that’s not true!” My head spins with the news, and I can’t feel a thing. Numbness has enveloped me, and this cannot be real.

A hush falls over the crowd, and Nar’s hand flies back, and she delivers a sound slap to his cheek. “Hexultan!”

My father’s face turns with the force of the hard slap, and he leaves his head down. “I completely understand if you all wish to string me up and take my life right here and now.”

My knees feel weak, and I feel Kataline’s hand on my back as people murmur around us. She looks around and says, “May I remind you all that the capital and palace have been taken over and every man and woman we have is needed to help getting it back.”

I nod and look around. “The Princess is right. We can deal with the King once we have control back and find out who is behind this uprising.” I look at my aunt. “Okay, Nar?”

Tears have welled up in her blue eyes. “How could you, Hexultan?”

My father shakes his head. “I have no excuse and will offer none. All I can say is my head wasn’t right at that time.”

This is too much for me to deal with right now. I can’t handle the takeover and this horrible news.

How could he do such a thing?

My father loved my mother. It’s impossible that he really did that. Impossible!

Kataline reaches out, takes his hand in hers and then looks out at the crowd. “I am here to tell you all that evil resides in every one of us. The King let it rule him for a short time, and he is willing to pay the price whatever that may be. I would like to remind everyone, vengeance is not ours to take. Keep that in mind as you think about what is the appropriate action to take with this man. For he is just a man though he has a great title. He is flesh and blood like we all are. He is weak as we all can be. He is human.”

Nods and whispers come from the crowd, and then I say, “You can be assured there will be consequences. For now, though we must form a plan to get our planet back under royal control and going in, to battle the rebels with the King in shackles is a terrible idea and will surely lead to our destruction.”

My father looks at me. “Son, whoever is in charge there wanted me killed. Don’t you recall? They will kill all who help me.”

I clap my father on the back. “I have my doubts they can do that now that Kataline has regained herself. And to be sure about something, I want to take Kataline back on the ship and do a little test. I have a theory about what’s happening to her, and I think the ship has everything to do with it.”

I take my wife by her hand and lead her back to the ship everyone has come out of. As we enter her hand goes to her head, and her body falls against my side. “Kerr!”

I stop and look into her eyes and see little bits of gold streaking through them. “What’s happening to you?”

“Take me back out, quickly, the voices…”

I pick her up and run back out of the ship. When I look into her eyes, the golden streaks are gone. “Okay, it’s definitely something on the ship that activates something you have on you.”

My father points at Kataline’s wedding ring. “Take that off and go back in.”

I take the ring off her finger and hold it in my hand. Then lead her back inside, and nothing happens to her at all. She looks at me with surprise. “You mean that’s all we ever had to do to stop that!”

I nod and open my hand to look at the ring that belonged to my grandmother. “There’s something in this ring, and something is planted on this ship. Whoever took over certainly had a lot of access to the palace because this ring resided in my mother’s jewelry box for years now and nowhere else.”

My father’s eyes travel to my wife as we walk back out to where everyone else is. “We have limited weapons with us. Only the paralysis staffs that have enough charge for only one kill each. That will never be enough. But Kataline may still have her powers.”

I point to a large tree branch with little yellow flowers growing all over it. “Kataline see if you can make only the flowers fall off that limb.”

My wife looks at the tree limb, and a few flowers begin to fall, she blinks a couple of times, and the flowers burst into flames. She smiles, and the flames go out.

Then she holds her palm out as she looks at the limb and it’s as if she’s ripping it from the main beam and it flies through the air, landing fifty feet away from the tree.

“Yes, I still have my powers. The process that happened in me allowed them to come forward. I assume that as long as I use them now and then I will keep them,” she says then turns to look at the others, some of whom have their hands over their mouths in shock and surprise.

“I think she should lead us in, Kerr. You and I can stand behind her and the rest behind us.” My father taps his long finger against his temple. “I’d like to see if she might be able to protect us all as well. Can you be a sport and see if she can stop someone from getting to you, Kerr?”

I motion to three of our biggest guards. “Can you come forward and draw your staffs?”

They do as I say and I look at Kataline. “Don’t let them get to me, Baby.”

With a smile, she says, “Not a problem.”

I hold out my arms. “Come at me, boys.”

The three rush toward me as Kataline stands behind me. They get within a few feet, and it’s as if they hit a wall. They all fall back and one lands on his ass.

They try again and move around me in a circle, testing the whole perimeter. Kataline laughs. “He’s protected completely. No one can get to him, even overhead or underneath him.”

My father claps his hands. “Fantastic! Do you think you can protect us all?”

“I can,” she says and then takes my hand. “We should get going, don’t you all think?”

With one loud cheer from the crowd of royals, guards, and staff we form a somewhat formidable group. And with our secret weapon, we should be able to regain control and oust the new leader. The time has come to battle, and we are ready, thanks to my award!