Epilogue
Doraydo, Arkansas – one week later
Juliana filled the last moving box in her apartment. She’d spent the day getting everything ready to move herself and her life to Diesel’s house in Alienn. He was going to pick her up and load these last boxes into his truck for transport to Alienn.
While they’d secretly eloped exactly a week ago, they were also planning a small wedding in another two months to include his entire family. They were waiting for Diesel’s parents to return from their travelling and for his sister to get back from an educational training program.
She and Diesel were happy, deliriously so, from her perspective. Not only was a nice wedding in the works so all of his family could attend, they planned to travel to Alpha-Prime in six months. Juliana could discover if she had any distant relatives left there. Royal or not, she didn’t care, it was just nice to know she belonged somewhere.
Gage had calculated she was about one eighth Alpha-Prime. Her great-grandmother had been a full alien—like all of the Lost Colony folks before they crash-landed over a hundred and fifty years ago and were never heard from again.
When the Alphas came to Earth to mine for Bauxite and founded Alienn, Arkansas almost fifty years after the Lost Colony disappeared, they sent a team north to investigate, but found no one.
They did find the spacecraft, still hidden beneath a camouflage tarp, and an abandoned camp, suggesting that some of their people survived, but no clue as to where they’d gone. It was assumed they’d perished. The only thing left was the legend.
Her only current worry was Miss Penny. She hadn’t heard from her friend all week. Not since she’d told Juliana that Mr. Harriman’s refusal of her bank robbery article was his loss.
Once the last box was packed up, Juliana went to knock on Miss Penny’s door one last time. She was surprised when it was opened by her landlord.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Miss Penny gave notice.”
“Where did she go?”
He shrugged. “I heard she was going into a nursing home. I mean, she looked like she was a hundred years old, don’t ya think? Listen, I don’t have time to talk. Now I’ve got two places to get ready to rent.” He closed the door on her.
Juliana frowned and stepped back, thinking about where Miss Penny would go. She noticed Diesel pulling into the parking lot with his big truck.
The moment he saw her face he asked, “What’s wrong, bride of mine?”
She grinned. “If you keep saying that everyone will know we already got married.”
“Everyone already knows except my parents and my sister. I forgot to mention the justice of the peace is one of the biggest gossips in the county. So what’s wrong, Juliana? You look worried.”
“Miss Penny moved out. I don’t know where she went.”
He brightened. “What if I know where she is?”
“Do you?”
“My aunt Dixie apparently convinced her to move into the Starlight Old Folks’ Home in Alienn. She waved at me. Told me to tell you where she was.”
“Interesting. I had no idea she planned to move.”
“Well, my aunt already told her we eloped.”
“Of course she did. Your aunt is funny.”
“Hilarious. Miss Penny said it wouldn’t be any fun here without you, so she moved. I think it’s a great idea. I figure you would have been worried about her if she stayed here.”
“I just wished she’d told me.”
“Yeah. Good luck with that. If she’s anything like my aunt, you’ll be lucky if you get even one second of warning before the next crazy scheme ensues.”
“Good to know.”
Later that day, Juliana and Diesel found Miss Penny at her new digs in the Starlight Old Folks’ Home. They drove up a long stately drive to the front door. The big brick place, looking like somewhat of a Tudor mansion was on a large lot with a nicely tended green landscape.
“Nice place,” Juliana said. “Do the rich and famous of Arkansas live here?”
Diesel laughed. “Not that I know of. The place was donated as a residence for the elderly a long time ago with enough of an endowment for upkeep.”
“There you are, Juliana.” She looked at Diesel. “Hello, young man. What do you two think of my new home?”
Diesel raised his eyebrows as if suitably impressed and nodded, but didn’t say anything.
Juliana said, “I love it, but I was worried about you, Miss Penny. I didn’t know you were moving here.”
“Miss Dixie Lou Grey told me you’d eloped with this handsome young man you’ve been seeing.” She cackled with glee. “I approve, by the way. Not that you need my permission.”
“Well, I’m glad anyway. I hope you’ll be happy here.”
“Oh, I will. This is a very nice town. I already feel like I belong here. I figured it would be better for me to come here. That way I can still keep an eye on you. In fact, I’ll keep an eye on you both.”
Diesel said, “My aunt also told me an interesting story about you, Miss Penny.”
“Did she now?”
“Turns out you tested as part Alpha-Prime, too, but unlike Juliana, I suspect you already knew it.”
Juliana stared between her husband and her friend. “What?”
“It’s a long story, child, but suffice it to say, I’ve been watching out for you since you were born.”
Diesel asked, “Were you on the Lost Colony flight that crashed?”
“Well, if I was, I’d be over a hundred and fifty years old by now.”
“That doesn’t really answer the question Miss Penny. In fact you just answered my question with a question. Have you been taking lessons from my aunt Dixie on how to be wily?”
Miss Penny cackled with glee. “Maybe. I sure do like your aunt. She’s a hoot.”
Diesel cleared his throat. “So about the Lost Colony flight, will you share your experience?”
“Do you know how old I am, young man?”
Juliana thought it seemed an odd response to Diesel’s question.
“I wouldn’t even hazard a guess, Miss Penny. My mama taught me it was impolite.”
She nodded. “I was a youngster when that craft hit the Earth. I was the daughter of a lady in waiting to the royal princess. A princess who was about to have a baby. I don’t know the details because I was too young, but when it was learned the ship was in danger, my mother and I along with the princess and a guard were put in a small life boat and jettisoned.
“The princess went into labor and delivered the baby the moment we landed safely, but she didn’t survive.”
“Who was the baby?” Juliana asked.
“Your great-grandmother.”
“What happened to the guard?” Diesel asked.
“The guard left us before the baby was born to find the other craft and never came back. My mother took me and your great-granny from the site and did the best she could in a world she knew little about, but she had survival skills and she taught me some things, too.”
Diesel said, “You are also not all Alpha, are you?”
“No. My mother was all that was left of the shifter race on Alpha-Prime. My father was an Alpha though, except that he died before I was born. My mother and I were the only ones left of our shifter race. It was one of the reasons my mama left to start a new life on Earth. We thought everyone died in the crash and Alpha-Prime decided not to send anyone after us.
“I was raised with your great-granny. I also helped raise your granny and your mama. But when your mama and daddy were killed in an accident there was no one else around and I was too old to take care of you, so I took you to that church. I left a note that said what your name was. And then I kept watch over you. That was what shifters did long ago on Alpha-Prime. We protected the royals we were assigned to.”
“Did you fund my scholarships to Missouri and Arkansas?”
“No, no. You earned that all on your own, child. And I was so proud of you. All I did was move to the Midwest and keep on watching.”
“Did you ever shift into someone else and talk to me before moving to Arkansas?”
Miss Penny smiled. “No. I didn’t want to influence you.”
“What changed? Why show yourself when I came here?”
“What changed was me. I’m getting on in years, even for a half Alpha-Shifter. I expect I have another decade or so, but after all these years, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to introduce myself.”
Juliana was stunned. “You knew my parents, right?”
Miss Penny nodded.
“Then you can tell me all about them.”
“That is my plan, dear child. And now that this young man is in your life, I’ll expect him to take a blood oath so he can take over for me and keep you safe from now on. My mama performed so I could take over for her. I can do it for your new handsome hubby.”
“Blood oath?” Juliana and Diesel asked at the same time, exchanging a dubious glance with each other.
“Either that or we could discuss free milk and cows.”
“Blood oath,” they both said.
The End.