My queen, we must leave now! Please come with me before it's too late!"
"No, I can't leave. I have to stay here. You have to go without me, Pajal."
"But, my queen..." Pajal looked at his queen pleadingly.
"Don't argue, Pajal. I want you to leave. I have to stay."
"But... my queen, I cannot leave you here!"
"Pajal, I give you one last command." Queen Malandra straightened. "Leave, Pajal, and carry my love for you and my people with you."
A sudden earthquake pushed Queen Malandra into the strong arms of Pajal, her Commander in Chief. He held her close for a moment, afraid to let her go. She pushed him gently away towards the door. With a final deep bow, he turned away and left her standing by her golden throne.
Somewhere in the galaxy you will find the planet Miliki, a proud member of the Planetary Union. It is well known for its pleasant weather, tropical paradise, and friendly people. People from the Planetary Union often come on vacation, and fruit found nowhere else in the galaxy is shipped throughout the Union. Miliki is also know for its ruler. Queen Malandra has ruled Miliki for more than 2000 years, well loved by her people and admired by most of the Union. Stories are told about her life, and the decitions she makes, and she is a legend. One thing makes people come from all over the galaxy to see her. She is immortal, and she will live forever as long as she doesn't leave the palace grounds. If she leaves not only will she die, but so will all her subjects where-ever they live, on Miliki, the Union or anywhere else in the galaxy. No one, exept Queen Malandra and her departed parents know her secret. She has been cursed by Balak, Ruler of the Night, a powerful entity. Balak is married to Piliki, Queen of the Moon, and they have a son, Telek, the Evening-prince. Their counterparts are Kalana, Queen of the Day and her husband, Kilim, King of the Sun. They have a daughter, Samalah Dawn-princess, who is supposed to marry Telek. The marriage has to take place in order for the balance between Dark and Light to be complete.
Now Miliki is ravaged by earthquakes. The entire planet is breaking apart, and people are leaving. Many have already left, but still millions remain. Queen Malandra has tried her best to find solutions to the problem before it is too late. She knows she cannot leave even if she wants to. The only thing left is to be buried alive underneath the palace, and that is not a pretty thought. An eternaty beneith the rubble of a palace, on a planet that has become an asteroid-belt, is no future for anyone, least not a loved queen.
Mine! Finally mine!"
The mad screams from Telek disturbed Malandra's trail of thought. She turned around in surprise and saw him shaking his hands over his head, with a passionate glow in his silver eyes. Dark blue and black tendrils of smoky substance snaked around him. The ground shook and one of the chandeliers fell with a shattering sound of breaking glass. Telek didn't react at all. He looked intently at Malandra.
"Mine!" he laughed.
"Never!" she answered and sat down on the throne. She knew Telek couldn't have her until she was dead. At last she understood why Balak had both blessed and cursed her.
"You'll never have me!" she said quietly shooking her head, "I'll stay here forever. If I'm buried beneath the rubble, my people will bring me back. I cannot die. You're parents made sure of that."
The ground shook again. Suddenly Pajal burst through the door, to find out who was screaming at the queen. When he saw Telek, he drew his ceremonial broadsword and attacked. Telek just laughed and made a gesture as if to brush away an annoying bug. Pajal crashed into the opposite wall with a sickening thud. Malandra cried out in horror. It had been so pointless. She closed her eyes to try to forget the crumbled body by the wall.
"I take whom-ever I want!" Telek said. "If you don't come freely, I'll kill everyone until you do."
"You can't kill me. I'm immortal. I can only die if I leave this place, and then everyone else will die as well. Killing is pointless."
Telek just laughed again and shook his hands. The ground shook in response, and a small crack opened up in front of the throne. A smell of decay wafted up. Malandra could feel the heat from the depth of the planet.
Queen Malandra thought hard in order to find a way out of her predicament. She was convinced Telek was the one responsible for the earthquakes. His obsession with her was bringing death to her people, and if she gave in, those who had left Miliki would die as well. What was she to do? She couldn't make the decision on her own. Someone would have to help her.
"Balak, Ruler of the Night," she called, "I need your advice! Piliki, Queen of the Moon, please help me! Kalana, Queen of the Day, come to my aid! Kilim, King of the Sun, tell me what to do! Samalah, Dawn-princess, what can I do?"
She waited a moment, wondering if anyone would answer. As far as she knew, no one had ever been able to summon any of the entities. Balak's strange curse had been one of the few times the entities had come forward and interfered in mortal mens lives. Usually they would be content in watching and listening to people. To do something wasn't nessesary most of the time. The balance they tried to up-hold was enough. The problems with Telek was a strain on them.
Queen Malandra sat on her throne, head in hands, and eyes closed in an effort to keep out Telek's mad laughter. Suddenly the laughs stopped, and she looked up to see why. In front of her, in a semi-circle, the entities she had called stood looking at her. Telek was cowering in the background, afraid of his parents.
"You've done well," Balak said and looked approvingly at Malandra. "You have a good heart and a good, strong mind."
"I never understood why you blessed me and cursed me at the same time until now," Malandra answered. "What's wrong with Telek?"
"We strive for balance," said Kalana. "Balance is essential among our kind."
"Telek and I were supposed to strengthen that balance," Samalah added, with a sad smile, "but something went terribly wrong."
"He looked to mortal women instead," Piliki sighed and looked at Telek, who turned away with a strange smile. "He would fall in love with a beautiful woman and then kill her."
"I tried to save some of them," Kilim said, and sighed. "He took them all. When he grew tired of them he'd discard them without a second thought."
"They're roaming space now as ghosts," Balak added. "There is nothing we can do to help them. Our hope is that they can rest when Telek is dealt with, but so far we have been un-successful."
Piliki wiped a transparent tear from her cheek. "It is hard on any parent when the child grows up to be a monster."
Samalah had been looking at Pajal for a while, and now she went over to check on him. He hadn't moved once. She bent down and felt for his pulse. After a moment a smile fleeted over her lips.
"He's still alive," she said to Malandra. "I'll try and heal him."
"Thank you!" Malandra answered relieved. "I was afraid it was too late."
"Almost, but he's strong and brave. I have always been fond of him. You do know he loves you very much, don't you?"
"Yes," answered Malandra quietly, "I know."
Telek stomped over to his parents. He looked very angry and madness was shining in his eyes. Shaking his fists he brought on another earthquake. Malandra staggered beside the throne, but the quakes had no effect on the entities. They merely swayed a bit to compensate.
"She's mine!" Telek screamed. "All mine! You can't take her away from me. Nothing you say or do will change that! I don't care if the entire planet is destroyed."
Balak sighed and looked at his son. "You won't have her. She'll never come to you freely, because her mind is too strong. Give up before it's too late."
Telek growled, spit drooling down his chin. "She's mine!" he repeated. "Mine!" His voice grew to a scream, and then subsided into a menasing growl, as he turned from his parents.
Balak shook his head a little, and then caught the attention of his wife. They moved slowly towards Telek to stand on each side of him. Slowly they raised their hands, one palm facing up, the other facing down. For a moment they just stood their, collecting strength from the universe. Then Balak and Piliki joined hands, palm to palm, one hand on each side of Telek. A dark glow and a deep hum surrounded the three. The hum grew in intesity and then subsided. A few moments later, Telek slumped down. The quakes stopped.
Kilim joined his daughter in bringing back Pajal from the brink of death. He carefully lifted Pajal and carried him to the throne. Samalah followed, supporting his head. Malandra moved out of the way. "What can I do?" she asked.
"Do you love Pajal?" Kalana asked. "You know he loves you, but do you love him?"
"Of course I do! Tell me what to do and I'll do it. I'll do anything to help him."
"Are you willing to give him to us?"
Malandra swallowed hard. "Yes..." she finally answered, "I'll give him to you."
"Good!" Kalana said and smiled a warm smile. "Let's put an end to the chaos and imbalance."
The three entities of Light joined hands around Pajal, and a light glow and soft hum soon surrounded them. Malandra watched in awe as Pajal rose into the air, supported by strands of light and carried over to the captured Evening-prince. Telek seemed to burst open, and dark tendrils snaked around him and Pajal, mixing together, fighting for the upper hand. Telek rose into the air as well, and with a burst of light and darkness, and a crash of thunder, Telek disappeared and only Pajal was left, suspended by threads of shadows. He slowly sank to the floor, changed in more ways than one. The entities moved away, waiting for him to recover. Pajal was now one of them; immortal, powerful and young.
Pajal yawned, stretched, and rose. He looked dazed and confused, and was surprised to see the five entities.
"What happened, my queen?" he asked as he turned to Malandra.
Malandra looked at him, and then looked down, afraid that her emotions would show in her face.
"You've brought balance to the galaxy," Samalah answered in her place.
Pajal turned to her wonderingly. "I don't understand."
"You've replaced Telek, the Evening-prince, as Balak's son. You're to be my husband."
Pajal looked confused and turned to Malandra. "Is this the truth?"
Malandra swollowed and looked up. She had difficulies seeing Pajal's face through the mist of tears. A single tear roled down her white cheek.
"Yes, at least I think so," she answered. "You are Pajal, Twilight-prince, now."
The entities looked surprised when they heard the new title, but then smiled in agreement.
"Welcome to the family, Pajal, Twilight-prince," they said in unison, raised their hands, and created beautiful bands of light and darkness. The bands intertwined to create a play with shadows, and stars could be seen faintly glowing.
The entities were leaving when Malandra remembered she had to ask them about her future. Pajal seemed very happy with Samalah and his new family, and everyone looked like they had forgotten all about her. She didn't really want to break up their closeness, but now that the planet was saved, and Telek was no more, she needed to know what her future had in stall for her. Would she live, or would she die?
"What will happen to me now," she asked in a small quivering voice, almost afraid the entities would hear her.
The entities looked at each other, and then Kilim answered, "You've done well. You've served us well. Tell me what you want. Do you want to live or do you want to die?"
The stern look on his face almost made Malandra turn away. She hesitated, thinking, wondering what to say, wondering what they expected her to say.
"I... I... think I want to live," Malandra said after a while. "The people love me, and they've grown used to having me as queen."
"Very well, life it is then," Kilim answered with a broad smile. "You'll live forever until you choose to die. No conditions. Just call to us when you need us. You know how to do that, and I know Pajal will always listen to you."
Malandra didn't know what to think. She was relieved Kilim had liked her choise, but did he really mean it?
"You mean I can leave the palace?"
"Yes. You can even leave Miliki if you like." Hes smile broadened when he saw Malandra's reaction.
"Oh, thank you!"
Malandra was ecstatic. Leaving the palace was a dream come true. She watched as the entities entered the shadows and disappeared. Pajal was gone, and she felt empty and lonely. She had relied on him for so long. Miliki needed a new Commander in Chief, and she needed a new friend.
Queen Malandra left the throne-room and the palace. The sun was shining, and the birds had started singing. A group of soldiers worked on removing some of the rubble. Their leader, a young captain, looked up and noticed the queen standing in the doorway.
"My queen," he said and saluted.
"What's your name, captain?" she asked.
"Silik, my queen," he replied.
"Silik, I need a full report on casualties and damage."
"Yes, my queen. Right away." Silik saluted and turned to carry out her orders.
"Silik, come here. You'll need this." Malandra handed him the ceremonial sword Pajal had carried before.
"But, my queen... I cannot carry this sword."
"Yes, you can!" Malandra said and put it in his hands.
"Oh," he answered as the truth dawned on him. "Yes, my queen!" he said and saluted, with a sad smile as he fully realised the reason why he now carried the ceremonial sword of the Commander in Chief. "Yes, my queen," he said quietly, "I promise to do my best."
"That's all I ask," she answered and returned to her throne-room, ready to receive the reports, and to rebuild Miliki.