Home is always moving...

Home is the one place in all this world where hearts are sure of each other. It is the place of confidence. It is the place where we tear off that mask of guarded and suspicious coldness which the world forces us to wear in self-defense, and where we pour out the unreserved communications of full and confiding hearts. It is the spot where expressions of tenderness gush out without any sensation of awkwardness and without any dread of ridicule. ~Frederick W. Robertson


Bel looked at the cortex message and hummed while she read over the words. She frowned slightly before shrugging her shoulders and shutting down the machine. She tossed it onto the bed and continued to pack her bag.

Seems about right. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Just wish he would have had the guts to tell me to my face. All fine and dandy with an armada behind him. But scared to face a woman. BUN tyen-shung duh ee-DWAY-RO.

She took a deep breath as she turned to look at Taia and Jonas, the two looking out the window while Taia sang softly to the small child. She then took a look around the room and sighed.

“Are you about ready, Sayasi?” Bel closed up the bag and latched it closed before picking up the bag and pulling it over her shoulder. It was fairly heavy. But nothing Bel was used to.

Taia smiled as she looked over her shoulder and nodded to Bel before picking up the smaller bag. “All ready to go, Bel. How long will we be gone?”

Bel thought about the other letter. From Walter and she shook her head. “Don’t know, Taia. As long as it takes, I suppose. Could be a month or two. Maybe longer.”

The message from Walter spooked her. He asked for Xaviar first. As if he knew that her cousin was alive. But she knew that not many people knew he was alive. And she trusted them with her own life.

Taia looked at her as she shifted the cooing infant in her arms while she carried the bag behind Bel. “This will be my first stay in Persephone. I wonder what can be done there.”

“Lots of things, Taia. You will love Sarah and Walter. They helped me through a dark part of my life. Im hoping they can do that again.” She smiled, knowing that this time was not like the last time. At least she didn’t give away her heart. That was neatly locked inside a box next to her mother.

They boarded the rather large ship, Bel passing a large amount of credits to the captain before slipping into a passenger’s quarters.
The room was spacious for quarters. Two beds and a desk. The walls were the same grey as the rest of the ship, but Bel was used to that. She took a deep breath, essentially the last breath of fresh air for awhile. Lot of good that did considering it was stale ship scent. Bodies and sweat and dirt from the cargo nearby.

She plopped down on a bed and dropped her bag at her feet, her body leaning back on her hands while she watched Taia lay Jonas on the bed before doing the same. “So, this is home for awhile?”

“Only until we get to Persephone. After that it’s a beautiful room, with a crib for Jonas and a view that will knock your socks off. I already contacted Walter and Sarah about the arrangements.”

Taia smiled as she sat up before she looked Bel in the eye and quirked a brow. The girl was learning from the older sister way too quickly. Bel laughed and shook her head, knowing full well what Taia was hinting at. She stood up and shut the door, making sure to lock it securely. She pulled out a device from her bag and scanned the room, watching it while she swept the room. It was a great birthday present from Logan. The man does know how to shop for a girl.

When she found the room clean, she put the device back into her bag and sat back down on the bed. She sorted through her thoughts before looking back at Taia and speaking softly.

“You know my cousin, right?” She waited until Taia nodded before continuing. “About a year ago, I faked his death. The month I spent in the black was with him and his wife. He used to be a doctor with the Alliance. One of those tortured souls that realized that what he was doing was wrong. In every sense of the word. Didn’t help that he had to help torture a child to get information from him.” Bel stopped a minute and looked over at Jonas. “No one but a select few know he’s alive. Some suspect. But if they go looking, they are met with brick walls and run around. For all intents and purposes, Xaviar William Kiranov died in a reaver attack on a nearby moon.”

“So, the man on the ship is your cousin and he is supposed to be dead?” Taia watched Bel nod before nodding herself. “Okay... gotcha. What happened to spook you?”

“I got a message from Walter right after the ceremony. A man came looking for Xaviar. Or any descendant of my grandfather’s. Which means me.” Bel looked at Taia and nodded. “So, to get the heat off Xaviar, I am going to make myself available. To find out what this man wants from me and my family.”

Taia nodded slowly before looking at Bel. “What if he’s up to no good?”

“Then… I don’t know. But I have to deal with it the only way I know how. Head on. My family comes first. No matter what.”

Later on that night, as Bel laid down in her bunk to sleep, she found herself staring at the ceiling and thinking about the past few months. How the roller coaster of her life went up and then down before this very moment. How once again she finds herself away from home, the new home she worked for herself and she wondered when she was ever going to be able to just stay in one place.