TOMORROW.

Usually 'tomorrow' is something to look forward to but I was finding it extremely difficult given the circumstances. The word seemed to bounce through my mind like an echo in a cave, without end, bothersome. It continued to haunt me throughout the night, taunting me about the events that the dawn would bring. At times, I even found myself shaking and my breathing uneven.

Funny, that. How a single word can make you feel physically ill.

Despite having planned everything to perfection, I couldn't shake the dread that seemed to be latched to my every nerve.

We had our plan, we had our team and we had our prince. All that we needed to initiate the whole thing, was the signal - and that signal was Louis's almighty speech.

He would begin by toasting to the occasion, spitting lies about how happy he was to be with Klaru and that though they may have had some differences, everything between them had worked out in the end. Continuing on, he would announce that as part of the celebration, he had a gift specially prepared for her. Then, after motioning to us in Bu's hovercraft, she would manoeuvre her vehicle around until we could jump out and crash the wedding.

As Jason and I made ourselves known, all hell would break loose.

Nix had told us countless times to expect the worst. It was unfortunate for us because for the majority of the Junite population, they had never seen a human before. So, basically, if a Striking Blade was launched at us, that was that.

But Louis was the main focus. He was the one that would tie everything together and as long as he made it very obvious that he wasn't frightened of us and that we were actually there to help, things may be a little different. Easier, even. At least that's what I was hoping would happen.

Jason snored next to me and made me jump. It was unbelievable really, that he could just fall asleep so easily with the amount of pressure sitting atop our shoulders. It was almost as if he'd forgotten that the world was possibly going to end for us when the sun rose.

That was the one thought that had nagged me all night: I may die tomorrow.

Jason could die. Nix could. So could Alzik or Bu or hell, maybe even Louis if things got really bad. It hurt my everything to even consider that possibility. I couldn't lose any friends and I certainly couldn't lose Louis. My Louis.

I'd never met anyone like him; someone who was so easy to talk to, someone who listened. We had just clicked from the very first moment we'd met. It was amazing. It was new, it was exciting and I wouldn't trade those moments for anything.

Jason snored louder and I grew bitter. How could he sleep? I was struggling desperately and there he was ... snoring.

"Jason," I whispered, nudging his shoulder. It was only the two of us in Bu's ship – the Junites had returned to their posts hours previously so to not draw any unwanted attention, Nix assuring us that she would return with Bu in the morning just before the celebrations began. Every able body was required as the security surrounding the wedding was apparently 'at maximum.' Despite it only being Jason and I on the ship, I couldn't take any chances with raising my voice. There could be guards on patrol right on the other side of the door. "Jase."

"Mm?" he groaned, his eyes flickering open. "What?" he grumbled.

"You're snoring," I stupidly said. Truthfully, I was just mad that he was able to catch a few winks at all. "Loudly," I added like it would explain why I woke him.

"Sorry," he said, "I can't help it."

"I just thought I'd... I don't want anyone to hear us in here," I told him and it wasn't exactly a lie – I was terrified that we would be found. "The guards could be back doing night shifts. You never know."

"Well, am I to just stay awake all night?" Jason asked, a brow raised. "Because I won't lie to you, I'm knackered, Flora."

I felt guilty for having woke him. But when I realised it was he either woke to my bitterness or to the excruciating pain of a Striking Blade. I was technically doing him a favour.

"Sorry," I eventually muttered, slowly pushing myself up so I was sitting before him cross-legged. "I'm just paranoid. And scared. And..." I took a deep breath as my throat tightened. I ended up breathing shakily into Jason's shoulder to try and divert my tears. He held me close, rubbing my back comfortingly.

"Shh," he tried to calm me down, squeezing my shoulders. "It'll be fine. He'll be fine."

And then, by some miracle, I found myself drifting off.

Hypocrite, I thought as I closed my eyes and welcomed sleep. 

NORKAR ARRIVE OUTSIDE Bu's ship at first light, clutching a small, green pouch in his hand. It turned out he had managed to steal some edibles from the palace kitchen for Jason and I – the moment he dropped the bag in my lap he demanded that we both eat to boost our strength.

"You're going to need it," he commented before dropping a second bag into Jason's arms. Inside were some fresh garments of clothing for us to change into once we were ready.

There was just enough food for the two of us and yet I found myself pouting when once I'd shovelled down my portion. That's how hungry I was; I devoured it without bothering to ask what it was or pay attention to how grotesque some of it looked. I saw Jason make several odd faces out of the corner of my eye but he never complained.

"This," he managed to say between chews, "is an interesting ... thing?" He ended up turning his comment into a question and he raised a brow at Norkar. "What is it?"

"Dricto flank," he informed us. "A delicacy and extremely rare. It's being prepared for the grand wedding feast this afternoon."

My stomach churned – not because of the food.

"Is everything still alright?" I asked once I swallowed my last mouthful and wiped my hands on my dirty outfit. I'd be glad to get out of the itchy thing at last.

"Concerning the plan, yes," Norkar assured me. "Yes, everything is going to be carried out exactly as we discussed."

"Alright," I said before an awkward silence fell over the three of us. The only sound was of Jason savagely chewing at the juicy meat of whatever the hell a dricto was.

Norkar cleared his throat. "After the initial ceremony is over, the prince and princess - as well as the guests - shall leave the great hall and head out to the balcony for the feast. Then the unveiling of the wedding gifts will follow."

My wedding gift to Klaru would be a punch in the face, I thought gloomily as I picked at the material of the bag in Jason's lap. I was interested to see what I would be wearing while we crashed the wedding.

"There shall be several speeches made during the feast, one of which will be Prince Loudrix addressing how wonderful a job Nix and her team did while assisting him on his expedition-"

"I can't see his dad being too happy with that," I interrupted.

Norkar sighed. "The King may be against the interests that Prince Loudrix wishes to pursue but as it is his wedding day, the king will have to endure anything his son may wish to speak about."

"Like the fact his new bride is a psycho," Jason chirped as he opened the bag of clothing and hauled out an interesting looking gown. It was scarlet and bejewelled with golden trimmings at the neck and sleeves. That wasn't the best part though – there were two of them. One red, one green.

"Yay, we'll match," I joked as I saw Jason's face fall.

"It's a dress," he pointed out, looking incredulously at Norkar. "You want me to wear a dress to the wedding?"

"The wedding which you are technically not supposed to be attending in the first place," Norkar pointed out. I could have sworn I saw a smirk on his face. "It is not a dress, it's a robe. Traditional garb-"

Jason choked. "Traditional garb?!"

"Stop being a baby," I huffed. "Hell, it's the twenty-first century, Jason. It's trendy for people to wear anything and everything they want."

"Yeah, I know but ... I like my trousers, thank you very much. And let's not forget that if a high wind should come-"

"Shut up, and wear the dress," I told him.

I urged Norkar to continue informing us about the day. It's not like I would forget anything but part of me wanted to stall as long as possible. My stomach continued to churn every minute and my palms had not stopped sweating since the day before.

"As the prince makes his speech, he will inform his peers and people of what actually happened on his expedition. Nix shall reveal the recordings she took of Klaru talking with you in the infirmary, several members of her crew shall then step forth and confirm that they are witnesses and if that is not enough, Nettie, myself and the other Councillors who are against Klaru shall step forth."

"And if that's not enough..." I said. "That's when we come in?"

Norkar nodded. "I believe that if the evidence against Klaru does not persuade the king and queen of her betrayal - though I cannot see them being so ignorant to the truth - then the prince will unveil the fact that the real enemy is Klaru and not the humans, as he was taken under your wing when he landed on Earth."

"Then we arrive on the scene," Jason muttered. I noticed he was fidgeting a lot. Nervously. And here I thought I'd been the most nervous among us. "What if they kill us on sight?" There was no mistaking the worry in his voice.

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then unfortunately we're toast."

He gulped. "Great."

Norkar ran through the plan twice more before he decided that he ought to leave in time to make it to the wedding rehearsal. According to him, Klaru was going all out on the preparation side of things. There were to be guards at every entrance, positioned throughout the gardens and on several of the hovercrafts stationed around the palace. Thank God we were already inside the hovercraft or we'd never have managed to make the plan work with the updated security.

Once Norkar left all there was to do was wait until Bu arrived.

When she finally did appear, I raised a brow at her attire – a golden one-piece that looked to be made of metal with detailed red swirls snaking down and around her arms and legs. Around her waist was a belt holding all her necessities such as a dagger and a golden plate which she had told me was her identification tag.

I wasn't staring as much as Jason certainly.

"How are you both?" she asked once she was in the driver's seat. Her bald head turned so she could face us and I noticed she also had gold markings outlined on her face, around her eyes and across her lips. I assumed that was where her markings were in her true form. She looked beautiful and for a moment I understood why Jason always seemed to be gawking at her.

"As good as we can be," Jason said, glancing at me. "I think we'll be glad when all this is over."

"Hopefully we won't be over," I muttered, a shiver running down my spine.

Bu nodded understandingly. After all, she was in danger just as much as the rest of us, not to mention her family and friends.

"When does the wedding begin?" I asked, standing to straighten the dress I'd squeezed into earlier. It was rather tight across the bust – not that I had much to show – and whenever I lifted my arms, the entire thing went with it. I sighed. I'd worn worse and besides, Jason looked marvellous in the green one.

Bu carried out a few basic checks at the wheel before she turned in her seat and answered, "In an hour but the guards are to be in position early. So, we're leaving right now."

My stomach flipped. It was finally happening and my palms instantly grew clammy.

"Now, you'll have to stay hidden until we're in position. There's to be three rows of hovercrafts patrolling around the palace throughout the day. The ceremony is being held on the west balcony and because the area is so open, there shall also be wards stationed down there. Klaru has really gone to all the extremities to make sure you won't be anywhere near."

"No kidding," I scoffed. It was quite flattering really, that she had gone to such precautions to make sure Louis and I weren't to see each other during the ceremony. She sure was in for a surprise.

Once Jason and I were seated in the rear end of the ship, concealed from sight, Bu punched in the activation code and the hovercraft roared to life. It was a smooth rumble, unlike the unhealthy groan my little car spluttered upon starting up.

You really should get that car to the garage, I reminded myself morbidly, hoping that I would have that chance after everything blew up this afternoon.

We waited for about ten minutes while all the other members of the guard strode to their ships and started them up. And then, all of a sudden it was like something from a science-fiction movie because as soon as all of the Junites were ready to go, they went with style; row by row the multicoloured hovercrafts vacated the transportation level and soared skywards. It all happened in slow motion – one moment we were tucked away, safe, to suddenly being out in the wide, open and dangerous space surrounding the grand palace.

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to control my heart-beat as the rainbow of ships swerved around the tallest turret in perfect synchronisation.

It was breath-taking seeing Louis' home from such a height – the spectacular building was like something from a story-book, all grand and standing tall, shining in the light of day. The gardens surrounding the castle seemed to indefinitely span at the rear of the fortress with perfectly trimmed hedges accentuating the pathways and winding walks through shrubs of strange and beautiful looking foliage. What caught my attention was a wooden cart being pulled by two bizarre looking creatures with curling horns and tentacles for legs. In the cart it pulled sat a large pile of florals, no doubt for the wedding.

As Bu moved us up and over the grandeur of Louis' homeland, I found myself constantly being reminded to keep my head down. Jason tugged on my sleeve roughly and shook his head whenever I elevated just that little bit too much. It was extremely difficult because I wanted to see everything, had to see everything. However, as we barrelled through the sky and my eyes flicked downward, it turned out I in fact did not want to see it all.

Something deep inside me growled – as if I were some sort of animal - when Bu finally drew her ship to a steady waver in the air. We were facing the rear end of the palace, where a rounded ledge jutted out over the top of a golden waterfall. It was a beautiful sight at first but once you noticed the razor-sharp rocks lining the whirl pool below, it no longer appeared as tranquil. It seemed to resemble the open mouth of a deadly sea-creature and the thought of tumbling down there made my breath catch. I gaped at the view, pondering if executions were carried out there when weddings weren't the top priority.

"Beyond the glass doors," Bu was saying, pointing towards the room before the horrific drop, "is the great hall. At the end of the great hall is the throne room."

I squinted, trying to catch a glimpse of the king or queen but to no avail. They were probably getting ready for the wedding. The thought of finally laying eyes upon Louis' parents thrilled and terrified me equally.

"Is that where the wedding will take place?" I asked, gesturing to the great hall.

Bu nodded her head. "This is where the meal and gifting shall take place. The great hall and through into the throne room is where the actual ceremony shall be held."

I just nodded, my voice suddenly trapped within my throat. I was grateful because if I could find my voice I would only use it to spout a string of angry words about the entire thing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jason glance at me. I willed him to look away because it felt like I was about to start crying. Everything had been difficult since Louis landed in my garden but the thought of him marrying a woman as vile as Klaru topped the list.

Around us, the humming from the other hovercrafts could be heard and I peeked out through the side window once again to see what was going on. There were three rows of hovercrafts stationed in semi-circle formation before the ledge. We were conveniently placed mid row, facing the very centre of the platform.

Best seat in the house, the voice in my head nagged. I rolled my eyes, pleased that the only part I would have to endure was Klaru and Louis walking out hand in hand. The first kiss as newly-weds and the exchanging of the vows would all be over and done with.

That was, of course, if a traditional Junite wedding was even remotely similar to a human one.

The waiting was painful. What made it even more so was that we had to remain silent while Bu transitioned back and forth between her two forms to talk to the leader of the guard and then report to us what had been discussed. It must have been exhausting for her to keep up with the demands but the determination I saw on her face was for Louis. I knew she would do whatever it took for her prince and I could only hope that the majority of Junito would too.

Jason was peeking cautiously from side to side at the ships in our row. He was making me nervous with his twitching and grumbles.

"Jason," I hissed as Bu changed back to speak to us. "Sit down."

"Says you," he scoffed. "Sorry," he mumbled, "it's difficult, especially when you're worried."

Worried was an understatement and we both knew it.

Terrified seemed more appropriate.

Half an hour later, the bunches of flowers I'd seen being carted through the gardens had made it to the ledge and been potted, laid and wrapped accordingly to how the decorator saw fit. They adorned the glass doors that joined the great hall and had been draped across the grand table that had been placed by several members of staff. It could easily fit my entire neighbour hood it was that extravagant. Several smaller tables had been placed by the sides of the royal table, no doubt for close family and friends to dine together happily.

Until we arrived, of course. Then there would be nothing happy about it.

"It's nearly time," Bu declared as I watched several glowing bodies stride down the aisle within the great hall. "The guests are filing in accordingly."

I peeked toward the great hall just as the majority of guests seemed to flow in, filling seats from front to back in a matter of seconds. Junites of all shapes, sizes and colours were now perched apprehensively in the hall, waiting to see the prince and princess exchange their vows and undying love for each other.

Yuck.

"Where are the king and queen?" I questioned. None of the Junites in particular seemed to stand out or carry themselves as if they were royalty.

"They do not arrive until just before the prince is to take his place before the alter. They walk out first, closely followed by the prince. Then the betrothed is accompanied by their parents down the aisle before they exchange vows and blood."

Jason did a double-take. "They exchange blood?"

I scowled at the thought. Klaru's blood mixing with Louis'? I didn't think it was possible to feel more disgusted.

Bu only nodded. "Yes. They exchange vows to each other and then to seal the marriage bond between them, they each make a small incision at the wrist to draw enough blood that three drops may be extracted. Those drops are then placed within a goblet and topped up with the elixir of the falls," she paused and gestured to the grand waterfall between us and the wedding. "It is said to have extensive qualities such as heightening senses – no doubt for the night following the wedding."

I cringed.

"Niiice," Jason muttered. And then: "Can I have a glass of that stuff?"

I chuckled at that and the sound must have amused us all for the other two chuckled along with me.

"Unfortunately, the elixir is only for the royals to taste. It is used in marriages and at a ceremony celebrating life and death."

"That's rather fascinating," Jason said, turning his attention fully to Bu as he asked, "What else happens at a Junite wedding?"

As Bu droned on about all the 'special attributes' of the binding of souls and celebrating the power marriage has over a kingdom, I found my brain gasping for air. So many thoughts, so many disgusting and beautiful and terrifying at the thought of Klaru and Louis being together in any way.

Politely about to ask Bu to stop talking about my prince and that witch, I failed to get anything out for the guests within the great hall rose to their feet and a symphony of tinkling music drifted out the open windows. It was the strangest sound, the music, unlike anything I'd ever heard back on Earth. It seemed to be both happy and sad as the notes hit highs and lows faster than light.

And there, just as I was about to ask Bu about it, did the king and queen emerge from the back of the room, dressed head-to-toe in exquisite clothing that looked to be made of the finest materials and trimmings.

But my attention was stolen from them by the next person to make their way down the aisle.

Louis.

The wedding had begun.

Thanks for waiting, as always. I've run out of 'excuses' as to why I suck at updating but I won't lie to you all - I've come to the conclusion that I hate writing fanfiction and I can't wait to begin writing stories that are not fanfics. HOWEVER, I shall press on and complete all my fics for you lovely readers cos your girl Cazza ain't a quitter.

I believe there are about 4 or 5 chapters left of Alien, so bear with me :P

Alien joke: Hey, I'm as fascinated by alien abductions as much as the next person but let's not get carried away.

Cazza