Almost a week later, Cashius got the news of what the Sagen council decided on what the trials were going to consist of. The council chose a cognitive test, an agility test and finally a trial by combat. The first thought that came to Cashius’s mind was he had to tell Iya. Ever since the army has been temporarily grounded Cashius has spent as much time with her as he could. The two of them walking around shoulder to shoulder everyday was starting to become noticeable.

Whispers of Cashius courting Iya was starting to look like a real thing. After King Jaron made his speech about the trials the star children became local celebrities. People wanted to meet and greet the four chosen and were excited to see who was going to win. The only thing that mattered to Cashius was winning over Iya.

He wanted the young commander to choose him especially during the Warrior Solstice Festival, which was coming up. He knew once the trials were over and a new Star Lord was chosen, she was going to take off. Cashius knew Iya was eager to return back to her job in traveling to different galaxies. He was determined to use all the time he had to woo her.

Cashius knew where he would find Iya. She’s been elbows deep in trying to remodel her war carrier ship before they had to leave again. She’s also been working closely with the tech specialists and engineering group of the Third borns. Iya went straight to the source and told her brother Jayce all of her complaints. The war carrier needed a lot of maintenance, good cleaning and restocking of important supplies. Prince Jayce sent over a crew of Third borns to get started on what needed to be repaired and remodeled.

When Cashius approached the huge carrier, he was taken back by its magnificence. The Sagen war carrier can house about twenty thousand people or more if needed. One gigantic computer that has the power to travel millions of miles through space. The hatch to get on the carrier was open and Cashius saw different crews going up and down the ramp. They were carrying buckets of soapy water and scrub brooms that looked dirty as hell.

Cashius climbed up the entrance ramp and popped his head through the entrance. He saw Iya’s soldiers hustling around with rags and brooms. They were scrubbing and cleaning down the inside of the carrier. There were large metal steel square sheets on the floor that were covered in mud. The crate parts of the floor were flooding from the water. Iya wanted the entire first floor cleaned. From the entrance to the deck up front. Everything was a mess… Another crew stood around the computers that were installed on the walls upgrading the systems and cleaning out any viruses the system might have. Iya did not want another communication issue like they had on Corra.

When he looked straight ahead there, she was. Iya was scrubbing the floors with a hard brush broom. Dirty from head to toe, she had on tan cargo capri pants, a half cut white crop top, thick big work boots with big black gloves. Half of her shirt draped over her left shoulder showing the leather strap to her bra. She knelt down to one knee to clean the mud off the brushes. The last thing Iya wanted to be doing was cleaning but it was the perfect time to do so. Besides, anything that would distract her from thinking about Kal all day also was a goal.

Everyone stopped working and hustling around when they saw Cashius climb aboard the war carrier. Other Sagens usually don’t visit the military quarters unless they wanted to see family or loved ones before departure. Everyone stopped moving except Iya who had her back towards the hatch door. No one knew what to do exactly but to stare at Cashius as he walked by. He noticed the Sagen soldiers staring at him but he didn’t care. He smiled and smirked as he walked on to the carrier, straight towards their commander. It was a bold move but that was the plan.

Cashius walked up and tapped her on the shoulder, “Hey Iya…”

Iya turned around and was shocked by who it was. Deep down she was hoping it was Kal. “Hey Cashius, what brings you here?” When Iya turned around to face Cashius, she noticed her whole crew was staring at them. She gave them all a look like mind your business and they quickly went back to working.

“I was wondering if you were up for a bit to eat.” Cashius held up a bag filled with bread, cheese and sliced meats.

“Now?” Iya smiled while looking down at her clothes, “I’m covered in mud and dirt…”

“I don’t mind if you don’t mind… it’s just a little dirt.” Cashius grinned. The dimples on his cheeks were deep and pretty. Almost as pretty as his eyes which became really slanted when he smiled.

Iya smiled back at Cashius and said, “Ok sure.” When she looked up at Cashius she began to wonder. Could this really be something? Since Kal was ridiculously ‘not allowed’, Iya started to believe she might have to give up any feelings for him. Shutting herself off to everyone wasn’t going to help her move on.

Cashius walked behind Iya as they made their way down the hatch ramp. She looked up at the clear sunny sky admiring how beautiful the day was. Cashius looked at Iya admiring how beautiful she was, dirty and all. “So…” Cashius starting the conversation, “The council made their decision about the trials. I don’t even know why they call them trials, they’re more like games. Everyone here on Sage just wants to be entertained. They want to see us dance around like a bunch of monkeys.”

“If you don’t want to be the next Star Lord, why don’t you just forfeit your spot?” Iya looked up at Cashius wondering why he was complaining. “I mean it’s not every day you’re in the running to become the ‘ruler’ of the universe, right?”

“And leave it up to one of those idiots? No!” Cashius started laughing which made Iya laugh along with him. He loved making her laugh. “I’ll tell you what though… the first thing I’m going to do once I win this thing is change the damn name. ‘The Star Lord’ is so corny and lame… there is no way I’m walking around calling myself that! I mean, who comes up with these things?” Cashius watched Iya laugh aloud. She was smiling from ear to ear showing her bright white teeth.

“So, what are you going to call yourself then, if not the Star Lord?” Iya was curious to what Cashius was going to say.

“I was thinking of Star Master or how’s Lord of the Stars sound?” They laughed together for a while. Cashius never wanted these moments to end with Iya. What do I have to do? He thought to himself. He turned and looked at Iya and said, “your smile is… breathtaking.”

Iya met Cashius’ gaze but quickly put her head down looking at the ground. They were walking outside to the entrance. It took two people to open the huge hanger gates. “Thanks, Cashius.” Iya replied. The two of them continued their small talk as they reached the entrance. When Cashius and Iya were leaving, they almost bumped right into Kal and… Cassie. Iya did not notice them walking along the side of the gates as she was leaving with Cashius.

Cassie was Jayce’s assistant. She was responsible in handling anything Jayce gave to her to manage. Usually most of her assignments involved the Sagen military. Whenever soldiers in the army had needs or wanted to upgrade their equipment, Cassie was the one who made notes. She was a pretty, skinny, light skinned girl who always wore the latest fashions. She was smart, quick-witted and very good at her job. She liked to wear her hair in pigtails, large puff balls ponytails on each side. Cassie was also well known among the guys in the military. Every Warrior’s Solstice she chose a different soldier to spend the night with. The last Warrior’s Solstice, she spent it with Kal.

Cassie wanted nothing more than for Kal to choose her permanently. If she got her way, the option of choosing other partners was off the table and they became monogamous. That is not what Kal wanted, he held that slot for someone else. It’s not that Kal didn’t like Cassie, they are friends. It’s she isn’t Iya in any way…

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After the awkward encounter of the four of them bumping into each other. Iya and Kal stared at one another in passing. Cassie and Cashius didn’t notice how lost they were into each other’s gaze. Cashius was still talking to Iya and Cassie to Kal but neither was paying attention once they saw the other. After they crossed paths, Kal almost completely turned around to look at Iya. It took Iya a few moments to turn and look over her shoulder. She didn’t want to seem too obvious.

Finally, Cashius and Iya reached their destination which was a small park by a pond. The park was newly built for people to enjoy the scenery and the outdoors. Cashius walked over and sat under a tree for the shade. When they both sat down, he started pulling out pieces of bread with slices of meat and cheese.

Cashius made her a sandwich and handed it to her on a napkin. He stared at her as she was lost in her thoughts. “You know, if I become Star Lord, I would like to change a lot of things around here.”

Cashius comment made Iya look up and snap out of her trance. “What kind of changes? You’d be the Star Lord, why would you be concerned about Sage anymore? You can do whatever you want to do.” Iya smiled at Cashius then looked down at her sandwich.

“Well the first thing I would do would be to change some of the restrictions. I feel like here on Sage no one is truly free. You live the way ‘they’ want you to live. I mean, don’t you think about marriage or having a family sometimes? Children?”

“Children?” Iya huffed at the thought, “No Cashius, children are the last thing on my mind. Let’s start with the Warrior’s Solstice… this is all new to me, you know? I don’t know how to feel about a lot of things right now.” All Iya could think about was Kal. She was all too familiar with restrictions.

Cashius reached out his hand and placed it on Iya’s. She looked at his hand before looking up at him. “Well you know… you have…”

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you my little sister!!” Jayce popped out of nowhere interrupting the moment. He was hard to miss, Jayce was vibrant and full of life. He wore his locks down from his usual ponytail. Although they weren't identical twins Iya and Jayce looked just alike, he was just taller. Iya pulled her hand back from Cashius as she was surprised to see her brother. Cashius slowly turned his attention to Jayce as he walked up, he was pissed. Jayce knew what was going on but didn’t care. He didn't like Cashius and the last thing he wanted was Cashius to be courting his baby sister. Jayce turned to him anyway still acknowledging him, “Cashius.”

Cashius looked up at Jayce and replied to his blunt hello, “Prince Jayce.”

Jayce cut his eyes and turned to look at Iya, “I asked around to where you were, and your crew said he came and swept you away. Well, now I’m here to do the same. The weapon you requested is ready.” Jayce pulled a shiny steel custom made cleaver machete sword from around his back. The front of the machete was sharp and fine, but the other side had small spikes ridged down its back.

Iya stood up and was amazed at its craftsmanship and design. She picked it up slowly and moved it around. The handle was leather but small. Iya turned to Jayce and said, “It’s beautiful… the design and engravings is perfect.”

Jayce looked at how she was moving her new weapon around, “But…?”

“It’s the handle… it’s too small and I’m afraid I’ll lose the grip I need.” Iya dropped her arm with the machete then swung the light weighted sword right towards Jayce’s head. Jayce didn’t move an inch instead he gave Iya a look like what’s the problem. “See my hand slipped.”

Jayce rolled his eyes, “It’s always something with you isn’t it? Come on then, let’s see if the blacksmith can add more leather to it or something.”

Iya turned around and looked at Cashius who was still sitting on the ground eating his sandwich. He looked up at her and said, “Go… I’ll catch up with you later.” Cashius smiled at Iya but didn’t say anything to Jayce. Annoyed, Jayce grabbed Iya’s arm pulling her back towards the hanger gates.

She snatched her arm back from her brother’s grip, “What is your problem? Let go of my arm.”

Jayce picked up his pace before turning around to face Iya, “I want you to stay away from him. He’s not what you think. Cashius is dark, he’s manipulative and sketchy. Trust me, Iya you don’t want anything to do with him like that. I’ve heard rumors about you guys courting. What do you think father would say?”

Iya quickly snapped back, “That’s none of your business! Nor father’s. Cashius is my friend and you’ve known him your whole life too Jayce. So why are you acting like this? He’s not dark or sketchy to me.”

“Of course he’s not towards you! Baby sister he wants you! Cashius is not going to show you the real person he is until he has what he wants, which is you.”

“At least he’s trying to get to know me versus all the other guys who know nothing about me. Ever since I’ve turned eighteen, men from everywhere have been flocking just to bed me. They know nothing about me except that I’m the new Commander of the Sagen Army. That’s it! They want me to spend the night with them, giving them my body and pleasing their fantasy. Is that what you want Jayce?”

“Of course, not Iya” He said while rolling his eyes, “I know this is all new to you, trust me. I just don’t want you to fall for the wrong person.” Jayce tried to reach out to Iya and give her a hug, but Iya pulled away.

“It’s already bad enough you’re with my best friend Surra. Be mindful of your own actions brother… you know Surra can’t have children. You know you have to produce an heir sooner or later… what are you going to do then? What would father think?” Iya stood there for a moment looking at her twin brother. She then turned around and walked away towards the blacksmith station.

When Iya got to the blacksmith’s station he wasn’t there. She looked around and called out to him but no one answered. Instead of leaving, Iya walked in the back where he kept majority of his tools and equipment. She figured she could fix the issue with the handle herself. She placed the tool into the clamps and started cutting the stitching to the leather.

From behind her, Iya heard footsteps and she thought it was the blacksmith or her brother. Honestly, she didn’t want to be bothered by either of them. Without turning around to see who it was she called out, “Hey, I got it ok. I can fix the handle myself.”

The footsteps got closer than they stopped. Iya huffed and slowly turned around, she thought for sure it was Jayce. It wasn’t, it was Kal. He stood there looking at her with a smirk on his face. He knew she wasn’t expecting him to be standing behind her. Iya was still holding the cutting blade in her hand while she stood there shocked, “Kal… I thought you were Jayce.”

“Good thing I wasn’t…” Kal laughed at how annoyed Iya looked when she turned around. Iya tried to quickly place the blade back on the work bench. The bottom of the blade bumped onto the corner and slipped out of Iya’s grasp. It cut her finger causing her to bleed from her middle finger.

“Oww! Dammit…” Iya bounced around for a second holding her hand. Kal walked over to get a better look.

“Let me see.” Kal gently grabbed Iya’s hand and held it close to his face. He looked at it closely to see how deep it was. “It’s not that bad, you’ll be ok.” Kal whispered when he looked back at her. His soft touches on her arm and wrist made a sliver go up her back. He pulled Iya’s hand in closer then gently put her bleeding finger in his mouth. Iya gasped from the sensation. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. Shit… she thought to herself.

Kal didn’t let go of Iya’s hand when he pulled her finger out. He pulled Iya even closer to him, putting her hand on his face. He looked at Iya and said, “I can’t stop thinking about you…” The tension between them was unbearable. Iya started breathing heavily and Kal started to do the same as he reached down to touch Iya’s face. He leaned down following his hand and kissed Iya. He leaned all the way into it pressing her against the work bench. He grabbed her waist then started kissing Iya along her chin line down to her neck. They wanted this, there was no doubting it anymore. Kal stopped when they heard Jayce call out Iya’s name.

“Iya! You in there?!” Jayce screamed out loud. When she didn’t answer he made his way to the back to see if she was there. Kal and Iya could hear him coming through the hallway from the front of the station. Both of them stood there for a while a little upset with Jayce’s perfect timing. As his footsteps got closer Iya pulled Kal’s hand down from her face and turned back around to the work bench. She picked up the cutting blade from the table.

The silence between them said a thousand words as they waited for Jayce to come down the hallway. When he reached the back, he noticed Kal standing a few feet back from Iya. He wasn’t expecting him. “Kal? What are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting to see you down here. I thought you were with Cassie.”

“I finished up with her earlier. I was just checking to see what new improvements she was making to your weapons.” Kal started walking out towards the hallway. He stopped when he reached Jayce then leaned over, “Don’t be so hard on her… besides you don’t want her to kick your ass do you?” Kal grinned at Jayce before leaving towards the front entrance.

Jayce also noticed the tension between Kal and Iya when he walked in but couldn’t put his finger on what the tension was about. Jayce still thought Iya was mad at him, so he made his comment quick. “I just came to tell you that if you need my help I’m here. And… Patrisha and Jaron Jr. will be here tomorrow when the trials begin. Have a good night sister.”

What a day Iya thought… what a day.