I got a strong sense of deja vu, laying in bed with my baby, sound asleep; and my new lover, a Prince of Mars, apparently.

I didn't matter where he was from, not to me.

I felt so safe in that moment, as I ran my hand through his long pink hair.

The blankets were thrown off us, and I could feel the cool autumn air coming through the cracked window on my nude body. I let out a low sigh.

It felt right and natural for him to be here, like he belonged next to me… maybe that's why I felt so safe.

There was not a chance this had actually happened before, though. It couldn't be actual deja vu. I was a virgin, just before this.

"I love you," somebody said in a hushed voice.

Only after a few seconds did I realize it was me who had said it.

Did I really…?

He turned on to his back and looked up at me, upside down.

"No need to blush, Princess," his voice, while having a bit of an unidentifiable accent, was cooing.

Oh course, at that I blushed harder, trying to hide my face.

I'm not the type to be sentimental. I can't remember the last time I was, even to a good friend.

You could say that falling in love was the last thing I expected to happen to me.

And yet, here I am.

"What is this love you speak of?" He whispered.

Was this… pillow talk?

My face must've looked like a strawberry at this point.

"It's when… you like someone, more than anyone or anything else."

Was my view on love really so childish?

"We have no word for that in my language," he replied, now stroking my face.

"How do you know this language at all?" I murmured.

"It's very close to the trade language we use for in between planets, and also I have schooling in linguistics."

I nodded. "I love languages. I'm conversational in three. I'll likely go to college for the same."

"It was forced upon me, as crown prince, I'd never a choice in the matter… you need a background in it or you won't be able to communicate with all of the many tribes."

"Do you have to do many things you don't want to?"

"My whole life has been doing thing I wish I didn't have to do. I wish there was no war, and even if there had to be, I wish I wasn't in it or anywhere near it. It seems your planet is a peaceful one, I envy you."

"There's not as much war as there used to be, that's true. America hasn't had a war on its soil in a long time."

"That is good, Princess, war is a horrible thing. As a War Wizard, a chosen champion, I would know."

I paused, wanting to get off the topic. "What do you call the person you marry and have children with there, on Mars?"

His face looked funny, upside down to me and thinking hard.

"I suppose… you'd call them partners. But now, I learned a new word, and you'd be my 'love.'"

I bent down and lightly kissed his lips…

It felt like a small shock of energy went through my brain.

Electric.

I savored the feeling.

I was in love… It was really true.

"Tell me of you, Princess."

He shifted into a more comfortable position, propping himself on an elbow.

His body was well scared, unmistakably from battle.

But he didn't look all that old, not more than two years older than me, if not the same age.

It was hard to tell, not many young men are as fit as him, not many with those many scars...

"Even if you say that, I can't help but feel there's not all that much to tell."

"Surely you jest?"

"I'm only sixteen…"

"Plenty of time to have countless battles—!"

I laughed.

"I forgot you're from a very different place… a different time and space."

"I get the feeling you aren't normally this lighthearted."

"No, I'm never like this. You could say you melted my heart."

His face looked like a "?" so I'm guessing it went over his head.

"I'm normally cold to others. Distant, and hard to get through…"

"Why would that be," he didn't say it like a question.

I sighed. "People have hurt me, and abandoned me. Growing up, my biggest aspiration was to finally be independent, but I ended up being jaded of people."

"You're too young to hate people, Princess. That's the job for a queen," he let out a small laugh.

I smiled. He even had a foreign sense of humor. It was kind of charming, in its own way.

"Would you tell me who abandoned you?"

"It was my parents, when I was around eight. I still remember it like it was only a couple months ago… but it's been another eight years since then."

"Who hurt you?"

I shook my head. "I was bullied, I was very pretty and all the other girls hated me for it, and then they hated me for no reason at all. So by highschool… I hated people. I still made friends, somehow, but very few."

He nodded his head. I guess he did get the gist of it.

"That's awful, but occurs on my Mars as well."

I was tired of talking.

I crawled over to him and pushed him down, trying to kiss every freckle of his.

It was going to be a long night.

- - - -

I woke up to the smell of something burning. Great.

I looked around, slightly startled. I was naked, and sore…

Oh, yeah. How could I ever forget?

I looked over for Korrin, he was still sleeping peacefully beside me.

All the kid did was eat and sleep. Oh, and sometimes poop.

I felt like I needed a slap, I was definitely not awake.

I put on some pajamas, erring on the side of modesty for this morning, and picking up Korrin on the way out.

If he didn't wake up soon he'd be up all night! The kid has unnatural amounts of energy.

It got more and more smokey as I went down the hall. I'm not sure how the fire alarms haven't gone off...

I opened the front room windows, making my way around to the kitchen.

"What're you doing?"

Morgana turned around from his 'cooking.' He was wearing that white robe, only that, though.

It barely covered his ass.

"I admit, Princess, I cannot cook. But I thought, 'how hard can it be?'" he scoffed.

I peered over at what he was cooking.

It was bread.

"How the hell do you even manage that?" I said, eyes bulging out. I handed him the baby. "I'll take care of cooking, then. It was my fault, I didn't realize anyone could be so bad at it."

He frowned at me and kissed the baby. It was playing with his face, smiling.

It melted my heart, all over again… Wait, no.

I slapped myself on the face, lightly.

My emotions were too much like a rollercoaster just then.

"Call Jade or Tayler, tell them you need a change of clothes. I will not let you wear that armor everywhere, and especially not just that robe."

"Yes, yes… I wonder how my servant is doing. I never told him where I was going… where is your phone, my love!"

"Try the night stand!"

I definitely wasn't blushing from him saying that.

"Ah, good morning, Tayler! I see you're still in the 'phone.' … I was wondering if you could also bring a change of clothes. … It matters not, so long as a sword will buckle to it! Ha!"

He was a real chatter with other guys. I cracked some eggs, having cleaned up and prepped.

"Would you be willing to give me a hitch in that 'car' of yours, I need to retrieve some things from my carriage. … No, that will be unnecessary. Goodbye."

"What's happening?"

"Following up on a lead, you could say. What do you know about that mansion in town?"

I started putting up my hair in a bun, saying, "The school? I've never gone there. What do you need to know?"

"Anything strange about it?"

"...A smaller list would be what's normal about it. The place is a mystery all to itself, like who donated such a thing and furnished it."

"Yes, it seems out of place, but that's not what I'm getting at… there's something malicious about it. The place itself."

"Is that what your senses tell you?"

I overheard him talking about them on the phone last night.

"Yes and no. I thought maybe I sensed other magic, but couldn't tell over the sense of the Priestess. This is more like a feeling in the… gut."

He was so dramatic. I couldn't stop smiling.

"Where evil people dwell, there are bound to be evil things. That's simply the truth of it."

Well, that made sense in a way. "It's the weekend, that means not many people will be there, if any. That makes it the best time for you to 'investigate.'"

"I'm very curious to see the condition of my carriage… I've got a suspicion concerning it."

I heard the front door open.

"Oh… yeah, you definitely do need a change of clothes," Tayler said, walking up and handing him some stuff, then set a shoebox on the table. "There's condoms and a plan b in there, if you ever need more just go to planned parenthood. It's free."

"That must've been embarrassing to pick up for me, Tayler. I appreciate it," I said.

"Oh, it was! They didn't have Ben and Jerry's at the store I went to, but I bought hagen-daz," he lifted an ice cream bag.

"Don't do it again, that stuff is too expensive."

"It's worth it," he replied. "And a small price to pay. My job is to make sure you're a happy mom."

"He took that job over," I pointed to Morgana. "And he's really good at it, so don't worry too much."

Tayler sat down at the table. "I take it you found your 'true love,' just like me."

"True love is a strong phrase… but yes. That's probably it."

"Looks like you're in a much better mood, too. I've never seen you smile for more than a second, but now you have a big grin glued on."

"Tayler, I'm not sure if this will make sense, but I'm so happy right now that I feel high."

"No, Jade and I felt the same way. We still do, sometimes. Feels like you're unstoppable, right?"

"Yes… that's part of it. I'm afraid I've never felt anything like this, so it's hard for me to compare. Would you like eggs in a hole, Tayler?"

"Oh, my grandma use to make those! But she called them popeyes, I think? Anyway, no, I already ate. Do you have coffee?"

"Yes, although I don't know how to use the coffeemaker—" I pointed to the corner of the kitchen.

Tayler walked over. "Wow, there's cobwebs inside the coffee pot… but this is some decent coffee you've got."

Morgana walked out from the hallways and struck a pose.

"How do I look?"

"I was just guessing your size, looks like it fits though," Tayler said.

"This fabric is a much softer kind than I'm used to. What do you call it?"

"Cotton. It comes from a plant, now that I think of it," Tayler answered.

"How much do I owe you?" I asked.

"It was $35 for the clothes and the ice cream is on me."

"I'll send it to you on PayPal again."

I served breakfast in a daze of love that'd never completely fade.

For once, I felt glad I was alive.