4. Kuana

Every now and then, an echo of laughter or the distant clank of a cell door would punctuate the silence.

But in the tiny world of my cell, it felt like time had ceased to flow.

The soft glow of the light strips on the walls illuminated the room with a muted radiance.

I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling, Violet nestled into the crook of my arm.

The simple act of feeling her breathing against me, the weight of her head on my chest, felt almost surreal.

She looked so peaceful, her eyelids casting shadows over her cheeks.

The curve of her lips, slightly parted, whispered tales of contentment.

I trailed my fingers along the outline of her arm, marveling at the smoothness of her skin.

And for a while, it felt like the universe had shrunk to the size of this room, this bed, this moment.

But underneath the calm veneer, I could feel the storm of questions bubbling within her.

The hows, the whys, the whats.

The things she'd been carrying inside her for years, all the pain, hope, and determination, echoed in the rhythm of her heartbeats.

"Talk to me," I whispered into her ear, breaking the serene stillness.

She chuckled softly, a sound that sent shivers down my spine. "About what?"

"Anything. Everything. Or nothing."

There was a slight pause, then:

"Do you remember that park we used to go to? The one with the gigantic klopa tree?"

I smiled. "Of course. We carved our initials on it."

"Yeah," she sighed wistfully. "Sometimes, when I was missing you too much, I'd go there. Just to sit under it and remember."

I pulled her closer. "You never gave up on me, did you?"

She shook her head. "Not even for a second. Even when everyone else said you were gone, I just… I knew. I felt it."

Silence enveloped us once again, but this time it was different.

It was comfortable, reassuring.

"What happened to that Champion who Claimed you?" I asked. "He's one of the most feared prisoners here. Last I saw, he was on his way to having the surprise of his life."

She laughed, the sound musical. "He got that all right… even if it wasn't quite the surprise he was expecting. Let's just say he's been… neutralized. He won't be a problem."

I raised an eyebrow, impressed. "You really have become quite the force to be reckoned with, haven't you?"

She shrugged modestly. "I had to be. For you."

We lay like that for a while, lost in the warmth of each other's embrace.

But I could sense that she was holding something back.

Her fingers were tracing patterns on my chest, hesitant, like she was gathering courage.

"I have a plan, Kuana," she said finally, her voice tinged with determination.

"Oh?"

She nodded. "A way out of here. For both of us. I would never have come here if I didn't have a way out."

I seriously doubted that.

If she couldn't come up with an exit plan, she would have come anyway and figured one out while she was here.

I could hear the conviction in her voice.

But a cold dread started to seep into me, like ink spilling across a parchment.

"I told you, I can't leave here," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

She looked up at me, her eyes shining with a fierce light. "You have to. You can't stay here forever. I've got connections, people on the outside who can help. We just have to trust each other and follow the plan."

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. "Violet…"

She silenced me with a finger on my lips. "You've been here long enough. This is our chance, Kuana. I don't know what happened in the past. One day you'll tell me about it. And even if you don't, it doesn't matter. But we can get out of here. Don't you want that?"

Every fiber of my being screamed ‘yes'.

But there were things she didn't know, couldn't know.

Choices I'd made, paths I'd been forced down…

The prison, for all its horrors, was one of the safest, most well-defended places in the galaxy.

"I…" I started, then faltered, searching for the right words.

She looked at me, her gaze probing, searching. "What is it?"

Closing my eyes, taking a deep breath, I whispered the truth. "I cannot leave, Violet."

Her face paled, disbelief clouding her eyes.

* * *

The words hungin the air like a dense fog, and I could see the wheels turning in Violet's mind as she tried to process them.

The soft, dim light of my cell seemed to cast deeper shadows around us, making the atmosphere even more oppressive.

"Why?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why would you willingly stay in a place like this? At Ikmal?"

"I needed to hide," I replied, feeling the weight of memories I'd been trying to suppress. "To find a place so remote, so dangerous, that no one would come looking for me."

Violet sat up, her expression a mix of bewilderment and fear. "From who?"

I searched her eyes and saw pain in them. "From everyone." I met her gaze, trying to convey the gravity of the situation. "I'm not safe outside. And neither is anyone else if they discover what I know."

Her beautiful eyes bore into mine, as if trying to peel back the layers of secrets I'd been keeping. "What happened on that moon, Kuana? Why did you disappear?"

I took a deep breath, fighting the internal battle between wanting to protect her and the desire to unburden myself. "I can't tell you, Violet. It's too dangerous."

She scooted closer, her voice a mixture of frustration and desperation. "I've come halfway across the galaxy, risked everything to find you, and now you're shutting me out? You owe me an explanation."

"I owe you so much more than that," I whispered, feeling the sting of guilt. "But this is one debt I can't repay."

Violet's eyes began to brim with tears. "Then why? Why not leave with me? We can run away, disappear somewhere no one will find us…"

My heart ached at the hope in her voice, but I knew it was a false hope. "Because the universe isn't big enough. Not for this secret."

She gripped my arms, shaking slightly. "Then tell me. Let me help. We can face this together."

I tried to pull away, but her grip tightened. "Violet, please. Don't ask me again."

She persisted, her voice cracking with emotion. "Kuana, I need to know. I deserve to know."

The pressure, the memories, the fear — everything welled up inside me.

I could feel the anger simmering, boiling, threatening to erupt.

The very emotion I'd been teaching others to control in this very prison was now betraying me.

"No!" I snapped, more forcefully than I intended, pushing her away from me. "Stop asking!"

She blinked, her eyes wide with shock.

The rage flared within me, so intense that my vision blurred, and I could see an eerie glow reflecting off Violet's terrified face.

My eyes were burning — literally burning.

I could hear Violet's muffled voice, panicked, calling out to me, but it felt distant, like it was coming from the other end of a long tunnel.

I was losing control.

"No," I gasped, desperately trying to channel every technique, every breathing exercise I knew.

The walls seemed to close in, and the air grew thin.

My heart raced as memories of the jungle colony moon, of the research facility, of the catastrophic events, all flooded back.

The secret I was hiding felt like a physical entity, strangling me.

Violet approached hesitantly, her voice soft and soothing. "Kuana, breathe. Focus on me. Let it go."

But it wasn't that easy.

The anger, the guilt, the regret, all battled for dominance, threatening to tear me apart.

"Stay away!" I choked out, but Violet ignored me.

She reached closer, placing a gentle hand on my cheek.

"Look at me," she whispered. "Remember who you are. Remember us."

Her touch was like an anchor, grounding me, reminding me of a time before the secrets and the dangers.

Slowly, with her guiding me, the storm within began to subside.

The burning in my eyes lessened, and the weight on my chest lifted.

I slumped into the mattress, gasping for breath, Violet cradling my head in her lap.

"Shh," she whispered, stroking my hair. "It's okay. I'm here."

I looked up at her, the world coming back into focus.

The remorse for my outburst weighed heavily on my shoulders.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, the weight of my secret still pressing down on me.

Violet just held me tighter, and for now, it was enough.

The emotions that had threatened to consume me were now back under control.

But for how long?