Two women of different social status, the Queen of the kingdom of Raquel and a commoner of Pacifica, a town that lies on the outer skirts of the kingdom, carried an unborn child. During their ninth month of pregnancy, the two women received ill news about their child yet to be born.

The Queen was up in her chambers in the North tower as her faithful servant made his way down the corridor. This servant of the Queen’s was her favorite because he was clairvoyant. Vain as she was, the Queen sat before her vanity and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her gaze fell upon the bulge that stymied her view of her cerulean stilettos. She glared at it in repugnance. Her pregnancy was the fall of her splendor and she couldn’t wait to recapture her loved stature. She reached for her comb and began stroking her fair tresses. The queen dropped her comb to the floor just as her servant burst through the thick oak doors of her chambers.

"My lady!" he shouted, eyeing the fallen comb. "I apologize, my lady. But I deliver grave intelligence about your unborn child."

"What about the heir?" she snapped.

"My Queen, you are superstitious, are you not?" he asked.

"What if I am?" she questioned. "I’ve always held your word to be true. Articulate. Speak the ailing words I’d rather not perceive."

"Your highness, I have had a stony premonition. The kingdom was covered in mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. Destiny has allotted a date to that infant resting in your womb. On the seventeenth anniversary of the child’s birth, in accordance to my divination, your successor shall be the toxin that brings about the annihilation of humanity in its entirety."

The Queen stared at the diviner jaw open and face pale. She was of regal standards, of high class. On Valentine’s Day not so many years before, she had seen a goldfinch flying overhead and as superstitions go, she married a millionaire, royalty. Now the Queen of Raquel, she couldn’t comprehend how her heir could be such a vast blemish in her faultless vain existence.

"T-that’s ludicrous!" she stammered.

"My lady," said the servant, "Look upon the floor."

The Queen did as the servant suggested. She was petrified as if a poltergeist was emanating before her. Upon the floor of her bed chambers lay the comb she had dropped. The Queen fell faint. She recognized a dropped comb to be a death omen.

In the town of Pacifica, the mother-to-be was preparing lunch for her husband and grandfather. The plucky young newly-wed’s mother and father sat on the porch sipping herbal tea and reminiscing about the good old days. The wind blew through the chimes emitting a peaceful twinkling sound that fluttered about the small Japanese-style home. The young woman’s family called her "Lucky Ducky." They said she was filled with luck and brought luck to others around her simply by her smile full of grace. She always smiled to herself and to everyone. It was a natural part of her ducky nature. At the present moment, the plucky woman’s gracing smile was showered upon the infant within her.

She served bread, bouillabaisse and chilled apple cider. She gestured for the family to sit and have lunch. The family waited for her to sit down to say grace. The woman thanked God for the provisions before them as well as her constant blessings. Her husband added to please bless their unborn child and to let him arrive safely. The plucky mother-to-be stood up to get some butter and salt off the kitchen counter. She tripped over her own two feet and her husband grabbed her arm catching her.

"God, I’m such a klutz!" she exclaimed.

Her husband looked her in the eyes. "That may be true," he said, "but you’re my klutz." She beamed at him and he kissed her passionately.

"Ahem…" interrupted her mother. "Thank God you didn’t collapse."

"We wouldn’t want anything to happen to the baby, now do we?" questioned her father.

"No, we wouldn’t," replied the young pregnant woman. She smiled again at the family.

"That’s my Lucky Ducky," said her grandfather.

The woman sat back down. She reached for a loaf of bread and dropped it in revulsion. Had her good fortune finally come to an end?

"Ducky?" peeped her mother.

"Grandfather!" shouted the woman. Her grandfather looked at her and then at the loaf of bread on the slab. There was a hole in the center. He grimaced.

"My, my," he said as the woman began sniveling. "Lucky Ducky, it seems your child’s fate has already been determined. That baby of yours will be born in order to die."

A young maiden ran through the residential streets of Pacifica. The maiden ran in circles until everything not only looked familiar, but identical. The buildings were medium-sized white complexes. Each foyer of each complex was lined with small green shrubs and some windows contained a small pot of flowers sitting on their sills. This place was silent and forlorn.

On these streets, there were no people. It was near twilight and the lights in the complexes were all on. No one was in the streets, though. The maiden stopped near a window and panted. She glanced inside and saw people. But the people were with them, the militia. She looked across the street and saw through the window of another complex. People, but they were with them, too. The maiden saw the militia around a lot recently. This residential area was insecure for her. Here, she would not find a place to reside. She left running. This was no place for her. She was nearing her seventeenth birthday and no place was home. She desperately wanted to have some place to go. She wanted to meet someone. Soon. She wanted someone just for her to keep her out of harm's way. But if that special someone falls in love with her, she will have to leave him for his own sake. Even so, she wanted to meet him.

She ran on ahead through the streets until she reached lofty green hedges. She hadn’t passed through this area of the district. She would have remembered. For a moment, the maiden hindered. She looked over her shoulder. Behind her, in those complexes, was the militia. She was in hiding from them and she couldn’t afford for them to find her shadow now. The maiden dashed between the hedges and bared right. All around her were lofty hedges and the only colors, other than green; she could see was the pink and orange sky.

She was bogged down in a giant maze, much like the maze made of rose bushes in the kingdom of Raquel. The maiden was perplexed for direction. Every move now was based upon intuition. After a short while, the maiden managed to unearth an egress that led into a meadow of striking white calla lilies. She looked around and saw no indication of the militia or buildings at all. In reprieve, the maiden collapsed into the field of flowers.

A young gentleman had been crouched in the meadow collecting calla lilies for his mother. When he stood up, he noticed a splotch of color amongst the white flowers. Warily, he neared until he realized the figure. He strode over to find a maiden sleeping in the midst of the flower bed. She wore a blush colored gown and her long golden tresses lay upon of the white petals. She looked just as attractive as he anticipated Sleeping Beauty to be and as gentle as Snow White. Her skin was milky and silky. She was covered in a thin film of grime and filth. The boy peered above her and his silhouette over her face awoken the maiden. Her oceanic azure eyes stared into his hazel ones. His short russet hair covered his forehead. His hair sparkled in the sun’s setting radiance from the pollen of the flora. The young man shifted the calla lilies to one arm and extended the other out to the lass.

"I by no means have ever seen you around Pacifica before. I would have remembered a visage as cute as yours, delicate like the petals of these flowers," he said. She took his hand and sat up, dusting herself off.

"I’m not from Pacifica. I’m from the Kingdom of Raquel," she answered. She gazed about the meadow. "I’d never have imagined flowers as gorgeous as these exist on Andromeda."

"They’re calla lilies. These are the only flowers on our star that solely grow in Pacifica. You say you’re from Raquel. You lived in the bastion, no?" responded the gentleman.

"No. I didn’t reside in the bastion," she replied.

"If you’ve never been in the bastion, how can you be from the kingdom?" he asked the fair maiden.

"Blood," she confirmed apathetically with a diminutive insinuation of distress in her azure eyes.

"Royalty? Are you of any relation to the Leingod family?" he questioned her. The girl nodded.

"The Princess, actually," she solemnly stated and turned her head away. For a split second, the boy stared at her bewildered as if she had just exposed the butt of a hackneyed gag. Then her words sunk in as it became evident she had to be the raison d'être for all the militia.

"Destiny Leingod?! The Queen’s only daughter?! But she was scrapped seventeen years ago!" he cried out. She tried to tranquil him.

"Theoretically, but I’m presently here. It hasn’t been precisely seventeen years yet. In two days I’ll be seventeen. Yes, I wasn’t mendacious to you. I’m Destiny," uttered the Princess. The boy was knocked for six and then fervently bowed his head in admiration to the Princess. Destiny seized the boy by the arms and tossed him up forward.

"Your highness! It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance! I’m Fayt Casull," he stammered. Fayt grabbed hold of one of Destiny’s hands and began to clean off her dress.

"Stop that!" she shouted. Destiny looked about the meadow as a deer searching for danger. "What are you doing? Are you trying to get me killed?" she whispered. "The militia is after me. I don’t have time to play princess now."

"Yes, I apologize. They are trying to kill you, aren’t they Princess?" Destiny glared at Fayt. "I meant Destiny. I’m sorry." Destiny grinned at Fayt and cleaned the pollen out of his hair.

"Fayt, they don’t desire me around. I shouldn’t be breathing. In two days, they say I’m supposed to bring pandemonium and obliteration to Raquel, Pacifica…all of Andromeda. But despite how treacherous I may be, I fancy to be living," she whispered into his ear. Destiny placed her hand over Fayt’s cheek. She tried to appear cheery but her azure eyes filled with the ocean’s sorrow. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I-I’ve no place where I’m welcome. I’ve been concealed for so long, I just don’t wish for things to end now."

Fayt took Destiny’s hand in his and pulled her close. "Destiny, life is a stage. Everyone around you are the actors. They make their entrances and exits. But you are the one in charge of the fairy-tale, the play. You are the director. This tale belongs to you and only you can control it. Each day is a new page to be written. Your play is still unfinished. Things won’t conclude unless you desire them to. Your story won’t draw to a close until you finish writing that last page. So don’t worry so much. It’s unbefitting."

Destiny looked into his hazel eyes. She had barely met Fayt, but she could sense his maturity. He was a true man, a pure gentleman. She had listened intently to his insight of the world. No one has ever spoken to her like that. She felt as if someone cared about her. Better yet, Fayt seemed as if he’d care for her. Destiny was besieged with such feelings she had never experienced before. She felt hot and everything went pink. Her eyes welled up the stars joviality. Fayt glanced down at the calla lilies still in his grasp. He handed the flowers to the crying girl who was filled with so much benevolence already given to her by him; she returned his gift with a vigorous embrace that nearly toppled him over.

Fayt beamed at her and patted her head. Destiny contained the untainted innocence of a child. He found it so charming and couldn’t help but smile at her. Night had approached the meadow and the flowers illuminated with a twilight glow. The calla lilies on Andromeda were exceptionally unique. These calla lilies were lunar flora. They remained fairly sealed during the light of day, but beneath the moon, they bloomed to their full extent.

"Destiny?" peeped Fayt when he acknowledged she hadn’t removed herself from the hug. "Destiny? Destiny Leingod!" She wasn’t moving. Was she sick? Fayt felt her forehead for a fever but she was as cool as the night air. Suddenly, he felt her chest moving against his, inhaling and exhaling. She was still breathing. Destiny fell asleep against the warmth of Fayt’s body.

It was getting late and Fayt needed to hurry back home. Fayt didn't have the heart to leave Destiny exposed in the meadow for the militia to find her. He remembered hearing about the King of Raquel ordering the Princess to be disposed of. At the time, he sympathized for her. But unlike others who also held sympathy for the scrapped princess, Fayt empathized as well. She was being eradicated. She was born to die, just as he. He had long dreamed of meeting her. He wished to be with her. Now, he was holding her in his arms, holding onto her as she slept silently. She was alive and after meeting her, he felt he shouldn't ever abandon her. Fayt needed to be with Destiny. He knew it in his heart always. This was the girl for him. He picked her up and carried her home on his back.

Fayt quietly snuck into his home where his family had already turned in for the night. He lifted her onto his bed before dampening a wash cloth. Destiny laid in the bed with the flowers in between her hands. From first glance, you’d think she was a fresh corpse all ready for burial. She was an archangel fallen from the angelic order. She truly did look like a sleeping beauty. Her gold locks hung over the bed and fell onto the floor.

"Her hair looks like it’s been messed up. Poor thing, she was probably running all day," he muttered as he wiped her face with the wet cloth. He clasped one hand over hers and placed the other at the top of her head. Fayt leaned in close to her ear. "You can stop running now, Princess. You’re safe here with me. I’ll always protect you. I’ll never let you go. Put your worries aside now. I won’t abandon you," he whispered. He kissed her sweet lips. "I’ve been searching for the meaning of my existence and why I was born to die. The cards of destiny have finally revealed the fate awaiting us. Even if it comes to that, I wish to be near you. Until that time comes…together."

Destiny awoke in the early sunshine. Her flowers were in a vase on the window sill and Fayt sat on the floor leaning against the bed. His head hung low and he was wrapped in a blanket. Destiny climbed out of bed and kneeled down beside Fayt.

"Thank you," she mumbled and kissed his cheek. Fayt looked so much more handsome in the morning’s light. His body was slender, but he did have a certain physique. His skin was tanned and his russet hair had slight blond streaks about it. Destiny’s heart beat rapidly. Her face flushed and there was something about Fayt that made her flustered. She wanted someone and she met Fayt. Here she was in his room, just the two of them. She stared at his face and spoke to herself out loud. "I wonder, Fayt. I wanted someone who has love for me alone. Someone who will love me even if I can’t fulfill their wishes. I need someone whose love for me is true. I want someone who loves me without asking anything in exchange. Fayt, are you the someone just for me?"

Fayt opened his eyes and stared straight into the morning sun that streaked across Destiny’s azure eyes. He smiled at her and patted her head.

"You’re up," he mumbled.

"Good morning, sleepy head," she replied. They ate breakfast and headed out to the calla lily meadow. They sat and spoke to one another. Destiny noticed a new twinkle in Fayt’s eyes that wasn’t there the day before.

"I believe Fayt is my special someone. But if he falls for me, I’ll have to leave him. I can’t bring him down in my mess I was born into. Even so, I’m happy to have finally met him," Destiny thought to herself. Fayt sat closer to her and placed his arm down behind her. Destiny felt it. She’d have to leave him. Now. But she didn’t want to. She wanted to spend more time with him. She couldn’t risk his life. She stood up and gave him an unconvincing smile.

"Well, I’ve overstayed my welcome. I best keep running, but thank you for giving me a place to stay for the night," she murmured. She began running. Fayt chased after her. He grasped her hand and Destiny halted.

"Where are you running to?" he asked her concerned.

"I have to leave. I can’t put you in danger," she answered.

"You can stop running. Just stand still because as long as I’m here, I’m not letting you go."

"No! I have to leave! You can’t die alright. They want me and when they find me, it’ll be the end."

"It’s only the end it you choose it to be, Destiny. I was born to die. That’s my purpose for existing. Yours may be to bring bedlam, but my destiny is to be with you. That's why I was born to die. I was born to be with you and if I die, I don’t care as long as I’m with you."

"My fate was chosen at my birth. It doesn’t matter how fast or far I run. I can’t escape it. I don’t want to drag you along with my fate."

"You don’t understand. You and I, we share one destiny and one fate."

"I finally met the person just for me and I’m glad. But for your sake Fayt, I must go."

"You can go if you want, I’m warning you, wherever you go, I’ll follow. It doesn’t matter where I go or what I do, as long as it’s with you, Destiny."

"But--" she began. Fayt leaned in and wrapped Destiny in his warm embrace. He stared into her eyes full of sincerity with his shining bright ones filled with compassion. Then, Fayt placed his lips on Destiny’s and kissed her passionately. Destiny’s oceanic azure eyes widened in surprise before closing them and allowing herself to be kissed. She let go of everything on her mind and gave into her feelings. They kissed for a minute or two before Fayt pulled away. His hazel eyes stared back into hers more serious than ever.

"Destiny, I love you," he whispered under his breath. She smiled and tears streamed down her face.

"Fayt Casull…" she began before they were rudely interrupted. The militia had finally located Princess Destiny. They were tipped in the direction she was headed by a resident of one of the complexes in the district she had been running through the day before. They stomped through the calla lilies which wilted under their combat boots.

"Capture and scrap her!" ordered a militia officer.

"It’s them! I told you they’d find me! Oh Fayt!" Destiny screamed frantically. Fayt took Destiny’s hand and they ran straight into the hedge maze.

"Maybe we could put some distance between us and them!" Fayt exclaim as they ran through the maze. The militia was close on their tails. They fanned out through out the meadow and sent a team into the maze.

"If you see her at all, dispose of her immediately! And don’t hesitate to shoot the boy, too! He’s in league with that witch! I want them DEAD!!" bellowed the officer. Fayt and Destiny took each turn cautiously. The last thing they wanted to do at that precise moment was to run straight into a gun aimed at them. The militia officer sent another two teams into the maze. The King’s orders were to make sure his daughter was dead before the seventeenth anniversary of her birth. If Destiny was not eradicated today, Andromeda would be annihilated tomorrow.

Destiny ran beside Fayt panting. Her face was wet with tears. She was scared for her life and had an intuitive feeling her play ends today but she wasn’t in charge of the ending. The two of them reached a fork in the maze. To the right the militia were zeroing in on them. They were forced to make a left turn. They ran as fast as they possibly could. Destiny tripped over a vine lying in the middle of the maze’s dirt path. Her fall was costing her time. Each second they slowed, the militia was two steps nearer to their hides. Fayt quickly lifted Destiny to her feet and the chase continued. Fayt and Destiny felt like outlaws, but they had committed no crimes. The only crime the militia was convicting them for was existing. They ran on a one-way path. If they stopped or turned around, it was all over. They turned their last corner to a dead end.

Within seconds, the militia had caught up to them and surrounded Fayt and Destiny. Fayt stood in front of Destiny blocking any militia from getting near. His fists were clenched and his body was stiff. Destiny glanced up at the sky. It was a sinister grayish and drops of rain began to drizzle from the sky. Destiny tugged upon the back of Fayt’s shirt as the militia glowered at her with menacing eyes. She leaned against his chest.

"Destiny?" he mumbled. "Don’t worry. I’ll protect you." She wrapped her slender arms around his waist and hugged him tight. They both stared at the militia.

"Boy, you better move now!" called the officer.

"Never!" shouted Fayt and he held Destiny in a tight embrace.

"Fayt," Destiny murmured as the militia positioned there weapons. He stared only at her now. He knew his fate and accepted it fully. He was prepared to face anything for her. Right now, the only thing that matter was her and probably the last words he’d hear from her soothing voice.

"On my order!" called the militia officer to his troops.

"Fayt, I love you," she said.

"Fire!" The guns were shot and the star-crossed lovers fell lifeless on the dirt path. The path was stained with crimson. Their story book had finally been shut and though Destiny was not happy with her ending, she still managed to give one last direction on her page. She chose to die with the one she loved, with Fayt.

The two lovers were never able to escape their fate. They had fulfilled their existence. But the prophecy was never carried out. The princess was slain the day before her seventeenth birthday, but she wasn’t alone. Fayt and Destiny could not stray off the path destiny had laid out for them at their moment of birth. Their life was forbidden, their love was forbidden. But what the militia, and the kingdom of Raquel, and the town of Pacifica, and all of Andromeda couldn’t comprehend was why they faced death in the eye. Unlike the inhabitants of Andromeda who are always trying to run from their destiny, trying to avoid their fate, Destiny Leingod and Fayt Casull fully accepted the path chosen for them and walked upon it carrying no laments or blame, but bliss. And so Fayt and Destiny’s meadow of white calla lilies mourned for them. Now, the flowers bloom with pink tips in remembrance of their love.