( Important note! I changed Matthew's daughter's name to Hope. So now when you read at least you won't be confused on that point.)
‘’ For the time’’ was a few months, during which Matthew learned much. He
learned that they called themselves Luccins; that was their real name. It meant ‘’ people of light’’. Matthew was puzzled by this, until it was explained to him that they believed that they ‘’saw’’ more than his kind did, due to their knowledge.
He also learned that the Luccin to whom he had spoke was called Ocreyan, and despite their first encounter, Matthew and Ocreyan, became good friends.
Matthew had had as long he could remember, a desire for learning, and along with that exploration. But some learning was not encouraged among his people. Among his people there was no book, or copy of Fate’s Law. It was expected that some things would be known and once known, followed. The priestess of Fate, known by the title ‘’ Daughters of Her Fearfulness’’ knew Fate’s law, because it was passed down from the older priestesses to the younger ones orally. When a severe breach had been made, they turned the matter over to the elders.
During his time with the Luccins, his eyesight seemed to miraculously adjust to the darkness of the caves. He assumed that it was normal, but it was not, in fact, it was only the beginning.
He discovered his powers out of simple self preservation. He had too careless, to confident, when they had been tracking him all along.
Suddenly, as he was facing the elders he had been able to put a force between them, as if he was pushing them away, and then he ran, as fast as he could.
Alone, Matthew was terrified, absolutely terrified of himself. He thought about whether or not he was part of Fate’s plan. But then he made put his mind that if he master his newfound skills to thwart her in any way he could.
When he had escaped to Earth his spaceship had crashed somewhere in the middle of a forest. It was probably still there. He had met Elena, and she had fully, and wholeheartedly accepted all his craziness.
He had chosen the name Matthew because it was normal. Lots of people on Earth were named Matthew. But Elena thought it was important. She told him that it meant ‘’ gift of God.’’ At one time that might have deeply disturbed him, but no longer, for he did not believe in Fate, but in God, who was over all galaxies.
He wanted to see his daughter so much, his daughter whom he had no seen since she was very young. Come back to me, Hope, he said, knowing that she could not hear him, not yet.
Hope Torrent woke to hear the blaring of her alarm clock, and to see a bunch of presents scattered across the floor. Yesterday had been her birthday. She was sixteen, and just as clueless about her mysterious father as she had ever been.
She had fragile fragments of memory; memories that hardly felt anymore real than a dream. She longed for him without knowing who he really was.
She wanted to know so badly. She had asked her mom so many times only to be refused.
‘’ When will you tell me?’’ Hope would ask.
‘’ When it’s time,’’ her mother would answer.
‘’ And when will that be?’’
‘’ Never, I hope.’’
She couldn’t understand it. There was no bitterness, that Hope could ever recall on the few occasions when her mother had spoken of her father, only longing. There had been no fight that was big enough to separate them; that she was sure of. But then if it had not been a fight, was it something even bigger? She didn’t know. All she had were her child memories, and a few photograph albums.
She was going to her class, and there they were stalking her in the hallway. She knew from the moment she saw them that they were not normal and they wanted her. Their steps were silent, and they were cloaked in gray, like smoke. She began to run.
She could hear them in her mind. We have found you at last, daughter of the heretic.
She ran as fast as she could, and faster than she had ever run before. It was time.
He could feel her in his bones. He could feel Hope terrified; they were after her and she was running like only she would know how.
Hope looked at her mother. Whatever was out there was probably still looking for her, still trying to chase her, and hunt her down, but Hope was no longer afraid, instead she was mad, mad about the secrets that had been kept from her for most of her life, mad that she hadn’t known what to expect.
‘’ Why didn’t you tell me?’’ asked Hope, glaring.
‘’ I was trying to protect you!’’
‘’ Protect me?’’ Hope tossed her head. ‘’ By leaving me in the dark, by not letting me know anything about my dad? I could have known, I could have helped you. Tell me all you know, and tell me now.’’
She told Hope all that she knew, all that he had told her. Hope ran upstairs to her room. She couldn’t stay here any longer. If she did whatever it was that was after her ( perhaps the elders?) would surely find her. No, she had to leave. She had to find her dad. He was the only one who could help her, the only one who could answer her questions.
Now that they had awakened her abilities, at least her ability to hear them, he was sure that she would find his address that he had hidden for the right time. She had to.
Hope tried to fall asleep, but all she could think of were the men in the gray cloaks running after her. She was afraid they’d do something terrible. She didn’t trust her father. How could she when he had run away? Her mother might be fine with it, but she was not.
Hope heard a rattling from within one of the walls. She thought of things that could be within the walls. What if they had hidden themselves in her room and planned to get her in her sleep?
Hope had to know what was behind that wall. She walked downstairs, and got a broom, in case she needed to defend herself, and a paperweight.
She threw the paperweight in the general direction, where she heard the sound coming from. Something fell out of the wall, and it wasn’t them; it was a machine
The broom dropped from her hands.
It looked as if she could stand on it. It was small, metal, circular. She bent her knees, peering down to get a closer look, and there in writing was the name ‘’ Matthew Torrent’’ and below was an address.
She stepped on the object, testing to see if it was what she thought it was. She climbed into the open space. There was railing around the rest of the edges. And then it hovered an inch above her floor before she jumped down. It had just begun to speak in a mechanical voice. ‘’ Where do-’’ it had said before she had jumped off.
A flying machine. It would probably be safer to take it outside.
Hope stood outside, on her front lawn. Again, in the dusk, she stepped on the hovering device.
‘’ Where do you want to go?’’ it asked.
Hope told it the address. They flew in the dark, and she could see the lights below.
They were in a neighborhood. She came closer, and closer, until she landed.
‘’ This must be it.’’ said Hope. ‘’ Affirmed.’’ it beeped.
Hope opened the door without knocking, and left the hovering device outside.
‘’ Hello,’’ she said. ‘’ You might know me, but I don’t know you. I’m your daughter, Hope Torrent, and I have questions.’’
Matthew stared. This was his daughter. She had been a child when he had last seen her, but now she was a young lady. Her grey eyes gazed straight at him.
‘’ A hello might be nice, after all these years,’’ she said.
‘’ Hello, Hope. It’s fantastic that I finally get to see you.’’ His eyes, the same as hers, gleamed.
He motioned for her to come in. ‘’ Do you want anything?’’ he asked her.
‘’ I don’t even know what you like!’’
‘’ Water, please,’’ said Hope. ‘’ And then we talk.’’
When Matthew came back to where Hope was sitting, he set down the glass of water and then his hands moved nervously about.
‘’ There are so many questions I want to ask you,’’ said Matthew ‘’ But yours are likely more important.’’
Hope nodded, her eyes focused intently on the glass of water.
‘’ Who were they, the people in the gray cloaks? Why did they want me? What did they mean, ‘’ Daughter of the heretic’’ ?’’ Hope looked up as she said the word ‘’ heretic’’.
‘’ Is that all?’’ he asked.
‘’ Yes.’’ said Hope.
‘’ Then I must begin. The people you saw were aliens to earth, like me. They are part of a religious order, dedicated to the worship of Fate.’’
‘’ Wait. They worship the idea of fate? That sounds odd.’’
Matthew shook his head.
‘’ No, Fate as in a higher being, a goddess. She has temples scattered all about Valled. The majority of Valledians worship her, more out of fear than anything else. The gray cloaks that the elders wear symbolize the peace and serenity found when one’s will is completely surrendered to Fate’s.’’
Hope noted the deep sarcasm she found in the last sentence. It made him seem younger, and not in a good way. Suddenly he fell back into the man she was barely beginning to know.
‘’ What was the next question?’’ he asked with a puzzled gaze.
‘’ I wanted to know why they were after me.’’
‘’ Right. They were after you, because of me. You see, I escaped.’’
‘’ Why would you want to leave your own planet, become an alien?’’
‘’ Easy. Because I was not aligned with Fate’s will, as they would have it. They wanted to take me for their own ends. They were certain that Fate had given them a message that said I would be the savior of a world. They wanted to make sure it was Valled that I was saving, not any other world. I had plans. I wanted to be an explorer. I wasn’t about to let any elders stand in the way of that. The exploring just happened sooner than I thought.’’
‘’ You ran away.’’
‘’ It wasn’t like that! They were oppressive, willing to lock me in a cage until I submitted to their will. It was good that I was able to escape.’’
‘’ What if the prophecy wasn’t from Fate, but from Some Else? What if they received the prophecy but misinterpreted it? What if you were supposed to save your world from them?’’
Matthew Torrent was a hero on Valled, and he didn’t know it. Even as he sat down with Hope, a play was being performed backstage, a play about him, written by a beginning actress named Rayna. As the actors and playwrights knew, no play could be performed for the public unless it was sanctioned by the elders, and they weren’t about to sanction this one, but of course no one would dream of telling them, thus the backstage.
It was better this way, simple. There were no garish curtains, or other spectacles. And yet, they had an audience.
They were bunched together with eager eyes.

The rebelling actors had taken bits and pieces that worked as costumes, but Gaviel, Rayna’s good friend didn’t need to dress up. He dressed simply because he was Matthew.
Rayna had only had a few small parts, but that didn’t matter. It felt wonderful to feel that she was part of a story. She felt so free here.
She was never going back. She had been brought into priestesshood against her will. Rayna had never wanted Fate’s daughter.
Everything was so strict, so ordered. They were expected to change their robes three times a day, at particular times of the day. They were expected to spend any leisure time in complete solitude. A large portion of her day had been spent repeating laws that meant nothing to her.
Novice priestesses were not expected to answer the high priestess unless she spoke first, and then there were formulated responses. Rayna was sure she was going to die if she stayed in that life much longer, so she ran away.
‘’ We have to leave,’’ said Hope. ‘’ Return to your world.’’
Matthew made no move.
‘’ Don’t you see? What if you were meant for something amazing? You could defeat them once and for all!’’
‘’I don’t want to fall into their plan.’’
‘’ You’re not on your own. Can’t you believe that? And you have me. Besides, I’m not going to be safe here or there. They never should have come to Earth. We need to fight them on their own ground.’’
‘’Hope,’’ said Matthew ‘’ I think you’re just about as crazy as I am.’’
It was Gaviel who had found the girl in torn blue robes with a pack on her back. She had brought supplies for her journey, but didn’t know where she was going except away. As soon as he had found her he knew that this was no accident when she could have ended up anywhere.
‘’ You were brought here for reason.’’ he said.
‘’ By who?’’ she asked. ‘’ I doubt that Fate would have been this kind to me.’’
‘’ I don’t know,’’ he said. ‘’ But you were brought here.’’
He had lost the heretic’s daughter, but he would find her again. He had to. He would find the heretic’s daughter and the heretic himself. He had been one of Fate’s most faithful followers. They would be made examples. The world would be shown what happened to people such as them. All his life, he had found purpose in being a devoted servant to Fate. He hoped their deaths would please Her, that they would be a worthy sacrifice. Perhaps She would remember what he had done.
Matthew and Hope entered his spaceship, and when he didn’t need to navigate, he
talked. He spent time explaining the basic mechanics of his ship which Hope barely follow. He gave her stories, histories from his planet. He taught her basic, important phrases from his language. The words sounded odd on her tongue as she repeated them, but all this was as much a part of her as her father; it was her heritage. They came closer, and closer to his planet and he told the names of constellations she had never seen, constellations that must have been familiar to him.