'Graffiti decorations,
Under the sky of dust,
A constant wave of tension
On top of broken trust.
The lessons that you taught me,
I learned were never true.
I wanna run away,
Never say goodbye,
I wanna know the truth
Instead of wondering why.
I wanna know the answers,
No more lies.
Paper bags and angry voices,
Under a sky of dust.
Another wave of tension,
Has more than filled me up.
All my talk of taking action,
These words were never true.
I'm gonna run away and never say goodbye.'

She walked away, his hand left caressing the empty spot she had filled. "I know you Aura. You can't escape me. I won't be used." The speaker slipped into the emptiness of night.

Aura whispered into the dark void. "You can't win. I'm stronger now."

Aura woke in a cold sweat. She looked around the room she was living in now. The room was dark, an alarm clock on the bedside table. The walls were a pueblo color, the comforter dark green. The wall space was filled with a dresser and bookshelf. The dresser was slowly becoming filled with new clothes; products of her numerous shopping trips with Isabel Ramirez and her new friends. The bookshelf was empty except for her new schoolbooks and a few other books. Aura had slipped into her new life easily. She was a senior at West Roswell High, working at the Crashdown, and living with the Parkers. Her first day at school was hard, but the students accepted the new girl readily. The Parkers had been resistant to allowing this 17-year-old girl to move in with them, but Liz broke them down. The Parkers had quickly fallen in love with Aura and wouldn't hear of her living somewhere else.

Aura reminded the Parkers of Liz when she had been 17. Sometimes, when Mrs. Parker would check on Aura, she would find her asleep on the balcony, a journal held in a death-clutch. Aura never let anyone see where she held the journal, just another way she was like Liz.

Tonight Aura had gone to the movies with her boyfriend, Jason. Shouldn't she have been dreaming about him? Who had she been dreaming about? It had been a month since she had arrived in Roswell, would Kivar start trying to get her back now? Aura thought about how different her life was now. She worked now, and to her surprise, she enjoyed it. When Aura was a princess, everyone had waited on her; she learned to act the spoiled brat part well. Now Aura could be herself.

She loved spending time with Liz and Max. Sometimes when Max had a final and was spending the whole night cramming, Aura and Liz would go to the movies or a club in the neighboring town. They were like sisters, only closer. Theirs wasn't a normal mother-daughter relationship, but what was normal about the circumstances? Max took her to lunch or dinner every Saturday and asked questions about her life. They weren't that close, but both were trying hard.

Aura thought back to her dream. Who was it? It wasn't the first time Aura had had dreams about somebody she didn't know who it was. In every dream, she would say that she couldn't be broken, that she was stronger now. Even though she tried to be strong, she couldn't help be afraid of the man in her dreams. Maybe it was one of her friends in high places, but why would she be afraid of them? Aura shook her head and lay back down to sleep.

In the morning, Aura woke quickly. She bustled around her room and got her outfit together. She picked a pair of dark blue jeans, a white turtleneck, her leather jacket, and high heeled boots. When she was done showering she ran her hand through her hair, drying it instantaneously and ran her hand over her face, applying make-up in one hand motion. Aura checked her reflection, grabbed her bag and ran out of the room. The Parkers were at the table waiting for her.

"Good morning Mr. And Mrs. Parker. I wish I could sit with you, but I have to leave and go to the library. I'll be back after school in time for my shift. Bye!" Aura rambled as she grabbed a glass of orange juice and a doughnut.

"Aura, dear, what did we tell you?" Mrs. Parker asked. "You don't have to call us Mr. and Mrs. Parker. I think we can handle to be a little less formal. Okay, dear. Have a good day, see you later." Mr. and Mrs. Parker nodded at Aura before returning to their newspaper.

Aura smiled at the Parkers. "Sorry, Mom, Dad. How about that? Is that okay? You guys really are like the first parents I've ever had." She looked a little nervous about how they would react. They smiled behind their papers.

"Of course it's okay, dear. Go, have a nice day." Mrs. Parker smiled warmly at Aura. Aura hurried to the door, grabbed her purse and keys off the table, and blew them each a kiss. Aura ran down the stairs, out the back entrance of the Crashdown, into the alley, and got into the car she was buying from Isabel, a white civic.

Aura drove carefully to Max and Liz's apartment. Her dreams were nothing important, but if someone was trying to find her, they deserved to know. She reached their apartment in 10 minutes. Aura hurried into the building and pushed the intercom button.

"Liz, Max, it's me, Aura. I know it's early, but I need to speak to you two." There was no answer, but they hardly ever answered the intercom so Aura raced up the stairs. "God, I wish they would fix the elevator." She muttered to herself. Aura quickly made her way to their apartment. She knocked, no one came to the door, she rang the bell, and no one came to the door. Aura tried to open the door, it was locked. She checked the hallway to make sure no one was coming. When she was sure it was safe, she used her powers to unlock the door.

Aura ran through the door and looked for her family. There was no one there. A hand grabbed her waist and pulled her quickly into his body. His free hand stroked her hair, and caressed her face, like in her dream. "There's no one here but us. Disappointed? So was I. I expected the king to be here. Oh well, you're just as good." A harsh voice whispered into her ear. "And don't even think about yelling for help, no one can help." The owner of the voice laughed slightly, resting his head against her hers.

Suddenly, Aura realized who he was. "Nicky, what are you doing here? Come back for another shot at the king? He's stronger than you; I thought you would have realized that by now. He knows, he knows that you're coming. I told him everything. Oh, wow, Kivar gave you a new husk past puberty, huh? Way cool for you." In her mind, Aura was using her connection to her newfound family to warn them.

Aura? Is something wrong? Liz telepathed to her. Liz? I'm at your apartment. Stay away from here. Tell Michael and Max to come. I think I might need their help, or at least a little. Nicky, whoops, Nicholas is back. Past puberty this time. Aura telepathed back to Liz. Okay, babe. Don't worry, I'm telling Max now. Liz stopped to get help.

"Nicky. As much as I would love to hang around and chat about old times, I have to go to school. People will get curious if I don't show up." She turned to watch him as he laughed in her face. Nicholas leaned in and kissed her gently.

Nicholas finally broke the kiss and let her go. "Want to know something? Kivar said I could have you. He won't kill you. He knows how much I adore the Princess Aura, even if she is too much like Vilondra. I loved her too."

Aura decided maybe it was time for the old ice princess routine. "Oh, so, you have a thing for princesses then? You know, psychologists could really be able to help you with that problem, Nicky. I don't know if I like being the second to my aunt. It's kinda creepy."

Nicholas laughed. "I can see right through you princess. Your aunt is dead, you're first now." Nicky pulled her in for another kiss. "Don't you remember running to me for comfort when we were on Antar? Or do you not love me anymore, my dear Aura?" Nicky pushed her away and looked at her seriously, his dark green eyes boring into her soft hazel ones. "Here's the deal. I give you one week. If the king and his beloved family can find my people and me and kill the majority of us, I'll let you go. If they can't, you're mine and they're dead. Understood?"