Royal Hearts by Ruth Ann Nordin

didn’t know him, so he had to act like it
was the first time they were meeting each other. He thought back to
everything she had told him about her time on Earth.
    He knew she lived in Xenia but often went to
Beavercreek and Dayton to visit her friends. She went to a private
school in Dayton.
    What day was it here? He searched his room
but didn’t find any clues. He remembered that she had school from
Mondays through Fridays from 8:15 am to 2:50 pm. Her school would
probably be the best place to approach her since it was the most
likely place where she wouldn’t question his walking up to her and
talking to her.
    He grabbed the dorm key and left the
building, mentally noting where his temporary lodging was so he
would be able to find his way back. The campus seemed empty. He
only saw three other students walking on the sidewalks. They seemed
to be heading to a large building toward the center of the campus,
so he followed them.
    As he scanned the sparse parking lots and
vacant buildings, he understood how Ann must have felt when she
stepped on Raz for the first time. Everything was so foreign. He
didn’t know anything about it, and he had no idea what to expect.
It must have been a difficult transition for her.
    Since the students entered a large building,
he went to it, too. Perhaps this was where Earthlings liked to
congregate. At any rate, it was the best lead he had at the
moment.
    As soon as he entered the
building, he noticed a tray full of the college’s newspapers in it.
He took one. With a quick glance to make sure no one saw him, he
pulled out the Book of Spells and found the spell that would enable
him to read the language. The date on the top right corner
read Friday, April 1. The word ‘Friday’ meant nothing to him, but he vaguely
remembered Ann referring to one of the months, and he was sure it
was April.
    That was the time of year she liked best
because winter was finally over, and the days were warmer and
longer. Though, if he recalled right, this wasn’t true everywhere
on Earth this time of year. He should have paid more attention when
she talked about her planet. If he’d thought there was anything
interesting about it, he would have. But there was no magic or
interesting creatures. Just a bunch of humans and animals that
could be found on a good number of other planets.
    Who would have ever thought he’d one day have
to come here? The whole point of taking her from Earth was so she
didn’t have to be here anymore.
    After putting the book back in his pocket, he
went further into the building, noting the people he’d followed in
were eating at a couple of tables scattered throughout the place.
At the other side of the room were people waiting to serve a
variety of food. Well, at least he knew where to get food.
    He continued through the room, went down a
long hall, until he came to an even larger room where more chairs
and tables were scattered about. But this wasn’t where people ate.
Here, they were either talking or reading.
    He found a vacant table and flipped through
the paper, hoping to find something useful. His trip through the
campus hadn’t proven useful. He could only hope this would. Trying
to find Ann by using the Book of Spells was useless because it was
only set to find the current queen.
    His gaze went to the campus calendar. On
Friday, there was something called a Spring Fever Dance in the
Student Union. That was this building. He recalled reading it on
the building on his way in. He didn’t see a dance on his way to the
cafeteria, so he must be here after Friday. On Saturday, there was
a movie scheduled to be played in the Student Union at 7 pm. He
stood up and walked back through the Student Union until he came to
a bulletin board filled with various ads and program notices. The
same movie was mentioned on the board that was mentioned in the
paper.
    He glanced around the chairs and tables
around him. There were two other students in the place. He walked
over to the one who