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In all his life, Krel never thought he’d ever feel so broken.
In such a short time, his life had been turned upside down and everything he loved - his parents, his home, his old life - had been taken away without mercy.
And now he felt like a part of himself had died on Akiridion-5.
At first he was convinced that the reason for his constant malaise was because he missed his home. When Morando took over, he didn't just invade his home, but also hurt his parents and forced the royals to flee. To make matters worse, they had to hide in the worst planet of the universe.
Krel had forced himself until exhaustion to like that stupid floating mudball and its people, but it was useless. He couldn’t stop himself from holding a grudge.
Upon arriving at Arcadia Oaks School, he had hoped to meet new friends who would accept him for who he was, just as his sister Aja did. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help but feeling invisible.
Krel couldn't decide what was worse between becoming the king of Akiridion-5 or living in the shadow of a planet that wasn’t even his own.
Weeks had passed since he, Aja and Varvatos crashed on Earth, but Krel still couldn’t find a way to fix Mother. He spent hours and hours in the heart of the spaceship, pulling exhausting all-nighters trying to find a way to make it work; Wwith every failed attempt, Krel fell more and more into despair.
When Aja wasn’t busy training with Varvatos, she peered in to see if Krel was making any progress. One day, she entered his studio without knocking, and her core sank when she saw her little brother curled up in a corner, his arms around his knees and hopelessness painted on his face.
Aja took a step towards him, her eyebrows frowning with worry.
"Little brother..."
"I can’t fix it, Aja..." Krel whispered, biting his lip. " I can’t, I’m so sorry..." His voice broke in a hiccup.
The young girl knelt beside him and embraced him.
"I have faith in you, little brother. I’m sure you’ll find a way to fix Mother, because you’re the best of us. Morando may have taken our parents and our home away from us, but I have faith in you. Besides," Aja added, smiling, "even if you couldn't make Mother fly again, we still have this lively planet!"
At the thought of being trapped on Earth, Krel felt even worse.
One day, a halo of mystery loomded over Arcadia Oaks. It was mainly due to the storm coming in, which was considered a rare event in Arcadia. But that wasn’t all.
Krel Tarron hadn’t been to school for several days, and you never heard from him since then. At first you thought he had caught a flu, but the moment you asked his sister Aja about this, she looked at you with confusion and replied: "Flew? Why should Krel fly? He's not a spaceship."
You knew that Akiridions were very different from humans, but you could never tell if they just kidding or serious.
Anyway, you were really starting to worry about Krel; that’s why you sighed in relief when Aja agreed to let you talk to Krel after class.
On the way to the Mothership, the Akiridion girl told you how Krel would spend more and more time alone in his room, without going out for days on end. He didn't eat as much as before and it was several days that he woke up in the dead of night, screaming because of his nightmares. Aja tried so hard to cheer him up, but nothing seemed to work.
As soon as you and Aja arrived at the Tarron house, a drop-shaped blue hologram - Mother - floated in your direction.
"Welcome y/n, I am - as you humans say - "happy" that you are here," Mother announced. "I imagine you have come for Prince Krel. I analyzed over a million, four hundred and seventy-five thousand pieces of information about human psychology that could match his current behavior, and I think I have found one. It’s a mood disorder called depression."
Just at the thought of it, you felt your heart sinking.
Why have you never got it? Before Krel stopped going to school, you noticed something was wrong with him, but you didn’t give it too much thought. You saw the sad look he had when he thought he was all alone; those forced smiles he gave you every time you ran into him in the hallways.
You thought it was just a bad day... but apparently it wasn’t.
"Y/n, are you feeling well?" asked Aja, concerned about the dark look on your face.
"I’m... I’m okay, I guess. Where is he now?" you asked.
Aja walked you down the hall, pointed the door to the right and laid a hand on your shoulder.
"Before you go, y/n, I wanted to thank you for what you are doing for my little brother. He has not been the same since... Well, you know." Her gaze fell on her human shoes. She was always so cheerful and carefree, that it hurt you to see her down. She look up to you, her eyes full of anguish.
You gave her a little smile, she returned it and left. You turned to Krel’s door, your heart pounding hard in your chest. You could feel a painful knot forming in your stomach. You took a deep breath and then knocked.
No one answered.
What if he’s finally asleep?
You were about to knock a second time when you heard a noise inside the room.
"Krel...? I’m y/n, can I come in?"
Once again, it was silence that answered you. You bit your lower lip, grabbed the handle and peeked out the door. Krel was curled up on his bed, his back facing the entrance to the room.
"Hello," you started, insecure about what to say exactly. All the determination of before had abandoned you, leaving in its place only embarrassment.
Krel did not answer.
"How are you?"
You'd have slapped yourself as soon as you asked the question.
He’s obviously not okay!
"Sorry y/n, but I don’t want to see anyone."
You stood on the other side of the bed, in silence, thinking about what to do between leaving him alone or staying.
What’s the right thing to do in situations like this?
"All right," you reflected, sitting on the edge of the mattress. " I’ll be right here on the other side of the bed, right next to you, so you won’t see me. But I’m not gonna leave you alone... not again."
You couldn’t see his face, but Krel was surprised. And most of all, confused.
None of his friends were worried about his sudden disappearance. Of course, someone sent him a text or two to find out what happened to him, but no one was interested enough to come and see him in person.
Before you, of course.
"I know things haven't gone very well so far," you began, your voice filled with sweetness and understanding. " But I wanted to let you know that me, Aja, Varvatos and all your friends are worried sick about you, because we love you. I know you’re going through a very difficult time, but you don’t have to face it alone. I... I just want you to be okay again."
And that’s when you heard it.
A sob.
"I’m sorry..." murmured Krel, sitting on the bed with heavy movements. He turned to you, his face completely wet with tears, while his damp eyes showed what Krel was unable to express in words.
Your heart sank in pain at the sight.
"I didn’t want to alarm any of you. It’s just... I can’t take it anymore, y/n, this pain is so unbearable. I... I fall asleep every night in the hope that it will go away, but when I wake up it's... It's even worse." Krel's voice broke in a sob, followed by loud, uneven breaths. It was clear that he was trying not to break down in front of you, however all the tension and pain he had accumulated over time were finally taking over.
He wiped away with a hand a tear from his wet cheek, while with the others he squeezed his chest in a sort of embrace. He didn’t resist when you approached him, with your arm around his shoulders.
You opened your mouth to speak, but no sound came out. A burning knot formed in your throat, while you blinked furiously in an attempt not to cry.
"Come here," you whispered, spreading your arms toward him. Krel let himself fall into your invitating embrace; slowly, you made him lie down with you on his bed, your bodies tight against each other in a warm, comforting squeeze. Krel laid his head on your shoulder, while you stroked his long blue hair with your fingers.
You could feel him sobbing and trembling, along with his tears wetting your shirt, but you didn’t mind.
After several minutes, you started to hum a slow and peaceful lullaby; although you were sure you didn't sing flawlessly, the melody seemed to have an effect on him and soon young Akiridion finally fell asleep in your arms.
For the first time in weeks, he wasn't scared of his demons, because now he knew he didn't have to fight them on his own anymore.