Mars and a Forbidden Love

The sun was setting and the rings were in view. It would be a perfect night for stargazing, but all I could think about was how hungry I was. The meagre rations left in my little bag were gone, and my stomach craved food. And not just any food. Meat. Something juicy on the grill, with a side of fries.

I sighed as I stopped to rest, leaning against the cold surface of Red Rock and watching the dust clouds blow across the desert below. I had prepared for this journey, but it seemed that my supplies were not up to the task. In a few hours I would be in the city, and I would find something good to eat there. But first, I would need to get past the border guards.

A sharp whistling sound echoed above me, followed by a heavy thud on the ground beside me. There was some rustling across the sand before Bjrn appeared from behind a small rock. "Are you alright, Princess Sophia?" He asked softly, taking off his helmet and laying it aside as he approached me. His long dark hair fell down over his shoulders, framing his delicate features and blue eyes with little streaks of grey amongst all that blackness. His skin was a dusty brown by now, but he still managed to look quite dashing in his suit of armour - which let him move freely in the harsh conditions of Mars without melting or cracking from the intense heat.

He took my arm gently and helped me up before leading me to an outcropping of rocks where we could sit down together for a moment's rest before heading into the city. "I am fine," I answered softly, leaning against him and letting him wrap one large arm around my shoulders so I could rest more comfortably against him while we waited for our breathing to slow back to normal after our run across the sand dunes under cover of darkness. "But now my stomach is growling like an engine."

Bjrn chuckled softly in response, leaning down so he could nuzzle at my ear affectionately with his nose before kissing my temple sweetly when I tilted my head into him willingly. "I know what you need," He finally said as he withdrew slightly and reached into his pack for something small wrapped in cloth - which he unwrapped carefully before offering it towards me with a grin playing at his lips. "What is this?" I asked curiously as I looked down at it curiously before biting tentatively into one end of it to taste what it might be. It was sweet...almost like candy...but also salty... but then again, it had been two days since I last tasted real food, so everything tasted strange at this point anyway... "It's beef jerky," Bjrn answered happily as he watched me try it cautiously with a smile playing at his lips until finally I gave in and smiled too as I ate it hungrily while trying not to think about what else might have touched it along its way here from Earth.

When we had finished eating the jerky, Bjrn set off again across the sand dunes towards home, where we could get cleaned up before preparing for bed. This involved sharing another meal together over conversation about our day before retiring for sleep beside one another beneath warm furs and blankets. We were both soldiers for King Kjetil: one an exiled princess who had joined their ranks after being rejected by her own family for being too weak and frail; the other a warrior born who had snuck aboard their ship as a child when their warriors returned from Earth after stealing humans from there to mine precious minerals from beneath their planet's surface - including Bjrn's mother, who had never returned home again once she gave birth to him onboard their ship while they searched for new places to explore outside of their solar system. They now lived peacefully, free from war or oppression ever since they had fled here centuries ago with their human slaves, who had also escaped that terrible world only to find themselves stranded far away from home due to a lack of fuel onboard their ships when they needed it most.

While Bjrn grew up among them, learning how to fight so he could protect his people living here amongst them and defending their homeworld against those who didn't belong, Princess Sophia herself wanted nothing more than to return home too. However, she couldn't because King Kjetil wanted her dead just as badly as her own parents did back on Earth after she disgraced them all by being born sickly, weak, and frail instead of strong and healthy like her twin brother Erik. Everyone said Erik would grow up strong and tall someday, just like their father, until Sophia ruined it all by being born too weak, unable to walk and talk properly like everyone else. This caused everyone, except her mother, to give up hope that she would ever get better. In a twist of fate, poor little Erik fell ill himself one day, developing fevers much like those of