Ben woke up suddenly with a gasp, for no apparent reason. He turned his head towards the open window, realizing that it was still dark out there.
It was still early ...
The purple curtains that framed the window hung motionless on the sides, despite the wide open doors there was no breeze.

He tried to go back to sleep, without success.
He kept turning and turning in his bed in an attempt to find a comfortable position, despite the sultry night air was suffocating him.

Why did it have to be SO hot and wet on that damned planet?!

After the umpteenth move he gave up, sighing.

-Well, I might as well get up- the boy thought -I'm thirsty, anyway-
He reached out to the bedside table and turned on the strange lily-shaped lamp that was resting on it.
There was a jug of water next to the lamp, along with a glass.

He sat on the edge of the bed, took the jug and poured himself some water.
Suddenly a thought crossed his mind, like a bolt of lightning, after he placed the empty glass on the bedside table.

That would be the last night he would spend alone in a room.

From the next day he should have slept in the Incursean royal apartments ...
... He should have slept with her.

Attea.

A shiver ran through his back at the thought, nevertheless he tried to not let himself be completely overwhelmed by the discomfort, just as happened the first evening he had arrived on the planet.
He shook his head and took a deep breath from his nose.

He had already cried enough.
From now on, he would no longer shed a single tear, regardless of how it would turn out.

He stood up, glancing at the wrist where the Omnitrix was attached.

He smiled faintly at the slight green glow coming from it, his only comfort in the past few days.
He touched the dial, with a delicacy he had never had.

All the alien DNAs inside were blocked.
A blinking exclamation mark appeared while scrolling the list, instead of the whole holographic image of the selected alien.
He still couldn't transform himself, yet seeing that it still working, somehow, it gave him some comfort.
No Spidermonckey, no Rath, no Stingfly, no Heatblast, no Way Big, even his "weaker" heroes were unreachable, but he didn't really care.
The green light of the Omnitrix continued to shine, warm, reassuring ...

That was enough to make him feel less alone, less vulnerable.

Anyway, even if he had all his heroes available it wouldn't have changed anything.
Of course, Fourarms would have knocked down the doors without spilling even a drop of sweat.
XLR8 would have crossed the corridors of the building in a matter of seconds, appearing more or less as a blue and black blur at the eyes of the guards.
Rath and Blitzwolfer would have made their way with bites and claws, while Upchuck would have done it by eating the weapons of the soldiers and spitting on them in form of explosive debris.
Big Chill would have crossed the walls and reached any spaceship without being seen.

Yeah, any of his heros would have been able to get him out of there ...

... but he wouldn't have dared to leave.

He had given his word, so he would have respected it.

The safety of his planet and everyone who lived there depended on it.

He reached a small armchair near a large round table, on which there were clothes he should have worn the following day lay well folded.
Traditional Incursian robes, modified especially for him, which only members of the nobility were allowed to wear.
Or at least that was what Armand had told him.

Not that he cared about that.

Ben caressed them carelessly with one hand, testing the embroideries of the decorations under his fingers, lost in his own thoughts.
Thoughts of the earth, his family, his friends ...
All those people important to him who, for the plots of a mocking fate, would not have been present on that day which, in theory, should be the most important in a person's life.

His wedding day.

...

Hello, I'm Italian and my english may not be very good ^^'
So don't be too strict to me, ok? Except this, I hope you will like this story, see you!