Two
She slowly opened her eyes, then squeezed them shut again, her body unwilling to fully wake just yet. It was her usual routine—lying still for a moment, letting her mind catch up with the day. But when her thoughts finally clicked into place, panic jolted her awake. She was supposed to be heading to the airport. How on earth did she end up here?
"Oh God... Kidnapped? Did I get kidnapped?" She looked around in fear, her heart racing.
Everything was strangely familiar. Her mind strained to make sense of it. "Where have I seen this furniture before?"
Then it hit her.
"Oh my God... this is my furniture!" She sat up in astonishment, eyes wide as she scanned the room. The bed was unmistakably hers, but the room itself was not.
"How is this even possible?" she murmured, dropping her head into her hands. After a moment, she lifted her head, determination setting in. "I need to get out of here."
She rushed toward one side of the room, then the other, her breath quickening as she searched frantically. "Where's the door?" she muttered, her panic deepening.
"Why isn't there a door in this room?" she cried out, her voice laced with desperation. She pounded on the walls, shouting, "Anyone? Get me out of here!" Her chest tightened with rising anxiety as she sank to her knees.
Then, a knock sounded from the wall in front of her. She lifted her head slowly, eyes widening as she watched. Where there had been nothing, a door suddenly materialized, and not just any door—it was the exact door to her bedroom. The knob turned on its own, and the door creaked open. She froze in place, terror rooting her to the spot.
The first thought that came to her was that she had died and somehow ended up in a ghostly realm. She tried to scream, but the sound lodged in her throat. As she wiped her tear-blurred eyes, she saw someone enter the room. It was him—the stranger who had caused the car accident. But now, there was no sign of injury on his forehead. Without thinking, she lurched toward him.
"Where am I? What is this place?" she demanded, her voice tinged with desperation. Her mind raced—this was anything but normal.
"Why aren’t you saying anything?" she pressed, her throat dry with fear. But he didn’t respond. He just stood there, looking around the room as if he didn’t hear her. His gaze settled on the bed, and Elsa followed his line of sight. To her shock, she began to move to bed, seemingly under his control. She rushed after him, but before she could reach him, an unseen force pushed her back onto the bed. She watched in horror as he guided her to the bed with just a flick of his finger. He wasn’t human—this realization sent waves of fear crashing over her. She tried to scream, but it felt as though her lips were glued shut. Her hands and feet were bound by an invisible force, and the next moment, she fainted from sheer terror.
When she came to, she was convinced—she wasn’t on Earth anymore. The stranger standing before her was an alien, and the realization shook her to the core.
"Is this really another planet? Is he really an alien?" The thought alone was enough to make her mind reel.
"Which planet is this?" she asked, sitting up, her head pounding. The alien looked at her, his gaze intense and strange. He stared directly into her eyes, and Elsa felt an odd sensation ripple through her body. She glanced around, feeling her fear rise again.
"Can you hear me? What is this place? Why did you bring me here?" she pleaded, but he remained silent, only looking at her.
Suddenly, his expression shifted to one of anger. Alien raised both hands and stepped toward her. Instinctively, she took two steps back, though he was still a good distance away. In the blink of an eye, he covered the distance between them as if time itself had bent to his will. The speed was incomprehensible, and before she could react, she fainted once more.
He stared blankly at her. And then Alien pointed his finger at her, and three seconds later, she sat down on a sofa, her eyes still closed. She was unconscious, yet her body obeyed his command. He sat down in a chair opposite her and placed two fingers on her forehead, closing his eyes in concentration.
Time passed—moments blurred into minutes, minutes into hours. Outside, a freezing wind whipped through the air, dropping the temperature to minus three degrees. The scene was so surreal, it was hard to comprehend. The palace they were in was unlike anything on Earth, with a roof that seemed to rise into the clouds. Only one room in the entire palace matched Earth's temperature—the room where Elsa was being kept.
They had brought her here for one reason—they wanted to understand the human heart, to get their Queen back.
The Queen’s life force is directly linked to a unique and fragile biological system, crucial for maintaining balance and harmony within their realm. Unfortunately, due to an unknown ailment or malfunction, her vital systems have deteriorated, rendering her unconscious for years. The alien scientists have been unable to repair her condition with their advanced technology alone.
Joseph, the chief scientist and king, believes that the key to reviving his partner, his Queen, lies in the human heart, which they think might offer the essential qualities missing from their technology. Human hearts are believed to have unique regenerative properties and emotional responses that could potentially restore the Queen’s life force and revive her consciousness.
Before they could replicate it, they needed to know why it held such power, why it could feel pain, and why it resisted their scientists' attempts at control.
Their technology could manipulate the mind but not the heart, and this was their greatest defeat. Their brains, devoid of pain receptors, were similar to those of humans, yet the heart remained an enigma.
They had come to believe that the human heart was unique, a creation of destiny reserved for Earthlings. The stranger, their leader and king, had chosen Elsa for this task. He was the greatest scientist of his kind, a leader who carried the heavy burden of responsibility without the luxuries enjoyed by earthly kings.
He had brought Elsa not just because she was a medical student, but also because of her selfless act—risking harm to save another. He wanted that type of heart for his Queen. The collision with his car had been a test, one she had passed, and now she was at the mercy of these aliens. Their plan was to replicate her heart, to create many hearts like hers.
But to do that, they needed Elsa to remain healthy and cooperative. Her distress could disrupt the process, so the king decided to learn her language, transferring the knowledge from her brain to his own. As he absorbed her language, he knew it was the first step in understanding the mysteries of the human heart, the key to unlocking the emotions that had eluded them for so long.