The Tantrum and the Truth

Jace stared at the floating child, his jaw tightening. "Scientifically speaking, spectral entities have not been empirically verified. You must be a localized holographic projection. A prank by my squadron, perhaps."

The little ghost gasped, looking profoundly insulted. "I am Princess Pip! I am five hundred years old, and I am not a 'holographic projection,' you stiff, boring rock-man!"

"Rock-man?" Jace repeated, bristling slightly.

"I demand entertainment!" Pip shrieked, floating higher toward the vaulted ceiling. "Play with me, or I shall curse your house!"

"We are tired, Pip," Aurelia said gently, stepping forward and using the soothing tone she usually reserved for the royal hounds back home. "Perhaps we could play a game tomorrow?"

"Now!" Pip squeaked, her blue glow suddenly flashing an angry, electric violet.

The ghost child threw her arms out, and an invisible wave of kinetic energy rippled through the penthouse. The glowing blue holographic panels on the walls flickered wildly and died. The automated blast doors over the windows slammed shut, locking into place. And then, with a heavy, groaning mechanical whine, the gravity plating beneath the floorboards completely disengaged.

Aurelia gasped as her feet slowly lifted off the plush carpet. Her heavy silk wedding gown billowed out around her like a parachute.

"The smart-hub is offline," Jace growled, drifting upward despite his frantic attempts to anchor himself to a nearby column. As a decorated combat commander, he was trained for zero-gravity combat, but in his restrictive dress uniform, he simply looked like a very angry, floating board.

Pip giggled, a sound like chiming crystal, as she darted through the dark, weightless air. "Hide and seek! You're it, Commander Rock-Man!"

The apartment was plunged into shadows, illuminated only by the frantic emergency lighting and the ghostly blue trail Pip left behind as she zipped between floating footstools and drifting antique cushions.

Aurelia couldn't help it. Seeing her severe, intimidating new husband dog-paddling uselessly through the air, trying to grab a floating velvet pillow to stabilize himself, broke the tension. She let out a laugh. It started small, but quickly bubbled up into a genuine, musical sound that echoed through the dark penthouse.

Jace paused his flailing, looking over at her. In the dim light, his stern expression softened. "You find my lack of aerodynamic control amusing, Your Highness?"

"Immensely," Aurelia admitted, managing to push gently off a wall and float closer to him. "For a man who commands fleets, you are remarkably bad at catching a ghost."

"I was trained to fight alien armadas," Jace sighed, catching the armrest of a floating chair. "Not babysit an ethereal toddler." He looked at Aurelia, his dark eyes searching her face. "You look beautiful when you laugh. You've been so tense since the ceremony."

Aurelia’s smile faded slightly, the vulnerability of the moment catching her off guard. Suspended in the air, stripped of their titles and the terrifying pressure of their duties, it was suddenly easier to speak. "I am terrified, Jace. I look at this city, at this apartment, at you... and I feel utterly useless. I am an obsolete princess in a world of smart-tech and starlight. I have no idea how to be the wife you need."

Jace’s eyes widened. He pushed off the chair, drifting slowly until he was mere inches from her in the floating dark. "Useless? Aurelia, you single-handedly stabilized the agricultural trade routes in your sector before you were twenty. You have more grace and diplomatic intelligence than my entire command staff." He ran a hand through his neatly combed hair, ruining the perfect military style. "I wasn't being distant because I expected something from you. I was distant because I was terrified of intimidating you. I know you didn't choose this. I didn't want to act like a warden."

Aurelia looked at him, truly seeing him for the first time. He wasn't a cold, unfeeling monument to military efficiency. He was just a man trying to do his best in an impossible situation.

"Perhaps," Aurelia whispered, "we can figure out how to be modern together."