My name is Hotaru, Royal Lady of Titan, daughter of Queen Cassine and King Christiaan of my home planet, Saturn. My mother is a beautiful, patient woman and a generous leader to her subjects. Wait, no. She was a leader. It's going to take me a while to get used to talking about her in the past. My mother, the queen, is dead. Buckets of flowers and gemstones arrive daily with messages of condolences and thoughtful words of encouragement for my father, Saturn's new ruler. I've only recently turned 15 Chronos years, informally referred to as aions, and reached my One Half Ceremony (a joke on its own, as all the Solar planets go by Chronos time in order to stave off interplanetary confusion) and yet I can feel the respect in their words. I sometimes feel much older than I am. I've heard the legends about reincarnation and I wholeheartedly believe in them. The idea of rebirth is a very comforting one and brings me solace when I think about each quickly passing night and day. I think I remember a time before I presided over Titan. I think I remember a time after as well, although every time I tried to talk to my mother about the idea of different times threads, she silenced me.
Silence. Solitude. Space. Since my mother's death, there's been nothing but even more silence, even more solitude, and even more space. It's often stifling yet I wear it like a heavy blanket. My father is a strong man and I can see him trying to pull through for my younger sister, his planet, and me but his grief is palpable. Sometimes I take my sister, Capricia, to get candies and sometimes we go to some of the other moons and look for unusual rocks. Her favorite is Enceladus and it has become a home away from home for us both. Wait, that's not right either. Titan is my home now. My mother declared me the Royal Lady of Titan at my Ceremony, becoming the first Guardian of Saturn in recent history as decades of peace had not necessitated one. Between the murmurs and the newspapers, it wasn't a surprise for anyone. I've been welcomed with open arms onto my new home and am already learning of my duties as Saturn's Guardian. Truth be told, I had never planned on coming into this duty. I always believed that being born into Saturn's royal bloodline meant that I would one day become the Queen, but I never knew that my mother had different plans for me. But now that she is gone and the stillness of our palace surrounds us, I accept my new life and new responsibilities on Titan readily. I don't question her judgment and I especially don't think to turn my back on my new obligations.
My sister is 8 aions and likes to play on the frozen seas with her natural grace and ease. I'm not sure if she knows what my training entails or what her future holds, but I don't want to break it to her yet, if I even have to be the one to do it. I sit on the icy ground watching her huddle and carefully construct some sort of rock castle.
"Rici," I call, "I'm leaving soon."
Capricia looks up from where she's hunched over with the small pile of stones in front of her. "Can't we stay longer? I still need to finish my collection."
"No, I mean I'm leaving Saturn soon." I pick at my dark skirt.
"No you're not." She pauses and her eyebrows scrunch together. "Really? When?"
"Soon. I have to start my training. I'm going to Jupiter."
"Are you going to see Lady Galilea?" She grins.
I can't help but grin back. I have always gotten along well with her and am glad to be starting out my training on a good note. "Of course. She's Jupiter's Guardian." I beckon her over and she comes willingly, for once. I pat the ground so she sits next to me and she gazes at her rock pile. "I'm actually hoping she'll teach me how to become as tall and strong as she is," I mock-whisper conspiratorially.
Capricia giggles. "You? Tall and strong? I once saw you cry when you accidentally sat on your gemstone."
"That's not the same at all and that was an awfully unkind thing to say, Princess," I glare. She has the good nature to look contrite, at least. I smile back at her and nudge her with my shoulder. "I'm kidding, you know. I'm proud of you and I'm going to miss you when I'm gone."
Rici picks up a stone next to her and fidgets with it, turning it around in her hands. "I wish you weren't going but I know you have to. Mama always told me that the Guardian was the strongest and one of the most important people to the planet." She looks up to me with a big, fat tear rolling down her cheek and for a second I think she's crying about me.
"Mama was very wise. Papa is a smart man too and I know you're going to be so good at taking care of him and our kingdom, right?" I wipe the tear off her cheek and pull her in for a hug. I don't know how long it is before I let go.