Selene

"Momma?" A hand tugged at Channary's sleeve.

"Yes, baby?"

Selene made a face. "I'm not a baby, Momma. I'm five already."

Channary laughed. "Yes, but you'll always be my baby girl. Now, what is it you were going to tell me?"

"Can me and Winter go to the park?"

"Winter and I, dear."

"Can Winter and I go to the park? We want to look in the neighborhood, too, since we just moved here. Maybe we can make some new friends! Please, Momma?"

"Alright, but I'm coming with you."

"But Momma, Auntie said she's coming with me and Winter!"

Channary picked herself up, her purse and her keys. "It doesn't hurt to have another adult watching you. We can get ice cream afterwards, alright?"

"Yay! Thanks, Momma! I'm going to get Winter and Auntie right now!" Selene skipped off happily.

"Since when did she learn to say 'neighborhood'?" remarked a new voice behind Channary.

"Ah, baby sister, can't you see Selene is a smart child? Of course, she can't help it, being a Blackburn."

Levana snickered. "Don't go spoiling the poor girl. She certainly couldn't pick her own mother."

Channary waved her off carelessly. "No one could. I wouldn't choose our mother if I could. Neither would you. Besides, Selene is a princess. She can't be spoiled."

"Doesn't that then make you the scheming queen who's waiting for a prince to manipulate you into marrying your daughter?"

Channary laughed. "No boy will ever be good enough for my Selene. Come now, the girls are waiting for us."

Half an hour later, the four of them were sitting on a park bench, licking half-melted ice cream cones they bought at a nearby shop.

Selene hopped off the bench after she finished hers. "I'm gonna go play now, Momma."

"But your hands are still sticky and sweet. Come here and wipe them clean, baby."

"I'm not gonna eat my hands, Momma!" Selene made a great show of dragging her feet as she trudged toward Channary.

"You might when you have dirt all over them, dear." Selene pretended to gag, and she and Winter burst into giggles as Channary wiped Selene's hands with wet-ones. "Run along now, dear."

Selene cheered, grabbed Winter by the hand, and together they ran off toward the slide, their laughter ringing like bells.

Channary smiled as she watched them run and play, suddenly wishing she could've done these things as a child. "I think Selene will grow up to be a great actress one day, just like me."

Levana snorted. "Let's hope the only things she'll inherit from you are looks and a talent for acting. Leave out everything else."

"What do you mean, everything else?" responded Channary innocently.

"Well, you don't know who Selene's father is. Doesn't that say something?"

Channary shrugged. "Oh, well." She glanced down at her watch. "My stars, it's five! We should get them home, Levana."

They cleaned up the bench and wandered through the park to find Selene and Winter running around, being chased by a boy with icy blond hair. The three were laughing and panting as they collapsed on the ground, bursting into giggles once more.

"Girls!" Their heads shot up to look at Levana. "We have to go now."

"But we just came here!" Winter exclaimed, looking wistfully at the park and the boy.

"Your first day of school is tomorrow, remember? Now, say goodbye to your friend, and we'll get going."

Winter gave the boy a hug and Selene flashed a mischievous smile before turning to her mother. "Momma, you said we're going to New Beijing Elementary, right?" At Channary's nod, she and Winter cheered.

"Then we'll get to see you tomorrow, Jacin! Bye!"

By the time they got home, the clouds had been illuminated into various shades of pink, yellow, and orange. New Beijing was a truly beautiful place.

"I do think," Winter remarked to Selene as they waited for Levana to unlock the front door, "that our new house is a castle! See the pretty clouds behind it? It looks like it's welcoming us, princesses, back!"

Channary smiled at Winter as they walked through the door. "That's because you and Selene are both beautiful princesses living in a beautiful castle in a beautiful city."

Selene frowned. "I thought Momma's an actress and we moved to a big mansion in a new city is all."

Channary stared at Selene. "Where in the galaxy did you learn to speak like that?"

Selene shrugged. "You and Auntie?"

Channary laughed. "My smart little princess."

"I'm not a princess, Momma!" Selene pouted.

"You are my little princess, dear."

"But Momma, last time you said I was your baby! Can you just pick one?"

Carswell

"Tomorrow's your first day of school, Carswell. Are you excited?" Rosemary asked, swinging their hands in between them. Carswell smiled proudly, showing a row of white, perfectly straight teeth, and his mother was once again reminded of the good looks that her son had so luckily possessed.

"I'm going to get all the girls, Momma!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

His mother balked, clearly surprised at what Carswell had just said. "Um…" she started skeptically. "Carswell. You're in kindergarten. You really shouldn't be thinking of… girls."

Carswell pouted adorably, his lower lip jutting out. His eyes widened, showing off his glistening irises. "But why?" he whined. "Am I not handsome enough?"

"I just keep on getting more and more surprised," Rosemary muttered to herself under her breath. Smiling, she turned back to her son. "Oh, no! You're the cutest little boy that has ever existed," she cooed. She bopped Carswell's nose, and he giggled. "You go get them, okay?" Rosemary winced after uttering those words.

Carswell cheered and ran forward, seemingly satisfied with what his mother had said. Rosemary sighed and trudged after him. "So, are you nervous?" she asked, keeping him from running into a pole. Carswell grinned again, propping his hands on his hips.

He shook his head vigorously. "No, Momma! I'm not nervous at all!"

Scarlet

"NO! Don't make me go, please! I'm too nervous, Grandma!" Scarlet begged, tugging at the end of her grandmother's warm, wool dress. Her grandma sighed, tucking a gray piece of hair behind her ear. She picked Scarlet up, heaving her onto her lap. Rocking back and forth on her chair, her grandmother gently wiped away the droplets on Scarlet's tear stained face.

"School is fun, darling. You'll do great," her grandmother insisted.

Scarlet sniffed in disdain and crossed her arms sassily. "No, no, no. You're wrong. Super wrong! Wrong with a big, fat 'X.'" She crossed her arms to make the letter. Her grandmother suppressed a chuckle.

"You can meet new people and make new friends at school. Isn't that fun?" Scarlet stayed silent, slightly swayed by her grandmother's argument. Sensing this, her grandmother kept pushing. "Who knows? Maybe you'll even see Jacin and those pretty girls that you saw yesterday at the park."

Scarlet's face lit up at the mention of Winter and Selene, although she didn't even know who they were - much less their names.

"If you become friends, you can play with them!"

"I, I…" Scarlet hesitated, cheeks puffing up with air. Her grandmother gently bounced the girl on her knee, urging her to keep speaking. "Fine. I'll do it."

Please tell us what you think! Who's got your favorite personality right now? Who do you want to see more of? If you enjoyed this chapter?