It had only taken a few more seconds under the suspicious glare of the man, who had seemed so kind at first, to send Eris running. She didn't really know why she had run, she hadn't done anything wrong as far as she'd known, yet something on the man's face had shown clearly that she was not wanted there.

Then there was the woman, who had spoken to her so kindly, that she really felt like she had a chance, however slim it was. She had looked so scared, so afraid that something was going to happen to her, just by speaking to the young girl.

She couldn't understand why though. Was there something wrong with her? She didn't know, how could she? She didn't know anything of the world outside of her forest, knew nothing of how a person was supposed to act, look, or even speak. Maybe in those few words she had said, she had said something wrong.

No. It wasn't any of that that made her seem strange. There was one thing that stood out while she spoke to them, one thing that she hadn't really noticed until now. Neither of them had any kind of symbol decorating their forehead. Maybe that was something bad, something to show she was cursed.

It had never seemed strange to her though, it had been the way she was born. Yet she started to realise that this thought was the same one that kept swimming through her mind, questioning everything she had ever known, everything she had been raised to know.

She finally stopped running, her breath coming in heavy gasps. Her body was not attuned to strenuous exercise, and was as frail as that of a small child. She had never had any need to use such strength, or to run so hard, and it was only now that she realised that it had taken a heavy toll on her body.

She feel to her knees as a coughing fit overtook her, her whole body quivering as she tried to catch her breath. She wanted to cry, to call out for her papa to come and take her home, to say she was sorry, but she couldn't even find the strength to move her lips.

"Eris!" a voice called, and she managed to turn her head the tiniest bit so that she could catch sight of a woman running towards her. Her mind was too preoccupied by the burning sensation in her chest to realise that it was the same woman as earlier, the man who had first greeted her following closely behind.

They had both taken off after the silver haired girl when she'd run, having notice the true fear and confusion on her face at their reactions. Something was wrong, that was what they had thought, but now they wondered if the girl was truly just different, and meant no harm. They had been too quick to judge, and felt as if they needed to apologize. Seeing the girl doubled over in pain however, tapped into the woman's motherly side, and she quickly ran to the girl, reaching out to her and cradling her in her arms.

"Shh, shh," she soothed as Eris tried to process between a round of gasps and coughs. The woman rocked her gently, lightly stroking the long silver hair that was sprawled between the both of them. It made her wonder how a girl who looked like she was in such a bad situation by her clothes and mannerisms was able to take such good care of her hair. Though now was not the time.

The man who had introduced himself to her as Lin quickly followed, having been left behind by the woman's sudden burst of speed. "Is she ok?" he asked in an almost panicky tone just as the girl finally began to calm down.

"She should be fine now," she smiled in relief as Eris' eyelids fluttered closed as she fell into a peaceful sleep. "I just wonder what we're supposed to do with her."

"I have an idea."

00000

A few hours had passed by the time Eris finally awoke. Dazed, she unsuccessfully tried to blink the sleep from her eyes as she waited for her head to stop spinning and everything to begin making sense. Her first thought was that she was in an unfamiliar place.

Shooting up from the bed she had been lain on, she ran to the other side of the room and into the corner where she felt she could better protect herself. No one could sneak up on her there.

"Don't be frightened," the voice nearly cause her to jump three feet in the air, not having noticed that she wasn't the only one in the room. "Please, I won't hurt you."

She turned slowly to face the same woman as earlier, sitting on a stool beside the bed she realised she had been sleeping on. "Where am I? ...Who are you?" she questioned cautiously, not liking the small space she was stuck between.

It was, some kind of bedroom, that much she could guess just by the fact that there was a bed there, but it was a box shaped room, not like the cave she herself stayed in.

The woman smiled, not moving from her position so that she would not frighten the child. "My name is Naoki, and I'm sorry if I frightened you earlier... I was simply surprised," she introduced herself, apologizing in the process. "And this is the Crystal palace. I'm the head maid, and these are my living quarters."

Eris' looked over the brunette scrutinisingly. Her earlier fear seemed to have completely left her features, and she no longer cringed away. "The... crystal palace?" she spoke softly, the name seeming to bring an image to her mind. The large crystal building in the centre of the city, where she had always wanted to visit. She was inside there now? Her heart began to beat with excitement, and she just wanted to run around and explore. That was until Naoki's voice snapped her out of it.

"You said you were looking for your mother, right?" she inquired, revisiting their earlier conversation. Even if the girl's mother did not know her name, there was no way she would forget that her child had a blackened crescent moon on her forehead. Then again, maybe that had been the reason she had given her child up in the first place.

She figured this topic was a good way to start, to show the girl that she really did want to help in case that she was still suspicious of her intentions. "There's nothing you could tell me about her? Anything at all?"

Eris still wasn't too sure about how to respond to the brunette's sudden mood shift, but she figured this might be her only chance to find out. Who knew how anyone else might respond to her... situation. The might not respond as well as Naoki had. "I... have her eyes," she whispered, giving her the only piece of information she had.

The woman took notice of what the girl said, for the first time drawing her attention from the silver hair and black crescent moon to actually notice her eyes. They were a deep pink, almost red in color. It was a rare shade, something she had only seen in a few people. That didn't help however, it didn't matter if they were to check every woman with that shade of eye color, her mother may have died a long time ago, or might not even live anywhere near the city as far as they knew. It was the only lead they had though.

"Do you, think we'll be able to find her?" Eris spoke with such a hopeful tone, that the woman didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise.

"I'm sure we will," she smiled. "Now, I figure our best bet might be to check the palace records," she explained, telling her about the large room that had the date of birth, eye and hair color, as well as the name of the parents of every resident of the city. "But first, you can't go out wearing that," she pointed to the rags the silver haired girl was wearing and shook her head. "Let me see if I can find something."

00000

"Are you sure this is ok?" Eris asked as she lightly tugged on the dress. It was still a simple white, like her old one had been, yet it was cleaner, properly cut, and had gold embroidery running through the hem and along the long sleeves.

Naoki nodded her head, brushing the girl's already clean hair and styling it so that it wasn't almost brushing against the ground. She also brushed down the girl's bangs, as to hide her crescent moon. It would do them no good to arouse suspicion. "It's fine. Besides, you couldn't walk around the palace in those rags now, could you?" she chuckled softly.

Eris nodded. "I suppose not."

"There we go!" the brunette smiled, placing the brush she had been using back onto her dresser as she finished. She lightly placed her hands on the younger female's shoulders and spun her around so that she would be able to see her reflection. If Naoki had thought she had been beautiful before, she couldn't believe how a simple dress and hair change could make her look so much more elegant, more like, well... a princess.

Eris was struck speechless by her own refection, lightly reaching up to touch her face, the run a hand through her long silky hair. She tugged at her dress lightly, not able to take her eyes off of the bewildered girl before her, who resembled her so greatly, but at the same time looked like a stranger. "Is that really me?" she spoke softly, scared that it was an illusion that would shatter with her voice.

The older woman nodded, a warm smile having found its way onto her features. Watching the girl,, it made her feel a longing to have her own child, to see them look at her with such adoration as Eris was at that moment. "Now, should we be going?" she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, holding out her arm for the girl to take.

She nodded, lightly reaching out to hold on to Naoki's arm. It would do her no good to be getting lost now. She had to stop herself from running off as they left the small room however. Seeing how large the palace really was made her breath catch. She'd never been anywhere that large, or that beautiful. The delicately embroidered carpet along the hall was enough to take her breath away.

"Come now," the woman began to walk, having to tug the young girl who was too busy taking in every detail of the hall. "We don't have much time," she explained. "Or I would give you a proper tour."

"I'm sorry," Eris nodded, but she still turned her head back to try and burn the picture into her memory. Now her cave, which had seemed perfect to her, looked pale in comparison, and she knew she would probably never be as happy there again when... if she returned.

It wasn't long however, before Eris could no longer control her urge to explore the great palace, wandering off as Naoki was stopped by another woman in a white uniform, asking something about dinner preparations. It also wasn't long, after she had been studying the garden through one of the windows, that she figured she was lost.

She tried walking back the way she had come, but soon found that it was no use, and she had simply gotten herself lost further in the palace, where there were no longer any windows to the outside. "Hello?" she called softly, hoping that someone would hear her and be able to lead her back. She wasn't so lucky.

Now she'd done it. By the size of the palace it could take hours until someone found her, or with her luck, days. "Now I've done it," she sighed as she rested against the wall, right beneath where a portrait was hanging. What was she supposed to do now? If she waited, it could take ages for her to be found, but if she continued walking she could end up becoming more lost.

Barely a second later though, she could hear the sound of footsteps, and her head shot up, banging straight into the bottom of the portrait. "Oww," she winced, holding the top of her head just as a woman in a long, flowing gown came around the corner.

She had long, bright blonde hair that had strands of silver running through it to show age. It was well placed though, looking as if the strands belonged there. It was easier to see she was much older than Naoki had been, though not because age had ravished her features, it was more the wisdom that shone in her kind blue eyes that abled Eris to guess just how old she might be.

"Oh, hello," the woman smiled, coming to a stop as she noticed Eris who was still clutching her head. "Are you alright?"

When she didn't receive a reply from the awestruck girl the woman paused, wondering what might be wrong. Glancing around and seeing no one else in sight, she came up with some kind of theory. "Are you lost?

This time Eris managed to respond, nodding her head slowly.

The woman's smile widened, and she held a hand out to the girl. "Come with me and we'll find our way back. Are you here with someone?" she asked.

Hesitantly, Eris reached out to take her hand, finding a sense of familiarity overcome her. "I'm here with..." she spoke softly, before trailing off as she took a lost at the portrait that had harmed her for the first time.

It was a family. There was a man with dark hair and blue eyes smiling as he held a young girl in his arms. The girl was grinning widely with her eyes closed, her pink hair tied up in twin tails and buns as she held her mother's hand. It was the mother that caught her attention, with her kind blue eyes and her blonde hair in the same style as the young girl's, as well as the woman who's hand she was holding.

It was the golden crescent moon on her forehead that caught Eris' attention though, as well as the crown on her head. Was she... a queen? She didn't have a crown on her head now though, and that painting showed her a younger version of the woman. "You're..."

The woman blinked, glancing down at the girl at her side, before following her gaze to the portrait. "Ahh, I didn't introduce myself, did I?" she chuckled lightly. "Many people still refer to me as Serenity, but I prefer Usagi, ok?" she winked. "What's your name?"

"It... it's Eris," she answered, the woman's smile being contagious and catching on her lips.

"Eris, huh? That's a pretty name," Usagi smiled, glad she had been able to get the girl to speak to her. She couldn't help but notice how much the child resembled her own daughter when she had been younger. They had the same face, as well as the same eyes. It made her miss the time when her daughter had still had time to spend with her. Now that she was queen however, with her own daughter to care for, it left her little spare time.

Eris blushed at the compliment, not sure how to respond. "Th-thankyou... umm... you're very beautiful," she spoke in return, meaning it completely. She only wished that when and if her body ever continued to age, that she would be able to look even half as beautiful as the woman before her.

"Why thank you too, though you're plenty beautiful yourself," Usagi squeezed her hand warmly. "Now, what were you looking for? I can't lead you back if I don't know where we are going," she chuckled softly, a melodious sound that made Eris feel at peace.

"I'm trying to find... the palace records," Eris answered, explaining to her quickly about the situation she was in, and how she was searching for her mother.

Usagi frowned hearing her story. It was horrible for a child not to know her mother, nor have any lead on where she could find her. "Hmm, well since I like you, how about I help you out?" she winked, a light laughing escaping her.

"You'd really help me?" Eris' eyes widened in disbelief. Maybe with someone like Usagi helping her... maybe she would have a chance. "Thank you mommy!" she laughed lightly, throwing her arms around the older female. It was a few moments later before she realised what she had said, and she quickly released the other, covering her mouth with her hand. "I... I'm sorry," she blushed.

The blonde's eyes had widened at the use of the word mommy, but at the same time it made her feel nostalgic. It had been a while since anyone had called her that. She shook her head, a loving smile gracing her lips as the girl apologized. "It's fine. Until we find your real mother, feel free to think of me as your mommy," she told her, taking a step forward and wrapping her arms around Eris.

The silver haired girl could feel tears stinging in her eyes as Usagi wrapped her arms around her, and she quickly hugged her back. It was the first time she had ever been hugged as far back as she could remember, and she couldn't believe how safe she felt in the other's arms.

It was the first time she felt like she was truly loved, like she truly belonged.