Wander sighed, staring at the suitcase that was half-packed.

It seemed like only yesterday that Queen Andromache had first come to his home.

Yet here he was, a month later, and only one day away from leaving for the Morterian homeworld, to live in a new castle and marry a man he'd never met, far away from anything he'd ever known.

He sighed once more, laying down on his bed.

"What am I doing?" He wondered aloud to himself. "Am I really ready to leave home?" Wander rolled over onto his stomach. "And... what do I know about this place that I'm supposed to go to? About this man that I'm supposed to... to marry?" He groaned and leaned down into the comforter. "I don't even know his name." He mumbled, his voice muffled by the fabric.

He heard the door open behind him. "Talking to yourself again, little brother?"

The orange prince's eyes widened as he rolled over and sat up. "Meander!" He said happily, jumping off the bed and running over to his twin. "I thought you were in Veritas for that peace conference!" He started as he hugged her. Then he frowned, pulling away. "Hey! We're twins!"

"I'm still older."

"By two minutes!"

"Are you two still having that stupid argument? Seriously, let it go."

Wander and Meander looked over, both grinning. "Corsair!"

Their big sister smiled. "I was in the middle of planning war strategies, but when I heard that my little brother was getting married, well, what kind of sister would I be if I didn't come see him off?" She walked over to her brother, ruffling his hair. "I can't believe that little Wan-Wan is all grown up."

Wander made a face. "I'm not 'Wan-Wan'. I'm Wander. Wan-der."

"Whatever you say, Wan-Wan."

The prince groaned, rolling his eyes. "You're never gonna let that go, are you?"

"Hey, it's not my fault that you were so cute as a baby!" Something in her smile became tight, and she pulled him close. "Gob," She choked out, and Wander realized that she was crying. "You're really going, aren't you?"

Wander smiled sadly, wrapping his arms around her. "Yeah. Yeah, I am." He pulled back, looking at her. "But hey, don't worry. I'm gonna be okay."

"Um, Wander? Weren't you-?"

"Shh!" Wander cut his twin off. "Really, guys. I'm gonna be okay. Maybe not right away, but eventually I'll get used to the life I'm heading to." He gestured towards his twin, who joined in on the hug. "And anyway, it's not like we'll never see each other again."

Meander sniffled. "We know." She wiped a tear out of her eye. "I just can't believe that it's finally happening."

Wander smiled through his own tears. "Me neither."

"Mom?" Wander called as he walked around the halls, dragging his suitcase behind him. "Mom, it's getting close to time." Warily, he opened the door to one of the sitting rooms. "Mom? Are you-?"

He paused when he heard quiet sniffling. Carefully, he stepped inside, leaving his bag outside in the hall.

"Mom?"

The consort looked up from the paper in her hands, her eyes filled with tears. "O-Oh, Wander... I... I didn't hear you come in, sweetheart, I'm sorry." She babbled, shifting in her seat on the sofa.

Wander smiled softly, walking over to the sofa and sitting next to her. "What are you looking at?"

Hope smiled sadly, showing him the photo. "Do you remember when this was taken? You three were so little..."

Wander smiled back at her, then looked at the photo. It was of him and his sisters, back when he and Meander were no more than three and Corsair was seven. His sisters were looking at the camera with shocked expressions, Corsair holding up a piece of a broken vase while Meander's hands were covered with glue. Wander, meanwhile, was off to the side, crying his eyes out.

Wander snorted. "How could I forget? We broke one of the oldest, most expensive vases in the entire castle! I thought that Mother was going to throw us in the dungeon!"

Hope laughed softly. "There hasn't been a dungeon since the castle was rebuilt over three hundred years ago!" She smiled, then slowly started to frown. She leaned over towards her son, sniffling softly. "I can't believe it's been so long." She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. "When did you get so grown up, baby? How come you're not this little anymore?"

The prince smiled softly, wrapping his arms around her. "It's what happens when years go by. I can't stop getting older, anymore than I can stop the sun from rising into the sky."

Hope laughed softly, holding her son closely. "I know that, love. I just wish it didn't have to be so."

Soon enough, the day of Wander's departure had arrived. Wander stared up at the transport that would take him to his new home. He gripped the handle of his suitcase tightly, feeling his heart thumping in his chest.

Sylvia patted her friend on the shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. It's gonna be okay."

Wander smiled up at her, then took a deep breath. "I... I know." He glanced back at his family one more time, his mom and his sisters smiling at him.

His mother, however, was entirely neutral.

Wander swallowed hard, trying to not let his disappointment show. With another deep breath, he started to walk towards the ship, Sylvia walking beside him.

"Wander!"

The prince paused, turning around just in time for his mother to crash into him, hugging him tightly.

"I'm going to miss you so much." Ana said softly between sobs.

Wander paused for only a minute before hugging her back. "I'll miss you too, Mother."

Wander fidgeted quietly in his seat, occasionally glancing out the window to stare at the cosmos passing by. Sylvia had gone to speak with one of the guards from the Empire, though Wander hadn't exactly understood what they were going to speak about.

So here he was, all alone, on the way to his new home, where he would marry a man that he still hadn't met, one whose name he didn't even know.

He sighed, smiling when he saw how the glass fogged up. The prince started to draw shapes in the fog with his finger, tracing shapes into the white area. He smiled as the fog faded along with the shapes, momentarily forgetting about his situation.

He heard the doors to the lounge hiss open. "Mind if I join you?"

Wander jumped in his seat, looking like a deer in the headlights as he looked at the visitor, who turned out to be Queen Andromache.

"A-Ah, no, I don't mind. Not at all!"

Andromache smiled reassuringly, sitting next to him near the window. "Darling, there's no need to be so jumpy. We're going to be in-laws, after all."

Wander laughed nervously, pulling at his braid. "I- I know, I just..." He frowned, sighing a bit. "Your Majesty-"

"Call me Andromache, love."

"Ah, um, alright. A-Andromache, I..." He took a deep breath. "Why me? I-I mean, why do you want me to be the one to marry your son? I... I assume that you know about-"

"About how your race is one of fully-functional hermaphrodites? Oh, wait, is that offensive? Do you prefer intersexed?"

"I- I, um, we have our own term for it, but it doesn't really translate into Galactic Standard well."

"Tell me anyway. I've always loved language."

Wander smiled nervously. "A-Alright. Um, well, it's called 'harmarikata'. It's... it's a little hard to define, but the literal translation is 'both-parts'. B-But, um, most Star Nomads don't refer to themselves like that anymore. There's a good range of pronouns."

"I see. And you prefer male pronouns?"

"Well, yes. Anyway, so you know that it's possible for us to... to um... have..."

"Have children with any race regardless of sex? Yes, I'm aware."

"A... Alright, but... but why me? I mean, there's several lords and governors with eligible daughters-"

"Ah, but that's just it."

Wander blinked, confused. "What is?"

"The daughter part. You see, Thatcher- my son- well, he doesn't like girls. Well, I mean he likes girls, but not in a romantic or, ah, sexual sense."

Wander flushed, looking down. "O-Oh. Oh, um, I see." So his name is Thatcher...

Andromache smiled at him. "But you know, your gender and race aren't the only reason why I wanted you."

Wander looked up, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, love. I told you before, didn't I? You're a kind, sweet young man." She looked out the window. "And I believe that what Thatcher needs, more than anything, is a friend." She frowned. "For a very long time, my son shut me out, shut everyone out. He was distant, quiet." She started to smile. "Eventually, he let his sister and I back into his life, but... well, the cost was greater than anything I could have imagined. And even though he let Tuesday and I in- Tuesday is my younger child, my daughter- he shut out everyone else, to the point where he barely speaks, and when he does it's to Tuesday. He hides his face away." She sighed. "He seems to think that he'd scare everyone if they saw him. But really, the person whose most afraid of him... is himself."

Wander was silent for a moment. "If... If I might ask... Why does he think people would be afraid of him?"

She said nothing for a moment. "I'm afraid that you'll have to find that out for yourself." She looked at him. "But don't worry, Wander. I have full confidence that you can get him to let you in."

Wander forced a smile, trying to ignore the tightness in his throat.

Somehow, he didn't share that confidence.