There it was again, that intruding idea that she always mistakenly thought she'd snuffed out already. The slight jolt in her stomach that told her not to be so hopeless. The skipped beat of her heart that told her everything didn't have to be so fake with him.

She felt particularly awful about forcing him to apologize to her. She knew his words weren't unfounded, and she could hear Winter in the back of her mind telling her how mean and unnecessary her actions were. She could hear her mother telling her how well she'd done.

She ground her teeth against it all as the elevator began to descend.

Princess Selene did not believe in love. Absolutely no way in all of the Milky Way would she ever subject herself to a lie like that one. Her mother made sure of that from the day she was born. And if Queen Channary found out she was even entertaining the very thought, she would laugh at Selene. The princess didn't mind a hit, or even outright being ignored, but to be laughed at by her mother? It would have been too much.

Besides, there was no doubt that she and Kai would be married to alliance their two countries. The thaumaturges and court had already worked out that she would live in the Commonwealth until it was her time to ascend the throne, and their two eldest children would be split up between the planets to act as heirs.

Of course, that last part was only if her mother failed in achieving the one goal she wanted to attain, the idea stolen from her baby sister, Levana – to turn Luna and Earth into a single country with a monarchy to rule over them.

Failure was unlikely. Her mother always got exactly what she wanted. Including a daughter who held the same ideas and ideals as her. The only thing she needed was power and loyalty. The power was hers and she could manipulate loyalty out of anyone. Selene could, too.

But Selene wanted something else as well. Power and loyalty would be handed to her once she ascended the throne; she didn't have to worry about such frivolous things. She wanted Prince Kai, though not through manipulation. She truly wanted him to love her, whatever that meant. She'd known it since they met when they were still kids, and the desire never faded.

"Mother, is that Prince Kaito?" Selene asked, brushing her fingers across her mother's arm.

Channary rolled her eyes. "Obviously, my love."

"Obviously," Selene mumbled, training her eyes back on Kai.

The prince was handsome – for a 14-year-old, at least. Maybe a bit too lanky, his arms a little too long for his slender body, but stars, Selene couldn't believe that that's who her mother promised to marry her to.

As he and his father approached, her heart began to race. Kai bowed gracelessly to her before taking her right hand and brushing an awkward kiss across the knuckles. Her heart thudded. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Princess Selene."

The words sputtered out of her. "Th-thank you, Prince Kaito. Same to you."

He dropped her hand and smiled sweetly and she swallowed hard.

Sure, she was only twelve, but she was pretty sure she was already in love.

As an heir to the Lunar throne, she was always permitted to go see plays put on by the national theatre on Luna. Her mother never attended them, but sometimes, her uncle took her and Winter along. She had watched love blossom on stage between two characters, and she had wanted that more than anything. Even before they met, she knew she and Kai would be perfect together. He was a prince, she was a princess. It made sense! It was meant to be! It had to be.

Her mother had promised her his hand, and her mother always got what she wanted, but Selene decided she and Kai would have a passionate, burning love. They would fall in love for real, like the characters in the plays, and not just because their countries required it of them.

And she'd do anything to win that honor.

Anything.

Selene and her mother did not visit the Commonwealth again until she was 14. At that point, she was in full control of her glamour and had perfected it with the help of a tutor.

When she met Kai again, she was the embodiment of perfect beauty and grace, and having just turned 16, he was the most handsome man in all of the galaxy.

"It's an honor to meet you again, Prince Kaito," said Selene, curtseying as he approached.

He lifted her hand to kiss it and repeated the sentiments, and it was here that she clutched his will. His movements stiffened slightly and she smirked.

He needed her, he had to have her. She was feeding him these truths – for he would one day come to find them to be purely facts.

Channary would be proud. Selene was just like her mother.

He had spent the entire week that she was on Earth competing for her affections, much to his apparent dismay, and she'd loved every second of it.

When she'd told Winter all about it, she expected her cousin to be proud of her.

She'd never been more wrong.

Winter had been nothing if not enraged with her for manipulating him when she could've just been nice instead, which would have, apparently, yielded much better results.

"He should love you because he wants to," Winter had said to her, "not because you force him to."

But what did Winter know? Channary always said to fight for what she wanted, and isn't that what Selene was doing?

Love was a conquest. Love was a war.

Mother knows best, after all.

She glanced around as they stepped out of the hover. "It's pretty crowded."

"It's the marketplace," he replied. She noticed how painful it seemed for him to tear his eyes away from her – his gaze lingering just a half-second too long. She smiled proudly behind her glamour. "It's always crowded."

Selene crossed her arms. "Well, take me to a shop or something. Don't you want to buy me something, Pri-uh, Kai?"

"It'll draw attention," he told her. "Maybe next time."

"You're so unpleasant," she grumbled, eyeing the shops as they passed. "This really isn't all that great. Artemisia is absolutely marvelous, no matter the time of day or year. Especially AR-4! Their dress boutiques are to die for. I can't believe I ever thought Earth could live up to my standards."

He quirked an eyebrow. "So, Luna is better, then? Your artificial environment is better than a real, natural one?" She shot him a warning look, but he continued. "We don't need scientists knowing just how much of something to throw into the atmosphere in order to make those thrive. Earth does that itself. It's natural. It's real."

"Who cares," said Selene. "If it looks good, who cares how it got that way?"

"I suspect that that's why you're so fond of your glamour."

With a simple thought, as easy as controlling her own limbs, his feet stopped beneath him and he toppled forward.

Selene laughed loudly as Kai clambered back to his feet, eliciting stares and hard-to-hide chuckles from those around them. He brushed himself off and eyed her with complete distrust. "I must've offended you pretty bad to make you do that."

She simply shrugged. "I just had to remind you who's really in power here."

"How could I forget?"

When they arrived back at the palace, Selene's guilt had almost eaten her alive.

Stars above, she felt guilty for embarrassing him. Her mother would be so ashamed.

She tossed a glance at Kai, carefully choosing her words. "Sorry for tripping you earlier, Your Highness."

His returned look was a lot cooler than she expected. "Whatever."

"It was rude of me," she continued, tugging at the fabric of her dress, having dropped her disguise.

"I'm glad that you've recognized that, Princess."

She grimaced. Maybe she was just a bit too cruel to him. Sometimes.

The way he reacted to her manipulation made it painfully clear: he obviously didn't love her at all, and she couldn't seem to make any progress no matter how much time she spent with him.

Author's Note: Princess Selene has a heart! Who knew! So, counting it up, this will be six chapters in all. I will probably post a chapter a week :D I'm posting this one early because, well, I can. There's a reason for it. Just trust me on this one.