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Love After Sunset

Chase was enjoying the power boost Gorgo had given him. As well, he enjoyed his mission. Solaria was amazing during the Sunset Festival and, most importantly, no one could recognize him in the slightest. His hair had been cut short and turned yellow. His eyes were a dark blue. His body was even spelled to be smaller, but he didn't lose any of his strength in the process.

The festival had just begun a few hours earlier, and the streets were crowded. As he wandered around, he kept a close eye on Daisy the whole time. She had changed the least of the people he had pretended to be friends with for years. He had hardly recognized Violet when they collided into one another. He was trying to avoid getting too close to any of them in case they sensed who he really was, but Violet was too enthralled in a man to take a second thought about him.

As the actual sun began to set, Chase began to make his way toward the stage to get a good place to listen to the words of the royals. He smirked watching the queen waddle to her seat with the help of her husband. Brandon, Jr. and Celeste each looked like stars, as was expected from them. Finally, King Radius stepped up and began making a speech about unity and how safe the world was. Chase barely kept his laugh below the cheers of the crowd.

After King Radius, Brandon, Sr. said a few words for his very pregnant wife, then called up his son for the final announcement of the even before the opening ceremony fireworks.

Brandon, Jr. took a deep breath as he looked at all the people of Solaria, as well as hundreds of others from planets around the universe. "I'd like to first thank everyone for coming to this very important occasion. It is the people that help make the kingdom grand. With the kingdom in mind, I remember that one day I will be crowned as King of Solaria. There is a saying, from Earth I believe, that 'behind every great man is a great woman.'" He stopped for a moment and caught sight of Angel near the steps of the stage. "I'd like to introduce everyone to Princess Angel of Sparks," he said walking toward her and holding out a hand to her. She smiled and walked onto stage with his help. The crowd cheered politely. "Now, I can only hope that one day I will be a great man. But, Angel, I know that I can be a great man, and a great king, if you were behind me for the rest of my life. So, Angi," he reached into his pocket, pulled out the box, and got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?" He opened the box revealing a ring with a large diamond, a platinum band, and small diamonds surrounding the large one.

Angel's smile grew a few inches more as tears poured from her eyes. For a moment, she completely lost her voice, so she just nodded. Brandon, Jr. smiled and slipped the ring onto her finger and stood up to hug her. Angel threw her arms around him, holding him tightly. "Oh, I love you so much, Brand!" she finally managed to say through her tears.

In the crowd, Chase smirked and snickered while the rest of the crowd roared with applause. As fireworks began to go off in the background behind the happy couple, Chase managed to slip away from the crowd and make his way back to his hijacked ship where he could send a message back to Darcy. Serving her was much more fun than serving Krannert; the evil warlock only wanted to rule and marry Musa whereas Darcy was looking for the cruelest revenge she could manage. That's where Chase came into the picture, knowing the kids better than any other outlaw.

The sun had been set for no more than twenty minutes, but Celeste felt slightly weaker. This happened every time the sun set. She felt her strength slowly slip away, only to have it return immediately when the sun peaked up the next morning. She was standing on the balcony of her room looking out at the palace grounds. Angel was surrounded by girls, Daisy and Trend almost stapled to her side. About twenty feet off, Brandon was talking with the boys. Standing directly next to Brandon stood Mech. Celeste felt a few tears drip from her eyes as she watched the boy who she had once loved, still loved. More than anything, Celeste wanted to run to him and beg him to take her back. However, she knew that he wouldn't. Just as she wiped her cheeks, she heard the tapping of footsteps behind her. Not knowing who else could be in her room, she turned around and saw one of the least likely people she expected to see, yet, she wasn't completely surprised.

"Trine, you frightened me," Celeste said as she brushed past him back into her room and turned on the lights finally.

"I'm really sorry about that, Celeste," Trine apologized as he took a step closer.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Celeste asked. "I mean, I wasn't expecting you."

"Well, you disappeared from the festivities so quickly after Brandon proposed to Angel, I was wondering how you felt," Trine said in an oddly caring tone. "I wanted to make sure that you were okay. After all, it is your ball coming up in a few days, it wouldn't be fair if the whole kingdom was still talking about your brother and Angel this whole festival." He came closer so that he wasn't more than a foot away. He reached up and wiped the remaining bit of tear off her face so that she looked perfect again. "I just wanted to make sure that you're doing okay, is what I'm getting at."

Celeste nodded, then nuzzled her head into his hand still against her cheek. It felt good to have someone close to her again, someone she could turn to, to talk to when she was down, someone to help her get Mech out of her mind. She looked into Trine's dark blue eyes, appreciating for the first time how rich in color they were, and how deep the emotion in them was. "Would you kiss me, Trine?" she finally asked.

Trine looked at her surprised. This was what he wanted, but he had not expected it to come quite so quickly. However, he obliged and took another step closer, bent down, and pressed his lips to hers. Trine was impressed in the flavor of her kiss, the burst of sweet fruit and the scent of citrus in the air around her. Her lips were gentle, like silk, and the kiss was tender, yet passionate. Trine couldn't properly read the emotions coming from the kiss. He interpreted it as a deep, heart-felt longing she had hidden for him, not the determination to rid Mech from her mind.

Celeste's fingers slid into Trine's hair, pulling it from the style Trine had worked for hours to achieve, yet he didn't care. He instead pulled her closer to his body, pressing into her almost forcefully, trying to feel her properly through the fibers of their clothes. His hands slid slightly on the satin material and he lost his tight grip of her. He expected her to pull away, to try to play with his emotions and longing for her. He was used to girls that did that, dangled hearts on strings to disturb the owners. She didn't, however. Instead, she clung tightly to him.

In the end, it was him that finally broke away from her. They were both short of breath and their bodies were still pressed together tightly. Celeste took a step back, then turned away from him. Trine knew that he shouldn't have followed her in the first place, but he also knew that with Mech invading her home, she would be more vulnerable, and that it might be just what he needed to get closer to the Solarian princess. "I'm sorry, Celeste," he said slowly. "I guess I should be going now."

"No, Trine, don't," Celeste said as she turned back to him. "I just, I haven't felt that connected to someone since…"

"Since Mech?" Trine filled in.

Celeste nodded. "But, I'm just realizing that it had been several weeks before he broke up with me since he made me feel quite that alive. Or, at all alive. I knew he was going to break up with me weeks before he did, and I just felt so weak that I couldn't prevent it. It made me feel so powerless, and I hated the feeling. Like I was unworthy of his love or something."

Trine approached the princess again. "Celeste, don't let anyone make you feel unworthy. You're the most precious gem in the whole universe, and Mech made the biggest mistake in his life when he broke up with you. I never would have chosen the job over you. I can't tell you what he was thinking."

Celeste felt her eyes watering again. She felt weak and pulled her arms into her body as she fell into Trine's embrace. "He left me feeling so empty inside, Trine. It's been so hard for me to live from day to day without him. It wasn't fair what he did to me, making me feel so safe, then tearing it away from me." She felt Trine's strong arms wrap around her, and one of his hands began to stroke her hair. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Trine said. "But, what exactly are you thanking me for?"

Celeste looked up at him again. "Making me feel safe and loved again, Trine." This time, Trine didn't need a verbal invitation to bend forward and kiss her. This kiss quickly heated up, and suddenly, her mouth opened slightly and Trine lightly slipped his tongue inside. As their tongues pressed against each other, Trine held her close, and slowly backed her towards her bed, over the numerous shoes scattered about the floor.

Celeste fumbled as she worked on the buttons of Trine's shirt. She shivered slightly as she felt Trine's hands sliding down her back, pulling the zipper lower and her dress became looser. Finally, the last of the buttons of Trine's shirt had been undone and he shrugged it off his shoulders. Celeste slipped from the dress and felt very exposed. She still had on an under shirt and a slip that she had worn to protect her legs from the itchy fabric that made the dress skirt poof, but it was hardly anything.

Instead, she decided to concentrate on Trine's body. His physique was quite impressive. Though she had never seen any of the other boys without a shirt on, she knew that Trine's body was better, more built, except for possibly Marvel's. She traced a finger from his chin, down his neck, across a collarbone, over his pectorals, and between his eight pack of abs.

"Do you want me, Trine?" Celeste asked as her finger reached the top of his pants.

Trine looked deeply at the princess for a moment. "Only if you want me to have you, Cel."

At the sound of her nickname, Celeste closed her eyes. Mech had said he loved Cel on the television. She crawled onto Trine's lap and kissed him deeply again. "You have permission to do anything you want to with me," she said leaning back. Trine pulled her back to his lips as one hand slid up her leg under her slip.

Rodge looked at Violet as the two walked along the festival. They were headed toward the Ferris Wheel where the entirety of the Solarian palace and the surrounding landscapes could be seen. As a member of the IPRA Alpha Squad, it didn't take much for Rodge to realize that earlier in the afternoon, Violet's demeanor had changed, and she had yet to slip back to her normal self. He finally decided to ask her what was on her mind that was distracting her so.

Violet looked at him when he asked. She smiled slightly at him, pushed his brown hair from his amber colored eyes. "It's just that… have you ever seen someone and have a feeling that they were really someone completely different?"

"Like?" Rodge asked lifting an eyebrow.

"Like, okay, remember that guy I collided with over by the fortune teller?" Violet asked.

Rodge nodded slowly. "I believe I recall him. About half a foot taller than you, very yellowy blonde hair, blue eyes, I believe?"

"Well, I saw him several times throughout the day after that," Violet said. "I got this really weird feeling when we first collided, and every time I noticed him, he was about thirty feet away from my sister and watching her, or so it seemed."

"And you think that he's evil or something?" Rodge asked. "Like he's after something in your sister?"

"Well, yeah," Violet nodded as she started walking again. "But, it wasn't just that. There was a look that he got in his eyes after a moment after we collided. Like recognition. And, well, the whole thing sort of makes me think that he might be Chase."

Rodge looked at Violet for a moment. "Who?"

"Chase," Violet said. "He was Krannert's nephew and working undercover for Krannert against my friends and me. He was half dating my sister. He was the reason that our mission to save our parents almost failed."

"Well, we should go alert Idale about him, then," Rodge said. "Find him and question him. Find out if your suspicions are correct."

"No," Violet said. "They're ridiculous. I mean, it couldn't have been Chase. Chase is about a foot taller than me when I'm in heels, so unless he learned to shrink almost a whole foot and changed his eyes from yellow to a dark blue, and cut his hair that he was so proud of and treasured, I'm sure that it wasn't him."

"Are you sure?" Rodge asked.

"Yeah," Violet said. "I mean, I wouldn't want to worry everyone about a stupid feeling and a guy with a small crush on my sister or something. Or, maybe I'm just becoming paranoid after being stuck with my parents all summer long and I'm looking for something to endanger my sister so I can save her and gain my Enchantix." Violet sighed. "You know, my sister is one of the youngest fairies ever to gain an Enchantix. Only one fairy had ever done it at a younger age."

Rodge nodded. "That's interesting," he said. "Any reason she got it so young?"

"We started school a year earlier than most," Violet said. "Daisy and Celeste and me. Celeste and I, well, we still haven't gotten our Enchantix yet, so I don't think it's fair that Griselda is being so hard on us. I mean, on any written exam, we know what we're doing. I did better than Daisy on my written exams. But Celeste and I can't take our magic exams because we just don't have that kind of power."

"Look, Vi," Rodge started, but then stopped. "Is it even possible for you to get your Enchantix? I mean, being half witch and all. Isn't the Enchantix something that wholly good beings get? It pushes out all dark energy. In theory, the Enchantix would weaken you because half of your powers come from darkness."

Violet looked at Rodge and smiled. "You know, that never occurred to me, Rodge." They had just gotten to the Ferris Wheel and were able to skip most of the line with Rodge's Alpha Squad status. "I sometimes feel that my parents don't love me as much as my sister because I have dark powers, because I'm part witch and that I don't have my Enchantix."

Rodge laughed. "Don't be silly, Violet. From what I know of your parents, there is nothing that could make them love one of you more than the other. Sure, I never met either of them personally, but I've heard of them. Of all the stories of people I've ever heard, they are the last in the world that would favor one child over the other. Maybe if you didn't act out so much against them, they wouldn't have to be so harsh on you and you wouldn't feel that way."

"You sound like my aunt," Violet said. "That's the advice she gave me like a week ago."

Rodge smiled as they sat down and the wheel began to spin, bringing them up into the air so they could survey the whole of the Solarian royal grounds. "That's absolutely breath-taking," Rodge said.

"You should see it when the sunset is half way through," Violet said. "It's something you never forget."

Daisy, Angel, Trend, Mech, Brandon, and Marvel were all checking the different booths of the Festival. Suddenly, Daisy stopped in front of the fortuneteller. "Let's see what she has to say," Daisy said.

"You are aware that the likelihood that a fortuneteller being an actual precog and correctly predicting your future is so minuscule – " Mech began until the fortuneteller began to speak.

"You do not truly believe that I would fake my unique powers?" the woman asked. "Child, you feel that your boss claims fame for feats that he makes others believe they cannot perform. Am I correct? Do not fear, in five years, he expects you to be in his position, then you can decide how you want to run the business. He will speak to you before the ball of the girl your heart belongs to."

Mech stared at the woman. "You know this?"

"I know some of what will come, but I cannot see what you will say," the woman said. She looked at Daisy, then took the girl's hands. "My dear, you must forgive me to inform you of this, but your innocence is in danger. A betrayer aims to capture you, then break you. Be thankful of your sister."

"What do you mean?" Daisy asked.

"You will be drawn to him, and he will be evil," the woman continued. She turned to the others. "The princess is in grave danger. She will be attacked when at her weakest, unable to protect herself, and darkness will flood all the lands."

"Wait, what?" Angel asked.

"Yeah, could you, like, be more specific?" Trend asked. "I'm not too good as translating like that."

"The witch of darkness will recall her powers," the woman said.

"What," Angel's eyes grew wide. "The witch of darkness? You mean Darcy?"

"You know her?" the woman asked. "Yes, you fought her, in the past. You didn't know what you were doing, but were saved by with violet-eyed Specialist."

"What is she talking about?" Brandon asked. "Angel, is it true?"

"A little," Angel said, staring wide-eyed at the woman. She hadn't discussed what had happened when she went to the past in detail with a single soul, not even Brandon. The woman would have to have special powers to have known that.

"Where is Celeste?" Trend finally asked, noticing that the princess hadn't been with them since the sunset.

"I think she wanted to get to bed early tonight," Brandon said.

"Okay, where's Trine?" Marvel asked.

"I'm sure your young minds can figure that out," the woman said with a smirk. She looked at Daisy again. "Light can defeat darkness, but only darkness can withstand darkness when light is unavailable."

"Let's go," Marvel said.

"What did that mean?" Daisy asked when they were a bit away. "And why did she say that to me?"

"Only darkness can withstand darkness when light is not available," Mech repeated, then looked at his watch. "It's getting late. We should all get our rest, and I need to speak with Idale."

"Are you okay, Mech?" Marvel asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Mech asked.

"Nothing," Brandon said quickly. He nodded to Mech. "Well, we had all better be getting inside. Come on, you three."

"Night, Mech," Angel said as she turned inside.

Once inside the palace, Brandon and Marvel marched straight to Trine's room, not sure what they were thinking or expecting. When they burst in, they found it empty.

"You guys looking for me?" Trine asked from behind them. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were slightly wrinkled. His shirt wasn't buttoned and he was carrying his shoes.

Brandon narrowed his eyes, grabbed Trine's arms, and slammed him into a wall. "What did you do with my little sister?" he asked loudly.

Trine merely laughed. "Come on, Junior, nothing you've never done with your little Angel, and don't try to play all innocent with me, Angel has shared a lot of secrets with me that Marvel probably doesn't know about your relationship."

"Shut up, Trine," Brandon snapped. "Don't think about hurting my sister because if you do, I will snap you in half."

Trine smirked and pushed Brandon off him. "You really don't get it, do you?" Trine asked. "I'm not here to seduce your sister. If I just wanted sex, I'd get it from another, easier source. You just don't think it is possible for someone other than Mech to truly care about her. Well, it is. And, sure, I do realize how much more pure their relationship was than anything I could have with her, but that doesn't mean I'm going to constrict myself from trying."

"Good," the voice of Darcy said over the communication system that was built upon a different wave reception than any other to prevent messages from being intercepted. "You shall have your flower prize for your work, Chase."