The three of them walked around the estate.
"We probably wouldn't be able to see all of it in our lifetimes!"exclaimed Saturn. "It's so big!"
Diana nodded.
"It seems bigger than the Crystal Palace."she said.
"Bigger than all of Crystal Tokyo!"Small Lady added.
"Probably bigger than Earth."Saturn added.
Diana turned.
"I don't think so, Princess Saturn. Bigger than Crystal Tokyo, yes, but I don't think as big as Earth."she said.
"You sound like Mercury."Small Lady rolled her eyes. "She didn't really mean that! But there isn't anyone around. How're we going to know when it's time for dinner?"
"We're supposed to summon one of the staff."Diana reminded them.
They looked around. To the right was a lake, where a waterfall that descended from the mountains poured. Behind that, more mountains, next to the lake, several stone benches, with flowers around them. Before them, a grove of trees.
"Well, it looks like an orchard. Maybe if we can't go back in time, we could eat what's there."Diana suggested.
"What if it's not in season?"Saturn asked. "At least I don't see any fruit."
"I think it could be. At least some small ones, but they're still green."said Diana.
"I'm getting kind of hungry."Small Lady admitted. "Let's go."
They walked toward the trees. As they got closer to the orchard, they could, indeed, smell fruit. At least, the scent was sweet, and fruity. Looking, at the trees, they could see the greenish fruits hanging from the branches.
"Now to get to them!"
"Diana, you can jump up there!"Small Lady exclaimed.
Diana looked up at the tree branches.
"The fruits look awfully heavy."she said.
"Well, they have to get down here, anyway!"
Diana jumped off Small Lady's head, and climbed into the branches. She pulled off several of the fruits, and Small Lady and Saturn caught them. Diana jumped off, as they settled down.
"Ugh!"Small Lady spat the piece she'd bitten off. "They're awful!"
"And awfully hard!"Saturn exclaimed, coughing, with tears coming from her eyes. "And bitter! Yuck!"
"We're lost!"Diana added. "What are we going to do?"
"Wait until we're found?"Saturn suggested.
"But this place is huge! How will anyone ever find us?"said Small Lady.
"We could go back the way we came."Diana suggested.
"It's getting dark! And besides, what if we can't find our way back."
"And if it gets cold?"
They argued back and forth, ending up staying where they were in the orchard.
'I think there's someone coming!"Diana said. "I think I hear footsteps."
"It could be just an animal."
From among the trees, a figure emerged. It was a girl, dressed in the simplest, clothes, almost rags that either Small Lady or Saturn had seen. She was not well dressed like the one who had escorted them off the spaceship, and her hair was held back with a handkerchief.
"I was sent to look for you."she told them.
"Who are you?"asked Saturn.
"I was sent to look for you. The Lady sent for you."she said, simply.
"I asked who are you?"Saturn repeated.
The girl merely blinked, as though she didn't understand the question.
"I can take you back to the mansion."she said, holding out her hand.
"I guess we should go with her. After all, maybe she knows the way."Small Lady said.
As soon as all three of them had taken her hand, they felt the ground drop from under their feet, and saw a swirl of color, they could feel vibrating, they landed on their feet again, and found themselves inside a room. There was a table, and a supper ready. Amaterasu sat at the opposite end of the room.
"How did we get here?"asked Small Lady.
"Teleporting."Amaterasu told them. "As you can see, the estate is quite large, and that's one of the modes of travel we use here most."
"How did you find us?"Diana asked, astounded.
"The laborers kept an eye on you, of course. That's what they're there for. You only had to summon one of them."
They looked perplexed.
"They knew where we were?"Small Lady asked.
Amaterasu nodded.
"Of course. It's almost impossible to get lost here."
"I don't see how that's impossible. We got lost!"Small Lady answered.
"You only had to summon someone."
"How?"asked Saturn.
Amaterasu giggled.
"Oh, I suppose I forgot to tell you. You only summon them with your mind. You simply…think."she told them.
"Think?"
Amaterasu nodded.
"All the laborers on each estate, are bound to one Solarian, in this case, since this is my estate, me. However, they will also respond to your summons, and orders while you are here. It's not customary to have guests, of course, but…"Amaterasu spread her arms. "well, here you are! I suppose we could start."
She gestured toward the table. Small Lady and Saturn sat, and began to eat enthusiastically.
"I'm starving!"Small Lady said between bites.
Saturn nodded in agreement.
"We found some fruit."Saturn told her. "In an orchard. But it tasted awful!"
Amaterasu listened patiently, and nodded.
"Awful? I've never come across anything that comes off the trees that tastes awful. It wouldn't be grown if it did."she told them.
"They were green, and very, very hard. They hurt your teeth."
"Oh, you must mean the matums."Amaterasu smiled. "Oh, they're quite delicious, actually, if you eat them in jams, or puddings. They're extremely bitter, and hard when you try to eat them raw, but cooking makes them more edible. And very delightful, as well. You could have some of the paste, pudding, or pastries, for dessert. You'll see, they're much more pleasant once you boil them."she explained. "Besides, they smell so nice."Amaterasu looked thoughtful. "I've read in books, that people use things call perfume. I know because I've traveled from Solaria, and met people from other star systems. People do have a certain scent. Especially the Kinmokians. I don't know about the native population, but I know their princess does. I've smelled it even from a distance. Matums are one of the scents I like to keep about me. Sometimes I have the staff place them in the rooms. The scent stays in the room, then."
"They did smell nice."Saturn admitted.
Small Lady and Diana nodded. Amaterasu nodded, and smiled.
"Of course."she paused. "You took a while to teleport."she said.
"It happened really fast."Diana told her.
Amaterasu simply shook her head.
"I suppose you should get some sleep. Would you like someone to take you to your sleeping quarters?"she asked them.
Saturn nodded.
"We don't want to get lost again."
Almost immediately, a girl stood beside them.
"Done viewing."she said, as she watched their image leave.
She summoned the same girl who had teleported Small Lady and Saturn.
"The teleporting should have been immediately."Amaterasu told the girl in perfect Solarian.
"There was a disturbance."the girl answered in Solarian as well.
"Disturbance?"Amaterasu looked interested.
The girl nodded.
"It was like an outside force. It tried to stray us, and I lost control for a moment, but I regained it almost immediately. Very dark as well."
Amaterasu nodded, and ordered the girl to leave. So, it could affect others as well?she wondered. She was going to keep an especially close eye on them.