For several moments, Dren stared at her blankly. Arranged to... marry? Sure, that was what many of the people of his realm did, but his mother had always been against it.

"Surprised?" Glacia asked, almost gleefully. "Wasn't expecting someone as pretty as me, were you?"

Dren felt disgusted by the words. She was quite beautiful, but from the first time he saw her, he could just tell that she was a snob. He suddenly stood up. "My Mother would never have allowed this to happen! What are you getting at?" He demanded.

Glacia looked startled by his sudden anger. "It's the truth!" She insisted. "Remember, your mother isn't here!" She narrowed her eyes. "Your father just wanted you out of his sight and you know it. Your Mom was the only one standing in his way"

Dren could hardly contain his rage at that last simple phrase. "How dare you say that?" He hissed. "I doubt you even know my family."

"Oh, so you don't remember me at all?" She looked disappointed. "I remember you." She smiled flirtatiously.

"Remember you...?" He was pretty sure he would have remembered someone so rude.

"Mhmm." She said. "We met in kindergarten." She chuckled, as if remembering something. "And you kissed me."

"What?" Dren said. "Okay, you know what, just go away, okay? I like someone else!"

"Aha! So you are love-struck." She said in a satisfied tone. "Well, too bad for you." She gave him one last contented smile, and briskly left the room.

Dren sat back down on his bed, shaking with anger. What was this girl's problem? Barging into his room, basically telling him that his parents didn't care about him, and randomly saying that they had to get married! What was this all about, anyway? Either way, there was no way he was going to let his father tell him what he had to do. In fact, he decided that going to talk to him right now was probably the best thing to do.

l*l*l*l*l*l*l*l

Dren silently approached the heavy, wooden door that led to his father's study. After lightly tapping on the door, he heard his father's gruff voice. "I hope this is important; come in."

Dren swung the massive door open, and entered. "Ah, my son. Received a visit from an old friend, is that right?" His father looked amused as he said it.

"That's what I have come to talk to you about." Dren said, trying to keep calm. He knew his father was not one to trifle with. After hearing his father's continuous silence, he took a shaky breath and said, "Remember how Mother always used to say marriage was never complete without love?" He asked, choosing his words carefully.

"Of course I do." His father replied. "But as she found out, arranged marriages can turn out to be good." He smiled, indicating to himself.

"Yes father." Dren agreed. "But, she told me that she got lucky. She said that most of her friends were unhappy with their marriages. All of them had someone they truly loved, whom they had to leave behind for their betrothed." He looked down, trying to find the right words to say. "Anyway, you don't think I could possibly be right for that... that... little brat." He scowled at the thought of the girl.

"That's not what matters." His father replied bluntly. "What matters is that you get married soon and start a family. Once the humans are destroyed, we need to increase our sparse numbers." Then he added, "You are 17 now. That is the suitable age to marry."

"Why can't we do things the way humans here do?" Dren continued. "Why can't we marry when we want - and to whom we want? It seems much more logical to me."

At that, his father had a sudden glint of rage in his amber eyes. "What the humans do does not matter to me." The bitterness in his voice seemed to drill through Dren's mind, almost causing him to lose site of what he wanted. "You see what the humans do, and you see where they have ended up!" His stare continued to pierce through Dren, making him feel weak and powerless. "Now, I want you to be happy with the lovely young lady we have chosen for you. I don't know who you are referring to, if anyone, when you speak of love, but let me tell you this; Love is a weakness. Think of that Zoey girl, and how she got in the way of your plans?" He smiled bitterly when he saw the drop of confidence in Dren's pale face. "Ah, yes. You remember don't you? Yes, Sardon was sure to tell me all about it. Just remember, it was all.. because.. of you. It was because of you and your silly feelings that Sardon failed to defeat those Mew Mews. Just remember all those opportunities that he had that you interfered with! Remember those times, Dren. Love is a weakness."

Dren clenched his fists, and looked at his feet. He could feel the anger surging through him. Why was his father being like this? He loved his mother, didn't he? "You're wrong, Father!" He yelled. "And nothing you can say will make me change my mind!" With that, he fled the room, then the building, and the courtyards, and into a golden field; cluttered by sunny marigolds and cheerful chrysanthemums, and choked by black-eyed susan vines. Lonely white willows were scattered here and there, shading some of the brightness of the golden flowers.

Dren paused, taking in the scene. Normally, he never really took notice of things like this - but it suddenly struck him that there was beauty left in this world. Not everything was perfect, but it wasn't all destroyed.

He suddenly fell back on his back onto the endless cushion of flowers. He could feel his eyes stinging from dismay. What if they destroyed everything on this planet, and nothing like this came back? What if they tried to start from scratch, but everything was gone; barren; just like their planet? These thoughts began to force their way into his mind, making him wonder why he ever re-signed up for this project.

He suddenly sat up. He had a sudden feeling that he wanted to see Sophie, and talk to her. She seemed like an understanding person; maybe she could tell him what to do.

With that, he closed his eyes, and pictured in his mind Sophie's face, and after feeling a gust of wind, he was suddenly outside Cafe Mew Mew, only a few feet away from Sophie, who was sitting by a tree, with her chin resting on her hands. She looked up, startled - and quickly got to her feet, and began to bolt towards the Cafe door. But before she could make it within five feet of the entrance, Dren teleported in front of her.

Sophie halted. "What do you want, Dren?" She demanded.

Dren suddenly remembered that during their last encounter, he had tried to kidnap her again. "Umm, sorry about before." He stammered, "I just need to talk to you."

Sophie gave him a dis-trustful look and began to take off in another direction, only to see Dren teleport in front of her again.

"Why do you keep coming to look for me?" She questioned, and, without thinking, "If you want to ask me out, all you have to do is ask!" She covered her mouth with her hand, as if she hadn't meant to say it.

"Well, I figured if I did, I didn't have a chance, but since you suggested it - will you go out with me?" Dren could feel his heart rising in his chest.

Sophie bit her lip and looked down. "So... You really are sorry about what happened earlier?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah." Dren said sincerely. "I.. it's my father." He said, giving the ground a side-ways stare.

"I understand." Sophie said quietly. "I try to live up to my parents' expectations too, but sometimes it's better to listen to what your heart tells you." She looked up and added, "Erm, well - where do you want to go anyway?"

Dren straightened, completely forgetting the fact that he didn't know any of the places on this planet, except for a place called McDonalds and another called Wendy's, but both he heard were not somewhere you would take someone on a first date. "Uh, how about you choose?" He asked, trying to avoid the fact that he didn't know his way around.

Sophie smiled in a teasing way. "How about that little ice cream shop I met you at?" She suggested.

Dren sighed quietly in relief. "Sounds good to me. I like this ice cream stuff that you humans make."

"Churrrr, I still need to check up with my parents!" Sophie exclaimed, then a puzzled look washed across her face. "Did I just say... Churr?"

"Must be a fox sound." Dren replied simply. "Zoey says 'Nya', like a kitten. Apparently your Mew Mew symptoms are coming slower than the others'." Then he added, "It sounds kind of cute."

After shooting him an awkward glance, Sophie sighed. "This is getting weirder all the time. Well, I better get going - see you at the ice cream shop at... 3:00?"

"Fine with me." Dren said, and he vanished, appearing in his over-sized bedroom. "I'm definitely not going downstairs." He mumbled to himself as he locked the oak-wooden door of his room.

Suddenly a thought came to him. He had heard from people that you should make yourself look nice for a date. He always looked good, right? He sighed. Maybe he should wear something different.

He began to rummage in the dusty old wardrobe on the wall opposite the bed. It was full of clothes from at least a century ago and they all had clearly belonged to someone about his and size, but none of them he had ever seen anyone wearing out on the streets here. He pulled out a red waist-coat with gold trim, and a pair of khaki breeches. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, "These all smell of mold! I've heard that on dates, you should smell nice too."

He sighed as he put the severely out-dated clothing back in the wardrobe. "Oi." He said to himself. "Why did I sign up for this? Stalking is so much easier."

l*l*l*l*l*l*l*l

Sophie slowly stepped up to the big red doors of her home, considering what she should say. She peeked in the window to see lights on, and her parents quietly sitting at the couch, watching TV. She wondered why they looked so calm and relaxed. Surely they were wondering where she was at!

Sophie took a deep breath and entered the house. The cozy smell of the crackling fire greeted her as she stepped inside.

"Oh! Sophie, you're back! I was wondering when you'd show up." Her Mom said casually.

"Uhm..." Sophie started. "You... weren't worried? I was gone overnight."

Her Mom laughed. "I know you choose your friends well - and that Bridget girl seems like such a sweet heart."

"Oh! Riiight." Sophie said, blushing in embarrassment. Of course they had contacted her parents! She sighed in relief.

"Well, you're just in time for lunch!" Her Mom said happily. "I made chili, and it's nearly done. Would you set the table please, dear?"

"Sure thing." Sophie replied as she entered the kitchen and began to collect three sets of dishes. As she began to lay them out, she started to wonder what she should wear for this afternoon. She was thinking her black, paint-splatter effect T-shirt, the jeans she was wearing now, with perhaps a chain hooked to the belt, and, of course - her favourite fingerless gloves. As she thought about these things, she glanced at the window to see a flash of blue. Sophie rubbed her eyes, and stared again, but nothing happened.

"Crazy fox instincts." she said to herself. "Okay! Table's all set!" She said loudly so her parents could hear.

After they were seated, and their food dished out, Sophie began to take off her gloves as she normally did when she ate. As she pulled off the right one, she noticed a pink spot on her hand. She rubbed her hand, expecting it to come off - but rather, as she looked closer, she saw that it was in the shape of a twinkling star. "Crap." She muttered as she pulled her gloves back on. Yet another side-effect of being part animal, I presume? She thought to herself.

She hurriedly finished her lunch, and went up to her room. It was 1:15, so she had lots of time to get ready.

After showering, blow-drying and straightening her hair, and re-doing her makeup, she went to go sit down on her bed. It was now 2:30. She picked up a book and began reading, but kept losing her place since she couldn't seem to focus.

After what felt like an hour, it was 2:47. "Better get going." She said to herself, and she headed down the stairs. "I'm going out for a while!" She said quickly to her parents as she headed out the door. "I have my phone with me, and it's charged - so you can call if you need to." she added as she quickly shut the door and headed down the street. It was about three miles away, so she didn't mind walking.

She was half way there when she saw Dren suddenly appear in front of her, nearly making her topple over in surprise.

"Hey little fox, I came to pick you up." He said, holding out his hand.

Sophie raised an eyebrow. "You sure you aren't going to turn me in to the bad-guys again?"

"Promise." Dren replied.

"Okay." She said quietly, putting her hand in his. She had Zoey on her phone now, so she could call if things went wrong.

But the suspicion was for nothing, for she quickly found herself right outside the cute little ice cream shop they had met at.

Out of no where, Dren suddenly gave her a hug. A startled Sophie said, "Uhh, Dren? What was that for?"

He quickly pulled away, turning bright red. "I read somewhere that girls on this planet like hugs." He put his hand behind his head, avoiding eye contact.

Sophie laughed. "We do. But that was a little... random."

"Okay, got it." He said quietly. He couldn't possibly look any more embarrassed. "I have a question." he added.

"Okay, what's that?"

"Is Yahoo Answers reliable?"

Sophie laughed. "Sometimes. But not all of the time. Sometimes you get people who just tease you, if they think the question is obvious, or ridiculous. Why?"

"Umm, so are lizards a good gift for someone?"

Sophie gaped. "You didn't..."

"What? No!" He said, quickly throwing something out of his pocket. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Yeah, but you'll pick it up on your own."

Dren sighed. "Okay... so, shall we go in now?"

"Yeah, that might be good." Sophie said, and they quickly entered the shop.

Suddenly Dren paled. "Uhh, so how do we get the food? I can see it behind the counter - but how do you get it?"

Sophie bit her lip. "You have to.. well, buy it." She said as kindly as she could.

"Oh.. with what?" He asked as Sophie's eyes widened in disbelief. "It's just, where I come from, if you 'go out to eat', you normally just go up to a rack, take the food you want, and go sit down and eat. Everything comes in a small amount, since there isn't a lot of food, but you don't have to trade anything for it. The food storage is for everyone's use."

"That's... um, different..." Sophie said. "How about I buy the ice cream?" she decided. "Come one, come pick out what you want."

Dren stepped up to the counter and looked up at the menu. "Wow," he said, "I've never had anything like that before." He pointed up to a banana split.

"Oh, those are really good. I'll get you one and you can tell me what you think." She said. "One banana split, and a fudge waffle cone, please." She said to the guy at the counter who was looking at Dren strangely.

"Uhm, yeah okay." He said rather absently. "Are you... in the circus or something?"

Sophie glanced at Dren, and realization set it. She had gotten so used to seeing Dren's large elf ears, that she hadn't even thought of it! "We, uh, just got back from a costume party. He's an elf, and I'm.." She paused for a moment, trying to think of something embarrassing. Suddenly she remembered when she messed up on singing in a talent show. She felt her tail and ears pop out as she said, "A fox!"

The guy's eyes widened. "Wow. That was cool... and creepy. Anyway, your ice cream will be done in about twenty minutes, the ice cream machine isn't functioning properly."

After receiving another strange look, Dren and Sophie went to sit down.

"Okay." Dren said quietly. "What was that all about?"

"You can't tell people you're an alien!" She hissed quietly. "You'll be turned into the government for experiments or something!"

"What's the government?"

Sophie sighed. "A band of evil, power-hungry people who want your money."

"Oh." He said. "Now, this money stuff is what you trade for food and other things, right?"

Sophie fell forward, putting her head in in he arms. "Yes, Dren."

He had a sudden miserable look on his face. "I'm sorry." He said. "I'm hopeless, aren't I?"

Sophie looked up and sighed. "No. It's fine. I'm just not - hey, what's that?" A flash of blue like the one she saw earlier appeared in one of the nearby windows.

"What's what?" Dren asked, turning to look in the direction she was staring.

"I thought I just saw... another alien. With blue hair."

Wow, this chapter ended up being pretty long. :) So, a certain blue-haired alien is now following Sophie around. Can you guess who? ;) Find out what happens next time!