Serena woke early to find herself once again human. Not wanting to wake Wildwing, she quietly exited the room and grudgingly made her way to the kitchen. She was quite surprised to find Grin's giant form sitting at the small kitchen island, sipping hot tea. There was a faint smell of freshly brewed coffee.
"You're up early."
The goliath duck turned calm eyes to the young woman.
"I sensed unease in the air and now you've entered the room. It is not a coincidence this is the conclusion."
Serena sighed.
"You are correct: I'm afraid that unease you sense is my predicament you now see before you."
Grin raised a brow.
"I see no predicament, only that you are now human."
Serena moved to pour herself a cup of coffee with a sigh.
"That is the predicament. I don't understand Grin: any memory triggers the change but every morning I find I'm human again."
"As Master Tai Quack Do would say..."
"Why are you in a hurry? You have the patience of a rabbit geez." The two quoted simultaneously.
They then shared a smile and small laughter as she moved to sit at the island.
"Perhaps you are correct. I'll keep looking at my journal for clues."
Her smile faded around the edges, staring into her coffee.
"There is a human saying 'A penny for your thoughts'."
She looked up at Grin who held a small smile.
"Do not allow others to change your thoughts. We will find your answers and then we can go home."
She nodded, taking a sip.
Duke and Tanya appeared in the doorway, followed by a sweaty Mallory and a sleepy Nosedive.
"Good morning everyone." Serena chirped with a smile.
"Good morning your highness." Duke stated, moving to the fridge.
"You're back to human again?" Mallory said with a frown.
"Duke, please, call me Serena. And yes Mallie, it would seem as if that memory wasn't strong enough to break the spell."
Serena moved to whip up some pancakes, placing fresh orange juice in front of a sleeping Nosedive.
"Did you find anything else?" Mallory asked, gulping down a glass of water.
"I haven't checked again but I will after breakfast." Serena noted, pouring more mix into another skillet.
"If you need any help, please let me know."
"I will thank you."
"Lady Serena do you mind helping me with a small little project I've been working on? I think with the right chemical combination I can..." Tanya started.
"No way Tanya." Wildwing interrupted as he entered the kitchen. "The last thing we need is a pink-haired princess."
The team laughed and Tanya shrugged. The leader and princess shared a glance and she smiled bright.
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She sat curled up in one of the chairs in the arena watching the ducks practice, her open journal in her lap. So far nothing she read was really helpful. Of course the more she read the more memories came. But none of them were the memories she needed. Nothing sparked an idea of where the Citronian Crystal lay. A whoop had her looking up to see Nosedive steal the puck from Dive and rush off to try to score against his brother. Knowing the outcome, she glanced back down and started at the beginning of the journal.
'Momma says writing in this will preserve memories so this is what I'm going to do. Today these nice ducks saved Poppa from a mean person. Nosedive and Canard hit the mean man with their hockey sticks while Wildwing jumped in front of me. Poppa called them heroes and now we get to go play with them anytime I want. I'm so excited to have more friends other than the ladies that help me every day.
Lady Serena, age 8'
She smiled as the memory replayed in her mind and turned a few pages to continue on.
'Today was the first day I got to play hockey without guards to watch me. That's right: I've snuck out of the palace again. I know I shouldn't but I truly believe that momma knows. I even believe a few of the guards do as well. But in such a peaceful world and even with the vigilantes running around it is still okay for me to be alone. Canard thinks I'm doing good and Dive thinks girls shouldn't play. But Wildwing wants me to learn. I'm so glad he's my new best friend...but don't tell Dive. Lady Serena, age 13'
She giggled to herself and turned a few more pages.
"So...I know this is silly...but writing this out instead of speaking it seems to be the only way I can do this. Momma says sometimes just saying or writing it to yourself helps you have the courage to finally say it out loud. And even though I'm young, the feeling deep inside can only be explained in one sentence: I'm in love with my best friend Wildwing Flashblade. Lady Serena, age 16.'
Face bright red, she yelped and fell out of the chair onto the floor. The team all skid to a half, turning to where she'd fallen.
"Hey you Rini! What's with the yelp fest?" Nosedive asked.
"Is everything okay up there?" Duke asked.
"Yes yes I'm okay! Just had a flashback." Serena replied, scrambling for her journal.
'Is it a good or bad thing?" Wildwing asked.
It was silent before Serena stood and eyes widened. She looked down at the beautiful cream colored feathers covering her arms and looked up with a bright smile.
"very good actually."