The day after Sailor Nova's "death" was dreary, as if even the weather was aware of the grief of a certain teenage boy. That afternoon, at his house, the phone rang. "Hello?" Daran's mother, Rena, said as she answered it. "Oh, hello, Allison. How are you?" "What?!?" "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" she exclaimed, eyes filling up with tears. "How did it happen?" "Car accident?" "When is it?" "Yeah, I should tell him... but I don't know how!" "Yeah, I guess... do you want me to bring you and Ryan any meals?" "All right, I'll bring something over tomorrow for lunch and dinner." "Take care." "Goodbye." She hung up and walked over into the kitchen to grab a tissue and blew her nose.
Daran walked in. "Hi, Mom," he said. He went over to the pantry and grabbed a snack, then sat down at the table heavily and laid his head down with a thud.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, wondering if somehow he had already heard.
Daran did not answer her. He simply sighed and shifted his position slightly.
Rena sat down next to her son and put her hand on his shoulder. "Daran, there's something I need to tell you."
"What is it," he said in a low tone of voice, the question becoming a statement.
"Well, I was just called a moment ago... you probably heard it ring... and found out from her mother that April died in a car accident as she was driving home from a friend's house last night."
Daran looked over at his mother in shock, tears welling up in his eyes. "April died in a car accident last night?"
Rena nodded, unable to speak. After her voice returned, she said, "The funeral is a week from Sunday. Will you be going?"
He nodded, his face a mask of suppressed anguish. Seconds later he dashed out of the room and up the stairs. As soon as he reached his room he slammed the door shut and broke down in tears, pounding his fist on his bed and soaking his pillow. April... why? Why did you have to be so noble and sacrifice yourself in the process? Why did you have to leave me here, all alone?
[Is she truly dead?]
Abruptly his tears stopped. Wait a second! Since when did April die in a car accident? She died in my arms from using up all of her energy so that she didn't even have enough left to keep her alive! It must be just some way that her parents are keeping the truth a secret from the world. Daran frowned. But where did that thought come from... I smell a fish... I'm going to call her mother and see if I'm right in assuming that it's a cover story or if something else is going on...
* * *
April sighed heavily. This is all so weird... why did I ever agree to do this for Violet? I don't know her all that well, and now my life is a wreck... whatever she needs me for, she better have me do it soon, otherwise I'll feel certain that all this was a waste! Shifting the bag of groceries to her other arm, she reached into her purse for her apartment key and entered.
Placing the bag on the counter, she walked over to the window and gazed outside. This view of the ocean is so much different than the forests I'm used to… back home... which is a few hundred miles away. Wiping away a tear, she left the apartment and retrieved the mail. All but one envelope was addressed to Ariana Watson. The other was addressed to June Watson. That would be me, April thought dejectedly. But why would I get mail? She returned to the apartment and sat down to read the letter.
Dear April,
I am, as you can probably see by the postmark, right now in Afghanistan finishing up what will be my last case with the AIA. It'll be my last because the Agency is going to think that I've been killed in the line of duty. You're probably wondering how I will do this. I rigged a message that will be sent to them in a few days that says I was captured by terrorists who apparently thought that I was a civilian (I speak the language well), but then found out that I was an agent and killed me. It has a few holes, but they're terrorists (and don't speak English well), so the Agency should believe it. If not, I tried my best.
Since I'm returning to Arist on Thursday, we will be leaving this weekend. I believe that you haven't forgotten why I asked you to go through all of this for me. Well, it all starts on Friday night. So you need to pack everything you have and have it ready to go by then. April, you have no idea how much I appreciate all of this, and I promise that everything will begin to make sense soon. I just wish I didn't have to keep you in the dark so much about all this, but it's what I've been told to do. I'll see you soon. "Violet"
She's going by what she's been told to do? I wonder who's giving her the orders... well, at least I now know I'll be getting some answers soon. April set the letter down and picked up the envelope. The postmark said that it had been mailed Thursday. Well, since it's Monday, I've got three days to make sure I have everything and am ready for the new life that awaits me. I really have to wonder why on earth I agreed to all of this...
* * *
That afternoon Daran left a message on his mother's cell phone letting her know that he was going over to a friend's house and would be back later. He grabbed his car keys and drove over to April's house to talk to her mother. He parked in the driveway and rang the doorbell.
Allison answered it. "Hello, Daran," she said, her eyes tinged with red.
"Hello," he replied, looking little better.
"Come on inside." She led him into their living room and sat down in an armchair. Daran sat on the couch across from her. Taking a deep breath, Allison said, "You asked me on the phone if I knew anything that was different about April, but you didn't elaborate very much."
"My older sister was in the room, and I didn't want to say anything in front of her."
"Do you think you could tell me what you meant?"
"I'm not exactly sure how to say this... "
April's mother waited patiently.
"Did you know of her... unique skills?"
"Unique?"
"That she... that she was a... Scout?"
"Oh, yes, she was a Girl Scout when she was younger."
Daran paused for a moment to let his rising irritation simmer down somewhat. He opened his mouth to say something else when Allison held a hand up. "Yes, I know that she was a Sailor Scout by the name Sailor Nova."
His eyes widened in surprise. "You do? Did she tell you?"
"No."
His eyes narrowed. "If you don't mind my asking... if she didn't tell you, how do you know?"
Her mother looked away from him and out the window, a single tear tracing its way down her cheek. "It's a very long story."
"I'm listening."
She looked straight into his eyes. "I need you to promise me something: you must promise never to tell anyone else what I am about to tell you."
"I promise," he replied solemnly.
Allison sighed and leaned back in the chair. "And please be patient. This will take a while." She was silent for a moment, and then began the story. "April is not my biological daughter."
"Yes, she told me that she was adopted."
"But, she is related to me. Rather, she is related to my husband, distantly." She looked at Daran again. "This is going to sound crazy... actually, I know what will explain this the best. Wait here for a moment." She walked up the stairs into her bedroom and came back about five minutes later with a few sheets of paper in her hand. She handed them over to the young man before sitting back down again. It took him a few minutes to read it through.
When he finished, he looked up at April's mother, a shocked expression on his face. "This is all true?"
"Yes."
"Can you explain a few things?" Daran then proceeded to ask about all of the parts of the letter that he did not understand.
Over half an hour later, Allison said, "And that's about all I know."
Daran leaned back, trying to let it all soak in. "So she's not dead?"
"No."
"But... to me, it sounds like that, to us at least, she almost is dead."
With tears in her eyes, her mother said, "We'll never see her again."
Wordlessly he handed the letter back over to Allison, said goodbye, and left. Once he returned home, he immediately went up to his bedroom, shut and locked the door, and cried for an hour. You are dead to me now, April. I know you are alive out there, somewhere, but I will never see you again... and that is worse than thinking that you're truly dead.
* * *
April turned on the living room lamp and sat down after she had changed into the clothes she slept in on Wednesday night. She sighed heavily, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes. Almost immediately she opened them again. I don't even want to think anymore. My grief is my constant companion, and a cruel one at that. Every time I close my eyes, Daran's image swims up into view, and just after I see his face I see the faces of my parents and other friends. This is so hard! Why does Violet keep telling me that this is the way it has to be? Why must I fulfill those stupid legends, anyway? They're just legends... nothing concrete. Though it is strange that they forecasted my becoming a Sailor Scout... and that I would have a cat... and that I would have a Protector...
"April? Are you all right?" Vega asked as she trotted into the room.
The princess of Byrista sighed again. "I don't know if I'll ever be all right again, Vega. Why me? Why does it have to be me?"
The brown cat did not answer. Instead she rubbed her face against April's leg and jumped up onto her lap.
April looked down at her cat. "I'm just glad I was able to take you with me. If I had had to leave everything behind... I probably would have broken down or something."
Vega curled up in her companion's lap and began to purr. April absentmindedly stroked her head and slowly drifted off to sleep.
A loud knock on the door woke her up four hours later. April slowly sat up as she tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes. Vega had already woken up and was trotting over to the door when the knock sounded again. "April, I'm not tall enough to get the door, so you'd better do it."
"I'm coming," she replied sleepily. She rubbed her eyes and rolled her head around as she tried to work out the kink in her neck from her odd sleeping position. April heard a pop and grimaced. "Vega... the next time I fall asleep in a chair, wake me up, okay?"
"You mean it's uncomfortable to sleep in a chair? I've always thought it was rather pleasant," the cat replied, feigning ignorance.
"Vega, this is not the time for sarcasm," April said irritably.
"Sorry."
A moment later April opened the door to see Violet standing there. Her hair was somewhat mussed and her clothing a bit disheveled. "Is something the matter, Violet?"
"I'll explain inside," she whispered.
April moved back to allow the older princess entry. After closing the door behind them and leading her into the living room, she repeated her question.
"Oh, I just had a bit of trouble that I had to take care of... that's all."
"Trouble?"
"Things are moving much faster than I had anticipated. Indeed, they are moving faster than even our tacticians back home had expected."
"What kind of things?"
"Remember the problem I spoke of when we first met? That of Admiral Gitran and his forces?"
"Yes..."
"He sent some of his people after me."
"What? How was he able to locate you?"
"Canada is not as densely populated as Arist is, which was to his advantage, and he must have discovered my alias—I was stupid enough to rent this apartment under that name."
"So... why didn't he send people after me, then?"
"My guess is that they were to take me out first, then come after you."
"Oh. How did you take care of them?"
"Simple. I powered up."
"You... powered up?" April's expression betrayed her bewilderment.
"Yes. I didn't explain it to you, did I?"
The younger girl shook her head.
Violet proceeded to explain as quickly as she could.
April's eyes were wide by the end of Violet's speech. "Whoa... you can really do all of those things?"
"Uh-huh."
"Did Gitran's people know?"
"Obviously not. They were completely taken by surprise."
"Did any get away?"
Violet frowned. "Not any that attacked me, no."
What about communications?
The girl blinked, then did as she -- so she assumed -- had thought of. "Is it possible that they had some sort of coordinator or something? Someone they were able to communicate with?"
"What are you getting at, April?"
What if they know...?
"What if they were able to notify someone about your special talents? Then that information would certainly get to this admiral person, and I don't think that would be a good thing."
The other princess looked at her in shock. "Now that you mention it, I did notice one of them—one of the last I took out—talking to himself, or so I thought. He must have been talking to another person on the strike team." Violet pounded her fist down on the coffee table and neatly cracked it down the middle. "Oops. I guess I forget my own strength sometimes," she said sheepishly. The princess of Yavinia then looked directly at April. "That's quite a mind you have there. Now, we ought to be going—there's no time to lose."
April frowned inwardly before returning to the conversation. Were those thoughts really mine? Suddenly she thought she felt an alien presence, but just as she mentally reached out to it, the sense vanished.
"Give me a chance to get into some better clothes, first," she said aloud, wrenching her mind back to the conversation by glancing down at the oversized T-shirt and running shorts she had on.
"Are you pretty much packed?"
April nodded.
"Five minutes, then."
She nodded again and left the room. Less than five minutes later she had returned, wearing a light blue blouse and black jeans. April was also carrying her two suitcases and her backpack. Vega trotted along at her side. "I'm ready, Violet," she said, the words coming out a bit reluctantly.
Violet noticed. She's hesitant. I don't blame her. I would be too, if I were in her shoes. Thankfully, I'm not... but I'd better keep her feelings in mind. "Let's go, then," she said aloud, leading the other girl out of the apartment and shutting the door behind them.
"What about the apartment?" April asked.
"One of my people is going to take care of it. Come along. We have a shuttle to catch."
"A shuttle? What type?"
"Lambda-class, I believe."
"Spiffy."
"Spiffy?" Violet repeated with a chuckle.
April glared at her, the expression more harsh than she had intended. "Yes, spiffy. Unlike you, I grew up with this area's technology. The most advanced thing I've been in is an airplane."
The older girl blinked, then laughed. "True." Taking the lead again, Violet walked down the pathway onto the sidewalk with April in tow. Since it was early in the morning, the moon had already set and the sun had yet to rise. The sky was very black, and the stars' pinpoints of light did little to break its ominous coloring. If it had not been for the streetlights, it would have been difficult to see one's hand even if it was six inches away from one's face.
"Where are we headed?" April asked after walking for about ten minutes.
"The large field behind the elementary school not too far from here. It should only be about another ten minutes' walk."
About that amount of time later they arrived at the field.
"I don't see anything," April commented with a frown.
"Wait." Seconds after her observation an odd shimmering appeared about one hundred feet from where they were standing, and a shuttle appeared on the field after the shimmering had faded. "A cloaking device," Violet explained.
"How did the pilot know we were here? I thought one couldn't see through a cloaking shield either way," April said with a frown.
The older princess glanced at her in surprise. "Good observation there—but over the years we've developed a cloaking shield which one can see out but not in."
"Nice."
April walked behind Violet as they approached the ship, the former staring at it in awe. With a quiet hum of moving hydraulics the boarding ramp lowered for them. Violet walked up it with the ease of having done so many times, while April came slower, her eyes darting everywhere as they took in every detail of the ship. Once the two were inside, the ramp rose back into place, effectively sealing the ship back up again.
The thud of the ramp returning to its original position made April jump. This is really happening. I'm really leaving everyone behind. I'll never ever see any of them again. Cara, Mariel, Alice, Brian, Mom, Dad, and... Daran. They're gone, and gone forever. It's like they all died... A single tear slipped down her cheek and dripped onto the metal floor of the cabin with a plinking sound.
Violet walked over to the girl she was beginning to consider as a friend and put her arm around her shoulders. "Why don't I show you the cockpit?" she asked gently.
April blinked rapidly and glanced over at her. "Really?"
"Why not?" she asked with a grin. "This way." The two walked down the corridor into a small cabin, which held four seats, three large viewports, and a lot of buttons, dials, levers, and other types of controls.
The pilot typed in a command and then turned to face them, a roguish grin on his face. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Princess?"
Violet laughed outright as he stood. "Aaron! How did you manage to get away from your work?" she asked as she moved to embrace him.
"Trade secret," he said with a wink.
"Whatever, mister."
"Actually, your father asked me if I wanted to pick you up. He told me I deserved a break, and that the trip would do me good."
She laughed again, but stopped short as she remembered something. Taking a step back, she said with a more formal note in her voice, "Aaron, I would like you to meet Crown Princess April Winslow of Byrista."
"It is an honor, Princess," he said with a bow, his tone as formal as Violet's. "We've been waiting for your return for almost fifteen years."
"April, this is Aaron King, Yavinia's foremost weapons specialist."
"And all-around good-looking guy, of course," he added with another grin.
April chuckled. "Are all weapons specialists like him?" she asked Violet with a raised eyebrow, pointing a thumb at Aaron.
"Nah. Most are much more handsome." With a critical eye, she appraised him for a moment. "I'd say he's one of the uglier ones."
"Ugly? Did you just call me ugly?" he said with an indignant look.
"Princesses shouldn't lie," Violet replied loftily.
Their insults went south from there. April took the chance to appraise him for herself while they fenced with words. Aaron King did not look like a typical specialist. He looked to be almost six feet tall, and he had short yellow-blond hair that seemed to have been bleached by sun exposure. His face and arms were tan, also giving rise to the appearance of being outside a lot. He had greenish-blue eyes that sparkled when he laughed, and he also looked like he either participated in sports or worked out. April guessed him to be in his late twenties, at most.
"Okay, Aaron, that's enough," Violet said with a grin. "I don't think that April wants to hear any more insults out of us. Besides, we need to get home. There's a lot to be done."
"That's for sure," Aaron agreed, his expression turning serious. He sat back down in the pilot's chair and began hitting buttons as he prepared for liftoff.
April frowned as she noticed something. "Don't you need a copilot?"
"This is our latest version of a Lambda," he told her without looking up. "One of Alendre's spacecraft designers figured out how to eliminate the need of a copilot by reworking the cockpit system about twenty-three years ago. This freed up a number of pilots for both military and commercial jobs."
"Oh."
"April, why don't we get settled for liftoff?" Violet suggested. "I doubt you want to carry those bags around for the entire flight."
"No, I don't. Thanks." Violet led her back out of the cockpit, through the main cabin, and into the cargo hold. There she deposited the luggage on a metal shelf and strapped it in. There was nothing else in the hold. April was then taken back to the main cabin, where Violet showed her how to strap in. Shortly afterward they lifted off after reengaging the cloaking shield. As the minutes ticked by April's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until finally she drifted off to sleep.
"She's dead!" Sailor Moon cried out in anguish.
Everyone assembled began to weep at her words. The Protector exclaimed, "It's all my fault! It's my fault she's gone!"
April wanted to tell him that he was completely wrong, that it was not his fault, but her body would not respond as a result of the death technique she had used. "Why didn't Violet tell me how to end it early?" she wondered to herself.
A scream rang out. It was Sailor Mercury's. Cerzite had returned to life.
"What? But Sailor Nova killed you!" Sailor Jupiter gasped in shock.
He cackled. "You really think that pathetic girl's attack would take care of me? Think again. And now she's dead." He tutted in mock sorrow. "What a pity."
Enraged, the Protector launched a full-scale energy attack at him. The dust cleared, and not a single mark had been made on him! "What the... " he said, stunned.
"Let's look at the logic here," Cerzite said, pretending to think. "The dead Sailor's largest attack could not defeat me, and now you think you can? How silly." He struck next. The blow was physical, rather than an energy attack. His left fist connected sharply with the Protector's jaw and sent him sailing. The Protector did not move after hitting the ground.
April tried to scream his name, but her efforts were in vain. Her body had been immobilized, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Sailors Mercury and Jupiter attacked next, concerting their efforts. Cerzite called up a shield of energy just as the force hit him. The only effect it had on him was the fact that he was slightly winded. Both girls' mouths hung open in astonishment.
Cerzite replied with his own attack again—this one a barb of energy that drove straight into Jupiter's heart. The young woman was thrown to the ground by the blow and crumpled on the sidewalk in a heap.
"Sailor Jupiter!" Sailor Moon screamed and dashed to her friend's side. One look betrayed the truth. "No!" she cried as the tears began rolling down her cheeks.
"What's the matter, Moon girl? You upset about your friend? Well, don't be. You'll be joining her soon! But first, there is another I will take care of." Conjuring up another barb, he threw it at the downed Protector, also hitting him in the heart. The Protector's body jerked once, then remained still.
April woke up panting.
"Are you all right?" Violet queried, a worried frown creasing her features.
"Yeah... I had a nightmare... the same one I've been having ever since the night I 'died,'" she said, still breathless.
"What type of nightmare?"
April told it to her.
She looked at her in shock once April had finished. "And you've been having that almost every night?"
The younger princess nodded. "At least once a night... but for some reason I didn't have it while I slept on the chair in the apartment earlier tonight."
"That's good."
"Yeah." April glanced out the viewport. "How much longer until we get there?"
"About thirty minutes."
She frowned. "How long was I asleep?"
"Only about an hour."
April's eyes widened. "It only takes an hour and a half for this ship to travel over four thousand miles?"
"I guess so."
"Wow... cool." She looked out the viewport again. "I wonder if he knows I'm still alive."
"You mean Daran?"
"Yeah."
"How would he know?"
April shook her head. "I have no clue. Maybe he's better off thinking that I'm dead than knowing I'm still alive but will never see me again."
"You mean unlike yourself."
April nodded. "I miss him so much, Violet. Much more than you can imagine."
The other princess hesitated at the younger girl's words, then sighed. "I'm sorry it had to be like this—truly, I am."
"Why? Why did it have to be this way? Why couldn't he at least know the truth? And why couldn't he come with me?"
"April, I wish I knew. I'm as much in the dark as you are when it comes to why, for all your questions. But... why would you want him to come with you? This is going to be fairly dangerous, you know."
"So? We've faced a lot of danger together in the past. We made a good team. I looked out for him, and he looked out for me. It worked out well. He's a fast learner, and I know he could use his quick reflexes with a blaster—he'd be able to protect himself."
"But would he leave his family?"
That brought the younger princess up short. "I... I don't know."
There was a brief pause before Violet spoke up again. "April, I know what it's like to leave someone you love with the knowledge that you'll never see him again."
The younger princess' head jerked up sharply, and she stared at Violet for a moment before replying, "Really? What happened?"
The young saiyan sighed again. "Earlier this evening I explained to you that I am a saiyan. You understand that concept now, right?"
April nodded.
"All right. There are other saiyans on the earth, who for some reason scare my parents. They told me a few years ago that I was not to see them again after I told my parents about meeting them. I ignored their orders and saw them quite often. Over the past few years I've especially gotten to know one of them, named Vegeta. He's a pretty abrasive guy, but once you get to know him, there's something inside that he doesn't like to show—I think he should show it, but he'd think it would make him look soft or something.
"Anyway, he and I trained together... often. He showed me some techniques I'd never heard of and I pushed him as much as I could in an attempt to force him to become a super saiyan. In the course of our training we talked a lot, and I found myself falling in love with him.
"However, before I had a chance to find out if he returned my feelings for him, we heard about Gitran assembling a large force and I realized that I would have to devote all my time and energy to the war effort. That meant that there would be no chances at all for me to sneak away and see Vegeta and the others. Besides, there's something going on that they would expect me to participate in, and I had to keep them from discovering who I really am, so I asked a friend of mine in the group who I could trust with my life to tell everyone in the group that I had died and to give Vegeta a letter explaining everything." Violet sighed heavily, signaling that she was finished.
April had a lot of questions to ask the older girl about her story, but when she spotted the lone tear trickling down her cheek decided against pestering her about it. She looks like she's had about as much pain as I have. I think I need to reconsider my earlier opinion of her—she's stronger and has gone through more than I would have given her credit for.
Silence reigned for the next few minutes. "You mentioned legends earlier... how did they come into being, anyway?" April asked, more to break the silence and change the topic from the earlier one than out of any real curiosity on the subject.
Violet glanced over at her and paused before answering the question. "Back in the time of Luke Skywalker, after he had arrived on Earth, there were Jedi who were so closely attuned to the Force that they could see far into the distant future. One Jedi, Liselle Strevar, saw something that she could not make out at first. But the vision kept returning to her. It was of you. It was your legend, known as the Winslow Legend, that she kept seeing."
"But what was in the vision?"
"It's not my place to tell you—it is the place of another, and, like I said, you already know the person."
April had expected that answer. "So... are there any other legends?"
"Another Jedi, Isak Ynara, had a vision of a man coming to Earth who was human in every way save for the fact that he had a tail. He then married a descendant of Luke Skywalker's, who became queen a few years later."
"Did this legend ever come true?"
"Oh, yes. It is of a direct ancestor of mine, Selana Wakefield. She married a man who took on the name Ryle, who was the man in the vision. He was a saiyan, which explains the tail. He came to Earth to escape his homeworld."
"Why did he want to escape it?"
"It wasn't exactly his homeworld that he wanted to escape. Rather, it was the evil that was spreading across it like a plague from which he wanted freedom. So he came to Earth. Then others of his race came after him to take him back to his father, the king of Vegeta, his homeworld. He took care of them and remained on Earth. If you want, April, I can give you a copy of a book that has all of these legends in it."
"Sounds good." April fell silent then, and Violet decided that if they were to speak, April would have to be the one to initiate conversation. The younger girl had been through quite a bit over the past few weeks, and Violet felt that it would be best to give her space.
True to her word, they landed at Yavinia's main spaceport, located in the capital city of Reilar, half an hour later. Since they had spent only ninety minutes in the air and left the eastern coast of Arist shortly after midnight, it was not yet nine in the evening in Yavinia. April was out of sync enough to be startled to see the sun not yet set in the western sky.
"What time is it?" she asked as she stifled a yawn while they were landing.
"Ten 'til nine local time, I think," Violet replied. "Weird, eh?"
"Yeah." April yawned again. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."
"I am too. Don't worry about your bags—one of the servants will tend to them. A limo should be waiting at the end of the ramp when we get out, which will then take us to the palace."
Had April been more awake, she would have been thrilled at the idea of a ride in a limousine and about visiting a palace, but she was too tired to care. Though Violet was also worn out, she saw that her friend was drooping and helped her out of the shuttle and into the car. I'm glad Mother and Father took care to keep the knowledge of April's arrival a secret from the press, Violet thought. It's not as bad here as it is over on the continent, but it's still the press... and April really doesn't need that right now. She needs to get used to the idea of being a princess first. And a crown princess at that.
Once they arrived at the palace, Aaron helped Violet get April up to the rooms that would be hers until she moved over to Byrista. Her luggage was already up there waiting for her. As soon as Violet left, April changed into her PJs and promptly fell asleep on the huge bed that had been provided for her. Vega had prudently decided earlier to keep her mouth shut and settled down on the pillow next to April's head, so that she would be seen as soon as the young princess woke up.
"Do you think she'll be able to adjust easily?" Aaron asked his friend after they had dropped April off at her rooms.
Violet shook her head sadly. "I don't know, Aaron. She's been through so much lately that I'm surprised she's coping as well as she is. I fear for her, though. She's keeping everything to herself, pretty much, and that's not easy on a person. And now she's completely cut off from everything familiar to her. She has to learn how to be a princess, and then learn how to rule, since she will be queen of Byrista one day."
"I'm sure everything will turn out all right," Aaron said optimistically.
"I wish I could be so positive. April has been completely uprooted from one place and planted in another at the most emotionally turbulent time of her life. She's a normal teenager, and you know how those years are."
He nodded his agreement. "We should take things slowly with her, then."
"Yes." Violet frowned. "I wonder how she'll take meeting her real parents."
"When will she meet them?"
"Tomorrow afternoon, I believe. Sometime on Friday—hopefully—she'll leave with them for Byrista. All the royal families will arrive on Saturday, and there will be a grand ceremony there on Sunday. As soon as she's crowned princess we'll all return here and begin our war plans in earnest."
Aaron sighed. "Would it be too much to hope for that there would never be any more wars?"
"Knowing the way sentient beings think and act, yes, unfortunately."
"I was afraid of that. You look wiped, Violet. You should get some rest."
"Yeah, I know. Goodnight, Aaron."
"Sleep well, Princess." Teasingly he kissed the back of her hand in a grand gesture, then walked off down the hallway. Violet shook her head at his retreating back and then went to her own suite on the next floor.