The next morning April did not wake up until after nine o'clock. Her curtains had been opened, allowing a beam of sunlight to shine into her room. Blinking, the young woman sat up and stretched. She rubbed at her eyes, trying to get rid of the heavy-lidded feeling. When she lowered her hands she glanced around the room she was in, and gasped before remembering where she was.
I'm in Yavinia now, she reminded herself. I will never see my family or friends ever again. I have to learn how to make my way in a whole new world. She shook her head violently. But I don't want to! I want to wake up in my bed in my room and find that this was all a bad dream. Unfortunately, that's only wishful thinking…
With a heavy sigh she swung her legs out of bed and stood. April stretched for a few moments, then looked through her clothes to find something suitable to wear in a palace. Eventually she settled on a green blouse and a pair of nice khaki shorts. From what Violet said, I would guess the climate here to be somewhat like Hawaii's. Warm. I am not going to wear pants in a climate like this unless I have to.
Glancing around her room, April soon spotted an open door that lead into a large, luxurious bathroom. She whistled appreciatively when she walked inside it. Nice place here. She turned on the tap for the bath and soon was relaxing in hot soapy water, wishing her troubles could be washed away as easily as dirt.
Twenty minutes later April glanced at her fingers and discovered that they were getting shriveled up. She smiled ruefully. I have to get out now, don't I? Oh, well. I have to face my fate eventually—no point in putting it off any further. She stood and stepped out of the tub as she grabbed a thick towel hanging over a nearby rail. Drying herself off quickly, she put her clothes on and proceeded to work on her hair. As she began to comb out the snarls, a knock sounded on her bedroom door. "Come in," she called out.
Violet walked through the bedroom and into the bathroom. "How did you sleep?" she asked, leaning up against the doorjamb. April thought she seemed a bit weary, but dismissed the thought as she answered the princess.
"Pretty well. I slept for a while, didn't I?" April replied as she winced while fighting with a large knot.
"Eleven hours or so, I would guess. As soon as you're ready, breakfast is available in the dining hall."
"Dining hall?" April echoed a bit apprehensively.
Violet chuckled. "Don't worry—the whole palace staff isn't down there awaiting your arrival."
April heaved an audible sigh of relief. "Good." She gasped as a thought hit her. "Where's Vega?"
Violet laughed. "She's wandering around the palace—she told me that she thought you'd sleep forever, so she left when you still hadn't woken up at eight o'clock and started exploring."
"Sounds like her, all right."
"Do you want some help with that?" Violet queried as she watched the younger princess struggle with another knot.
"Sure."
Violet leaned over and grabbed another comb. Gently she began working out the snarls in April's hair. "How are you going to do your hair?" she asked.
"I don't know. Is what I'm wearing all right?"
The older princess glanced down from her work. "Yes. We're not all that formal here unless we're hosting some sort of event or going about government business or greeting nobility. You don't need to dress up until after lunch."
"What's going on after lunch?"
Violet paused before answering. "You'll be meeting your real parents."
"They're here?"
"No—they're arriving shortly after noon today. They are really anxious to meet you, April. You have no idea what they have gone through over the past fifteen years: first thinking you were gone for good, then relying on a prophecy telling them they had to wait for your return. All the while they based their trust on simply a prophecy: that it would come true and not turn out to be false. They have been hinging all of their hopes on that prophecy, April. If something happened and it had never come true…I don't know what would have happened."
April frowned. "What is this prophecy, anyway?"
"I think I can answer that," a familiar voice said from the bedroom.
April whirled around, startling Violet and losing a few strands of hair in the process. "Aunt Elaine? What on earth are you doing here?" she gasped when she spotted the older woman seated on her bed.
Elaine Morgan smiled at the princess of Byrista. "It's a long story, but you will finally be able to hear it."
April glanced back at Violet. "She's the one who's going to explain all this stuff to me?"
The older princess nodded, her hands still busy. "Elaine…would it be all right if you told the story right here? My hands are kind of tied."
"Sure, Princess. April, to start off, I'm not really your aunt."
"I kind of figured that," she replied with a sigh.
"To explain, I need to go way back, back before you were born. Your father married late in life, which concerned his parents because he could not become king until after he was married. He married your mother, the princess of the Windward Islands, when he was thirty years old. That December he was crowned king of Byrista.
"Two years after your parents got married, your brother, Gavin, was born."
April interrupted her at this point. "I have a brother?" she asked, stunned.
"Had. Gavin died suddenly a month later. None of the doctors in the palace could figure out what had caused his death. Your mother was absolutely heartbroken. A few months later, however, she became pregnant with you, and that eased her grief significantly. You can see why you are so important to them in just that regard.
"You were born about nine months later, in October, of course. About a month before you were born I was hired to be your caretaker and help out your mother in the nursery. After you were born I did just that. Then, one cloudy day the September before your first birthday, your mother came down with a strange illness.
"At first it seemed like she only had a bad cold, but it soon turned for the worse. None of the doctors could figure out what disease was crippling her, since she had been forced to take to her bed. Your father was frantic with worry, and it seemed that the entire nation was slowed during your mother's sickness. To everyone's astonishment, two weeks after she had come down with that cold your mother was in almost perfect health. No one had any idea how she recovered—one day she was so weak she couldn't stand up, and the next she was almost healed.
"Just in case the malady had given your mother long lasting effects, the palace medical team checked her over. Unfortunately, the disease did damage her—it made her barren. Your parents realized that in order to continue the Winslow line, you had to survive.
"They weren't the only ones to figure that out. A group of terrorists from the Vleka system did as well. Days after your first birthday an anonymous letter was delivered here at the palace letting the royal house know that April was in danger of being kidnapped.
"Of course, your father ordered the nursery to be under heavy guard twenty-four hours a day, and I took to sleeping on a cot near your crib. Then the unthinkable happened.
"It was a cool December night. I woke up around two in the morning, but could not figure out why I had awakened. I glanced over at your crib and to my dismay saw two men clothed entirely in black reach down into your crib and lift you out. Since the guard had strategically placed my cot in the shadows of the room, there was no way the men could have seen me. I drew my blaster from the shelf next to my cot and shot the first man.
"Unfortunately when I had been cleaning the blaster two days earlier I had switched it to stun and never turned it back. So before I could get off another shot the second man put you back in the crib and hit my hand hard enough for me to let go of the pistol. He then knocked me to the ground. He must have thought he had knocked me out since he then walked over to his fallen partner and stuck a patch on his neck. Seconds later the man woke up and stood.
"The first man took me by the arms and dragged me along the floor, allowing his partner to take you out. As we went through the door out into the corridor I saw that the guards had been killed. Since they were highly trained, and since there were six of them, I guessed that they had been drugged somehow and were made sluggish by the substance. The terrorists must not have made it potent enough to completely knock them out.
"They took us out to a waiting ship and took off once we had been secured. Before they did so, however, I felt a prick of a needle on the back of my neck and realized I had been drugged. That was all the time I had to think before lapsing into unconsciousness.
"The next thing I knew I was in a dark, musty cabin lying on a rough bench. You were nearby, sleeping in a makeshift crib. Hours went by before anything happened. Then one of the men slipped a tray of food underneath the door. I ate it, since an hour earlier I had found myself ravenous, and kept the utensils. I thought I might be able to find a means to escape by using those. It turned out that I did not need them.
"Three days after our arrival, give or take a few hours, the man who came with the food opened the door for some reason. I grabbed the nearest object I could lay my hands on—a chair—and brought it crashing down on his head. Then I grabbed you and made my escape.
"It was early evening, and I found myself in a forest. I heard a faint noise that sounded like traffic and made my way toward it. Five minutes later I ended up on a sidewalk along a major roadway. A nearby sign read 'Lake City, 1 mile,' and pointed in the direction of the town. I followed the roadway to it, and as I walked I realized that Lake City was a large town located in the country of Arist. I realized that the terrorists had not taken us to their planet, like I had originally thought.
"For some reason I had long planned to visit that country, so I had already made a bank account in the country's main bank for myself with a fair amount of funds deposited. Once I reached the city I asked for directions to the nearest bank branch and was pleased to find that it was only a few blocks away. There I withdrew some cash and made my way to the nearest hotel.
"The next day I went to a department store and bought you and me some necessities. I was waiting in line to purchase the items when a thought hit me. I remembered that in my research on Arist I had found a distant relative of yours there. I decided that it would be a good idea to visit them, and possibly ask them to care for you.
"A few days later I did just that after securing a job as a secretary at a nearby law firm. I was pleased to find that they were a young married couple with no children. Your adoptive mother told me that she was barren, so I explained the situation to them. She was overjoyed at the prospect of having a child, and so was your adoptive father. I also told them all about your special powers, and about the fact that you would have to return." With a sigh Elaine Morgan finished her story.
April simply stared at her in shock, her hair troubles forgotten. "They…they knew that I was a princess? And they knew that I was a Scout, too?"
Her 'aunt' nodded.
"No wonder you wanted me back—without me the royalty of Byrista would die with my real parents."
"Yes."
April frowned as a thought hit her. "Why is it so important? Isn't there someone else, someone whose title is near that of the royal family, who could take over?"
Both Elaine and Violet stared at her, stunned at her question, before realizing that there were many things the young woman still needed to learn. "Let's just say, for now, that we must keep the Skywalker line alive," Violet informed her vaguely.
"I…Luke Skywalker was my ancestor?"
"Yes," Elaine replied. "You're the last of your family, and thus the last of Byrista's Skywalker royal line. Does everything make a bit more sense now?"
April nodded. It makes more sense…I guess…but it doesn't mean I have to like it.
"Now, dear, let's see about your hair. You do want to look good for your parents, now, don't you?"
"Yes." They never explained the whole prophecy thing to me, did they? Oh, well, I'll ask someone about it later, then.
You should—it's very important.
Inwardly April gasped, but nothing showed on her face somehow. That voice! It's that voice again! Who are you?
Calm yourself, Princess. You'll find out soon enough.
April sat there, stunned, as Violet and Elaine spent the next twenty minutes on her hair and soon had a beautiful style done. April's red-gold hair was placed high up on her head in curls, kept there by a large silver clip. A strand of hair hung down over each ear, curled into a spring like shape.
"Why don't you two go down to breakfast? I'll see you later—I have some other work to do," Elaine told them after admiring their handiwork.
The two princesses nodded in agreement and they soon were walking down the lavishly carpeted stairs toward the dining hall. There Violet's parents and brother, who were halfway through their own meals, greeted them. "April, I would like you to meet my parents, King Ryo and Queen Ariana, and my brother, Prince Cass. Mom, Dad, Cass, I would like you to meet Crown Princess April Winslow of Byrista."
The three nodded gravely in April's direction, and she did her best to return the gesture. As she sat down April allowed herself to appraise the royal family. Violet had told her earlier that Cass would be eighteen next month, on July 15. The king and queen looked to be in their early fifties. Only the king had a small area of gray hair around his temples—the queen's hair remained a beautiful lustrous blonde.
Violet sat down next to the younger princess. "They won't bite," she whispered to her reassuringly.
April nodded hesitantly in reply but refrained from speaking.
She's pretty good-looking, Cass thought to himself after he had taken a moment to look her over. From what Violet has told me, though, I probably shouldn't bug her too much…at first. She's been through a lot lately.
Since none of them were sure of what to say, the meal passed in relative silence. As soon as she had finished April asked to be excused and dashed out of the room.
"Is she all right?" Queen Ariana asked, concerned.
"I think so, Mom. She's just not used to any of this yet," Violet replied.
"What's she like?" Cass queried.
Violet kicked him under the table. If it had been anyone else she would have broken their leg, but since her brother was a saiyan also it felt normal to him.
"What? I'm just curious," he exclaimed indignantly.
She simply glared at him without answering. A moment later she said, "Cass, are you almost finished?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Come on—I want to talk to you."
Cass' left eyebrow shot up, but he did not protest. As soon as he had finished the last of his eggs he put his napkin down and stood. "See you later, Mom, Dad."
"All right, son," his father replied.
Violet left the table without saying a word of farewell and immediately headed for the library. Cass followed her out, and a moment later they were seated in two of the armchairs in one corner of the library. "Look, Cass, don't bother April, all right?"
"Who said I was going to 'bother' her, as you so delicately put it?" he replied defensively.
"Cass, you're my brother, and I know you pretty well. April's been through a lot in the last few weeks, and I don't want you to make her feel uncomfortable in any way. No 'pursuing' her, okay?"
"Oh, all right. What makes you so touchy, anyway? You're not usually like this, Violet."
She sighed. "Well, April had to leave everything behind…including her boyfriend. I can identify with her, so I don't want you making things worse."
Cass frowned. "What? You can identify with her? How so?"
Violet told him about having to leave the other saiyans—something that to this point she had only told Aaron and April.
"Oh," he said finally after she had finished. "I didn't realize that you'd have to make them all think you were dead to get out of going to the Cell Games. So Mom and Dad are still adamant about you not telling them who you really are?"
"Cass, they don't even know I still saw them, okay?"
"Whoa…you mean you didn't tell them."
His sister shook her head.
"Wow…I thought you had. Sheesh, Vi, you've gone through a lot lately, too. No wonder you've been acting weird."
"Hey, bro, be nice," she told him with a lopsided grin.
"What's this about Cass being nice?" a new voice entered the conversation with a teasing comment.
Brother and sister glanced up to see Garion walk into the room. "Garion! When did you get here?" Violet exclaimed.
"About fifteen minutes ago. Surprised to see me?"
"Well, duh. We were told you wouldn't be coming until this evening, you turkey."
"Oh, so I'm a turkey now, am I?"
"Yes, you are, you turkey."
He laughed. "Well, it's nice to see you too, Violet."
"Hey, don't I get a greeting, too?" Cass asked, breaking into their banter.
"Of course," Garion told him, walking over to where he sat and giving him a firm handshake. "How have you two been?"
There was an almost unnoticeable pause before Cass replied, "We're pretty good. How about yourself?"
Garion did, however, notice the pause, but refrained from saying anything aloud. "I'm doing fairly well. By the way, Cass, Tyria came with me, so…"
"She's here? Where?"
"Hey, Cass," the Alendran princess greeted him, moving out from her concealed position in the shadows next to a bookcase.
"Tyria, it's not fair for you to hide using your Jedi stuff, you know," Cass complained with a mock pout.
"Oh? And it's suddenly fair for you to use your saiyan stuff?" she retorted with an indignant expression.
Cass stared at her dumbly for a moment, but then began to laugh. Tyria laughed right along with him, and soon both Garion and Violet had joined in.
A little while later, after they had talked for a few minutes, Garion asked Violet, "Has April arrived yet?"
"Yes. We got here last night around nine o'clock. We've already had breakfast, and once she had finished she went back up to her bedroom. You two can meet her at lunch, all right?"
"Sure," they replied in unison.
How's she doing? Garion thought to Violet once Cass and Tyria had started talking together again.
She's trying, but it's not going too well, I don't think. She feels so out of place. I'm worried about her—I don't know if it was good for her to have lived away from here almost all of her life.
That bad, eh?
Yes.
Suddenly Garion sensed a wall in Violet's mind, and decided that it would be best for them to talk aloud about other things from then on. He switched the topic to that of preparing for the war, and was relieved when he felt the walled subject being pushed to the back of her mind. The wall doesn't concern April, so I wonder what it is that's bothering her so badly, he speculated silently, careful to conceal his thought from the princess.
* * *
Meanwhile, April had returned to her rooms. Upon entering her temporary bedroom she spotted Vega sitting calmly on the newly made bed. "So, where did you go exploring?" she asked the cat.
"Oh, just around. Right before I came back in here I spotted more people arriving who look not too much older than you are."
"More? I wonder who they are…" April thought aloud.
"So, how was breakfast?"
"The food here isn't bad, but I feel so out of place sitting at the table with Violet and her family. The fact that they're all royalty doesn't help matters, either."
"You're royalty too, you know."
"I know that in my head, Vega, but I don't feel royal. I don't know…this is all so new to me," she said with a heavy sigh as she collapsed onto the bed. Vega silently trotted over to the young woman's side and curled up next to her as April began to cry into her pillow.
"April? Are you in there?" Violet's voice sounded through the door.
"Vega—will you go talk to her? I need a break," she said, her voice muffled by her pillow.
"Sure," the cat replied, standing up. She jumped off the bed and trotted over to the door, which she opened only wide enough so she could get out.
"What is it, Vega?" Violet asked with a frown, surprised to be greeted by the cat.
Vega hesitated for a moment before replying, seeing a young man in his twenties standing beside the princess. "April needs some down-time," she said finally.
"Oh, all right. Will you remind her that lunch is in three hours and that her parents are arriving right afterward?"
"Yes. Does she need to dress up?"
"I think so—it would be better if she would, at least."
"I'll tell her, then," the cat said before going back into the room and shutting the door behind her.
"That bad, eh?" Garion spoke up after Vega left.
"Yes," Violet said with a sigh.
The prince put a comforting arm around his friend. "She's young—she'll be okay," he reassured her.
Violet nodded. "I know. I just wish I could make this easier for her, that's all."
He smiled at her. "I know you do. Come on—feel like going for a run?"
She laughed. "Yes—as long as it's not as disastrous as the last one."
"I think you and I both have come a long way since then in sensing new presences, don't you agree?"
"Yeah. Well, then, last one to the start of the trail is a rotten mynock!"
"You're on, Princess."
With a laugh the two dashed off for their rooms.
"Well, Vega, how do I look?" April asked after taking a final glance at her reflection.
"You look beautiful, as always—though from a cat's point of view I don't know how reliable that is," Vega replied.
"Well, you have pretty good taste, so I'll go with your opinion." April sighed heavily. "I don't know if I'm too hungry—I'm kind of nervous about meeting my real parents."
"April, just be yourself. They haven't seen you in fifteen years, and I'm sure they love you very much. So I doubt they'll care about how you act very much, since they'll be so happy just to see you again."
The princess glanced over at her cat with an astonished expression. "You know, I don't think I've ever thought of it that way before."
"Just keep that in mind when you meet them—I think it will help."
"Yeah." Smoothing a last wrinkle in her sleeveless gown, April took a deep breath and walked out the door. As she came down the stairwell the voice spoke again. Heed Vega's advice, Princess—she's right, you know. And you have no reason to be nervous. In fact, your parents are as nervous as you are.
Who the heck are you and how do you know all of this? April demanded.
The voice chuckled. Patience, Princess. You'll know soon. It paused. You know, I hadn't expected you to be like this.
Like what?
It chuckled again. Like that.
Oh, she replied, abashed. She then sighed heavily and resigned herself to being left in the dark again—it was not as if she had been experiencing anything else lately. Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it April slowly walked the rest of the way down the stairs.
When she arrived in the dining hall she was a bit unsettled to see a few people there she had not yet met. Pretty high-up people, by the looks of them, she thought worriedly.
Violet stood from where she was seated near the head of the table when she saw her friend come in. She then cleared her throat to gain the attention of all those seated around her. "I would like you all to meet Crown Princess April Winslow of Byrista," she formally introduced her as soon as everyone was listening.
All those assembled stood and bowed to her. How am I going to get her attention? Violet wondered worriedly.
What? April replied, confused.
April? You can hear me? Violet exclaimed silently, startled at April's reply.
Yeah.
Weird—okay, come over and sit by me. I'll make introductions as soon as we're all seated again.
Okay. Quickly, yet somehow gracefully, April walked over to be seated next to Violet by a servant standing nearby.
April, I don't know how we managed to get this link, but we'll use it to our advantage. Now I'll be able to give you help without it being obvious.
Phew—that makes me feel better. Now please tell me who these people are!
Sure. "Princess April, I would like you to meet Crown Prince Garion Westland of Alendre," she said, indicating the young man sitting across the table from her. "And this is Princess Tyria Westland, his sister."
"How do you do," Tyria replied with a genuine smile. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Princess."
April winced slightly at the other girl's use of her title. "Um, if you don't mind, I'd like you to call me April, Princess Tyria."
"Of course." She grinned. "And I'm just Tyria, if you don't mind. Forget all the title stuff, okay?"
April smiled back. "Sure thing." She noticed that the Alendran princess looked only a year or so older than she was.
Tyria is seventeen and Garion is twenty-three.
Thanks.
"April, over there are their parents, King Kyte and Queen Carida. Next to Cass are Crown Prince Keiran Windward and his parents, King Dagan and Queen Ienne."
How old is Keiran?
About fourteen, I think.
Thanks again. You're right—this does help.
"So, April, what do you think of Yavinia so far?" Tyria asked as lunch was brought to each of them by the servants.
"To be honest with you, I haven't seen too much of it yet."
"Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we?" Cass put in with a twinkle in his eye.
April smiled. "Sounds good to me."
Well, what do you think? Violet asked Garion silently.
She's holding her own pretty well—and you two seem to be rather chatty all of a sudden, he told her.
What?
I can tell that you two have a mental link, although I have no idea how it came about.
Neither do I—it was rather unexpected.
That's what I figured.
The rest of the meal went by fairly uneventfully—though to April's pleasant surprise she found the other royal heirs to be rather open, friendly, and down-to-earth. Even though she liked Violet a lot—and now had this psychic link with her—she felt like she really connected with the princess of Alendre.
Once the meal was over and the servants came by to pick up their plates, the memory hit her—she was about to meet her real parents. Oh, dear—this will be so weird.
April, it's okay—I'll be there with you, Violet's thought broke into her own.
Really? A wave of relief washed over her. Thanks—I really appreciate it.
No problem. Come on—I'll take you to the western sitting room. We'll meet them in there.
Okay. Will it be just you, or will there be others too?
I think it'll be just my family and I, if that's all right.
That's fine with me. April frowned as a thought hit her. Can you talk to Garion like this too?
Violet looked at her with a startled expression. Yeah—and he told me that he could tell that I could talk to you like this.
Yeah. As far as I can tell it seems like a faint buzzing in my ear. Anyway, let's go. I kind of want to get this over with.
You're pretty nervous, then.
Well, my heart's just about in my throat, so I guess that's a yes. April grinned over at the older princess.
Violet grinned back.
"Garion," Tyria whispered to her brother, "do you hear a buzzing noise?"
He glanced over at her in shock. "Can you hear that?"
She frowned at him. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
"Tyria, can you talk to anyone with your mind?" he asked as the realization hit him.
"Yeah—I can talk to Cass. Why?"
"Well, I think that buzzing noise is created when someone who can talk to someone with their mind is close enough to two people doing the same thing—they're kind of intercepting the conversation a little bit." He glanced at her again. "How long have you been able to talk to him like that?"
"I'm not sure…since the 175th anniversary, I think." Cass—do you hear that buzzing noise? Tyria asked him silently.
Yeah—you hear it too?
Uh huh. She then proceeded to explain the whole thing to him.
Right at that moment Garion was talking to Violet about the buzzing too. Wow—and it all hit us at about the same time. Interesting, eh? Violet commented.
Yes.
"Excuse us," Violet said to the rest of those at the table as she stood. Let's go, April.
Once they were out of earshot Violet explained to April that all the buzzing she had just heard was they explaining the concept to each other. "And apparently Cass and Tyria have a 'connection' too."
"Okay." April suddenly felt the alien presence in her mind again, accompanied by a dry chuckle. I was wondering how long it would take you all to figure that out. This may be amusing.
Thanks.
Well, a different reply than a demand. I like that.
April snorted mentally at it. Unless you inform me of stuff every now and then, don't get used to it.
A fading guffaw answered her thought as the sense of the presence gradually left her mind.
A few minutes later they reached the sitting room. Violet's parents arrived not too long after the two princesses did. "Cass isn't coming because there's something he and Tyria wanted to talk about, so Garion is here instead," King Ryo explained when the two spotted the prince walk into the room.
I didn't realize you cared that much, Violet said as he sat down next to her.
Well, both Cass and Tyria asked me to do it, and I wanted to anyway, so here I am.
Would you two mind sharing your thoughts with me? This buzzing is driving me crazy! April exclaimed silently to Violet.
Garion closed his eyes for a moment and tentatively reached out for April's mind. He caught the last part of her sentence, "—is driving me crazy!"
Is this better? he asked her, still connected yet also directing the thought to Violet.
Yes, much better! How did you do it?
It's a Jedi technique, he explained.
That brought April up short. You—you're a Jedi?
Not much of one, I'm afraid. But I can do a few simple things. Garion, in keeping with his long-ago promise to not let Violet know just how powerful he was, decided to keep the fact a secret from April as well.
Wow—I've never met a real live Jedi before. I've only read about them.
Now you've met two—my sister is a Jedi as well.
Really? The Force must be strong in your family.
Garion chuckled. Yeah. You a 'Star Wars' fan?
You bet!
Good—then you know a little bit about us. Garion was about to say more when a doorman entering the room from the opposite entrance interrupted him. "The king and queen of Byrista are here, your Majesties."
"Please, send them in," King Ryo replied.
The doorman bowed smartly and exited the room.
Relax, April, Violet told her.
I'm trying!
The door opened once more. First a man in his early fifties entered. He was fairly tall, about six feet in height, and rather trim for a man his age. His light brown hair was only beginning to show signs of gray. He came in somewhat tentatively, as if he was as nervous as his daughter. A woman in her mid-forties walked in behind him a moment later. She had dark red hair that looked as if it used to be a much brighter shade, yet did not look any duller than it must have been. For a woman her age she looked rather fit. She also had very little gray in her hair, but what caught April's attention most were her eyes—they were the exact same color as her own.
"April?" her biological father said tentatively, as if he were tasting a morsel of food for the first time.
"Dad?" she replied, one tear in each eye. "Mom?" As she said the words a wave of emotion washed over her, and she suddenly found that though she had never met them before in her conscious life, she loved these two people very much. I know they'll never take the place of my adoptive parents, but they will take a place right next to them in my heart, she thought, utterly unaware of the eloquence of her thought. With an abrupt impulse she stood and ran toward them, throwing her arms around both of them and they returning the embrace in the same fashion.
"Wow," Garion whispered to Violet. "April looks just like her mother, with a little bit of her father dashed in for good measure."
"Yeah—and April looks even more like Mara Jade Skywalker than her mother does," Violet commented.
"Why don't we leave? They need some time alone together."
"Good idea—and I'll drag my parents out too."
The four left, two to go change into running clothes and two to return to their other guests. April and her parents remained for about two or three hours, April telling them all about her life in Arist and her parents telling her all about Byrista and what they did there.
"April, you have no idea how happy your mother and I are to see you," King Geran replied with tears in his eyes as they finally stood to join the other royal families.
Queen Serena nodded her agreement, at this point unable to speak as she hugged her daughter tightly with tears running freely down her cheeks.
"I'm in the same boat, Dad—I thought that it would be so weird to see you both after living with my adoptive parents all of my life, but now it feels more natural than the wind in my hair."
He smiled at her. "I'm glad you feel that way, sweetie. But tell me—do you miss your adoptive parents?"
April nodded. "I'll always miss them, I think. But it helps to have you."
Her mother kissed her forehead. "I know that it sure helps to have you!"
The three gave each other another hug before leaving the room to head for the main sitting room on the north side of the palace. By this time the four royal heirs who had gone off on their own had returned and were seated together along with Prince Keiran in one area of the room. Everyone there stood and began clapping upon the Winslow family's arrival.
It went well, didn't it? Violet said silently to April with a smile.
It sure did, the crown princess of Byrista said, smiling back. Shortly thereafter the small chat of the room resumed and everyone stayed to talk long into the evening. They were so deep into their conversations that dinner had to be brought to them, and no one retired until late that night.