Someone knocked at her chamber door and Chiyo went to open it.
"Chiyo? Are you awake yet?" An excited voice came from behind the door. Chiyo bounced off of her bed and pulled her knee-length strawberry blonde hair back in a low ponytail. Her nightgown was silver, flowing and fell to her ankles. Opening her bedroom door, Mikomi flew at Chiyo, embracing her in a tight hug.
"Chiyo!!" She shouted. "We just arrived! I'm so happy to see you again!" Mikomi kept saying she was going to grow her hair out, but every time Chiyo saw her it was the same shoulder-length golden waves she had always known. Mikomi was the shortest off all the princesses, at about 5'3". She was wearing a simple but pretty wrap-around type dress that was red-orange.
"Are you the first one here?" Chiyo asked, laughing.
"Yes, but barely. Kei's ship had just arrived as we disembarked." She and Chiyo sat down together on the canopied bed. The room was expansive-done in pastel hues with silvery white accents. There were tall windows that let the sunlight fill the entire room and dance off her mirrors and picture frames. The floor was gray marble.
"You hair has gotten so long, Chiyo! What are you going to do with it tonight?" Mikomi asked, playing with the long strawberry tresses.
"I don't know. I've been playing with the idea of a fancy ponytail, or something. Mother says I should put it in pigtails, but that is so childish! I think she thinks it makes me look 'cute'." Chiyo said while twisting a few strands between her fingers.
"It does make you look cute! And you have to look cute tonight. Lord Rakuen will be there." Mikomi nudged her friend as she said this and Chiyo blushed a little.
"I've never even spoken to him, Mikomi. Besides, I don't want to look 'cute'. I want to be beautiful." She got up and ran to her wardrobe. She pulled out the white, sky blue and lavender dress for the ball that evening. It was breathtaking, and Mikomi couldn't help but stare. Chiyo held the dress against her body and twirled a few times. "Isn't it amazing? I designed it and mother helped me make it."
"You're so lucky, Chiyo! My mother can't sew. Even if she knew how, I'm sure she wouldn't. She leaves all that stuff to the seamstress." She frowned a little at this. Mikomi's mother came from a long line of royals and made no effort to hide it. She rarely "wasted time" doing things like baking or sewing.
Chiyo's mother was different. Nearly twenty years ago, she had been a priestess at the Temple of the Moon at Mare Serenatis. It was there that she met King Atlas, Chiyo's future father, and they fell in love. Queen Imbriana had changed very little from her early days; she was still the nurturing, loving and reliable woman she always had been. She took joy in her only daughter and would do anything for her.
"Chiyo," Came a voice from the doorway. Kei stood almost fox-like in the arch, her arms folded across her chest. Her sleek brown hair was cut in a tomboyish fashion, offset by her steal-gray eyes. She was wearing pants, as usual; wide black ones that swished lightly when she walked. Her top was flame red and flowy with long sleeves. "Still in your pajamas, I see. You haven't changed at all." Kei finally cracked a smile and held her arms out. Chiyo embraced her old friend and let the familiar, almost male scent swim around her. Kei was very tall, and leaned over to kiss Chiyo sweetly on the forehead. In her left arm she hugged Mikomi and did the same. "Ah, my beautiful girls! I feel like you're growing up so fast."
"You're not THAT much older than us, Kei!" Mikomi laughed. Kei laughed back and looked over the top of Chiyo's head, towards the bed.
"Chiyo... what's that?"
Chiyo suddenly remembered her dress. She jumped away and grabbed it in frenzy. "Oh no! You can't see it til tonight!" Mikomi covered Kei's eyes quickly, but Kei kept trying to peek.
"Why not? You were showing it to Mikomi!" Kei protested.
"I'm not letting any of the men see it until tonight. So I have to include you in that!" Chiyo explained, shutting her wardrobe. Kei opened her mouth to protest but stopped. She only sighed and smiled at her friends. "Alright. I'm going to go say hello to King Atlas and Queen Imbriana. Have fun you two. See you tonight." She turned and left the room easily, walking with her hands in her pockets.
Looking after her, the two girls smiled. "Is she still with Souya?" Mikomi asked nonchalantly. Through the window they saw a ship coming into the dock area, with the mark of Mercury on it. "Oh, Umi's here." she said aside.
"I think that Souya ended the relationship when she went back to Callisto. But. . . I get the impression that there's a new love in Kei's life," Chiyo teased.
"Who is it?" Mikomi asked quickly. Chiyo noticed that Mikomi was leaning in close to her, expectantly.
The door flew open and Umi stood there, holding a fan in each hand. One had a male sign on it; the other had a female sign on it. She approached Mikomi and proceeded to slap her joyfully across the head with each of them.
"It's in the stars, you're meant to be! (Slap) Another's love can set you free! (Slap)" Umi idiotically announced. Her hair was straight and fell to her shoulders. It was deep blue in color, and her eyes were a periwinkle color. At the moment, Umi had pulled her hair back into two mini-pigtails with pink ribbons.
Mikomi rubbed her head tenderly. Chiyo laughed and gave her friend a quick hug. Umi knocked the goofy look off her face and smiled honestly at Chiyo and Mikomi.
"How have you guys been?" Umi was about 5'6", about one inch taller than Chiyo. She patted Mikomi on the head apologetically.
"I'm so excited for the party tonight!" Chiyo giggled a bit. "Mikomi was making fun of me," she said, a little embarrassed.
"Why, because of Rakuen?" Umi inquired, flopping onto Chiyo's bed.
Chiyo blushed again. "Thanks for being so blunt," she remarked.
Umi plucked a chocolate out of a silver moon-shaped dish on Chiyo's nightstand and tossed it in her mouth. "Whaaat? He's a huge hunk, Chiyo. You think we can't tell you like him?"
Chiyo slapped a hand to her forehead and Mikomi laughed out loud. Umi smiled and licked her lips for any stray chocolate pieces. "Are you all ready for tonight, Umi?" Mikomi inquired, reaching for a chocolate herself. "Of course. I got some new shoes before I left that match my dress wonderfully. I will be the belle of the ball!" She did a dramatic pose to emphasize, and the other two laughed. "Just kidding, just kidding. This night is all about Chiyo. I hear you have a new dress to wear!"
Chiyo nodded gleefully, and motioned to her closet. "It's in there, go take a look." Umi hopped off the bed and slipped to the other side of the room towards the closet.
"We were trying to figure out what to do with her hair, since it is so long. I said she looked cute in pigtails." Mikomi explained, toying with a stuffed Pegasus. "But she wants something more 'formal'."
Umi feigned offense. "What's wrong with pigtails?!"
One of the attendants knocked on the open door politely. "Lady Imbria, The queen has summoned you and the other princesses to her quarters," She told them softly. "Kei is already there."
"Odd. I wonder what she wants." Chiyo began combing through her hair and asked the attendant to see if she could find her cat, Astra. The silver tabby had been missing all morning, which was unusual.
Umi helped Chiyo braid her hair back as Mikomi picked a dress out for her. Mikomi loved the dresses that Chiyo had and always enjoyed going through her wardrobe. Today it was a white one with a gold sash around the waist and sheer sleeves.
On their way to the Queen's quarters they met up with Koushi. She looked mystifying and serious as usual, but smiled when she saw her friends. Koushi was the only one of the princess whose hair almost rivaled Chiyo's. It was almost the same length but gloriously oak brown, with a few hints of gold in it. She had it cut in layers, and usually left it loose around her body, but today she had it in a braid from the top of her head. Her eyes were greener that almost any plant Chiyo had seen on Earth. After they exchanged hugs and hellos, they once again made their way to the Queen's quarters.
"I expected we'd be in much later than this. Father insisted on fully inspecting every inch of the ship before take off. I thought we'd never leave." Koushi commented. Today she wore a simple forest green dress with a long gold pendant. She had braided small pink "Zeus Roses" into her hair also, a hybrid of plant that she had bred herself. She always looked breathtaking.
They walked together to the queen's quarters, where Kei held the door open for them. When she said hello to Umi, Umi practically jumped into her arms with an energetic embrace. Koushi hugged Kei tightly and asked how her mother was. Kei's mother had been sick for sometime with a mysterious illness, and the doctors were having no luck in finding a cure for it.
"She is acting less and less like herself," Kei started. The other princesses all listened sympathetically. "Her body is so weak. Father and I have been giving our energy to her, but nothing seems to be working. even the priest is baffled." She held her head high even when she talked about her ailing mother, and Chiyo remembered again why she had always respected Kei-her indelible strength.
Queen Imbriana was on her throne, gazing out the window. When she noticed the girls they all curtsied politely (except for Kei, who bowed).
"Oh, girls! It's so wonderful to have you all here again!" She hugged and kissed each of them very motherly, her daughter last. She cupped Chiyo's chin in her hand and looked into her eyes. "And for such a special day! You've grown so much, Chiyo." She tapped the end of Chiyo's nose lovingly and offered them a seat around the crystal table.
"For this special occasion, I have had special gifts made for all of you. And as soon as the Outers get here, I can give them to you. I can hardly wait!" The queen clasped her hands together joyfully.
As if waiting for a cue, a bright light appeared in the corner of the room at the interplanetary portal. The Inner princesses lived close enough to travel by ship, but the distance and the asteroid belt were inconvenient for the Outers. They instead used the teleporter. It often made you dizzy and sometimes seven sick, but it was very fast. All the planets had one, but the Inners used them only for emergencies.
Kohana, Hakeru, Sora and Yodume had met up on Titan to teleport, where Kohana's castle was. After they appeared the Inners ran to them joyously. There were many hugs and lots of laughing. It had been nearly four years since all of them were last together.
After catching up on the latest news, they settled back into the chairs around the crystal table. There was one empty spot next to the queen reserved for King Atlas, but he was off checking the preparations for the ball that evening. Queen Imbriana looked more excited than ever when each of the Princesses' attendants brought in the gift she had made them. Each of the gifts was wrapped in silver paper with white bows on top. They were all apparently the same thing, because they were each in the same size box- about 5"x5"x3".
"Don't open them just yet!" She jumped, as Umi began enthusiastically tearing off the bow. "I have to make a speech." She said very "officially" and "queen-like". Chiyo could always rely on her mother to make her smile.
"You already know that I consider each of you like my daughters. You all mean more to me than you could ever imagine. I had these made for you each individually, and I hope that you use them well. Keep them as mementos of your families' and friends' love for you, and never forget that you will always have a home here in the Moon Kingdom, whenever you may need it." There was silence, as each of the girls wondered if she was done. When the queen finally bit her lip and said "go!" their excitement had built up so much that the paper hit the floor in no time.
A series of small gasps of excitement arose from the table, as each princess got past the white tissue paper to their gift-A gold compact about three inches in diameter, with their planet's insignia decoratively painted in their designated color on the front. When it was opened, there was a picture of their home palace on the top half and a map of the solar system on the bottom half. On each map, their planet was a small, delicate jewel.
Most of them were speechless. Chiyo managed to speak first. "These. . . these are Henshin Lockets!"
Queen Imbriana nodded happily. Most of the girls were wide-eyed with shock. Umi was smiling so hugely that her cheeks hurt. "Gods willing, you will never have to use them for fighting. But I know that each of you wanted them so badly. . . so I discussed it with the council, and we decided that we could let you have them. I just added a touch of flair to them." She explained with a sly smile.
Chiyo was bursting. "What are our phrases?" She asked merrily.
"Well, if you ever really do have to use them, then you'll know when that time comes." Imbriana explained. The girls went about looking at each other's lockets as Imbriana rose from her seat. "Well now. . preparations for the ball should almost be done, ladies. I would suggest making sure you know what you are wearing tonight before you realize you've left something at home when it's too late."
"My gloves!" Mikomi suddenly remembered out loud. She ran to Imbriana and gave her a quick hug, thanked her for the gift and ran to where her ship had docked. The other girls laughed a little and began to disperse. Chiyo came over to Hakeru and pulled her aside.
"Um. . . Hakeru, is Lord Rakuen planning on coming tonight?" she asked hesitantly. Hakeru had stunning deep blue eyes, and layered shoulder-length ocean blue hair, which she kept mostly out of her face with a black headband. Hakeru loved wearing black, for some reason.
"Tasuke? Of course he's coming. Why wouldn't he?" Hakeru responded. She always spoke fluidly and almost never sounded rash.
"Oh, I just thought I'd ask. I like to know who all is attending these things, you know." Chiyo made a flippant motion with her hand, but Hakeru's intuition saw straight through it. By now they were in the hallway, the other princesses walking ahead of them.
"Chiyo, would you stop with the act?" Hakeru asked, smiling. "You know I can see past that."
Chiyo hung her head a little. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it, okay?" Hakeru reassured her. "Enjoy this night, it's your last as a seventeen-year-old! Live it up!" She turned and began to walk away, leaving her friend only half-happy. Chiyo turned the locket in her hand over and over, a little nervously.
"Oh, I forgot." Hakeru turned around. "He made me promise to tell you." Chiyo's heart jumped.
"Save a dance for him."
"Chiyo? Are you awake yet?" An excited voice came from behind the door. Chiyo bounced off of her bed and pulled her knee-length strawberry blonde hair back in a low ponytail. Her nightgown was silver, flowing and fell to her ankles. Opening her bedroom door, Mikomi flew at Chiyo, embracing her in a tight hug.
"Chiyo!!" She shouted. "We just arrived! I'm so happy to see you again!" Mikomi kept saying she was going to grow her hair out, but every time Chiyo saw her it was the same shoulder-length golden waves she had always known. Mikomi was the shortest off all the princesses, at about 5'3". She was wearing a simple but pretty wrap-around type dress that was red-orange.
"Are you the first one here?" Chiyo asked, laughing.
"Yes, but barely. Kei's ship had just arrived as we disembarked." She and Chiyo sat down together on the canopied bed. The room was expansive-done in pastel hues with silvery white accents. There were tall windows that let the sunlight fill the entire room and dance off her mirrors and picture frames. The floor was gray marble.
"You hair has gotten so long, Chiyo! What are you going to do with it tonight?" Mikomi asked, playing with the long strawberry tresses.
"I don't know. I've been playing with the idea of a fancy ponytail, or something. Mother says I should put it in pigtails, but that is so childish! I think she thinks it makes me look 'cute'." Chiyo said while twisting a few strands between her fingers.
"It does make you look cute! And you have to look cute tonight. Lord Rakuen will be there." Mikomi nudged her friend as she said this and Chiyo blushed a little.
"I've never even spoken to him, Mikomi. Besides, I don't want to look 'cute'. I want to be beautiful." She got up and ran to her wardrobe. She pulled out the white, sky blue and lavender dress for the ball that evening. It was breathtaking, and Mikomi couldn't help but stare. Chiyo held the dress against her body and twirled a few times. "Isn't it amazing? I designed it and mother helped me make it."
"You're so lucky, Chiyo! My mother can't sew. Even if she knew how, I'm sure she wouldn't. She leaves all that stuff to the seamstress." She frowned a little at this. Mikomi's mother came from a long line of royals and made no effort to hide it. She rarely "wasted time" doing things like baking or sewing.
Chiyo's mother was different. Nearly twenty years ago, she had been a priestess at the Temple of the Moon at Mare Serenatis. It was there that she met King Atlas, Chiyo's future father, and they fell in love. Queen Imbriana had changed very little from her early days; she was still the nurturing, loving and reliable woman she always had been. She took joy in her only daughter and would do anything for her.
"Chiyo," Came a voice from the doorway. Kei stood almost fox-like in the arch, her arms folded across her chest. Her sleek brown hair was cut in a tomboyish fashion, offset by her steal-gray eyes. She was wearing pants, as usual; wide black ones that swished lightly when she walked. Her top was flame red and flowy with long sleeves. "Still in your pajamas, I see. You haven't changed at all." Kei finally cracked a smile and held her arms out. Chiyo embraced her old friend and let the familiar, almost male scent swim around her. Kei was very tall, and leaned over to kiss Chiyo sweetly on the forehead. In her left arm she hugged Mikomi and did the same. "Ah, my beautiful girls! I feel like you're growing up so fast."
"You're not THAT much older than us, Kei!" Mikomi laughed. Kei laughed back and looked over the top of Chiyo's head, towards the bed.
"Chiyo... what's that?"
Chiyo suddenly remembered her dress. She jumped away and grabbed it in frenzy. "Oh no! You can't see it til tonight!" Mikomi covered Kei's eyes quickly, but Kei kept trying to peek.
"Why not? You were showing it to Mikomi!" Kei protested.
"I'm not letting any of the men see it until tonight. So I have to include you in that!" Chiyo explained, shutting her wardrobe. Kei opened her mouth to protest but stopped. She only sighed and smiled at her friends. "Alright. I'm going to go say hello to King Atlas and Queen Imbriana. Have fun you two. See you tonight." She turned and left the room easily, walking with her hands in her pockets.
Looking after her, the two girls smiled. "Is she still with Souya?" Mikomi asked nonchalantly. Through the window they saw a ship coming into the dock area, with the mark of Mercury on it. "Oh, Umi's here." she said aside.
"I think that Souya ended the relationship when she went back to Callisto. But. . . I get the impression that there's a new love in Kei's life," Chiyo teased.
"Who is it?" Mikomi asked quickly. Chiyo noticed that Mikomi was leaning in close to her, expectantly.
The door flew open and Umi stood there, holding a fan in each hand. One had a male sign on it; the other had a female sign on it. She approached Mikomi and proceeded to slap her joyfully across the head with each of them.
"It's in the stars, you're meant to be! (Slap) Another's love can set you free! (Slap)" Umi idiotically announced. Her hair was straight and fell to her shoulders. It was deep blue in color, and her eyes were a periwinkle color. At the moment, Umi had pulled her hair back into two mini-pigtails with pink ribbons.
Mikomi rubbed her head tenderly. Chiyo laughed and gave her friend a quick hug. Umi knocked the goofy look off her face and smiled honestly at Chiyo and Mikomi.
"How have you guys been?" Umi was about 5'6", about one inch taller than Chiyo. She patted Mikomi on the head apologetically.
"I'm so excited for the party tonight!" Chiyo giggled a bit. "Mikomi was making fun of me," she said, a little embarrassed.
"Why, because of Rakuen?" Umi inquired, flopping onto Chiyo's bed.
Chiyo blushed again. "Thanks for being so blunt," she remarked.
Umi plucked a chocolate out of a silver moon-shaped dish on Chiyo's nightstand and tossed it in her mouth. "Whaaat? He's a huge hunk, Chiyo. You think we can't tell you like him?"
Chiyo slapped a hand to her forehead and Mikomi laughed out loud. Umi smiled and licked her lips for any stray chocolate pieces. "Are you all ready for tonight, Umi?" Mikomi inquired, reaching for a chocolate herself. "Of course. I got some new shoes before I left that match my dress wonderfully. I will be the belle of the ball!" She did a dramatic pose to emphasize, and the other two laughed. "Just kidding, just kidding. This night is all about Chiyo. I hear you have a new dress to wear!"
Chiyo nodded gleefully, and motioned to her closet. "It's in there, go take a look." Umi hopped off the bed and slipped to the other side of the room towards the closet.
"We were trying to figure out what to do with her hair, since it is so long. I said she looked cute in pigtails." Mikomi explained, toying with a stuffed Pegasus. "But she wants something more 'formal'."
Umi feigned offense. "What's wrong with pigtails?!"
One of the attendants knocked on the open door politely. "Lady Imbria, The queen has summoned you and the other princesses to her quarters," She told them softly. "Kei is already there."
"Odd. I wonder what she wants." Chiyo began combing through her hair and asked the attendant to see if she could find her cat, Astra. The silver tabby had been missing all morning, which was unusual.
Umi helped Chiyo braid her hair back as Mikomi picked a dress out for her. Mikomi loved the dresses that Chiyo had and always enjoyed going through her wardrobe. Today it was a white one with a gold sash around the waist and sheer sleeves.
On their way to the Queen's quarters they met up with Koushi. She looked mystifying and serious as usual, but smiled when she saw her friends. Koushi was the only one of the princess whose hair almost rivaled Chiyo's. It was almost the same length but gloriously oak brown, with a few hints of gold in it. She had it cut in layers, and usually left it loose around her body, but today she had it in a braid from the top of her head. Her eyes were greener that almost any plant Chiyo had seen on Earth. After they exchanged hugs and hellos, they once again made their way to the Queen's quarters.
"I expected we'd be in much later than this. Father insisted on fully inspecting every inch of the ship before take off. I thought we'd never leave." Koushi commented. Today she wore a simple forest green dress with a long gold pendant. She had braided small pink "Zeus Roses" into her hair also, a hybrid of plant that she had bred herself. She always looked breathtaking.
They walked together to the queen's quarters, where Kei held the door open for them. When she said hello to Umi, Umi practically jumped into her arms with an energetic embrace. Koushi hugged Kei tightly and asked how her mother was. Kei's mother had been sick for sometime with a mysterious illness, and the doctors were having no luck in finding a cure for it.
"She is acting less and less like herself," Kei started. The other princesses all listened sympathetically. "Her body is so weak. Father and I have been giving our energy to her, but nothing seems to be working. even the priest is baffled." She held her head high even when she talked about her ailing mother, and Chiyo remembered again why she had always respected Kei-her indelible strength.
Queen Imbriana was on her throne, gazing out the window. When she noticed the girls they all curtsied politely (except for Kei, who bowed).
"Oh, girls! It's so wonderful to have you all here again!" She hugged and kissed each of them very motherly, her daughter last. She cupped Chiyo's chin in her hand and looked into her eyes. "And for such a special day! You've grown so much, Chiyo." She tapped the end of Chiyo's nose lovingly and offered them a seat around the crystal table.
"For this special occasion, I have had special gifts made for all of you. And as soon as the Outers get here, I can give them to you. I can hardly wait!" The queen clasped her hands together joyfully.
As if waiting for a cue, a bright light appeared in the corner of the room at the interplanetary portal. The Inner princesses lived close enough to travel by ship, but the distance and the asteroid belt were inconvenient for the Outers. They instead used the teleporter. It often made you dizzy and sometimes seven sick, but it was very fast. All the planets had one, but the Inners used them only for emergencies.
Kohana, Hakeru, Sora and Yodume had met up on Titan to teleport, where Kohana's castle was. After they appeared the Inners ran to them joyously. There were many hugs and lots of laughing. It had been nearly four years since all of them were last together.
After catching up on the latest news, they settled back into the chairs around the crystal table. There was one empty spot next to the queen reserved for King Atlas, but he was off checking the preparations for the ball that evening. Queen Imbriana looked more excited than ever when each of the Princesses' attendants brought in the gift she had made them. Each of the gifts was wrapped in silver paper with white bows on top. They were all apparently the same thing, because they were each in the same size box- about 5"x5"x3".
"Don't open them just yet!" She jumped, as Umi began enthusiastically tearing off the bow. "I have to make a speech." She said very "officially" and "queen-like". Chiyo could always rely on her mother to make her smile.
"You already know that I consider each of you like my daughters. You all mean more to me than you could ever imagine. I had these made for you each individually, and I hope that you use them well. Keep them as mementos of your families' and friends' love for you, and never forget that you will always have a home here in the Moon Kingdom, whenever you may need it." There was silence, as each of the girls wondered if she was done. When the queen finally bit her lip and said "go!" their excitement had built up so much that the paper hit the floor in no time.
A series of small gasps of excitement arose from the table, as each princess got past the white tissue paper to their gift-A gold compact about three inches in diameter, with their planet's insignia decoratively painted in their designated color on the front. When it was opened, there was a picture of their home palace on the top half and a map of the solar system on the bottom half. On each map, their planet was a small, delicate jewel.
Most of them were speechless. Chiyo managed to speak first. "These. . . these are Henshin Lockets!"
Queen Imbriana nodded happily. Most of the girls were wide-eyed with shock. Umi was smiling so hugely that her cheeks hurt. "Gods willing, you will never have to use them for fighting. But I know that each of you wanted them so badly. . . so I discussed it with the council, and we decided that we could let you have them. I just added a touch of flair to them." She explained with a sly smile.
Chiyo was bursting. "What are our phrases?" She asked merrily.
"Well, if you ever really do have to use them, then you'll know when that time comes." Imbriana explained. The girls went about looking at each other's lockets as Imbriana rose from her seat. "Well now. . preparations for the ball should almost be done, ladies. I would suggest making sure you know what you are wearing tonight before you realize you've left something at home when it's too late."
"My gloves!" Mikomi suddenly remembered out loud. She ran to Imbriana and gave her a quick hug, thanked her for the gift and ran to where her ship had docked. The other girls laughed a little and began to disperse. Chiyo came over to Hakeru and pulled her aside.
"Um. . . Hakeru, is Lord Rakuen planning on coming tonight?" she asked hesitantly. Hakeru had stunning deep blue eyes, and layered shoulder-length ocean blue hair, which she kept mostly out of her face with a black headband. Hakeru loved wearing black, for some reason.
"Tasuke? Of course he's coming. Why wouldn't he?" Hakeru responded. She always spoke fluidly and almost never sounded rash.
"Oh, I just thought I'd ask. I like to know who all is attending these things, you know." Chiyo made a flippant motion with her hand, but Hakeru's intuition saw straight through it. By now they were in the hallway, the other princesses walking ahead of them.
"Chiyo, would you stop with the act?" Hakeru asked, smiling. "You know I can see past that."
Chiyo hung her head a little. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it, okay?" Hakeru reassured her. "Enjoy this night, it's your last as a seventeen-year-old! Live it up!" She turned and began to walk away, leaving her friend only half-happy. Chiyo turned the locket in her hand over and over, a little nervously.
"Oh, I forgot." Hakeru turned around. "He made me promise to tell you." Chiyo's heart jumped.
"Save a dance for him."