Chapter 24
"Thank you, very much, your majesty," Audiana said.
Reenie smiled. They had reached the balcony where the Healers had first arrived. "I'm the one who should be thanking you," Reenie told the leader of the Healers. "But are you sure that you all must be leaving so soon?"
Audiana blushed,
knowing that they had only been doing their jobs. "Yes. I'm
quite sure."
"Well, then have a good trip,"
Reenie said.
Audiana nodded.
"Thank you, your majesty," the white-haired leader of the
Healers replied.
"Thank you, your majesty," the other
Healers echoed.
Reenie smiled and nodded; the look on her face telling them that it was nothing. The Healers were about to walk towards the balcony when Hotaru stepped forward. "I'll see you guys around," she said, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Over the time she had spent with the Healers, they had come to mean as much to her as her family.
Audiana nodded, sensing how Hotaru felt and knowing that she and the other Healers felt the same way. She took a step forward and hugged Hotaru. "We'll come by, little sister," she whispered in Hotaru's ear, as Hotaru hugged Audiana back.
Hotaru smiled and nodded, unable to hold back her tears.
Audiana let go and when she stepped away from Hotaru, the Sailor Scout saw that the Healer had also begun to cry.
The other Healers took a step forward. Miceff was the second to hug her and as he hugged her, he told her, "You're one of us now, Hotaru. I hope you know that."
Hotaru nodded in response, so moved that she was unable to speak.
Miceff patted her on the back, then let go and stepped back beside Audiana.
Statel was the next to step forward. "I guess this is good-bye," the Healer said.
Hotaru nodded; out of all the Healers, Statel was the one who Hotaru had gotten to know the least. The two of them had never spent that much time together. "Good luck," Hotaru said.
Statel nodded and looked at Hotaru. They stood like that for a few minutes, neither of them saying or doing anything. Then out of nowhere, Hotaru stepped forward and hugged Statel.
It took Statel a moment to react, but after a second she hugged Hotaru back. "I'll see you around, kid," she said with a small smile.
Hotaru smiled and nodded. "Definitely." With that, the two of them let go and Statel stepped back beside Audiana and Miceff.
Finally, it was Amia's turn. Quickly, the younger Healer stepped forward and hugged Hotaru. "Take care of Josiah for me," she whispered, near tears.
Hotaru hugged Amia
back; she knew just how close Amia and Josiah had become. Smiling,
she whispered, "Don't worry, I will. Have a good trip, Amia."
"Take care, Hotaru," the youngest Healer said, then
the two of them let go of each other.
When Amia was
standing with the other Healers, Audiana turned to look at Reenie.
"Again, thank you for your hospitality, your majesty," she
said.
"Thank you for saving my life," Reenie replied.
Audiana smiled, then turned to the other Healers and nodded. The other Healers smiled back, then the four of them turned around so that they were facing the balcony. The new queen of Crystal Tokyo and Hotaru took a few steps back as they watched the Healers walk towards the edge of the balcony.
Once they were standing on the ledge, Reenie watched shocked, as they spread out their wings and walked off the ledge. She stood there for a few seconds, her mouth open in shock, staring at the empty space in front of her unable to believe what she what had just seen. She was still standing there a few seconds later when the Healers suddenly appeared, flapping their wings and flying off into the sky.
Reenie smiled when she saw that they were okay. Waiting until the Healers had become tiny dots on the horizon, she turned to Hotaru. "I guess I should go and greet my friends, huh?" Reenie asked, smiling.
Hotaru nodded and the two of them turned and headed back into the palace.
Meanwhile, in Hotaru's room, a figure sat staring out the window. Seeing the flash of light fly into the sky, the figure smiled sadly. "Good-bye," the figure whispered sadly; he knew that his friends would be able to hear him and feel his sadness, "Good-bye."
The
Healers were nearing the atmosphere when Audiana suddenly smiled
sadly. Turning her head to face the others, the smile became less sad
when they nodded in reply. She knew she wasn't the only one who was
able to feel Josiah's pain at leaving his friends/family. Suddenly,
she understood why Josiah hadn't been with them at the balcony to say
his final good-bye. It would have been too painful for him because
while he loved Hotaru, he also loved his friends very much.
"Good-bye, Josiah," she whispered, softly as they flew
through the atmosphere and into space, "Have a good life."
With those words, she and the other Healers said their final good-bye to their former Healer.
"Do you think that Reenie will be okay, Darien?" Serena asked. Shortly after Reenie had left, Kara had fallen back asleep. With Kara sleeping, Darien and Serena quietly crept out of Kara's room. Now, the two of them were walking the palace gardens, hand-in-hand.
Darien sighed. "I don't know," he replied honestly. "I don't think anyone can say that they know for sure. But I think she will."
Serena nodded, then in a worried tone, she asked, "You don't think she'll run away from her duties, like I did, do you?"
Darien smiled and looked at Serena, who was staring at a lily. "No," he replied, his voice soft. "I don't think she will. Besides, it'd be a bit harder for her, don't you think?"
Confused, Serena turned her gaze away from the flower and looked at Darien. "What do you mean?" she asked.
He smiled. "I mean, she's the Queen of Earth," he replied, "Not just of Crystal Tokyo. Everyone in the universe knows who she is and what she looks like. It's not like she can go anywhere without being recognized, you know?"
Serena smiled.
"That's true," she said. Then, after a minute or so, "I
think that's why she liked being in the past so much."
"Huh?"
Darien said, looking at Serena, "What do you mean?"
Serena smiled, glad
that she was able to confuse Darien at times. He was the one was
usually getting her unconfused. "Here, everyone knows who she
is. In the past, only a handful of people knew who she was. I think
she liked that. . . people not being able to recognize her all the
time, you know?"
"You sound like you know from
experience," he said, quietly.
Serena nodded.
"It's weird but when Terence came back I think the reason why I
ran away wasn't only because everyone I kept meeting was from the
Moon Kingdom or that I was getting sick of my destiny. It was just
that the memories from the Moon Kingdom were stronger when he was
around. Some of them were good, but others I didn't like at
all."
"You could feel the battle with Beryl stronger,
huh?" Darien asked.
Still staring at the lily, Serena nodded. "Yeah, and I didn't like it. It was too strong, you know? But now I don't know. . . I've learned to deal with it. I think that's why I can understand how Reenie feels about not wanting to be recognized so easily." There was silence and Serena smiled, knowing that she had confused Darien for a second time. "When Terence and I lived back in the Silver Milenium, everyone in the universe knew who we were. The last memory I have of the two of us Terence and me together in the Silver Millennium was us at a ball. The ball was being held for his and my father's send off to the Sun. That same night my mother was going to introduce me to my newly chosen court.
Anyways, I remember Terence and I walking down the stairs. As soon as we reached the landing, we were surrounded by people wanting to dance with us. . . not necessarily because they actually wanted to dance with us and not even because they actually liked us how could they have liked us? I mean, they didn't really know who we were. They wanted to dance with us because they wanted to be able to say that they had danced with Princess Serenity or Prince Terence."
Darien nodded, knowing how Serena must have felt. He had felt that same way during the Silver Millennium. "I never thought that that's what Reenie must be feeling."
Serena nodded, knowing that he had never thought about it. "I didn't really think of it much either that is, until we came here and I saw what Reenie's life is like. I guess I forgot what it must have been like for a princess."
Darien sighed. "Do you regret that everything happened?"
Serena looked at Darien; the look in her eyes showing that she didn't understand what he meant.
"I mean everything that will happen," he corrected himself. "Us becoming King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo and everything."
Serena sighed and
shrugged. "I don't know," she told him truthfully. "I
don't think I do but looking at the pressures that Reenie has to live
with. . ." Serena left her sentence unfinished, knowing that
Darien understood what she was saying.
"I know, but we
can't change what happens."
Serena looked at him smiling slyly, and he said, "Okay, we can. But if we do then we don't know if everything will turn out okay, right? I mean, sure bad things have happened here but at least we know that they're all going to be okay, right?"
Serena nodded; that much was true. "You're right, Darien," she said. "I just wish that Reenie didn't have to have all this pressure put on her at such a young age. She's only eighteen."
Darien nodded. "I know," he said, "But you have to remember; you were younger when you started saving the world. Saving the world's not that much different from ruling over it, you know? The pressure isn't that much different either, is it?"
Serena sighed.
"You're right, Darien," she admitted. "I'm just not
sure if Reenie's ready."
"Don't worry," he said,
trying to comfort Serena, "She is."
"But how do
you know?" Serena asked, looking up at him.
"I just
do."
"But how?"
"Trust. I trust that our
future selves raised her right. When it comes to down it, I trust
Reenie to do the right thing. She has been right before."
Serena nodded, then looking up at the palace, said, "You're right. That's all we have to do: trust Reenie."
"Melissa! Kristy!" Reenie exclaimed as they entered the main hallway.
Hotaru had left
Reenie's side only a few minutes before, saying that she had to go
see Josiah. Reenie smiled in understanding and had continued on by
herself to greet her friends.
"Hey," Melissa said,
smiling.
"Thanks for meeting them, Pluto," Reenie
thanked her old friend.
Sailor Pluto smiled. "It was not a problem, Queen Serena. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go and make arrangements for your coronation."
Reenie nodded, and
Pluto left.
"So," Melissa began, "You wanted us?"
Reenie smiled and
nodded. "Yeah," she said, her tone no longer the
happy-go-lucky tone it had been when she had first greeted them, "Um,
I have something to tell you guys."
"What?" Kirsty
asked.
"Um, you guys might want to be sitting down for
this," Reenie said. "Trust me, it'll be shocking when you
guys find out the news I have to tell you."
"Reenie,
you can tell us here," Melissa told her friend.
"Are
you sure?" Reenie asked, looking at Kristy.
"What's
going on, Reenie?" Melissa asked, suddenly concerned. "Is
something the matter?"
"No," Reenie said,
truthfully, "But, there is something that will surprise both of
you... mainly, Kristy."
"What?" both of her
friends asked in exasperation.
"Rodney's alive."
Hearing this revelation, both of her friends looked at her, complete shock written on their faces. "H... how can that be?" Kristy asked, "I mean, we found his car and everything."
Reenie nodded. "I know. But you never found his body, right? Well, there is a reason for that, but that can wait until the two of you see him. Come on. I'll take you to him."
With that, Reenie grabbed one arm of each of her friends and took her two stunned friends to Rodney's room.
Josiah was still
sitting in Hotaru's room when he heard a soft knock on the door. He
smiled, knowing who was behind the door. Before he could even say
anything, the door opened and Hotaru entered the room, closing the
door behind her.
"Hey," she said.
Josiah smiled and
nodded. "Hey," he said.
"You didn't come and say
good-bye to them."
"I know. I couldn't watch them
leave. Besides, I'd already told them good-bye earlier."
Hotaru smiled, knowing that Josiah wasn't telling her everything. "You sent them a message, didn't you?" she asked him, knowing that he had.
Josiah nodded. "Just wishing them a good trip."
Hotaru smiled and walked towards her bed, where Josiah sat. "Are you sure that you made the right decision?" she asked, seeing the sorrow in his eyes at the thought of leaving his friends.
Josiah nodded as
Hotaru sat down across from him on the edge of the bed. "I'm
sure. I can live without them." Then he leaned over and kissed
her softly on the lips. A few minutes passed, their lips still locked
together. Josiah was the first to break the kiss. Then, with his hand
cupping Hotaru's chin and looking directly into her eyes, he
whispered to her, "You're the one I can't live without, Hotaru."
He let go of her chin and slowly, the two of them leaned in for a
second kiss. Their lips met and locked together. When they finally
parted several minutes later, they were both breathing heavily.
"I
think," Hotaru said, trying to catch her breath, "that we
should probably go and see how the Scouts are doing."
Tracing the line of her lips with his finger, Josiah nodded. "Let's go," he said. With that, the two of them stood up and hand-in-hand headed towards the CT Scouts' rooms.
"Why do you think Queen Serena wanted to bring them here?" Neptune asked Uranus.
The two of them had
arrived at the palace more than fifteen minutes ago. Immediately
they'd gone back to take their places guarding Rodney Kirsta's room.
Sailor Uranus shrugged in reply. "Don't know."
"Isn't
it obvious?" a voice suddenly asked.
Surprised, both of them turned to see Sailor Pluto standing only a few feet away.
"Where'd you
come from?" Uranus asked.
"That doesn't matter,"
Pluto replied, waving it off. "What matters is getting the
preparations ready for Queen Serena's coronation."
"Why?"
Neptune asked, "When is it going to happen?"
"Tonight,"
Pluto informed them.
"Tonight!" they both exclaimed.
Pluto nodded.
"Yes," she said, "Tonight. The others must go back to
the past before that, unfortunately, but if all goes well, then I do
not think that that will matter."
"But why tonight,
Pluto?" Neptune asked.
"We must get Crystal Tokyo back
in order," Pluto said. "Everything is running smoothly for
now, but it will not be long before something happens. We need to
have a queen to make sure that nothing of the sort happens. Besides,
others outside of Earth will soon learn that Queen Serena has
defeated Nemesis and will be coming to congratulate her. I have a
feeling that they would respect her more if she had been through the
proper coronation ceremony. Which is why, of course, they are invited
to the coronation ceremony tonight."
"Are you sure that
she's ready?" Uranus asked.
Pluto nodded. "I wouldn't be doing this if she weren't."
Uranus nodded,
knowing that what Pluto was telling her was true.
"But why
do you need our help?" Neptune asked, "Our job's to guard
Rodney."
Pluto shook her
head. "Believe me when I say that he can be trusted. We only
needed to guard him for the first while after he came out of it to
see if what Reenie had done had actually worked. It has. He'll not be
reverting to his old ways. Besides, Melissa Austin and Kristy Kirsta
are coming this way soon and I have a feeling that they will wonder
what has happened if they see the two of you guarding Rodney's
door."
"You mean they don't know?" Neptune asked,
incredulous.
Pluto nodded. "All
they know is that Rodney's alive. At least, that's what I think Queen
Serena's told them. I think she's going to wait to fill them in.
Knowing Queen Serena, she's going to want them to see him first
before she tells them what he has done."
"You're sure
that Rodney needs no one to guard his room?" Uranus asked, with
one arched eyebrow.
Pluto nodded, getting impatient with the two suspicious Scouts. "Yes," she said, her feelings showing in her voice, "Now, we must go." Before waiting for a reply from either Scout, Pluto lifted her time staff and drew a circle surrounding the three Scouts. A light flashed and when the light had disappeared seconds later, there was no one standing outside of Rodney's bedroom.
"What was that flash of light?" Melissa asked Reenie. The three of them had already entered the hospital wing of the palace and Reenie was leading them towards Rodney's room.
Reenie shrugged in reply to her friend's question, knowing very well what the flash of light was but not wanting her friends to know.
You couldn't have came a bit earlier, Pluto? Reenie wondered. She knew that her old friend had come to the hospital and had taken Sailor Uranus and Neptune away from guarding Rodney's door. She was grateful for that. She wouldn't have wanted to explain to her friends why he was under guard. "It was nothing important. It was probably just Pluto. She does that when she needs to go places quickly. Come on. Rodney's room is just down the hall."
Less
than five minutes later, Kristy, Reenie, and Melissa were standing in
front of Rodney's door. "Wasn't this where the flash of light
came from?" Kristy asked.
"I'm sure it was just down
the hall," Reenie lied. Then, looking at her two friends, "Now
you guys have to wait a few seconds. I don't think that Rodney knows
that the two of you are here, so I'm going to go and tell him ahead
of time, okay?"
"Why can't we just surprise him?"
Melissa asked.
"Because Rodney may go into shock if we
surprise him," Reenie told them. "He's still surprised that
he's in Crystal Tokyo. He only remembers Crystal Tokyo from the
past."
Hearing this, Melissa and Kristy frowned. "What are you talking about?" Kristy asked, "How can he possibly be surprised that he's here?"
Reenie sighed. "Nemesis did something to him. I'll tell you more after you see him, okay? Just let me have a few minutes to talk to him first, okay?"
Kristy nodded. "Okay," she said. "We'll wait."
Reenie turned to look at Melissa, asking her with her eyes if she would do the same.
Melissa sighed and nodded.
Reenie smiled her thanks, then opened the door and entered Rodney's room.
Rodney
was still in sitting in his hospital room, thinking about everything
that had happened and how he could possibly prove himself to Reenie,
when he suddenly heard the door open. Surprised, he turned to see who
was entering his room.
"Hey, Rodney," Reenie said,
smiling as she entered his room, making sure to close the door behind
her.
"Hi, Reenie," he said, looking down at his hands.
Reenie sighed and walked over to his bedside. "You're not still upset, are you?" Reenie asked, sitting down beside him, and taking his left hand in her right hand.
Rodney sighed and lifted his head to look at the girl he loved. "I can't help it, Reenie. I know what I did."
Reenie was about to open her mouth to argue with him, when Rodney shook his head. "Reenie, as much as I hate to say it, it was me. I was under Nemesis's control, but it was still my fault."
Reenie sighed. "Rodney, we have to get past this. Especially if you're going to accept what I'm going to ask you."
Rodney looked at her, confusion showing in his eyes.
Reenie smiled and patted his hand. "Don't worry," she said, smiling, "It's nothing bad. But, um, you know how I'm going to be crowned queen right?"
Rodney nodded; he knew.
"Well,"
she began, looking down at her hand holding his. "After I'm
crowned, it will be my job to rule over Crystal Tokyo and the rest of
Earth. But I really don't want to be doing it by myself." By
now, Reenie was blushing. She hadn't known that this would be so
hard.
"Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?"
Rodney asked, slightly surprised.
Reenie smiled and
placed a strand of her long, pink hair behind her ear. "I think
I am," she said. "I am asking if you would agree to rule
Crystal Tokyo and the rest of Earth with me by my side."
"I don't think I'm the right person you should be asking
this, Reenie," he told her, his voice soft.
Reenie looked at him, not understanding what he was saying to her.
"Reenie, you know what I did. How can you possibly ask me to rule by your side, considering what I did?"
Reenie sighed.
"Rodney, I know but again, you must understand what I'm telling
you. That was not you . . . not your true self, anyways. Trust me
when I tell you that you ARE the right person who I should be asking
this. You're the one whom I care about, Rodney. You're the only
person who I want to rule by my side."
"Not many people
are going to be pleased by this decision. Your friends, their
parents. . . and I'm sure that they're not the only ones who won't
like this decision."
"Does that mean that your answer's yes?"
Rodney grinned. "If
you're sure about what you're asking."
"I'm
sure."
"Then, yes."
Reenie fought to
not squeal with delight and wrapped her arms around him. "This
is great," she told him with a grin. "Kristy and Melissa
will be thrilled."
"What?" Rodney said, not sure
he'd heard correctly. "Kristy and Melissa? What are they doing
here?"
Reenie smiled and let go of him. "Well," she began, "You know how you're in the future and everything, right?"
Rodney nodded.
"And do you remember the last thing that happened to you in the past?"
Again, Rodney
nodded. "My car was flying off a cliff when some guy from
Nemesis came and took me away."
"Well," Reenie
began, "You might be missing a bit. All I can tell you is that
you're about a thousand years in the future. Because of a time freeze
spell that Nemesis cast on the world, nobody aged. The world changed
and a thousand years after the spell was cast, this crystal that my
mother had, and that was passed down to me after her death, had
gathered enough power to unfreeze the world. Anyways, when the world
thawed out everyone knew who the Sailor Scouts were they were my
parents and their friends, by the way. Things happened and my mom was
crowned queen of the world. That's kind of how I ended up in this
position. Anyways, back to Kristy and Melissa. They don't look like
the last time they saw you. They're older, but trust me, they're
Melissa and Kristy. They're also waiting outside for me to tell them
that it's okay for them to come see you. Do you think that you're
ready? Do you think you'll be able to handle seeing them?"
Rodney nodded, obviously a little shocked about Kristy and
Melissa being a thousand years in the future. "Yeah," he
said. "Let them in."
Reenie nodded, got
up off the bed, walked towards the door, and opened it just a crack.
"You guys can come in," she told her two friends who were
waiting outside.
"Finally," Melissa said as she
entered the room.
"Rodney!" Kristy exclaimed, passing
Melissa and running to her brother's side.
"Kristy!" he
cried, as Kristy reached him and wrapped her arms around him.
"Is
it really you?" Kristy cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Rodney nodded, and
wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah," he said, not quite
sure why Kristy was acting the way she was.
"I can't believe
it," she said, still hugging him. "We thought you were
dead!"
Oh, Rodney thought, suddenly understanding why Kristy was crying, Now I get it. "But I'm not, Kristy," he told her, trying to stop her tears, "I'm alive."
Kristy let go of
Rodney and sniffed, nodding her head. "I know."
"It's
just weird seeing you," Melissa told Rodney, standing by Reenie,
a few feet away from the brother and sister, "I mean, we thought
you were dead for so long and now to find that you're alive. . . "
Melissa left her sentenced unfinished, not quite sure how to finish
it.
"Where have you been for so long?" Kristy asked
her brother, curiosity in her eyes. "Why didn't you come
back?"
"Uh, Kristy," Reenie began, beginning to
walk towards Rodney and Kristy, "We Rodney and I have a
few things to tell you before he explains that."
Not understanding what Reenie was talking about, Kristy turned to look at her friend with a confused expression on her face.
Rodney looked at Reenie, a questioning look in his eyes.
Seeing the
questioning look in his eyes, Reenie nodded.
"Kristy,"
Rodney began, "You don't know who was the leader of Nemesis when
they attacked two and a half years ago, do you?"
Kristy frowned and
shook her head. "No. I don't think does."
"Actually,
that's not true," Reenie said from where she stood on the other
side of Rodney's bed. "I know."
Then looking at
Rodney, she smiled softly and he said, "And so do I."
"You do!" Melissa and Kristy asked in unison, both
looking at Rodney, the surprise that they felt showing in their eyes.
Rodney nodded,
ashamed. "Yes," he told them, "I do."
"Well,
who was it?" Melissa asked, her reporter's instinct on alert.
"Where is he?"
Reenie sighed.
"He's right here," she said, placing her hand on Rodney's
shoulder.
"What?" Kristy asked, not quite sure what
Reenie was saying.
"You mean, Rodney's the person who was in
charge of Nemesis?" Melissa asked, incredulous.
Rodney
nodded.
"Technically," Reenie began, coming to Rodney's
defense. "It wasn't him. I mean, Nemesis had brainwashed him
into thinking that he was Prince Diamond's heir and that he had to
avenge Diamond's death. So when he was doing all of those horrible
things, it wasn't actually him, it was Nemesis."
"But
how's he still alive?" Kristy asked. "I mean, I saw the car
after they pulled it from the ocean. No one would have been able to
survive that."
"But I didn't get hurt in the crash,
Kristy. Some guy from Nemesis I think it was some guy named
Wiseman, but I don't really remember that came. Before I could
crash into the ocean, pulled me out of the car and transported me to
the future somehow. I'm still not sure how that works. Anyways, he
took me to the Nemesis headquarters and brainwashed me into thinking
that Diamond was my real father. When Diamond died I was brought to
believe that, as his son, it was my duty to avenge his death."
"So, you're the person who put us through all that crap
with the bombs and shit?" Melissa asked. She was having a hard
time believing that Rodney who was usually so sweet and
mild-mannered could have done something like that.
Rodney nodded in
answer to her question.
"But you're not brainwashed now,
right?" Kristy asked her brother, standing up from where she had
been sitting on the bed.
Rodney nodded. "I'm
no longer brainwashed. Thanks to Reenie, that is. She almost killed
herself in trying to help me."
"What!" both
Melissa and Kristy exclaimed in disbelief.
"He's
exaggerating," Reenie said quickly, trying to calm her friends
down. "I just helped to de-brainwash him."
Rodney shook his
head. "I'm not exaggerating," Rodney argued. "She used
a crystal to help save my life. Somehow, she pulled the evil from me
and it went inside of her. Because the crystal was connected to her
through the family lines, the evil that had gone inside of her was
slowly killing her. That's why the Healers were called here."
"They
were called because I needed some help," Reenie admitted. Then
changing the subject, she said, "Anyways, now that you know
everything about what happened, we have some happier news to tell
you."
"What?" Kristy asked, wondering what they
could possibly be hiding from them now.
"The two of you know
that I am going to be crowned queen soon, right?" Reenie asked
her two friends.
Melissa and Kristy both nodded.
"Well," Reenie began, "Rodney's agreed to rule with me by my side."
Hearing this, their eyes widened in surprise. "What!" they exclaimed.
Reenie smiled,
trying to hide her laughter. "Maybe we should've kept that until
you guys had a little more time before we told you that, but I
figured have you heard we told about Rodney being in charge of
Nemesis, that you guys might've wanted to hear some good news."
"So, my brother's going to be king?" Kristy asked,
trying to make sure that she was understanding what they were telling
her.
"Wow," Rodney said, "I never even thought
about that." Then looking at Reenie, he said, "She's right,
isn't she?"
Reenie smiled and nodded. "Yep. You'll be king and I'll be queen."
Rodney shook his head in disbelief. "It just sounds weird, you know?" Rodney said.
Reenie smiled and patted his shoulder. "You'll get used to it," she said. "But meanwhile, I have to go and talk to Pluto about a few things. Do you guys mind if I leave for a few minutes? I'll be back later."
She gave a quick kiss to Rodney, then waved good-bye, and left Rodney's room, making sure to shut the door behind her.
