-Chapter 11-
The Jumpsuit

"It's been a month since the talk, I've spoken with my scholars of my upcoming absence, Auntie Mikoto has been made aware of my arrival, mother has told the people of Alexandria that I will be away from the Kingdom for a bit to pursue my own study in learning about Madain Sari; to which was well received by everyone. My mother's words seem to carry stronger with the people of Alexandria, ever since her revelation she has been more transparent with everyone with every action she takes. The trust she built with them has strengthened her bond with the people, yet outside influences still continue to hinder her decisions and words. I still cannot fathom why they still feel my absence is a crime, I only wish to understand myself, am I not to understand who I am as a person?

On the brighter note; I'm happy for Rose, she told me she decided not to pursue being a soldier. I told her how I honestly felt about it and she was glad to know that I still will hold her dear in my heart. She showed me what her parent's gave her, her tools were so beautiful that I couldn't imagine a better gift for her. She's made good use of them so far, she seems happier now that the pressure she had no longer exists. We both overcame our own pressure to please our parents well for what they are truly seeking in us.

I did tell her about my venture to Madain Sari coming up; she was a bit sad to hear about it. I did however didn't want her to think that I was going just with Cousin Eiko…"

"Ahh! Zoe!"

"Zoe you silly girl, don't pounce her now."

"Ahhhhh!"

"Come on Zoe relax!"

"Sa…Sarah!"

Sarah gently pulled on the leash as the excited dog placed her for forepaws against the top of Rose's knee high boots; tail wagging happily. Rose gently pushed the pet away from her as Zoe landed her forepaws on the grass. Rose breathed heavily from the pet's excitement to see her; Rose brushed her forehead with her right arm as Sarah gently grabbed Zoe's collar.

"I'm sorry Rose, you know how excited Zoe gets when she sees you." The Princess said as she gently restrained the excited pet. Rose shook her head.

"It's alright, I just get a little startled when she gets this excited." Rose replied as she kneeled on the grass while looking at Zoe.

"Luckily she didn't mess up your batch of lavenders you just planted here, I would feel so guilty if she had ruined them." Sarah said looking to her friend. Rose shook her head.

"It's quite alright, I know it's hard to tend to them when animals are present; sometimes even the squirrels cause much ruckus when I'm just tending to the plants. One pulled out a freshly planet orchard by the gardens the other day; I was sad that it ruined the look of the patch…"

Sarah shook her head.

"Rose it still looks beautiful, besides ever since you decided not to be a soldier and give all your free time gardening; you look happier more than ever now." Sarah smiled.

"I…I do?" Rose tilted her head.

"You certainly do! Your mood has been much lively and you're not as nervous as you use to be." The Princess smiled.

"I…I am?"

Sarah nodded.

"Definitely! I'm glad you've worked out the courage to overcome your own pressure, I kept hoping you would."

"Hmm…tha…thank you Sarah." Rose said as she stood up and brushed her pants with her hands as Sarah watched.

"Are you still…going to venture to Madain Sari?" Rose asked as she finished brushing her pants.

"Hmmm. I still am, I know when I first mentioned you weren't very…thrilled about it."

Rose gently brushed her hair to the side as she looked away from her friend with her eyes. The small breeze of wind blew past the three as Rose gave thought of the idea.

"I'm…just worried about you that's all…"

Sarah placed a hand on her friend's shoulder as Rose looked back towards her.

"Rose, I don't want you to think I'm going away forever, I would never do that to you. As a matter a fact…I…I was thinking about it and I don't want to go just with myself and cousin Eiko."

"Wha…what do you mean?"

Sarah smiled.

"I want you to come along also."

Rose gasped.

"Me…me? Come along?"

Sarah nodded.

"Yeah! You've always been by my side during much of my life and have shared much of my most crucial life moments. I couldn't possibly do this without you. You know to be honest you were always by my side as a close friend, you were always protecting me from making the wrong choices in my life. That to me was meaningful because you weren't a soldier then, you acted on your own terms and not what the soldiers have to live by. To me Rose, that was your way of protecting me."

Zoe let out some gentle barks as Sarah patted the dog's head.

"Even Zoe agrees too and she's only been her for a short time and knows you always had a good heart."

Rose looked towards the panting pet; then back towards her smiling friend. She let out a smile.

"I'm…I'm happy you're considering me to come along; I hope…mother won't mind."

Sarah smiled.

"Please I think Auntie Beatrix would more than be happy to let you tag along. Cousin Eiko will be with us and she's a season pro when it comes to adventures! We'll be safe with her, besides I have been learning about some healing spells ever since she moved in; I'm sort of getting the hang out it so far."

Rose arched in eyebrow, much to her own surprise.

"You…you have?"

"Yeah, here, lend me your arm."

Sarah gently placed Zoe's leach on the dog's back as the dog looked up to her, she then extended her hand out, Rose then extended her right arm as Sarah gently grabbed it midpoint between her friend's elbow and hand. She carefully pulled it closer towards her chest and with her other hand hovered above her friend's arm. She looked at her friend.

"Rose…do…do you trust me?"

Rose looked up to her friend, she saw in her friend's confident blue eyes she was ready to show her friend how much she has learned since her incident. Rose nodded gingerly.

"I…I trust you Sarah." She responded as her friend smiled and nodded.

Sarah turned her attention to her friend's arm; she closed her eyes and took one deep breath. As she exhaled the world around her went silent, her ears muted the world around her. Her tail gently curled itself slowly, she could feel an energy flowing throw her body; calming her nerves, it pinpointed to her hand hovering above her friend's arm. She slowly opened her eyes, herself, Rose, and Zoe all watched as a small light flashed a beautiful yet mysterious gentle green color wave flowing between the princess's hands and her friends arm.

Rose let out a silent gasp in amazement of the light as it looked like an ocean wave floating around her arm, she felt the light's sensation feeling, it was new to her yet it felt very relaxing. The wave of light gently brushed against the young woman's skin as it circled around the arm gently disappearing into the arm itself. The feeling of the mysterious energy and light suddenly disappeared and Rose felt her arm feel more relaxed.

The two friends were in awe by the moment while Zoe happily panted seemingly pleased with her master's new fond ability.

"Did it work?" Sarah asked as she looked to her friend. "How does it feel?"

"It…it feels warm…and it feels…it feels nice." Rose gently pulled her arm away from her friend as she rotated it trying to look for the light. "What…was that spell?" she looked up to her friend.

"Cousin Eiko said it's a curing spell, maybe since you don't have any cuts on you it's probably not that noticeable." Sarah looked up as her friend continued to observe her own arm.

"A curing spell?" Rose asked as she looked up to her friend.

"Yeah, it's a simple one she taught me, she didn't want to overwhelm me too much so…she wanted me to just learn this simple spell for now. I have been reading about others but this one she felt was a good basic one to start off with."

"Oh wow…I was a little nervous at first but…it felt very nice."

Sarah smiled.

"Thank you for being honest with me…I was kinda nervous as well…but I'm glad it worked out well."

Rose nodded, she lowered her arm.

"I'm glad you did well." Rose smiled.

"I'm glad…so…will you still consider coming along with me Rose?"

Rose placed a hand under her chin, she turned her attention towards the small batch of freshly planted lavender surrounding the orchards that were brushing alongside of the palace's walls, then towards Zoe looking towards her still panting happily, then looked up to her smiling friend. She thought about what her parents said about being by her friend's side for all the right reasons. She felt like maybe this was a moment she had to make a decision that is right for her. If she said no, Sarah would understand no matter what, it was not every day Rose ventured out by herself without her parent's present; yet if she was to live in Dali, she would have to learn how to be self-sufficient.

Perhaps this would give her a chance to show her parents she is ready to venture out on her own and helm her responsibilities when she does leave Alexandria on her own. Not only that but her friend would no doubt appreciate her presence as they always have been since their childhood.

"I…I would be happy to accompany you…to Madain Sari." Rose said confidently.

Sarah clapped her hands together and smiled with excitement.

"You will!?" she said with excitement.

Rose nodded confidently.

Sarah then grabbed her friend's hands bringing them up together; Rose let out a yelp as Sarah jumped in place with excitement and Zoe wagging her tail happily watching the two.

"Thank you so much Rose! This means a lot to me!" Sarah said as she stopped jumping with her confused friend still looking at her. Rose let out a smile.

"I will do anything I can to be supportive of you as well Sarah and…I…I want to also someday be self-sufficient as well." Rose said.

"Were you thinking of moving out someday?" Sarah said as brought her hands closer to her as Rose started blushing a bit.

"Uhm...uhm…" Rose looked at her hands being held by her friend. "Uhm…I…I have gave thought…"

"Rose I don't want you to ever think that if you wanna live somewhere else that I would be sad about it."

Rose looked up to her friend.

"Re…really?"

Sarah nodded.

"You know what the best thing about our lives is? We can choose who we can visit whenever we want and whoever we want. Plus aside from being a Princess I can just easily just leave the palace and mother won't ever say no, I think it's safe to say at this point as long as I'm being responsible with where I go and who I tell, I'll be alright. Plus everyone around the kingdom seems have been supportive about me venturing about so I can visit you whenever I want." Sarah smiled.

Rose was in awe by her friend's supportive response, she felt very relieved knowing her friend was not sad about her potential departure from Alexandria.

"You know, I think Dali would be a place I can see you settling down in." Sarah winked as Rose gasped in surprise by her friend's recommendation.

"You…you think Dali is…right for me?"

Sarah nodded.

"Rose Steiner Beatrix of Dali has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you agree?"

Rose blinked a few times as her friend chuckled happily.

"I…uhm…uhm…" Rose looked away for a moment feeling embarrassed out of habit. She looked back to her friend still smiling. "I hope you wouldn't mind if I did…move there…"

"Of course I wouldn't; no matter where we are in the world Rose, we will always be best friends for life. Nothing can ever take that away from us." Sarah smiled.

Rose felt mildly overwhelmed a bit by her friend's words but knew every word she spoke were genuine and only mean well for the bother of them. She let out a smile and nodded.

"Thank you Sarah…for being supportive in my life. I'm…I'm grateful for all you've done for me as well. I'm happy to see that you'll never think less of me of my decisions."

Sarah nodded.

"We'll always be there for each other Rose, always."

"Awwwww" A voice called out not to far from the friends as they looked over to the sound of the voice spotting Nadine and Mei standing on the path leading into the palace as the two maids smiled at the moment.

"You two are too adorable!" Mei complimented.

Rose found herself cheek turning much brighter as let go of her friend's hands and looked away.

"Lady Rose are you…embarrassed?" Nadine noticed as Rose shook her head fiercely, Sarah couldn't help but laugh.

"Rose is just being Rose as always. Hehe!" Sarah responded as the two maids and Sarah shared a laugh together. Rose clenched her fists in embarrassment, she started to tremble a bit, she felt Sarah's hand brush up against her back as she gasped and looked to her friend smiling.

"It's alright Rose, nothing to be embarrassed about." Her friend assured her.

"So…so…sorry." Rose timidly said as she turned towards the maid.

"Lady Rose the lavenders look beautiful, my word you've outdone yourself again." Nadine complimented taking note of the newly planted floral arrangements.

"They certainly compliment the palace exteriors much well with the orchards, gods you've a gift for floral designs around here, the Queen certainly has chosen the right person for the job here." Mei admired.

"Oh…tha…thank you both…I'm not quite particular done yet, I still have the rest of the palace to go through…it'll be some time before I can finish before the winters arrives." Rose said.

"By all means if there is anything else we can assist with, you know Rubie is more than happy to supply any help you may need to accomplish your vision." Nadine said.

"Oh…I…I don't wish to trouble any of the maids…"

"It's no trouble at all, by all means please let us assist in any ways possible. I'm certain Rubie would be glad to ask for volunteers, matter a fact all of us have been wondering when you needed more help." Mei smiled.

"Oh…uhm…I…I will speak to her when I see her again."

"She would be glad to hear." Nadine smiled, she then turned her attention to Sarah. "Your Highness, your mother wishes to see you in her chambers if you've a moment to lend."

Sarah nodded.

"Of course, I'll be up there shortly." She said, then looked to her friend. "Rose will you be alright while I'm away?"

"I…I shall be…" she responded.

"Alrighty, I'm sure mother probably wishes to speak about our venture."

Rose nodded.

"Well I won't be long now, I'll come back and help you more."

"Hmm…thank you Sarah."

Sarah smiled then looked down towards Zoe.

"Come along Zoe, let's go see mother together." Sarah said as the dog happily barked; she shook her entire body, the end of the leash fell on the grass, she sniffed the leash and gently bit the end and looked up towards Sarah. Sarah laughed.

"Guess you'll be walking yourself?" Sarah winked, she then turned her attention to the maids.

"Thank you both for the message." Sarah bowed to the maids as they smiled.

"With pleasure Your Highness." Nadine said.

"By all means, please let us know if there's anything else we can do for you." Mei smiled.

"I'm very well for now, thank you both again for everything." Sarah gently bowed and took her leave with Zoe following along as everyone watched the two walk into the palace.

…

"Are you a bit nervous about your venture?"

"Hmm, nay mother I'm actually quite excited about it. I even asked Rose if she could come along and she said yes."

"She did now? That's wonderful, I'm glad the two of you spoke about it, I thought about mentioning to Rose about your venture but I didn't wish to overstep your boundaries."

"You wouldn't have mother but I was so happy to hear that she's considering moving out too."

Garnet shook her head in disbelief.

"She…she is?" The Queen arched an eyebrow as she looked over her shoulders and slowly turned her entire body towards her daughter from her seat in front of her vanity mirror. She spotted her daughter sitting on top of her bed with a delightful aura around her.

"Yeah I was really happy for her too, I can't believe Rose is finally taking herself more seriously, I was worried she was always going to mindlessly venture into being a soldier without really considering her own feelings. I know she wants to always make Auntie Beatrix and Uncle Steiner happy yet I know they want her to feel appreciative of her own feelings as well. I haven't seen her this happy in such a long time mother." Sarah raised up her legs and wrapped her arms around them as she laid back on top of her mother's bed.

"I feel like everything in life is coming along so well. I don't know what else I could ask for."

Garnet smiled.

"I'm glad to hear all of this, it gives me great comfort knowing that you enjoying your life at the moment; despite all that's happened."

Sarah let out a relieving sigh.

"I know not everything is all perfect but that's beside the point, I know there's probably other things happening outside of these walls that I don't know about but…I know I'll take care of them when I return."

Garnet closed her eyes, she tried not to think about the conversation she, Zidane and Eiko had after Sarah revealed her tale of the mysterious woman. She opened her eyes.

"Sarah, is there perhaps anything else that your papa and I can do before you leave for Madain Sari?"

Sarah throw herself up from the bed, releasing her legs from her own grip, planting her feet flat on the floor and resting her hands on the edge of the bed with a smile at her mother.

"Nay mother…I believe I should at this point be able to helm this on my own." Sarah said confidently.

Garnet nodded.

"Sarah…perhaps it's time that I show you something I've been…meaning to give to you when the time was right. And I believe this is no doubt the time."

"Hmm? What is it mother?"

Garnet smiled, she stood up from her seat as Sarah watched along. The Queen walked to her large dresser standing against the wall beside her bed. She opened the double doored oak wooden dress, revealing her assortment of clothing, ranging from dresses to night gowns and casual clothing. The Queen kneeled down to the bottom of the dresser, she gently pushed aside all the dressed revealing a medium size brown case with golden locks on each side, the Queen reached behind the box pulling out one of her flats, she reached inside and pulled out a small key.

Sarah slid off the bed as she watched over her mother's shoulders, she wondered what her mother could be keeping locked away in the mysterious box. Valuable jewelry? Not likely she knew her mother was not much of a jeweler, summoning pendants of other Eidolons? Perhaps.

The Queen inserted the key in each lock unlocking each latch one by one, she looked over her shoulder spotting her daughter.

"Come beside me." She said gently said with a smile. Sarah nodded, the Queen slid to her right. Sarah briefly looked over her shoulder spotting a sleepy Zoe in her red fur cushioned bed.

"Maybe I'll let her rest, she's been playful the whole day." Sarah thought to herself. She looked back to her mother and kneeled beside her. The Queen's hands grabbed the side of the box, she looked to her daughter.

"For the longest time, I had wondered when the day you would venture outside of the palace would come. You know of my story, now I firmly believe this is the time for yours to come to life."

Garnet gently opened the case as its loud creaking sound rung in the mother and daughter's ears. Sarah let out a surprising gasp, a large neatly folded orange like fabric on the left of the box close to her, a white blouse folded neatly in the middle, a pair of red gloves with golden buckles attached and a pair of red heeled boots on the right, all laid before her. The stories she heard of her mother's adventures since she was a young child, she heard it many times and can nearly recite every aspect part word for word. The one thing about her mother's story that stood out the most, was her fabled jumpsuit, her incognito disguise to the world, the outfit she was known by many as Dagger.

"Mother…is…is this it?" Sarah looked to her mother. Garnet looked to her daughter and nodded.

"It is…it's the same one I wore, I kept it close to me because it's bonded with memories I made during my travels. I could never let go of it. It bears many memories since the night I met your father." The Queen sighed happily.

"It looks beautiful mother…may I?"

The Queen nodded. Sarah looked towards the orange jumpsuit, she carefully submerged her hand behind the garment carefully pulling it out of the box, she then gently shook the fabric as the jumpsuit revealed itself in its entirety before the Princess' eyes. Freshly cleaned with no wear and tear, the clean white leather belt buckles on the legs, still clean. She flipped the garment front and back quickly, she laid it against herself as her mother chuckled with delight.

"It looks well on you Sarah." The Queen complimented. Sarah looked to her mother.

"You believe so mother?" Sarah asked as she kept the garment against her.

"It suits you well, there's one more, take a look." The Queen pointed into the box, as Sarah looked along she spotted a neatly folder white with red triangular shaped garment. Sarah folded the jumpsuit and laid it on her lap, she picked up the white garment, gently shaking it revealing itself to be her mother's robe, she rotated the garment front and back, spotting some burn marks on the hood.

"Mother…wha…what happened?" she asked as she brought the hood closer to her own eyes.

Garnet let out a soft chuckle.

"Do you remember when Vivi accidently set me on fire?" she said.

Sarah cocked her head to her mother in surprise.

"OH! Goodness I nearly forgot about that…"

"It's quite alright, he didn't mean to, he was just scared." The Queen smiled.

"Poor Vivi…and at least you weren't harmed mother."

Garnet shook her head.

"I knew the risk I was taking, thankfully Rubie was there that night to retrieve this."

"Rubie was there that night?"

Garnet nodded.

"She was the same age as Nadine at that time, she was actually the first I told of my plan to flee Alexandria. In fact…she was the one whom trained me."

Sarah gasped; she then carefully lowered the robe onto her lap.

"She trained you?"

"Hmm, a maid never reveals her secrets of all royalties sweetie. She knows much more than you think." Garnet winked.

Sarah smiled.

"Is that why you kept her around after grandmother passed?"

Garnet nodded.

"She truly understood my dilemma I was feeling, I was reluctant to tell her at first but…I remember one day she did ask me something that made me knew I could trust her."

"And what was that mother?"

Garnet looked at her jumpsuit on her daughter's lap and sighed.

"What are you willing to do for your mother to save her from herself?"

"Hmmm…I see I see."

"I remember that day all too well. She came into…my room at that time, I had the dream of my biological mother and I fleeing from Madain Sari again. She came into my room and noticed I was not well. We spoke about my dream for a bit, then we spoke about my adopted mother for a bit, I did mentioned she wasn't quite herself lately ever since my adopted father had passed. She opened up a bit taking note of her observations of her as well. I told her I wish there was something I could do about it. It was then she asked me that question…my honest answer was if there was anything I can do to save mother, I would give my life to her to be able to overcome any grief she may be experiencing."

Sarah couldn't help but smile, she could remember herself doing the same for own mother when she was a mere child. The flashbacks that haunted her mother, confiding to her maid to help her overcome the grief Garnet was experiencing. It was all too familiar.

"It's just like when me and Nadine wanted…to help you as well mother." Sarah said as she rested her head against her mother's skin exposed shoulder, she closed her eyes and sighed happily; Garnet smiled and wrapped her left arm around her daughter.

"Our stories are not so much different from one another aren't they Sarah?"

Sarah gently nodded.

"Nay mother, they're very similar to one another."

"Hmmm."

Sarah opened her eyes and lifted her head off her mother's shoulder.

"Sarah would you like to try it on?"

Sarah briefly squinted her eyes in disbelief of what she heard her mother just asked.

"You mean…I…I can wear this mother?" The surprised princess responded as she placed her mother's robe back in the box and lifted the jumpsuit in the air before them.

"You may." Garnet smiled.

"But mother…I…I don't think my tail wi-"

Garnet gently took a hold of her daughter's hands and rotated the dress, she released a hand reached around the dress, feeling the garment with her hand as Sarah watched. Garnet felt a particular part on the garment, she pinched her fingers together and gently unveiled a small patch of fabric with the sound of velcro echoing in the chamber. A pair of flopped ears perked up in the distance as a sleepy Zoe raised her head up to the sound spotting Garnet and Sarah in the distance.

Sarah blinked in disbelief as the patch of fabric was removed before her eyes revealing a circular cut area. Garnet couldn't help herself but let out a soft chuckle with her confused daughter.

"Mother…you…you…did you plan on letting me wear this?" Sarah said as she lowered the jumpsuit to see her smiling mother. The Queen nodded happily; as she laid the small patch of fabric on her own lap.

"Hmm…I always knew that someday if you ever wanted to venture on your own, I was going to have you wear this so you would never forget where you came from."

"Mother…" Sarah smiled as she and her mother heard the sounds of a happy pet approaching them, the two looked to the panting Zoe as she started sniffing the orange jumpsuit, tail wagging happily. The mother and daughter smiled as Zoe then started sniffing along Garnet's chocolate brown colored long skirt then sniffed along her white with red floral arranged blouse.

"I believe Zoe knows whose dress this belongs to." The Queen smiled as she started massaging Zoe's head with a free hand.

"Hmmm she must've heard the velcro come off when I pulled it off. I'm so sorry for waking you Zoe." Sarah said.

"I'm certain she wants to share in the moment as well…shall we?" Garnet looked to her daughter.

"HMM!" Sarah nodded, she then stood up carrying the orange jumpsuit, followed by Garnet as her daughter walked around her laying the jumpsuit on the Queen's bed. She then kneeled down picking up the white blouse and robe, placing them on the bed. Lastly kneeling once picking up the gloves and boots, first placing the boots in front of the bed, she stood up as her mother continued watching and placed the red gloves between the blouse and jumpsuit.

"Are you ready?"

Sarah looked to her mother and nodded, she turned around revealing her back to her mother and extended her arms out, Zoe looked up to the mother and daughter and sat before Sarah.

Garnet began unraveling her daughter's obi, untying the bow carefully, Sarah felt her hip become lighten from the obi's release as her mother pulled it off her tunic. The Queen gently rested the obi on her bed beside her robe. Sarah reached for her pendant and pulled the string over her head as her mother walked beside her and gently placed the pendant in her mother's hands. Garnet walked to her vanity desk and gently laid the pendant on it, she walked back behind her daughter as she extended her arms out again.

Garnet reached around her daughter's upper torso, pulled her daughter's tunic outward over her daughter's arms, her daughter took a step forward, and the Queen then folded the tunic and rested it next to her daughter's obi. Garnet picked her old white blouse.

"Turn around towards me."

Sarah lowered her right arm and tuned her entire body towards her mother.

Garnet pulled out a sleeve of her blouse stretched the arm sleeve on her daughter's arm. Sarah took her left arm and slid the other in the other sleeve, she lifted her arms upward as her mother carefully pulled the blouse covering her daughter's upper torso. Sarah carefully lowered her arms and began fluffing out the sleeves, her mother then began making some adjustments around her daughter's breasts making sure it rested comfortably for Sarah.

Garnet pulled away from her daughter and studied her briefly, Sarah let out a smile.

"How does it look so far?" Sarah asked. The Queen smiled.

"It looks wonderful so far, now for the last few parts." Garnet said as Sarah nodded.

Sarah slid her feet out of her flats, Garnet reached over for the jumpsuit and handed it to Sarah. The princess grabbed the suit, she lifted her left leg up and slide it into the jumpsuit, she navigated her leg through the garment; she felt sole of her foot making contact with a small strap at the end of the cuff. Then she slid her right leg in and pulled the entire suit up as high as she could, shuffling her blouse into the suit. Sarah's tail carefully worked its way finding the hole cut out for her tail as it finally found the opening and slid through; along with her tail's bow not being caught from the opening. Garnet gently tugged along her daughter's hip line making sure the suit wasn't too loose on her daughter. Sarah then slid her arms through the straps of the jumpsuit resting them on her shoulders.

Garnet carefully adjusted the straps on the front of the jumpsuit making sure it was not too tight.

"Turn around for me." Garnet asked, Sarah turned her body around. Garnet started tying the back of the jumpsuit. "Let me know if it's too tight."

"Will do mother." Sarah smiled as she looked over her shoulder.

Garnet carefully started tying a simple bow, she began to remember the moment she first put on the jumpsuit, this moment felt surreal to her, as if she was the one once again helming her disguise to the world outside the palace walls. Now it was her daughter's turn, it was her turn to see the world, to learn more about who she is, to understand her family's heritage and where she comes from.

Garnet pulled the strings out as the outfit was near complete.

"All done back here." She said as Sarah nodded, she turned halfway and slid her feet into the red boots beside the bed. She held a hand on the bed as she slid in one by one, she stood up and with her right hand trying to maintain her balance. She took a small step forward trying to find her footing, the clicking sound of the boot making contact with the marble flooring was music to Garnet's ears as her daughter took a few more steps getting use to her boots.

"It's a perfect fit." A surprised Sarah said.

"It's a good thing we have the same size shoes." The Queen smiled.

Sarah turned towards her mother and smiled.

"Am I ready?"

Garnet shook her head.

"There's three little things missing Sarah." The Queen smiled as Sarah realized she forget the gloves and her pendant.

"Oh right!"

Sarah reached on the bed for the gloves, she unlocked the buckles on the gloves and slid her hands in them one by one then buckled them back. She walked over to her mother's vanity desk and picked up her pendant and placed it back around her neck, she looked at the mirror and gasped in awe, her first time seeing herself in her mother's dress. She leaned closer in disbelief, she nearly looked like Garnet. Was this what her mother had looked what when she was her age? With the long hair she once had?

"Goodness…is this…really me?" Sarah said as she looked to her red gloved hands. Garnet smiled.

"Only one last touch." Garnet walked beside her daughter, Zoe started panting happily and walked beside the mother and daughter and kept her attention up to them. Garnet opened a drawer full of various fashion accessories; earrings, rings, bands, it seemed endless. She reached in the back of the drawer and pulled out what appeared to be a ring box holder. The Queen opened the box revealing a black satin choker; the same choker she wore, she turned to her daughter as Sarah looked to her mother.

Garnet removed the choker from the box, she placed the box on her desk and then unbuttoned it, she then gently wrapped it around her daughter's neck and buttoned it up as it rested on her neck perfectly.

"Now you are truly done my daughter." Garnet smiled. "Here, take a look at the whole ensemble." Garnet tugged her daughter's blouse as she brought her over to her large mirror on the left side of her vanity mirror with Zoe following along.

Sarah stood before the mirror, she felt breathless at her reflection; her mother beside her proud of her daughter standing tall and proud and her pet looking along and happy to see her. She studied every aspect of herself, twisting her body left and right, looking from head to toe, every part of her amazed her. She can recall at the times she said she wanted to look like her mother when she grew up, matching every dress she had, looking as beautiful as her, following her to the ends of the world to be with her. This was one moment she can safely say she has finally succeeded in a dream to look like her mother and wear her mother's clothing proudly because she is her daughter and she is happy to have her as her mother.

"Mother…it's beautiful…I…I can't believe you're letting me wear this…" she said. She can see her tail swaying left and right behind her, she laughed with delight and couldn't stop admiring herself.

"I can only imagine what papa would say if he were to see you wearing this." Garnet smiled as Sarah looked to her.

"I'm sure papa would say he's the luckiest person on Gaia to have us in his life." She smiled back.

"Hehe you're not wrong about that."

"Mother…are you certain that I can wear this while I venture to Madain Sari?" Sarah asked as she looked back at the mirror continuing to study herself.

"I would be honored if you were to Sarah."

"Mother…"

Sarah briefly looked to the floor blankly, she tried to not let herself tear up in the moment. It slowly started sinking in, she truly was following her mother's footsteps in a path she knew would help her understand what her true family heritage is. She looked back at the mirror, her mother's sincere smile, she can sense how proud she was. She was no longer the bubbly and full of energy child she was, she was ready to take on the responsibilities she was born in, not just as the Princess of Alexandria but as the next generation of summoners whom experience genocide to near extinction. She knows she is one of the last three remaining of her long lost heritage.

"Mother…" She turned around towards Garnet and looked at with the most confident look the Queen has ever seen.

"As the Princess of Alexandria…and…one of the last remaining summoners of this world…"

Garnet's eyes gently widened as she smiled with sheer delight.

"I will do whatever it takes, to help rebuild our lost home. To bring back our people, and most importantly…"

The princess held her hands together.

"To understand who I am in this world and to fulfill my calling if that is what the Eidolons wish of me."

The Queen let out a relieving sigh, the words her daughter spoke meant much to her; despite her own hardships while raising Sarah. She felt her role as her mother had been fulfilled; the small child she held in her arms, watched her run around the palace, traveled together, and watching her willingness to help those around her. Garnet stepped closer towards Sarah as she gently wrapped her arms around her, the princess rested her head beside her mother's own head and wrapped her arms around her mother. Their soft black hair resting on one another, eyes closing and savoring the moment together.

Zoe kept watching the mother and daughter, her tail was happily wagging at the sight. She began circling around the two, brushing herself between the legs of the mother and daughter. Garnet gently pulled away from her daughter as they both looked to each other.

"You truly are ready for the world Sarah." Garnet smiled.

"I won't let you or papa down mother." Sarah said.

"There is no doubt in my mind that the road ahead of me has not been written yet. I face it for the first time ever in my life. When mother fled the palace when she was my age she too knew the future ahead was not written and every decision she made would affect the outcome of it all.

This was my time to make that grand decision, she has given me a part of her, to remind myself of who she is, to never forget everything I had learned from my parents, my family, and my friends. I can only imagine what is waiting out there for me. The world is full of mysterious out there, we all have the means to seek out the answers we all ask about who we are as people. I now understand in part who I am, this is my story.

I am the daughter of a ruling monarch from a village ravaged by a planet that was trying to survive, a daughter of a genetically created artificial being whose missions was to cause genocide on our planet just for its own survival, I am one of the last three summoners of my home planet's lost tribe, I am the first offspring of a genetically created beings that made my father, I am a Princess of a Kingdom that housed my mother after she and grandmother fled from genocide, I am a summoner, I am a genome…

I am Sarah til Tribal the 1st of Alexandria, named after my mother's true birth name, named with my father's blood, named to honor my birth home of Alexandria, and most of all, named to honor all the summoners who died in our home planet of Gaia."