Hey! I'm back with a new chapter! Sorry for the three day delay, but I actually have decided that I just can't uupdate everyday, especially when I read over some of my earlier chapters and I realized that they were much too fast paced. I'm going to spend a little more time editing the plotline of the story and developing my characters more.

This was my favorite chapter to write so far, and I'm pretty proud of it.

Selene's heart palpitated as the prince guided her down the hall. How could he not hate her for everything that she had done? Or, more accurately, how could he not hold her responsible for her mother's actions and what she could have done?

Nevertheless, Selene allowed herself to be led through a maze of halls and doors, following the prince. The pair walked in silence, until Kai finally blurted out a question.

"Why did you resist your mother's glamour?"

Selene felt her heartbeat quicken even further. "I don't know what you're talking about, Your Highness."

"It's Kai. And when your mother was convincing my father and Torin to hold a more clandestine meeting, I felt the effects of her powers. But I looked at you, and..." He trailed off.

Selene's heart was beating overtime. She had been visibly aware of what she had been doing during her mother's conversation with Konn Torin and Emperor Rikan. Fists clenched, eyes squeezed shut. She just hadn't planned for the prince to noticed.

"...you were just standing there, and your eyes were shut tightly, and it looked like you were trying to block out the world the best you could." Kai finished with a hesitant tone, waiting for her reaction.

Selene desperately grasped for some sort of idea to present in her mind, but no straws were found. She began to perspirate even harder.

"Princess Selene?" Kai's voice rose up once more next to her.

Selene turned a slowly as she could, but she caught a glimpse to something out of the corner of her eye. "Is that the garden? Oh, good, we should probably hurry, our parents are probably almost done talking, we wouldn't want to miss out—"

Selene hadn't realized she was essentially dragging Prince Kai after her until she was out of the palace. A burst of humid air rushed into her face, but it was almost immediately forgotten in favor of the sight that greeted her instead. She gasped at the beauty.

Indeed, the royal garden of New Beijing did not disappoint. It took a second for Selene's eyes to adjust to the brilliance. Honeysuckle and roses climbed up columns and statues in the garden, adorning them with fireworks of every color imaginable. Flower bushes and regular green ones alike lined the walls of the garden, and flowering fruit trees stood tall and proud against the harsh New Beijing sunlight.

"It's beautiful," Selene breathed. She hadn't realized she was still gripping Kai's hand until he gently pulled away.

"It is," Kai told her, a glint in his eyes. "It's the middle of May, now, so everything has either bloomed completely or is about to bloom. You came at just the right time to survey what New Beijing's plant life has to offer, it seems." Kai paused again. "No one really officially tends this garden anymore. My mother used to... until, well, you know." Kai made a gesture with his hands.

Selene felt her heart drop a little, and she just wanted to reach out and comfort him a little, but stopped herself before she could. They had to act professional, after all. "I'm sorry," she said lamely. "I didn't realize."

To her surprise, Kai laughed. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Every time something awkward or crazy has happened today, you've apologized, even if it's not your fault. Why is that?"

Selene paused. "I've never really thought of it that way," she replied, slowly. "I just feel like sometimes someone should say something for others, even if they don't have to. Sometimes we need to convince ourselves there is some sense of salvation for everyone."

"Mmm."

The two stood in the middle of the bushy, untrimmed grass (the only thing that was seemingly unpredictable in the utopian garden), not saying anything, until Selene hesitantly said, "Pri— I mean, Kai?"

"Yes, Princess Selene?"

"It's just Selene," she said hastily. "You mentioned your mother before... what was she like?"

For a split second, Selene realized how deeply personal her question was. Asking about someone else's dead mother literally three hours after you've just met them was not in Selene's books of etiquette among aristocrats.

But Kai didn't seem too bothered by it. "She was kind." He started slowly. "Sweet, good, understanding, and encouraging. She always smiled, unless she was angry with me or my father."

"What did she do then?"

Kai grinned, and Selene was dazzled again by his easygoing smile, even towards her, a member of a race so many Eartherns despised. "Well, it depends. Sometimes, if it was my father she was irked with, she'd make all of his cabinet members leave him alone for a while, then she'd go in herself and threaten to shred all of his notes and documents, and she wouldn't give them back until he apologized for whatever he did to offend her."

If it had been anyone else or if it had been told it a different way, Selene would have scoffed and said it was childish. But the way that Kai told it, with nostalgia obviously present in his eyes and warmth in his voice, drew her in until she felt his emotions herself.

"And if she was frustrated with you... Kai?"

"When she was frustrated with me, she'd hide my toys or whatever I was interested in, and she waited for her anger to sizzle down to give in to my incessant whining for my belongings."

Selene felt a laugh burst out of her mouth, surprising herself. "Well, I hope you weren't a child that was too naughty in your seedling years, Prince Kai."

"Unfortunately, it took quite some time for me to iron out my wrinkles." Kai's lips flicked up into a charming smile. "So what about your mother, Selene?"

Selene felt her chest become heavy, and a burning pain rose up in her mind. Memories, good and bad, flooded her mind.

"I— I'd rather not really say, if you don't mind. I just—" Selene suddenly realized that she was unconsciously tipping herself back into a nearby rose bush. Hastily straightening back up away from the threatening thorns, she faced the prince again. "Don't get me wrong, Kai, I love my mother. She's been someone for me to look up to a lot, and I value the faith she has in me. But sometimes she becomes too much for me to handle, and sometimes I don't live up to her standards, and she doesn't like that. But I still care for her very much, and I always will."

Kai looked at her with a new look in her eyes. One of... understanding? Confusion? Hatred? Selene couldn't really tell.

Thankfully, the pair was saved from more awkward conversation by a nearby call of, "Your Highness Princess Selene! Prince Kaito!"

Turning, both of them spotted a servant who was waving at Kai. Hurrying over, the servant panted, "Your Highness Crown Princess Selene of Luna, and Prince Kai, the Emperor informed me to tell both of you that his meeting with Royal Advisor Konn Torin and Her Majesty the Queen of Luna, Queen Channary, has concluded and both of you are now welcome to regroup with them." The servant finished this in one breath, and the poor girl looked like she was on the verge of collapse.

"Thank you, Catherine." Kai nodded.

Catherine turned to leave, but Selene impulsively blurted out, "Wait!"

Catherine turned around, startled. "Your Highness?"

Selene took a breath. From the looks of the crowd outside, Eartherns pretty much hated all Lunars in general. Selene almost agreed with them. But the scared, frantic way that Catherine had addressed her with all of her titles —compared to Kai and the emperor, who were definitely more important than her— made her realize that not all Eartherns truly hated Lunars.

Some were just scared of the bogeymen who lived on the moon.

Catherine couldn't have been more than fifteen, by the looks of her.

"Princess?" She heard Kai's voice, underlined with concern. "Do you have anything to say to Catherine?"

Catherine looked helpless, trapped between waiting for the Lunar Princess and just plain running for her life. But Selene managed to steel herself. "Catherine," she began, not really planning anything out. "You don't really have to call me by all of my titles. Princess Selene is fine. Just Selene, even. I've never really been a fan of the social/royal/politic hierarchy." Selene tried to send a nervous smile towards Catherine, who was still pale.

Catherine looked downright shocked at calling Selene anything but "Her Highness The Princess of Luna Princess Selene Blackburn" (Or whatever came after that.)

"Your Highness—"

"Selene." Selene insisted quietly.

"Selene." Catherine's tongue seemed to try out her name as if it was something completely foreign.

"Call me Selene, Catherine. If we meet again, you don't need to call me anything else unless..." Selene hesitated. "Unless you are ever in the presence of any diplomats or monarchs or politicians. Then you may use as many titles as you like."

Catherine's face had softened into something other than fright. It almost looked like a faint smile. "Yes, Your— Selene. I understand." Ducking her head ever so slightly, Catherine hurried away.

"That was kind of you." Selene jumped as Kai spoke again. He had been so quiet during the whole conversation with Catherine she had forgotten he was there.

"I hardly think it was kindness." Selene scoffed as they made their way out of the garden and into the grand palace once more. Somehow, the conversation with Catherine had calmed her nerves and made her... More daring? More comfortable? She didn't really know. "It stemmed out of a dislike for status separation and for the royal hierarchy."

Kai raised an eyebrow. Selene's eyes widened, realizing what she had just said. "Oh, Prince Kai, I didn't mean— um, I —"

"It's okay." Kai let out a relaxed laugh. "I'm guessing the difference between classes is more prominent on Luna?"

Selene thought about her mother, bedecked in jewels and riches, and then she thought about her cousin, who had been dressed so simply before she had come to the palace, then to Jacin Clay, who had accompanied her on this trip and had been forced join the royal guard at the age of sixteen despite wanting to be a doctor. And the shells that existed on the moon, who were taken away at birth simply because they were different.

"Yes," she murmured. "They're much more different."

They reached the main hall once more. Kai turned to face her. His lips quirked into a smile that was only visible from the corner of his lips. "So then... I'll see you sometime soon, then... Selene?"

Selene nodded slowly in spite of her now (again) palpitating heart. "Yeah— yes! Um, I'll see you soon, Kai."

Kai nodded, smiled, and turned, walking away.

I'll see you sometime soon.