I took my father's hand and led him down a hallway. I nearly got lost myself, I had no idea about the layout of Moonhaven. As we made our third right turn, I stopped and nervously brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. I put one hand in my mouth and bit down on it gently. "Uhhmmm," I began, "I am not exactly sure where we are."

Dad wasn't exactly listening to me, he was staring, enraptured at the art hanging on the walls. "What's that, MK?" he asked absentmindedly. I had to admit the art was gorgeous. Most of it was of past Queens, which I was really interested about. I needed to know more about this world. Especially if I was to spend the rest of my life in it.

I heard footsteps coming down a hallway and I grabbed Dad's hand and started to pull him in that direction. When we got around the corner, I smiled brightly. It was Ronin, carefully cradling a sleepy Alisia in his arms.

"Looking for someone?" Ronin smiled ruefully. His eyes caught sight of my father and they widened in shock. "This is..how did you get here?" his voice was bewildered. Ronin carefully handed off Alisia to me, as he still stared at Bomba in complete shock.

My dad let forth a small nerd-yell. He rushed forward at Ronin and started jabbering things only intelligible to himself. He was talking so fast. He was circling Ronin, picking up certain pieces of his armor and murmuring things like, 'Wow! Look at this! Oh the craftsmanship!'

Ronin looked down at Bomba, a bit exasperated and pulled his arm out of Bomba's grasp. "Could you not do that?" he asked. "I am a person, you know," he stated.

Bomba looked startled that the armor he was inspecting had a person attached to it. "Oh! Of course, sorry, sorry of course," he rattled. "I've just been studying this stuff for so long, and to finally see it, at scale!" Bomba's eyes teared up, "It's wonderful."

I couldn't hold back a small giggle. I stepped inbetween Ronin and Dad. "Dad, this is General Ronin. He is the commander of the Leafmen and he was also the protector of Queen Tara," I said. At the mention of Tara in the past tense, a sparkle in Ronin's eye dimmed just a little. It would be a very long time before Ronin could think of her without getting sad. "Ronin, this is my father, Professor Bomba. I believe you've already met," I winked.

Ronin put his hand out to shake Dad's, and my father grabbed it eagerly. "It's such a pleasure, General Ronin, such a pleasure."

Ronin looked amused at Dad's enthusiasm. "Thank you," he chuckled. Ronin turned his attention to me, and Alisia in my arms. "MK, I will be leaving to take a troop on a rebuilding mission. There were a few homes destroyed around the Moonhaven palace by the Boggans. I'll be leaving Nod with you, get me if you need anything," Ronin told me. "Nod's out on the terrace," then Ronin turned and walked away, towards an exit probably, I had no idea.

Dad just seemed to notice the infant in my arms. "MK.." he started carefully. "Who's this?"

I bit my lips in a nervous smile. "This is the new Queen. Alisia.. and I am her caretaker..for life," I explained.

My wording didn't fool my father, and he wasn't exactly thrilled. "Wait a second. You have a daughter?"

I bit my lips again. "Well..kinda," I laughed.

Dad put his fingers to his temples and looked as if he was thinking deeply. Then he exhaled and muttered, "Well, I did not see that one coming." Dad took another deep breath and recovered. His eyes lost their serious look and regained their curious glow as he peered into my arms at Alisia.

She was sleeping at the moment, but soon she would wake up and probably be hungry. I was really nervous. I didn't even know what these babies ate. I was so worried that Queen Tara picked the wrong girl for this job.

"Well she's a cute little thing, isn't she?" Dad said, a bit endearing. He was looking at her lovingly, and I laughed. It was amazing how quickly Alisia wiggled her way into our hearts. The first look and I knew that we needed to be together. I would figure out how to take care of her, babies had been born in this world since… well.. since.. it had started!

I needed to find Nod, he'd be able to tell my everything I needed to know. Luckily, I knew where the terrace was. Hopefully Ronin and I were thinking of the same terrace. "Let's go Dad, there's someone else you need to meet."

As we walked toward the terrace, Alisia was getting heavy in my arms, and she was sweating because of our heat put together. I knew that she should sleep in a crib. Do they use cribs here? That led me to another problem. Where exactly were we going to live? The Moonhaven palace was beautiful, but it was extremely formal. I couldn't live in a place like this, with huge stone hallways hanging with art of people I didn't know, with more rooms than I could count and hallways that I got lost in. I needed something smaller, something cozy with carpet and I place that I felt I could be myself in. I shifted Alisia to my shoulder as we walked into the terrace. Nod was leaning against the railing, staring into the sky, and it was kind of enchanting to see.

We'd both seemed to have accepted that our kiss was an in the moment thing. We were both so happy that I was staying, that we'd kind of jumped the gun a bit. We were great friends, and we had an incredible bond that had only been formed in a few short days. I didn't want to ruin or rush anything. But I would be lying if I said that I didn't get butterflies every time I looked at him.

"Nod," I said, to get his attention. He broke out of his trance and turned to look at me with a smile. I turned to my father and motioned to Nod with my head, since my hands were supporting Alisia against my shoulder. "Dad, this is Nod. Nod, Ronin and I brought the pod to Nim Galuu and then to Moonhaven. Nod, this is Professor Bomba, my father." I said the last two words a bit forcefully, to try and warn away any mocking, but Nod was already having trouble containing his childish snickers. I knew what he was thinking of.

"My elllbboooowww."

Nod stuck out his hand, still laughing a bit. "It's really nice to finally meet you, Professor. You have quite a daughter here."

Dad was staring at Nod in the same way he stared at Ronin only there was something more than curiosity in his eyes this time. There might have been a hint of suspicion. "Thank you, Nod. It's great to be down here! I'm thrilled. I have a few questions, could you answer them?"

Nod's eyes twinkled. "Well, I'm sure I could try," he answered.

"How long has this advanced society been around?" Dad asked eagerly.

"Advanced?" Nod laughed. "I'm not sure about advanced, but our earliest records in Nim's tree go back thousands of years."

Dad seemed blown away. "Thousands of.." he murmured. "How many languages do you speak? Are there more 'nations'? Tribes? Kingdoms?"

This was a more serious question. "Well, we only speak one language, Universal. In terms of enemies, we have the Boggans, they're to the south of us, they're also the closest. We have sister Kingdoms in the North, East, and West, but they are pretty far away, at least 3 days ride on a bird." Nod stated factually.

"Amazing!" Dad exclaimed. "Simply amazing..Wow." Dad's voice was sounding tired, like learning all about his life-long obsession was making him sleepy.

"Uhm, actually, Nod?" I interjected.

"Oh, yes, your Royal Advisor-ness?" he teased, his brown eyes sparkling.

I laughed a bit. "Don't call me that," I smiled, but I again grew serious. "Uhm, where am I going to live? And more pressing question.." I stepped closer to Nod so I could speak quieter. Dad was leaning so far against the railing he was in possible danger of falling off, but I didn't want him to hear me ask this. "..What do babies eat?" I whispered.

Nod's brown eyes softened. "Oh wow.. MK.." It seemed like Nod was just realizing that I had no idea about anything in this world. He looked down at Alisia and one corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. "Yeah.. you must be pretty scared, right?"

"Yeah," I agreed, "Pretty scared." I smiled a little, looking up into Nod's brown eyes, but I had to look away. Looking into his eyes made me want to kiss him again, and that would be a bad decision. I couldn't, not right now. Not right after I had a world to assimilate into and a baby to raise. I didn't need that kind of drama in this moment.

He put a hand on the shoulder that was not occupied by Alisia's head. "You'll be fine. We're all together now, we can help. Many leaves, one tree, right?" Nod grinned at me. "But to answer your question. We don't exactly have a house for you," Nod chuckled, "Seeing as how we didn't know you were staying. But we'll find something." He looked down at Alisia. "And as for babies, they have a pretty flexible diet. Mostly we water down honey, or nectar."

I must have looked unconvinced because Nod countered, "Well, what do babies eat in your world?"

"Milk!" I stated indignantly.

Nod laughed. "Like aphid milk? We use that too."

"No! Like.. people milk!"

Nod suddenly blushed bright red and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked away from me. "Yeah, well.. that's what normally happens around here. But seeing as how you aren't..ahh… producing .. uhm. I was naming substitutes."

I bit back a groan. This was kind of awkward.

Suddenly I heard two familiar voices, bickering their way into the terrace. I smiled and turned around to see Mub and Grub.

Mub slithered right up to me happily. "Hey baby girl!" he greeted me. "And..baby girl!" he greeted Alisia.

"Hi Mub!" I said. "Hi Grub," I spoke to him. He was still wearing his Leafman's helmet, how cute.

"Hello, my Lady!" he replied. "Lovely day! See any danger?"

"No Grub, we've been pretty safe today," I expressed with a smile.

"Ah! Good! My new status as a Leafman must have frightened off any villains!"

Nod laughed and rubbed the helmet onto Grub's head. "Yeah, that's it," he teased.

I looked at my Dad, who was still leaning dangerously far off the railing, staring at all the Flowerpeople and Jinn below. "Dad," I tried to get his attention, but he was too engrossed.

"Dad." I tried again. No luck. "Dad! Get off that railing!"

Bomba was startled and jumped, nearly falling off. "Oops," he laughed. "Sorry, Mary Katherine..did you need something?"

"I wanted to introduce you to the Royal Pod Caretakers, Mub, and Grub," I stated.

"Hey girl, don't forget national heroes as well!" Mub put in.

"And Leafman!" Grub added proudly.

"Yeah, we were just getting ready to go on a private victory parade through the inner Kingdom," Mub stated, "And I was wondering if you'd like to join me, sweet thing?" he asked me.

Mub's attention was flattering, really, but I'd never get over the fact he was a slug. A sweet guy, and yet.. still a slug.

I laughed. "Actually, I can't," I declined. However, an idea dawned on me. Dad would love it. "But hey, guys, why don't you take my dad? He's just gotten here, he'd love to hear all about your adventures and the Kingdom. Take him with you!" Because if Dad was gone, I could have some alone time with Nod, we could go get something to feed Alisia, and maybe find somewhere to live.

Dad looked a bit torn. "Are you sure MK? You don't need me here right now?" I could tell that he really wanted to go with Mub and Grub though.

"I'll be fine! Go with them, have a good time. Be careful though!" I called after them as Bomba, Mub, and Grub exited the terrace.

Nod and I sat down the table out there, and I shifted Alisia carefully to my lap again.

"You weren't kidding, your Dad really is kind of obsessed," Nod laughed.

"He'll get over it," I assured Nod. "We both have so much to learn.." I trailed off.

Alisia started to squirm in my lap, and I knew that I needed something to feed her. "Okay, Nod. Let's go get some of this honey or nectar or whatever it is."

"Okay, but I don't have a baby seat for my bird. We might have to walk, there's a store not too far from here," Nod said, getting up from his chair.

"There are baby seats for birds?" I asked incredulously.

Nod laughed. "No, I don't think so. I was just kidding. There probably could be, though."

"Hmph," I narrowed my eyes at his teasing, but it was kind of funny. "Okay then," I smiled. "Let's walk."

We exited Moonhaven and I knew that we should talk on the way to this store or it was going to get really awkward. "Did Queen Tara live in Moonhaven?" I asked curiously.

"No," Nod answered, "She had this cottage that's conjoined with Ronin's house. I mean, it's a nice cottage, good for a Queen, but Tara was kind of simple. She liked its simplicity. And she liked being close to Ronin." Nod exhaled deeply, it sounded pained. "They were in love, you know."

"I gathered a little bit, yeah," I said. "But if they were in love..why weren't they.. together?" I asked.

"Well, Tara was the Queen, and Ronin was her General. It wasn't exactly 'proper' and Ronin is a very proper guy. All about following the rules and traditions. I don't think he ever thought he was really good enough for her, but she would have married him in a heartbeat," Nod explained.

"That's really sad," I said quietly. I watched them the night the pod bloomed. It was heartbreaking for anyone to see, because you could see Ronin's lost chance all over his face.

Alisia was getting really heavy. Carrying seven and a half pounds around might seem like nothing, but when you carry it all day long, then it gets a little tiresome. I shifted Alisia again.

"Yeah," Nod agreed. He saw me shift Alisia. "Are you tired? I can carry her, if you need me to. It's okay," he said.

I looked at him hesitantly. "Are you sure?" I asked him. My hands curled just a little bit protectively around her. Maybe this is how every new mother feels, when someone else asks to hold their baby for the first time.

Nod stopped. "MK, it's okay." He spoke softer. "You can trust me, I promise." He held his arms out, and I carefully, willingly surrendered Alisia to him. He put her on his shoulder, and she started to fuss a little bit by moving to someone unfamiliar, but he started to soothe her gently. He rubbed her back and whispered, "Shh, shh. It's okay. I'm Nod. You're alright, Mommy's right there."

Being called Mommy was like someone hit me in the stomach. What? Mommy? Was I really a mom? Was it okay to call me that? We started to walk again, and I was still thinking about being called Mommy.

"Something bothering you?" Nod asked.

"Not really.." I murmured. "It's just weird, you know? Last week I was nervous about coming to my Dad's. I didn't want to leave the city..and this week, I'm a Mom. It's a big change to go through in a week," I noted, smiling a bit.

"I'd say," Nod agreed. "Not to mention you're not even a Stomper anymore."

"Yeah, there's that," I said. "Big changes." I stole a look at Nod as we walked, and I have to say he looked adorable. My heart melted, watching him carefully hold Alisia. It was like he was holding glass, but at the same time he was sure of himself. We started to pass more Flowerpeople on the road, and they would bow or curtsy to us as they passed. I wasn't sure if they were showing respect to us or Alisia, but I made sure to smile at all of them.

Nod looked back at me and caught my eye, and then he looked down at me, as if he were checking me out.

"Uhm, Nod, excuse me?! What do you think you are doing?!" I asked, annoyed.

Nod laughed and looked at my face. "Sorry! It's just that you look a little weird." He admitted.

"What?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

"MK, if you haven't noticed, no one exactly dresses like that around here," he smiled. I was still wearing my hoodie and jeans. I actually desperately wanted to get out of them, I'd been wearing the same clothes for nearly two days, day and night.

"Well how am I supposed to dress? This is all I've got!" I defended myself.

"Hey, hey, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, I'm just saying you look a little out of place. And you're a Royal Advisor now, soo…"

I sighed and shook my head. "I guess I'll have to get new clothes then too. Do you people buy them from somewhere or make them yourselves?" I asked.

"A little bit of both," he answered. "I wear..I wear a lot of my dad's old stuff." I wanted to ask him about his dad, but suddenly he said, "Oh, hey, here we are."

We'd arrived what I thought was going to be a grocery store, but it actually really was a shop for infants, I was thrilled.

"Ah! It's a baby store!" I exclaimed, ecstatic. This would tell me everything I needed to know about raising a baby down here. "How did you even know this was here?" I asked. As far as I knew, Nod had no children or siblings.

"Unlike you, I've lived here my whole life," Nod countered me, smiling.

As we entered the store, made of bark and leaves, a sinking thought entered me. "Nod, I don't have any money," I realized sadly.

"You won't need any right now. The whole kingdom knows who this baby is," Nod gestured to the little blonde-haired baby sleeping on his shoulder. "And we just need food and maybe diapers right now. There is a cradle at Tara's cottage from when she was a baby.." he explained.

Their bottles were made of thin, trimmed, hallowed out twigs, and the honey, nectar, and aphid milk were wrapped in waterproofed sacks. As Nod, Alisia and I went to 'check out' the shopkeeper recognized us.

"The Queen! In my shop!" she appeared to be an old Flowerperson. Her skin was a faint green, with wrinkles in her face and short, gray petals for hair. "Take whatever you need!" she exclaimed. "Oh, what an honor." She bagged our bottles and baby food for us, "Here you are, my dears," she handed me the bag, made of leaves.

"Thank you so so much!" I grinned at the old flowerwoman as we walked out the door, Nod still carrying Alisia, me carrying the bags. "Okay.." I said.. "Now where do we go?"