Okay, so no one kill me just yet. My year has been crazy. I really am sorry for not updating sooner, but it's so hard finding time. It's my senior year. Crazy shizznits has been going on. But I'm updating right now!

If any of you are still out there, I hope y'all enjoy.

Chapter 23

"Sister?" trilled Diana, shaking out of her stupor and rejoining the living. "But, Mother, you never said anything about a sister."

"That's because I never needed to. She and I fell out of contact for awhile, right after you and Deryn here were born, but right before we did, we made an agreement. If one ever needed help, the other would immediately help." Mary's voice stayed even the whole time, and her flawlessly pale face betrayed nothing.

"But, hold on," Deryn butt in, still not following where any of this was going. "What has that bloody tale got to do with anything?"

Deryn placed her hands on her hips, leaning slightly forward on her toes, making sure everyone understood her question was serious, and needed an answer.

"Deryn," the Queen huffed. "You are just like your mother. Calm down, and allow me to finish, please."

She bit the inside of her cheek, rocking back onto her heels, the look of contemplation on her face had Alek holding laughter back, earning him a glare from his love.

"Alright, now, where was I? Oh, yes. Deryn my sister is your mother. She and I are twins, born twenty eight minutes apart. She was born the oldest, but as we grew and matured, it was evident she was the free spirit and didn't want to be tied down by any old boring prince or emperor. She wanted to be free. To travel the world and not have people around her praising her all the time."

Queen Mary was lost in her tale and her past. Reminiscing about her and Deryn's mother.

All was quiet for a bit except for Deryn's impatient weight shifting, causing Alek to lean over and subtly, and gently, elbow her in the ribs.

"Our family hired a hot air balloon expert, one day, because the family was expected to meet the people and be viewed from them. The expert's name was Artemis Sharp, and my, he was handsome fellow." The Queen fanned her face for a moment, trying to calm the pink tint in her cheeks.

"You would think those two were meant for each other, but from the moment they saw each other, for some reason, they couldn't stand to be within a foot of each other, let alone stand in the other's company. So just imagine the look on their faces when they discovered they would be riding in the same air balloon together."

"That's all good and dandy," Diana cut in this time, agitation playing on the edge of her voice. "But what has that got to do with anything?"

"Quiet, Love." William edged, walking up to her, and pulling her close.

"Thank you, William. Anyway, There were many balloons in the air that day, and it started off swell. My sister and I were dressed in our finest, and carefully placed and set in the balloons, your mother complaining the whole way about going up with that 'horrible' man. Well, we went up, and everything was going up.

Fifteen or twenty minutes into the viewing, dark, angry clouds bearing thunder and lightning come rolling in. There's only one ground crew for all of the balloons, and because I was with Mother and Father, they had to reel us in first."

By then, all four youngsters were leaned forward toward the Queen, William's arm still snaked around Diana, holding her close, and Deryn and Alek had matching expressions of rapt interest.

"Lightning struck their cable, and in the madness and chaos of everyone running, they weren't noticed drifting off for awhile.

They weren't found for at least four hours, and to this day, she still will not tell me what happened in that balloon that changed her view of Artemis Sharp. But I remember clear as day, that she marched into the audience chamber one day, denouncing her title, saying it was all mine. Storming around, claiming she was marrying Artemis Sharp, and there was nothing our parents could do to stop it."

By now, Queen Mary wore a beaming, yet, still sad smile.

"Our parents looked at each other, and looked at their still storming eldest daughter, then they both broke out into big smiles, and that right there floored your mother, Deryn."

"I'm gonna guess that Artemis had already asked for her hand, and they approved. Am I correct, Mother?" Diana inquired.

"Obviously. I'm barking standing here, aren't I?" Deryn stated smartly.

"Yes, indeed. Four months after they married, your mother announced to me and our parents that Jaspert was on the way."

Realizing that the tale was at an end, the four young adults leaned back and slipped into their own thoughts, contemplating and digesting everything they had just heard.

"Barking spiders! What does any of this mean for Alek and I?" Deryn wondered aloud, asking the question Alek had been pondering.

"It means, everyone gets a happily ever after, after all."