They finished their coffee and got down to the business of sorting the papers. Singed contracts went in one pile, while others went in another. Finally, by dinner, they had it all sorted. "Now comes the review part," Lilly said.
"Most of these date back to when my mother was queen. I'll have to revise them and set up meetings. This is going to take months," Serena said.
"Start with the unsigned ones, that way you can review them, set up a meeting for discussion, and then get them signed. If there's more than one contract for the planet, make sure it all gets done in one meeting. I'll go get you some file folders and we can re-sort them by planet and subject after dinner," Lilly said.
"Sounds like a plan," Serena said. They got up and walked to the dining hall. Serena's stomach grumbled it's hunger. She smiled.
Luna looked up and smiled as they walked by her office. 'Leave it to Serena to make Lilly feel useful,' Luna thought to herself. She looked at her watch and realized they were heading to dinner. She got up and went down to the dining hall.
"Mmm, it smells good," Lilly said.
"Yes it does," Luna agreed from behind them. They jumped. "Sorry, ladies. I didn't mean to startle you," Luna said.
"It's OK. We were caught up in the aromas emanating from the kitchen," Serena said.
"Smells good," Ariana said, coming in.
Serena smiled. "Well, are you enjoying yourself?" Serena asked.
"Yes, actually. I've been exploring the castle today. I hope that's all right," she said.
"It's fine. Have you seen the twins?" she asked.
"We're in here, Mama." Grace called from the kitchen.
Serena smiled "How many times I remember doing that," Serena said with a smile.
Trenton came in then. "You were always in there. Do you know how many times we had to come and get you out of there so we could start dinner?" he asked.
She laughed. "Mmm, the cooks liked me. I could always get a cookie or piece of fudge from them. After all, chocolate makes everything better, right?" she asked.
"Yes it does," he agreed.
They all took seats at the table. Rini and Grace helped bring out the first course, then sat down to eat. "Elbows, ladies," Serena corrected politely. They both giggled and took their elbows off the table. "So, how do my two girls like being princesses?" Serena asked.
"It's good. We learned about the activity on each of the planets today. Like Aunt Lita said that there was going to be trade between here and Jupiter. That's good, right?" Grace asked.
"That's very good," Serena said.
"Are there going to be more trade lines opening up?" Rini asked.
"Yes, there will," Serena said. They ate and talked about the economy. "I have to say, I never though you ladies would be interested in trade and manufacturing," Serena said.
"It's important to know," Grace said.
"Yeah, especially for her, since she rules next," Rini agreed.
"Well, don't get stuck on the subject forever. There are other things you both should study, like diplomatics," she said.
"Our teacher said we're going to learn about that tomorrow," Rini said.
"Did he now? Have either of you called your father today to see what he was doing?" Serena asked.
"No, we forgot," Rini said.
"Can we call after dinner?" Grace asked.
"May we, and yes you may," Serena said.
Both girls smiled. "Thanks, Mama," Grace said.
They chattered happily until everyone was done with dinner. "May we be excused now please?" Rini asked.
"Yes you may. I love you, ladies," Serena said.
"Love you, too, Mama," they said in unison.
"Now that their gone, will you tell me why you and Erin barley spoke two words to each other?" Trenton asked Serena.
Serena looked at Lilly, who shrugged. "It's going to become obvious soon enough," she said.
"Lita and Erin divorced after they cheated on each other. Erin found out just exactly who Lita cheated on him with, and that just happens to be Lilly's ex husband, Travis. For some reason, Erin decided to exact his revenge with Lilly the night that we had a celebratory party and everyone was drunk. In short, Lilly's pregnant, and it's Erin's fault," Serena said.
"You know, that actually made sense. So he hurt you, huh? I can see why Serena's mad at him. It was totally uncalled for. How long are we mad at him for?" Trenton asked.
"Till he stops being such an idiot and apologizes to her," Serena said.
"Makes perfect sense," Trenton said. "In the meantime, Lilly's staying with us?" he asked.
"She wasn't going to originally. She was going to stay with Lita, but teleporting makes her sick," Serena explained.
"It made your mother sick, too, when she was pregnant with you and Rei," he said to Lilly.
"I have a question," Ariana said.
"Shoot," Lilly said.
"Aren't you older than Rei?" she asked.
"Yes, by seven minutes," Lilly answered.
"Why aren't you ruling then?" Ariana asked.
"I never wanted to rule, and Kaden knew that. Rei however, did. Even when we were growing up in the Silver Millennium, it widely known that once she turned twenty-five, Kaden would hand her the reins, and she would rule Mars. She's good at what she does though," Lilly explained.
"I see. So you planned on staying here then?" she asked.
"Yes. I'm sorry. I guess that it should have been explained to you that most of the time Lilly stays with Serena," Trenton said.
"I understand that. Serena, is there anything I can do to help you and Lilly with everything that has to be done? I know a bit about running things, and I'd like to learn more," she said.
"Very well. Lil and I could use some major help," Serena said.
"Are you sure I wont be in the way?" Ariana asked.
"I'm sure," Serena said.
"I'm going riding. Is that OK, Serena?" Gabe asked.
"That's fine, Gabe. Be back before full dark," Serena said.
"I will. Hey, Dad, come with me. You know this place better than I do, and that way, we get to spend time together, too," she suggested.
He smiled. "I'd like that," Trenton said, and they headed out to the stables.