"That was a great light show," Gabe said as they resumed cleaning.
"I know, right?" Serena agreed with a smile.
"You know, for an older sister, you're pretty OK," she said.
"Thanks. What do you want?" Serena asked.
"To know who the black stallion belongs to," she answered.
"He's quite untamable," Luna said.
"No horse is untamable. I proved that with Midnight Star," Serena said.
"Well, generations later, that stallion is just like him," Luna said.
"Hmm. Do any of the other horses catch your eye?" Serena asked.
"One. She's the all white mare," Gabe said.
"Ahh, now that's Wild Beauty. She's picky about who she lets ride her. You can give her a try. She descends from Serenity's own horse, White Lightening," Luna said.
"You know horses Luna?" Gabe asked.
"About as well as anyone who raises and breeds them," a male voice answered.
Serena looked down to see the voice coming from none other than Artemis. "Shouldn't you be helping Mina?" Serena asked.
"She kicked me out. Told me she had everything under control, and that she grew up with you, for crying out loud," he said as he went from cat form to human form.
"That's very disconcerting," Gabe said.
"Hello, and you are?" Artemis asked.
"Don't be rude. That's Gabe," Serena said from the pile of papers she was sorting through.
"I see. What are you doing, Serena?" he asked.
"Looking at my birth certificate," she answered with a frown.
"Then why are you frowning?" he asked.
"Sorry. I'm a little frustrated that she didn't take care to better organize things. These are important documents thrown around like discarded doodles," she said with a sigh.
"MAMA!" Grace hollered from somewhere down the hall. Serena cringed, and looked up. Grace appeared with her cell phone in hand. "Daddy wants to talk to you," she said breathlessly.
Serena sighed and took the phone from her daughter. "Yes, Darien?" she asked.
"What the hell was that power surge?" he asked.
She smiled. "A combination of all five Crystals," she answered.
"Five?" he asked confused.
"The Sun Crystal, the Silver Crystal, the Eternity Crystal, the Life Crystal, and the Planet Crystal," Serena said.
"That's some powerful magic, Serena. What did you do with the Crystal?" he asked.
"I broke it into four pieces. I have one, Erin has one, I'm going to give Grace hers since she's standing here, and Kaden has the other for safe keeping until Grace has children, and an ascendant is chosen," Serena said.
"Are you sure Grace is ready for that level of responsibility?" Darien asked.
"I trust her," Serena said.
"OK. If you trust her with it, then give it to her. Are you planning on teaching her how to use it then?" he asked.
"Yes. She can learn at the same time I am," Serena said.
"OK. Be careful. No more light shows either," he said.
"I promise," she said, and they disconnected. She handed Grace the phone back. "When did your father get those for you?" she asked.
"When you were gone," Grace answered.
"Remind me to knock some sense into him when I see him next," she murmured and handed Grace her Crystal. "DO NOT lose that. It is a very powerful Crystal. OK? Serena asked. Grace nodded. "Here take this and share it with your sister. It used to be mine a long time ago," Serena said and carefully handed her the dagger.
"Would you be mad if I just gave it to Rini?" Grace asked.
"No," she answered.
"It's not that it's not cool, but I'm not into daggers and swords. I'm sorry," Grace apologized. "Its fine, honey, really. I'm glad you like other things, too," Serena said. Grace smiled and walked off. "Yeah, that will last all of two days before Rini gets her into it," Serena said. Kaden agreed. "Now, before we were interrupted a few minutes ago, Gabe was asking about horses. Artemis, is there anything wrong with the white mare?" Serena asked.
"No. She's just picky, like Luna said. She can give her a shot if she wants to," he said rudely.
"I have a name, you rude man," Gabe said.
"Easy, Gabrielle. I don't need a fight between the two of you over the horses. Is Diana around?" Serena asked.
"I'm right here," Diana said from her perch on her mother's shoulder.
"Favor?" she asked Diana.
"Yeah?" Diana asked.
"Will you please take my little sister out to the stables to see about the white mare?" she asked.
"Sure. I hope you don't mind cats. I'm not fond of my human form," she said as she jumped onto Gabe's shoulder.
"I like cats. Why don't you like your human form?" Gabe asked.
"Too bulky. Easier to get around this way," She said, and they walked toward the stables.