With no time to relax between meetings, she was a bit frazzled when she greeted her guests. "Difficult meetings?" a smooth, rich, and all to familiar male voice asked.
"Is it that obvious?" she asked Seyia.
"Only to someone who knows you like the back of his hand, and that tried his damndest to get you to leave with him when you sixteen," he answered.
"Yes, but you didn't succeed," Serena said.
He smiled and pulled her into a hug. She returned it. "Lord, I missed you, Rena. There haven't been many who have the gumption to call my bluff like you do," he said and released her. Kaden and Seyia's wife, Katie, hung back, uncertain of how to proceed. "So is chocolate still your favorite food group?" Seyia asked.
"Of course. Why?" she asked.
"It just so happens that I remembered that, and brought some of our finest chocolate for one my best friends. You do realize that it's you that I have to thank for marrying Katie, right?" he asked.
"No, you did that after you left. How am I responsible for your marriage anyhow?" Serena asked.
"Because you told me to go home and marry someone that I loved, not someone who just told you how it was. Though I do have to admit, it threw me for a loop that you wouldn't fall for me. After all, we were famous, had money, and women fawned over us all the time. What more could a women ask for?" he asked.
"Love. I believed, and still do, in it and I am a realist. I didn't want your money or fame. Friendship, yes, but I would have gone crazy within a month. I would have been climbing the walls. I never saw you as a star because I knew you first as a Scout. Not one of mine, but still a Scout. Besides, what would you have done with a ditzy blonde?" she asked.
"I don't know. Once the newness wore off, I probably would have strayed. Something about Katie though, keeps me in place," he said.
"See, it did you all a world, or rather universe, of good to go home. Which reminds me, how are your two brothers?" Serena asked.
"Quite happily womanizing still," Seyia answered. Serena laughed
"It would figure that those two would never grow up," Lilly said as she entered the drawing room.
Seyia looked startled. "You weren't with them. When did they find you?" he asked.
"They didn't find me, I found them. After I got my memories back, I ran from Travis and found all of them together. They accepted me with open arms," Lilly said.
"You ran from Travis? How?" Seyia asked.
"A man has to sleep sometime," Lilly said with a shrug.
"A drug induced sleep," Kaden countered.
"Minor technicality," Lilly said with another shrug.
Seyia laughed. "I suppose Rena was happy as hell to have her girlfriend back huh?" he asked.
"You have no idea," Lilly said. They laughed.
"I'm lost," Katie said.
"Sorry. Lilly, this is my wife, Katie. Katie, this is Lilly, the princess of Mars, Kaden's younger sister, and Rei's twin. She's infamous for her very open relationship with Rena. From the looks of it, she has a bun in the oven, which I'm sure there's a story behind, since she isn't married and isn't known for one night stands," Seyia said.
"One night, before we came back a few months ago, we had a party. I got drunk. Erin was also very drunk, and I'm not quite sure how it happened. I just know that we ended up in bed together, and by the way, you can't tell him. He doesn't know," Lilly said.
Seyia frowned. "OK. We won't tell him, but how are you hiding this from him?" he asked.
"By staying here," Lilly answered.
"OK, how does that help?" he asked.
"Erin and I aren't as close as we were," Serena said.
"Why?" he asked. Serena shrugged.
"It has to do with the fact that he keeps hurting her friends," Lita said as she joined them.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Miss Jupiter herself. What brings you here?" he asked.
"I'm here most of the time. At least, when I think I can get away. I pretty much let Nathan handle everything. Hopefully one day I'll have an heir that will want to rule. Even back in the day, it wasn't my thing. So you must be Katie. I'm Lita, a.k.a. Jupiter. He probably has horror stories about us from when we were younger. Let me tell you now, most of them are probably true, too. Especially since Rena and I are such tomboys with tempers," Lita said with a smile.
"What is it with you dignitaries?" Seyia asked.
"Too much pressure," Serena said.
"She offered to let Lita try running the universe, but she declined," Lilly said.
"So, Lita, who's going to run Jupiter?" Seyia asked.
"Probably Ella when she's old enough," Lita answered.
"Who's Ella?" he asked.
"Mine and Erin's daughter. I have a son, too. Risk, well Christopher really, but we all call him Risk," Lita said.
"I'm confused," Seyia said.
"Yeah. I married Erin, and all was great for awhile. Then, a couple years ago, he started to get on my nerves. We started fighting constantly, and he was being immature, so I called it quits a couple months ago. It was finalized the day we came back," Lita explained. Seyia nodded, still not really understanding. "Never mind. It's safe to say though, that I know about Lilly, and I have no grief with her, just Erin. He pretty much used her when she was vulnerable, to try to get even with me," Lita explained.
"Want me to kill him for you?" Seyia asked.
"No, thanks. I've had several offers though. How about instead of standing around here and trying to play catch up, we go eat?" Lilly suggested.
"Good idea. We all just got caught up talking," Serena said.
"It happens," Lita said.
They walked into the dining room. "It's different than I remember," Seyia said.
"Ari has helped us change a lot of things. Speaking of whom, where is she?" she asked Lita.
"I was on Mars talking to Rei. I'm sorry for being late," Ari said coming in and taking a seat.
Serena smiled, knowing Ari well enough by now, to know why she'd gone to Mars to see Rei.
"Good. That means that you wont be working this afternoon, right?" Lilly asked. Ari frowned.
"Don't do that, it causes wrinkles," Gabe said coming from the kitchen and taking a seat.
"Have a good ride?" Lilly asked.
"Very. I think if it were possible, I'd ride the day away. Unfortunately, my stomach didn't agree with me, so I came in for lunch. Hi, you must be Seyia and Katie. I'm Gabrielle, Gabe for short," she said enthusiastically.
"I seem to have left out the minor detail that the two missing princesses have been found, huh? Well, now you know," Serena said with a shrug.
"Where were they?" Seyia asked.
"I was raised on the Negamoon by Beryl," Ariana said.
"So that was true. What about Gabrielle?" he asked, still stunned.
"I barely remember anything of my life before, but I do remember that I was told that I was one of the missing princesses. I was only four when all hell broke loose," Gabe said.
"I see," Seyia said slowly.
"Supper is served," the head chef announced, bringing out food.
"Lunch," Serena corrected.
"As you wish, Majesty. Lunch is served," he said. Serena rolled her eyes.
They ate and chatted, trying to include everyone. "So do you have more meetings this afternoon?" Seyia asked as they sipped coffee.
"No. I have the whole weekend off. Thank the gods. Can Katie ride well?" she asked.
"I ride well enough. Why?" Katie asked.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you didn't ride well. I was asking so that we might ride this afternoon before dark," Serena said.
"Can you still ride? I mean with as far along as you are. I mean...," Katie tried, flustered.
Serena smiled. "Don't worry about it. I can ride as long as I want as long as I'm careful," Serena said.
"We've heard all about the moon's stables having excellent horses. It should be a treat," Katie said enthusiastically.
"Rena rides like the wind," Gabe commented.
"Really? We'll have to see that then. I've had excellent trainers," Katie said.
"I was never trained. I refused to be trained to do something that came naturally," Serena said.
"Well after we've rested up a bit, then we shall have to ride," Katie said.
"You really don't want to challenge her," Seyia said.
"Why not?" Katie asked.
"She'll win. She shows no mercy," Kaden said, seeing where this was going.
"She's beaten Artemis too many times to count, even since she's been back," Lilly agreed with her brother.
"Let her race with me. After all, I'm further along than she is, and I have that extra weight. Things may even themselves out," Serena said mildly. Ari looked at her sister and smiled an all-knowing smile. Serena wouldn't let her win at all. They all knew that.
13
A few hours later, they were on equally matched mounts. "All right, Katie, you were warned," Seyia said.
At the shot of a pistol in the air, they were off. Serena ran equally matched to Katie for a good three hundred yards before she grew tired of it. She turned her attention to the finish line almost a mile away, where everyone had been transported to. She spurred her horse faster, willing it to it's highest speed. Katie tried, and failed miserably, to catch up to her. Serena crossed the finish line with Katie still a hundred yards back. "That defies every law of horsemanship ever!" Katie exclaimed as she dismounted.
"No, Love, it doesn't. If she wasn't being careful, it's likely that you wouldn't have seen her at all," Seyia said.
"I want a rematch. One year from today, on our own mounts," Katie said.
Serena shrugged. "Whatever you want, Your Highness," she said.
Katie looked startled. "You mean, you accept?" she asked.
"Of course," Serena said simply.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because you asked me to, and it's polite," Serena answered as she turned and walked with a slight limp toward the stables.
"You're limping again, Sere," Kaden said.
"I'm aware of that. I jumped off the horse and my foot hurts. It's the same one I injured when the twins were babies, same one that got broken in the accident," she said.
"Hurts?" Kaden asked.
"Dull ache really, but I promise to take care. I'm not one for wanting the old injury to flair up. Besides, the weathers changing. It's going to get cold fast. Snow tomorrow night," Serena said, wrinkling her nose.
"What old injury?" Katie and Seyia asked in unison.
Serena slowed for them to catch up. They caught up to her easily. "When the twins were a couple months old, I'd gone back to modeling. I had a shoot. I tripped over some wiring and twisted my ankle. It smarted, but I shrugged it off. We were called back to the studio at two-thirty in the morning because someone had deliberately sabotaged some pictures that had to be reshot and to the printer by five. Thank God for digital cameras. Anyhow, I was running, in a hurry trying to get where I needed to be. I tripped over the same wires from earlier, and this time I heard something pop. I didn't have time to do anything but smile for the camera. After everything was done, we all went to the hospital. It turns out that I'd fractured my foot, and also tore ligaments in my ankle. When I dismounted earlier, I twisted my ankle slightly, and it aches a little. If it gets bad, I'll have Kaden call Darien for me," Serena said as they reached the stables.
"You model?" Seyia asked.
"Modeled. Past tense. I don't have the figure for it anymore," Serena said with a smile.
"Well yeah, you're pregnant. But still, what are you, like a size five?" Seyia asked.
"Yeah. I only got to a size twelve with the girls, but that was big enough," Serena said.
"Yeah, and ate like there was no tomorrow," Kaden muttered. Serena only smiled.
"I suppose the mood swings were bad?" Seyia asked.
"No, she was just more stubborn. Like when she bought the house. I told her that I wanted to talk with her about it first, and she just went ahead and bought the place anyhow. Not that it was a bad deal or anything, besides, it's what eventually led us back here," Kaden said.
"So you own a house on Earth?" Katie asked.
"Sorta. It's technically a mansion, and it was supposed to be a gift for my eighteenth birthday, but we never lived that long. It was designed after the moon palace here. It's where the Outers and Kaden grew up before Kaden left. Then, after they found us, we were shipped to Japan to be with the boys, and Kaden came with to watch over us. No one planned the plane crash. That just sort of happened," Serena explained.
"That's what wiped mine and Darien's memories," Kaden said.
"And the girls and Erin were too young to remember?" Katie asked.
"Rena and Erin were almost two, so I guess. I've never asked them exactly what they remember, if anything," Kaden said.
"Absolutely nothing before we were four," Serena said.
"The Wars were a sad time. It must have been hard for you to do what you did," Katie said.
"Not as hard as it would have been for me to live," Serena said.
"What makes you say that?" Seyia asked.
"We must've been a little more secretive than we thought if they don't know," Kaden said.
"Kaden and I had a torrid love affair back then, and I was pregnant when I killed myself with his sword," Serena said.
They'd reached the stables and now. Katie and Seyia stood with stunned expressions on their faces. "You and Kaden? I thought you were forbidden to see him," Seyia managed.
"I didn't remember that, but my mom kindly reminded me of the fact. It didn't matter though. We were just a lot more careful after that. I hadn't even had the chance to tell him when Beryl attacked. When she killed him, I damn near lost it. Darien was still alive though, and I knew he'd understand. I shouldn't have been out there at all. But I had to. I watched as she ran Darien through. That's when I lost it. I had nothing more to live for. I walked out into the middle of the battlefield, picked up Kaden's sword, and did what I felt I had to do," Serena said
"Wait, wait, wait, Kaden's sword?" Seyia asked.
"Yes, Kaden's sword. I know everyone thought that it was Darien's sword, but it wasn't, and if anyone, I should know," Serena said.
"I guess no one ever looked at it. I don't know. We were killed before that happened," Seyia said.
"Blah. Let's talk about something else," Serena said as she started brushing the horse.
"OK. What are you going to do with that big, old, rambling, and in some parts falling down, castle?" Katie asked.
"Its being remodeled as we speak. We're salvaging as much of the materials as possible from the arches and gates. The hedges in the garden were all cut short and weeded, and its ready for replanting this spring. Hopefully by the end of next summer, the outside will be mostly finished. It's going to take years to finish restoring the inside. Ari and Lilly have pretty well catalogued everything from the attics to the basement. We're going to open up a museum in a few weeks. The stables, as you can see, have been kept in top-notch working order. We have more horses that we need though. Monday, we're having a horse auction, and the two horses we rode today will be up, as well as eight others," Serena said.
"I want one of your mares," Katie said immediately. Serena and Seyia looked at her. "Well the moon is reputed to have the best breeding horses around. I want a mare to breed with that unruly beast that no one can ride," Katie said.
"You have an unrideable horse?" Serena asked all-to-hopefully.
"Yes. He's a black stallion. He's all muscle and wild. He hangs around our stables, but he's not one of ours, and he's not branded," Seyia said.
"I want him," Serena said. Kaden and Seyia both rolled their eyes. "There hasn't been a horse yet that I haven't ridden," Serena said.
"Let's make a trade then," Katie said.
"I'm listening," Serena said.
"You bring one of your best mares up to breed with him, and I get to keep the foal," Katie said.
Serena's brain started working as she mentally ran down the list of females ready to breed. "Let me call Artemis. Is there any way the stallion can be corralled and transported here, since we have the space and technology?" Serena asked.
"Yes," Seyia said.
"Seyia, get in touch with your people tomorrow, and I'll talk to Artemis yet tonight, and hopefully by the time this weekend is over, you'll have a biddable, sweet, if not a bit headstrong, mare and I'll have an unruly wild beast," Serena said cheerfully.
"Hey, Rena, what's up?" Gabe asked as she came in.
"Hey, Gabe. We were just talking horses. We may be getting an unruly, unrideable black stallion from them, and they'd be getting a mare from us. We want to breed the female with the stallion first," Serena said.
"I have just the mare in mind," Gabe said and walked down the rows of horses. She brought out a beautiful, sleek, black mare. "This is Lady Devil. Don't let her name fool you. She's sweet and pretty gentle, and she should be coming into heat soon. She's a little headstrong, but rides like the wind," Gabe said. Katie stuck a tentative hand out for the horse to smell. The horse bent her head and sniffed at Katie's palm. Then she nudged it, looking for a treat. "I'm afraid we've spoiled her a little. I bring them all treats. So that's what she's probably looking for. I can saddle her up for you in the morning if you want to take a short ride to see if she's what your looking for or not," Gabe offered.
Katie stroked the long, sleek black nose. "I think, young lady, that I'll take you up on that offer," she said. The horse nodded, as if agreeing.
"See, I knew there would be something she and I had in common," Serena told Seyia.
"You were afraid that we would hate each other?" Katie asked, surprised.
"Yes. Serena's, well, opinionated and headstrong. You weren't raised like that," Seyia said.
"I do believe, Seyia, that you may be sleeping in a separate room tonight," Serena said. They all laughed and walked back inside for dinner.