When Charle saw Luna, it was almost everything she could so to keep from hunting down her attacker and killing him. "What happened?"

"A kid was bullying her. Whatever it was that she did, it scared the heck out of that kid... He urinated on himself!" Octavia seemed impressed as she spoke.

"I'll take her home, have the healer examine her. I don't want that boy having any less than six hours of homework every night. And no recess. If the parents have a problem, they can come talk to me."

"Yes, your highness."

Charle quietly picked up Luna and her bag and carried her out. Luna felt the tension in the air, so she took out her drawing that she had made twice. "I made this for you..."

Charle glanced at it. It was a sketch of her favorite flowers. Just looking at it made her feel better. "Thank you, Luna." The healer's room wasn't too far from the castle doors. "Kaloha! We need you out here!"

Silence. That was all they got in response. "Kaloha," Charle called again, beginning to worry.

"Hold on, hold on! I be comin' out to ya righ' now." The elderly healer rushed out from a door on the other end of the hall, wearing only a towel and dripping water onto the floor. "What be da matta?"

"She got punched in the face, by the looks of it. I need you to check and be sure she isn't too badly hurt. Sorry for interrupting your bath, by the way."

"Eh, it only be a bath day. Dere be another next week." Kaloha had already gone to work examining the injury. "No bad. 'Tis only a black eye. It'll heal in a day or so." Kaloha turned around, heading back towards her bath, muttering, "I swear it be a cursed child..."

"Maybe I'll just home-school you."

The next day, Charle was greeted by an odd visitor. He was tall and cloaked in black and silver. His silver hair shone brightly in the dim room. "May I help you?"

"Yes. I come in search of a girl... I know she's here... I can feel her aura."

"There is no girl here, only me, and I am a woman."

At this moment, Luna came in holding a picture of a flower. "Look what I drew for you, Nana!"

The man's eyes went straight to the girl. "It's her... I feel it!" The man came closer, almost fearfully, yet eagerly.

He was close enough to where Luna could see his face. After the encounter with the bully, she found that she was no longer afraid. There was a flash of light and the guy had disappeared. Luna glanced to the light's source. Charle stood, still with her hand out, smoke leaving her fingertips. "Luna, pack your things. We leave tonight."

"Where are we going?" Luna was confused. Questions flew around in her head, but there was no sense in wasting time. She could tell from Charle's eyes that she wanted Luna to hurry, so she did. Her books would be too heavy to carry, so she left them on her bed. She did, however, take her Spells and Magic: First Edition book and a notebook. She grabbed her coloring supplies and her favorite doll.

Charle had walked in while Luna was finding these items, and was looking at her clothes. "None of this will do. Matteira, bring me some pauper's clothes. One outfit for me and three for Luna."

"Yes, milady." The servant rushed out.

Luna blinked. 'Pauper's clothes? And more for me than her? What's going on here?' "Nana, what are we doing? Why do we have to leave?"

"I'm taking you to your half-brother's house. You'll be safe there."

"But I'm safe here... See? No bullies!"

"That man wanted to hurt you, and he escaped. He'll be back, and I don't want you here for that."

"I've got the clothes, your highness." The servant set the clothes on the table beside the door and walked out.

"Put one of these outfits on. It will help you blend in." Quickly, Luna obeyed, noticing that Charle was doing the same. This was completely out of character for her, by Luna's standards, since she insisted on dressing everyone in as many ribbons, bows, and flowers as she could find.

Charle grabbed two cloaks, both plain, and passed the smaller one to Luna. "Put this on over you and pull the hood up." Luna did not question the order. Grabbing the extra clothes, she stuck them in her bag and closed it, following Charle out into the hall. Charle stopped at one room and brought out a headband with two pointed pieces of metal sticking out and a solid black choker. The choker was placed in her bag, and the headband was on her head before she could blink, with care being taken to gently fit the ears into the metal. Charle smiled as the magic on the headband kicked in and the illusion of human ears appeared. "Only take this off when you know it's safe to reveal your identity. Don't put on the choker until your life is in absolute danger. Once it's on, you won't be able to feel emotions, but taking it off once will fix that. But it will mess up the magic, because you will probably have to take it off sooner than your mom did. Now we must hurry to the teleporter. Ready to go?"

"Yes, Nana." Luna was extremely quiet as they hurried through the crowds.

Charle was getting ahead of her, so Luna dropped to all fours and charged after her, falling into the new rhythm instinctively. She could hear her hands and feet hit the ground. She felt herself gaining speed and saw Charle's cloak turn a sharp corner. Luna followed it, turning around the curve with ease. 'Why does this feel so natural?' Luna sat down and let herself slide onto the transporter, glancing up at Charle. Charle was gaping at her in shock. 'Wait... did I get sommething on my...' Luna glanced down and saw fur where skin should be. 'What the heck is this?' Glancing behind her, she noticed she had a tail. Lifting a hand, she discovered it was a paw. Scratching her nose, she noticed she had a muzzle. 'I'm a dog!'

"Luna, just relax. Breathe in and out slowly."

As she obeyed, she felt the dog traits going away, except for the tail. Once she was almost back to normal, she stood up. Charle nodded to the person behind the control panel and a green light surrounded both Charle and Luna.

Luna felt as light as a feather. She could see everything passing by. Cities where there were more than just silver-haired people. Carts loaded with supplies traveling on dirt paths while being led by strange creatures. Birds chirping and flying about, some swooping down to get food. Luna gazed at the world beneath her in wonder and amazement. They finally landed close to an old, abandoned city. As the glow disappeared, Charle whispered, "We'll have to travel on foot until nighttime. Remember, say nothing and do nothing which reveals our identities."

Luna nodded, following the wingly out of the city. It was extremely hot outside, so they had to remove their cloaks. In the sunlight, Luna felt as if she was burning alive. Out of the sunlight, she felt like she was going to dry up and die, yet she continued to follow Charle as she led her through strange places. Throughout the daytime part of the journey, not a plant was in sight. It made Luna feel sad, not seeing any of the vibrant colors that used to make her so happy.

When nighttime came, Luna smiled, relaxing in the moonlight. It was a full moon, so the light was just enough to be able to see with. She didn't understand why, but she always felt better at night. Charle smiled as she noticed the girl, walking with her eyes shut, enjoying the nighttime air.

Luna noticed something odd in the air, however. The aura felt familiar, only this time, she recognized it. It was the same aura she had felt on the playground when Chrysanthemum had punched her. "It's her..."

"Who?"

"The woman who defended me at the school..." Luna could see the mist forming and pointed at it. Charle's eyes followed the arm and she noticed the mist as well.

Charle gasped as the mist solidified. "Rose..."

The woman in the mist smiled. "Hello to you too. I come bearing a warning. Fly from here as quickly as you can. He's tracking you and is starting to get close. I'll conceal the light from your wings, Charle." There was no need for Rose to clarify who 'he' was. They all knew.

Before Luna could blink, she was on Charle's back, positioned between two bright wings, and Rose's mist was covering them, dimming the light enough to make someone think it was merely a shooting star.

It was only thirteen minutes before they landed. Rose said goodbye to both of them before disappearing again, her mist fading away.

"Rest now, Luna. We'll be entering the village at dawn."