Melody woke to a cool washcloth on her face. She moaned and opened her eyes to a most unwelcome sight. Mistress Selene and Roxane were leaning over her.

"Ah good you're awake. Now we may continue our conversation. I assume you have many questions for us?" Mistress Selene asked.

Melody sat up slowly and eyed them warily. They were Mystik. They couldn't be trusted. No, wait, she was Mystik! Her. Mystik. Impossible. Yet here she was, surrounded by none other than the Mistress herself and her Proxy.

"How do you know I'm the princess?" Melody asked. "She's dead. Everyone knows the story of how Queen Raina went berserk and killed her husband and any remaining heirs! She killed her own brother and his child!"

"Not exactly. But you'll find out more in time. However, someone foresaw the destruction soon to follow and whisked you away down to earth. Your memory was altered so you wouldn't remember the first four years of your life on Luna. Whoever brought you to earth was thinking ahead and saved your life. If you had remained on Luna, Malayesis would have killed you," Roxane said.

Melody was silent, taking this all in. "Malayesis was the Queen's Proxy and cousin. But as her daughter, I would have been next in line for the throne. Right?" Roxane nodded. "But someone brought me to earth because they knew Malayesis was evil."

"We should not speak ill of our Queen often, Melody. She has ears everywhere," Mistress Selene warned. "We have been searching for you Melody. I, as the leader of this order of Mystiks here on earth, have made it my priority to find you and train you in the Mystik ways. You are our only hope to dethrone Malayesis and make Luna the place it once was."

"My Lady, our time is nearly up," Roxane cautioned. Mistress Selene looked up at the clock.

"So it is. Melody, take this." She handed Melody a silver necklace with a silver charm. It was the shape of a crescent moon and shined as if dusted with diamonds. "This charm will protect you here on earth. It will awaken your powers as a Mystik. Whoever brought you to earth put a…lock in a sense, on your powers to help you go undetected from Malayesis. Only this charm would awaken them." She slipped the necklace over Melody's head and helped her stand.

"Now Melody. It is imperative you do not remove this charm. Once your powers are unlocked, something inside you will shift and you will become…more. You will become Mystik. The Queen has been looking for you ever since she discovered your abduction. You must remain hidden and you must attend the moon ceremony in two days. Do not miss it. Your life may depend on it. Please take everything we have told you seriously. You lead a dangerous life now and you must not tell anyone. Not your friends, not your family. No one. We are the only ones you can trust now. Do you understand?" Mistress Selene looked straight into Melody's eyes; silver on brown. Melody nodded. "Very well. You may go back to the Masquerade. And Melody?" She looked at Melody as she passed. "Remember what we have told you." She snapped her fingers and suddenly, the Mystiks were gone.

Back at the party, she entered the sea of familiar faces. Except, people eyed her suspiciously and moved away to make sure they didn't touch. Melody heard the whispers all around and ducked her head. She had tried so hard just to blend in. Just to be normal. Now everything she had strived for was compromised by this, this monstrosity! Mystik. What a disgrace. Being the lost princess? It was unfathomable. She made her way back to the table where her friends were anxiously waiting. Lys spotted her first.

Jumping up, she ran to Melody. "Oh Mel! Are you all right? What happened? What's going on? Is it a mistake? Tell us!" She shook Melody's arms. Corin gently pushed Lys away and helped Melody to a seat. She collapsed and looked at the two of them. How could she possibly tell them the truth? They'll believe her a freak! They'll never want to talk to her again! She couldn't tell them. Taking a deep breath she began to fabricate a story she hoped was believable.

"All they did was tell me about the Mystik's history and gave me this necklace which signifies my membership. And I must attend the moon ceremony in two days." Lys and Corin gasped.

"No! You can't attend the moon ceremony. You know those who attend return…different. They're not normal. I won't let them do that to you!" Lys cried.

"Mel, do you realize what will happen once you return from the moon ceremony? You'll be one of them. You can't. We'll call the police, we'll call somebody. We've got to tell your mom. Maybe she can-" Corin was interrupted by Melody's shout.

"No! You can't tell my mom." Corin and Lys stared at her in surprise.

"Why not?" Lys asked.

"Well…because," Melody sighed. "Listen-"

"No, Mel. You listen. We're your best friends and we won't let you be turned into a monster!" Corin shouted. Lys and Melody stared. So did everyone else around them. Corin never raised his voice. Melody didn't think she'd heard him ever yell before, in all the years she'd known him. He stood and glared at Melody. Lys looked back and forth between them.

"Uhm, maybe we should go. Corin, Mel. Let's get out of here." Lys grabbed Corin's and Melody's arms and practically dragged them out of the ballroom.

They drove back to Lys's house in silence. Melody stared up at the almost full moon out the window. Mystiks lived there, dominated by a crazy queen who wanted to kill her. Fantastic. She rubbed her forehead. She thought she felt a headache coming on.

"Hey, don't worry Mel. We'll come with you to the moon ceremony."

"What! We will?" Lys shrieked. Melody turned around and glared at her. Corin glanced in the rearview mirror and raised his eyebrows. Lys sighed. "Ok fine. We'll come with you the stupid ceremony. But I swear if something bad happens to us you are so dead!" Lys simmered silently in the back the rest of the way home.

Outside the door, they all stopped and put on fake smiles so their parents wouldn't be suspicious. Opening the door, they were welcomed with happy smiles and cheers. Their families swept them into the room, demanding to know how the Masquerade was. Once everyone found a seat, the conversation switched to a serious note.

"I'm glad everyone had a wonderful time, but…who was chosen tonight?" Melody's mother asked worriedly. "Surely none of you."

Melody took a deep breath and answered with fake confidence, "Just some poor freshman girl. We don't know who she is." All three families sighed with relief.

"Oh I was so worried! Thank the heavens it wasn't any of you!" Lys's mother, Alyss, exclaimed.

"If it would have been any of them why I would have gone straight to Selene myself and clobbered her!" Corin's father, Matthew, threatened.

"There, there everything is as it should be. Our children are safe yet another year. But they look absolutely exhausted, why don't we call it a night?" Melody's mother, Felicity, stood and the gathering ended. The goodbyes were short and as Lys and Corin passed Melody out the door, they whispered, "Don't worry. We'll come up with a plan tomorrow. Meet us at the park at noon." Then they were gone.

In her bedroom at night she lay under her covers with a flashlight and her notebook. In it she wrote:

11 June

It's a little after midnight and I am more scared than I have ever been in my entire life. I was chosen to be inducted into the Mystik ranks tonight. Me! Mystik! I never would have thought it to be true. I can't be Mystik! There's nothing worse than those monsters. Even worse, Mistress Selene told me I was the lost princess! Should I believe anything she even says? What if she's right? What do I do? If I am indeed princess Lucinda then my life is in danger. Queen Malayesis wants me dead. She's ruthless and ambitious and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. That's why she killed her brother and his daughter because they were a threat to the throne! Her cousin Queen Raina must have been my birth mother then. No. It can't be true. I can't be the heir to the Mystik throne! But if it's true, I'm doomed.

Melody