Chapter 2! :D

R&R?

When I open my eyes again, I am back on Earth, and guess what! I am in my normal clothes- silver jacket, jeans, and a T-shirt. The T-shirt is light purple this time. I tap the top of my head and could feel the tiara. So, okay, I'm back as Leilani, Queen of the Wild, yada yada yada. Alessandra wasn't lying. The teleporter thing had disappeared. I look around. Where am I? What state? I look behind me and start to walk, slamming into something.

The Tortuga. The teleporter thing had brought me home.

"Oh my god," I whisper. "Thank you. If you can hear this, thank you. Which you probably can't."

The Tortuga's parked out in the country, on the edge of a forest. It hasn't changed at all. The ramp's open and I hear arguing. Probably deciding where to go. I walk up the ramp slowly, then turn into the main control room. The door opens and everyone stops arguing.

"Hello," I say. "It's me."

HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIIIIIIIIDE! I MUST HAVE CALLED A THOUSAND TIIIIIIIIIIMES! (Adele is amazing. Don't judge me.)

It's silent for a few seconds before everyone tackles me in a hug. We all fall to the floor, laughing. It seems like a movie scene. It's so perfect. I wish I could freeze this moment in time forever.

"Leilani Corcovado-Kratt, WHERE have you been for the past six months?" Aviva asks. So that's how long it's been for them... I'm glad everyone's still alive.

"What happened?" Chris asks, brushing some hair out of my face. "You look unchanged."

"Well, long story short, apparently I'm literally the daughter of Mother Nature, aka Alessandra," I answer. "And I wasn't technically dead. I'm still confused, though. I'm Queen of the Wild, and Marcy was- is- the Queen of the Weather."

"That explains this." Candice grabs the tiara from off my head, and I laugh. "I'm the queen now!"

"Hey, give it back!" I exclaim, grabbing for it. "Oh, whatever. What happened while I was gone?"

I gave Martin a look, and he laughs, rolling his eyes. "Yes, Leilani, Candice and I are engaged. The wedding's already happened, though, just a simple one."

"Oh my god!" I exclaim. "I KNEW IT!"

Candice laughs, and shows me the ring. It's bright blue- probably a sapphire- on a silver band. It's super cute. Then she hands my tiara back.

"And... you're going to be a sister."

Time seems to freeze. I gasp, amazed. This is perfect! I get a sibling! Aviva's pregnant! Suddenly Luna seems to notice me. She runs over and pins me to the floor. Like I wasn't dirty enough!

"THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!" I exclaim, laughing. "Any other useful information I need to know?"

"Gavin hasn't dated anyone else," Chris adds. "So I guess you're still his girlfriend. If teen romance works like that."

"It does," I assure him. "What happened to Zach?"

"He escaped," Martin answers sadly. "We haven't heard from him since."

"Well, crap. I thought he was dead." I mutter. "So... where are we going?"

"Oh, we're going searching for the Loch Ness Monster," Aviva answers, like it's the most casual thing in the world. It's like saying, I'm going to walk the dog.

"You're searching for the WHAT?!" My eyes go wide. "Okay, why?"

"Well, lots of debates are going around now. Is it real or is it fake? So we were thinking, right before you came in, let's go see," Candice answers. "We should get going, and I can explain on the way."

"Of course, you, the Nessie nerd." Martin laughs. "Go ahead. But she might bore you."

"Hey!" Candice exclaims, slapping Martin on the side.

"Ow," he mutters. "It's not a bad thing!"

"It better not be, Martin Kratt!" She smirks, laughing.

"Jimmy, plot a course to Loch Ness, Scotland!"

So we're headed to Loch Ness, and Candice explains about the Loch Ness Monster quest thing. "The legend dates back to sometime in the 500's, and we were watching debates about it. I mean, it is an animal if it's real, right? And it could be real! Loch Ness is like 22-and-a-half miles long and 1 to 1-and-a-half miles wide and up to 755 feet deep. Not to mention it's got 263 thousand million cubic feet of water! If we find it, Aviva will probably make a Loch Ness Monster power suit. If we find it, it will be one of the biggest- if not the biggest- scientific discoveries ever! I mean, a 1500-year-old creature? Who might even be older? The Loch Ness Monster? We're totally going down to the bottom of the loch in the amphisub. I think the bros have gone deeper in the ocean, and I heard the bottom of Loch Ness is totally flat. Chris said it might be a dinosaur or a descendant of one. Something that started with a P..."

Martin was right! I think. She is a total Nessie nerd, but why not? The Loch Ness Monster seems interesting.

"Plesiosaurs," Chris called. "It's called a plesiosaurs."

"Whatever he said. That." Candice rolls her eyes. "Anyways, it's also called Nessie. As you might have figured out from what Martin said. Most people who believe in it think it has a long neck and turtle-like flippers... or at least I think it looks like that. Hey, I wonder if would come out for you! You're the Queen of the Wild!"

"I don't know," I reply. "I could try, but probably not. Anything else?"

"Nope. Oh, and here." Candice hands me a stack of magazines. "You're famous."

"Forget these." I roll my eyes and set them next to me. "I'm so over them."

Candice laughs. "No, you're not."

"Nessie nerd," I tease.

"HEY!"

"I now crown you Queen Candice of Loch Ness." I laugh, then put the tiara on her head.

"Nice. I'll be sure to get Martin back for it. Maybe drench him in lake water." She winks at me, and I laugh. "Wait, since I'm married to him, does that make him the king? Then he'll drench me back."

"Only if you have the same last name," I joke.

"Well, sorry, he'll get me back! I'm Candice Kratt now." She laughs and hands me back the tiara. "But maybe you can drench him."

"I will," I promise. "If the lake will let me control it, which it probably won't."

Candice walks out of my room laughing. My room has remained relatively unchanged. I look through the gossip magazines. I just want to see what... lies they have. Articles like Leilani Dead: Zach's Fault? and Leilani's Death: The World Reacts and Goodbye to a Queen.

Then Chris walks in a few hours later, and I realize I am so not over the gossip magazines. But is that a bad thing? No. I'm only reading the parts with me in them. And I can tell you firsthand that 50% of the stuff in them is WRONG.

"Hey."

"Hey."

He pulls me into a hug. "Leilani, you scared us. I thought I lost you."

"Surprise," I reply weakly. "I'm back."

"I couldn't forget the promise that I broke," he whispers. "I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault." We break the hug and I set the gossip magazine on the table. "I did it on my own free will."

"Still, I said I wouldn't let you get hurt, and then you die." Chris shakes his head.

"Well, Alessandra said I wasn't technically dead. But that makes no sense to me." I shrug. "It's. Not. Your. Fault."

"But-" he begins, but I cut him off. I'm going to win this argument.

"No," I interrupt. "It's not your fault. It never was, and never will be."

I look into his eyes, and see worry and... fear? Then he breaks eye contact. "I'm your dad. I'm supposed to save you."

"You couldn't. I know you wanted to." I reply. "It was a story she told me. Alessandra. She read me that story. She knew what would happen."

"Why?" he asks after a minute. "Why couldn't she save you? She comes back to save you."

"I don't know," I admit.

"Then she shouldn't be your mother," he snaps as his voice drops to a whisper. "Every parent would sacrifice themselves for their kid. I would. Aviva would."

"She did," I reply, defending both myself and Alessandra. "She did. On the night of the fire. It was right behind me and she knocked me forward. She got burned herself, and she screamed to me to run. Run as far as I could. Chris, it scared me. I could hear her, Marcy and Ian screaming. She got up and ran right back through the fire."

Chris stops, taking all of this in. He hugs me again and a single tear rolls down my cheek. No one knew before. And now he does.

"Oh..."

"Yeah," I reply, my voice a whisper. "She did. And I guess it was like my duty or something as Queen of the Wild."

He starts stroking my hair, and my eyes close. "I guess."

"Yeah, something like that." I nod. "I missed you, even though it was about an hour for me."

"We missed you too." After a moment he adds, "You should get some sleep. It's already 11:30 PM."

"I guess," I reply.

He kisses the top of my head, and we stand up. "Hey, no fair. You're taller then me now."

"Ha ha." I smirk. "Night... dad."

"Night, Leilani."

I've never stopped running, I think as I get ready for bed. I'm never going to outrun their deaths. Even if they are all happy together.

Ah, Candice the Nessie nerd. :P We are one in the same person sometimes, I swear.

And I'M SORRY for the feels!