The seasons were changing, starting with getting warmer. Snow was appearing less, meaning soon the horses wouldn't have to wear their sweaters when they wanted to go riding outside. Which was too bad for Diamond, because she loved the blue snowflake Life Day sweater Kara got her.
But, with the seasons changing, new life would soon be coming about. Soon, animals would come out of hibernation, new flowers and plants would grow, and a new year would be filled with beauty. And one thing that was for sure, the children of this year would have another year to grow, including the Skywalkers and Jinns' children.
Luke and Leia were already starting to crawl really well, and they were crawling all over the place.
"Thank God we had enough time to baby-proof this place." Anakin said, following Luke as he was crawling toward the stairs, and they turned into a slide that Luke slid down, laughing as he went down.
"Got him!" Kara exclaimed, zipping in and catching her nephew, the baby boy clapping and giggling as he enjoyed his ride.
"Luke is turning out to be an adventurous one, isn't he?" Padme said, holding a restless Leia as she energetically shook her pink butterfly rattle that used to belong to her big sister Gabby.
Leia was babbling and moving all about as she played with her rattle.
"And this one is a little spitfire." Kara chuckled, fixing the big white bow on Leia's little head.
Suddenly, that was when the middle twins ran in, Omega having gotten a hold of Boba's lion.
"Omega! Give me back Fuzzy!" Boba said as Omega held his plushie away.
"No way!" Omega said. "This is payback for you doing this with Little Star."
"Omega, give your brother his lion." Padme said.
Reluctantly, Omega did so, but she threw the lion.
"Fetch!"
"Omega!" Boba groaned, going after his toy. "Unbelievable."
"Can't you kids just play nice?" sighed Padme.
"We haven't had a lot of excitement lately." Omega said. "We gotta find something to do."
"I think we just did!" Gabby said, rushing into the room, looking panicked. "Grandpa wants us all to meet him and Queen Neeyutnee in the throne room right now! It's an emergency."
So, the entire royal family met in the throne room, where each of them sat in their respective thrones. With the castle of Solaris still under construction, the throne room became a combination throne room for both the current ruler of Naboo and the rulers of Solaris.
"Thank you all for arriving so quickly." Qui-Gon said.
"What's the emergency, Father?" Kara asked. "Is it Jedi related or Enchanted?"
"It is related to all inhabitants of the entire Galaxy, Enchanted and Jedi alike."
That was when Qui-Gon activated a holo-transmission that was from the Chairwoman of the EHC.
"Royal family of Solaris, we have a situation that threatens perhaps the entire galaxy more than even the biggest threat we've faced in Enchantra alone." said the chairwoman. "It appears our friend Mariverde has made her way into the MARED center."
"What's MARED?" Omega asked.
"It stands for Maximum Armed Rogue Enchanteds Detention." Gabby explained. "It's the most secure detention facility in all of Enchantra."
"It was supposed to be." said the Chairwoman. "However, Mariverde somehow managed to infiltrate our head of security, and force him to release over two hundred of Enchantra's worst criminals into the free world. And they've spread all across the galaxy."
OH NO! The entire royal family thought.
"To make things worse, it appears all of these criminals have managed to escape their detection anklets, making themselves impossible to track. There is good news though. A majority of these criminals have spent years in prison, thus weakening their powers. Hopefully that gives us enough time to capture them all before they become powerful enough to leave lasting damage."
In light of this, the EHC also sent this same warning to the Jedi Council, as well as all the leaders and guardians of every kingdom in Enchantra and the Republic too. And they sent everyone willing and able to fight data tablets that gave them access to the database of all the escaped criminals.
"We've already sent guards to ensure the protection of the children at every school. But you will all require extra practice in your powers. To our knowledge, Princesses Gabriella and Lamenta and Prince Carmine are the only royal Solarans who have had regular training in their abilities and have more experience than all the rest of you with magic."
And it was true. Anakin didn't get his powers until two years ago, Boba and Omega were still learning to use their powers, and Qui-Gon and Kara both had to hide their powers and only used them at night when all the other Jedi were sleeping. And being dead for twelve years didn't exactly help Qui-Gon's powers stay strong. In fact, once he was revived, it took a few days of rest and rigorous exercise for his full strength to return.
"I've done some searching, and we've managed to find a teacher willing to aid in your training. Someone with vast knowledge of magic as well as Doresho Gypsies."
That intrigued the royal family.
"Where was this teacher when Lady Morpha attacked?" Lamenta asked.
"He is part of a rather reclusive family." said the chairwoman. "He's agreed to meet with you tomorrow. Prepare some quarters for him and his family. In order to ensure full extent of the training is complete, they will need to move in with you."
"How big is his family?" Kara asked.
"Not very big. Only three people including him will arrive."
And so, the royal family did prepare some quarters for the new teacher who would aid in the royal family's training.
Sure enough, the next morning at breakfast, the new teacher arrived, and he wasn't alone.
And the kids recognized the child who came with the teacher and his wife.
"Goldie!" Gabby and Lamenta exclaimed, hugging their friend.
The chairwoman herself had escorted the teacher to meet the royal family.
"King Qui-Gon, allow me to introduce Professor Garrett Heartwood." said the chairwoman.
"Your Majesty." Garrett bowed.
"Pleased to meet you, Prof. Heartwood." Qui-Gon shook hands with the professor. "This lovely maiden must be your wife."
"Call me Mari." said Mariposa with a curtsy. "I see your granddaughters have met our little Goldie."
"Yes, she is a child as good as gold." Qui-Gon said.
Qui-Gon asked if the Heartwoods would like to join the family for breakfast, and they accepted. And they were introduced to the rest of the family and the Bad Batch too, as well as the horses.
"You certainly have a big family here." Mariposa commented.
"It is large, but functional." said Tech, feeding Teatra her breakfast.
"So, where did you teach before?" Anakin asked Garrett.
"Well, I actually worked for the Commission for a while, training new recruits for the guard. I've spent a long time traveling to train various Enchanteds as well. It is my belief that recruits get a better understanding of their mission from a little hands-on experience than they do fighting machines alone."
Anakin smiled at this teacher's philosophy. "I like you already."
"And on one of those more dangerous hands-on trips, I thought I was done for until I came across a beautiful girl who saved my life."
"That wouldn't have been Mari, would it?" Hunter asked.
"It was." Garrett said, taking his wife's hand.
"Aren't you a little hot in here with that cloak on?" Diamond asked.
"Oh, no. I'm fine, thank you." Mariposa said.
Lamenta however, couldn't help looking oddly at Mariposa. She looked familiar to her, but the girl just couldn't put her finger on it. She decided to get to the bottom of this.
"So... the chairwoman said you know a lot about Doresho Gypsies." Lamenta said, trying not to sound suspicious. "Care to share a little knowledge?"
"We don't usually talk about that." said Mari.
"Such knowledge actually could prove applicative." Gabby shrugged.
"That's a big word for a little girl." Garrett said.
"Spend enough time reading, or around Tech, and you learn a lot of words."
Not wanting to arouse suspicion, Garrett did share a few facts he knew about Doresho Gypsies. For one thing, they shared a few characteristics with normal butterflies. For example, starting out in different phases. As babies, they need to eat and eat like caterpillars do, and once they're old enough, they created a chrysalis from which they eventually hatch and grow beautiful wings. Doresho Gypsies also loved flowers, especially lavender, and bright colors. They also ate fruit the same way as some butterflies did by drinking from them with a tongue that was like a straw. But, they could also eat other things as humans did.
"And how do you know all this stuff?" Lamenta asked.
But Garrett turned his attention to the grownups.
"Why don't you tell me about your abilities?" said Garrett. "I understand some of you are late in training?"
"Some of us had to be self-taught." Kara clarified. "Carmine did receive some training from our grandmother as a child. Anakin and I... we both grew up in environments that did not contribute much to our magic training."
Garrett got out his notepad to begin taking notes.
"Okay, so who has which powers again?"
"Well, Dad has super strength." Anakin said.
Qui-Gon steadily and easily lifted the table with one hand to demonstrate and set in back down.
"I grow plants." Anakin grew a rose in his hand for Padme.
"I basically have siren magic," said Carmine. "And Kara has super speed."
"What of the children?" asked Garrett.
"Gabby has too many to count." Anakin said. "Her eyes change color when she uses her powers of air, fire, or water, though."
"I can also heal people with a kiss," said Gabby. "And book jump, make bubbles, siren sing, and I can pretty much get around fast as a cartoon character. Lamenta can turn invisible and enter dreams."
"I can also see the truth." Lamenta said, suspicion clear in her eyes.
"What about these two?" asked Mariposa, motioning to Boba and Omega. "Is it true they were originally born power-less?"
"Yeah. We earned our powers." Boba said. "After we helped create the liquid light that defeated Lady Morpha and saved our kingdom and the rest of the galaxy."
"What kind of powers do each of you have?"
"I can control and breathe under water and become a merman." Boba said.
"And I can do this." Omega waved her hand and made a bunch of sparkling lights appear, which made Leia and Luke start cooing and babbling as they wanted to touch the lights their big sister made.
"And when we combine our powers..."
Boba made some must appear as Omega shined some light and made a rainbow.
"As you might've guessed, Luke and Leia don't have any powers yet." said Anakin. "And we won't know what kind of magic they have for a few years. As of yet, no gold blood cells have developed yet."
But as the grownups were talking, Lamenta whispered something to Crescent.
"I have my suspicions about Mari." said Lamenta. "And did you notice Garrett didn't wanna answer my question about how he knows so much about Doresho Gypsies?"
Mariposa was about to dig into an omelet she was served, only to sniff something in it.
"Is there rosemary in here?" she asked, holding her nose.
As a serving droid took the plate to fix a special plate for Mariposa, Lamenta explained to Crescent that when she was learning about butterflies in science class, they'd learned butterflies didn't like the smell of most herbs, including rosemary. And given that Garrett said Doresho gypsies shared butterfly characteristics, the pegasus began to see what Lamenta was talking about.
"What do you need me to do?"
Lamenta whispered into his ear once more. Then, she put her plan into action. She asked the droid to bring Mariposa a plate of fruit. So they did. Except, Mariposa wouldn't eat any of it. She looked at it like it was so tantalizing, but looked as though she was struggling to resist.
"What's the matter?" Padme asked.
"Oh, nothing. Nothing." Mariposa said. "I think I'm just not hungry."
But Mariposa's stomach growled inconveniently. Lamenta also noted that Mariposa didn't drink anything either. And if her suspicions were correct, it was because her tongue was like a straw.
"Doesn't sound like you aren't hungry." said Lamenta.
"Um, where is the washroom around here? I'd very much like to freshen up." said Mariposa.
"I can show you, Mari." Caroline said, getting up. "Follow me."
So, Mariposa did get up to follow Caroline, and when neither of them were looking, Lamenta signaled Crescent.
"Now!" Lamenta said.
And Crescent bit Mariposa's cloak and pulled it right off, exposing her blue butterfly wings underneath.
Mariposa gasped as she felt cool air on her and her wings spread out a little.
"I knew it!" Lamenta exclaimed. "You're a Doresho Gypsy!"
That immediately set the royal family into a panic, and all those with magic threatened to use their powers. But then Garrett got up in front of his wife.
"Wait! Don't hurt her!" Garrett begged. "Please, she isn't dangerous."
"I saw her in a vision." Lamenta said. "Your sisters are Mariverde and Lady Morpha, aren't they?"
Mariposa looked down with a sigh. There was no use denying it. She should have guessed Lamenta would see the truth quickly.
"It's true. They are. And my real name is Mariposa." Mariposa explained. "But I'm nothing like my sisters. I am quite the opposite."
"We've already met Lady Morpha and seen the powers of Mariverde." said Anakin. "Why should we believe you would be any different?"
"Because Mommy saved Daddy's life and went into hiding so they could raise me!" Goldie said. "And she came here because she wants to help you."
"Help us?" Carmine said.
Now the royal family was confused.
Mariposa stepped up despite the others still holding their defensive positions. She held her hands up to assure them she meant no harm.
"I'm sure you've heard of many terrible things Doresho Gypsies have done in the past, and much of it is true. But that's not the whole story." she explained. "Gabriella, Lamenta... during your sleepover, did Goldie tell you a story she called The Butterfly and the Lie?"
"Yeah, she said you wrote it," said Lamenta. "Why?"
"Because that story is not made up. It's true. All that stuff with Marisol and the prince, and the kingdoms attacking and destroying the village... all of that really happened."
Mariposa had Lamenta hold her hand to show she was telling the truth, and told them another version of the story. One that had a much darker twist to it.
It all began long ago when my thirty-two times great grandmother Bellona learned of the demise of her sister Marisol after Butterfly Meadow was attacked. Bellona was deeply scarred on both her skin and in her heart.
She arrived at the castle of the royal family of which Prince Griffith was part, only to find him being re-married to Princess Laverna, and forgetting all about Marisol as though their marriage had never happened.
Bellona tried to reason with Griffith and begged him to help her people prove their innocence. But Griffith refused, stating that all the evidence was indisputable. Doresho Gypsies were monsters and would be destroyed on sight, should they ever enter into the kingdom again.
The guards attempted to apprehend Bellona and rip her wings off, but Bellona was too fast for them, and she fled with her fellow doresho brothers and sisters. And they attempted to seek help elsewhere. Except, everywhere the gypsies went, it turned out that every royal family had been told of their alleged thievery and destructive behavior. Everywhere they went, people called them monsters, and captured and executed any that they found, young and old.
The Doreshos attempted to find new lands to create a new village to live in, but everywhere they went, other Enchanteds found them and destroyed everything, and attempted to destroy their offspring as well. In other words, the Doreshos were facing genocide anywhere they went. Thus, the Doreshos were left with no choice but to scatter and hide.
Doresho gypsies started wearing cloaks to hide their wings, as they could not make them vanish as some fairies, sorcerers, or winged elves could. But it wasn't enough to help them live amongst others. Especially during the warm seasons. And everyone who spotted them as doresho gypsies either ran away or attacked them.
Bellona got so angry with the villagers and the royals for what they did to her people. She decided to do something about it, and what she did was learn about the dark arts and how to manipulate one's magical abilities.
She swore that she would exact vengeance upon the royals for what they did. Destroying her world, taking her sister, and forcing an entire race into hiding. And any doresho gypsies who agreed with her joined in and attacked the kingdoms over the years.
"But after Bellona passed away, she also passed on her legacy to her descendants, all to get the biggest revenge on the kingdom started it all." Mariposa explained. "And that kingdom was yours."
Everyone in the room gasped with disbelief. The royal family was especially shocked.
"Murdering Griffith on his coronation day wasn't enough for Bellona." Mariposa continued. "She decided the gypsies should take over the kingdom as well so they could enslave the people and thus take away their home the way Butterfly Meadow was taken from us. But, she couldn't destroy Griffith's child, nor were any Doresho Gypsies able to get through Solaris' guard for a long time. And during the reign of King Reginald, we thought the Doresho's revenge was exacted finally. Until we learned Princess Miranda escaped and eventually had a baby."
"But if Solaris was already destroyed, couldn't they just forget about it and move on?" said Crosshair.
Mariposa shook her head.
"It isn't that simple." She said. "Unlike Solaris now, Butterfly Meadow was never restored, nor have Doresho Gypsies been able to walk amongst other species without being targeted as beasts to destroy. Such as how moments ago the royal family was ready to attack the moment they learned I am one."
Suddenly, the royal family and the others realized she was right. Now they felt bad about getting defensive the way they had. They were no different than their ancestors had been years ago. But now, they could change that.
"But why come out of hiding now?" Carmine asked.
"Because I've seen what my sister Mariana, who you know as Mariverde, has done." Mariposa explained. "And I want to put a stop to it and clear my species' name. Your ancestors started this whole mess. If your family now can fix it, other Doresho Gypsies might stop seeking vengeance against your kingdom and all others, and my people can once again roam freely."
"Well, I'm not saying your ancestors should've done what they did," said Anakin. "But I can understand why they did it."
In Bellona's eyes, Griffith just believing his first love's people were monsters and marrying another woman shortly after losing her and their unborn baby, it was a betrayal to Marisol. And instead of helping her family, he let his degrade the doresho gypsy race and blacklist them from the entire Enchanted community.
"I knew your family would likely be prejudiced towards my kind. That is why I sent Goldie to your children's school." Mariposa explained. "Her mission was to become friends with Gabriella and Lamenta, and gain their trust so she could learn where the crown jewels are kept so we could prevent Mariverde from reaching them. They're what she's after."
"So... all that stuff we did together, Goldie?" Gabby looked at her friend. "Was all that a lie?"
Gabby suddenly had a hands-on taste of what Lamenta went through with fake friends who only used her trying to get to Count Crescendo.
"No. It is true my mommy told me to gain your trust and soend time with you," said Goldie. "But all the fun we had together and how much I love you guys, that was always real. I never had any real friends before. There aren't a lot of kids in the village I grew up in, and I've been homeschooled my whole life."
Boba and Omega started to sympathize with Goldie. They knew better than anyone what it was like to be stuck in the same place their whole life, never having real friends, and only their parental figures to talk to.
"And that is also why we came here. We want to aid you in defeating Mariverde." Garrett said. "Mariposa knows her better than anyone. She can aid you in how to fight her clavatized victims, how they work, and how to defeat her."
The royal family decided to speak about this privately. While the horses and Batchers kept an eye on the Heartwoods, the royal family huddled up.
"How do we know we can trust them?" Caroline asked. "They seem like nice people, but..."
"I used to think the same about my former friend Palpatine before I learned he was Darth Sidious." Anakin pointed out.
"I see truth, remember?" Lamenta said. "They meant every word."
"If Lamenta saw it, then it must be true, right?" Boba said.
"Regardless, they must earn our trust. It will take some time to figure out. But for the time being, let us allow them to help us until we know more."
