Several days have passed after celebrating Nehelenia's defeat, and my sixteenth birthday got closer. I could have stayed and hid myself on the Moon, fall asleep, and to be awakened by a true love's kiss from Serenity, and stay away from Earth for all eternity. However, there are a great deal of unfinished business I have back on planet Earth, and it is my destiny to finish them.

First, Maleficent is still alive. Being the self-proclaimed "Greatest Fairy of the World", she will keep looking for new ones to curse - not just the infants, but probably grown-up citizens as well. As long as she is alive, even if her plan to curse me to eventual death has failed, she will come up with another plan to destroy the way of life in Kultajärvi and usurp its throne. The Moon is a good place to live, but I must not forget about my own kingdom. It is my responsibility to stop Maleficent, even if I may not be able to directly confront her.

Second, as much as I love Serenity, he was not the lover that I was betrothed to during the celebration sixteen years ago. It was a young man who I have never met afterwards. I know that the betrothal was an act made by my father to maintain his friendship with King Hubertus of Reval, his childhood friend, and I have read that there has been discussions between them to marry their children together before I was born. They planned to have us meet every three months during our childhood, but ever since I fell to the curse, I was hidden away in a forest to ensure my safety from Maleficent, and hence we never met again.

If I am to be forcibly separated from my true lover just to fulfill marriages that were arranged on me by others, I would refuse, since this arranged marriage will do no good to all three of us - we would all be unhappy. Therefore, I have to convince my father to let me marry Serenity in the future instead, and I have to do it before I enter my slumber.

I planned to go back to Earth and take Serenity along with me, and before leaving, I bade his sisters farewell at the docking bay.

"These days with you on the Moon have been a pleasurable time, dear princesses. As my sixteenth birthday gets closer, I will have to return to Earth to finish a few things. I hope that we will see each other again in no time!"

Venus asked, "why, Aurora?"

"As much as I had a taste of a life as a princess on the Moon, I have my own kingdom to be responsible for."

Mercury said, "I understand. May the light of the Moon bless you."

As we boarded the spaceship, they waved their hands, sending us back to Earth. "We enjoyed your company, Aurora. We will meet again!"

In the past sixteen years, I have spent most of my time in the forest house, seemingly resigned to my fate. Now, it would be the time for Princess of Kultajärvi to reappear to her parents and her citizens again - with the new gown gifted to me, by none other than Princess Venus of the Moon Kingdom!

On the spaceship, I kept comtemplating and drafting the details of my plan to lure Maleficent into a trap. She might boast being the greatest fairy of the world, but I would make sure, that her ego will become her undoing!

The spacecraft dashed against a backdrop of the vast fields of distant stars, on our way back to planet Earth. Occasionally, I would glance at the interface of the spaceship, tracking its position between the Moon and the Earth.

Hours later, the spacecraft started decelerating as it enters the Earth's atmosphere, and subsequently, we landed by the lakeside.

We stepped out of the door of the spaceship, and made our way to the Kultajärvi Castle.

Along the forest path as we get closer to the castle, I asked Serenity, "So, Serenity, you are about to enter the halls of the Kultajärvi Castle for the first time. How does it feel?"

He smiled. "The Moon Kingdom has many castles under its jurisdiction. The Mariner Castle, which orbits planet Mercury, the Magellan Castle, which orbits planet Venus, and many others. I have been there, but not frequently. Now that I'm entering a new castle, I wonder what would be the most special things inside?"

I responded in a quite serious tone. "My visual memories of the interior of this castle is very faint. I only remember that I was born in this castle, and that there was a ceremony held to celebrate the birth of me, only to be interrupted by Maleficent and resulting in my upbringing in the forest."

I then continued, in a more optimistic way. "However, the castle's architectural plan is one of the books in the forest house library. I remembered the floor layouts and the names of specific rooms and locations. The Castle might look a bit 'outdated' to you who grew up in the Moon Palace, and I hope you wouldn't mind that."

Serenity smiled and responded, "No worries, Aurora! I think your castle would most likely have a unique aesthetic of its own."

We entered the castle grounds. The guards sensed our magical aura, and even though I'm now no longer an infant, they still recognized me as their future queen, who has returned to the castle. Recognizing that it is Princess Aurora who has returned to the castle, they moved their pikes to an upright pose, and saluted to me.

We walked through the entrance hallway, with the sight of the doors of the throne room in front of us. In that room, beyond the doors, I have a task to finish, one that would take a lot of courage for me to accomplish - to convince King Tapani, my Father, and persuade him, that a marriage with Serenity would be better for the kingdom.

We both entered the throne room, and bowed before King Tapani and Queen Lea.

"Your Majesty, I have come to bring you some heavy news."

It took some time for the King to recognize me. He probably knew that his daughter has grown into a tall girl, who carries a sword as pretty as her new outfit. However, hearing that the news his daughter was about to bring to him would be heavy, he did not get into the pleasantries, and asked, "What is it, daughter?"

I said with a serious tone, "Unfortunately, I am afraid that my betrothal with Filip has to be called off. I have found a more suitable candidate who shall be able provide more for our Kingdom."

As I expected, my father was shocked. "What?!"

I then presented Serenity to him. "Please meet Serenity, son of the Moon Goddess Selene, Prince of the Moon Kingdom."

Serenity knelt before my father. "Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Prince Serenity of the Moon Kingdom."

He started to elaborate. "Over the past month, I have grown more and more attached to Aurora, since we both shared the same curse and have common interests in each other's worlds and cultures. I, like your daughter, was cursed by an evil witch, named Nehelenia, that I will never succeed my mother alive.

The Moon Kingdom is a technologically and magically advanced nation that is aimed to protect the Solar system from the forces of evil. My mother, Selene, is known as the goddess of the Moon among people of the Earth, and she possess high prowess in the Force that can be used to protect peace in the world. My sisters wield the powers of planets, and are tasked with maintaining peace in the Solar system as well. They have trained Aurora with the skills of using a sword, exchanged ideas with Aurora about literature and history, and they looked forward to seeing Aurora again, when we left for Earth."

My father seemed to be impressed, that a mere little boy who has just turned fourteen is able to deliver such a convincing speech.

I then continued, "Serenity is right. I helped Serenity's sisters defeat Nehelenia and break his curse. They are indeed powerful, and I have witnessed how skilled they are with their planetary magic. I never met Filip in my life, and now that the relationship between Serenity and I have strengthened and solidified, taking someone who I haven't even met as my consort, instead of someone who I truly love and trust, would only be a counter-intuitive solution. I only believe in true and genuine love, that is cultivated, not by arrangements, but by mutual affection. Serenity and his sisters have become an inseparable part of my life.

I promise, Father, that if I marry Serenity instead, the Moon Goddess shall let us prosper and develop, and the quality of life in our kingdom would be magically enhanced. This is something that Filip's kingdom cannot provide!"

My father seemed to feel conflicted. He seemed to recognize the pleas of Serenity and me, and yet, with hints of bitterness in his voice, he said:

"Serenity, I fully appreciate your love and devotion towards my daughter. But Aurora, he is still a small boy, and as courageous and impressive as he is, he might be too young to be your suitor. And what will happen to my friendship with King Hubertus, if I decide to break off the betrothal?"

My mother interrupted, saying, "Tapani, things are often the work of the Gods. If Selene provided our daughter with a loving prince and a group of courageous fellow princesses, the benefits of calling off the betrothal with Filip outweighs the costs. After all, even a king as powerful as Hubertus has his power dwarfed by the Moon Kingdom, which guards over all of our planet and the Solar system. Do you really want to reject the blessings of the Moon Goddess? There must be a way for Hubertus to accept that Aurora would have a more joyful future life with Serenity, and there are other ways to strengthen the friendship between you and him."

My father took a while to make the difficult decision. An arrangement made sixteen years ago and long anticipated, only to come to a waste? What will happen to relations between the Kingdoms of Reval and Kultajärvi?

The hall turned silent for a while.

My father had known King Hubertus for a long time ever since they were children. As princes, they have known each other since they were six years old, being presented to each other by their parents at a celebration. It was understandable that my father would want to solidify the friendship they had at childhood into a union between their respective children.

However, seeing how I have developed as a princess during my stay on the Moon, and how I have helped break Serenity's curse, as well as how much I love Serenity, my father finally decided to break the dilemma that has troubled his mind for minutes.

He made the decision to accept the Moon Goddess's blessings, and allow me to marry Serenity in the future.

Breaking the suspenseful silence in the hall, my father proclaimed, "I will be contacting my good friend Hubertus, that the betrothal agreement sixteen years ago is to be replaced by a generous compensation for his kingdom. There is always more than one way to maintain our friendship that has been cultivated since childhood. And at the same time, I will also write a letter to Selene to thank her for providing our daughter with her son and daughters. Kultajärvi shall prosper under the blessings of the Moon Goddess!"

Serenity and I bowed, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Serenity then said, "Your Majesty, I have one more question."

My father responded, "what might it be, Serenity?"

Serenity then summoned a compact machine. "The traditional way of sending letters on Earth might not guarantee that the message will reach Reval in time. I would like ask if the King would like to use a Lunarian fax machine, that allows your letter to reach anywhere in no time."

My father said, "may I try this machine?"

Serenity handed the machine over to the king, saying, "try this machine as you please, Your Majesty."

He then wrote a sample letter, and set the recipient's address as "Throne Room, Kultajärvi Castle, Kingdom of Kultajärvi". After that, he inserted the letter into the fax machine.

In a split second, the letter magically teleported to his desk. Lunarian technology isn't some scam or bluff invented by the boy to impress the king - it's surreal, it's magical, but it's real, and it's practical.

Being impressed by this state-of-the-art and cutting-edge way of communication, my father held up the letter and said, "Lunarian technology is a marvel to behold. It seems, that it is really better for our Kingdom to accept the Moon Goddess's blessings."

He then turned back to Serenity, saying, "I will write the letters, then. Thank you, Serenity."

Serenity bowed once more, "It is an honor, Your Majesty."

We then walked out of the throne room.

After walking down the corridor far enough from the throne room, I could finally let out what is in my mind, having kept my words shut inside my mind for too long. "My father finally agreed! Now that both your mother and my father have approved our courtship, there is nothing that can stop our love from blossoming now, once my curse is broken."

I then took Serenity on a tour around the castle.

"I haven't been to the interiors of the Kultajärvi Castle before. Does the interior of the castle resemble what you have read in the architectural plans?"

Apparently, the meeting with King Tapani and Queen Lea still could not satisfy his curiosity about the castle, which manifested in the true colors of his blue eyes and the tone of his voice. I responded, "In some way, it does, in a structural sense. However, it is a vastly different experience between staring at those two-dimensional floor plans and photos, and being inside a real, three-dimensional structure," as I pointed my hand at the marvellous structure that is the Kultajärvi Castle.

I then took him through the corridors and hallways of the castle, and showed him around.

We walked into a corridor, and I identified a portrait that I remembered seeing in a book about the Kultajärvi Castle. "This is a painting of my father, King Tapani, as a young boy. Prince Tapani of that time used to enjoy playing with the snow during the winter, and he always invited boys and girls of all social classes to build a snowman at the courtyard of the castle."

"It must have been a very happy memory for him!" Serenity gladly exclaimed. "Is winter his favorite season?"

I affirmed, "according to what books say about him, it is. Once winter solstice comes, the days would get brighter, and by then, there would be sufficient snow to illuminate the ground from its normally dull colors."

Serenity giggled, "I bet your father also likes figure skating, just like me. It would be marvellous, if I could learn from him!"

I said, "you guessed it right, Serenity! Many kingdoms around this region of Northern Europe has a lot of frozen lakes during the winter. We would do all kinds of sports there, from ice hockey, to figure skating, and more... When my father was around your age, he was once the champion of the annual Kultajärvi's boys' junior figure skating competition. He wasn't called 'the Prince of Figure Skating' by his peers for no reason during his early adolescence."

We then walked forward, and found a portrait of a slightly older Prince Tapani, around the age of twelve. He was skating happily on Lake Kultajärvi, against the beautiful backdrop of forests covered in white snow. It seemed that Serenity was so excited at the fact, that my father is really an aficionado of skating since he was young!

As we made our way further into the corridor, we found a portrait of King Tapani when he was crowned. He held his scepter and orb, and was sworn in as King of Kultajärvi in the throne room.

I introduced to Serenity, "this portrait depicts my father when he became King. On the opposite side of all the portraits we have sighted, are the rooms of the Royal Archives, where documents of the royal court ever since the establishment of this castle were stored."

We reached the end of the corridor at a stairwell, where we climbed up the stairs to an upper floor.

In the corridor of the upper floor, we first walked past a portrait of the Grand Hall of Kultajärvi Castle. I explained to Serenity, "this portrait is a rendition of the celebration my kingdom held for my birth, two years before you were born. Many guests arrived at the castle in order to celebrate the coming of a new heir to the kingdom, but unfortunately, an uninvited guest came and ruined the joyful celebration by placing a curse on me, who was just an infant back then."

Serenity looked into the portrait, comparing the artist's painting to his mind's interpretations about the backstory of me being cursed by Maleficent that I told him. He inquisitively looked into the details of the portrait, prompting my mind to guess what he is thinking.

We then walked past another portrait. "This portrait shows my parents celebrating my birthday last year, without me being present. Being unable to see their daughter for sixteen years was apparently too much for them, and I guess they have waited long enough for me to return. And now, I am here."

Regarding at the seemingly melancholic couple, feelings of compassion seemed to have stirred inside Serenity. I could feel some sorrow within him, as he regarded at a couple who have long yearned for a child, only to not be able to see her for sixteen more years.

And at last, we arrived at a door marked with a painting of the Northern Lights. I lightly pushed the door, revealing the finely decorated interior of what is supposed to be my room in the castle.

The room was decorated with all sorts of fine and elegant furniture, some of which were bought from merchants who sailed them from the Kultajoki seaport to the royal capital, and some of which were made by the carpenters of our kingdom. There was a large window made of clear glass, and outside it, is a scenic view of Lake Kultajärvi.

Stepping into my room and sitting on my bed, I said, "This room has been furnished for me throughout all those years. It will be here, where I will enter my slumber tomorrow night."

He looked around the room, and expressed, "This room looks pretty, Aurora. I'm glad that we could have some time together here, you and I."

I reached my hand to his shoulder, as we looked towards the scenery outside the window together. The forests, the lakes...

It was there, when I first met Prince Serenity.

It was there, when we knew about, and understood each other's curses.

It was there, where he confessed his feelings for me.

It was there, where we danced, had some tea, cruised on a boat, and gazed upon the stars.

I remembered the scene, where Serenity looked at me and said "rakastan sinua" in my language. I was too surprised to react at the time, and soon, we just became lovers. I looked back at the recent days in rewind, and never have I, since meeting Serenity, ever said three very important words to him, even though I seemed take the notion of Serenity being my lover for granted for all this time.

Looking at him, I called out his name.

"Serenity,"

I continued in a voice, unconsciously deeper, and somewhat more angelic, than usual.

"I never got the chance to say these words to you, but now, I want to say..."

He turned to me, his blue eyes sparkling, waiting for me to tell him the words I have waited long enough to speak...

Slowly, I spoke out those words, letting out my true feelings of love towards him.

"Mä rakastan... sua."

I love Serenity.

And now that I have told him that, he leaned his head towards my shoulder, as we continue to regard the picturesque scenery of Lake Kultajärvi from my room.