The Forgotten Legend

So sorry for the long wait for the update. I wanted to get the story moving, and I hope that the length of the chapter will make up for the long wait. Please review, I’m really anxious to know how my story is progressing and what my readers think of the plotline so far. Enjoy!
~ Sailor Earth >^^<

Chapter 4
Friendship
Serene walked out of the main doors, and smiled at the sight; the Earth was just rising in the evening sky. She walked down the long winding staircase, looking at all of the servants in a new light.

‘They don’t even recognize me!’ She realized with a start. ‘I guess since I’ve been here, I’ve always worn, either armor, or those silly dresses Mother likes. Well, this will make it easier to leave. I wonder if a transport is leaving for Earth soon.’

As Serene walked she took in her home of the last 300 years with new eyes. Everything was shiny, glittery silver, glowing in the soft light emanating from the Earth. ‘Everything’s really changed since Mother and I started building the main palace. I guess that I never really took a good look at it. We built everything by hand, piling block upon block.’ Walking down to the port station, she took in peoples stares. ‘I guess no one has really seen anything like this outfit before, the demon race won’t associate with either humans, or the Lunarians. Even though Mother is a demon, she keeps her features hidden from everyone but Daniel and myself.’

Smiling evilly, she continues walking forward, not realizing that she has scared some the passersby. ‘Even though she won’t admit it, I know that the child she carries is Daniel’s. It couldn’t be full demon; the baby’s power is great enough. I just wish that she would marry him, and create the family that that child will need.’

Shaking her head at the stubbornness of the situation, Serene finally spies the sleek ships docked in the space port. Walking up to the information booth at the start of the docks, she asks to speak to the one in charge.

“Can I help you Milady?” A man asks as he steps up to the window.

Waving her hand at the ships parked out below, “Yes, I need transport to Earth. And I would like to be on the next available vessel leaving.”

“I’m sorry, but all of the transports leaving today are fully booked.”

Frowning in distaste, Serene glares at the man, “Excuse me, don’t you know who I am?”

“I’m sorry Milady, but there is nothing that I can do today. If you would like, I can arrange transport for you tomorrow morning.”

Stopping her rant, Serene realizes that telling this man who she was wouldn’t do her any good. He would go and tell her Mother that she was leaving. If Queen Serenity found out that her daughter was heading to Earth without her approval, shuddering, she doesn’t want to know what her mother would do to her. Taking deep breaths, she answers in the calmest voice she can muster.

“I can pay any price you need to get me out of here not only today, but on the next transport.” Pulling her purse out her traveling bag, she pulls out a handful of gold and passed a small portion to the man inside the booth. “This is for the ride.” Handing him a larger amount, “and this is for your trouble.”

The man looked greedily at the money that Serene had passed him. “Yes, Milady. I think that your request can be arranged. I just need your name for recording purposes.” Taking out a pen and pulling out a roster, he looked expectantly at Serene.

Hesitating, Serene answered him, “My name is Serene.” Handing him another couple of gold coins, “You don’t need to know any more about who I am.”

Looking her over lustfully, the Captain answered, “Your wish is my… pleasure, Milady. Please follow me; your transport will be leaving shortly.” Pointing past him, down the dock, Serene stepped around the booth, and follows the man down toward the gleaming ships. Taking her towards one of the ships, he pauses before opening the outside hatch, and abruptly turns toward her. Serene is caught off guard by the sudden action. The man quickly glances around to make sure that no one is around, and grabs Serene’s breasts.

Serene feels the man groping her, and starts to growl at the man which takes such liberties with her person.
The man sneers at her, “Now don’t you worry, I’m just going to be taking the other part of my ‘payment’ from you now.” Fondling her a little more roughly, he starts moving his hands downward and cups her center. “If you don’t mind, little one, I’ll be needing you to spread those lovely little legs of yours before I’ll let you on this ship.”

As soon as Serene feels the man’s hands touch her center, she grabs the man by the throat and pushes him roughly against the ship. “You will never take sure liberties with and any woman, no matter her status or need.” Digging her claws slightly into the disgusting creature’s neck, she leans in closer to his face. “I’m not going to kill you this time, but remember next time you make a woman spread her legs just because she needs to get away from here, I’ll be watching, and you might not get so… lucky… next time.” Releasing the man, he slides down the hull of the ship, holding his throat. Serene opens the hatch, glares once more at the man, and steps inside the vessel.

Sitting down in one of the plush seats in the vessel, she signals to the pilot to take off. The pilot shrugs and starts the engines. The sleek ship pulls away from the dock and takes off towards the Earth.

“So where am I landing this thing, Young Lady?”

“As close as you can get to the Japanese Island,” Serene answers.

“Well, that might be a little difficult, Miss. You see, ships are not allowed to land on that particular island, unless permission is given in advance, and since this ship took off so suddenly, I’ll be unable to get you right there.”

Frowning at this, Serene asks, “Ok then, well, how close can you get me?”

The pilot checks his charts, and radio’s in to a port somewhere on Earth. “The closest place that I can get you is a port city on the Indian country, near the ocean to be exact.”

Sighing, Serene thinks about this, “That would leave me with a whole ocean to cross.”

The pilot shakes his head and looks at the young woman sitting in the back of his little ship. “I’m sorry that I can’t do better, but this is the closest port that will accept me on short notice.”

“That’s alright; I understand that my trip is sudden.” Serene sits back in her chair and looks out her window to the Earth, which seems so huge compared to her view of it on the Moon.

“Will you need transport back, Milady?” the pilot asks.

Shaking her head, “No, this trip is one way for now.” Looking out the window once more, Serene continues, but in almost a whisper that the pilot almost didn’t catch what she had said, “Maybe one day I’ll return, but not now, not until she understands.”

=================================================================================================================
“This way, My Queen.” Daniel leads Queen Serenity down the long hallway, towards one of the balconies. Daniel steals little glances over at Queen Serenity, making sure that everything was ok, no matter what she says, he will still worry about her and that child.

“Through here.” Opening the door at the end of the hallway, Daniel guides Serenity towards one the balconies that overlooked the large glowing fountain that glowed in the courtyard.

Immediately Serenity could tell that something was wrong with the balcony, but couldn’t tell what it was right away. Then she saw it, hiding in the stone. There were parasites crawling all over the stone.

Shuddering, she turns to Daniel, “What happened here?” she demands.

Daniel takes a good look at the bugs scampering all over the stone, “I’m not sure yet, Milady, but this is the room that we put Beryl into when she arrived. Whether or not it has anything to do with her, we’re not of yet. But I do know that this is the only balcony that has the infestation. These bugs aren’t anywhere else in the palace.”

Queen Serenity glares up towards the top of the balcony. Controlling the air around her, she floats up towards the edge of the stone ledge. Clinching her fists together, she sees the message that Beryl had left.

‘Enjoy you gifts, Serenity. This place won’t be yours for long.’

Landing softly back on the ground, she turns back to Daniel, “Scrub this place of these vermin. I want the interior of the room cleaned and the sheet’s burned along with the mattress. Replace everything that could house these bugs.” Sitting down on a nearby bench, Daniel kneels next to her and puts his hand on her leg.
“Are you ok?”

Serenity sighs, and looks down at his hand on her leg, “I don’t know. All this mess with Beryl is so aggravating, and with today’s display and Amethyst’s questions about her heritage,” shaking her head, “I guess that it’s just been a long day.”

Daniel rubs her leg with his hand, “Don’t worry anymore today, Milady. I’ll make sure that everything is taken care of. Why don’t you go to your room and rest for the rest of the day. I’ll bring up some tea shortly.” A young guard signals to Daniel from his position near the comm station on the far wall. “If you’ll excuse me, My Queen, it would appear that I am needed. I’ll be right back to escort you back to your room.” Getting up, he walks towards the guard signaling him.

“Report.”

Bowing, the guard responds, “Yes, my Liege.” Pointing to the unit on the wall, he elaborates. “We have just received a transmission.”

Daniel starts to become agitated that this guard called him over because they had received a transmission. “Yes, we receive transmissions all day, what’s so special about this one.”

The guard rubs the back of his head, obviously a little embarrassed about the nature of it. “Well, that’s the thing, My Liege. The transmission is from the Captain of the Docks. He says that a young woman just boarded a vessel bound for Earth.”

Becoming angrier by the moment, Daniel couldn’t believe the nerve of this man, “Yes, women board vessels all the time.” Waving his hand to dismiss the young man, “I’m sorry, but I have more important things to worry about.” Turning around, he starts to walk away.

“My Liege, wait! There was more to the transmission.” When Daniel turned back, he continued. “He says that the young woman looked familiar, and when I checked just a short time ago, I found…” Gulping, he looked up at the man looming above him. “I found…”

“Yes, what did you find?” Daniel was starting to think that killing this man might just make everything better. He needed to get back to Serenity. His Queen needed him to get through this part her life, and more importantly, he needs to be there for the child. ‘My child.’ He thought.

“When I went to check on her Royal Highness, she was gone. We couldn’t find her anywhere in the palace. I think that she might have been the young woman that left for Earth. When I brought my fears up the Captain of the Docks, he confirmed that the young woman who left looked very much like the Princess,” the guard blurted out quickly.

“You mean… that the Princess is missing, and might be on Earth, by herself? Is that what you’re telling me?”

Daniel was about ready to kill this man. Princess Amethyst missing would not be the thing to get Queen Serenity to relax. That girl was a pain, no matter how you looked at it. She was always there, taking up all of the Queen’s time and energy, which was needed for the new baby, who would be the true Heiress, not this older barbarian of a Princess. Princess Amethyst liked fighting too much, it wasn’t healthy for a female to like war and battle so much. She might be a half-breed, but this is a little much. Maybe this will be the thing to get Queen Serenity to focus on the new child and me more often. This new child will be a proper Princess, not some hoax that Amethyst claims to be. Queen Serenity needs to know, but I’ll let her know that we’ll do everything we can to find her, however we won’t even look for the missing ‘Princess’ at all. Perfect.

Daniel smiles to himself on the inside, but on the outside, he looked about ready to kill this man for standing in front of him. Sighing, he calms down, “Let me inform the Queen and then we’ll decide what to do from there. I want to be sure that Princess Amethyst is actually missing, and that her mother, the Queen, didn’t send her away for some reason or another.” Waving his hand to the man, “You are dismissed.”

Walking back over the pregnant Queen sitting over on the bench, he makes sure that he knows exactly what he’s going to say. Daniel knows that Queen Serenity didn’t let her daughter leave for Earth, but as long as the Queen thinks he’s looking for the Princess, and the guards think that the Queen knows her Daughter is on Earth, everything will be ok. And when the new child is born, everyone will forget about the hoax that was Amethyst.
=================================================================================================================

“Space Jumper Koki requesting permission to land at the port city of Main,” the pilot called through his comm. Turning back to his only passenger, he calls out, “Hold on little Lady, this might get a little bumpy.”
Crackling noise came over the comm link, “Space Jumper Koki, permission granted. Please proceed to landing platform 3.”

Turning on the comm, the pilot answers, “Copy that, Koki out.” Putting down the headset, the pilot decelerates to a slower 160 kph. “Attention all passengers, this is your Captain speaking. Please fasten all seatbelts and return your trays to their stored and upright position. Again thank you for flying Air Koki and we hope to do business with you in the future.”

Serene smiles at the pilot’s antics. ‘He’s trying to make me feel better. Somehow he knows that I’m sad.’

Landing on the platform only a few minutes later, the pilot opens the hatch, and holds his hand out for Serene to get herself up. “Thanks for the trip, Little Lady. Let me know if you ever need a ride.”

Stopping at the door, Serene turns to him, “That would be wonderful; however, I don’t know you’re your name.”

Smiling, the pilot picks up her right hand, and kisses it gently, “My name is Lukah. You may call on me anytime you wish.” Handing her a card out of his pocket, “If you ever need to get away, call me, and I’ll come.”

Serene puts the card into her bag, and smiles widely at him, “Lukah, thank you. I’ll be sure to call you first.”
Walking down the ramp, Serene takes a look around and shields her eyes from the bright sun. She wasn’t used to it; the sunlight on the moon was dim, more of a glow than a bright light. Slowly her eyes adjust and she takes in the beauty of the world around her. ‘Wow. This is amazing! Everything is so colorful.’ Reaching out she touches a branch on a nearby tree, gasping she felt something surprising, “This tree, I can feel its life force. How is that possible?’ Pulling her hand away, Serene makes her way towards the check in point at the end of the platform. Hearing an engine start up, she turns and sees Lukah wave to her as he lifts off and becomes a dot in the sky.

“Well, I’m here. Let’s see where to go from here.” Making her way towards the interior of the station, she finds an information booth. “Excuse me, I need some information.”

A helpful looking older woman beckons for Serene to come over to her. Serene walks over to her side of the round counter. Fixing her glasses, the woman smiles at Serene, “Ah, there we go. Sorry about that Dearie. Can’t see a thing without these things, now what can I do for you?”

“I’m looking for transport to the Country of Japan. I’m arriving on short notice; otherwise I would have made arrangements ahead of time.”

“You sure that you’re old enough to be out by yourself?” The woman asks Serene.

“My father is the reason that I need to travel so suddenly. You see, I’m living with my mother, and my father needed to see me suddenly.” Shaking her head, “He wouldn’t tell me why he needed to see me, but I didn’t have the time needed to prepare the journey like I normally do. Since my Father lives in Japan, I need to get there right away.” Pulling out some fake tears, she continues, “I… I’m afraid that something has happened to him. I tried calling him more than once on the way down, and he wouldn’t answer. He always answers his communicator.”

The woman believes the young girl standing in front of her, “Don’t worry sweet heart. Let me see what I can do.” Pulling her computer in front of her, the woman searches her list for transports to Japan. Shaking her head, “Well, it seems that the next transport to leave is leaving out of the Northern Area Port tomorrow. Unfortunately, this port does not fly to that Country. In fact, not many ports do. It might be easier to fly to the Moon, and catch a transport there.”

Running her fingers through her hair in frustration, “Which other ports fly to Japan, other than the Moon?”

Scanning her eyes over the screen in front of her, the woman behind the counter can only find a few listings, “There are two other ports that fly to Japan, however there are restrictions. One is the main port located in New Poplar City, but it requires a 3 week minimum notice and approval must be obtained before departure. The other is the port in the City of Tal, but Tal requires all passengers to prove identification before departure and show papers before boarding. They also only have 1 flight a month, on the 1st day.” Pulling her eyes from the screen, she looks at the young girl in front of her. “Dearie, I suggest flying for the Millennium Kingdom port first, they can obtain permission instantly, as well as will fly at any time of the day or night. Would you like me to arrange to arrange something for you?”

Shaking her head, Serene declines, “I’m sorry, but I just came from the Moon, they won’t help me right now; that’s why I was inquiring about the other ports. I’ll try to make contact again, and then I will decide on my next plan.” Walking away, Serene quietly steps outside. ‘What am I to do? I don’t have my papers with me, and I can’t go back to retrieve them anyway… I’ll never make it off the ground.’ Stretching her legs, she considers something she hadn’t thought of before, ‘I wonder? Would I be able to walk or run most of the way, and then find a way across when I get to the closest water border to Japan? It might be possible; I am a half-demon after all. I have the strength and speed needed to do it.’

Looking down at her attire, she starts to laugh. ‘I’ll never get anywhere with this on. It looks beautiful, but not very adequate for traveling long distances. I’ll need a change of attire. Let’s see what’s around here.’ Walking into the town center, she eyes the shops and the bustling crowd. ‘Maybe before I walk into… that, I had better decide what I want to buy. I like the look of this outfit, maybe an alteration to something similar. I had better get another pack and some supplies while I’m here.’

Moving in between the bustling shopping center, she glances from stall to stall. Spotting what she’s looking for, Serene heads toward a small boutique off to the left.

“Welcome, Milady! What can I interest you in today?” The shop keeper asks.

Serene looks at the slight shop keeper in front of her, smiling she points to the outfit she was wearing, “Yes, you might be able to. I’m looking for some good, sturdy traveling clothes. However, I would like something similar to what I’m wearing now. I like that design and the movement that this outfit allows me.”

The shop keeper eyes her kimono carefully, “Yes, this is elegant, and very complex.” Smiling at Serene, “But we might able to do something. I’ve seen something like this before, and have created many designs similar to this outfit, but nothing as fine as this.” Motioning for her to follow him inside the store behind him, he starts pulling out yards of different types of fabric and piles it on a table in the middle of the room. “Aha! I knew it was here somewhere.” Pulling out one more bolt of fabric, he puts it on top of the others. “Here, feel this.”

Serene eyes the fabric lying on the table; it was the loveliest shade of purple. Reaching out, she runs her hands along the edge of the fabric.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispers.

Pulling the fabric away, the shop keeper nods quickly, “Good, good. Then I’ll make you outfit out of this. Stand there and I’ll take your measurements quickly.” Buzzing around her, the shop keeper places a measuring tape at different places around her body. Writing down the numbers, the shop keeper motions to Serene to leave, “It’ll be done before the end of the day, please some back before sunset.”

“I have one more request,” Serene prompts. “I would like two outfits made that I can wear, as well as some good traveling shoes and some…” blushing, “some undergarments as well.”

The shop keeper never looks up, “Yes, yes, I can make two outfits in the same time, I’ll have two ready for you, and the undergarments. As for the shoes,” shrugging, “that’s not my profession, but there is a wondrous leather and iron worker not far down the road. It’s the shop at the end of this road, on the right side of the alley. Just ask for Kino, he’ll help you.”

Bowing to the man, Serene turns to take her leave, “I’m sorry, but may I have your name?”

Finally looking up, the shop keeper smiles at her, “You wish is my command Milady. My name is Dalton; you may tell Kino that I sent you.”

“Thank you Dalton, I will. By the way, my name is Serene. I shall return before sunset to pick up my order.”
Serene walks out of the messy fabric shop and walks down the alley, spying the last shop on the right, she opens the heavy wooden door and calls out, “Excuse me, I came to see Kino. Is he here?”

A large man walks out of a workshop from the back, “I am Kino, and what can I do for you young lady? Did your father send you to pick up something?”

“No, I am here on my own business. I need a pair of good traveling shoes made, and Dalton sent me here, to you.”

At the mention of Dalton’s name, Kino lets out a boisterous laugh. “Dalton mentioned me did he? Well, he would be right; I’m the best cobbler here in Main City.” Motioning to his haphazard shop, he elaborates, “I know that my shop doesn’t look like much, but my customers come from all over the world to by my goods. Now, what are you looking for in set of shoes, young lady?”

Hesitating, Serene thinks about his question, “You know, I’m not sure what I’m looking for.”

Looking her over really good, Kino walks to the back and comes back shortly with something in his hands, “Your look is unique; I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a being like you before.”

Serene stiffens at his comment, ‘Is he going to attack me because I’m a demon. I thought that demons weren’t very well known in this area.’

Opening his hand up, Serene sees a boot, but a very unusual boot. “What is that?” she asks.

At her question, Kino smiles at her, “This is something that only I make. The boot is unique, just like you. It’s made out of steel.”

“How is that possible? A steel boot would not only be very heavy, but would not allow the wearer to move quickly or easily.”

Handing the boot to her, Kino answers, “Yes, but the boots that I make are different; I mold many pieces of steel together, unique to the wearer’s feet. That means that each pair is individual to the wearer.”

Serene examines the shoe in her hands, “Amazing… how long does it take you to make these?”

“I see that you are interested, I’ll make a pair for you, but I’ll need to work tonight, they’ll be ready at the earliest by tomorrow.”

Handing the boot back to Kino, Serene reaches into her pack and pulls out her coin purse. Handing Kino 5 gold coins, a small fortune, she glares that astonished look on his face, “I know that this is too much, but I want you to keep all of it for your trouble.”

“Oh no, Milady. I couldn’t keep this much money, the price of one pair of boots is only 10 pieces of silver, you’ve given me enough to last me years. Please, I can’t take this much money.”

“Look at it this way, Kino. I’m paying you to make a pair of boots in a very short amount of time. I don’t know what other projects that you’ll be putting on hold just to make these for me, so I’m going to be compensating you for them. Also I would like to make as many pairs of boots that you can before tomorrow morning.”

Kino thinks for a moment, “If I make them all together, I can probably make 5 pairs of boots before tomorrow morning.”

Nodding in appreciation, Serene hands him the money, “Now, you’re going to take this money, and I will expect that you will keep it.”

“Yes, Milady. Just let me take your measurements quickly, then I’ll be getting started.”

Walking out a few minutes later, Serene sighs, “Well, I think that I’ve got that taken care of, now to buy some traveling supplies.” Making her way out to the main shopping center, Serene finds a nice little shop being run by a woman who looked too ancient to be still living, let alone moving about with such life. Motioning to the woman, Serene attracts the woman attention.

Bowing to Serene, the woman addresses her request, “What can I do for you Milady?”

Blushing slightly at the woman’s manors, Serene waves her bowing off, “There is no need for that, and I’m looking for some traveling items. I need to travel a long way and was looking for supplies.”

The woman eyes Serene carefully, “Yes, my dear, you will be traveling a very long way it seems. Let me see what we can get for you, follow me inside please.”

“How do you know that I’ll be traveling a long way?”

Looking over her shoulder at Serene, “In my old age, young one, I know when someone has the need to travel, and I can see that need in you.”

A little confused, Serene follows her inside, “If you say so.”

The old woman pulled out a pack and started putting things in, “Let’s see you’re going to need this, this, and this too…”

“Hold on, what are you putting in there?”

Looking up, the woman keeping grabbing and putting things in the pack, “Just things that you’ll need for survival. A couple of pots and pans for cooking, a pot for boiling water, some dried food, a fire starting kit, among other things.”

Standing back, Serene just puts her hands up in defeat, “Oh, ok then.”

Once the old woman was finished, she flips the back over and claps it shut with a secure clip on the other side of it. Serene gets a good look at the pack that the woman had pulled out, “That is a very unusual looking pack, it looks there are two side packs connected with a strap.” Frowning, “Is that for a horse? I’m sorry Madam, but I don’t have a mount, I’ll need those things moved to the pack that I’m carrying here.” Showing the woman her Mother’s pack, she places it on the table.

Upon seeing the leather pack, the old woman scoops it up. “Hey!” Serene calls.

The woman puts it inside the opposite pack, securing the other side of the saddle pack with the other buckle. Motioning to Serene to follow her, the old woman starts to pick the pack up off the table. Seeing her difficulty, Serene moves quickly and easily lifts that pack up on her shoulder. “You are stronger than you appear dearie.”

Laughing sheepishly, Serene adjusts the pack on her shoulder, “Yeah, I know, everyone tells me that.”

Walking out the back door the woman looks around and spies a tree that seems to have been uprooted be a strong pull. Frowning slightly, she whistles loudly and stands back to watch.

Serene feels a strong aura approaching a high rate of speed. Dropping the pack, Serene reaches to her waist for her sword. Suddenly she remembered that she had left it at home. ‘God damn it! How stupid could I be?’

Taking up a defensive stance in front of the old woman, she pulls her arms towards herself, ready to face the being that was almost there. A large… wolf it would seem, burst through the trees to stand right in front of Serene. Suddenly, the old woman moved around Serene and walked towards the large dog-like creature that had just entered the area.

“Wait! Stay behind me, you don’t what this thing is going to do to you,” Serene calls to the old woman that had moved towards the creature without her knowing.

Reaching up, the old woman scolds the creature in front of her, “Firestorm, just look at what you did to that poor tree. I tied you up for your protection, and you just run off, tearing up my yard. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?” Stamping her foot, she seems to be waiting for the creature to answer her.

‘Mother, please! I saw the most unusual thing run off into the forest, I couldn’t help myself.’

Serene gasps in astonishment at the sound of the voice, it seemed to be coming from inside her head, “Who said that?” she asks.

Startled, the old woman turns around to face Serene, “You heard that?”

“Yes, very clearly.” Staring at the large, flaming wolf, “It was you, wasn’t it! You said that!”

Snickering, ‘Yes, it was me. You’ll have to excuse Mother’s reaction. So far, she’s the only one who has ever heard me.’

“Firestorm! Don’t speak to that girl. Now, to your corner, I must speak to our guest privately.”

‘But, Mother, please. I want to be part of this. If this is as you foretold…’

“Silence,” the old woman whispers to the creature behind her. “I will tell her. Now, go to your corner and rest.”
Firestorm takes a good look at both women, and then stalks off toward one corner of the house.

Serene, looks long and hard at the old woman in front of her, “Now, you owe me an explanation. What is he? Who are you? And what’s going on here?” Serene asks her.

The woman sighs, and sits down on a nearby bench, “My name is Versy. I’ve lived a very, very long time on this planet, and have seen many things. Some time ago, I found a small puppy in the forest, here, behind my house. I raised him from since the time he was very young, and Firestorm is my world.” Leaning back, Versy seemed lost in her memories. “He grew so fast, and one day, I found that I could communicate with him. I thought that I was finally losing my mind, because by then, I was so old, but when he first called me Mother…” tears started to form in Versy’s eyes. Looking over at Serene, who had taken the seat next to her, “You see, I never had children. I have abilities that are beyond what normal people have. I can see into the future,” holding up her hand to stop Serene’s questions, “I know that you have questions, everyone does. Most people are too afraid to ask them; when anyone finds out about my abilities or see Firestorm, I have to move. I’m not a proper Mother to him; I cannot keep him safe any longer.”

“Why are you saying such things, Versy? I have not come to hurt you or Firestorm. I promise that I won’t say anything to anyone, you don’t have to worry. I’m going to be leaving town tomorrow, so no one will know.”

Versy gives Serene a sad smile, “Don’t worry, young one. I can let him go now, I guess that one of the things about parenthood that I was least looking forward to was the time when every parent must let their children seek their lives out in the world. It has come that time for Firestorm, and you’re going to be the one taking him away.”

“What? I would never think of taking him away from you. Yes, he is an amazing creature, but he’s your son, as well as your companion, not mine.”

“Why do you think that I packed that particular pack for you? It’s unique to Firestorm; I made it long ago to fit over his back quarters for storage while riding. You see a while ago, I had a vision. A young looking girl came to the store at the beginning of her journey; she wore fabric woven from blood. Firestorm leaves with this visitor. I now understand that you are that visitor, you are meant to take my son away from me.”

“No please! I can’t, I won’t do that to you!” Serene cries out. “He belongs here with you, Versy, not with me. I see that my presence is alarming you, so I will take me leave now.” Standing up, Serene walks towards that door.
Versy catches Serene’s wrist as she reaches for the door handle, “You can’t walk away from your destiny my dear. Firestorm is meant to be your companion, not mine. I’m just happy to have had the time I did with him. Come here, and let me introduce you properly.” Dragging Serene along with strength that surprised Serene, they reach a sulking Firestorm sitting in a corner, with his head on his front paws.

Letting go of Serene’s wrist, Versy reaches down and pets Firestorm on the top of his head, “Now Firestorm, please don’t be afraid, I’ve lived a long life, most of it without you in it. You’ll never know how you have changed my life for the better, and how much I’ve grown to love you.”

‘Please don’t say these things Mother, I’ll come back to visit. I’ll never leave you alone.’

“Now, Firestorm, you and I both know that you’ve been wandering farther and staying out for longer, even though I tie you up and tell you to stay, you leave anyway. Travel is in your blood and your true Master is here to take you away to the life you should have had from the beginning.”

Dropping his large head into this small woman’s hands, Firestorm lets out a little whine, ‘Please, Mother. I love you, I’m not leaving. I promise that I won’t ever leave your side again, just don’t send me away.’

“Firestorm, I love you too my son, but you true life is waiting with this young girl behind me. Now get ready.”
Walking away, Versy looks at Serene, giving her a sign to follow. Returning to the bench from before, Versy sits down again. “I’m sorry if it looks like I’m making him travel with you dearie, but it’s his destiny to be by your side.”

“How do you know that I’m the right choice? How do you know that Firestorm shouldn’t be by your side forever?”

Cackling her laugh again, “Does it look like I’m going to be around forever? I don’t even remember the year I was born in, so I really have no idea how old I am, only that I’m old and that’s enough. I can only give Firestorm so much, and when I’m gone he’ll be all alone,” Glancing at Serene, she adds, “I can tell that you would never leave him, for he would never survive on his own.” Resting briefly, she continues, “There are some things that you need to know some things about him before you leave. First that after many months of research, I have discovered what Firestorm really is; he is what is called an Arcanine. They are large, dog or wolf like creatures that are made of fire. Arcanine are also rare beings, it took me years just to find someone who had heard of anything like Firestorm, let alone someone with information as well. I know nothing of his abilities besides his ability to speak telepathically, and so far, I thought that it was something I was imagining. I wanted to believe that he was really calling me Mother, but since no one else could him, I was happy with my hallucination. But after my dream when I saw him leaving with the young girl, I knew then that everything he was saying wasn’t just in my head, it was real, and the only other person to understand him at this point, would be the person from my dreams. However, as the years went by, I thought that my dream was just that, a dream. But when Firestorm started wandering farther and farther away each day, and some days not even coming home at night, I knew that the time when he would be leaving would be soon.”

“Versy, Firestorm is an amazing creature, like I said before, and I would feel honored to have him by my side. My journey is long and may take me some time to arrive at my destination, years even. Even knowing this, and that I might never return to Main City, you’re still ok with me taking him away?” Looking anxiously at the woman sitting next to her, Serene waits for her answer.

“Don’t worry about me dearie, my life has been full and even fuller since Firestorm came into it. He is my son, even if we don’t look alike. Now I release him into your care.”

Walking back over to the sad looking creature, she motions for Serene to grab to forgotten about pack that lay on the ground. “Bring that here, and I’ll show you how to strap it on properly.” Turning back to Firestorm, she reaches down and pets his head. “Firestorm, stand up. I’m going to show Serene how to strap on the pack that I made.”

‘Mother, I don’t want to leave you, but I will do what you think is best. I’m sorry that I’ve been wandering out farther each day, but I promise that if you think I need to go with her that I will do my best.’

Blinking the tears out of her eyes, Versy moves Firestorm around to show Serene where to place the pack on his hindquarters. “Place it here, so that there is room for you to sit, but where the pack won’t slip off of the back.” Taking the strap out of Serene’s hands, she wraps it around Firestorm’s middle and runs it through the buckle on the other side. “Here’s where it buckles, and make sure that it’s snug, but not too tight, and trust me, Firestorm will tell you when it’s too tight.”

Swinging his head around, Firestorm snorts at the two women by his sides, ‘That’s right you’ll hear it from me. But don’t worry; I won’t burn you too much.’

Ignoring his comments, Versy continues her instructions to Serene until she was sure that Serene had a good understand of how the pack worked and how to take care of Firestorm. “I think that I’ve told you all that I know about him, and now it’s all going to be up to you. Don’t look so scared, I can see that everything will be ok. Now, do you have some place to stay tonight?”

Blushing slightly, Serene realized that she didn’t have anywhere to spend the night. She had assumed that she would be in Japan that night. ‘I won’t make that mistake again; I need to be more prepared and a little less optimistic. My trip is going to take longer than I thought, and I’m just going to have to make the best of it.’

“No, Versy, I don’t have a place to stay this evening. I was hoping to be in my destination by tonight, and now I realize that my trip is going to take significantly longer than I anticipated. Firestorm’s help is not only necessary, but I appreciate it more than both of you could ever know."

“Then I offer my place for you to stay this evening. I’m going to assume that you would like to depart early in the morning?”

Nodding her head, Serene confirms Versy’s statement, “Yes, I would like to leave just after sunrise, but I need to pick up some items that I ordered first. Some of them will be ready this evening, but others will be ready in the morning.” Checking the position of the advancing sun, she calculates the approximate time, “I’ll be going out in few hours to go pick the first of my items.”

Versy acknowledges Serene’s plans, “Good, then you’ll have some time to practice with Firestorm this afternoon. I assume that you’ve ridden a horse before?”

“Wait, practice!?!”

“Yes, practice. You’re going to need it if you’re going to go for any large distance together. Now that the pack is in place, why don’t you mount up and we’ll see how you two connect?”

Firestorm moved around and stood next to Serene, ‘You ready? I’d like to try to work together. I think that we’ll make a good team.’

Nodding, Serene turns to Firestorm and swings up to sit on his back. Grabbing a good hold onto his mane, she makes sure that Firestorm is ok with her weight. “Am I too heavy for you?”

Snorting, ‘Not at all, you weigh almost nothing. Don’t worry about me, I’m strong.’

“Alright then, let’s get going.”

“Wait!” Versy calls out right before they leave, “Why don’t you decide a destination before you start running around in an environment you aren’t familiar with.”

‘Mother, I know this area very well; I was going to take her down to the small river just to the north of here.’

“That’s fine, just be back before sunset.”

‘Hang on tight Little Lady.’ And with that Firestorm bolts off towards the edge of the forest with Serene hanging on for dear life.

“This is amazing!” Serene exclaims, feeling the wind in her hair and the feeling of the powerful creature underneath her, she couldn’t remember a time where she felt so free. Even on her journey here from the Millennium Kingdom, her anxiety over disobeying her Mother overshadowed any feelings of excitement that she might have felt. ‘I wonder is the Earth supposed to make everyone feel this way. I can see why Earthlings love their planet so much. I don’t feel that connection to the Moon; I can’t understand why Mother won’t ever let me visit. Maybe she can see something that I can’t. But right now, I have my life and I’m going to make my life for me, Mother is not in control any more. Soon I’ll be Alpha and she’ll have to recognize my strength.’

Firestorm darted between the trees with the young woman on her back and thought about his life with Versy and what’s going to become of him now that his destiny is tied to the Little Lady. ‘I love Versy, she’s the only Mother I’ve ever known, and I’m curious about my new life but still scared about leaving everything and everyone here.’

Firestorm started to slow down and came to a stop by a small creek bubbling up between the trees. ‘Here we are. You did a good job holding on, I can never go that fast when carrying Mother, her old bones can’t handle the speed.’

Sliding off his back, Serene stretches her legs, “I can see why she couldn’t handle it, I’m surprised that I held on the whole way here. By the way, do you know how far away from the city we are?”

‘Yeah, this tributary is about 5 miles to the North from the city.’

“Wow, you are fast Firestorm, it would have taken a lot of my energy to reach this place in the time you did.”

‘And I could easily go further at that speed, but I couldn’t hold it up for longer than about 4 hours without a good rest.’

Taking off her slippers, Serene dips her feet in the cool running water. “This feels nice, I like being out in nature like this, not surrounded by stone walls and soft moonlight. The fresh breeze, flowing water and warm sunshine are so different, I can’t understand why Mother wouldn’t want to come and visit Earth.”

Lying down next to her, Firestorm listens to Serene comment about the beauty of the world around her. ‘You don’t come from Earth do you?’

“No, my Mother is from Earth, but I’ve lived most of my life on the Moon.”

‘The Moon! I’ve always wanted to go to the Moon.’

Smiling at him, Serene thinks back to everything that happened to get her to this point. “Yeah, the Moon is beautiful, but even the brightest lights have a hidden darkness.”

‘What were you on the Moon? I noticed that your outfit is different than anything that I’ve ever seen before.’

“My Mother is Queen Serenity of the Moon, and therefore I am Princess Amethyst of the Moon, Heiress to the Crown.” Holding up her hand, she stops Firestorm’s questions, “Let me finish and I’ll answer your questions.
My Mother and I arrived on the Moon 325 years ago, and at that time we constructed a palace out of the materials that we found there. At that time, Mother reached out to other planets and asked for their help in an alliance to protect the Sol System from outside invaders. She was trying to protect me in case he ever came back and tried to kill me again.”

‘Your Mother sounds like she loves you very much. Why did you leave?’

“Yes, she loves me, but she doesn’t want to see me for who I am. She wants me to be just like her, but I’m not. I’m also part of my Father, a part that she would rather forget. You see, Firestorm, my Father was murdered by the same creature that tried to kill me. In fact, my Father was killed because of me.”

‘Now, don’t say that, Serene. He couldn’t have been killed because of you.’ Firestorm rubbed his head against her arm in a measure of comfort.

“No, Firestorm, it’s true. My Father was killed because I was hidden as his daughter, and when Frieza found out, he killed him. I saw the whole thing. Then Frieza came after me and my Mother, and when he couldn’t find us he took to his ship and destroyed my home planet. We managed to get away just in time.”

‘How did your Mother travel to this other planet in the first place? I’ve never heard of anybody traveling outside of the Sol System.’

“Your right, no one at that time had traveled that far. She was traveling to visit a friend on Neptune and got caught in a time anomaly. It sent her thousands of light years across the galaxy. There she landed on the nearest planet and was picked up by troops from Frieza’s army. These troops however, happened to be Saiyans and instead of taking her to Frieza, they took her to their home world.”

‘Why would they do that? Didn’t you say that the Saiyans served under Frieza?’

“Yes, but anyone who serves under Frieza does not do it willingly, but does it out of survival. Either serve Frieza or be destroyed. The Saiyans were a proud and strong race, but still no match for Frieza, so they were enslaved and were forced to travel to different planets and find more recruits for Frieza’s army. The Saiyans tended to disobey Frieza’s wishes and would stand up to many orders. So when my Mother was found on this planet by the Saiyan troops, they took her before their King instead of before Frieza.”

‘Why wouldn’t they just take her before Frieza, why take her all the way to their home world?’

“I don’t think that my Mother ever found out why she was taken before King Vegeta and not Frieza, but Frieza would have killed her, and she was grateful that her life had been spared. On the trip to the Saiyan home world, she asked all sorts of questions about where she was and what was happening to her.
“When she finally reached the Saiyan home world, aptly named Planet Vegeta, she was brought before King Vegeta and introduced herself.”

=================================================================================================================
King Vegeta was standing in front of his throne as two his best troops walked in through the large metal doors. Behind them walked probably the most beautiful woman he’s ever laid eyes on. Her long silver hair flowed out behind her and those sapphire eyes, Vegeta, King of the Saiyans, was practically drooling like a school boy.
“And who have you brought me?” He smiles at the woman standing before him.

One of the troops opens his mouth to answer his King, but Serenity steps forward, cutting him off. Bowing slightly before him, she answers his question, “Your Majesty, my name is Serenity, and I come from a planet called Earth. On Earth, I am the Lady of the Southern Lands of Japan.”

“And good Lady, how did you come out this far? My troops reported that you are thousands of lights years away from your home planet and the ship that they found you in did not have the ability to travel that far.” King Vegeta watches her as she raises her head to meet his gaze. ‘Interesting, she thinks herself equal to me. What an unusual creature.’

“That is unknown to me at this time, at the time, I believe that I encountered a time anomaly, but I am unsure if that conclusion is correct.”

“Really? A time anomaly? So you are from another dimension?” King Vegeta questions the beautiful woman while pacing back and forth in front of his throne. ‘She is so beautiful, I wonder if all women from her planet are so beautiful, but this creature is exquisite. And red dress, I’ve never seen anything so gorgeous, it looks like she covered in a fabric of blood.’

“I believe so because I’ve never heard of your race or anything that your two advisors have informed me of. I’m sure that I would have heard of something as important as Frieza.”

“Ha ha ha ha. Frieza is nothing, one day we will be the proud race we once were. The Legend will come to pass and I will see a new era dawning for our world.” Turning around, he addresses the troops standing behind Serenity, “Bardock, Niewa, you may leave.”

Bowing, “Yes, Your Majesty. Would you like us to escort Lady Serenity to a guest room?”

Waving them off, “No, that’s all right. I will take her to myself.”
=================================================================================================================

‘Did she live on Planet Vegeta for a long time?’

“Yes, she lived there because she really didn’t want to return home to Earth. Remember, Firestorm, my Mother traveled to a different dimension and met my Father there. Even if she returned home to Earth, it would be a different Earth than she knew. In that time, my Mother fell in love, and was told that she could not conceive a child naturally of my Fathers. Surprisingly, one day she found that she was pregnant and was so thrilled. After 7 months, I was born and was nearly killed by Frieza.”

‘Why would Frieza have killed you? You were only a baby.’

“You see, after a time, Frieza was alerted to the fact that my Mother was living on Planet Vegeta. Frieza was told that she was already pregnant when she arrived and because she was a one of a kind creature, no one questioned the statement. When I was born, I had my golden hair and fluffy white tail and ears. Frieza was going to kill me because I was a girl and that I looked a lot like what legend called a Super Saiyan.”

‘A Super Saiyan?’

“Yes, it was foretold that a Saiyan that had reached his full potential would achieve a power that would be unrivaled by anyone, including Frieza. My green eyes and blond hair are what a Super Saiyan is supposed to look like. But thankfully, I was spared.” Leaning back against a rock, she looks up towards the setting sun. “I lived on Planet Vegeta until I was 4 years old. My Father had another child, his heir and my older brother, Prince Vegeta. My heritage was hidden from everyone except for the royal family. But something terrible happened; Frieza somehow found out that I was the daughter of King Vegeta. He was so mad, and when he confronted my Father, my Father just laughed.”

=================================================================================================================
“What do you have to say for yourself, Vegeta?” Frieza looked calm, but was absolutely livid on the inside. He had been deceived, and now a Princess had survived past birth.

King Vegeta could see how angry Frieza was, and sent a silent prayer to Serenity, whom he know was hiding behind the large curtains, Serene safely with her. “Me? I have nothing to say to you, scum. For hundreds of years, you have meticulously killed off every Princess ever born, and all because of what, fear of losing the power that you have obtained. The Legend will come to pass Frieza, and my daughter will be the one to destroy you.”

“So you say, Vegeta. But I’m going to kill everything that you hold dear, and right now, I’m starting with your life.” And with that, Frieza raises his finger and shoots one small beam through the Kings heart. “And after that, I’m going to kill that little pest you call a family.”
=================================================================================================================

“My Mother and I just managed to make it off of the planet in time, right before Frieza destroyed the entire planet. My family, my home, everything that I knew was gone in an instant.”

‘I’m sorry Serene. You have lost so much. I promise that no matter what I will never leave you. Versy has left me in your care and I will help you regain everything that you’ve lost. We will grow together and get stronger until we have enough power to take Frieza on.’

Standing up, Serene brushes the dust off of her kimono, “Thank you Firestorm. You will never know how much what you’ve just said means to me. Now, I think that it’s getting late and I have some things to pick up before we return to your Mother’s house.”

Turning around Firestorm bends down and Serene swings up and over onto his back. “This time, I’d like to try controlling where you go, my friend. When you brought me here, I just hung on, but I would like to try being in control this time.”

‘Ok, Serene, let’s see how this works.’

Walking Firestorm around she works and getting him to respond to her different controls. Feeling better, Serene lets Firestorm loose and lets him runback towards Main City. “Now Firestorm, I need to stop by Dalton’s Tailoring before it gets too much later.”

‘I know where that shop is, just leave it to me.’

When they approach the city limits, Serene slows Firestorm down and motions for him to continue into the city, but walking now. ‘Are you sure Serene? The villagers have never been comfortable with me.’

“I don’t really care at this point whether or not they are comfortable with you. Have you ever hurt them?”

‘No! I would never do something like that.’

“Then they have no reason to be afraid of you. It’s their fear of something different them that keeps them afraid of you, you needn’t be afraid of them. So be indifferent for now, if something happens I’ll protect you. Now let’s go.”

Serene leads Firestorm into the center of the city. Since it’s close to closing time, the streets aren’t as crowded as they once were and Firestorm could easily walk down the streets. Serene didn’t like the looks that the people were giving him, but ignored it, just as she told Firestorm to. Stopping in front of Dalton’s shop, Serene dismounts from Firestorm. “Now just wait out here. If anything happens, call me and I will come immediately.”

‘Yes, Milady.’

Walking into the shop, Serene calls out, “Dalton, I’m back!”

Dalton pokes his head out from behind a large curtain of fabric, which separated the back of the store from the front. “Ah, you’re here. Good, good. I just finished your order. Take a look at these beauties.” Reaching behind him, he pulls out a package and places it in front of Serene. Opening it, Serene smiles at the beautiful outfits it contains.

Pulling the first kimono out, she spreads it on the table and takes a good look at it. It was constructed of the beautiful fabric Dalton had showed her earlier in the day. He had embroidered butterflies of dark purple and silver thread all along the bottom and these same butterflies decorated the obi as well. The obi was made from a thick pink material and looked very sturdy. Serene noticed that there was also two very large slits up the sides and underneath the kimono was a pair of pants made from the same pink material as the obi. The pants also had butterflies embroidered on the bottoms of them. The pants seemed like they would be skin tight on her, but Serene didn’t mind. She felt like she could move well in this style of kimono. The other kimono was black, and had a green obi. The black kimono had a beautiful silver fox embroidered on the front and back. The fox was jumping through the clouds, and seemed to by flying through the night sky. The green obi was the same shade as Serene’s gem colored eyes. The pants for this outfit were black and had no embroidery on them. In fact the black material seemed to shine on its own.

Serene checked the bottom of the box and found the undergarments she requested there. “Oh, Dalton. I love the first kimono, but the second… you’ve outdone yourself. The green obi, I can’t believe that you matched the color of my eyes, and the Kitsune on the kimono, I absolutely love it.” Reaching into her purse, she pulls out another 5 gold coins and hands them to Dalton. “Here, this is for the excellent work and for completing it in such astounding time.” Reaching in again, she pulls out 2 more gold coins, and hands them to Dalton, “And these are for your time and trouble.” Packing up the clothes he made for her, Serene glanced up at Dalton and still saw the astounded look on his face, “Dalton,” she called to him, without looking up, “I’ve already had this conversation with Kino when I handed him his payment. You are going to take what I hand you and not complain, you hear me? I have asked you to make me something of high value and high in a very short amount of time and you have delivered beyond what I even thought. Now, I’m going to be taking my leave, and thank you Dalton, you have made me something that I will always treasure.” And with that, Serene walks out of the door carrying the box Dalton provided for her to carry her clothes. Reaching a very nervous Firestorm, she opens the fairly empty left side pouch and puts the box inside before reclosing the clasp. Reaching up and petting his head, Serene tries to calm Firestorm down, “Hey, don’t worry ok, everything will be fine. What’s bugging you?”

‘These people are acting strangely. They keep avoiding me, like I’m going to kill them or something. What ignorance!’

Smiling at his comment, Serene mounts up and turns Firestorm around towards Versy’s house, “Come on Firestorm, let’s go to your Mother’s home for now. I’m not planning on leaving until tomorrow morning, after I pick up my final order.” Taking off, Firestorm trots quickly back to his Mother’s house. Arriving, Serene leads Firestorm around to back and removes his pack before feeding him and carrying the pack inside.

“Versy! We’re back!” Serene calls out as soon as she entered the front door.

“There you are dear. Just go ahead and put the pack on the floor near the door and come and eat, I’ve made you some dinner.”

“Oh, thank you Versy, it smells amazing. I don’t think that my Mother has ever cooked for me.”
“Never cooked for you dearie? Now what kind of Mother is that?” Versy answers as she dishes out Serene a big plate of stew.

Serene eats what she would call the best meal she’s ever been served and eats until she’s too sleepy to eat anymore. Versy shows her to a room on the second floor. As soon as Serene hits the bed, she’s fast asleep. The weight and enormity of the day just wore her out.

Serene awakens the next day about an hour before dawn and cleans herself up. Pulling down the box that Dalton packed her outfits, she pulls out the purple kimono and pulls on the silver pants first, after pulling on her undergarments. She slips the kimono on and ties the obi behind her. Packing away the red kimono her Mother gave her, she grabs the black kimono and pants as well as the remaining undergarments and packs them in the pack her Mother gave to her, with her other precious possessions. Walking downstairs, she checks in on Firestorm, who was still sleeping. ‘He’s so cute when he’s sleeping. I go down to Kino’s and come back ready to go.’

Walking out into the early morning, Serene observes people up and setting up shops and getting ready for the next day. Walking through town, she ignores people’s stares and glances in her direction. Reaching Kino’s shop in about 10 minutes, she darts inside and calls out, “Kino! I’m back!”

Appearing from the back, Kino comes out carrying a container. “There you are! I was hoping you would be back soon. I finished your order just a little while ago. Here, take a look.” Putting the box down, he opens it up and pulls out one polished steel boot.

Taking it from his hands, Serene examines the shoe. “Thank you Kino. These look amazing and sturdy. Let me try them on.” Serene pulls off the slippers she was wearing and unclasped the steel buckles, hidden underneath the plates, and slipped the shoe on. Rebuckling the shoe, she puts on the other boot and walks around feeling how her feet feel in the new shoes.

“They have some weight to them, I like that. All in all, I think that these will work out fine. Again, Kino, I thank you for all of the work that you have done for me in such short notice. These boots are wonderful, much better than the slippers I’ve been wearing.”

“I couldn’t picture you in something as fancy as the dress you had on yesterday. I assume that Dalton made this for you?”

“Yes, he just finished it yesterday.”

“I thought so, it suits you. You have the spirit of a warrior and I created these boots for people like you. They work for every day, but you can go into battle without worry. I hope that a little thing like you will never have to have that happen, but you need to be prepared for anything.” Shaking her hand, Kino walks her out. “I hope to see you again someday, Little Lady.”

“And I hope to see you again as well, Kino. Maybe when I reach my destination, I will send an invitation for you to visit.”

“I would like that, maybe you can send one or Dalton as well, I know that the old man would like it immensely.”

Smiling, Serene turns back to Kino, “Yes, Kino, I would like that very much. I see you again, I just know it.”

Returning to Versy’s house, Serene walks in just as Versy is setting breakfast on the table, “There you are dearie. I thought that you went to retrieve the last of you items, and seeing how Firestorm is still sleeping, I assumed you walked. Now sit down and have some breakfast before you depart, and don’t worry about Firestorm, I’ve already got him ready and eating for now. When you’re finished you can go.”

Putting down her chopsticks, Serene looks up at Versy, “I could never thank you enough Versy for all of the help that you have given me. My journey is going to be long and difficult and you have provided me with supplies and more than that, you have provided me a friend to help me along. I will take care of Firestorm, I will keep him safe, and I promise you that I will by his side for as long as I live.”

Brushing the tears away from her eyes, Versy looks at Serene and then looks out the window, to where Firestorm was stretching in muscles in the yard, “I had my doubts about you little one. I mentioned the prophecy that I discovered and I didn’t want it to come to pass. I love Firestorm like any mother would love her own child, and as much as I hate to admit it, it’s time for me to let him go.”

Packing away her eating utensils, Serene grabs her Mother’s worn leather pack and heads outside with Versy right behind her. “Firestorm, get ready, we’re leaving soon.”

‘Yes, Milady! I’m almost finished stretching. I’ll be ready in a few moments.’

Walking over to his sleeping corner, Serene grabs his pack and puts away her Mother’s pack in the left side. Picking them up, she carries the packs over to where Firestorm was leaning into his Mother’s touch. Reaching around, she buckles the packs onto his back and secures them just like Versy showed her yesterday. Leading him around, Serene mounts up and twists Firestorm around to the east.

“Good bye dears, I love both of you. Stay safe and visit once in a while.” Versy calls out the Serene as she gets ready to leave.

‘Goodbye Mother! I’ll be back again someday, I promise!’

“Come on Firestorm, let’s go.”

‘Yes, Milady.’

And with that, Firestorm takes off bounding through the main city streets towards the east, towards the Country of Japan, but more importantly, towards their new home.

=================================================================================================================

Until next time!

~ Sailor Earth >^^<