Cassandra Mitchells-Chapter One

    I was finally able to escape the house. Chessy said she didn't mind driving me to the party but I said didn't mind walking. "Okay." Chessy said a little uncertainly. "Be careful and call me when you get there. And don't walk home at night. Call me or take a cab home."
    I laughed. "Chessy, it's only two blocks away. And I'm not even going to walk on the street. I'm cutting across our yard." I giggled again. "What would I pay the cab driver? Fifty cents for taking me around the corner?" Chessy laughed.
    "Be home before midnight! Or else call me!" Chessy called after me. "I will!" I called back.
    On the way there, I bumped into someone familiar. "Alexandra?" I asked, gasping. "Hi, Cassandra." she said, cheerfully.
    Alexandra had been my best friend throughtout childhood. We remained friends though middle school, but we lost touch when I moved. She remained my friend, but I never thought much about her. She took off her hood and her long, curly blonde hair tumbled onto her shoulders. Her emerald green eyes locked mine.
    "Listen, Cassandra, no matter what you do tonight don't except the power stick. Danger will befall you if you do!" she said in a firm tone. She flashed me a smile and added, "It's been great seeing you, Cassandra." She hugged me and whispered fiercely, "Remember. Don't accept the power stick. Danger is near you!" With that, she ran off and vanished into the darkness.
    "What Power Stick?" I turned in the direction she had run off in. "Alexandra, wait! Don't..." I vainly tried to find her but it was clear she was gone. "leave."
    I was very confused. I arrived at Andrea's feeling puzzled and bewildered.
    As soon as I had taken off my coat and Andrea had finished oohing and ahhing over my dress and earrings, the doorbell rang.
    "That must be Serena." Darien said glancing at the clock. "It's ten minutes after the party was supposed to start."
    He opened the door.
    As soon as I met Serena, I felt a tingle go though me. No, I wasn't nervous and I didn't recognize her. But something about her was very familiar and then I saw it. I could tell she felt it too.
    I gasped. Serena looked just like me. She had blonde hair and was a little shorter but everything else seemed the same. She had the same sparkly blue eyes that Mom said I inherited from Dad. She had pierced ears and was wearing little blue dangly earrings. We both had on blue dresses except mine was much longer. It reached down to my ankles while Serena's ended just above the knee. Our high heels were identical. I had on a blue hairpiece that held my hairstyle (a fancy french twist Chessy helped me with) and Serena also had one. If she had brown hair, I bet the only difference between us would have been our dresses and the locket that she wore. Her locket had a S on it and a little crescent moon. I had a locket too, except mine had a C on it and a star.
    Darien appeared at my side. "Whoa." He said as he stared at me, then Serena, the me again. Shaking himself, he blinked a few time and he seemed to regain consciousness. "Come in, Serena." A couple of girls filed in behind her. "Hi, Darien." Serena said. "Sorry I was late." She smiled weakly.
    Darien smiled. "No prob. You're not as late as usual at least."
    "That's because she did her makeup in the car." A girl with cheekbones to envy piped up. "By the way, I'm Rei." Rei offered her hand and I shook it. "I'm Mina." A blonde haired girl handed me a beautifully wrapped package. "Here. Happy Birthday."
    "Oh! Thanks." I took the package. I had completely forgotten about my birthday. "I'm Lita and these two bookworms here are Ami and Rini." A brown haired tough-looking girl gestured toward a older girl with dainty glasses and a adorable little girl, both wrapped up in a book. When neither of them appeared to have noticed their introduction, Lita nudged them.
    "Ow!" The older girl cried. Lita cleared her throat pointedly and glanced from Ami to me.
    "Oh, I'm Sorry about that." Ami handed me a package. "I was doing some late studying. Happy Birthday."
"Ami, what's try-go-nummy-tree?" Rini asked Ami, prounoncing the word slowly and carefully. "Trigonometry." Ami replied patiently. "You'll learn about it later, honey."
    "Maybe I should make some clear introductions here." Darien shot Ami and Rini a look.
    "This is Serena, Mina, Lita, Ami, Rei, and Rini." He pointed to each girl in turn and Rini bowed, her pigtails flopping.
    "Girls, this is Cassandra Mitchells." I smiled. However I felt a twinge inside of me, like danger was near. Alexandra's face floated before me in my mind's eye, whispering, "Don't accept the power stick! Danger is near you!" Andrea started the party before I could make out what was wrong. If I only did, maybe I would still be the same today.
    "Okay let's organize this party and get it going!" Andrea shouted, suddenly appearing at my side. "Presents on the table, coats in the closets, then let's all go into
the kitchen." Andrea began giving directions right and left. As I began to troop into the kitchen with the others, Andrea shouted, "No! Don't go in there!"
    "Why not?" I asked suspiciously.
    "Just.... Because." Andrea looked panicked.
    "I'll take care of it." Serena and her friends stepped toward me. "Come on, let's go into the Andrea's room."
    Once inside and seated, Serena took a deep breath and asked me about the Silver Millennium.
    "Do you have any idea what the Silver Millennium or Crystal Millennium is?" she asked.
    "Is it some kind of bug, like the Y2K bug?" I asked, expecting at least a smile.
    "No, not exactly." She looked into my eyes. "Have you ever heard of Sailor Moon?"
    "Heard of it! I love it! I've loved it ever since I was a little girl. I even named my kitten Diana, after that cute little kitten in the series." For as long as I could remember, I had adored Sailor Moon. When I was younger, right before the divorce, and I heard my parents fighting, I would escape by pretending to be Sailor Moon and fight evil. It was a adventure for me. I thought Diana would be a good name for the kitten that (supposedly) saved my life since she had a crescent moon on her head.
    "Did you ever think Sailor Moon was really real?" She asked.
    "I guess not. I mean, I loved it and all but I never really thought about it, you know, it being really real. I never really gave ut all that much thought, though." I was puzzled by all these questions. They were not at all what I thought Serena would ask me. I mean, who really cared whether Sailor Moon was real or not? Isn't the point of Sailor Moon to have fun with it?
    "Could I tell you something?" Serena suddenly got up and looked at her reflection in Andrea's dresser mirror.
    "Sure." I replied, flashing a smile at her so she wouldn't be so apprehensive.
    Staring at the ground, she mumbled some unintelligible bable. Or at least that's what it sounded like.
    "What?" I asked. I didn't make out a single word. Serena looked embarrassed. "Look, I promise I won't tell Andrea or Darien or anyone about your secret whatever it is." I said reassuringly. "You can trust me, I promise."
    "It's okay, they already know." Serena sat on a chair.
    "Know about what?" Okay, I was hooked. If I didn't find out soon, I'd burst. Now I realize I should have never pressured her to tell me. My whole life changed because of her next words.
    "You must promise never to tell anyone else." Serena took out a locket the size of my fist. It was gorgeous with jewels the size to make even the largest jewel collections jealous. They were so bright, I almost ran out to buy a pair of sunglasses. On it was a crescent moon and the words Sailor Moon
    "Oh my god. It's beautiful, breath taking, really." I longed to touch the enchanting locket, but before I could Rei spoke.
    "That's not the best part." Rei and the girls all took out sticks, that looked exactly like the power sticks they used on the TV show Sailor Moon.
    Rei's was red and had the symbol of mars on it. It said Sailor Mars . Mina's was orange and yellow with the symbol of Venus and read Sailor Venus. Lita's was green and had the symbol of jupiter and said Sailor Jupiter. Ami's was blue and with the symbol of mercury and said Sailor Mercury.
    "What are you trying to tell me?" I refused to believe what my gut was telling me. My eyes widened as my heart dropped. I croaked out, "are you-are you trying to
tell me you guys are sai-"
    Serena opened her locket held it above her head and a glow of light burst from it. I shaded my eyes to see better and in moments Serena had transformed into Sailor Moon.
    My eyes widened and my mouth dropped. Whatever my heart had believed, this was unexpected.
    "Are you Sailor Scouts, too?" I asked Mina and the others.
    "What does this tell you?" Lita smiled and held up the Jupiter power stick. "Jupiter Star Power, Make-up!"
    "Venus star Power, Make-up!"
    "Mercury Star Power, Make-up!
    "Mars Star Power, Make-up!"
    "Neptune Planet Power!"
    "Uranus Planet Power!"
    "Saturn Planet Power!"
    "Pluto Planet Power!"
    I whirled around. Four girls dressed in Sailor Uniforms smiled at me.
    "Hey, what about me?" Rini smiled at me. "Moon Prism Power, Make-up!"
    All around me stood Sailor Scouts.
    "Okay, let me introduce a few people here." Serena pointed to the four girls behind me.
    "Hon, there's no need. As a dedicated sailor moon fan, she should know already." Michiru said, making it sound like a threat.
    "Cassandra, I have something very important to show you. You must not be frightened." Sailor Moon began, sounding as though she was reading from cue cards.
    "Cut it with the fancy-smancy talk, Sailor Moon." Sailor Mars stepped in front of Sailor Moon and snatched something from her hand. "Cassie, bottom line is you're
a sailor scout, too."
    "I'm a-I'm a..." I fainted.
~~~~~
    A few minutes later, I could hear voices inside my head, chanting, "It was all a dream. It was all a dream. It was all a dream."
    Serena sighed. "See that, Rei? You and your 'just tell her' theory made her faint! And now look, she thinks it was all a dream. Look at the poor thing, chanting, 'it
was all a dream, a bad, bad, dream.' That's the last time I listen to you!"
    "Well, is that so, Ms. Smarty Moon?" Rei retorted. "You and your speech would have bored her into fainting anyways!"
    "Would not!"
    "Would too!"
    "Would not!"
    "Stop it! Look! She's waking up!" Another voice cried. My eyes slowly flashed open as I saw them all standing around me. Serena helped me get up and lie down on the bed. "Are you all right?" She asked.
    "Fine. You won't believe the dream I had. I envisioned all of you were sailor scou-" I stopped. They were all still wearing the sailor scout uniforms. "It wasn't a dream then, was it?"
    Mina shook her head. "Afraid not, sweetie. Here, show her, Serena." Serena held out a power stick with the words Sailor Cosmic Star on it. It was purple and light blue, my favorite colors, with stars sketched all over it and a ruby, my birthstone on it. It was gorgeous.
    Suddenly, a flow of memories were coming back. Being with a lady dressed in white, at a ball, being with my mom, telling my dad of all the bad dreams with the Cosmic Star Princess in it, pleading for someone to just let me be a normal girl. "No!" I cried. "No! I just want to be a normal teenager! No more fighting! I just want to be a normal teenager!"
    They kept on coming till I couldn't stand it anymore. "I just want to be a normal teenager!" I cried. "Not a Sailor Scout, not a Princess or Star Anything! Just a normal teenager!" I didn't know what was going on, just that I didn't want it to go on.
    "The only way to make it stop it to transform and discover your true past, Cassandra." Serena said, holding out the Sailor Star power stick.
    It floated in the air above me. I reached up to grab it and transform, then run away, far far away, when I heard a voice.
    "Don't touch it!" Alexandra appeared before me, and reached out toward me. Her voice trembled with concern. "If you touch it, you'll never be able to go back to your normal life and be a normal teenager."
    She held up a power stick similar to mine except it was green and blue. "I don't believe you would pull the same old trick you did to me." Alexandra glared at Serena. "I'm not going to let you destroy her life the same way you destroyed mine."
    She then held up her power stick and cried, "Sailor Starlight Crystal Power!" She transformed into Sailor Starlight and threw her stick down at Serena's feet.
    "Cassandra, the only reason I came back was to ensure you don't destroy your life the same way mine is destroyed." She looked so sad, it almost broke my heart.
    "I can never go back to my family without risking my identity." She glared at Serena. "Don't do it, Cassandra!"
    "Then how do I make it stop? It hurts so much!" I cried out. That was my last moment as a normal teenager, I realize too late.
    Just then, a awful memory came back, one that till this very day haunts my dreams at night. I was a little girl again, and I was with my dad. He had made a pit stop
at a town near us and requested to see me, knowing that he probably wouldn't again for a while. Chessy in the background, he had hugged me in the airport lobby. Confused, I asked him why he wasn't coming home. He wouldn't answer me, only hugged me.
    "Sweetie, I'm sorry, I won't be back soon, probably not for a couple of months." He told me. "A couple of months!" I had exclaimed, horror stricken. "But, daddy, you'll miss my birthday!"
    "I have to miss it. I'm so sorry, darling."
    I backed away. "No! I hate you! How could you miss my birthday? Did you forget your own daughter's birthday? How could you! I hate you! I hate you! I wish you could go away and not come back! I hate you!" I stormed away and demanded Chessy take me home at once. It was the last time I saw my father alive and I felt so guilty when he died, thinking that he really had went away and he wasn't coming back.
    "Nooooo!" I cried, throwing my hands up. The pain of the memory was so awful, I couldn't bear it anymore. Then the Power stick fell right into my hand and I transformed into Sailor Cosmic Star, Princess Sailor Star.
    "No, Cassandra..." Alexandra whispered, looking away.
    As soon as I transformed, I knew what had happened. I was a Sailor Scout. Mom wasn't really my mom. Dad wasn't really my dad. My mother was Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom. I was a princess of all the Stars and universe. I was Sailor Cosmic Star, Princess Sailor Star. The awful things that had happened in my past, had not really happened. They were just a dream. A awful dream. But this was real. I never dreamed in all the years I had survived the awful torment of my
life that I was a Sailor Scout.
    It was like I was in some kind of a dream. My body felt kind of strange in a weird Sailor Scout uniform. It was familiar but I was never going to get use to it. Never. I just kept staring off into space, as if everyone there didn't exist. I was going to have to get use to theses people because they were going to be my future friends. I'd fight with them, side-by-side in battle, in everything. Alexandra was right. I was never going to be able to go back to my normal life.
    "Cassandra? Are you all right?" Alexandra kneeled down beside me.
    "What just happened? Who am I? What's going on?" I asked, refusing to budge when Serena tried to get me to sit on the bed.
    A black cat stepped forward, and began to talk.
    "Cassandra, you're a sailor scout. The Sailor Scout we've been searching for all these years. We need your help now. We've been fighting Kallesena for so long. Then she challenged the sailor scouts to the ultimate battle, winner take all. Sailor Moon is not ready to fight yet and the others would perish in the first blow. You're our last chance. You have the power and experience. The same power you're mother had. I still remember how you sent Malachite back to where he belonged on that final battle in the Moon Kingdom. You were glorious."
    "Who am I, really? Tell me my true past. Now." I looked down at my hands as I watched a memory of my mom and dad play in my head. Tears came into my eyes as I faced the truth that they were not really my parents. "Please, I need to know."
    The black cat leaped into the air, did a somersault and landed perfectly on Andrea's bed. A talisman appeared where the cat had performed the somersault. It spun a few times then floated before me. It looked like my power sick only more beautiful with jewels that shone more brightly than the sun itself and sparkled so beautifully it would make even the sun ashamed.
    Suddenly a burst of light came out of it and Serena, Alexandra and I and the inner scouts was transformed to a place with large ruins and little flowers popping up here and there.
    "I'm shocked with your behavior, Serena. But I'm not surprised. You never liked to waste a good idea since you never thought of many, as you said yourself." A sweet voice came from a spark of light. Suddenly a woman appeared before me with white hair much like Serena's, wearing a white dress and holding a wand with a crescent moon and star on it.
    "Who are you?" I asked.
    "Cassandra, my dearest, after all these years. My, you've grown up. But I'm not surprised you don't remember me. I arranged it that way for Serena and her court and for you and your court also." She smiled at me.
    "My court?" I asked.
    She smiled again and pointed behind me, at Sailor Neptune, Uranus, Pluto, and Saturn. "They are also part of your court." She pointed to four girls behind me, including Alexandra, who was the Sailor Starlight. "The Sailor Starlights. Most powerful of all your court. When combined with your power you're undestuctable."
    "But... I still do not understand. Who are you? Why am I here?"
    "Dear Cassandra, it is time to tell you your true past. I am Queen Serenity. Your mother. You are my daughter, the older sister of Princess and Grand Duchess Serena. You are the first daughter of Queen Serenity, Grand Duchess and Princess Cassandra, Sailor Cosmic Star. You are a Sailor Soldier, the leader of the Outer Court. You were one day to take over my throne to be Queen. Serena has been filling in for you, as Queen of the earth with Darien king of the earth. I believe Lady Andrea is her lady-in-waiting."
    "What does Darien and Andrea have to do with this?" I asked.
    "You mean you haven't told her?" Queen Serenity looked at Serena suspiciously.
    "I meant to but, I couldn't. I didn't want to spoil her whole day."
    "What do you mean?" I wanted straight answers now. "Tell me everything you know. Why was I brought to earth if you are my mother and this is my home? Tell me everything truthfully." I stared straight into Queen Serenity's eyes.
    "All right. But you must promise to listen to me and accept your role, as a leader, a princess, and heir to the throne." She stared right back at me, her eyes gentle and kind.
    "You don't exactly leave me much of a choice. I guess I have to, whether I'd rather or rather not." I replied.
    "Are you sure you want to know?" She asked softly. I nodded.
    "Cassandra, hold this talisman in the air and shout, "Star Prism Power, take me to my past, my future!"
    I did as I was told. "Star Prism Power! Take me to my past, my future!" As soon as I said those words, we were transported to another time and in the place of the ruins was a beautiful place, with gardens that stretched on forever.
    "Cassandra, this is the Crystal Millennium. It was a time when everything was peaceful and all the kingdoms and planets were at peace. The inner scouts were princesses of their own planets, but also part of Serena's court. Your court was princesses of their kingdoms and planets but part of your court also. You were the older sister of princess Serena, Grand Duchess. You were to one day rule the universe and the moon. I trained you to follow in my footsteps, but I also trained Serena to follow your commands for one day, if something should have happened to you she would rule. But all was not to be."
    Like a big movie screen, a picture arose from nowhere. It was so real I could smell the sweet flowers. It all took my breath away. "Serena had a lady in waiting Princess Andrea of earth. Her brother Darien was prince of the earth." Darien and Andrea appeared out of nowhere, dressed in the fanciest of gowns and tuxedos. "Tuxedo Mask!" I whispered. Darien was Tuxedo Mask. I could not believe it. "Yes, My dear. Darien later became Tuxedo Mask to help protect Serena and to find you."
    "Your lady in waiting, Alexandra was Sailor Starlight. Her mother had been the olden Sailor Starlight and had trained her to be Sailor Starlight. But the throne of Sailor Cosmic Star was rightfully yours. Alexandra's mother fought for her daughter's right, but it was no use. You were the rightful Sailor Cosmic Star and that was to be. You felt simply awful for Alexandra when I told you and so, you made her your lady in waiting."
    A dark heavy sky filled the earth and their was a horrible sound of war. "You and Serena were still young girls when Queen Beryl came. She came with her daughters Kallesena and Liliada. I felt Cassandra was ready to fight but Serena wasn't. I allowed you to fight side-by-side with your court and the court of Serena."
    A man appeared and the image of me and him fighting was almost enough to make me turn and run. But I didn't. I remained frozen, not able to move the littlest bit.
    "Serena had fallen in love with Darien and I allowed him to protect her from Queen Beryl and her daughters. You fought endlessly with Malachite and Kallesena and Liliada. Our peace was shattered and our kingdom and universe was forever destroyed. I had to do something. So I used the last bit of my power to lock them inside my crystal. But right before I could, Darien was captured. Serena tried to free him and ended up being captured herself. You, trying to rescue your sister almost became captured but I would not risk it. I did not want to lose you, too. I locked them into my crystal and hurled them into space. I then knew if I had destroyed them I would have destroyed Serena and you, too. I sent you to a new future on earth where you could forever live happily. But I sent Artemis and Luna, and Diana to earth to reawaken the Sailor Scouts if evil ever was found on earth again. And they did."
    The images disappeared and Queen Serenity stood again before us. "Then Kallesena and Liliada appeared. I thought I had destroyed them when Serena and the Inner Scouts destroyed their mother, Queen Beryl. And they fought endlessly. Kallesena and Liliada always found new ways to destroy the scouts but they survived again and again. A few weeks ago, Kallesena and Liliada parted. Kallesena disappeared, literally and without her sister to help her carry out her plan the plan was no use at all. So Liliada challenged Sailor Moon to fight her to the death. Winner take all. With nothing else to do, Serena came to me. And I told her that she couldn't fight. She isn't strong enough. And none of the other scouts have the ability she does. That leaves you." Queen Serenity smiled.
    "But...but... Why me? Can't the scouts fight together as one?" When I found my voice, it seemed like there was nothing to say at all. "Liliada challenged Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon alone to fight. She said if she didn't she would use her strongest power to swipe the earth. If Sailor Moon could find a replacement, she'd accept and fight then." Queen Serenity transformed us into a magnificent room completed with fancy furniture and a screen like a movie screen. "Sailor Mercury, if you'd please." Sailor Mercury stood up and touched a few knobs. A picture of Lilida appeared and Ami analyzed it. The picture turned into a 3-d sort of thing with all sorts of things that I could only describe as confusing and complicated. "I analyzed Lilida and we found out some of her strongest powers and weaknesses. Lilida is so strong Sailor Moon couldn't possibly fight her without the rest of us. Even if we gave her all of our powers, she still wouldn't be half as strong as Lilida. Queen Serenity gave us your power information from the past and I analyzed that, too. I found out that your powers in the past were about as strong as Lilida's and Kallesena's were in the past. I modified it and discovered if you aged at the same rate they did, you were probably just as strong as she was. If we gave you our strongest powers, you might be able to destroy her. But she is still very powerful and I guessed that using her strongest powers you'd two be about the same strength." Hearing Ami describe my powers as being so very powerful began to tell me they were up to something besides the battle.
    "So why hasn't Lilida already used her power to demolish the earth?" I asked.
    "Lilida is a very naive and particular person. Kallesena left her because they were fighting about who would become Queen after they demolished earth. Kallesena knew she couldn't carry out the plan without her and left. She figured once Lilida had lost, she could destroy earth and become Queen with no one to stand in her way. Lilida doesn't care about conquering earth so easily because she wants to prove to Kallesena she can be Queen. To do that, she must first destroy the Sailor Scouts, then conquer earth. Then Kallesena won't stand a chance at being queen." Serena spoke up.
    "But..But.. why me? I mean, why am I so strong? I am so confused. Please tell me it's all a dream. Please!" I pleaded to Serena. She took me aside and talked to me softly.
    "You know, I would have given anything to be you." She told me. "But...why?" I asked. "Because. You got to be a normal, beautiful popular teenager for a few more years. Luna called me in the moment I turned fourteen. Plus, now you're stronger than I'll ever be. Pretty unfair, huh? But you," Serena smiled. "The sister I never had, you have the power to do whatever you want to do. You're special. You remember that." She left me alone with my thoughts and so did the others.
    A few moments later, a old lady with a apron tied around her waist appeared. She dropped the tray she was carrying and beautiful crystal fragments scattered everywhere . "My Cassandra!" She cried, putting her hand to her mouth. She ran to hug me and I looked at her, questionably. "My baby, how are you?" She smiled broadly.
    "Umm...who are you?" I asked. "You really don't remember me, do you? Mandy? You caretaker? My Cassandra, please remember. Princess, you were the sweetest little girl I had ever seen!" I looked beyond her and saw the shattered glass tray and china.
    "The..the tray." I whispered. Tears filled my eyes. "My favorite tray. Mommy always told me that I could never touch it or use it. But I begged and pleaded. Finally, she let me use it. It was so pretty, I was very, very careful. But once I was done, I didn't feel like it was so pretty anymore. It was all very beautiful, but it didn't hold the same charm as before. I was so upset that Mommy hadn't told what an ordinary tray it was, I smashed it."
    My eyes widened. Where were all these memories coming from? A wave washed over me and I suddenly remembered everything. "M-Mandy? Mandy!" I said.      "Cassandra." She said proudly and we hugged. "Why, look. It's the petty, little princess and her poor housekeeper, Miss Mandy. Honored, I suppose. Why look, Princess Cassandra!" A wave washed over me again and I turned to find Lilida, ugly face and all. "How have you been all these years, Cassandra? Or shall I say soon to be dead Queen Cassandra!"
    She laughed and Luna threw me a pen. "Hold it up!" She instructed. "Now say 'Moon Prism Power, release me and give me the power of the Sailor Scouts!" I did as told and a wave of power washed over me. "Ready to rumble?" I asked. "Always, sweet princess." Nepherina held up a wand and I gasped.
    She transformed me to a dimension I had never known. "Give me your best shot." She said, smiling evilly. "Fireballs Power!" I cried. "Aqua illusion Crescent Beam!" I tried again. It all disappeared. A force field. I should have known. "Moon Prism Force Field." I said softly. "COSMIC SEA POWER!!!" Lilida cried. It blasted back at her as it bounced off my force field. With a scream, she vanished. A green wisp floated around my force field. "You haven't seen the last of me." A voice projecting from the green wisp said softly. "No, you haven't. I'll be back. I'll be back!!"
    "My darling, you did it!" Queen Serenity hugged me.
    "I knew you could." Serena patted my shoulder.
    "Congratulations, Princess." A drawling voice announced. "Congratulations...for this round."
    It was Kallesena.

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