The Adventures of the SOL

 Now, perhaps it is time to explain a few things about Princess Rei.  Rei Wallace was a very well known and powerful girl who ruled alone in Lizerton.  As it's ruler it was her duty to protect it from anything that might threaten it in anyway.

 Her famousness came from her strong powers, psychic abilities that were great at the age of fifteen, and also for her father, a famous man himself.

 Rei was expected by everyone to be the perfect warrior.  She was a girl who was thought to fear nothing and have no weaknesses.

Actually, Rei didn't have many fears or weaknesses.  She was very secure and brave, but it must be admitted that she did have one weakness.  A terrible weakness.

 And that weakness was cute boys.

 Cute boys like Brent the Messenger who's hair was semi-long and fell into his eyes sometimes when he talked.  His eyes would sometimes look up at her while he read the messages, that blue green color sparkling up at her.  His smile always seemed to be a little more quirked up on one side of his mouth and the way his lips moved made her feel as if she was being hypnotized.  She lost all track of what he was--

 "If that will be all, Your Majesty, I'll be going home," he said still smiling and tucking away the scroll he had just read.

 Rei blinked three times fast and snapped awake.  "Er, oh yes!  Well, actually, I was wondering whether a cute guy like you needs a place to stay tonight," she winked at him, "Or if he was taken?"

 He gave a short laugh and ran a hand through that long hair of his.  "Actually, Your Highness--"

 "Call me Rei," she said automatically.  She was very informal when it came to royal titles.  And dress.  And everything else.

 "Rei.  I'm going out with a shapeshifter.  We've been dating for quite some time now, so..."  He shrugged.

 "Darn," she joked, "Well, that's all then.  See you next month, Brent, and bring your girlfriend next time if you can."  She gave a wave, not at all embarrassed.

 "Alright!" he waved, "See you, Your, er, I mean Rei."  He turned and walked out of the throne room.  The only people left was Rei sitting on her golden throne, lined with red velvet, the guards, and Mina who stood beside her.

 "Did you even hear a word he said?" Mina asked her, "I mean, honestly, you looked like you were meditating over there."

 "In all honesty, I didn't hear a word," she said, sheepishly, "I was concentrating on him. He was rather cute didn't you think?  So what did he say?"

 "He said that Evilopolis has a new ruler, which is not good news for anyone," Mina said, "And that the spies you asked them to send to Reptopia revealed no real news."

 "What would I do without you, Mina?" she asked, then began to say, "Oh well--"

 Suddenly, Lita popped out from behind Rei's throne and sang, "Rei's got a boyfriend, Rei's got a boyfriend!"  She did a cartwheel and grinned smugly at Rei.  Mina watched the two.

 "No I don't!" Rei folded her arms, glaring at the Amazon, "As I was going to tell my friend, Mina, here, the attraction is gone.  He has a girl."

 "What?!  Your gonna give up like that?" Lita cried, suddenly concerned, "But that's what you always do!!  When they have girlfriends you just forget them!"

 "I just accept I can't have them and forget them," Rei said, "I mean, it's not as if I need a boyfriend right now anyway."

 "OH! You make me so mad when it comes to boys!" Lita pointed a finger at her face, "If you could just find a steady boyfriend--"

 "Sorry, but Rei's right," Mina said, "At this time she can't afford to have a boyfriend." She flipped through something on a clipboard, "She just has too much else to worry about."

 Rei looked at Mina through the corner of her eye.  After Mina had seen the disorganization of Rei's schedules, she had taken it upon herself to fix things around in the right order.  Then, as if messing with Rei's organization wasn't bad enough she had begun to follow Rei around with that orange clipboard that contained the new schedule.

 "Poo," Lita pouted, "You guys are such grannies."

 Rei rolled her eyes and gave Lita one of her looks. "Just because we can look at a guy and not fall in love with him...."

 "I can look at guys and not fall in love!" Lita replied, and pointed at one of the guards at the door, "I'm not in love--wow, he is kinda cute--but that doesn't mean I'm in love with him."

 The guards passed them a moments glance but managed to stay at the door without moving or blushing too much.

 Rei grinned.  "I hate to say but--"

 "--she told you so," Mina finished and looked at her watch.  "Wow, it's already 11:30."

 Rei yawned, adding a great stretch to it in the process. "Yeah, I could kinda tell.  I'm gonna go to bed.  I'm still a little sick from when Queen Brashear attacked."

 "Wimp," Lita winked.

 Rei sort of laughed and stood up.  She walked through a door that was just to the right of the throne.  She watched Lita sit in her throne and start talking to Mina before she shut it again.

 "I'm so tired lately," Rei muttered, rubbing at an eye.  In her fatigue she nearly ran right into someone.  With a gasp she saw a pair of blue eyes blink at her.

 "Whoa!  Be more careful, Rei," Amy said, Sady standing next to her.  She took a moment to look Rei over.  "You look tired.  You okay?"

 "Yeah," Rei gave another stretch, "I think I just need to start going to bed earlier.  You hitting the sack too?"

 "No," Amy grinned, "Actually, I was trying to find Lita.  She said she always stays up late and I figured it would fun to hang out together."

 "Oh, she's in the throne room with Mina," Rei said, pointing behind her, "You and Sady don't stay up too late, now.  You do have to protect my kingdom, remember?"

 "Oh, yeah," Amy said so sincerely that Rei had to give her a second glance.

 "See ya!" Rei yawned again.

 "Yeah, see ya," Amy said and took off down the hall towards the throne room.

 Rei reached her room and opened the door.  She changed into a nightgown, and crashed into her bed.  She fell asleep almost before she hit the pillow.

 "Announcing King Creton of Evilopolis!"

 Queen Brashear waited expectantly, her feet thrown over the arm of her throne.  The doors to her own throne room were opened and a cloud of mist filled the room as a dark figure filled the doorway.  One by one the lights flashed out until the only ones left spotlighted Brashear herself.

 "Welcome, King Creton, to my castle," she purred and beckoned the figure closer.  It moved with a slow ease towards her throne and stopped.

 The man raised his head and she was able to see the light glare off of a porcelain mask, which hid his face completely.  He wore a black cape that encircled his entire body.  Green hair cascaded down his broad shoulders and his height was unmatched by any one guard in the room.

 "My pleasure," the deep voice issued, "I greet you, as does my son."  He turned to look behind him.  "Say hello, Valerie."

 A boy, about sixteen, stepped out from behind the king.  His hair was the same color as his father's, but it was noticeably spiky, and a good chunk of it stuck almost right up.

 Queen Brashear snickered a little then laughed.  "Is that a spike in the back of your head or are you just happy to see me?"

 He seemed taken aback for a second, but that was quickly replaced by mild anger.  "This is a fashion statement!" Valerie protested.  He was very dwarfed by the incredibly tall figure that was Creton.

 "Do you wish to speak to us, Brashear?" Creton asked, his glowing red eyes slitting down in an impatient gesture.

 "Er, yes," she shrank down into her throne as he glowered at her.

 "Then what is it you wish?" he said, his voice low and evil.

 "You see, it's those brats over their in Lizerton," she cried suddenly, standing up, "I can't stand them!  They have always been a problem of the kingdom, but now it's gone too far.  I managed to capture their Princess and take over the kingdom but it was retaken by strange warriors that have yet to leave.  I need assistance in taking Lizerton.  It has been a long time goal of Reptopia to do so."

 "Why is this an issue of mine?" Creton asked boredly.

 "Princess Rei is the daughter of Lawrence the Good," Queen Brashear sat back and waited for a reaction.

 "What?!" That glowing red eyes widened for a moment, then slitted again, "He wasn't King of Lizerton.  It's not possible."

 "Oh but it is, their last Queen and King had no children and Rei became the one to inherit the throne.  You see, Lawrence the Good settled down there when Rei was still very young.  He was a good friend with the royal family and they took quite a liking to Rei.  When her father died they adopted her in their desperation for an heir to their heir-less throne."

 Creton growled.  "Lawrence escaped his death by me by very little.  It would have given me great pleasure to destroy him."

 "I know this, and wouldn't it be just as satisfactory to kill his daughter?  Maybe even better.  It would make Lawrence suffer in his death," Queen Brashear leaned forward, "You wanted to destroy Lawrence, and he died of natural causes before you could, but he continues to live in Princess Rei."

 "I see," Creton said, "And you want me to ally with you and use both of our forces to smash Lizerton?"

 "Yes, that's exactly what I want," Queen Brashear settling back down again with a gloating smile.

 "Then how can I refuse?" he said and laughed a low evil laugh, "Lawrence, you may have escaped me, but your daughter will not."

 "Wha?!" Rei sat up in her sleep, her heart pounding in her chest.  She had some sort of dream, but it was--

 "A Seer Dream," she muttered, and looked around the darkened room, that seemed red.  It was because her bed was surrounded by a canopy of see through red fabric.  A Princess's bed was her thoughts, but she had liked it so she had kept it.  Her entire room was a rich blue and red color, but in the night it seemed dark under the red veil.

 She took a moment to brush her hair away from her face and looked towards her bedroom door with a tired sigh.

 She gasped.

There was the figure of a person standing in her room, it's features obscured by the red fabric.  It looked feminine but she couldn't catch a clear glance at it.  It was looking right at Rei as Rei stared in fearful awe, then it seemed to disappear into nowhere.

 Rei blinked, then did the only thing she could think of to do.  She screamed.

 Lita and Amy sat together in the oversized throne and Mina sat in one of the chairs that surrounded it, next to Serena who had joined them.  Twiggy had come in a little after Serena, but stayed a little to the side of the conversation, leaning against one wall.

 Amy looked down at Sady who was curled up at her feet, claws twitching.  "I almost ran right smack into Rei on my way down here," she mused, "I wonder why she's always so tired?"

 "She's still sick from our last adventure," Lita said, "And she told me that she's been having some weird dreams lately."

 "Really, about what?" Mina asked absently, writing some more things down on her clipboard while Serena stared over her shoulder.

 "She didn't say," Lita shrugged, "When she says weird I'm almost certain she means Seer Dreams."

 "Seer Dreams?" Serena looked up from Mina's work.

 "Dreams that have something to do with the future.  According to her, its not like looking into the future but receiving sort of a vision," Lita shrugged again, "She says all psychics have them."

 "How long have you and Rei known each other?" Twiggy changed the subject.  Everyone had hardly noticed her and turned to her then.

 "About a year, ever since she figured out there were Amazons in Nymph Forest," Lita explained, "My mom is the Queen of the Amazons of Nymph Forest and we met when her and Rei were talking about royal stuff."

 Twiggy kind of nodded and tried to seem impassive against the concave wall she was leaning into.

 "So that explains her being tired all the time, and she still might be a little sick," Amy thought about it for a moment, "What about Brashear?"

 "What about her?" Twiggy asked.

 "Well, what has she been up to?" Amy asked, "We haven't heard anything from her ever since we first met.  And you'd think since she made that pretty little threat that she'd come back to live up to it."

 "Yeah, maybe she's up to something," Mina nodded.

 "Besides eating lollipops and getting fat while she broods over her defeat?" Lita smiled smugly, "Doubt it.  What could she do?"

 "You never know," Serena looked deep in thought.

 "Yeah," Amy rubbed her chin, "Maybe we should be on warning.  She's been way too quiet and she did threaten to come back."

 "Maybe--" Serena started but was cut off by a piercing scream.

 Everyone looked at each, and Serena grabbed Mina's arm with an iron grip.  They all looked at each other.

"But who...?"

"Rei!"

 They scrambled up and ran to Rei's room.  "Rei?" Lita called throwing open the door.  She reached over and turned on the light.

 She had to take a step back when Rei jumped right into her arms.  "It was--It was--" she stuttered, then looked at Lita.  Seeing she was in the girl's arms she blushed.  Clearing her throat she stood on her own two feet.  "It was a ghost!"

 "A ghost?" Amy raised an eyebrow.

 "Yeah," Rei said, "You know the transparent floaty things?  It was standing there right next to my bed and it was like all ghost like and it stared at me then it was gone."

 Everyone gave the other a skeptical look as they watched Rei stare at them.  She looked to each of them for support but they all seemed to have their doubts.

 "Maybe you had a dream?" Serena suggested looking around nervously.  She didn't like the thought of ghosts.

 "No, I had just woken up from a dream when I saw it," Rei protested, "I couldn't see it very well because of the canopy." She pointed at her bed, now a mess because of Rei's hurry to get to the door.

 "Hey, your bed's better than mine!" Serena wailed, forgetting for a moment her fear of any potential ghosts.

 "Never mind, I know what I saw," Rei replied stubbornly, starting to glare at the others.

 "Your a psychic," Amy replied, "Shouldn't you be able to sense it's presence?"  She shrugged at Rei, waiting for the answer.

 "I don't know!  I've never dealt with ghosts before," Rei said, "How should I know whether they have a presence or not?"

 "Do you sense any presence at all?" Twiggy asked, rolling her eyes.

 "I don't know!  My powers are kinda groggy.  I think so," she said, but shook her head.  "I can't tell."

 "So does that mean there was someone in your room?" Mina asked, looking at everyone else, "It might not have been a ghost but if someone was here..."

 "Someone couldn't just blink out of existence.  There's no creature in the world that can just disappear without casting some sort of spell," Rei argued.

 "Well, how do you know they didn't?" Lita asked.

 "Because, they didn't even move!" Rei said, "They would have had to move a little to do any spell."

 "True," Twiggy nodded.

 "Maybe it was a piece of your dream," Serena said, "You know, like maybe you woke up and the last thing you saw in your dream was a person, then you just confused yourself."

 "That sounds plausible," Amy told Rei.

 Rei looked at each face which only responded with uncertainty.  "You don't believe me then?" Rei asked, angrily.

 "We believe you," Lita said, "But not in the way you want us to.  You have been a little stressed out and been having weird dreams.  That just sounds a little more likely than you seeing some ghost you've never seen before."

 Rei just let out a little puff of air and folded her arms across her chest.  "Fine.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed."

 "Rei..." Amy started, seeing that Rei was mad at them, "Don't be that way.  We could be wrong! It could have been a ghost!"

 "It could have?" Serena asked, giving Amy a doubtful (and altogether clueless) look. "I really don't--"

 Amy gave her a look and she gasped, covering her mouth.  "Um I... I meant to say that... Sure we believe you..."

 "No, it's fine," Rei said, getting back into bed, "You're right, I am crazy.  Now if you'll turn off the light--"

 "Rei," Mina gave her a hollow eyed look, "Come on."

 "--and shut the door I'll go back to sleep," she finished icily.

 Lita was about to say something but Amy stopped her by shaking her head.  Amy turned off the light and they left the room.

 Why won't they believe me? Rei thought, pulling her blanket over her chin.  Is it really that hard to believe?  They probably think I'm just trying to get attention. But what did I see if it wasn't a ghost?

 She closed her eyes and concentrated.  She felt no presence but her own.  If anything had been there, it was gone now.

 "Hey, Rei!"

 "Grr," she muttered.  Her hair was a little wild and she looked tired as she made her way down the hall.  Lita frowned as she stalked right by her, determined not to say hello.

 "Aw, Rei! Come on! Don't be mad, please?" Lita said, following.  Rei had not shown up at breakfast that morning and didn't seem to be able to talk to anyone anymore.

 "Go away," Rei finally spoke up, "I don't wanna even talk about it."

 "Rei--"

 "Would you leave me alone!" Rei shouted at her.  Lita took a surprised step backwards.  Rei took a deep breath. "I said, I don’t want to talk about it.  That okay?"

 "Well, yeah," Lita said, still surprised, "But you are awfully close to--"

 "Shh!" Rei said and continued to walk.  She turned her head around and ran right smack into the wall.  She fell backwards and felt her vision go double for a second.

 She saw Lita stand over her with a scolding look on her face.  "As I was saying, I just wanted to tell you not to run into the wall."

 "Ow," Rei replied, rubbing her forehead.

 "Maybe you should go back to bed," Lita suggested, "We could take care of anything you have to do this morning."

 "Maybe you're right," Rei said, momentarily forgetting her anger, "but that would look bad.  Princess Rei being covered by the Kingdom’s Guardians?"

 "Well, they would understand if you needed a break, wouldn’t they?" Lita suggested, but didn't sound so sure of herself.

 "No," Rei said, "As a Princess, my breaks have to be pre-scheduled.  Ask Mina, I have no breaks coming to me."

 Lita helped her stand up.  "Hey, wait," Rei looked at her and pulled her arm away, "I’m still mad at you!"

 "Argh!" Lita smacked her forehead, "Get over it will you?"

 "You guys just think I’m a nutcase!" Rei growled, "How do you know what I saw wasn’t a ghost?"

 "We aren’t saying it wasn’t!" Lita growled back in frustration, "We’re just saying that there were a lot of things it could have been."

 "Whatever," Rei threw a hand into the air, "I have to go do Princess stuff." She took the crown that had fallen off her head and put it on, marching away.

 Lita sighed and walked the opposite direction with about as much steam as Rei had.  She rounded the corner looking for anyone else.

 Rei marched right into the throne room and almost into Mina.  "Oh, hello," she said, coldly and sat down in her throne.

 Mina sighed.  "You have the Anniversary Banquet tomorrow, Rei," Mina said, "And--"

 "The Banquet!! I almost forgot!" Rei said, "Aw, Man!  I haven’t even got a speech ready!"  She sighed.   "I’ll just have to do it tonight.  What else?"

 "Er, there’s a ribbon cutting in an hour, then you pay your regular visit to the local orphanage.  After that is the time when you see the people with complaints and then your having lunch with Queen Vennaman from X-Town.  Then your to go to write a congratulations letter to Prince Weston for becoming King, then you have some sort of mysterious meeting."

 Here she raised her eyebrows, looking at Rei.  "An old friend.  Keep going."

 "Then the guards that are standing watch at Faemon Swamp are to come in and report, then you're to visit with Ms. Melani about the decorations for tomorrow’s banquet. Queen Dira wants to have tea and you said yes, so then you have tea. Then the messenger from Abaroh is scheduled to come in to deliver any new news from the King there.  Then another messenger from Sarab comes in.  And the Queen of Amazons, Lita’s mother, is coming in to discuss things with you about Reptopia.  After that you're going to open the restoration of Faemon Swamp, then--"

 Rei sighed as the list went on and on.  It didn’t seem like there was going to be time to write that speech for tomorrow night’s Banquet.  How could she possibly forget it?  It was only the Anniversary of the entire Kingdom of Lizerton.  She sighed again.  She’d have to stay up late tonight.

 Again.

 "I think I know why Rei is always so tired,"  Amy told Lita in Lita’s room.  Lita was pretty much over her own anger and looked at Amy curiously.

 "Really?" Lita asked, "What is it?"

 "I think she’s working too hard, stressing herself out, you know?" Amy petted Sady as the Dragon lay curled up in her lap.  "She has about fifty thousand things to do everyday and she never seems to have enough time to get it all done.  Not to mention, now that Mina's started to handle her scheduling there's almost no room to forget anything.  And Mina told me that she forgot about tomorrow’s Banquet."

 "She forgot the Banquet?" Lita asked, "All we could talk about was our dresses for the past week!  Maybe you're right."

"But I don’t think that explains what she saw last night," Amy continued, "But I also don’t think it was a ghost.  Something strange is going on around here."

 "So what should we do?" Lita asked, "I mean, shouldn’t we figure out what we’re gonna do about it before we say anything? Knowing Rei she'd get mad at us for even suggesting such a thing."

 "Yeah," Amy nodded, "My opinion on it is that if we’re suppose to protect the Kingdom then we have to protect the Kingdom’s Princess, no matter what Rei says."

 "Rei doesn’t strike me as the type who needs protection."

 They jumped and turned to the door.  Twiggy was leaning against the door frame.  "Jeez, don't do that," Amy snapped, "You scared me."

 "Well, then," Twiggy rolled her eyes, "I guess you don't want my help on what's wrong with Rei or something then?"

 "Of course we do," Lita frowned at the cynic that was Twiggy, "Just stop sneaking up on people.  Now what were you saying?"

 "Well, Rei is capable of taking care of herself, even the entire Kingdom... until recently," Twiggy shrugged.

 "So are you saying we should just let her keep running around like a chicken with her head cut off?" Amy asked, scowling at her.  Twiggy was too pessimistic and cold for Amy's taste.

 "Let her deal with it on her own," Twiggy said in a way that suggested that it was simple, "That’s the best way.  Maybe she’ll figure out that she needs to stop stressing and calm down."

 "Was she like this before Reptopia attacked?" Amy asked Lita.  Lita thought about it for a moment.

 She shook her head.  "No.  She always seemed to have some free time.  I don’t know why she’s laying on her duties like this."

 "Maybe she felt that since she was gone for all that time that Lizerton was captured, she has to make up for it," Twiggy looked away like it didn't matter anyway, "So she’s working overtime."

 They looked at her.  "That sounds likely," Amy admitted reluctantly.

 "Glad I could help," Twiggy replied, almost sarcastically, "I’m gonna go eat something."  She flipped her hair then turned around.

 Amy watched as she left and turned to Lita.  "I don’t think I trust her."

 "Twiggy?  Why not?" Lita replied, looking a bit clueless, "She seems a little scary, maybe even morbid, but other than that she’s one of us, isn’t she?"

 "Well," Amy started, "She’s a witch, and most witches wouldn’t fight for a cause like this one.  It’s just not their style."

 "Aren’t their good witches and bad witches?" Lita said, as if to remind Amy.

 "Well, good witches refer to themselves a Wiccans," Amy said, "Twiggy introduced herself as Twiggy the Witch, not a Wiccan."

 "Maybe she’s different," Lita shrugged, "First thing is first though.  What are we going to do about Rei?"

 "Um, well, I guess we should check and make sure her room isn’t really haunted," Amy admitted, "It’s always a possibility.  One of us is going to have a sleepover with her."

 "I think she’s kind of mad at me," Lita scowled, "but I’ll try.  Your room is right next to hers right?"

 "Yeah," Amy nodded, "so if anything happens I’ll be next door."

 "Okay, I’ll talk to her," Lita got up and started to leave, but then turned around, "Where is she?"

 "Mina says that she’s in some meeting with a someone who she won’t tell us who it is," Amy smiled mysteriously, "Rei told her it was an old friend when she asked.  Think it's a boyfriend she's not telling us about or something?"

 "Nah," Lita shook her head, "Oh well, I’ll wait.  What do you wanna do?"

 "Wanna play Airhockey?" Amy asked.

 Serena was walking down the hallways, looking for Mina.  She was chewing on her thumb and looking at the pearly hallways, off in a daydream.  Right about then, she saw Rei come out of a room and shut the door behind her.

 "Hey, Rei!" Serena waved and Rei looked up in surprise.  Serena walked over and gave her a strange look.

 "Serena!  Hey, there," she smiled a bit thinly as she stood in front of the door.  "What are you doing?"

 "I was looking for Mina," Serena said, looking past her at the door, "What’s in the room?  I thought you were meeting with someone."

 "I was," Rei said, "There’s nothing in the room.  Let’s go find Mina, I need to talk to her too." With that Rei pulled Serena away from the door.

 Rei walked into the throne room and Mina was waiting by the throne with a clipboard in her hand.

"Where have you been?" she scolded Rei, "The guards are ready to report, and Ms. Melani is already here."

 "Yeah, yeah," Rei said, and sat in the throne, adjusting her hair.  The guards stood in front of her, ready to deliver the news.  Rei smiled at them and waited.

 One of the guards stepped forward and saluted.  He took a deep breath.  "There has been no change at Faemon Swamp," the guard reported.

 Rei stared at him and her shoulders slumped.  "You sat there and waited for me just to say nothing?"

 The guard was about to reply but a messenger came in and looked around a moment.  She hurried over to the throne and handed a scroll to Mina.  "It’s from Queen Dira.  She wants to know if you can change the tea time to a little later this evening," she read.

 Rei was about to answer when one of the guards from inside the castle poked his head inside of the room.  "Your Highness, may I have a word?"

 Then from the door behind her, Lita came out.  "There you are, I was looking for you.  Hey, Rei?  Can I ask you a question?"

 "We do have something to report about inside of Reptopia," the guard said, hopefully with an unsure shrug.

 "Er, Ms. Melani is still waiting," Mina said quietly.

 Rei looked from each person to the next, her hands in tight fists in her lap.  Suddenly her expression went from confusion to pure rage.  "I can’t take it anymore!!!" she tossed her crown on the ground, "I GIVE UP!!!!!!  No more questions, no more words, no more meetings, or, or reports, or messages!!  Everyone just LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!"

 She shoved past Mina and walked out of the front doors, making them open with her mental powers, rushed down the stairs and out of the castle.  With a loud bang and a wince from all the people inside the throne room, she was gone.

 Everyone was quiet for a moment and each person looked to the other, not sure what to do next.

 "So I guess that means she doesn’t have time?" the guard who had been waiting at the door asked Mina.

 Mina gave the woman a dirty look and she shrugged, turning around and leaving.  Lita, Serena, and Mina all looked at each other.  "What was all that about?" Serena scratched her head and looked at the other two.

The other people started to leave the throne room, realizing there was no reason to hang around.  Lita stamped a foot.

 "I knew she was over doing it," Lita said, "Too much work in too little time.  She finally blew her top."

 "That must have hurt," Serena looked at the ceiling thoughtfully.

 "It’s a figure of speech," Mina growled, "I’m the one who does her schedule.  Maybe I should have told her to leave herself some free time?"

 "It’s not your fault," Lita said,  "If she wasn't up to doing everything on that schedule she should have said so.  And besides, she needs to learn to relax a little anyway or she'll die of a heart attack before she's twenty."  She sighed.

 "I’ll go find her," Serena offered, "She couldn’t have gone far.  Besides, Scouts are good at stuff like this!"  She saluted with a smile.

 "Okay," Lita nodded, "In the mean time, I’ll talk to Ms. Melani.  Ms. Messenger?  Tell the Queen we regret to say that the tea’s canceled."

 The Messenger nodded and left.  "I’ll go find Amy.  If Rei hasn't written a speech, she won’t now.  Amy’s pretty good, so maybe she won’t mind doing it.  Mina you stay here and wait for the messengers and make sure you can repeat the news to Rei when she gets the chance."

 "What about me?’  Twiggy was at the door again.  Lita squeaked in surprise and whirled around on Twiggy.

 "Would you quite doing that?" Lita said, "Er, maybe you should try and see if you can figure out if there is any spirits in Rei’s room.  Your magic does that right?"

 "Of course," Twiggy replied carelessly and turned around, walking away.

 "And I’ll talk to my mom when she gets here," Lita lifting her arms and dropping them again cheerfully,  "Easy as pie right?"

 "Right," Mina said, uncertainly, picking up Rei’s crown. "I have a couple of hours before those messengers come in and Rei forgot to get a proper dress for the Banquet.  I’ll go get her one."

 "Cool!" Serena cried, "I’ll see you guys in a little while."

Rei stomped all the way to the forest and then stomped all the way to the clearing where a stone cross sat in front of a broken church.  She had discovered the broken and moss-covered church when she was little, it's walls long since deteriorated and it's inside exposed to the weather outside.  A few pews still lined the walls and the platform was cleared.

She sat down on one of the pews and rubbed her temples.

 Are these guys crazy?  Do they think I have all the time in the world to solve all of their problems?  I don’t have enough time to solve my problems, why would I know how to solve theirs?

 She stared out at the forest through the broken down wall of the church.  Two of the four walls were missing and she could see out on either side of her.

 I’m not the one with all the answers.  I’m not even suppose to be a Queen until I turn eighteen or I get married.  I’m just not old enough.  I’m still jumping at bad dreams--

 She gasped as she heard something rustling on the other side of her and whirled her head around to look.  She looked suspiciously to the right and left.  She didn’t see anything but trees, yet something seemed wrong.  Like something had changed, but nothing out of the ordinary came within her line of vision.

 She stood up and walked slowly to that side of the church, looking around for an animal of any kind that could have made that noise.  Rei placed her head outside the wall and looked around on either side, seeing nothing.  She leaned back in, scratching her head.

 "Rei?"

 "AHH!" Rei jumped and tripped over the wall, falling over it and banging her chin. "Ow."  She flipped over and saw Serena standing over her.  Serena jumped when Rei screamed and gave her a strange look.

 "You okay?   Your lip’s bleeding," Serena asked, pointing.

 Rei ran her tongue over her lips and felt a small sting at where her lip had split, tasting blood.  "Yeah, I’m okay.  How’d you find me?"

 "I just asked if anyone had seen a very angry Princess walk by and they told me what direction you went," Serena said, helping her up, "Are you sure your okay?"

 "I’m all stressed out and I think it’s effecting my natural charm," Rei admitted through gritted teeth, casting a look over her shoulder.

 "Where you looking for something a second ago?" Serena asked, referring to her looking out the side.
 "Naw, just thought I heard something," Rei gave one last look behind her, "So I guess everyone is running around like crazy back at the castle?"

 "Wow, your really vain if you think we can’t get along without you.  I think Lita got it back under control.  Your not the only good Princess," Serena told her with a teasing tone in her voice, "So why have you been trying to get so much done in such a short time?"

 "I don’t know," Rei's shoulders slumped and she looked at the ground, "I guess I feel kind of guilty for letting this place get taken over.  It couldn’t have been a very fun four weeks for everyone here."

 "As if you could have stopped Reptopia," Serena reminded her, "Your only one person against them.  I don’t know how they managed to get you in the first place, but we got you out and everyone is happy again."

"I still feel like I let them down," Rei shrugged, having a seat on one of the pews.  Serena sauntered over and sat next to her.

 "You didn’t, though," Serena looked her in the eye, "No one can expect you to be anything more than human."

 Rei blinked at her.

 "What?" Serena asked, looking down to make sure there wasn’t anything on her shirt, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

 "You just--" Rei shook her head, "Never mind.  I just didn’t think a french-fry head like you could be so incredibly smart."

 "Me either," Serena said, laughing, "Hey wait a minute!  What do you mean "french-fry head?!'"

 "Well your hair, the way it's curled and their color," Rei pointed at the ponytails, "They reminded me of french-fries."

 "Ponytails," Serena said flatly.

"They look like french-fries to me," Rei shrugged, just trying to be honest, but amused by Serena's response all the same.

 "It doesn’t matter what they look like to you!" Serena touched her hair sensitively, "This is a very fashionable style."  She folded her arms in finality.

 "Do all scouts wear their hair like that?" Rei asked after a moment.

 "And if they do?" Serena said, squinting at her.

 "I feel sorry for all those french-fry heads!"

 "Bye Mom!" Lita called, waving, and turned to Mina, "Okay matters with my mom have been discussed.  What’s next?"

 "That’s everything," Mina put a final check on her clipboard, "Before schedule too.  When Amy gets back from opening the Faemon Swamp Restoration Opening, we’ll be all done."

 Lita yawned.  "What time is it anyway?"

 "10:00," Mina said, yawning also, putting her clipboard away, "Hey, don’t you know those things are contagious?"

 "Well, aware," Lita yawned again, "I guess we should check up on Twiggy." She departed and walked down the hall into Rei’s room.

 Inside, Twiggy was gathering up some candles and other objects.  "So?" Lita asked her, leaning against the doorway.  Twiggy didn’t even look up.

 "No ghosts unless it’s a moving ghost," Twiggy shook her head, "I doubt that though.  I’m not sure what Rei saw, but it wasn’t a ghost."

 "Anyone home?" Amy yelled from the hallway and Lita leaned out.

 "Hey, Amy!" she called, "We’re all finished!  And Rei complains about having to do all this!  We’re finished before eleven."

 "This is a lot to do for one person," Amy explained, and yawned.  They made their way to the throne room.

 "Yeah, I guess so," Lita said still yawning.  She tossed herself into Rei’s throne and rubbed one eye.  She moved back so Amy could sit on the area in front of her.

 Mina and Twiggy both collapsed into the seats around the throne and blinked in a manner that suggested fatigue.  Everyone was wiped out.  "Wonder when Rei and Serena are coming back?" Mina asked.

 Lita shrugged with a small smile on her face.  "I think Serena planned on doing more than finding her..."

 Rei and Serena walked into the throne room at about 11:00, giggling.  They had gone shopping and been to the year-round carnival, a carnival that never closed, and something Rei hadn’t done in a long time.  Serena was holding a stuffed rabbit she had won at a booth and Rei had some cotton candy.

 They made it into the throne room looking for the others.  Rei looked up at the darkened room and laughed.  "Maybe being a Princess wasn’t as easy as they thought," Rei grinned, putting her hands on her hips.

 All five of them (including Sady) were asleep.  Lita and Amy were leaning against each other, Sady in Amy’s lap, and Mina lay across the chairs.  Twiggy leaned against the throne.

 "I’ll get them to bed," Serena shook her head, "Why don’t you head that way?"

 "Yes, ma’am," Rei saluted and walked into the hallway to her room.  She walked inside and got ready for bed, still smiling about her night out.  She yawned and opened the canopy of her bed, then gasped.

On her bed was a sparkling red banquet gown, sleeveless with a tall turtle neck.  Next to that was a roll of parchment with a small note pinned to it.

 The note read:
 

  We thought you could use a little help with tomorrow’s banquet so we got your dress (Mina says she hopes you like it!) and I wrote a speech for you, in case you need it.  Next time try not to make us do all the work, though!
       -Amy
 

 Rei smiled as she read the note.  She picked up the dress and held it up.  The skirt reached her ankles, and it sparkled as she moved it into the light.

 "Pretty isn’t it?"

 Rei turned around and saw Lita standing in the door.  "Oh hey, Lita.  Hey, I’m sorry I yelled at you earlier today."

 "That’s okay," Lita smiled, "Twiggy checked your room and says it’s spirit free, but I’m going to spend the night here to make sure it isn’t anything else."

 "You don’t have to," Rei blushed a little, "I can take care of it.  I mean, maybe it was silly of me to have made such a fuss anyhow."

 "I will anyway," Lita said, "I just talked about political relations with my mother, I think I can handle spending the night with you."

 Rei laughed.  "I’ll have to-- what’s that?"

 "Huh?" Lita looked down and saw what Rei saw.  It was a small brown mouse, scurrying towards the door.  Lita shut the door before it could escape, and jumped back as it came closer.

 "Your scared of a mouse?" Rei asked, as the mouse switched it’s course, scared and running the other way.

 "Er," Lita tried to relax as she watched it run to hide behind the dresser, "No.  Just startled.  That's all."

 "Hmm," Rei closed her eyes, "I feel another presence in this room.  You don’t think that the mouse--?"

 "What do you mean?" Lita turned to her with a look of confusion, "Your the psychic not me."

 "Okay, Mr. Mouse, who are you really?" Rei said loudly stepping forward and looking for all the world like she was addressing a dresser.

 "Rei?" Lita looked at her as if she was crazy, "Are you okay?  Serena didn’t make you fall on your head did she?"

 Rei held up a finger.  "Actually she did but that's not the point.  Come out or we’ll hunt you down."

 The mouse peeked out from behind the dresser.  "Okay, fine, but you can’t get mad or anything," it said.

 "A talking mouse?!" Lita asked, looking down at the rodent in shock.  She took a step back and sat down on a nearby chair.

 Then the mouse quickly began to change shape until before them stood a girl, not very tall but with a pretty face and curly black hair to her waist.  Her brown eyes twinkled with mischief and she gave them a look that suggested she wasn't afraid.

 "A shapeshifter," Rei told the confused Lita, smiling in a smug way at the strange girl in front of them.

 "Yeah terribly sorry about that," the girl shrugged innocently, "Sorry to bother you.  I’ll be going now."  She stepped towards the door and Lita, still dazed, gave a small wave goodbye.

 "Wait," Rei stood in front of her and folded her arms across her chest, "Who are you and why have you been stalking me?  You were the ghost weren’t you?"

 The girl sighed.  "My name is Hotaru the Shapeshifter.  I came here with my boyfriend even though he didn’t know it.  You know him.  Brent the Messenger?"

 "Your Brent’s Girlfriend?" Rei asked, now a little confused herself.  What did Brent have to do with any of this?

 She nodded.  "He’s always talking about what a cool Princess you were and stuff, I thought that maybe you two were--"

 "You thought he was cheating on you," Lita finished for her and Rei's face turned a little red from the thought.

 Hotaru nodded.  "But once I figured out that you two weren’t interested, or at least you weren’t, I decided to stay out of curiosity.  I've been having a lot of fun spying on you guys you know.  I must say it has been entertaining."

 "So you were my ghost?" Rei gave her a narrow look, feeling a little tricked and silly now that the truth had come out.

 "Uh huh, I didn't mean to be but you saw me when I was in my normal form.  I had to change so you wouldn't see me," Hotaru admitted, "I also attracted some attention in the forest, so I disguised myself as a tree.  I'd say it worked well, wouldn't you?"

 "I knew something wasn't quite right about those noises," Rei declared, "I must have sensed you nearby."

 "Imagine me trying not to laugh when you fell flat on your face," Hotaru grinned, "I guess I kinda spooked you, huh?"

 "Maybe a little," Rei muttered, "I guess I can’t blame you.  My life has been so soap opera lately...  So what would you have me do now?"

 "Do?" Hotaru asked nervously.

 "Well, you only caused a small uproar," Rei continued, winking at Lita when Hotaru wasn't looking, "I'm afraid I'll have to do something..."

 "Look, I really am sorry, but no harm no foul, am I right?" Hotaru said persuasively, "It won't happen again, I swear."

 Rei studied her for a moment.  "I'll let it go," she waved her hand in indifference, "but next time you won't be so lucky.  So, unless you'd like to stay..."

 "Actually..." Hotaru held up a finger and Rei raised an eyebrow.  "Uh, you know, all of you guys in this castle, protecting the place and everything, seems kind of fun."

 "Fun?" Lita smiled at Rei.

 "Well you know what I mean," Hotaru looked at the floor sheepishly, "Just... entertaining in some ways.  Interesting, that's the word."

 "Wanna join?" Rei asked.

 "Could I?"

 "But don’t you live in X-Town?" Lita asked.

"All this time I spent spying, I know the situation," Hotaru pointed out as if Lita should have known, "It's only until there's not a threat to Lizerton and that couldn't be too far from now am I right?  If you want to know the truth I'm bored and I don't want to go home."

 "Tell you what," Rei said, "Come to tomorrow’s Banquet, then I’ll consider."

 "Okay!" Hotaru readily agreed.

 "You'll need a room for the night I suppose," Rei said and beckoned her forth, "come on, I'll find you one."

 Rei showed her to a room nearby and Hotaru thanked her in a way that suggested a bit of impertinence.  Oh well, she meant well.

 "Well, I guess that takes care of that!" Rei told Lita.

 Lita just nodded.  Suddenly she let out a yawn.  "Now I think it's time for bed.  I'm exhausted."

 "Maybe you're right," Rei said, "See you tomorrow."

 "Night!" Lita called walking down the hall.

 "Good night!" Rei called back, then paused for an unsure moment.  "I hope."  With that she went to her room, ready to sleep.

 The night of the Banquet everyone was running around in sort of a panic.  Rei was trying to get away from the royal hairdresser and make-up artist, not wanting to do anything with either.  Mina was making sure that all the food and preparations were good, while Lita was making sure the decorations were just right.  Amy was trying to keep Sady from chewing on her bows that she had tied around her neck and keep her from flying around the room.  Serena was constantly looking in the mirror, making sure she looked perfect.

 In the end, everything seemed to go perfectly and there was a quiet, but fun celebration going.  Rei had sent Hotaru and Mina to get Hotaru a dress, Rei’s treat, and Hotaru seemed to blend in very well with the Lizertonian crowd.  The Anniversary Banquet was held in the Castle ballroom and Rei was preparing to make her speech.

 She stood out of view at a small balcony where she was to make her speech.  Lita stood back there with her offering some advice.

"Okay, now don’t worry about it," Lita said, patting her on the back with some encouragement, "just go out there and give it your all."

 Rei stared at her a moment.  She had only been doing this for a few years now... "Duh," Rei rolled her eyes, "I’ve done this before."

 Lita made an okay sign and left, joining the rest of the crowd.  Rei waited for the guard to announce her and she walked out.  She saw several important figures of Lizerton standing out in the crowd, dressed to kill.  They stood on blue tiles and the white walls were draped with cloth and tapestries of all kinds.

 She took a breath.  "Lizerton.  A kingdom renown over the world for more than one reason.  It's market, the carnival, it's beauty, it's castle, even it's princess.  Year after year, people from all over migrate here to enjoy what it has to offer to them, and they accept it gladly, but I don't think that it's any of these things that makes Lizerton what it is.  Lizerton is a place of opportunity for those who haven't heard it's knock, a haven for those who can't find refuge, a place of comfort where everyone else has turned a shoulder.  Lizerton is a place where those who have no place to go come."

 "I didn't write that," Amy muttered, giving Mina a strange look.

 "You know, I got really busy trying to do way too much in one day because I felt as though I had let this kingdom down.  I realized how wrong I was when a friend told me otherwise.  It feels really great to be the Princess of a kingdom that trusts me with so much, and I promise that I will do my best to keep that trust.  I hope none of you will ever doubt that this Kingdom means a lot to me and I’m proud to say I’m the Princess here."

 Here Rei looked over at the other girls, smiling at them.  They all waved back, Hotaru standing a bit to the side but enjoying herself all the same.  Rei nodded at them and held up a glass.

 "So I’d like to make a toast to--"

 Rei cut off as there was a huge crash in the back of the ballroom.  The wall blew inward and a few people screamed and ran as the debris flew at them.  Rubble landed on the ground, making cracks in the porcelain tiles.  The room became a madhouse as everyone scrambled for safety.  The room emptied quickly, leaving no one but Rei and her friends staring at the broken wall.

 "What tha?" Rei heaved herself over the rim of the balcony and landed gracefully on the ground, staring through the dust to see who had dared to trifle with her kingdom.

 "Good day Princess."

 The dust began to fade, and standing at the forced entrance was a green haired boy with pieces of his hair sticking straight up.  He smiled cruelly at them, smug and confident.

 "Who invited Alfalfa?" Lita asked suddenly.

 "Alfalfa?!"  the boy cried in outrage, seeming surprised at the minor reaction from the warriors, "My name is Valerie, and don’t forget it!"

 "What do you want?" Rei growled.  Her temper was slipping.  He broke down a wall of her castle and he got to be insulted?  Where was the justice in that?

 "I’m Prince of Evilopolis and my father wants your head!" he cried, pointing right at Rei, "Isn’t that right father?"

 "Yes I believe that’s correct," came a low voice from the night.  Two glowing red eyes opened as a huge man, whose face was completely obscured by a mask, stepped over the debris.  The sound of his cloak swishing against the floor was the only sound.  Unlike his son, his appearance was intimidating and altogether nightmarish.

 "No," Rei whispered going from angry to frightened.  Amy looked over her shoulder at her.  A look of recognition fleeted over her expression.

 "Hello, Miss Rei," Queen Brashear appeared behind him.  "Look at my new ally.  Bet you never expected this one."

 "Who is this guy?" Amy called to Rei, but Rei just shook her head it utter disbelief.

 "This is impossible... My father... He... This isn't possible," Rei shook her head, "How dare you show your face here Creton!  You should know better!"

 "I’m flattered you remembered my name," Creton said, and put out a hand.  A small clear ball erupted from his palm and flew at Rei.  She let out a cry as the ball went towards her at breakneck speed.  She couldn’t stop it and she was knocked back.

 "Rei!" Amy cried as Rei slammed into the next wall and fell limp.  Amy turned around and looked to her dragon. "Sady!!"

 Sady didn't hesitate in growing ten times her original size.  She snarled at Creton from high above his head.  She stretched out her leathery wings and roared.

 "Is that it?" Creton smiled.

 But then Sady’s twin appeared next to her.  Amy stared for a moment and realized it was Hotaru the Shapeshifter.

 "Impressive," Creton said and shot two spheres at them.  They were direct hits, and the dragons winced backwards, falling over.  Everyone gaped.  How was it possible this man could take down a dragon in one blow, not to mention two?

 But then a huge red ball hit Creton.

 "Who?!" he cried angrily, his cloak swirling around him.  His gaze fell into one spot where Twiggy scowled at him.

 "I suggest you leave," Twiggy said, holding out her wand.  "And I suggest you do it now, before you get hurt."

 The dragons began to stand and prepare to fight again.  Amy wasn't sure which was Hotaru and which was Sady but she was certain both were angry.

 "If you think--"

 Then a huge blue bubble flew at him and knocked him back another step.  He looked in the back and saw Rei standing up.  "GET OUT!!" she screamed.  She pulled her hand back and fired out another which sent Creton flying back through the hole he had originally come from.  The others stared.

 "I only wanted to make my presence known, from one ruler to another," Creton said, stepping forward, unhurt.  "I cannot punish your father for his trespasses against me, but you will suffer for his mistakes, my dear Princess."

 He raised a gloved hand and disappeared, along with Valerie and Brashear.  A blast of black smoke shot forward and they tried to see past it to make sure he was gone.

 "A cheap magician's trick," Twiggy growled as the smoke dissipated.  They paused for a long time and searched each corner.

 Then they all turned and ran to Rei.  They surrounded her and Rei looked at each of them in the eye, her expression dead serious.

 "Who was that psycho?" Twiggy asked her, but before Rei could answer, she stumbled and fell backwards.  Surprised Twiggy grabbed for her arm and helped her gently to the ground.

 "It was Creton," Rei muttered, wincing and clutching her arm as though it hurt.  Everyone looked at her.

 "Who?" Lita finally asked and Rei stared at her.  She shook her head, in pain from the attack.

 "We’re in trouble," she said, looking at each of them seriously.

We're in trouble? What kind of trouble? Uh oh... Chapter 3