DECEMBER 25, 2008

Twenty-year-old Vera Mod sat on a sofa in a long hall. She would grin if she held Hailey.

The royal baby had been born when the morning light still touched the royal palace, but Vera hadn't met her. Beautiful moonlight bathed the home. And Vera waited. She could go to a bed and sleep, but she remained on the sofa. The Watcher drummed her fingers against its blue softness.

Standing, Soynite High Boris Endman crossed his arms. He was six and a half feet tall. Nick Majestic rested on the sofa near him. The young boy lay on his side, and kept his blue eyes closed, asleep. Like Vera, he had a female Watcher. His mother had birthed two girls.

If Theo and Lilly had a fourth child, would the kid be a boy or a girl?

"Nova has a good home," Boris said. The ceiling light covered him with illumination. The hall lacked windows. "Hailey has one, too. It's wonderful that this child isn't going to be sent away. I'm grateful Theo refused to let that happen."

"He's great," Vera said. "He's never going to leave us."

"And none of us are going to leave him."

Vera smiled.

Boris placed a wrinkled hand on his chest.

"I'm going to be here to see Nick, Nova, and Hailey grow up," he said. "And if Theo and Lilly produce another child, we will keep them. No more babies are going to be sent away."

He rubbed his neck, then bowed his head.

"I wish Alice could meet Hailey," he said.

Someone had taken his only grandchild. People with the same power as Vera had searched for Alice Endman, but those Bloodhounds had failed to return to Soy with a baby. Children and grandchildren of Highs were royals, which meant Alice was one.

"It's all right," Vera said. "We're going to find your granddaughter."

Boris lifted his head. "You do so much for all of us, Vera. Thank you. Hailey has a wonderful mentor. That much is obvious."

"You're welcome."

She hadn't seen Hailey, but at least she could speak with Boris.

As Nick turned in his sleep, the clock on the wall ticked. It ticked as Boris and Vera waited. It ticked as Soy remained safe.

"Here she is," a voice announced.

Theo Majestic.

Vera's heart pounded. She smiled, which Theo had made her do many times. He carried a baby, the girl wrapped in a blue blanket.

Hailey Majestic.

Vera stood. Lilly's pregnancy had ended, and Theo held their baby.

"Boris, wake up Nick," he said. "Vera, do you want to hold Hailey?"

"Of course," Vera said.

She walked on the blue carpet, moving toward Theo. She came close to him. He gave her Hailey.

"Hello, little one," Vera said. She grinned. Hailey watched her. She had been apart from the newborn for too long. "I love you already."

When Nick was awake and close, he said, "Sister."

He stared at Hailey. Vera, Theo, and Boris did the same. They smiled.

DECEMBER 25, 2015

Theo and Lilly had left, but seven-year-old Hailey Majestic hadn't. And it had become Vera's duty to take care of her.

Vera had been born on February 20, 1988.

She was twenty-seven years old. She had been forced to attend a Watcher academy after graduating high school. All Watchers had been babies. When they were babies, the Soynite government had wanted them to become Watchers. And Vera had become one.

As Hailey ran in the huge room, her blue socks slapped against the floor. She carried a doll Vera had gifted to her earlier. They celebrated the young Majestic's seventh birthday. Theo and Lilly hadn't come to attend the two-person party.

Vera stood near the door. When Theo fought Boris, Soy's lifeless soil had been underneath her. She had lived on that planet, but she had never resided at the Soynite royal palace. Maybe she never would.

Like Hailey, Vera wore a white shirt with long sleeves, blue pants, and blue socks.

Hailey ran toward a blanket on the floor, and light touched her blonde hair, which Vera had kissed many times in the past.

A blue Y-shaped slingshot lay near the blanket. So did a small ball and ten empty cans Hailey had knocked over. She had used the slingshot to strike them with the ball. That had been target practice. Vera had made Hailey shoot ten harmless targets with a ball. One day the girl would have to shoot dangerous Freeman targets with lasers.

Vera hadn't seen any of Hailey's siblings in years.

Summer Locket had taken Anne. When that Watcher took the youngest Majestic, she had been a baby. If Anne hadn't died, she should be able to speak. But Vera couldn't hear her talk. For years, Hailey had been the only Majestic Vera could speak with.

Lilly and Nick had left, and Theo had still been around when it happened. He had lost his wife and his son. Before losing Lilly and Nick, Theo had lost Anne.

Someone knocked on the window three times.

Hailey didn't stop running, so Vera assumed she hadn't heard the knocks. The Bloodhound turned to the window.

A woman stood behind it.

She didn't have pale skin. Neither did the boy beside her. They had blond hair. Like Vera, the woman was thin. The boy focused on Hailey, a girl who shared a mother and father with him. The boy and Hailey had been separated for too long.

Lilly and Nick had come to the space station. They had returned, but Theo hadn't.

Did Lilly know her husband hadn't been home in years? Did Nick know he might not embrace his father today?

After exiting the room, Vera shut the door. Hailey kneeled on the blanket in the recreation room. She couldn't see the window, Vera, her mother, or her brother.

Lilly and Nick wore black clothes, and they donned their Soynite pendants.

Nick had turned eleven on the first of January. He had gotten taller and older.

"Vera!" he said.

Nick smiled, and put his arms around the woman. She hugged him back, then shut her eyes. Vera embraced a kid she hadn't seen in too long. She grinned.

"Nick," Vera said. "I missed you."

The hug ended.

"It's nice to see you again, Vera," Lilly said.

She opened her arms. She had abandoned her husband, Hailey, and Vera.

Vera aimed her palm at Lilly. "I'm not going to hug you. And I need you and Nick to move away from the window."

Lilly and Nick obeyed Vera. She moved closer to Lilly. Vera hadn't embraced her, and Lilly couldn't hug Theo. Neither could Vera. She couldn't hear Theo's voice, see his smile, or touch him.

"Theo is gone," Vera said. "He left, just like you did. I haven't seen him in years, and I spent that time raising your daughter."

Vera used to bathe Hailey when she was younger. Vera had trained her. Vera had been distant from Lilly for years, but she had raised the other woman's child.

Lilly bowed her head.

"I was really looking forward to seeing him," she said. She looked at Hailey through the glass, a loved one she could see.

"My father is gone?" Nick said. He scowled. "He's gone?! Did the Freemans take him? Did you see them capture him? Why didn't you look for him? You're a Bloodhound. You could have found him."

He clenched his fists.

Did he have a Save? His father could move objects and people with his mind, turn intangible, and fire lasers from his eyes. He had other powers.

Vera hoped Nick would never be restrained and powerless inside a space station, but bad things had happened, and they would happen again.

"Relax, Nick," Lilly said. She placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're going to release your anger on our guests, baby."

"What guests?" Vera asked.

"Go to the hangar," Lilly said. "Then meet me outside my spaceship. It's the same one me and Nick left in. Tell Hailey to take a nap, though. After that, come see me. Let's go, Nick."

Lilly and Nick moved toward the door at the hall's end.

What guests?

Vera would rather be inside that recreation room with Hailey, celebrating her seventh birthday and being a good Watcher to her. But Lilly had come. And she hadn't elaborated about the guests.

Vera rubbed her forehead, as if the gesture would get rid of her frustration.

After going closer to Hailey, Vera kneeled beside her on the blanket. She caressed Hailey's blonde hair as she played with the doll. The kneeling kid didn't know her mother and brother had returned home.

"Go to sleep, Hailey," Vera said. She tapped the blanket twice. "Right here."

Hailey put the doll down before removing her pendant. She moved onto her side, then closed her eyes.

"Sleep well, little one," Vera said. She kissed Hailey's cheek. The girl hadn't complained. She hadn't asked questions. Good. "I'm going to be back. I just need you to sleep right now."

Vera went to the hangar.

Its blue walls stood taller than her and the spaceships parked inside it. The hangar dwarfed the room she had left Hailey in. Soynite spaceships formed rows in the space, and the light glowed against them. Huge windows stood in the walls. An airlock bordered the hangar.

Would Vera reunite with Theo inside a room as massive as this one?

She used her power to find Lilly Majestic.

Lilly stood near a spaceship. She held a notepad and a pen. She waved at Vera, but Vera didn't wave back.

She approached Lilly. "Where's Nick?"

"He's inside," Lilly said. She tapped her pen against the spaceship's metal. "He's already with our guests. Let's join them."

Lilly opened the spaceship's door, then she and Vera moved into it. They walked through several halls, taking steps beside each other, like they used to do inside the Soynite royal palace.

Vera and Lilly found Nick in a room with two chairs, ropes, and the two shirtless guests.

The chairs faced away from each other. So did their occupants. The chairs stood six feet apart, and ropes restrained the men sitting on them. They had black hair, unlike the Majestics Vera knew and loved. The light cloaked the restrained men's white-as-snow skin.

Foul Freemans.

"These two are Lock Tannis's warriors," Lilly said. "I knew there was a chance we wouldn't be able to get your help, Vera. Me and Nick didn't know if you were still alive or not. We don't just want to find Theo. We also want information, and these two Freemans are going to give us some."

Nick gripped a red dagger, touching its black handle. He glared.

"If the two of you don't cooperate, I will hurt you with a weapon other Freemans made," he said. "I'll also enjoy it. I need you to answer my questions. And you will nod or shake your head. If you don't know the answer to a question, you will open your mouth."

Lilly smirked. "If you don't cooperate, my boy will make you suffer."

Had Nick tortured Freemans before?

The ones on the chairs couldn't attack. Neither of them could take Nick's dagger and stab Vera's breasts before stabbing her heart.

The two Freemans sat in a windowless room, unable to escape. Vera smiled.

Nick went near the Freeman closest to him. The enemy sneered.

"Do you know where Theo Majestic is?" Nick said, speaking Freeman. "If you give me a verbal response, I will cut you. Answer my question by shaking your head. Or nodding it. If you don't know the answer, open your mouth. Now, I'm going to repeat the question, and it should have a yes or no answer. Do you know where Theo Majestic is?"

The Freeman glared.

Nick slashed his face, ripping into it with the red blade.

"Answer my question!" he shouted.

Blood emerged from the big gash on the Freeman's face. He trembled.

"Do you know where Theo Majestic is?" Nick said.

The Freeman shook his head.

Had he lied?

Vera could see the past and the future, but she couldn't read minds. The Majestic family would have an easier time getting information if they had a telepathic friend.

"Okay," Nick said. "It's time for me to ask the other guest."

He approached the unharmed guest.

"Do you know where Theo Majestic is?" Nick said. The Freeman shook his head. "Okay. You don't know, either."

Maybe Theo didn't dwell in a Freeman base. If Freemans didn't hold him captive, and if he hadn't died, did that mean he could return home? If he lived as a free man, what was his reason for not coming back to the space station? Did he want to see Vera and Hailey again?

Nick scowled at the unscathed Freeman, as if he had told the boy he would never find his father.

"They don't know where Father is, Mother," he said, speaking Soynite.

"It's okay," Lilly told her son. "You're doing well, my sweet boy."

Lilly wrote on her notepad's page. One guest bled and the other didn't, but neither Freeman warrior could flee. Good.

"Do you know where Anne Majestic is?" Nick said, speaking Freeman. The captive shook his head.

Nick went closer to the bleeding guest.

"Do you know where Anne Majestic is?" the boy asked.

The Freeman shook his head. Maybe he had murdered innocent Soynites, but he couldn't kill Vera. She could hurt him soon.

"I want to talk to the Freemans," Vera said. "Let me ask them some questions."

"Sure," Lilly said. "Nick, give the dagger to Vera."

Nick obeyed. Afterward, he approached the wall, and leaned against it. Blood dripped off the blade like water from a melting icicle.

Armed, Vera approached the Freeman the red warmth belonged to.

"Remember, open your mouth if you don't know the answer," she said, speaking the captive's native language. "Non-verbal communication only. Is Theo Majestic dead?"

The Freeman opened his mouth.

"Your friend better give me that same response," Vera said.

She approached the unharmed Freeman.

"Is Theo Majestic dead?" Vera asked.

The Freeman opened his mouth.

"I'm losing my patience," Lilly said, speaking Freeman. "If you two Freemans don't tell us anything valuable, I will make my friend Vera give each of you a slow death. If you don't want that to happen, I suggest you speak. Talk!"

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Vera had refused to hug Lilly, yet the blonde woman had called the Bloodhound her friend. Vera almost smiled.

"Talk!" she demanded.

Vera slashed the unharmed Freeman's arm. He shouted, and she smiled. Blood descended his skin. Vera's parents hadn't survived Soy's invasion, and these two Freemans would torture Vera, Lilly, and Nick if they could. The pale guests deserved to suffer.

"If both of you keep being fools, you will suffer a lot more than you're suffering now!" Vera said. "Talk."

"Blind!" yelled a Freeman, the one Nick had sliced.

The guest's blood dripped off the dagger and landed on the floor. He had said a word. He had lost blood, but not his ability to speak.

"She's blind!" he said. "One of the Highs."

A blind High. Maybe a Freeman had gouged out her eyeballs.

"No," Lilly whispered, speaking Soynite.

She shook her head.

"Which one?!" she said, speaking Freeman as she glared. "Which one?"

"The girl with the orange hair," the guest said. "Her eyes are useless."

After Lilly let out a relieved sigh, she wrote.

The Freeman smiled. Knowing a Soynite had been blinded gave him joy. Vera strangled the desire to slash him.

She had seen a photograph showing the orange-haired High, and that child's first and last name had been written on the picture's back side.

"That Soynite won't be a threat to Great Leader Lock Tannis," the Freeman said.

He grinned.

"What's your name?" Vera said.

The Freeman bled. "Zale Kin."

Would Lilly let Vera kill this foul man? The dagger could turn him into smoke.

Lilly wrote.

"Okay," she said. "That's enough questions. This interrogation is over. Vera, kill these disgusting Freemans."

Vera smiled. "Bye, Zale."

She slipped the dagger into Zale's broad chest, and the blade pierced his heart. It would stop beating. Soon.

Nick smiled.

The other Freeman stayed in his chair, unable to escape. His heart beat, but Vera would change that.

"Bye, Freeman," she said.

She approached him while he struggled against his restraints. Vera used the red dagger.

No one could use the Soynite internet anymore, or Soynite communication devices. The Freemans had ruined so much.

The dead Freemans had served Lock, but he hadn't saved them from Vera Mod.

She went to the spot beside Lilly, who stood next to Nick. Lifeless, the Freemans changed into smoke. So did the blood decorating the dagger.

Nick had smiled. Hailey would've sobbed if she had seen Vera torturing a Freeman, but her brother hated Free's people. Wherever the blind High lived, Vera hoped she hated Freemans as much as Nick did.

When the three Soynites stood outside the spaceship, Vera sighed.

She looked at the dagger's flat side. If the orange-haired High were in the hangar, she wouldn't see the weapon.

A blind Soynite couldn't kill Freemans with ease. One High couldn't be a great warrior who would help her people win the war against Lock Tannis.

Vera would have to train Hailey harder.

"That Freeman told us information he probably hoped would discourage us," the Watcher said. She put a hand on the spaceship. "What use is a blind High? She can't be a soldier."

Lilly had left her notepad and pen inside the spacecraft. Vera had read what she had written.

"I know," Lilly said. "But my husband made those children into what they are. They're our rulers. And we need to help them. One of the Highs is blind, and we have to make life easier for her. And we will. We're also going to find my daughter. We're going to find both of my daughters. We're going to find Nova and Anne."

Hailey's mother and brother had captured two Freeman warriors. It seemed as if Lilly and Nick had decided to take the fight to the Freemans. Hailey had never fired a gun. She didn't have Saves, and she was seven. Vera would be a fool if she let the powerless Hailey go with them. Summer had shot Theo, then she had taken Anne. And if she saw Hailey again, she might kill her.

"Summer is dangerous," Vera said. Nick eyed the dagger. Maybe he fantasized about slaughtering Freemans, or maybe he thought about killing the woman who had kidnapped his sister. "I saw what she did to Theo when Freemans were attacking the royal palace. She's a dangerous Watcher. A very dangerous one, Lilly. I won't look for Anne, and I won't look for Nova. Hailey isn't ready to leave this space station."

Vera had never lived at the Soynite royal palace, but she had encountered Freemans inside that home. Before today she had never seen any inside the space station.

The Watcher pointed at a wall. "It's too dangerous out there."

Free remained beyond the home. So did the warriors who dwelled on that planet.

"She's safer with me," Vera said. "Freemans might find this place, and I can protect Hailey better than you and Nick can, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. As for Anne, she's safer with Summer. You were fine with letting her keep Anne, remember?"

"I was letting myself be a fool," Lilly said. "I abandoned Anne. And I abandoned Nova, too. I let other people keep them, because I thought it would protect them. The truth is that I can keep my babies safe. I always could. I never should've given up Nova, and I never should've let Summer keep Anne."

"Summer is dangerous."

"Vera, if you're afraid of that terrible woman, don't be. I'm not scared of Summer. Neither am I afraid of Lock Tannis."

Vera shook her head. "I'm not scared of Summer, either. I just think we should be smart. Summer is deadly."

"Deadly people can get killed," Lilly said. "I'm not going to let that awful Watcher keep my youngest. I'm going to get her back."

"If I could, I would find Anne for you, Mother," Nick said.

"I know, my sweet boy."

Lilly ran her fingers through Nick's blond hair.

"Nick needs his sisters," she said. "I need those girls, too. My children deserve to be together. They deserve to be with me. I'm going to get all my daughters back, and I will start with Hailey. So that's what I'm going to do."

Lilly moved.

"I'm taking my daughter back," she said. "Come on, Nick. We're going to get your sister."

"She's not ready to go out!" Vera said. Nick walked beside his mother. "Lilly, Hailey is weak. She doesn't want to kill anyone, and she has compassion for the Freemans. She has compassion for Lock Tannis. I need time to train her. I need to get her ready for what's out there. Plus, she's only seven years old. A seven-year-old girl can't fight in a war."

If she lived long enough, Hailey would develop all the Saves, but she had none right now. And she had never fired a laser gun.

Lilly moved past a spaceship, advancing. Vera took quick steps, and blocked the other woman's path. She aimed her palm at Lilly.

"Stop!" Vera said. She tightened her grip on the Freeman dagger.

"She still has the dagger, Mother," Nick said.

Vera would rather stab a Freeman than stab Lilly or Nick.

"I'm not going to use it," Vera said. She set the weapon on the floor, then stood straight. "See? I put it down. Listen to me, Lilly. I don't think you should take Hailey with you. It's not safe for her. If she goes with you and Nick, she will get killed. I can't let you go with her, and it's because she isn't ready. I love her so much. And I don't want anything bad to happen to her. The Freemans blinded Lovely Windsore. Zale probably did it. If the Freemans catch Hailey, they will do worse than blind her. She is a daughter of Theo Majestic, and they definitely know that. Hailey needs to stay here. She's safe in this space station."

Two Freemans had been inside the place, but Vera had killed them. The home provided safety.

"Right now, this place is the best place for Hailey," Vera said.

Lilly turned her back on Vera.

"Hailey is my baby," Lilly said, her voice shaking. Zale Kin had shaken while he suffered. Vera wished she could kill him again. Lilly faced Vera, tears filling her blue eyes. "Nova and Anne are my babies, too. They're my kids. I'm going to get back to them. If I hadn't let Land Preachman convince me that the Freemans were going to attack Soy, I would still have Nova with me. But I didn't want her to get killed at the royal palace. The Freemans who came to my home couldn't hurt Nova, and that was because I gave her up for adoption. I know now that I would've protected her if I hadn't given her away. I should've kept her."

Nick rubbed his mother's hand with his thumb.

"I can't see her," Lilly said. "And I also can't see Anne. But I can see Hailey. Let me see my daughter again, Vera. Me and Nick have to. Then we'll leave. She doesn't have to know that me and her brother came here."

Anne had been a baby the last time Vera had seen her. Lilly had taken notes during the torture session, but she hadn't held her youngest child in a long time. But she could see Hailey soon.

Vera took a deep breath.

"Okay," she said.

Later, Lilly kissed the sleeping Hailey's forehead. Then Nick did the same. She slept on the blanket while her doll rested next to her.

"Happy birthday, Hailey." Lilly said.

"Happy birthday," Nick said.

Tears went down Lilly's and Nick's faces.

When they stood in the hangar again, Vera, Lilly, and Nick looked at the spaceship. It stayed close to them, as if it were a protective parent. Two Freemans had been killed inside it. Justice had been served.

Nick focused on the Freeman dagger on the floor, then it levitated.

Tears left Lilly's eyes, and she didn't wipe them away, as if Theo would get killed if she touched them.

"I'm going to come back for Hailey, Vera," she said. She faced the Watcher. "That's going to happen one day. Anyway, are you going to let me hug you this time?"

Vera had slashed a Freeman, and she had killed him and his fellow warrior. She knew how to be cruel. But she hadn't forgotten how to be kind.

"Of course," she said.

She and Lilly hugged.

Tears blurred Vera's vision, and she shut her brown eyes. "Take care of yourself. I'm going to keep taking care of Hailey. I love you."

Lilly would leave, and Vera would continue raising her daughter. Theo's third child. She had raised her for years, and she could protect the girl without her mother's help.

"I love you, too," Lilly said. "You really are like family to me. I'm going to see you and Hailey again. One day, Vera. I promise."

Vera opened her eyes. She and Lilly stopped hugging. Nick wrapped his arms around Vera, and she embraced him back.

"It was nice to see you again, Nick," she said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Nick said.

The hug ended.

Nick fiddled with his fingers. "Remember when I got mad at you earlier?"

Vera nodded.

"I'm sorry," Nick said.

"It's okay," Vera replied. "And I really do hope you find your father. But I think he abandoned me and Hailey. He told me not to look for him, then he left. Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he really was captured by Freemans. The Freemans I killed probably knew his location."

"We're going to find him," Lilly said. "Or you might. When Hailey is ready, maybe both of you will find Theo. But I will see my husband again. I'll see Nova and Anne again, too. I might even get a new kid. I'll probably adopt a child who needs new parents."

"That day might come."

"Take care of my daughter," Lilly said. "Maybe Hailey will kill Lock Tannis. Not every Soynite deserves to become the next leader of the Freemans, but Hailey does. Keep loving her."

Lilly put a hand on the Bloodhound's shoulder.

"You're a great Watcher, Vera." Lilly said.

Vera had slain two Freemans, contributing to Soynite society. She had cared for Theo's child for years. She had embraced Lilly.

But Vera hadn't been great enough to stop Theo from leaving.

A tear left her eye, and she nodded. "Thank you."

Lilly had abandoned Vera and Hailey, but the blonde woman did love her daughter. Hailey and Nova had never met. Hailey had seen her, but she had never spoken with her sister.

Land Preachman had established the Ascend Museum. He had convinced Lilly the Freemans would destroy Soy, and his words had influenced her. Lilly had made Theo take Nova to a home, one that hadn't been the Soynite royal palace.

The Invasion had come.

A not-so-great Watcher had stolen Anne. She had never reunited with her mother.

"Tell Hailey I love her," Lilly said.

"Tell her I love her, too," Nick said.

Hailey couldn't see her father, but she did have a mother and brother who cared about her.

"I will," the great Watcher said.

After Lilly and Nick left, Vera kneeled on the blanket the sweet Majestic slept on. Hailey's family had left, but she remained at home. Vera smiled.

"Hailey, wake up," she said, tapping the girl's back. "Wake up, little one. I have to talk to you."

Hailey opened her eyes. She moved onto her knees, then put her pendant on.

"Hailey," Vera said. "Your mother loves you. Your brother loves you, too."

"I know," Hailey said.

Her mother and brother had returned to the space station, but the girl didn't know that. She didn't sit on a throne, but she deserved to wear a crown.

The Soynite public hadn't known she existed.

A former High might have informed Lock Tannis about the Majestic children. Boris, like Don Ascend, had betrayed Theo.

Had Boris told Lock about Hailey and her siblings?

On Soy, he had stopped fighting Theo. Boris had wanted to give Lock a chance to kill the former Supreme High. Maybe that had angered Lock.

Theo had spoken to Boris after Soy's invasion, but the blond man's words hadn't convinced the other man to fight for him.

If Hailey gave a speech to Boris, it wouldn't convince him to side with her.

Vera used to embrace Boris, Don, Ray, Tale, and Notch. They used to hug her back. She had been their friend. Her friendship with those former rulers had ended. Her love for Hailey hadn't.

"I love you, Hailey," Vera said.

She hugged Hailey, and she hugged her back.

"I love you, too," she said.

Vera smiled.

When the embrace ended, she said, "I hope you're enjoying your birthday party."

"I am," Hailey replied. She stroked her doll's blonde hair. "Thanks for throwing it for me."

Vera put a hand on Hailey's shoulder. "You're welcome. Now, come on. Let's go to the cafeteria. We should get some food in us."

After standing, they held hands. Vera might grimace if she held a Freeman's hand, but Hailey would never be one. Nobody from Free would become as great as Hailey Majestic.

She held her doll, which Vera had found in a different room in the space station. They walked toward the door.

"Everything is going to be fine." Vera said.

If she trained Hailey well enough, she might someday kill Lock Tannis. But she didn't believe he deserved to die. Vera knew the truth.

Not all life is precious.

MARCH 3, 2022

"All life is precious." Hailey Majestic said.

She sat on her soft comforter, wearing a long-sleeved shirt, pants, socks, and shoes. They were blue clothes. Her pendant touched her chest. The Freemans Vera had murdered couldn't wear anything.

The room had a bed, a desk with a rectangular surface, and a lone Majestic.

Someone's shoes moved against the floor in the nearby hall, but Hailey didn't move away from her bed. The walking woman would never kill her.

Hailey fiddled with her fingers.

"Father, where are you?" she said, and looked at the picture on the wall, as if the answer to her question were written on it.

If she had known her father would go missing for years, she would've spent more time with him.

"I told you that you have to forget about him," Vera said. The Watcher stood in the doorway, watching Hailey. "And you have to forget about your mother and your brother. They were here on your seventh birthday, but don't expect to see them anytime soon."

Hailey furrowed her brow. "What? My mother was here? And Nick?"

Vera nodded.

How tall had Nick been on Hailey's seventh birthday? Had her mother seen her on that day?

Hailey squeezed the comforter, as if the gesture would reunite her with her mother and brother. It didn't.

She stood.

"And you never told me?!" she said. Vera crossed her arms. "My mother was here. Nick was here. But you kept it as a secret. Why?"

Vera stepped closer to Hailey.

"Relax," she said. "Your mother and your brother came here. That was years ago. It was your seventh birthday, and you didn't see them. But I did. Me and Nick tortured two Freemans. It happened in the spaceship your mother and Nick came in. We learned that Lovely Windsore is blind. She has eyes, but they're useless. I don't even know if she's still alive, but I do know that your mother wanted to take you with her. I couldn't let that happen. You were weak. You still are."

High Lovely had gone blind. If Hailey were with her, she could help her ruler get around. But the Majestic remained near Vera, who had kept a secret from her.

"I am not weak!" Hailey said.

Vera had taught her how to fight. She preferred not to kill anyone, but that didn't mean she would die in a battle if she participated in one.

Her heart pounded, as if it wanted to escape her body and attack Vera. Hailey clenched her fists.

"You have compassion for your enemies, Hailey," Vera said. "It's pathetic."

Hailey pointed at the picture on the wall. "My father has done so much for you, but you won't even look for him. That's pathetic."

Vera put her hands on her hips. She had mentioned torture.

"Those Freemans that you and Nick tortured, are they dead?" Hailey said.

Vera nodded. "I killed them."

"Of course you did. You would rather torture and kill Freemans than look for my father. And you didn't tell me that my mother and my brother came back home."

Hailey hadn't saved the torture victims, but she could find her family.

"My mother came back for me, but you didn't let me go with her!" she said. "And you always say that she abandoned me."

"She did!" Vera said. "I convinced her to let me keep raising you. She said that she was going to come back for you. One day. Then she told you happy birthday while you slept. Your brother did the same. They kissed your forehead too. But they're gone, Hailey. I wish they came back a few years ago. I really could've used their help back then."

Vera sighed.

"I have a problem with your mother," she said. "Nick is just a kid. Your mother is your parent, and she should've returned a long time ago."

"You're angry because my mother didn't come back when you wanted her to?!" Hailey said. Her fists shook. "Vera, you decided that it was better to keep saying bad things about my mother, when you could've just kept waiting."

"Your mother still abandoned y—"

"Stop talking!" Hailey shouted.

Vera slammed her hands against the wall. Her shoulders rose and fell.

"My mother would've protected me!" Hailey said. "She loves me. She loves you, too. So does my father, but you act like you don't love him. Maybe you don't love me, either."

Vera pointed at Hailey. "Don't say that! I am your Watcher. I am your friend, and I am practically your mother. I'm your mother, and I love you. Also, don't ever say that I don't love your father."

Vera looked at the photograph.

"I love him more than you know," said the woman who didn't plan on finding Hailey's father.

Her mother should've taken her from Vera on her seventh birthday. Hailey would rather be in a room with her mother and brother, not this unhelpful Bloodhound.

"You are my daughter," Vera said. "I've been your mother for years."

If Vera hadn't convinced Hailey's mother to let her keep raising her, Hailey might have celebrated her thirteenth birthday with Lilly and Nick.

"You're not my mother!" Hailey said. She sped walk closer to Vera. "It's your fault my mother left me here."

She glared at Vera.

"My mother's name is Lilly Majestic," Hailey said. "It's not Vera Mod, and it never will be."

When Theo met Vera inside that Watcher academy, Hailey had been a baby growing inside Lilly. Vera would never be her mother.

Hailey touched the wetness on her cheeks.

"It's okay," Vera said.

She embraced Hailey, but she didn't hug her back. For Vera, the one-sided embrace might be as unsatisfying as hugging a pole.

"Get off of me!" Hailey shouted.

Vera kept hugging her. "It's okay, Hailey."

Hailey shut her eyes. She would have cried tears of joy if she had talked to her mother and Nick years ago, but Vera had prevented that from happening.

"Stop hugging me!" Hailey said.

Vera ended the one-sided hug, and Hailey opened her eyes.

"Your mother is gone, but I'm here for you," Vera said. "I really do love you. When I held you for the first time, I loved you."

When Vera held Hailey for the first time, the Majestic had been in the same residence as her mother and Nick. Boris, Don, Ray, Tale, and Notch hadn't been traitors back then.

"I love my mother," Hailey said, speaking the truth. She wiped away her tears. "And I love my father. I love Nick. I love Anne. And I love Nova."

"Hailey," Vera said. Tears glistened in her brown eyes. "Don't be like that, please. There's one name you didn't say."

"Where's Lovely? Where's Lovely Windsore? I want to see her."

Vera rubbed her forehead, as if Hailey's words had battered her skull. "Wherever she is, going to her is something you don't want to do. A blind Soynite won't survive in this universe for too long. The Freemans will never let that happen. You want to meet a corpse."

Vera hadn't seen Lovely die. Neither had Hailey. The blind High might be alive, like she had been when Hailey's father photographed her.

Hailey could find Lovely, and help her. If Hailey were blind, she would have wanted someone to make her life easier. Lovely's sight had been taken from her. But she hadn't lost her feelings and desires. Like everyone else, she deserved happiness.

"You don't know that," Hailey said. "She might still be alive."

"She's dead," Vera said. "All of the Highs are."

"Don't say that!"

Vera moved closer before placing a hand on Hailey's chest.

"Your heart is beating, Hailey," she said. She moved her hand. "So many Soynites don't know what it's like to have a beating heart. That luxury went away because of the Freemans who killed them. The blind High is dead. Your older sister is dead. Cape is dead. The Highs are dead. And all the Soynites outside this home got killed. Me and you are the only Soynites alive."

Hailey put her hands on the comforter. Maybe her father slept while his heart beat. She faced Vera.

"You're a liar," Hailey said. Vera caressed her blonde hair, making her grimace, as if the fingers were blades.

Hailey took a step back. "Don't touch me!"

As if Freeman warriors surrounded her, Hailey felt trapped. When had her bedroom started feeling like a prison cell?

"And I don't want to be here anymore, but you're trying to make me stay," Hailey said. "Well, I don't want to. I'm going to find Lovely. Before I do that, I'm going to find my father. And I'm going to see the rest of my family."

Theo. Lilly. Nick. Nova. Anne. Five Majestics. Lilly had given Nova up for adoption. Summer had shot Theo, and kidnapped Anne. Nick had gone with his mother. An unhelpful Watcher had raised Hailey, but she could leave the space station that had become like a prison.

Hailey approached the photograph showing her father, and took it off the wall. She went near the dresser before grabbing the pictures with Highs in them.

Those children had bought their royal authority by reaching an area outside a spaceport. Hailey's father had pressed King Hase's pendant against their foreheads.

Theo Majestic's reign as Supreme High had been a long one.

May the six Highs live long and happy lives.

"Those Highs aren't the good and kind rulers you think they are," Vera said.

"You said they were dead," Hailey said. "You should really stop lying, Vera."

Hailey closed the drawer. Holding pictures her father had taken, she headed to her walk-in closet's door. She opened it.

"Hailey, what are you doing?" Vera asked.

"I'm going to leave," Hailey said.

She stepped into the closet, then flipped the light switch. A dresser stood in the closet. Bras lay in its top drawer, and folded clothes rested in its other ones. A spaceship in the hangar had more of Hailey's belongings inside it.

Blue backpacks leaned against a wall. Hailey grabbed one. She kneeled, something she would have to do for her Highs. After dropping the photographs into the backpack's largest pouch, Hailey zipped it. She put the backpack on.

Hailey's knees pressed against the hard floor. She stood. Wearing a backpack with six photographs inside it, she emerged from the closet. She would meet her rulers. She would serve them.

Vera stood near the desk, wiping away her tears.

How many times had tears touched Lovely's blind eyes? Had Theo cried during his time away from Hailey?

"You're not ready for what's out there," Vera said. "Pale fools attacked this space station before, and you weren't ready for them back then. You're still not ready to fight them."

Fighting a Freeman would be as horrible as fighting a friend.

Pale warriors didn't prowl in the space station, but they might occupy other ones. Still, nobody would kill Hailey.

Vera wouldn't stop her from leaving.

"I can handle the Freemans," Hailey said. "I'm going to fly one of the spaceships out of here. It has supplies, food, and clothes. When I'm inside it, I won't need you."

She headed toward the open door.

"Hailey, please!" Vera said.

Hailey stopped walking. The space station she and Vera lived in had become like a prison, with Vera being like the prison's guard.

When had Hailey's home become like a Freeman base?

Gripping her backpack's straps, she turned. Tears fled Vera's eyes. She had slain Freemans without remorse, yet she would suffer if Hailey abandoned her. A thirteen-year-old girl had turned her into a pleading woman.

"Don't look for me." Hailey said.

Her father, mother, and brother had left the home. If Hailey did the same, she might find her parents, her siblings, and the blind Lovely Windsore.

The space station had a population of two. Its residents: Hailey and Vera. It would have a population of one. Soon.

Hailey Majestic left the room.