THE EVENING SKY

The trip back to the castle was far slower than either trip out. Even over the smooth stones of the nicer streets of Collisviridis, Luna could feel the carriage rock back and forth ever so genitally. Her body began to slump as the fatigue of the day finally began to take it’s toll.

Without intending to, her eyes began to slowly shut.

“Princess Luna…” The feeling of a soft pawlike hand jolted her awake. Streching she forced her self to stand up and leave the carriage. It wasn’t a long sleep, maybe 15 minutes. But it was just enough to give her a subtle energy and push forward.

The sky had grown dark some time ago, it had to be after 8PM by this point. She doubted her sister had retired to her chambers, given everything still going on. Which was a shame, Luna would have enjoyed rudely waking her up, much as she had been awoken earlier.

Inside, the castle was still in a panic. A small mixture of Common and High Guard ran about. Most seemed to move to the North, probably heading up to fortify the Upper City. There must have been hundreds more outside. It was hard for her not to smile a bit, their efforts were unnecessary, but of course they had no idea.

Seeing a few late-night Solar Guard near the throne room gave Luna hope her sister was still in or around the conference room nearby. Hurrying now, she made her way down the halls, not even aware of her own guard on patrol saluting her. Opening the heavy door, she was greeted to the sight of her rather angry sister yelling at the generals once more.

“Then why haven’t they stopped them all! General, how many humans have you managed to arrest so far, a mere 7?” She nearly yelled at the incompetent High Guard general, as she threw some papers in his face.

General Pinguis posture looked different from earlier. He had been embarrassed, but still defiant and aloft before. Now though, his head was down, his back and posture bent. The overweight elven man looked to have aged 20 years since last time. In short, he appeared broken.

“I’m sorry your highness. The intelligence says they would be moving though the sewers primarily. Any on the streets are going to be canon fodder. All our guards are in the sewers right now. Please, just have faith in me a little longer.” He practically begged.

Queen Lumins shook her head and stared at the paper in front of her again. “General Torrent is now demanding all available guard be sent to the High Guard command center, your command center. Most of the Lunar Guard are already there. Our earlier assessments were clearly wrong, general. Are you really going to let your command center be saved by the Lunar Guard you continually mock and look down on?”

“Speaking of intelligence, I see you two have returned.” The Common Guard general nodded to Luna and Coruscis who had just entered.

“Sister! Do you have any new information? I don’t think we can tolerate any more failures tonight.” Lumins glared in the direction of the High Guard general.

With a boastful smile and raising her head Luan declared “More than that, I have good news!”

“Oh, is there a plague spreading amount the humans, are they all dead?” Pinguis’s voice sounded desperate, like his mind was breaking. He very well might not have been kidding as he prayed to some dark god in the void.

She ignored the general’s outburst. “The Humas are agreeing to lay down arms and stop their rioting. They’re not going to attack anything else tonight.”

For a moment the room was silent as they looked towards Luna like she just told a bad joke.

The Queen looked among the others in the room. She felt the same way. “How did you manage that?” Her voice was unusually quiet. Which isn't to say that it was silent.

Luna maintained the same boastful smile, “It does come with some conditions. One we can and should meet immediately.”

The High Guard general slammed his fist on the desk, “No, we can’t possibly negotiate with that scum. Not after everything I’ve lost.” He held his hands over his head. Just what had her sister done to the man. Luna almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

Luminis held up her hand to silence the general. “Please sister, ignore him. Tell me, what have both parties agreed to?” Her voice, was calm once more. But with a subtle air of what might have been exhaustion. Understandable given all that had happened.

“First, we need to replace the food stores that were destroyed. That’s not optional, some of them are literally starving.”

Luminis nodded, she agreed it was reasonable. “Ok.”

“Then, we need to ensure regular shipments of eatable food into the enclave going forward. We don’t need to feed all of them, but at least offset some meals of the less fortunate.”

Now the Queen looked down at the table in thought. This caused Luna to pause waiting to see if there was an objection. There was, “That might be difficult. The crown can pay the right merchants. The rest of the city might object though. This is politically inconvenient.” She rubbed at her face.

The Queen looked at her sister, “You understand we're not even supposed to interfere with the city of politics?”

“But we are interfering. This entire day has been interference. We've been providing guard resources to stop an attack on the Upper City.”

The Queen held up a finger to say ’stop’, “No. The House of Commons and Nobel council of Collisviridis are the ones who are providing the guards. This isn’t even at the level of the Greater Houses yet. We are merely assisting with an internal city matter, dear sister. We could certainly authorize the replacement of the food destroyed. That is not unreasonable. But the change to city politics like that needed to deliver food daily, even weekly. That might be a step too far.” Lumins seemed deeply stressed by the conversation. It was difficult to tell if it was the subject matter, the request itself, maybe the politics or something else? Perhaps she just didn't like what she would have to do.

“Sister, they’re starving.” Luna pleaded with her sister. She couldn't believe this was actually a question up for debate. In fact, of all the conditions, this seemed the most reasonable and easiest to achieve. This seemed absurd.

The Queen closed her eyes and rubbed her face. “Of course they are. And it’s not right. Is that all?”

“No, there’s two other things. The humans want more humans in the guard, all branches and especially the High Guard. But I-“

“NO!” The High Guard general screamed and slammed his fist into the tabletop. Pinguis stood up in a hurry. This chair fell backwards. “My Queen and my Princess, I do not care what you do to me any more. You will never sell this to the House of Nobles. Many of us would rather die.”

“General, please. Sit. Down.” Luminis’ glare was enough to burn even ice.

The overweight elf complied and sat back down. It almost looked like he was crying and mumbling something under your breath about his status and his family.

Luminis turned back to her sister. Her glare was gone, but still her face seemed flustered. “Sister, I know you're aware that that will not happen. You cannot ask the House of Nobles, the Nobel Councils or the High Guard to accept humans into their ranks. It’s just not… possible.”

Of course, she knew that and if they just let her finish, she would have said that. Although that wasn't completely true. There were a handful of humans here and there in the high guard. They were obviously very, very rare. “If you would let me finish. The humans I spoke to, specifically their leader Aaron, agreed. The High Guard is not possible. However,…” Luna looked towards general Seadh.

The general huffed and smirked before turning her head slightly. She knew exactly where this was going. “You offered them in the common guard then.”

“And the Royal Guard, both lunar and solar posts.”

Luminis’ face became unreadable. What was she thinking? “The Royal Guard… Is possible. I'm sure I can convince my generals too allow more humans into the ranks. And your postings are obviously at you and your general discretions.” She turned to face the Common Guard general.

Seadh shook her head “I don't know. That's just not up to me, even with my influence. You'd have to bring it before the House of Commons. The city's House of Commons. Maybe, you’ll get them to agree. The Greater House of Commons, Good luck. They wouldn’t all agree that water was wet. Out of spite if nothing more.”

That was pretty close to the best answer she could have hoped for. “Of course. These humans are only interested in this city. And on the House of Commons, the humans want their seat filled. I haven't a chance to look into the history yet, but it sounds like the last few representatives that humans had to the House of Commons were removed for unfair reasons and even arrested.”

The common Guard General and Luminis looked at each other with a confused glance, before turning to the High Guard general who continued to maintain his brooding stance. “I don't think any of us know anything about that. But how do you intend to do that?”

“To start with. My guard, the Lunar Guard, will provide protection. Going forward and forever, we will ensure that they have the representation that they deserve. Regardless of whatever happens here today, I will hold myself to that word. None of you will have to worry about it.” Her gaze was harsh and cold. She would rather suffer another half millina in crystal than betray them. Even if they didn't deserve it, her word would not be broken.

“Is that all?” Luminis spoke flatly.

Luna nodded halfheartedly, “There are some other minor conditions that come with it as well, but. If we can agree to these, that's most of it.” She left out the part where they would be the only ones to patrol and guard the enclave. Given everything else, that just seemed like a minor addition, but maybe just be the last straw. They could do it after the fact.

The Queen looked around the room. There weren't even close to enough people to make this kind of decision. Obviously the crown will do with the crown would do. But the royalty had an agreement with the city's leaderships that they would minimize their interference. The Queen knew her sister did the best she could and truth, it actually wasn't a bad agreement. But it was deeply politically inconvenient. At the very least, there was the one thing that they could do tomorrow.

Luminis Called in one of her guards, she asked for a bunch of resources and people to be brought in. Luna was aware of some of the names. People in charge of logistics, purchasing and the Crown's purse.

For the next hour, the Princess and the Queen worked over the plans to bring food in. Long term food deliveries would be a much more complicated prospect. But replacing the lost food would be easily done. During their talks, both of the generals took their leave. General Pinguis left without saying much, just mumbling something under his breath about his position and how he was ruined. General Seadh seemed exhausted but optimistic as she left.

The two sisters worked next to each other and for a time, Luna smiled. It was so rare that her sister got along like this. A memory came to her, and she laughed slightly to herself.

Luma Smiled quizzically at her own sister. “You find our account balance funny, sister?”

Luna just shook her head, continued to smile. “No, I'm just thinking how different this is from when we were children.”

Luma’s face suddenly turned dark, but her smile remained. There was a look in her eyes, a vacancy, like something was missing. “Oh?” That was all she could say in response.

“It was the last summer we were together when we were still in the village. I remember there was a tree house that those other children had built. Of course they grew up long before us and left it to us. You had to be queen of that tree house. You even pushed me out of it.” Luna turn to face her sister. The deep dark expression on Luma’s face was joined subtle beads of sweat.

It give Luna a pause before she finished abruptly “Sorry sister I didn't mean anything bad, I was just trying to say that I think we both changed for the better.” She tried to smile

Luma's eyes darted back and forth. Like she was searching for something in front of her that wasn't visible. She was thinking. “I don't…” Luma Trailed off in mid thought as she looked up.

A sudden smile crossed her face as she turned back to Luna. “I do remember that, but I remember you pushing me out of the tree house.” She laughed lightly.

Luna squinted, “I didn't do such things, sister. You were always bigger than me when I was younger. I couldn't even if I wanted to.”

Shaking her head, Luma was convinced, “No, no, no, I remember clearly now. You were in the house and you pushed me. And then the father came and helped me up. I remember because his hair was blonde like mine and he picked me up and he said it was OK and he scolded you.”

For several seconds Luna stared at her sister, trying to process what she was hearing. “That's not what happened. And father's hair was dark like mine, everyone always said I took after father and you mother.”

Something on Luma's face broke. She pushed some of the papers away and started rubbing at her head. Her breathing was slightly quick. It looked like she was panicking, but silently. “I'm sorry dear sister, I seem to have a bit of a headache. It's been a long day for both of us. Most of these plans are complete. The minor details can be worked out by castle staff.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The Queen began to walk slowly out of the conference room, not bothering to turn around. “I'm sorry about last night, sister. I shouldn't have made you attend your night court.”

She shook her head, but Luma didn’t see “It's OK, I understand you don't want me to abandon it.” Luna tried to sooth her sister’s discomfort, but it didn’t appear to work.

Luma walked away leaving Luna deeply confused and a little trouble. Her sister had changed a lot. That was true. She was never cruel, but she always needed to be on top. When they were children, Luma was the Princess and Luna just some commoner. And she grew up, she became the Queen, Luna was the princess and always a step under her.

The door to the conference room closed, separating Luna and Luma.

THE SUN

Luma stood just outside the door for a moment. It was late, very late. At least for her. Her sister would be awake at this time, holding her court if things were normal. She looked around. The castle was quiet, silent, still. More than anything else, it was lonely. Luma walked into the courtroom and for a moment she stared at the two Thrones, masked in shadow. Even in the night, her golden throne shimmered, while Luna’s smaller throne glowed slightly.

She didn't really have a reason to, but she approached those two and ran her hands over the arms, as if testing if they were real. Her mind was a drift in dead thoughts, and lost memories. Her hand lingered on her younger sister's throne just a bit longer than her’s.

“She was always the bully. She was always the one that was pushing me.” Luma struggled to reconcile her memories with what Luna just told her. But she just couldn't, it didn't make sense. Her father was the one with blonde hair. She was sure of that, what was wrong with her sister? Why couldn't her sister remember that? Her younger sister was obviously younger than her, but even more than that, she had less memories than her. How could she forget the color of their father's hair first?

The Queen walked through the mostly silent halls. There are almost no guards around. The few that were, weren’t hers. Is she that's never solar guard with stayed around but it wasn't necessary. Night air felt cold. The night was no place for the sun to be.

In the moonlight twilight Luma past the courtyard of memories. For a moment, she paused to stare out the window. Statues in disarray, some broken, some just now rubble, and some not even that. For how many years? How many decades? How many centuries had she walk by this very window and gazed outside of it? How many years did she watch her sister sleep?

After she was awoken, Luma could still remember one of the first things she told her sister, “500 years have passed, sister. Do you know how much things have changed?” The shock on her sister's face had caused her great pain at the time, though she hid it. That memory was clear as crystal like it happened yesterday. 15 years ago. It might as well be yesterday for an immortal.

At the time, the shock of Luna's face was too much for her to bear. Luma knew it was the wrong thing to say, but she still she said it. Why? It was her sister that was the bully, not her.

She didn't hate her sister, she loved her sister. She was the last of her family. These two were blessed, the only rulers in over 10,000 years to have somebody who would be there with them, spending immortality with them.

That was the problem with Luna. Luma knew her sister well. She could be kind, and was good, but she didn't understand. Immortals cannot think about tomorrow. Even a year from now, is too short. They would live centuries upon centuries, millennia. Those were the time frames they needed to think in. It was because they could think at such long terms that there were no more wars in the world. It was because of the immortal Queens that the age of the Great Wars was over.

Some would call this ‘The Age of the Great Forgetting’, others ‘The Age of the Great Peace’. There were probably other names as well, but both of those two described it well. It also described her well.

How many statues out there have been forgotten? There were piles of rubble that were there before they were born. Before the last queen was born, before the last, last queen was born, and so on. The truth was the courtyard itself was built on top of rubble. There were statues that have crumbled far into dust, and others have been built on top of them without even realizing.

Nothing was supposed to last forever. So, then what of them? Their bodies would last, but what about their minds? It was a question Luma refused to ask herself.

She stopped looking into the courtyard and started walking once more. Footsteps echoing on the stone that was timeless. But even that stone had a beginning and would one day have an end. Would that be before her? She wondered.

The door to her chambers seemed unusually heavy. Her room was larger than Lunas Much larger, in fact. It's almost like a house within a room. Her bed was large, room enough for an entire family. Only it, was just her that ever slept in it.

There is, of course, a fireplace. Next to the fireplace there was a table, and on that table was a cup of tea. The tea was ice cold. It had been placed there by a servant hours earlier. Much like her sister, Luma enjoyed a cup of tea before bed. Unlike her sister, however, her tea was always light. Inside the cup, a pale-yellow translucent liquid shimmered. She picked it up and took a sip and sat down in the chair. She would have preferred it hot, but this was fine. This is exactly what she needed. A cup of gentle, soothing tea to calm her nerves.

The fire in the fireplace was mere embers now. It had been lit by the same servant and then neglected and died. Her room was warmer than it would have been otherwise, but still chilly without it. She sat there in silence, sipping. As she gazed around the room, it seemed colder, somehow lonelier. Then her eyes set upon a bookshelf in the corner. It was an old bookshelf. Full of younger books that were still quite old.

Realization crossed her. Her teacup clambered as she dropped on the table and quickly got up. “I almost forgot. How could I have forgotten?” She said to herself. She went to the bookshelf and looked over all the books over there. The servants kept this room clean but were always instructed to never touch this bookshelf. All the books have grown grey with dust. It was hard to read the spines.

She took one out and blew it on the covers, coughing as the dust kicked up. No, this one wasn't it. She put it back. Not this one either. She put that one back. Over and over again. Looking for that one book. “This one!” She exclaimed as she took the book off the shelf.

It was a logbook, a journal. Despite its well-made nature it was still very fragile after so long. The cover simply read the word diary, with some numbers scrawled beneath that, a date. The book was over 600 years old. She took it and sat back down in the chair and carefully went over first page.

“It's my first day in the castle. The matriarch told me that I should keep a journal, especially for the first few Decades. I’ll want to remember how things were. She's really weird and strange.

I miss my parents already. It's lonely here. The matriarch is kind, but very cold. It's like there's something wrong with her. I hate to admit it, but I even miss my little sister. Luna could always be such a pest, always bothering me and following me around. I guess I should feel guilty about pushing her out of the treehouse, but I don't. She would just never leave me alone…”

Luma swallowed hard and shut the book. “I pushed her.” She whispered and stared off in the distance, before reading it again. ” I pushed her?” Her mind burned as it chewed through all of its resources, every memory, every neuron that she could find. She could not remember.

She continued reading the first passage. “… I really miss my mom. I miss her cooking. The food in the castle is good, great in fact, but. I just missed the pea soup mom used to make. It tasted like home.

There was always a certain spice to the soup too, the castle can’t get it right. It was a spice blend that only mom could make. Everyone says me and her are a lot alike,But I don't see it. I guess we look alike. I mean, I have her hair and her face. That’s what everyone says. Everyone says my sister's cold and cool like my father. I guess that makes sense.

I don't know why I'm writing all this. I don't know what the point is, but Queen Sempervirent says I need to, so I will. I don't know why she says I’ll forget all of this. It's my life, how could I forget it?”

Luma closed the book. Panic set across their face. “I pushed Luna.” She whispered the words again.

She rubbed the side of her head gently. She couldn't remember her parents’ faces. She had forgotten them years, centuries ago. But she could still remember them. She shares her father's hair. She looked like her father. She acted like her father. That was the truth. Her mother was… Who was her mother?

Her face twisted into shock. She had finally and truly forgotten them.

THE MOON

Luna bid goodnight to her assistant who wandered off deeper into the castle. Off to her own room or possibly the library. The rabbit was weird like that. She could go for days without sleeping, just reading.

A normal night like this Luna would be walking around at this time. It was about midnight a good time for a midnight stroll. But not tonight. Tonight, she was going straight to her bed and she was going to sleep for at least 10, no, 12 hours. She considered getting a cup of tea before bed but decided against it. With the way she liked her, tea would just keep her up.

Opening the chamber door, her room was just as she left it this morning. Only, on the table was a cup of very dark tea and a small scone. She smiled and sighed. One of the servants had brought her tea this afternoon, not realizing she wasn't there. She gave a quick sniff of the tea that had grown long since cold. Having sat in the air all day wouldn't be any good. She dumped it down the basin sink. The scone on the other hand though a little bit stale, still smelled good. She could use a little bit of something in her stomach before she slept.

For a moment she sat there chewing on the hard pastry. Perhaps you shouldn't have dumped that tea, she thought. Ohh, well. Room was a little chilly, her fireplace had not been lit yet. Because why would it be? She was awake at this hour when everyone else was asleep. She couldn't help but smile. Today really was a good day.

Her smile twisted into a flat expression suddenly, as she remembered someone. “Ohh, Neal.” She whispered to herself. What was she going to do with her human? He was instrumental in their success tonight. Maybe it would have been a little bit easier if he had been there in person, but the information he gave was invaluable. She really didn't know how to think like a human.

Was he truly thinking about quitting?

In his year and several months that he had been here, Luna had almost never seen him smile. He always seemed depressed, like something in his life was missing. She knew that feeling well. It was clear he liked being in the guard, despite what Sable was putting him though. It seemed to be the one thing that gave his life meaning. It was past time that she actually tried to help him.

“Tomorrow.” She whispered to herself. She would help him out tomorrow. And then it hit her. Tomorrow was Friday. The Lunar Court Guard would not be present tomorrow. Her head fell back against the chair a few times while she thought about it.

“OK, so Monday.” She would have to do it Monday.

Finishing the scone, She stretched a few more times. Rinse herself off in the basin and once more and then headed to bed. It had been a long day.

The next morning. A knock at her door woke her again. This time, however, it wasn't bad news or good news. It was simply her afternoon tea and a pastry. Looking around, it had to be about one, maybe 2:00 in the afternoon. She hadn't just slept 12 hours, she'd slept 14. That was fine, she deserved it after all.

The servant had dropped off some paperwork for her to read, various documents with sorts. She didn't really understand them. They didn't seem to be related to last night. She wasn't quite sure what they were related to. Some more items that were stolen from the castle? The report was signed by some solar guard and some common guard that she didn't recognize. She pushed off to the side. She could deal with it later. There was another knock at her door that she couldn’t just deal with later.

At the door was another solar guard. He looked like the same from yesterday, but she wasn’t completely sure. A sudden fear grew in her that there was another problem with the enclave. However, the guard seemed relaxed and said everything was fine. He was here to deliver a letter.

Luna gave a sigh, she didn't really feel like reading anything else right then and there. She waved the guard into her space. Who seemed slightly uncomfortable but still complied. “Guardsman, I'm still very exhausted from last night. Would you be kind enough to read me the letter?”

The Guardsman nodded his responses. Luna went back to her tea and pastry.

He opened the letter and struggled. “Uh, sorry, I've never done this before.”

“Do you not know how to read?” She didn’t mean for her tone to sound so dismissive, even thought it clearly was.

The guard just swallowed and went about trying to read the letter.

“By decree of Queen Luminis. Princess Luna is to be thanked for her services last night. Her efforts were invaluable in protecting both the city of Collisviridis and the humans in their Enclave. We have decided on several actions that we will pursue in relation to your suggestions last night. Rest assured; they will be completed."

Luna put her tea down, she didn't like the way this letter was sounding.

The guardsmen continued uninterrupted. “Going forward, the Crown will handle all matters relating to the human enclave. The Lunar Guards forces are insufficient and unnecessary for the task. Thank you Princess Luna. for your assistance, but it is inappropriate for you to continue at this time. There’s a risk the humans might try to use your good nature to their advantage. Rest assured; it will all be handled.

Signed Queen Luminis.”

“What?” It was all Luna could say.

The guard appeared concerned once more. “I apologize if I was too quiet, I can read the letter again.”

“No. Why isn’t my sister here? Why didn’t the Queen tell me this to my face.” Her voice deepened into the venom welling inside of her.

The Guard in her room suddenly had a great fear on his face as he slowly paced his way backwards. “My princess, I’m not sure. You just asked me to read the letter and it wouldn’t be my place to speculate.”

“I’m sorry. I…” She stammered her words before swallowing them back. “Please leave.”

The guard didn't say anything as he quickly left the room.

For a moment, she stood there. She picked up her teacup to take another sip, hoping it would calm her a little. She was having a hard time breathing. She put the cup back down on the table. The chittering of the fine China against the old wood rattled against her ears.

Luna sat down in face and mind still in shock. Her sister had done exactly what she had feared. Luna had almost fixed an impossible problem, and now her sister was going to take all the credit. With all her might, effort and quick thinking she was able to pull a miracle from her sleeve. But now, it wouldn’t matter, she wasn’t going to be part of anything else going forward. It was all going to be her sister.

In the back of her mind, she could feel void like tendrils pulling at her soul. Try as she might, it was hard to keep composure. A guttural scream escaped her as the back of her first slammed the cup of tea across the room, shattering it into a hundred broken pieces, surrounded by the dark crimson like color of her tea.

Her body radiated a bright almost blue flame of miasma, of mana, that threatened to grow. Purple tendrils of mana swung about and the chair behind her glowed a pail twilight blue before it exploded into splinters. A thunderous snapping sound echoed in the room as her table crumpled to the floor. Her tendrils reached across the room striking a mirror and shattering it, like she had shattered her cup. A single shard held to the top of the frame, showing her the dark blue twilight that flowed from her body along with the deadly tenderals. A monstrous shadow that was engulfing her as she watched the mana cover her body.

A moment of clarity came over her and she turned to face the wall where she threw her cup. In the corner were the remnants of the once proud and old teacup. The same kind of cup, in the same place as all those centuries again, surrounded by another deep red liquid. The only difference, this time it was just tea. It was happening again. The same thing that happened 500 years as her mana and emotions threatened to consume her.

The realization of what she was doing, of what she was becoming pulled her back from the brink as she collapsed to the ground. The miasma around her faded as she rolled up into a ball and began to cry. Just like she had over centuries ago, when her sister pushed out of the treehouse. And when he disappeared forever.

“Sister, you should have just killed me.” Luna whispered to the darkness between her tears.

ECLIPSE

Queen Lumins felt much better today. The past two days were hard for her. But she was over it. Her parents had died the second death, it was inevitable and she had to accept that. She had forgotten about them, but knew she had forgotten. But who knows how many others she had forgotten about that she couldn't even remember that she had forgotten about? That was what Queen Sempervirent had called the third and last death.

The Queen looked over the paperwork in front of her. It was a lot, but she'd be able to manage it. Her sister was right. The humans and the enclave needed to be fed. It didn't matter the politics. It didn't matter what the House of Commons said. They deserve to be fed. She would ensure it got done.

Even more than that, she would adjust her guard schedules a little bit. She would make sure that the human representative in the Enclave was guarded properly. There were too many reports, too many differing accounts about what had happened over the years. What she did know is that the humans were unfairly targeted. That would not happen again.

Her sister meant well, and given different circumstances, perhaps she'd even be able to do it. But right now, it was not fair to her guards or her to give them that kind of responsibility. They weren't ready for it. No, the Queen would handle this for the time being, and then hand it off to the appropriate person to manage it all in a few days. Once it was all formalized.

Luna was upset and hadn’t left her room since she sent that letter was given to her; The Queen knew that her sister could be that way. But this really was for the best. In a few centuries her sister wouldn't even remember, and neither would she.

It wasn't a lie. She cared deeply for Luna. She was all that she had left, and she would never hurt her. She had to protect her.