The meal was filling, lacking flavor compared to Norfolk's temple, but slightly better than my sister's turkey; Damn, I am already thinking of her as my sister.

I felt like a journeyman welder pitching a quote to a client while talking with these two. The Dame was on guard, so much so that someone like me, who was never interested in fighting, could tell.

It took nearly three hours to convince the commander to replenish and repair the ship using funds from the metal storage.

The staff seemed offended that I put my tray in the return window myself. Danielle took me to a, mostly closed, concourse and we chose a few outfits. I changed out of the dress, putting it in a box.

I mentioned I wanted to put the dress on Persephone, someone offered to take it, but I went in person, Danielle and I walked to the bedroom I had appeared in when I came here.

I set the box in the drawer under the bed, and talked with Danielle for a while, until it was time for the final respects to be had of 'my siblings'.

I pushed her out of the room, and found a formal gown that would look good in black. I put shoulder length formal gloves on, and a small black hat with a thick veil.

I decided to use bright makeup around my eyes, to make the dark eyeliner wings stand out. I had my hair style changed to a fine braid spiraling from the center, and red cut glass Bobby pins holding my hair in place.

I changed the Christmas themed manicure to the red and green being switched to black, and the pale blue was now a dark red, matching the cut glass. Black leggings, and over the ankle shoes with a broad two inch heel finished the ensemble. I took off all jewelry, except my own signet ring, and a fine silver chain I hung the other seven rings on, and wore around my neck.

Opening the door to the room, Danielle was surprised, and made mention how quick I was for what all changed.

Stepping onto a large trade floor that had been cleared for this event everyone became quiet. I made a point to not say a word, and touch each flag for at least a minute, before moving to the next one.

I then stood in front of the people gathered, and gave a simple nod. I watched as the honor guard carefully picked up each stretcher, and loaded them onto a white ship with the Leonidas flag painted on the side.

I stood there as the ship left and a flash of yellow took the seven siblings away. I only nodded to Danielle when she asked if I wanted to go back.

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Once off the trade floor, I took the hat and gloves off, then placed the necklace of rings back in the black clutch I had originally put them in.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"No." I answered the way I always did at funerals. "But what good would it do to break down and cry, right now? It won't help the people. Yeah, it may make me look human, it may make me look like the fifteen year old girl I am, but it won't make me a better Queen, Princess, or Dame."

She seemed to understand. We passed by a window where Persephone was visible, and I could see places where large munitions had torn through outer plating, and one spot where fresh, unpainted metal gleamed in the middle of a hole in the outer shell where a round must have hit engineering.

"Did You know they never initialized the ship?" I asked Danielle, I then pointed at the hole I was studying. "That round hit the main power core." I added. "I would have already been in Cryo. The ship would have been let to drift, and it was attacked anyway. I am lucky to be alive." I contained to stare at the ship. "When I woke up, I had to initialize the ship. I had never done that before. Didn't even know what I was doing, just ran around turning things on. And having no idea why things were only partially working. The last thing I found was the maintenance nanites. I didn't have time to grieve then." I looked at her. "Survival First, Family Second, everything else will fall into place." I repeated the public motto of the old royal family. "There is now an entire pillar of my upbringing gone. What time is there to mourn?"

I walked away from her, toward the ship.

"I feel I need to address a failure of my duties with you." She said when she caught back up. Before I could say anything, she continued. "A recording device just heard your statement. I failed to secure it."

"Its fine. I am used to not having privacy in certain situations," I confirmed, thinking of Norfolk.

By the time I stepped back onto Persephone, a recording taken from behind me, showing Dame Edington, and me, holding the hat and gloves, while looking at Persephone, was being played on the station monitors.

I remember being told they weren't allowed to ask about the bombardment, it didn't mean they couldn't record me talking about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You did what!?" My boss yelled at me.

"I recorded a conversation outside of the Trading Floor, between Dame Edington and Princess Korvall. I think you need to see it." I tell him again.

"Kiel. You're going to get me killed." He said, only slightly calmer, and waved for me to play it. The camera had caught the Princess taking off the gloves, hat and a necklace, and then started talking.

"Wait, go back." My boss says. I go back a few seconds to her putting the odd necklace in a small purse. "Kiel; tell broadcast I said to run this video, in its entirety."

"Because of a necklace?" I ask.

"That's not a necklace, boy. That's the signet rings of her siblings. She wore their rings to their funeral ceremony. 'To have them close to her heart.' What better way to show the people who she is?"

"Sir, I think you should hear the whole recording." He nods, and I play it all the way through, until Dame Edington looks at the lens.

"Do not edit this, do not cut it. Hand it to the broadcast room to play right now, on every station we own. Make sure our anchors reiterate: she did not speak, even to that attendant throughout the ceremony."

"Yes Sir." I sprint to the broadcast rooms.