“Mother! Mother!” Crystal yelled. “Mother! Where are you? What happened?” She couldn’t see her mother first. Where was she? What had happened? She had heard her mother’s screams, heard her yelling for Twinkle Star. Something bad had happened. She knew Twinkle Star better then anyone. But what had happened? “Mother!” Crystal ran through the garden. Finally she noticed her mother. She was sitting next to the stairs that led up to the walls. “Mother!” Crystal ran to her mother. Regina looked up. Her face was swollen; it was obvious to Crystal that she had cried a lot. “Mother, what happened? I heard you screaming for Twinkle Star. Where is she?” Regina looked down. “Mother?” “Twinkle Star left the country. I don’t think she will be back.” “No… no, that can’t be. She wouldn’t leave us all like that. Not me. What did you do to make her act this way?” Regina got up and looked at Crystal. “I just told her the truth. She is my heir and no one else is. I told her I would not accept anyone else to be it as long as she was around.” It was as if a sword pierced trough Crystal’s heart. It can’t be... “How could you do that! How could you be so mean to her! You don’t know her mother, you don’t know her at all! You have absolutely no idea what she has been through, and still you dared to tell her what to do with her life? Forget it mother. I don’t know what you are thinking, But this is totally different from the mother I got to know the last few days, the mother I remembered from when I was young.” Regina didn’t answer. She stared at Crystal for a moment, then passed her and walked towards the castle’s door. Crystal looked at her mother until she closed the castle’s door behind her. She sighed and walked up the stairs. From up the wall you could see the entire country. But there was no sign of Twinkle Star. None whatsoever. If only they knew her, Crystal thought, if only they knew just a little bit about her. They think they do but they don’t know anything.

“Not suited to be a queen…” “Not enough powers…” “the powers weaken by each newborn child…” “Not the true heir…” “Ack! Who do they think I am? What’s up with those powers anyway, I’ve never heard of them before! They’re just being stupid! I can be a queen if I want to! I can be a better queen then Twinkle Star will ever be!” Ivy was walking through the castle, on her way to the kitchen. She was furious. Furious with her mother. All those years Ivy was by her side, all those years she supported her mother, and now she didn’t want her to follow her as queen? All those years of training, the entire time her mother thought it was useless? “Oh screw them! At least I’m not snobby Twinkle Star! ‘oooh, I can’t do it, I’m the best for the job, but hey, I am waaaay to good for that!’ Snob! Twinkle Snob, that’s what she is! Twinkle Snob, Twinkle Snob, Twinkle…” “Hey there Ivy!” In her rage, Ivy hadn’t noticed Fleur walking towards her. “Why are you calling Twinkle Star a snob?” Fleur asked. “Because missy Twinkle Snob thinks she is too good to be queen, oh, and mom thinks I’m not suited for it.” “Eh?” Fleur gave Ivy a puzzled look. “But you’re the future queen right?” “Apparently not. The oldest ones are the ones who are the ‘most gifted’ and are going to be queen. Do you believe that? They’re just wanting to make sure one of us doesn’t become queen!” “Right… and what about Twinkle Star?” “She left. Mom wanted her to be queen, she refused, and left. Well, good riddance.” “Ivy! You don’t speak of your sister like that!” Both Ivy and Fleur looked up. Their mother stood in the doorway. She obviously had heard everything Ivy had said; her face was almost red with anger. “Mom…” “Ivy, I am very disappointed in you! I am sorry you had to hear all that, but that does not give you the right to act this way or talk about your sister like that!” “Oh it isn’t, is it? Why do you care anyway? Considering I’m useless in your opinion.” “Ivy, it’s not like that. You don’t understand but I… I can’t explain it to you. Not now anyway. Please understand…” Ivy didn’t answer. Instead she walked out of the door and ignored her mother and her sister. Fleur yelled something at her, but she didn’t even hear what she said. It didn’t really matter. All her life she believed her future was safe, that her mother believed in her. She supported her mother and had been with her when she needed her. Of course, when Twinkle Star and Crystal showed up Ivy thought of what was going to happen; was she still going to be queen? But hey, Twinkle Star and Crystal just arrived, they didn’t know anything of this country right? But noooo, they’re older, they have more powers, so they get to be queen before her. “It stinks! It just all stinks! Everything has changed, mom has and I don’t like it! Why don’t they just all go away!” She yelled. “You’re wrong.” Ivy looked up. Crystal was looking at her from the top of the wall. “What do you mean I’m wrong? That’s how it is, isn’t it?” Ivy asked. “No, it’s not. Not at all. I know how you feel. Or at least, I can imagine. Come up here, I’ll explain.” Ivy walked towards the stairs and climbed them. Well, at least someone was trying to explain all of it to her! “Good, you’re here. Ivy, has mom ever told you about the royal families?” Ivy shook her head. “Well, we’re not a royal family for no reason. It has been like this forever. Just like the royal families of other countries, we are destined to be like this. The royal houses… when you’re born in one, there is no other way for you. You are born with a gift. It is especially true for the firstborn of the queen. We never had a real name for those powers, and it isn’t easy to explain them, even for me. I am the 4^th already, I don’t have much of it. And our mother doesn’t have much of it, too. Because she is not the oldest, you see, because mom has two other sisters. But mom was the heir to the throne because of reasons I cannot tell you now. It has been hard for her to understand her mother for this very reason. She was the third daughter and even though she had quite a lot of power for a third child, it was still less. She knows how hard it is to rule without them. Even Stelline had more then mother has, though hers is also less then the usual first born has. If the oldest doesn’t become queen, it takes a few generations for the powers to be restored to their old strength.” “But what are those powers anyway? I never noticed I was missing something.” “That’s because you don’t. you don’t miss them when you don’t have them, because they are a gift, something extra, you don’t need them to live a good life yourself, but to make sure others live a good life… Those powers make you see. You know in an instant when someone is happy or sad. They tell you what the right solutions are, even though they might not be right for you, or don’t seem right that very moment. But they help you fight also; they purify you. You can stand against strong evil forces. You cannot live your life for yourself; you live because you have to protect others. Because of this we are a royal family. We are there for others. It is a lonely life, being a queen. It is hard to live like that. Some can do it better then others.

Every royal family has powers like this, but some have it more then others. You know the Tokowa Lands? Well, their queen only has powers equal to the second or even third child in our family. This is why we were so powerful, why our country was loved so much, why we could survive for so long. But the powers don’t work against the forces of nature, so we couldn’t safe our country from the volcano.” It all was very weird to Ivy. She never felt something like these powers. Were they really so small in her? She knew that she was more responsible then Fleur was, she cared about others more, but was this really because of those powers? “Because mom doesn’t have these powers as much as a firstborn would have, she cares too much about them. That is why she pressured Twinkle Star. Not because she doesn’t believe in you, but because she knows what it is not to have them. Twinkle Star has a lot of those powers, in fact, it has been said she had more then her older sister Joker. This is very unusual, and we don’t know if it is true. But Twinkle Star… I lived with her for over 2 years in the wilderness. She needs herself. She cares for others, more than she will ever tell us. But she can’t live for them. She can’t give herself up for it. She is fighting herself. The powers in her are too strong for her, for she is the third child, and the powers are there, but she won’t accept them. That’s why she won’t become queen. She would give up everything she has been fighting for so long. I don’t know if she will ever win the fight, if she will ever become who she wants to be, or maybe she will give in and become who she is meant to be. There’s a difference in that, and I don’t know anyone by whom it is so strong. That’s why she left, because she doesn’t know herself. She doesn’t know how to live her life. And she wants to find it out herself.” Ivy stared in the distance. The mountains looked as if they were shining in the spring sun. It was a little chilly, Ivy thought. She shivered. “I think I get it now Crystal… I am sorry, I was being selfish, but from what I heard, it was as if my mom didn’t want me to become the one she has trained me to be. I felt so weird and forgotten…” “I know you do Ivy. But please try to understand. Twinkle Star is not an easy girl and I don’t think anyone understands her. I have no idea what she is doing now, or if we will ever see her again. All I hope is that she won’t do anything stupid.” “And what about you? Will you stay? With Twinkle Star gone, mom is going to ask you to be the future queen for sure, right?” Crystal agreed. “I will do it. I don’t know if I can. It’s never been my future to be queen, just as it has never been yours, or Fleur’s, or Twinkle Star’s for that matter. But it can’t be helped. If I have to do this, I have to. But I have two great sisters to help me, right?” Crystal smiled. Ivy smiled back. “Right. We may not have a lot of those powers alone, but if we combine it, it’s gotta be going somewhere!” Crystal laughed. “Indeed. Now, I think I’m going inside, I haven’t had breakfast yet and it’s almost mid-day! You coming with me?” “Sure!”

When they walked into the castle, they noticed Regina. She was walking up and down, as if pondering about a very hard decision. “Mother… I am sorry about earlier. And so is Ivy. I have explained some things to her and she understands now. I am sorry for how I behaved. I will be your heir, if you want me to. I hope Twinkle Star will return one day, but don’t worry about her. She has things to do, answers to find that aren’t here. If the time is there, she will return. I am sure.” Regina smiled to Crystal. “I know. I am not mad at the both of you, or Twinkle Star. Just mad at me. But I am happy you two feel this way. Thanks for explaining Crystal, I am sure I couldn’t have done it better. I know about Twinkle Star. It was wrong of me to ask her. She has to find our own destiny.” A silence fell. But it was a nice silence. Ivy finally understood more of her mothers feelings, and she wasn’t forgotten. She didn’t really understand much of the powers, or all the destiny stuff about firstborns and everything, but she was going to find out someday, she was sure of it. “Now, mom, why don’t you come with us? We’re going to have breakfast. Let’s find Fleur too!” Ivy said. Regina agreed, and they all went off to the kitchen.

That evening Ivy watched the sun set. She loved the view. There were no mountains on the west. It was just one big plain. The horizon was beautiful. When she was younger she used to wonder what was beyond it. The Tokowa lands were the only lands she had ever visited as a child, and they were in the east, over the mountains. She still didn’t know what was in the west. Were the old friendship lands there? What would they be like now? Her thoughts went towards Twinkle Star. What would she be doing right now? “She is mysterious…” she whispered to herself. Ivy didn’t really understand Twinkle Star, but she wasn’t sure if anyone did, including Twinkle Star herself. Slowly the sun disappeared in the west. She could see the first stars in the sky now. “Twinkle Star… Take care of yourself. I know we only just met but you are my sister and I care about you. Do what you have to do, but don’t forget about us. I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again but… well, don’t forget me ok? Don’t forget mom, or Fleur or Crystal, who all care about you. Don’t forget Twinkle Star, please, don’t forget…”