Aezhay shifted her bag onto her other shoulder and leaned in to wrap her arms around Rhionne’s shoulder.

“Thanks for having me over.” The tall Titan murmured into her ear. “I had an amazing time.”

“You are welcome any time.” The princess responded before pulling away and reaching out for Fara. The two of them were heading for home, Aezhay to her farm in Korafia and Fara to her home in the Narena colony.

“Well, I suppose we should be going.” Fara said “It was very nice of your parents to arrange direct transport for us.”

Rhionne shook her head. “Not at all.”

Aezhay and Fara quickly said their goodbyes to the rest of the group.

Aezhay stepped over to a rather downtrodden looking Daz and leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “Sugar, if you need anything, you let me know okay?”

Daz nodded wordlessly. “I’ll be okay. Thanks.”

Aezhay smiled softly and ran her hand through Daz’s hair affectionately. “Call me later, okay? Keep me updated.”

Aezhay adjusted her bag and she and Fara stepped into the shuttle that would take them to the space field, and then home.

Daz watched silently as the shift’s thrusters glowed blue and it slowly rose from the ground. Wordlessly, Daz glanced over at Pierce sitting on Tylum’s shoulder. It looked like he was studiously ignoring her.

Daz’s gaze slid towards Rhionne and she found the Princess looking back over at her. Their eyes met and Daz looked away, awkwardly.

As the shuttle sailed away into the sky, Daz turned and walked back into the palace. After a moment, Rhionne turned and followed her.

*.*.*

“So how’s school going?”

Tylum looked into the screen that displayed her sister’s image. “We’re on break at the moment.”

Zara’s tired visage seemed to light up for a brief moment. “Oh! Does that mean you’re at home? Say hi to Mom and Dad for me.”

Tylum shook her head. “I’m not at home actually, Rhionne offered to host us at the Palace. I couldn’t refuse an opportunity like that.”

Zara rubbed her eyes. Tylum noted she still looked rather exhausted. She was tempted to ask just what was going on, but something told her it wasn’t a good idea, and her sister wouldn’t be willing to tell her very much anyway.

Still… Tylum couldn’t resist her curiosity. “How are things going with the new Tarsuss job?”

Zara smiled wanly. “It’s exhausting. Pryvani is a great boss, but the work itself… it’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I just wish that we had a better way to communicate with the city. Without having to stomp through there. I mean, there are holograms but those are only available in the Temple…”

Tylum got the feeling that Zara was mostly talking to herself out loud at this point. But, still, the young woman found that last bit to be interesting.

“Holograms?”

Zara blinked, as if remembering she was still talking to her sister. “Oh, yeah, the temple in the city is rigged with holographic projectors. It allows us to talk to the natives without… going in person.”

“And possibly causing a panic.” Tylum nodded. “That makes sense.”

“It does, and it’s very useful. Unfortunately, it’s also very limited.” Zara sighed.

Tylum bit her lip. There was a germ of an idea growing in her mind. “You know… one of my room mates is a holographics engineer.”

Zara smirked and shook her head. “I appreciate that you’re trying to help your friend, Ty, but I think Pryvani can afford to hire holographers that already have their degrees.”

A wide grin split Tylum’s face. “That may be true, but not only is Myona one of the best I’ve ever seen, despite only being a student, she has been training a human to program holograms and Shaar might actually be even better than Myona is.”

Zara’s eyes widened and for a moment she seemed to have lost her voice. “Really?” the older sister muttered. “Well… that would be useful, having a human to help with the installation…”

Tylum’s smiled in satisfaction.

“Oh don’t give me that look. All I can do is pass her information to Pryvani, okay? I can’t hire her.”

“Fair enough.” Tylum said.

*.*.*.*

Daz sat in her room, head in her hands, unsure of what to do next. It was all… changing so fast. Her sister had upended her life… and then Pierce had left… and Rhionne…

She hadn’t had a chance to talk to Rhionne. To be perfectly honest, Daz had been avoiding the princess.

Suddenly, her door opened and said Princess appeared in the doorframe.

“Are you finished avoiding me now?” Rhionne asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Daz sighed. “You’re blocking the only exit. I suppose I really don’t have a choice.”

“Is that how you’re feeling right now?” Rhionne asked, her eyebrow rising inquisitively. “Like you’re being trapped?”

Daz didn’t say anything at first, she stared at her shoes sullenly and tried to figure out what to say.

“Look, Daz… I didn’t…”

“I know.” Daz said. “Reevah told me you didn’t have any idea it was going to be me. For the record, I didn’t know either.”

“I know.”

The two women fell silent again. The silence stretched between them, heavy, like a lead weight. Rhionne crossed the room and sat on the bed next to Daz.

“So what do you want to do?” The princess asked softly.

“I don’t really have much choice, do I?” Daz responded sullenly. “I have to go through with it.”

Rhionne nodded. Tentatively, she reached out her hand and placed it over Daz’s own. After a moment, Daz’s hand turned over and their fingers entwined.

“I’m being stupid aren’t I?” Daz suddenly asked.

“Possibly.” Rhionne chuckled mirthlessly. “About what?”

“I’m not this only one dealing with this, am I? You’re just as stuck as I am, aren’t you?” Daz shook her head.

“I suppose I am.” Rhionne agreed. “But, considering all the other candidates my parents could have chosen … I’m glad it was you they picked.”

Daz snorted. “The field couldn’t have been that great if I’m the best your parents could have gone with.”

Rhionne grinned and shoved Daz’s shoulder. “Shut up.”

With an exaggerated sigh, Daz pushed herself to her feet. Turning around, she offered a hand to Rhionne. “Come on, I need some air, and I think you and I have some things to discuss.”

“I’m not taking your name, just so we’re clear.”

Daz paused. “We’ll talk about it.”

*.*.*.*

Shaar looked out across the palace grounds from her perch on top of Myona’s head. She was surrounded by a sea of curly red locks, but her view of the surrounding area was unobstructed. The weather was nice and there was a breeze that was just enough to ruffle Shaar’s hair a little, but not enough to blow her away.

Shaar wanted to be working on the newest programing trick that Myona had showed her, but the cheerful titan had insisted that they take a break.

“You’re at the Palace, Shaar.” Myona told her cheerfully. “You should look around for a bit, take in some of the scenery.”

Shaar sighed and shifted on top of Myona’s hair. “I suppose you are right, it’s just hard not to keep working.”

A shadow fell over her as Myona gently plucked her up between her fingers and brought her around to the front of her face.

“I know this is important to you, Shaar.” The redheaded Titan smiled. “It’s important for me too, but you have to step away sometimes and clear your head. You have to reset, otherwise the code stops making any sense and just turns to gibberish.”

Shaar nodded, settling into Myona’s hand when she was lowered into the giant’s palm. “The holograms… they are… they aren’t just a game for me. If I can show that I know how to do the things that a Titan can do, maybe I won’t have to live on the street any longer. That I can be more than just a pretty toy.”

Myona bit her lip, feeling a sudden pain in her gut from her small friend’s words. This had started out as a novelty, something fun for Myona to try out, and if it didn’t work, well, there was no real loss, was there?

She hadn’t counted on it being so important to Shaar. For that matter, Myona hadn’t counted on it being so important to herself either. Teaching Shaar was no longer a game. It was still fun, of course, but now even Myona could see how serious it had become.

For Shaar, it was a way to prove her personhood. Myona’s heart ached that such a thing was even necessary.

She bit her lip and shook her head.

“Shaar, I’m telling you right now, no matter what else happens, no matter how successful you are with holograms or not, no matter what you will never ever be a toy to anybody ever again.”

Shaar looked up at Myona, and her mouth worked soundlessly for a moment as she tried to grasp for words.

“I… um…”

“Ooh!” Myona gasped suddenly looking up. “Hey look at the flowers on that tree over there!” Gently curling her fingers around her small friend, Myona took off running towards the colorful plant that had caught her attention.

*.*.*.*

Pierce stood in the office of Empress Rajenlif, and paced back and forth or her desk. The Empress herself was not present, a servant had carried him in there and told him Her Majesty would arrive momentarily.

Pierce didn’t have to wait long before the door to the office opened and Rhionne’s mother swept into the room.

“Hello your majesty.” Pierce said, bowing awkwardly.

“Hello Pierce.” Rajenlif smiled brightly as she walked around her desk and sat in the chair. “I’ve told you before, the bowing is not necessary.”

“Right, uh, sorry.”

There was a sound of wood scraping on wood as the Empress opened her desk drawer, a moment later she deposited a small wooden chair next to Pierce.

“I carved it myself.” The Empress explained. “I hope it is comfortable for you. I’d hate for you to have to stand the entire time we talked.”

Pierce slowly lowered himself into the chair. “It’s very comfortable. Thank you, your Majesty.”

“Good.” Rajenlif smiled. The Empress smoothed out her dress, which Pierce suspected was a stalling tactic.

“Pierce, I didn’t ask you here today to talk about Earth.”

Pierce sat up straighter. “You didn’t?”

“No. I wanted to… talk to you about my daughter… and Daz.”

“Daz?”

“Yes… I’ve come to understand that you were in something of a relationship with her, before coming to the palace.”

Pierce shrugged. “I’m not sure I would go that far.”

Rajenlif’s eyebrow raised, but she pressed on. “Well, be that as it may… I wanted to see if… Daz was supposed to have been notified of the situation. She should have been told that her arrangement was a possibility, the way Rhionne was.”

“I see…” Pierce muttered.

Rajenlif sighed. “I’m sorry for any pain that it caused you or Daz. It was never my intention, or the Emperor’s, that either of you get hurt.”

“I um…” Pierce scratched the back of his head. This was not the type of conversation he expected to be having with the Empress when she’d asked for him. “Thank you, but really… I’m fine. Daz and me… we wouldn’t have worked anyway. So, you know, all for the best… or whatever.”

He looked up into the Empress’s green eyes, which were narrowed in thought. Pierce got distinct feeling of being under a microscope. He’d almost believe she could read his mind, with the way she was looking at him.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that you are okay, Pierce.” Rajenlif finally said. “I’ve come to enjoy our discussions.”

Pierce smiled genuinely. “I have as well, your Majesty.”

The Empress leaned back and smiled. “As long as I have you here, perhaps you could tell me about that thing you mentioned earlier… Hockey, I believe you called it?”