"Who's Trent?" asked Adrienne.

"What's Trent," corrected Hiyake.

"Trent is a moon," Raku explained. "It is the smallest of the planet Jensui's three moons. Our headquarters are based there."

They could see the purple dragon up ahead, even through the loose dirt. Cole saw them first. He jumped up and waved. "Hi!" he shouted.

"Is that . . . Prince Cole?" asked Adrienne. "Wow, you really have just about everybody working for you!" Raku glanced at Adrienne but didn't say anything.

"What's your name anyway?" Adrienne continued.

"Raku," said Raku.

"I'm Otome," said Otome, attempting to be friendly.

"This is my brother Kiylo, and this is Hiyake."

"Hi," said Adrienne.

"Devon," said Raku.

"Oh!" said Devon, as cheerful as ever. She opened a silvery door to Trent and then flew through. Raku followed soon after.

"How did she do that?" asked Adrienne, as she followed Hiyake through. Kiylo and Otome went through next with Cole pulling Hiryuu behind.

"There you are," said Tochi. "We were getting bored."

Raku ignored him. She sat at one of the tables and turned to Neo, who was sitting by the controls. "Neo, get me a map of the world and a map of Ariana," she said.

Neo found the maps and selected the ones that Raku wanted. She first spread out the map of Hitao. "This is Ariana," she said pointing to what would be the entire continent of Asia on Earth.

"The whole continent?" asked Otome. "Wow!"

"It's an empire, actually," said Raku. "It's the largest country on the planet. My parents went by Queen and King, though." She turned to look at everybody. "There are too many of us to travel in a group, so we will split up. Devon, Tochi, and Kiylo will come with me. And Otome, Hiyake, Adrienne and Cole will go together."

"What about me?" asked Neo.

"You will stay here," Raku replied. She put little things that looked like watches on Otome and Kiylo's wrists. "We will keep in touch using these receivers."

Raku sighed and continued. "Otome, you guys will be traveling through the center of the continent. Tetsudai's castle is slightly north of the center and is heavily guarded." She turned and stared at a bright star in the dusky sky. "You need to leave as soon as possible."

Cole stepped forward. "Raku, is it okay if we leave Hiryuu here?" he asked. "I'm afraid a dragon would attract too much attention."

Raku looked at him a moment and then answered, "Put it with the commercial dragons on the port in Southeastern Ariana. You might need it." She then directed Devon to open a fairy door to the planet, saying, "After that, you're on your own. See you in a few days."

Cole, Adrienne, Hiyake, and Otome found themselves looking at what looked like a shipyard only with dragons. "That must be the port Raku was talking about," said Cole. They walked over to it and found the nearest attendant.

"Hello," said Cole. "May I keep my dragon here for a few days?"

The attendant bowed his head. "Certainly, Your Majesty," he said. "Can I just charge it to your parents' account?"

"Of course," replied Cole. "Thank you."

They watched the attendant lead Hiryuu away and then turned.

"So which way do we go to get to Tetsudai's castle?" asked Hiyake.

Otome consulted her wrist. "Neo? How do we get there?" she said into the speaker.

Neo typed something into a nearby computer. Several seconds later he answered. "The castle is almost due northeast from where you are standing right now. Hiyake should have a compass."

"Thank you," said Otome to Neo.

"He's right!" Hiyake exclaimed. "I do have a compass somewhere. Hold this," he told Adrienne as he began to empty his pockets. He handed her two books of matches, his lighter, a piece of iron and a piece of flint before he found the compass. He took the stuff back and put it in his pocket. Then he began to fiddle with the compass. Finally, he pointed. "That's northeast."

Adrienne, Cole, Hiyake and Otome began to walk in the direction that Hiyake was pointing. Otome looked at the receiver on her wrist. "One last question," she said to Neo. "How long will it take to get there?"

"If you hurry, you should get to his castle in three or four days," he answered.

Raku, Tochi, Devon and Kiylo found themselves in a field in the northeast corner of Ariana. "We should have about a week's journey from here if we don't want to attract attention," said Raku.

"But wouldn't everyone know what their princess looks like after only six years anyway?" asked Tochi. Raku's eyes shone viciously. "That is what you are for," she said. "I hear you are a master of disguise."

Tochi was inspired by that compliment, so before long, he had Raku transformed into Suki, a middle aged lady with short black hair; and himself and Kiylo into her two children- a rather ugly older daughter; and a younger son (which required only getting Kiylo out of his suit).

"What should I do about Devon?" he asked after he and Kiylo were in costume.

"We should probably keep her hidden the closer we get to Tetsudai's castle," said Raku. "Besides, it's hard to disguise a fairy."

"But what's the point of an entire family traveling together like that?" asked Devon.

"Hm, good point," Raku agreed. "We could always say that we are going to visit Grandma in St. Leninburg and we don't have the money to go by any other means," she said.

"Great idea," said Tochi. "Let's go!"

Raku turned to Kiylo. "Which way?" she asked him.

Kiylo thought for a moment. "That way," he said, pointing.

"Very good," Raku praised him. "Lead the way."

Late that night, Otome, Hiyake, Cole and Adrienne found a place to spend the night. They put down leaves and hay to sleep on, but none of them lay down. Otome looked at the sky. "The stars are so different here," she murmured. "It's hard to believe my family is up there somewhere."

"And how bad things can be down here on Hitao," said Cole. "I'm so lucky to live in a peaceful country. While Raku - She ended up with an extremely troubled empire."

Hiyake snorted. "Of course it's a troubled empire," he said. "All empires are like this. When do you ever hear of an empire that's not troubled?"

The others silently agreed. However, Hiyake's outburst had ended the conversation. The four of them sat in uncomfortable silence. Hiyake played with his lighter. Cole stared up at the sky. Otome twisted the receiver around her wrist. Adrienne wrapped her short-sleeved, feather-trimmed coat around her. Suddenly,

Hiyake flicked the lighter off as loudly as he could and looked at Adrienne.

"Adrienne, why do you do it?" he asked.

Adrienne looked startled. "Do what?" she asked.

"You know damned well what," he snapped, sounding a lot like Raku. "Why do you sell yourself? Don't you have any self-respect?"

"I need the money," she said. "That's the only thing I can do to live."

Otome looked up. "Don't your parents take care of you?" she wondered, sounding more naive than ever.

Adrienne looked away. "I don't have parents," she said. "My father was shot when I was little. My mother's boyfriend was abusive, so I ran away and started doing this."

"That's disgusting," Hiyake burst out. "Your life is too worthwhile to waste on the streets deprecating yourself."

Adrienne sighed. "That's the way life is." Then she turned slyly to Hiyake. "Of course, you probably grew up the second of three kids in a middle class family with all these ideals of self-worth and education and no knowledge of life on the streets."

The look on Hiyake's face said that Adrienne had hit pretty close to the mark. Then he sighed, and in the one tender moment of his life, looked Adrienne in the eyes. "Adrienne," he said, "don't be afraid to give yourself a second chance." And with that, Hiyake lay down and shut his eyes. After a moment, Cole followed.

Adrienne sighed. She looked out at the night sky and then went to bed herself. But, before she lay on her makeshift bedding, she saw Otome sitting under a tree talking to Neo on the receiver.

The next night, Suki and her two children arrived in a town about five days from Tetsudai's castle. They found a farmhouse on the outskirts of the town to spent the night. After reminding herself to sound about twenty-five years older and reminding Tochi to sound like a girl, Raku went up to the door and knocked.

A woman of about sixty answered the door. She was gray, but she looked as though she still had some good years left. "May I help you?" she asked.

Raku cleared her throat. "My name is Suki. My children and I are traveling to St. Leninburg to visit my grandma. May we stay here for the night?"

The woman must have believed Raku, because she smiled and held the door open for them. "Of course. Is the attic okay?"

"It's wonderful," Raku answered. "Thank you."

Raku, Tochi and Kiylo followed the woman to the attic. She got them blankets from a linen closet and then helped them get settled. "If you need anything, we're downstairs," she said. The woman closed the door, but before she left, they could hear her murmur, "That girl looks awfully familiar."

Raku let out her breath and the opened the pouch that held her gems. Devon flew out and circled the attic a few times to stretch her wings.

Tochi took off his high-heeled shoes. "My feet are killing me," he complained. "How do you women walk in these things?"

Raku sighed. "We don't travel ten miles a day in them."

"Raku," Kiylo began, "do you think that woman recognized you?"

Raku bit her lip. "I hope not," she said. "She's about the right age to have known my mother." Then she looked at him. "You should go to bed. We have a long way to go."

"Okay," agreed Kiylo, and lay down. Devon settled down and went to sleep by Kiylo's head. Raku sighed and lay down next and, after adjusting his wig, so did Tochi.

"Well, today's the day," said Otome as they set out the next morning. "We'll either make it there tonight or tomorrow morning."

"I don't know about you, but I'd rather get there in broad daylight," said Adrienne.

"We'll get to the grounds today no matter what," said Cole. "We can spend the night there and then go inside the castle tomorrow."

"Good idea," said Otome.

They reached the grounds that afternoon. There was a big, wrought iron gate surrounding the entire premises.

"How do we get in now?" asked Otome.

Adrienne tried to slip between the bars, but they were too close together. "Can you get through, Prince Cole?" she asked.

"Not if you can't," he replied, "but I've got a better idea." Cole stood on Hiyake's shoulders and delicately leapt to the thin rail at the top of the fence. Then he jumped down and landed on all fours. He stood up and peered at the lock.

"Can you open it?" asked Otome.

"It locks with a key from the inside," Cole replied. "No sweat." He worked at the lock with a claw, and soon the door was open. Adrienne, Otome and Hiyake followed him in through the gate. The castle was still several miles away.

They walked through the trees at the edge of the perimeter, and then through a large garden. After that, they could see a clear path leading to the drawbridge. At this point, the castle was only a mile or two away.

"We can go back to the forest and spend the night there," said Adrienne.

"Good, let's go," said Hiyake. They were just about to turn around when two big soldiers stopped them.

"You must be Tetsudai's whore," said one to Adrienne.

Adrienne was shocked. "Wha-" she said, taking a step back. "No, I-" she looked back at Hiyake, Otome and Cole who were watching her to see what she would do.

Adrienne looked the man who spoke in the eye. "You must have the wrong person," she said. "Besides, he's too young to have a whore."

"Really?" the other one replied. "You match Lord Tetsudai's description perfectly."

Now she was confused. Obviously, Adrienne had heard about Tetsudai before, but he had never seen her. Or so she thought. She looked back at the others again quickly and back at the soldiers.

"I- I guess I'll go then," she said. Then she turned to Otome and whispered in her ear, "Somehow I don't think- that is, I think there's another reason why he wants me. I'm going to see him."

Adrienne then turned and followed one of the soldiers to the castle. The other one walked behind her so she could not change her mind.

Otome, Hiyake and Cole looked at each other. "This is bad," said Otome. "We need to tell someone."

Cole looked at Otome. "Otome, have Neo tell Raku what happened. Then we will go back to the Outback. I think I need to talk to my mom"

Otome and Hiyake nodded. Otome called Neo on her wrist and told him what happened. Then the three of them ran back through the garden.

The next morning, Raku, Kiylo and Tochi woke up early and got back into their costumes. Raku sighed.

"These are really very stupid costumes," she sighed. "But I guess as long as nobody recognizes us..." she trailed off.

Shortly after their costumes were perfect by Tochi's standards and Devon was back in hiding, the woman knocked on the door to the attic.

"Come, I mean, come in," said Tochi, almost forgetting to be a girl.

The lady came inside the attic and set down a tray of bread and tea. "Here is some breakfast," she said.

"I'm sorry it isn't much, but I'm afraid there isn't much money for large breakfasts anymore."

"Oh, we understand," said Raku. "Thank you for your generosity."

"You're welcome," the woman replied. "So what part of Ariana are you from?" she asked.

"The eastern coast," Raku answered.

"Oh, so then you do understand," said the old woman. "It's these taxes. They are atrocious, and yet they aren't going anywhere. And of course there's the jail time for not paying taxes, and for speaking against Lord Tetsudai." She paused and then added, "However, I heard that some of the money is at least going into a national guard. Have you heard that?"

Raku's eyes flashed, but she didn't say anything that would give her away. "Yes," she agreed.

As they were leaving the old woman's house, she gave Tochi a large paper bag. "Good luck on your journey," she said. "Do be careful." And as Raku filed out the door, the woman said very quietly, "Rene would be proud of you."

Raku jumped. "You-" she began, "I- you knew my mother?"

The old woman winked. "Just worry about your country," she said. "Everyone has been waiting six years for this. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she added.

Raku, Devon, Kiylo and Tochi stopped between towns for lunch. The lady who had let them stay the night before had packed them some bread and cheese. As Raku passed food out to everyone, she sighed. "I can't believe she recognized us."

"It seems like she knew your family from somewhere," observed Tochi.

"Actually, she did seem kind of familiar," Raku agreed, starting on her own small portion. But just then, Kiylo cried out in surprise.

"Raku!" he said in his high-pitched voice. Raku looked up. "Kiylo, what's wrong?"

Kiylo held out his shaking wrist. On the receiver, Neo was saying, "Raku, Raku, something has happened!"

Raku grabbed Kiylo's wrist. "Neo, what is it?"

Neo coughed. "Raku, it's Adrienne," he said. "They made it inside the premises of Tetsudai's castle, and two guards came out and took Adrienne in to see him."

Raku was a little worried. "What do you mean? They just came out and took Adrienne?"

"No," said Neo, "They came out and said that Tetsudai wanted her, and she went with them."

Raku shook her head. "Why would she do that?"

Neo looked at the other screen. "I'm not sure. I'm getting this info secondhand from Otome." Then he looked at Raku. "But Otome thinks Adrienne did the right thing."

Raku sighed. "Thank you, Neo," she said. Kiylo took back his hand and started picking apart his food.

"What is it?" Tochi asked. Raku was taking off her disguise.

"Change of plans," she said. "Tetsudai has Adrienne. I'm not sure what it means exactly, or why he picked Adrienne. But it means we have to get there as soon as possible."

Tochi began to take off his wig and dress and get into his regular clothes. Raku finger combed her long, thick blond hair and started to braid it, but then she stopped. "No," she murmured, "I have a better idea." Raku left it alone. "Tochi," she said, "we'll get ready for our dramatic entrance later. Right now we have to get to the castle as soon as possible." Devon finished eating and flew eye level to Raku. "Wouldn't it be easier to use me?" she asked.

Raku smiled faintly. "No. We don't want to call any more attention to you than necessary," she said. "In fact," she sighed, the smile completely gone. "I think maybe it would be safer for you to go back to Trent."

Devon was shocked. "But- how would you guys get back home?"

Raku bit her lip. "Well, if everything goes our way, this will be my home once again."

Devon still looked worried. "But what if it doesn't?"

Tochi nodded. "Yeah, he was strong when he was ten. I'll bet he's even stronger now."

Raku looked determined. "Yeah, well so am I," she said. "Besides, I've got the best help in the universe. Don't worry about it."

But Devon could tell that, for all of her talk and lack of emotion, Raku was very worried about it. She smiled in her usual cheerful way. "No, I want to stay and help you," she said.

Raku sighed again. "If anything happens to you, I will blame myself," she warned.

"Thank you, Raku," Devon said. "Now let's go! We have to get there as soon as possible!"

**

That night, Otome was talking to Neo again.

"So you're going to be a senior? And you're fifteen?" he asked.

"Well, I'll be sixteen in September," she replied.

"How did that happen?" asked Neo jokingly.

Otome smiled. "Well, I started school in first grade, when I was five. The next year they decided to skip me to third grade when I was six."

"Wow," said Neo. "When I was in first grade, I turned seven. Just like everyone else."

"I just started early," Otome explained, "and then they decided I was too smart and skipped me, so I ended up being about two years younger than everyone else." She paused. "Of course, it was a rural school district. In Tokyo, or a big city like that, I probably would not have had to skip."

"Smart," Neo remarked.

Otome looked back at the others, who were all fast asleep. Then she turned back to the receiver. "Neo, what time is it?" she asked.

Neo shook his head. "You know time is not the same on every planet," he said, "but there it would be about..." he paused to check a clock, "midnight or shortly after."

"Ooh!" Otome exclaimed, "I should get to bed. Tomorrow we're going back to the Outback."

"Yeah," Neo agreed. "You'll have to be awake early in order to make the trip twice as fast.. Goodnight."

"'Night, Neo," said Otome.