Wonderland Is A State Of Mind

Chapter 1

Gently placing her bouquet of Agapanthus on the grave, she took a moment to admire the baby blue flowers her mother had loved so dearly. The summer heat filled the air around her and Celeste felt a cool breeze blow through her pastel purple hair, her dress clinging to her legs in the gentle wind. Celeste sighed and ruffled the fabric, arranging it back into its picture-perfect state.

"I don't know how I'm going to do this without you Mom. We were always a team, you and I. First Lyra leaves, then Nova goes away to Earth. You were the only family I had left, now that you're gone I'm all alone. Sure, Hale is here, but you know it's not the same. He will never know what it's like to have the world watching your every move. You knew though, and even when people called you heartless or cruel, you never let it bother you. I miss the shift in people when you walked into the room, backs straightened and laughter ceased. Oh how you so loved when people cowered. But even though they never knew how loving and gentle you really were, our people praised and loved you," staring up at the bright blue sky she continued, her voice only a whisper, "I loved you," a single tear trickled down her cheek.

Stopping one last time to gaze at her mother's grave, Celeste ran her hand over the words carved in elegant stone. Eclipsia Soleil, 2126-2163. She glanced at the grave parallel to her mother's. Now both of her parents were gone. Her dad had died when she was only three. Now, almost 14 years later, history was repeating itself.

Making her way back to the ship, Celeste passed a quaint babbling brook. The warm water rushed by as she knelt to admire the sparkling dew drops. From behind a nearby rock, a toad crept out and hopped onto the stones, spreading out almost as if he was sun tanning under the summer rays. Earth was funny that way, a lot different from the glowing creatures Celeste was used to back home.

Realizing the passing time, she raised from her knees and continued walking. Reaching the end of the path, she hurried up the ramp of the spaceship and prepared for take-off.

As the trees blurred outside the window of the ship, silent tears dripped onto her dress, the fabric resembling the dark chill of outer space. Hale glanced up in the mirror to see Celeste distantly gazing out the window but said nothing. Although he had known Celeste her whole life, even grew up in the nursery down the hall from hers, there were still moments when the two felt like they didn't know each other at all.

They sat side by side in the quiet ship as Earth melted away from the horizon. Soon they would be home and Celeste could finally retreat to the sanctuary that was her palace. No more brash reporters or Earthen politicians wishing to catch a glimpse of the young Queen, in her unguarded state.

The funeral had been difficult for everyone, but no one really knew how much it had affected her. Her mother had only been dead a week but it had seemed like she had been gone forever with the emptiness filling her heart. And as her older sister Lyra had renounced her royal title 2 years prior, the death of her beloved mother had ushered in the beginning of Celeste's reign as Queen of Lunaria. Utterly alone as the rest of her mother's court watched idly while she stumbled blindly through her Queenly duties. Celestia Artemis Soleil was not one to shy away from adventure, but becoming Queen overnight was one undertaking she had never imagined she would venture into. It was all too much to handle. At 17, Celeste was a pretty face, there to be seen and not heard. Now, she was the one girl everyone desperately needed guidance from. Only she was just as lost as they were.

With the last of her composure failing, heart-wrenching tears erupted from her buried sorrow. Though no words came, the unspoken agreement to not discuss the tragedy that was before them cracked. And as Hale freed his right arm from the controls and wrapped it gingerly around Celeste, the two settled into a comfortable silence for the rest of the journey.