My body trembled as I collapsed to the ground, heaving with sobs. I killed her. My own mother. I shook uncontrollably as her powers met my own, the excessiveness terrifying. Waving my hand, I resumed the moment in time, and my friends glanced around, still confused and hesitant to move from their spot.

“She’s dead,” I croaked out, my throat sore from the sobs. Steve and Chris exchanged a worried glance as Marisol stepped forward, “Birdie, I’m so sorry.” I shook my head, her apology unnecessary, and wiped the tears from my face.

“What about them?” Steve asked, motioning to the guards rooted to the spot behind me. I turned around, blowing out a breath, and inhaled deeply to prepare for the ramifications of my actions.

“Stay back,” I advised my friends, “in fact, go inside. I can protect you all, but it’s best if none of you are here to see this.” They steadfastly ignored me but moved closer to the sliding door. I sighed, too tired to insist they go into the house. I flicked my hand, the guards unfreezing and stumbling forwards.

“Where is she,” one of them asked, the deep voice ringing through the backyard. My heart constricted as I swallowed down the fear of the impending doom as I uttered the next words, “She is dead. I killed her.”

Gasps echoed from behind me as the guards pulled their swords in unison and marched towards me. I spread my feet out a little wider than my hips and clasped my hands in front of me, bowing my head a fraction. “Birdie!” my friends called out on their approach, but I shouted to them, “Don’t move!”

The guards formed a line, their swords raised in the air, stopping just short of me. They bent down on one knee in unison and kissed the blades to their hooded brows. “My Queen,” they said, “we aim to serve.” I pursed my lips, choking back the bile building as they shouted their next words, “Long live Queen Birgitta of Clydonia, Ruler and God of Her Creation.”

“Fuck,” I murmured, then raised my voice. It trembled slightly as I commanded, “Stand.” They obeyed, and I turned to face my friends who stared at me, gaping. Chris broke the silence first as he mocked a bow, and addressed me, “Your Majesty,” his voice laced with sarcasm.

I offered them a weak smile, “Yes, so this,” I motioned around us, “isn’t really how I expected the trip to go.”

“What the actual fuck is going on?” Lawrence asked, bluntly.

My phone trilled in my pocket, and I held up a finger to them, fishing it out. Not recognizing the number, I decided to answer it. “Hello?”

“Birdie, thank fuck,” came the relieved voice of my cousin, Kiki, “are you okay?”

I brought one hand to my forehead and rubbed, wincing at the pain on my skin. Moving to the shade to avoid being burned alive, I explained, “She’s dead, Keek. I killed her.”

Silence. “Kiki?” I sent a tendril of power through the phone to ensure she was still standing and hadn’t passed out from the news.

“Fuck, Birdie…are you okay,” she repeated.

I bit my lip, “No, no I’m not. Is PJ ok?”

“Yea, she’s fine. Freaked out a little when I started packing up the house, but I told her we were going to Disney World, so she’s better now.”

I huffed a laugh, “Well…ok, I guess we’re going to Disney.”

“I think it’s safe to say Disney is far down the list of priorities, Your Highness.”

I groaned at the title, “Kiki, please, not you too.”

“Ok, ok. Listen, come home, and we’ll figure all of this out,” she promised. I raised my eyebrows and glanced between my group of friends who retreated to the dining room and were now awkwardly chatting and avoiding the elephant sitting on the lawn and the guards who stood at attention.

“Keek, her — my,” I corrected myself, “guards are here. I doubt they’ll willingly go to Clydonia.”

“Is he…” she started and paused.

“I don’t know. That wasn’t my main focus, to tell the truth.”

She blew out a breath, “Well, this should be interesting. Can we come to you instead?”

“Um,” I stared at the behemoth of a vacation home, filled to the brim with enough personalities and unnecessary guards, “maybe see if you can rent another home close by and then yes, come down. Bring your brother, too.”

She agreed and promised to be there as soon as possible. Thanking her, I added, “Tell Penelope I can’t wait to see her, ok?”

“You got it, Birdie. I guess she has a few surprises coming her way, huh?”

I sighed, “Yea, she does.”

“She’ll handle it well. She’s like you, you know.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers, “Yea, I know.”

Hearing the pain in my voice, she said, “Hey, please don’t beat yourself up about this one. Our entire world is better off for it. Both of our worlds. And yes, I know what it means. Yea, things are going to suck for a while and be confusing and hard. But you just save thousands of people’s lives with one act.”

“Yea,” I agreed, “but there are going to be people who don’t see it that way. I’ve got a long road ahead of me.” I left it there and wished her safe travels before hanging up.

Moving to join my friends, I glanced at the guards, maintaining their position. “You all…I mean, please feel free to sit out here. Maybe take off the hoods or something because it is sweltering.” Not one of them moved. “Ok, suit yourself.”

I headed into the dining room, relishing the enclosed space, and stood by an empty chair. “Mind if I sit?” I asked, aware of all their eyes on me.

“You better,” Lawrence said, “you have a lot of fucking explaining to do.” I heaved a sigh, looking around the table at the expectant faces, and slid into the chair.

“Well,” I started, placing my hands on the table, tapping my fingers nervously, “it all began eight years ago.” And then I dove into a tale no one on this planet had ever heard before. “There is a planet far away, in another galaxy, called Clydonia. And it is ruled, has always been ruled, by gods. For a very long time, we lived peacefully, or at least that’s how history remembers it. But my mother rose to power after hers perished. And I don’t really know what happened to her or how she became so evil. Perhaps it’s a topic for another day. Needless to say, hers was the reign of terror. We never saw eye to eye. I was her failure. You see, it’s difficult for gods to procreate. Not impossible, obviously, but very difficult. So I was her chance. Gods live for quite a long time, but we’re not invincible. Again, obviously. So to ensure her rule was maintained, she did try to have another child. It never worked though. Once she knew having another child was out of the question, she focused on me. Fitting me into this box of her desire. Forcing me to see things her way, to see the others around us as ‘less than’. Nothing ever worked. And I rebelled every step of the way. And then one day,” I shuddered a breath, willing the memory out of my mind, “she made a decision so reprehensible and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to leave. My two cousins, Kiki and Alexi, left with me. You know them as my brother and sister. That was eight years ago. I have powers, yes. And before today, I refused to call them to life. They were a beacon for her. But…well you know the rest. So…questions?”

Everyone stared at me, gobsmacked. Steve spoke first, “Why didn’t you kill her back then? Why wait until today?”

I shrugged my shoulders, shaking my head, “I was a coward. And selfish. And maybe a part of me thought leaving would teach her enough of a lesson to change. Maybe I hoped the pain of losing me would cause her to rethink her future actions.”

“What about Penelope?” Marisol asked, cautiously.

I cocked my head, confused, “What about her?”

“She’s…I mean, she’s a little over seven. And you’re a single mom. We’ve never…you’ve never talked about…”

I lowered my head, always amazed by Marisol’s perception. “Yea, she’s…she’s a god too. And has no idea.” I lowered my voice, “Neither does her father.”

Steve hissed, “What?”

I glanced behind me at the guards who stood in the same position as before, “Please, do not say a word. It’s complicated as is. She is at risk if people knew her father hails from Clydonia. So, please, for the sake of her safety, please allow them to think she is half-human too.”

They nodded, and Lawrence piped up, “What are your powers?”

It felt so weird to be sitting here, revealing everything to my friends after spending so long hiding. I sat up in my seat a bit, excited at the prospect to finally discuss it, something I took pride in long ago. “Yea, so I can freeze time and manifest objects. For example, let’s say I’d like an apple,” I closed my eyes and opened my palms, picturing an apple from the kitchen, and when I opened my eyes it had materialized in my hands.

“Whoa,” was all Lawrence said, in awe.

“And now I’ve inherited my mother’s powers, which is what happens to heirs upon their predecessor’s death. Honestly, her powers…some of them you saw…they’re a little too terrifying to delve into. I think I’m safe with what I know.”

“What are you going to do now?” Chris asked, curiously.

I groaned, covering my face with my hands, “That’s a great fucking question.” I rubbed my temples, “I have no clue. Technically, I am required to return to Clydonia. I have to…dear god, I have to have a stupid fucking coronation and be crowned Queen.”

Annie snorted, “That sounds horrible.”

Dropping my hands to the table, I whined, “It is when you’ve built a life here.”

“So this is it?” Steve asked softly. “We’ll never see you again?”

I smirked, “Consider this my two weeks’ notice. But there is something I’ll need to do before I go. And I’m really fucking sorry about this next part.”

“O–ok,” Steve stammered, surely reliving his encounter with my mother.

“I need you all to take a blood oath, swearing on your lives to never speak of what happened here today. Unfortunately, if you break the oath, you die. Again, really sorry, but yea. Soooo…” I waited for any of them to disagree but they all nodded albeit a little hesitantly.

“Thanks. Um, I guess I’ll grab one of the guards then to help out.”

“Now?” Steve asked, flabbergasted.

I pushed back my chair, “Well, yea. I’m kind of leaving soon, so it has to be now.” He didn’t refuse, so I braced myself for the sun’s impact and headed outside to where the guards were stationed.

“Hi,” I addressed them, unsure who was the main guard. One stepped forward and bowed deeply, “Your Majesty. How can we be of service?”

I should be used to this, I reminded myself. They bowed and addressed me as Your Highness constantly while I was growing up. But there was something so grating in my new title, something so unnerving in knowing I was the ruler of them all. I shivered slightly then composed myself. “Right, so I need to enact the blood oath. I was wondering if I could borrow one of your swords? Or,” I added, “I am a bit squeamish, so maybe one of you could help out.”

The guard who spoke up nodded his head and agreed, “I’ll assist you with the blood oath, Your Majesty.”

“Great, thanks. Um, come with me,” I motioned to him.

He joined my side and we walked across the yard to the dining area. He surprised me by dipping his head to my ear and whispering, “A bit squeamish yet you stuck a knife through the old bat’s heart?” I opened my mouth to issue a smart retort until I remembered the nickname and thought of the only person to have the gall to speak to me in such a familiar way. “Einar,” I whispered half-relieved as he chuckled, “you got a promotion?”

“A lot has changed since you left. Still mad at you for leaving, by the way.” We reached the dining area and stepped aside as I said, “Join the club. Ok,” I raised my voice, calling to my friends, “This guard will be assisting with the blood oath.” Einar removed his sword from his side and a few of my friends flinched back.

“It’s ok,” I promised, holding out my palm, “he’ll just slice your palm here and you’ll squeeze a droplet of blood onto the ground. Once all our blood is there, I say a few words and viola! Easy peasy.” I could feel Einar’s gaze boring into the side of my head. I looked at him and raised my eyebrows as if to say ‘what?’. He gave a slight shake of his head and asked, “Who’s first?”

Steve rose on shaky feet and walked over to Einar holding out his palm. Einar sliced quick and easy and beads of blood swelled on the surface. Steve held his hand in a fist over the spot on the ground I pointed to and squeezed. A few drops dripped, and he walked over to Marisol who offered him a napkin. The rest of them followed the process, and then it was my turn. Einar hesitated, pausing the blad over my palm. Saving him the pain of needing to cut me, I held out my other hand and motioned, “Give me.” He handed it over and flinched as I swiftly cut through my palm, grimacing slightly. As my blood joined the pool on the floor, I kneeled down and whispered the familiar words in my native tongue. The blood boiled then fizzled into the ground, a promise of the oath’s magic working.

“It worked,” I announced, as I stood, ignoring the offered hand from Einar. “Thank you, all,” I addressed my friends, “it means a great deal to me.”

“How long until you leave?” Marisol asked as I took my seat at the table and with a nod of dismissal, Einar rejoined his ranks outside.

“Kiki is looking to rent a place down here to spend a few days, maybe a week. Preparing Penelope for the journey is my top priority. And apparently, I have to take her to Disney World first,” I added, shrugging my shoulders.

“Will anyone come back here? After you leave, I mean,” Steve added, nervously.

“The only person with power to travel to different worlds is me. Technically, Penelope can as well, but I’d have to teach her first. It’s incredibly challenging to harness it. Only the immediate members of the royal family are granted the power to travel across worlds. And PJ and I are all that’s left.” Changing the subject and finally asking a question of my own, I broached a particularly awkward topic, “Hey, until my daughter and cousins arrive, are you all ok if I stay here? It’ll just be for tonight. The guards can sleep outside. I’ll set them up appropriately. If not, I completely understand. You’ve just been handed a ridiculous card.”

My friends smiled at me, Marisol reaching over to grab my hand and squeeze. She spoke first, “Of course you can stay here.”

“Yea,” Steve smirked, “Your Majesty.”