"Chiara di Luna! You have ten minutes to make yourself presentable and get up here for dinner! After that you will have it in your...chamber...let's just say..."
She hurriedly braided her hair back into a tight bun, careful not to let any pins stick out. She grabbed one of the specified "dinner dresses" from her closet and threw it on. Well, not really threw, but more squeezed. The dress was light pink lace ball gown, with gold trimmings and a darker, more coral, pink silk panel down the front. The bottom edge was lined with white lace and the sleeves puffed out at the shoulders. It was your stereotypical old fashioned princess dress, but The Relatives still insisted she wear it and every kind like it. The tighter corset inside the bodice squeezed her ribs, but she managed to slip on a pair of matching heels and run up the steps to where the main house was.
When she got closer to the door, she stopped running and calmly walked in, just as Asteria was counting, "5...4...3...2..."
Chiara curtsied towards her, then towards Astin, and then towards Akhtar, smoothed out her skirt, and sat down in her assigned seat. Almost immediately, the platter in front of her burst into flames, leaving behind a small portion of grilled lemon chicken. It used to startle her, but with all of the other things going on in her life, now it didn't phase her one bit. She glanced around the black marble table, noticing everyone got bigger portions than her...again.
"Chiara di Luna," Astin started, taking a bite of his mashed potatoes, "next time I'd like you to be more prompt. I realize that you were technically on time, but tomorrow you will get only five minutes. Now I also realize that things went differently at The Unspeakable Place, but here you serve us, not the other way around."
"I understand," Chiara said as she bowed her head, not daring to make eye contact with anyone.
The rest of the dinner was eaten in silence. Afterwards, The Relatives sent her back to her so called "chamber."
☾
Vollmund di Luna paced back and forth in the master bedroom of the Sirius Palace. Cyra sat on the bed, absently staring at the sculpture on the dresser across the room, a worried look crossing her face.
"Is there any news yet?" she asked her husband.
"I'm afraid not," he said softly.
It had been ten days since their child, Chiara had gone missing. Nobody knew who took her and they couldn't ask the Sun and Moon officials, in fear they'd find out about their location. They'd done everything they could to hide their tracks. Even their names were changed to represent their new positions as Star Rulers. Cyra was Vesperia Tarachand, Vollmund was Dinari Tarachand, and Chiara was Estelle Tarachand. Their plan was foolproof, unlike the one concocted by The Relatives. Unlike The Relatives', their plan wouldn't land them in jail, their bodies stripped of their powers.
