The Moon's Elite

Chapter 1

Space is a beautiful and ominous thing, and it's all I've ever known. I've heard of the blue skies and rolling green hills of earth, the colorful blossoms of spring, the falling leaves of fall, and the crisp white snow of winter. It's hard to imagine such a world only 238,900 miles away from the dusty gray planet I call home.

I'm ripped from my thoughts as the aircraft enters Earth's atmosphere and I'm thrown around in my seat. All 17 of the Moons Elite including myself are packed into the back of a fighter craft on our way to peace treaty negotiations with Earth's most powerful monarchs.

Queen Loriel sent us -her small personal army- to handle the situation and report back to her. Unfortunately, though she wants it done quietly so we're forced to play nice with the royals and attend a ball in our honor which means I have to wear a dress. My nose crinkles in disgust. I hear a quiet chuckle from the row of chairs across from me and spin towards the sound. Koa Hendrick looks the definition of composed sitting straight up in his seat fingers intertwined in his lap but his dark brown eyes dance with amusement.

I roll my eyes and re-focus on the wall straight across from me forcing my face to remain emotionless. Koa is the closest thing I have to a friend and that's mainly because I've known him since we were conscripted into the general army 6 years ago. We pushed each other to be better which led to us being conscripted into the Queen's secret army after only 3 years in the general army.

The castle Is in the countryside only a few miles from the capital city so after we get to Earth it's only a short flight. A tone rings through the seating compartment and in sync we all unbuckle our harnesses, stand, and walk to the locker room. I strip down to my undergarments and pull on a nice but basic dress, strap holsters to my thighs, and hide knives in my boots. Someone whistles as I work but I ignore it, the army is in no place for luxuries including separate locker rooms for the men and women, but I'm the only woman and there haven't been any complaints from the guys so I'm stuck with them.

"C'mon Mira let loose a little." Grant chuckles to himself. He's the only one dumb enough to make fun of me. The rest of the guys found it funny the first 6 months but since I broke Ben's nose they've kept to themselves.

There's a beep from the speaker before it says "We're landing in 5 minutes you all better be ready."

3 minutes later I'm standing ready at the ramp waiting for it to drop with the guys behind me posing as my personal guard.

"Knock 'em dead Mira," Koa whispers for only me to hear. I stand straighter and when the ramp drops I'm ready to play pretend.

...

"Ambassador Tamzin of the Celestial Empire." I'm announced as I descend the ramp onto a large landing strip. The king and queen are waiting 10 yards away wearing red and white -the royal colors- and next to them is a boy with the same blond hair as the queen and the same tan skin as the king. The prince is exactly as I'd expected, intelligence says he's 21 but his behavior suggests he's 16, his button-up shirt is wrinkled and rolled up his forearm his blonde hair is disheveled. He looks as if he's just rolled out of bed after a long night. Perfect.

When I'm 2 yards away I drop into a proper curtsy "King and Queen Cadmus thank you for your hospitality, it's a pleasure to meet you." After a few seconds, I stand and look them in the eyes. They nod their heads in acknowledgment and the king gestures to his son.

"The pleasure is all ours, Ambassador Tamzin. This is our son Prince Cadmus." There's a flicker of disappointment in the king's eyes and I file it away for later. "Anna here will be taking care of you during your stay. If you have any questions ask her. She'll show you to your room." I curtsy once more before the royal family turns to a nearby limo and drives toward the castle. As soon as they're out of sight a group of servant girls introduces themselves. Anna is the oldest looking around 30 and the other 2 girls look to be around 18. After introducing themselves they gesture for me to follow them to another limo the windows are tinted so I can't so out of them and the only thing I can do is trust I'm not being ambushed. When the limo stops my door opens and a hand is extended for me as I climb out.