Ash and Eleanor.

The last two faces that I wanted to see tonight.

They each wore a backpack that had weapons sticking out of the hole. Their eyes turned towards me as I walked into the room.

"Took you long enough," Eleanor moaned.

"Why on earth- I mean zeig- are you guys here-" I began.

"We're coming with you Burn," he said as though it were obvious.

I narrowed my eyes, hesitating for a second. "Uh, no you're not. It's too dangerous. I will not allow both of you to risk your lives for me."

"We've been training for our entire lives ("We don't need your permission," Eleanor murmured) and we've never gotten a chance to apply it to anything," Ash shouted.

"So you heard everything the old lady said, huh?" I said, not expecting myself to be as nervous as I was.

"I ran over the moment I saw the old siren appear because they mean nothing but trouble," Ash replied. "She was disguised in the form of a human-"

"Wait- sirens in like the evil mermaids that lure sailors?"

He nodded eagerly. "I had absolutely no idea what she's was doing in Zeig since her planet is far away and they aren't supposed to be here."

I looked up at him. "Why didn't you stop her?"

"I knew that she was trying to 'help' you and you wouldn't have ever forgiven me if I ruined your only chance of saving earth," he said as he scrunched his mouth.

"Well why aren't you stopping me- now that I know the truth?"

"Do you hear yourself right now? If we told you not to go, will you really listen?" Elanor snapped.

Then came the threatening moments of silence where neither of us spoke a word.

"How were you so sure that I'll go?" I asked, but soon regretting it since my dry voice barely came out.

"It's not too hard to tell. Plus I'm warning you that this trip is equivalent to suicide. We may as well walk off the edge of a cliff."

Ella clapped, capturing our attention. "Enough chatter and get on with choosing the weapons".

"And you're coming too?" I asked, already fearing the answer.

She nodded, pouting her lips. "Ash and I. We're a team."

I angrily glanced over at Ash who quickly gazed away, pretending to concentrate on the weapons.

I rocked my head backwards, smiling to myself. I was happy to know that I wasn't going alone. Even if the company included ash and Eleanor.

I strolled to the rope section, and picked out the strongest, most slender rope on the shelf. Then I grabbed a dagger (with golden carvings) along with a torch, and some other objects.

"Here take these," Ash said as he handed me a miniature versions of bow and arrow with a tiny pouch.

"What the bloody hell is this?!"

He chuckled as his finger punched a button on the objects. Suddenly the set enlarged and instantly felt heavy in my hand.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed.

"You can't go into the wild looking like that, princess," Eleanor's voice boomed from behind me.

"What ever do you mean," I asked as she handed me a neat pile of dark clothes and a thick belt.

"Alright, strap your bags on," Ash said after I'd changed.

The corridors seemed even longer and darker at night but their company made me feel a little less uneasy.

When we reached the palace gardens, I saw the shadow of a large rabbit lurking in the darkness. And I thought we were lucky to get thought the palace without having to take down a single guard.

As the figure stepped out of the darkness, I drew my golden dagger out of my belt.

"I forced Ash to tell me, and I'm proud to say I'm coming along too!" The voice squeaked all the words at once.

I sighed as I pushed my weapon back into its pouch. "Ivory, but you're the future queen! You can't come."

"Yeah, (So that's why all the guards were cleared out!" I heard Eleanor laugh.) well I'm not much of a queen if I don't try saving the universe, now am I?"

She smiled as she caught the mini backpack that Ash threw towards her. "And, I can help you with my special powers."

"Great! Now we're a little gang of adventurers," Eleanor rolled her eyes.

Ivory gave her a dirty look as turned around, beginning to walk.

"Can someone please tell me where we're actually going," Ella finally said as she stared at the shining moons.

"We're going to the Strawberry River."

Ivory frowned. "But nobody's been there for ages so nobody actually remembers where it really is."

"Except for the famous explorer who's actually been there," Ash said excitedly as his eager eyes danced to Eleanor's'.

"You mean the famous explorer?" Eleanor asked in amusement.

As Ash nodded which sparked a flicker of excitement to flash through everyone's eyes.

"And who might this person be?" I asked as we climbed over the fence and into the city.

"Brian Wilder."

"Why is he so famous?" I asked, feeling stupid since I was the only one that didn't seem to know about him.

"He has discovered hidden lands-"

"He's also found extraordinary treasures!"

"Don't forget- saving millions of creatures when Zeig had a shortage of water!"

As we travelled further into the farmland, the night grew colder and darker. I gazed up at the stars when we had settled on hay sacks for the night. They were so strange and unfamiliar.

Some feel like strangers in their own skin and some in their own home. But a peculiar girl like me, didn't feel like a stranger even on another corner of the universe.

What was wrong with me?