Ardonia.

A habitable desert planet in the Scorpius constellation.

It orbited around a red dwarf star, one of a triple-star system, of which this one was the largest and brightest.

It was once the capital of a powerful empire, peaceful and prosperous.

It was now ruled by a despotic conqueror, Ay-Shinn. Serving him was a vast, viciously loyal army, ready to do his bidding no matter what.

His kind was that of an almost serpentine, yet humanoid, reptilian race, whom looked anything but noble, with pale, scaly skin and a long, tail-like appendage hanging from the back of their heads.

Not too long ago Ay-Shinn led his forces to this once proud empire, threatening its ruler and people with slavery and death, unless a marriage between himself and the king's daughter was to be arranged. The teenage princess rebelled, and Ay-Shinn murdered her parents.

With hatred for the tyrannical reptilian burning bright in her heart, the Ardonian princess fled the planet, seeking a new life. She found herself in a distant planet, and made friends with some of its inhabitants, as well as some other alien races residing upon it. One might even say she had found love in one particular male of the native species.

But no sooner had the young princess arrived on this tiny, blue planet, when the past that she had desperately tried to escape from followed her to her new home. The reptilian megalomaniac was out to reclaim his prize.

And he did.

A few hours ago, Maina of Ardonia, known as Mai Suzuki by her Earth friends, had been captured by Ay-Shinn. Today she was returned to her home planet by her captors, but when she was brought out to the blinding light of the red dwarf star Maina, she could barely recognize the city she grew up in.

She saw her once noble people reduced to slaves and beggars, oppressed by the reptilian invaders who now rule this world. The flame of rage that the young princess had for Ay-Shinn was immediately refueled by the sight that now filled her view.

"You monsters!" said Maina as she struggled to get free of her bonds. "Cowards! I shall kill you all!"

Many of the Ardonian slaves looked upon the direction from which they heard the familiar voice and beheld their long lost princess, held in place by two of the serpentine humanoids as she writhed. They were visibly shocked to see the true heir to the throne returned to Ardonia and began talking amongst themselves, but they were quickly whipped back to their duties by their slavers, who used their head-tails to lash them savagely.

"You will pay for this!" said Maina as she wriggled with all her might. "I shall make you pay, Ay-Shinn!"

"You should thank me," said Ay-Shinn as he stepped out of the spacecraft just behind the princess and his soldiers. "I have brought you back a long way to see your people."

They were on top of a lofty pedestal overlooking the city of Mirgathol, Ardonia's capital. There Ay-Shinn stood almost nobly, now in his reptilian form, as if he were a king about to address the Ardonian people as they watched from below.

"Ardonians!" he spoke audibly, and the murmurs of the townspeople grew silent. "I bring you back your princess!"

At that the soldiers brought the sixteen-year-old Ardonian girl forward for her people to see. She tried with all her might to break free of the shackles that bound her and the vile creatures who held her fast. Most of her former subjects were shocked to see her chained up like a prisoner.

"But, alas," continued Ay-Shinn in his eloquent, condescending voice, "she is not here to assume command of her kingdom, but to be punished for her crimes!"

There was an uproar from the Ardonians after that sentence, who were curious as to what crimes Maina had committed.

"Crimes?" said the princess. "I have committed no crimes. He is the criminal! Do not heed his word, my people!"

"Have you forgotten, Highness, that it was you who had abandoned your people?" replied the reptilian overlord audibly so the people, who were even more outraged at that, could hear.

Maina's eyes widened as she gritted her fanged teeth.

"It is true!" continued Ay-Shinn with a crazed smirk upon his scaly face. "She fled. To a distant planet called... Earth. And for what? To start a new life? To leave this one behind?"

The Ardonians could not believe their ears. Their princess had abandoned them? Left them to be enslaved by this wily conqueror? They spoke in rage amongst themselves as they turned their spurning eyes not at him, but at Maina.

"I..." said Maina in disbelief as her eyes began to well up. "F-Forgive me..."

Her apology only seemed to stir the crowd more. They yelled things like "Betrayer!" and "Coward!" and "You abandoned us!" Some even hurled fruit at her, one hitting her right in the cheek with a splatter as she wept.

"You see, Maina," said Ay-Shinn as he mockingly put his hand on her shoulder, "your people are only as loyal as you want them to be. But if you abandon them like you did, be prepared for such criticism. Hehehehehe."

Maina hung her head in shame as she continued weeping. He was right. The crowd was right. She was a traitor and a coward for running away from her responsibilities.

"And now," continued Ay-Shinn, "you, the people of this world, shall choose a punishment befitting such a cowardly act! Choose!"

The townspeople of Mirgathol looked upon one another and started chanting "Death!" It was clear now that they were angrier at their princess for her abandonment of them than she had first though.

"Death, then!" said the serpentine humanoid. "Your people have spoken, Princess. Now you will know never to cross me as you go into the afterlife. To the dungeons with her."

Ay-Shinn's soldiers then led the helpless Maina through the streets as the other soldiers keep the crowd at bay. They jeered at her, called her names, threw objects at her and spat at her like she were a common criminal being led to her death. Tears rolled down her cheeks as the soldiers led her towards the structure that was once her palace. Ay-Shinn watched from the pedestal with a satisfied evil grin.

Once they had reached the palace the soldiers continued to lead the captive princess to the dungeons where she would stay until her sentence was carried out. Once they reached the cold, dark prison cells, they shoved Maina into one, locked her in and left.

The Ardonian princess could only sob as she knelt palms down on the cold, damp floor of the cell. Light rays penetrated the tiny, barred window, and dust particles could be seen as the light of the red dwarf star hit them.

Only one thing was in Maina's mind as she cried on the floor of the cell.

"Hitoshi," she said between sobs.

It was a moment or two before she heard a feminine voice emanating from the cell in front of hers.

"P-Princess...?" came the voice.

Maina sat up from the floor and crept up towards the bars of her cell. She clutched the bars and put her face between them as she looked deep into the other cell.

"I-Is anyone there...?" she said as she wiped her tears away.

"Princess Maina...!" came the voice again, and Maina heard the movement of a body and the clanking of chains. "You came back...."

That moment the speaker came into view as the light rays that penetrated her cell fell upon her.

She was a young woman, appearing about Maina's age, but her skin was darker and glossier than the princess's. She had long, straight, platinum blonde hair with straight-cut bangs and her body was very developed, with a sizeable bust. She had the trademark Ardonian features: cheek stripes to prevent glare and pointed ears to regulate body temperature. She was chained around the neck to the wall of her cell, so she could not get near enough the bars for Maina to get a good look at her, but Maina knew who she was.

"Zenna...?" she said as her eyes widened. "Oh, Zenna! My beloved maidservant, it is you...!"

"I knew you would return, Your Highness," said Zenna with a small smile as she went as close to the bars of her cell as her neck chain would let her. "I knew you would come back for us."

Maina's smile then faded as she hung her head against the bars.

"You should not feel elated for my return, Zenna," said the former princess. "I abandoned you all. I let that monster Ay-Shinn conquer our world and enslave my people. I failed you as a princess and as a queen."

"Y-Your Highness..." said Zenna fervently as she looked upon the other girl in her cell.

"You can cease the formalities, old friend," said Maina as she looked down at the cell floor. "I am but a prisoner now, awaiting my punishment."

Zenna looked upon Maina with pity as she got on her knees, causing her chain to clank.

"M-Maina," said she, "none of this is your doing."

"It is my doing," replied the other girl as she slumped even deeper. "If I had went through with the wedding--"

"You are wrong, Maina," said the other Ardonian as she rose from the floor assertively. "This is Ay-Shinn's doing. It is beyond our control. He is the evil one, not you."

"Is that why you are here too?" said Maina, looking up at her former maidservant. "Because you rebelled against him?"

"I stood for what was right," said Zenna with a face full of determination. "What that... creature did... what he and his forces are doing... is wrong."

"Zenna," said Maina tearfully as she looked at the other girl in her cell. "You have never given up on me, even though I turned my back on all of you..."

"I will stand by you to the end, Your Highness," said Zenna with a smile. "We have been friends since we were children. Death shall not be the end for us."

Maina smiled as she wept through the bars of her cell, looking back at her ever loyal maidservant. Zenna's eyes also welled up as she looked back at her mistress.

"You have been loyal to me even in our childhood," said the Ardonian princess as she wiped away her tears. "I have never properly expressed my gratitude to you, my dear Zenna."

"It is not needed, Milady," replied Zenna, also brushing her tears away. "It has been my life's honor to serve my princess... and my dearest friend."

Maina chuckled, which caused Zenna to giggle, and suddenly both of them were laughing in their cells.

"One way or another, Zenna, I am going to get you out of here," said Maina as her tone got serious.

"You need not do that, Milady," said Zenna.

"It is the least I can do, my friend," said Maina. "You have done your duty. Now I must do mine... for my best friend."

"Maina," said the other girl with a frustrated smile.

The princess smiled back as her thoughts lingered elsewhere.

Hitoshi, I may not be able to tell you this, she thought, but I thank you for the wonders you have shown me on planet Earth. I express my deepest gratitude to you for accepting me as a human being, not as an outcast or an alien, and for the food you cook me. I regret not having said this to you before I was taken, but... I deeply, truly, irrevocably love you. I love you, Hitoshi Takao of Earth.