"What did you just call me?"

The old man smiled kindly at me. "Princess. You're the princess from the legend. You've come to help us."

I glanced back at the twins to see their shocked faces before looking at the man again. "I'm terribly sorry, but you've got the wrong girl. I'm no princess. I'm not even from here."

The man slowly shook his head. "No. You are the one. Come with me and I'll explain."

I followed the man to the palace in the center of the city. We passed by people who took one look at me before bowing. Drake and Drew looked as confused and shocked as I was.

Entering the palace, we were immediately greeted by a stone statue of a woman. I heard the twins gasp as my eyes grew wide.

I lightly touched my face as I stared at the statue. "T-That woman...she looks just like...me."

"That's because she is you, in a way."

I tilted my head in confusion as I looked over at the old man. He gestured me over to an old mural. With the twins behind me, I stood next to the man.

"This mural depicts the legend of our city, Jericho, the city of the moon. It all started centuries ago, when Jericho was first created. Our city was attacked by a great serpent of the desert."

My eyes followed his hand across the pictures, following along as he told the story.

"The great sand serpent was a ravenous beast that destroyed and devoured everything in its path. We had no hope of our city's survival."

I gasped at the next picture of a girl that looked like me. "That's when Princess Amira appeared, as if coming to our aid. She quelled the beast's fury and drove it back under the earth. Now, every one hundred years, the great serpent rises again only for a reincarnation of Princess Amira to appear, once again driving the beast back into the ground for another hundred years."

The old man smiled warmly at me. "You are a reincarnation of Princess Amira. You came in time to stop the serpent, which will rise in just three days starting tomorrow. What is your name?"

"I'm Luna, those are my weapon partners, Drake and Drew."

He nodded in satisfaction before bowing his head. "Princess Luna, your weapons are welcomed guests of Jericho. My name is Omar. The people of this city are at your command."

I shook my head. "No, no, that's okay, really. I don't want to trouble you."

"It's no trouble at all, Princess. It's the least we can do for our savior."

"B-But I really can't stay. I need to find my friends."

I turned to leave but Omar was quick to stop me. "Please, you can't leave us. Jericho will be destroyed if you're not here to stop the sand serpent."

I couldn't say no to his pleading eyes. I sighed. "Well, alright. I suppose I can stay, at least for now."

Omar happily smiled. "Thank you, Princess! We will serve you as best we can! Now, to get you appropriately dressed."

At his words, a couple of servant girls pulled me into a luxurious bedroom. They quickly undressed me and clothed me in a beautiful, yet revealing, Arabian outfit (in the pic) and put the black part of my hair into a high ponytail.

I stepped out to see the twins dressed in their own Arabian apparel. They averted their gaze upon seeing me while Omar happily clapped his hands together.

"Wonderful! You look just like Princess Amira! Simply beautiful!"

I glanced back at the statue, noticing that I was wearing the same kind of outfit. I covered my chest with my arms.

"I don't know about this. Isn't it a bit...revealing?"

Omar chuckled. "Nonsense. Many young ladies dress like this. You look marvelous, doesn't she, Master Drake, Master Drew?"

They both simply nodded. Omar gestured for us to follow him as he began explaining. "Now, first things first, I'll have a meal prepared."

We went to a dining room and soon began eating a delicious gourmet meal. After eating, Omar asked me a strange question.

"Can you dance, Princess Luna? It's traditional for our princess to know our dances. Princess Amira was said to be an amazing dancer."

He called in some musicians and the two servant girls who began belly dancing to the music. I got up and stood between them, copying their movements.

Hey, this was easy and actually pretty fun. Omar and the twins both clapped as the servant girls left, leaving me to dance on my own.

Slowly, people from the city came in to watch my performance. I continued to dance until the music stopped.

Everyone clapped at the end of my performance. One by one, people began leaving as Omar called in more servants.

"Princess Luna, Master Drake, Master Drew, I think it's time you all got some rest tonight. Warm bathes will be provided if you wish. Have a good night, I will see you all in the morning."

He bowed and left us as the servants led us to our rooms. As I bathed in a warm bath, I had the two servant girls pampering me.

One gently washed through my hair while the other fanned me. I smiled to myself. All this luxury is quite relaxing. Maybe staying here for a bit won't be so bad after all.

After my bath, I got dressed into some night clothes. I dismissed the servant girls, who quietly bowed and left as I curled up in my huge canopy bed.

My mind wondered back to Kid and the others. I hope they're alright. Just the thought of Kid seemed to lull me into a peaceful slumber.

Kid's pov

The next morning, we all got up and headed out in search of Luna and the twins. We tiredly walked for what seemed like hours.

With the sun now high in the sky, I squinted and shaded my face, seeing something in the distance. The others stopped, looking at me.

I heard Liz ask me, "What is it, Kid?"

"I think I see...buildings."

Clyde's mood instantly brightened. "It must be the city we have to defend! I bet Luna's already there!"

Patty complained. "Good! Let's get out of this stupid desert! It's too damn hot!"

I ignored her complaints as we headed toward the distant structures. Upon getting closer, I could definitely tell it was a city. We soon arrived, making our way down a street.

All of a sudden, we were surrounded by crowds of people. We all stopped, seeing the angry, distrustful looks on everyone's faces.

I calmly spoke. "It's okay. We're here to protect your city."

The crowds broke out in quiet murmurs as an elderly man approached us. He frowned at us.

"We don't trust many strangers. What is your business here in our city?"

I spoke for the group. "We were sent here from Death City to protect this place from harm."

The man shook his head. "I'm sorry, but we've got all the protection we need. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

We backed away as the people took a few steps toward us, ready to throw us out of their city.

"That's enough!"

A familiar, feminine voice rose up above the noise. Everyone stopped and looked back as people began making room for someone.

As the crowds parted and bowed down, the elderly man bowed his head and spoke. "Princess."

My eyes grew wide as Luna emerged from the crowds, dressed like some kind of Arabian belly dancer. I could feel my face flush as I noticed Clyde's do the same.

We all questioned in unison, "Luna?"

I looked her up and down, examining every part of her. Her small, jeweled top really showed a lot. Her skirt showed her left leg that looked as if it was adorned with jewels. The black part of her hair was up in a high ponytail, just like an Arabian.

She looked absolutely beautiful, asymmetrical, but still beautiful. I resisted the urge to fix her symmetry and instead stared at her in awe.

She smiled and gave a small wave as the twins stood on either side of here. "Hey, guys. Glad to see you're all okay."

We all seemed to quietly stare in shock. I finally managed to ask, "L-Luna? W-What's going on?"

The man slowly walked over to her. "You know these people, Princess?"

She nodded. "These are all friends of mine. They shall be guests here."

She snapped her fingers. "I want rooms and a warm meal prepared for them at the palace."

A small portion of people in the crowds rushed down the street saying, "Right away, Princess."

Luna gestured for us to follow her as she and the twins began walking down the street. We quickly caught up and walked behind them.

My eyes were on Luna the whole time. She was so beautiful I couldn't take my eyes off of her. My eyes traveled over her whole body, momentarily stopping at her hips, which swayed with each step she took.

I could already see Drake smirking as he glanced back at me. I'm pretty sure my face was as red as a tomato. We all quietly followed until we arrived at some kind of palace.

Going inside, there was a statue and murals of a woman who looked just like Luna. We all seemed to gasp at the resemblance.

I hesitantly asked, "Luna, why are there pictures and a statue of you?"

She turned toward us with her hands on her hips and winked. "Oh, that's not me, that's Princess Amira. But the resemblance is striking, huh?"

I slowly nodded. She explained to us about a legend of a sand serpent and how she's supposed to be the savior of the city. When she finished explaining, Clyde tilted his head.

"So the people of this city believe you are a reincarnation of their princess?"

Luna nodded. "Yep. And I can't refuse their pleas, they're counting on me to stop that serpent, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

She smiled and led us to a dining hall. We all sat down as cooks brought us our food. As we ate, Luna introduced us to the old man who I now know as Omar.

Omar bowed to us. "It's a pleasure to meet Princess Luna's friends and betrothed."

I almost choked on my food as I noticed Patty giggling at me. "No, it's not like that, we're just-"

"Lovers? A couple? An item?"

I had no idea how to answer. Luckily, Luna intervened. "Omar, don't pester my boyfriend, please."

He bowed. "Of course, forgive me, Princess."

I noticed Drake smirk at me as he said, "Why don't you perform for us, Princess?"

Omar grinned and called in some musicians. Luna shrugged. "Sure, okay."

She stood up, and as the musicians began playing, Luna started to...belly dance? Oh wow, she's actually really good.

Where did she learn to belly dance anyway? I noticed Clyde was staring at her with wide eyes just as I was practically doing the same.

Oh man, I actually feel myself getting slightly aroused just by watching her dance. As Luna finished dancing, we all clapped as she sat back down with the rest of us.

After we finished our meal, Luna had servants show us to our rooms. After checking out my room, I quietly went back to the murals.

Something just didn't seem right to me. I examined the last picture on the murals. It simply showed the princess standing before the sand serpent.

Omar told us that she 'quelled the beast's fury', but that's a bit vague. Did she fight the serpent or offer it something? I don't think this is the whole story.

Is Omar hiding something from us? Is there more to this legend that we don't know? I'm going to talk to Luna later tonight. Maybe she knows more, or maybe she's being kept in the dark as well. Either way, I need to find the truth.