Lena lay on the bed in her room later that night, her mind reeling with everything that had happened in the last few days. Now that the initial shock of everything had worn off, everything began to sink in. Everything was real. Elves, different realms, villains, prophecies... and Aleta's death. It was all real.

The realness of all of it welled up as tears, and before Lena could stop, she began sobbing into her pillows. She lost track of how much time had passed, but eventually, she ran out of tears. She lay motionless for a long moment before walking to the window and peering out. The sky glittered with millions of stars. Lena had never seen so many. They seemed to hang low in the sky compared to Earth's night sky. The stars burned larger and brighter, and they were so numerous! Although Lena still felt as though she was about to cry, at the same time she couldn't stop admiring the stars. It was so beautiful.

Lena stayed by the window until she heard a soft knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Lena quickly swiped at her eyes to try to hide any remnants of tears.

"It's me," said a voice that Lena immediately recognized. She ran across the room and threw the door open.

"Dad!" Lena practically screamed, throwing herself into her father's arms.

"Woah! Easy there! You are seventeen now, not seven!" Ailan chuckled, taking a step backwards so as not to be knocked over.

"I know, sorry," Lena grinned sheepishly taking a step back.

"Your gown is stunning!" Ailan exclaimed, looking at the blue dress Lena still wore.

"Thank you," Lena said, giving a little twirl. "Apparently Katya got me lots of dresses and clothes."

"I'm sure she did. You are the princess after all," Ailan said, following Lena as she led him inside the room and shut the door.

"Is mom here too?" Lena asked, taking a seat on the bed.

"Yes. I believe Katya is showing her to our room. I wanted to come find you and make sure you were doing alright. I know that it must be hard for you, everything changing so fast..." Ailan trailed off and sat beside Lena, slipping her hand into his. Lena nodded, not trusting her voice to be steady enough to speak as she felt a wave of emotion threatening to overwhelm her again.

"It's been so long since I was in this room..." Ailan said softly, wistfully looking around. "You were born in this room."

Lena looked at Ailan in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes... I remember it like it was yesterday," Ailan said, a smile spreading across his face as his eyes became distant in memory. "The night was not unlike this one. I was beside your mother the entire time. When you were born, I was the first person to hold you. You were so small. So fragile, and yet so strong. You cried. Your mother tried to calm you, I tried to calm you, but nothing worked until I took you to the window. I showed you the stars and you stopped crying. You looked at them with such wonder. I told you that one day everything under those stars would be yours. I told you that I knew that one day, you'd be a kind, generous, beautiful queen. I promised to always be by your side. I stayed by the window holding you and talking to you until you fell asleep. I then brought you back to Katya. She held you and looked at you with nothing but love. She couldn't tear her eyes away from you for hours. You lived in this room for the first month of your life. It was your nursery until one night, someone tried to break in through the window and steal you away."

Lena listened silently as a shadow of anger and a tired kind of fear crossed her father's features.

"Katya protected you, but the next day she decreed that it was not safe for you to stay in the castle. She sent me away from Erinaea to protect you. It broke her heart, knowing she wouldn't get to see her only daughter grow up, but she would do anything to protect you. No one except for Katya and her closest advisors knew where you were. Once I arrived on Earth, I met Ivy..." Ailan trailed off for a long moment before continuing. "I would take you on walks by a small stream that ran through a tiny forest. It was nothing like the forests in Erinaea, but it felt familiar. I had seen a young woman out walking several times before. On one of these walks, you woke up and started to cry. I tried everything, but nothing I did could calm you. The young woman was walking and came up to me and asked to hold you. I didn't want to let you go, but I relented. As soon as you were in her arms, you stopped crying. I looked at you and I looked at her... I didn't want you to have to grow up without a mother. I didn't think I could do enough for you alone. I began to see Ivy more, and eventually, I asked her if she would like to help me take care of you sometimes. By then she had fallen in love with you, so she agreed."

"Did you love her?" Lena asked quietly.

"At first I only loved you and Katya, but as I saw how amazing Ivy was at taking care of you, and how much she cared for you even though you weren't her child, I began to love her. I told Katya about it, and she told me that I should be with someone who makes me happy. She offered Ivy and myself her protection, and soon after that Ivy and I married."

"Did Ivy know? About you and me and what we are?" Lena asked.

"I told her. I thought she wouldn't believe me, but remarkably she did. That was when I knew I could trust her to be by my side. She knew everything. We didn't tell you because we were trying to protect you. I wanted you to learn everything when the time was right, and I didn't know when that would be. I wish I had told you earlier," Ailan squeezed Lena's hand and she looked up at him, surprised to see tears in his eyes.

"I know I've made a lot of mistakes. I know I shouldn't have kept this from you or lied to you. Every time I would look at you I would see the fragile, precious child I first held all those years ago. The daughter I left everything behind to protect. I didn't want to tell you anything because I couldn't see you for what you truly are. A strong princess who is old enough to know everything and make her own decisions in life," Ailan pulled Lena into a hug.

"I love you, Dad," Lena said, hugging him tightly. "You did what you had to do. I understand."

"I love you, Lena. More than all the stars in any realm's sky," Ailan said, holding his daughter and gazing out the window as he first had so long ago.