Deep in the Andromeda Galaxy, an empire covered the entirety of a small continent. Some embraced the technological changes that have happened over the past century, while others refused to even acknowledge them. The king, Kolai, had been taken over by a fever. Next in line for the throne would be his eldest daughter, Äkzo. 

Äkzo, a young woman with wings as black as outer space, sat in her hangar below the dry sands of the Calháran desert working on her ship. It'd taken a year for it to be ready for flight. She ran her delicate hands along its sleek chrome body and let the cold of its metal seep into her hands. 

"Krome, that's what I think I'll call you," she whispered to her creation. 

Heavy footsteps fell above her head. Äkzo sighed and kissed Krome goodbye. It was almost midnight, and the royal guards had come to bring her home. 

"Come, your highness," the guard called, his voice muffled by the thick iron ceiling. 

"I'm on my way!" 

The guard, Avaren, wasn't from Calhára like the rest of them. He came from a small fishing village in the province of Pexopa. His face lit up like a starblossom tree in bloom as he saw his best friend running towards him. 

Though he was technically supposed to be her guard, they were about the same age and had been friends since childhood, which is the only reason King Kolai had appointed him in the first place. Only the Calháran elite could stand among the ranks of knights. 

As they walked together to Avaren's sandcruiser, he cleared his throat and prepared for a potentially difficult conversation. 

"You'll be queen soon, you know that," he explained cautiously. 

"But I don't want to be. I want to explore the galaxy!" Äkzo complained. 

"You don't understand, Äkzo. There are rumors that the Lord of Duthäxe is planning something devious, and your father isn't in any shape to deal with such a thing. Please, listen to me. You have to be prepared and you certainly can't be out here working on your little ship."

Äkzo snorted, crossing her arms in frustration. 

"Why can't Jahana take the throne? She actually wants it." 

"She's fourteen. You're seventeen. She is too young to rule under the universal law of Zhera. When she is sixteen, you can hand her the throne. But for now, you need to take the responsibility you were given at the time of your birth." 

"Fine."

The two mounted the sandcruiser, which was pulled by a team of eight desert beasts, each representing a different province. Avaren grabbed a whip and let it crack, sending them dashing across the empty desert. 

~~~

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Äkzo grumbled as the silhouette of the Calháran palace came into view. Each window was illuminated with twinkling lights, and looking closely she watched shadows obscure the windows every so often. Night was when the palace was most active; it was when the few attempts to enter the walls occurred. 

"We're almost there, Princess, you should at least make yourself look somewhat presentable." 

Avaren's voice changed as soon as they passed the stone archway that marked the outermost edge of the castle's property, as if being informal was a crime.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll try to make my hair a bit less frizzy," she said, annoyed. 

The eight beasts let out their horrible cries, stopping the sandcruiser at the stables. Avaren gently pat Äkzo on the back and let his hands run along the indigo-black feathers of her wings. Her wings were anything but natural. At birth, the royal children were given an intensely difficult surgery to bless them with beautiful and muscular wings that would grow as the child grew, and would allow them to lift themselves a couple inches off the ground. 

A different guard, armed with an intricately casted spear, already stood waiting for the princess to arrive. He showed no emotion other than disgust for those Avaren had given. 

"Your father is waiting for you in his chamber," he said in a powerful voice. 

Äkzo gulped nervously. If her father had something important to say, he'd come to her. It was never the other way around except for the seemingly endless times Jahana would get into trouble. 

The heels of her boots clacked on the marble floors, which only made her anxiety worse. She fiddled with her side bangs, which were the only parts of her hair that weren't tucked into a bun decorated with perfectly cut diamonds. The family's chambers were all in one place, on the third floor of the widest tower. Äkzo was lucky enough to get a small balcony just outside of hers. However, her father's was the largest, having nearly four times the space of Äkzo's. 

Shivers slithered down her spine like rattlesnakes, making her wings extend and tighten. The guard next to her raised an eyebrow. 

"You're nervous," he said emotionlessly. 

"And I will be until I learn what my father wants from me," Äkzo spoke. 

"I cannot say why he wants you, I am merely here to escort you to his room."

The door to her father's chamber stood ten feet tall, with knockers in the shape of desert beasts the size of Äkzo's head. The guard nodded towards the knockers. Äkzo did as he ordered, holding one in both hands and giving the door a knock. 

"Who is it?" her father said in a creaky voice. 

"It's me," Äkzo replied. 

"Enter."

The princess pushed the giant doors inwards. Her guard had already disappeared by that point, leaving her alone with the king. She looked around and found a place to sit, right across from her father, who sat in a throne-like armchair in front of a crackling fire. He motioned for her to sit down, which she did immediately. 

"My darling Äkzotaea, wipe your fear off your face, for you are not being scolded," he said regally, "you are here because of the annual Zheran Congress tomorrow."

"What about it?" Äkzo asked. 

Her father sighed and motioned to his cane, which lay against the side of his chair.

"I am not fit enough to leave this room, you know that. The gifts of walking and flight are no longer for my old soul. I should not have had you and Jahana so late in life, knowing that I would be cursed to fade before my only daughters marry, but alas. I am dying."

Äkzo's face did not twitch. Jahana would have begun crying, but she knew that if she were to someday take the throne, she would have to be stronger than her sister could ever be. Her father continued on.

"I am afraid my time has come, starblossom. I fear I may not make it to morning."

"What're you saying?" 

Äkzo's voice finally cracked as tears started to form in her flaming red eyes. 

"I am saying that you, Äkzotaea, are ready."

King Kolai took off his crown with his fragile arms and grabbed his cane. He hobbled forwards, and leaning on the cane for balance, he offered it to his eldest daughter. 

"No- I can't."

"But you must, child. If I die tonight, you will be queen and the world will know. If I make it through the night,  you will still be queen, but nobody can know. The Lord of Duthäxe is plannning something, and I cannot have him know that you are the one who owns all of Zhera."

Äkzo took the golden crown from her father's hands, though she refused to let it touch her head just yet. Its intricate carvings showed a scene of the desert beasts bowing down to the moon and others rearing towards the sun. It didn't take long for its perfect surface to have hot tears dripping onto it. Äkzo couldn't hold back much longer.

She cried, and she cried for a long time before she could compose herself again. 

"I can't lose you, not now," she said, her voice wavering. 

"If I could choose, I would stay here for you until both you and your sister are truly old enough to take my place. But still, I am seventy-two, and I cannot last much longer."

He put a shaking hand onto his crown one last time. 

"Treasure this, child, and treasure this until your dying day, when you will pass it onto your firstborn son or daughter. It will protect you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Äkzo demanded.

"The world is full of many secrets, my starblossom. But, I will give you these words. If the time comes where you are in danger, it will keep you safe. As I said, treasure it. Keep it on your head at all times from this moment on, and only take it off when you sleep or bathe, and even still, you must keep it as safe as it keeps you."

Her father slumped down in his armchair once more and pointed to a chest on his nightstand. 

"Take it, it knows you. I've told it all about you. When I die, you will be the only one who can bear to touch it."

With that, her father waved her towards the door. She stood up and prepared to head to her own chamber, but not before she turned right back to the king and gave him what could possibly be the last hug she would give.