"It's not her fault she stopped maturing at ten instead of eighteen."
"Yeah," Carnelian said contemplatively. "We couldn't know the effect those power necklaces would have on a four-year-old. That it would slow down her aging so drastically so early - Daddy didn't foresee that. But it doesn't change the fact that she's 24 years old. She should be doing more. Jasper too."
"Jasper does plenty of work!" Amethyst protested.
"Yeah, he'll research alright," Carnelian admitted, but continued disapprovingly, "but you got to admit, once he gets out in the field, he sometimes gets these moral issues." Carnelian shivered as if the thought was horrifying to her.
Amethyst giggled at the expression on her face. "It's cute. He just likes to help people."
They had reached the door of Crystal's room. Carnelian didn't bother knocking before opening the door. "He has an overdeveloped sense of right vs. wrong and it doesn't mesh with our value system. Amber was young enough, but we took him too late."
Crystal looked up from her stones. "Who are we talking about?" She leapt from her chair and joined her sisters, always eager to feel like a part of the group.
"Jasper, of course," Carnelian answered with a roll of her eyes. She was tired of always talking about him with Amethyst.
But Amethyst wasn't ready to let it go. "Don't say 'took' like we kidnapped him. He's not our servant. He chose to come with us. To be by my side. To be my prince someday."
"Yeah, yeah. Faced with certain death, he chose to live forever with us."
Amethyst's eyes flashed with fury, and Carnelian knew she had pushed her too far. Usually Amethyst expressed her anger by extracting calculated revenge. There were only a couple of things that could truly set her off.
This was one of them.
"Take it back!" Amethyst yelled as she grabbed Carnelian's jacket collar and shoved her against Crystal's bookshelf. Crystal shrieked as half a dozen crystals fell over and a blood red stone plummeted off the shelf and shattered at Amethyst's feet. "I love him! And he loves me. He chose to be with me. He's not like us. His home was important to him, but he still chose me. We love each other. So I don't want to hear you say anything against him or our relationship, okay?!"
"Amethyst!" Crystal pleaded from her eldest sister's side.
Amethyst didn't loosen her grip on Carnelian in the least. Her eyes burned into her twin's until finally Carnelian conceded.
"Okay, okay. I was just teasing you anyway. Everyone knows you're just as much the great love of his life as he is of yours."
Amethyst relaxed slightly. "That's right."
Carnelian removed Amethyst's hands from her jacket. With a sly smile she said, "And I'll lay off your relationship for awhile. But, sheesh, you've got to relax, sis." She smoothed out her clothing and turned to Crystal. It was time to get down to business.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
General Eclipse sat down beside his favorite daughter at one of the dining hall's tables, ready to discuss her future with her. Maybe it was because she was the only one whose thoughts were a mystery to him that he favored her. Or maybe it was because she tried so hard to please him. She was the good daughter, the one who would do anything he told her to. The one who could continue the Eclipse tradition long after he was gone.
Not that he foresaw that happening anytime soon.
Actually, he hoped that there would never come a time when she would have to take over. Not just because he didn't want to die, though he'd be lying if he told anyone that he didn't plan to live forever, but because he wanted her to have a perfect life.
"You and Ame turn eighteen tomorrow," he told her, as if she needed any reminding of the point. "It is an important day in the life of an Eclipse woman. From that day on, the army will be dedicated to the finding of a suitable planet for each of you to rule."
"I know."
He thought Carnelian looked a little sadder than she should have. Finding a planet for an Eclipse woman to rule was supposed to be the highlight of her life. He knew Amethyst couldn't wait, and even Crystal was looking forward to her eighteenth birthday so she could join in the tradition of the Eclipses.
"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked her.
"It's just� when I get my own planet, you'll leave me behind, won't you?" Too proud to start crying, she avoided his gaze, staring instead at the dessert she hadn't touched since she had been served.
"Oh, Honey, I'll never leave you behind. You know if you ever have any troubles, I'll come back for you. But you know how important it is that we leave our legacy behind. That's why we do all this. We need to keep the royal bloodline alive and in power. Don't you want the universe to remember the Eclipse name?"
She nodded. "That's why I want to stay with you. Daddy, you do so much, leading the Army Eclipse, conquering whole solar systems or just little planets, leaving behind a grand legacy of our family! I love planning battles with you, and I love watching us succeed! I don't know if I could stand to stay in one spot overlooking a simple planet, no matter how perfect it is. My dreams are your dreams, not Crystal's or even Ame's! I want to conquer, not rule!"
Inwardly, he smiled at her words. She was such a chip off the old block. But he knew that if she never settled on a planet, she might one day regret it and resent him for the offense. "Carni, my dream is for you and your sisters to be happy, wherever that may lead you. But when I imagine you, Ame, and Crystal in the arms of a man you love, in royal gowns surrounded by a people that love you, that is the most wonderful thought I can have. Even if the Army Eclipse should fall, your names would go on, forever remembered by the people of your planet. That is a much more effective conquering than my army could ever muster. Do you understand?"
