[b]Chen and Rose![/b]

Two maidens are carried by three foxes before the dragon princess. A fitting tribute. "Your imperial highness," said Blackleaf, bowing deeply, "as you have demanded we have bought you what you wanted -"

"Mistress," Jessic corrected.

"Mistress?" said Blackleaf, shiverring.

"Good girl," said Princess Jessic, tail swaying as she adjusted her position.

"You've got it wrong, we've bought you -" Blackleaf started, but then the dragon [i]pounced[/i]. There was a rush of air as she passed over the kneeling Chen and Rose, caught Prim and pinned her to the ground. Her tail lashed out and coiled around Quick Ji's neck like a whip. And her crackling eyes froze Black Leaf utterly in pace, sparks running down her spine.

"You," said Princess Jessic, "think you have escaped? You think you can bargain? No, little fox, all you have done is enter [i]my[/i] territory." She flicked her tail, sending Quick Ji sprawling on the ground in front of her, and then placed a claw on top of her head, holding her against the ground alongside Prim. "I will take your tribute, little fox. And I will also take your friends. And I will also take [i]you[/i]. Now... get on your hands and knees and bind these pathetic girls [i]properly[/i]."

Blackleaf, swallowing, trembling, sank down to the ground like she was melting. She crawled across beneath the dragon and there, with the easy treason of her kind, worked to first gag and then bind her struggling erstwhile friends. Soon Jessic held two struggling and squeaking foxes to go alongside her struggling and squeaking Princess and Handmaiden.

"[i]Good[/i] girl," said Jessic, tracing a talon under Blackleaf's trembling jaw. "Tell me, how did that feel?"
"Good... mistress," stammered Blackleaf.
"The tying, or the obeying?"
"Both."
"Good. Because this is just the beginning. I will capture every escaped fox and then [i]you[/i] will help me train them. In time I will build a grand army of disciplined kitsune, loyal to my every whim, and together we shall conquer the Nine Kingdoms. Serve me well and you will be chief amongst them."
Blackleaf bowed. Princess Jessic gave a low, malevolent chuckle. A new era of darkness approached, one where the shadow of the Sky Castle heralded the coming of a storm of collared chaos. 

But that was all an adventure for another day. For now, there was an electronic chime, and Jessic projected a holographic screen in front of her left eye. "Oh!" she said. "I almost forgot Princess Hyra's tea date! Blackleaf, conjure a car and put these four sillyheads in the boot - we need to make a detour before we reach the Sky Castle."

[b]Yue![/b]

Since this story started you've always been in last place. The bottom part of the post, the part after everyone else got to say their bit. 

But for a while you got to be in first.

In a lot of ways it feels the same. Your sister's hugs are still as sweet as they were before. Hyra's are too, once you emerge from the Underworld and convince her to put down the moon laser when she aims it at Xiu. The air's the same temperature, the Lake's the same colours, your words still trip over each other much the same as they've ever had.

But it's different knowing that's a choice now. It's not that you couldn't touch the top. It's not that you just didn't have enough potential. You did, and you do. You know for a fact that on that day you choose to pull your sword out of the umbrella rack it will be the sequel to the story of the legendary hero Yue and not an attempt to fix what was wrong with the first story.

And there'll be plenty of opportunities for sequels, you know. Princess Jessic arrives, followed shortly thereafter by a car driven by an unknown foxgirl that unloads a knotted tangle of Chen, Rose and two more kitsune. There's a lot of talk and veiled threats between her and Hyra involving a plan to kidnap and tame foxgirls for use as terror troops/harem slaves which will unsettle the tenuous balance of the Nine Kingdoms - and even if you feel like sitting that one out, you can see as well as anyone the inevitable fox uprising for the cause of cutie anarchy, heralding a whole new time of adventure. And when that time comes... maybe that's when Hyra will take a break in cutie jail, and it will be the Demon Swordswoman Yue who needs to come out of retirement to rescue [i]her[/i]. Or instead you could change tracks entirely and get involved in Xiu's grand adventure into the heart of the Underworld to face down the red-eyed Demon Shogun who your sister swears she did [i]not[/i] have a crush on...

And it can keep going and going. The positions might change; some friends might slip into the background, and some new ones might burst into the spotlight. The world can contain more beautiful and compelling stories than you have time for. But now that your first adventure is finally over all any of your friends can talk about is [i]what are we going to do next?[/i]

And in whatever they decide you know that, if you want, [i]you[/i] can be the star. 

One day you might even have a plan so wicked that you might even be the villain. 

It's a beautiful sunset upon the Terraced Lake. It takes a great many colours to make the sky so radiant.