For the record, what the cherry-cheeked princess of the dead and also a pack of wolf warriors was about to do, o most decorated and elegant of sword-riding princesses, was to say something important to Yue. But the gravitas of the moment was quite punctured by the arrival of one of the fabled Princesses of Gaia. She stares, and stares, and stares at a woman who reminds her of nothing so much as a birthday cake transformed by the power of her wishing heart into a person.

"I, um," she says, before bouncing up with a smile. "It is quite a pleasure to meet you," she says, with a hint of her oldest accent, that of Tellus and her mother, drawing on them for strength in the face of an unexpected new friend. "I am Princess Redana Claudius, formerly of Tellus, and I have journeyed across the universe with my wife, Bella Hostilius Mosaic, in order to deliver a message from the God of the Dead, Hades of the Thousand Vaults."

When she offers her hand, it's with some of the dashing of the runaway princess, and some of the sweetness of Bella's wife, and a wagging tail. Her eyes are still red and puffy, but her smile is real. "We'd love to join you, Chen, if Yue will have you - you're friends, aren't you? I can tell." 

She'll remember the important thing she has to ask, but not now. Not later, either. When the moment's right, it will come back to her. But for now, it will be washed away in cake, and strawberries, and sake, and laughter under the moonlight, and stories of how Chen met her partner and stood up to her mommies. A Tale of the Sunshards, if you will...