“This planet is a total space dump,” Princess Lunaria announced, regally stepping off the space transport onto Borana’s litter-strewn streets. The princess of Lunaria stood on her tiptoes, trying to keep most of her feet from touching the filthy ground. Her pet, Adora, whimpered to be picked up. She curled into a tight ball in the princess’s arms. Adora detested soiled paws.
“On the bright side,” Princess Rhealetta muttered. “We’re not in one of Geela’s prisons, or worse. So there’s that.”
Lunaria glared at her. The only “bright side,” as far as she was concerned, was that the atmosphere of Borana seemed to be somewhat humid—so at least her skin would stay dewy while they were on their little holiday.
None of the other princesses said anything, but it was clear from the looks on each of their faces that every one of them was thinking the same thing—Borana was really, truly nasty. This was a major step down from their home planets. The ground was dull gray and pockmarked; piles of garbage and recycled metals were heaped up all over the place. The sky was stormy and mustard yellow, and the smell of the air had a definite funk to it.
But the fact was, there weren’t any lovely resort planets where five princesses on the run could hide—and there hadn’t been a lot of time to plan—so Chamberlin had taken the best and only option available to them. Sitting just outside the Pentangle Galaxy, Borana was close enough that the five girls hadn’t had to fly for months to get there. But it was also obscure and remote enough that no one would ever come looking for them.
“Well,” Chamberlin said in a strangely chipper voice. It had been a long ride with the shuttle full of young princesses, and he was eager to put his feet up and prepare a cup of tea. “Shall we get settled? Unpack? See the sights?”
The five princesses all glared at him. Chamberlin’s smile slipped. “Right, then.” He cleared his throat and clapped once, briskly. “First order of business: we need to come up with new names for all of you. I realize Borana is, well … a bit out of the way and rather lightly populated. But I don’t want to risk using your real names from now on, just in case.”
He looked first at Junoia and said, “We’ll keep this simple. From now on, you will be called Juno.”
Juno shrugged. “Fine by me. Whatever floats your boat.”
“Princess Mettathena,” Chamberlin said, bowing slightly. “Henceforth, you shall be known as Athena.”
Athena nodded. “Very well.”
“And you,” he said, turning to Herazanna. “We will shorten your name to Hera.”
“Heeeee-ra,” Hera said, stretching her new name out. Roxie, her little fluffball pet, bounced up and down happily. “I love it!” She giggled and looked to the other girls for approval. “Soothing, isn’t it?”
“Like a warm, sudsy bath,” Rhealetta muttered. She grinned at Chamberlin. “Lemme guess my new name, Chamberlin. Could it be … Rhea?”
“Very good,” Chamberlin said, surprised. “How did you know?”
Rhea chuckled. “Lucky guess.”
Chamberlin smiled thinly at Lunaria, who scowled back. The two of them hadn’t exactly gotten off on the right foot. And now that Lunaria’s feet and ankles were covered in dark gray Borana dust, she looked even feistier than she had earlier in the day. “And you, miss—” he began.
“Princess Lunaria will be just fine,” Lunaria said, cutting him off. She crossed her arms and announced, “I am not changing my name. No one is going to recognize me without lipstick anyway, and since you wouldn’t let me pack any of my makeup before stuffing me into that laundry basket … well, there is absolutely no need for me to change my name.”
“I’m afraid we must,” Chamberlin said. “You shall be known as Luna from this moment on. And speaking of makeup—”
“You have makeup?!” Luna shrieked. She thrust out a hand and wiggled it under Chamberlin’s nose. “I order you to hand it over to me, right this moment.”
Chamberlin cleared his throat again.
“You’ve been clearing your throat all day. Do you have something stuck in there?” Rhea asked with a jaunty tilt of her head. “If your throat is scratchy, maybe Luna would be willing to share some of her juice with you.”
“As if,” Luna snapped. “I am a princess. I. Don’t. Share. Juice.”
Chamberlin stepped between the two girls. “As I was saying, we will also need to outfit you all with disguises. I do not have traditional makeup, but we do need to discuss how to make each of you up so you look somewhat different. Your parents packed a trunk with some basic supplies, such as hair dye, wigs, and accessories. Obviously, without those, you are each highly recognizable. Geela has an impressive army searching for you, and we need to make finding you as difficult as possible.”
The princesses studied one another carefully. Each of the five planets of the Pentangle had highly different fashions, and every one of the royal courts had different ideas about how nobility ought to dress. Hera’s flowing skirt and flowered shirt were a far cry from Athena’s prim navy blue jumper and turtleneck. Luna’s fussy dress seemed galaxies away from Juno’s drab exercise uniform. And Rhea’s buttoned-up, angled tunic was just plain odd. It was clear from the raised eyebrows and quiet snickers that each of the girls thought the others’ outfits were utterly tragic.
Athena stepped forward. In a matter-of-fact voice, she announced, “I have good news. I brought changes of clothes for everyone. I planned ahead, assuming we would all want to get out of our travel clothes when we arrived.” She gestured to Chamberlin, who pulled Athena’s trunk full of supplies out of the space transport. The princess of Athenia opened the trunk, then handed each of her fellow princesses a matching outfit.
Juno’s eyes went wide. She held up a pair of neatly hemmed, conservative blue pants. “You’re kidding, right?”
Athena blinked. “About what?”
“You want us to wear this?” Rhea asked, waving a smock in the air. “This … thing?”
“I also brought several changes of underwear for each of you,” Athena said, not understanding the looks the other girls were giving her. “I hope they are the right size.”
Luna’s mouth hung open. “You brought us underwear? You expect me to wear someone else’s used underwear?”
“They’re clean!” Athena said. “Why are you all looking at me like this is a bad thing?”
“I think Athena’s clothes are cute,” Hera said. She was busy wrapping the tunic around her pet. She crooned, “Doesn’t she look absolutely adorable in this shirt? It suits you, Roxie … yes it does! Yes, it does!”
Juno and Rhea both glanced at Chamberlin. “You’re not going to make us wear these clothes from Mettathena—I mean, Athena, are you?” Juno blurted out. Skitter grunted her agreement.
“They’re awful,” Rhea announced.
“I have a few spare clothes here, too,” Luna said. “Chamberlin had to sneak me out of the castle inside my laundry basket this morning. There are a few gowns inside my laundry that might work for disguises.”
“I’d rather be caught by Geela,” Juno said, “than be caught dead in one of your dresses.”
“Perhaps now is not the time to discuss your disguises,” Chamberlin said diplomatically. “Shall we work on getting you all settled first?”
“Where is the hotel bellhop?” Luna said. She waved her arm in the air and yelled, “Hel-lo! Can we get some service over here?”
“Take a look around,” Rhea said, rolling her eyes. “Doesn’t look like there are a whole lot of servants wandering around on this garbage dump of a planet.”
“Oh, but there must be bellhops,” Luna said, laughing. “What proper hotel would make a princess carry her own bag? Even chain hotels have staff.”
“And where is the hotel?” Athena asked.
The five spoiled teenage princesses all looked to Chamberlin for an answer. “There is no hotel,” he said. “No palace, no castle, no servants, no bellhops. Only me, this space transport, and the five of you. And your pets, of course. We’ll all be bunking together in here.” He gestured to the vehicle they had used for their escape, which suddenly looked even smaller than it had felt on the ride out to Borana. “It will be cozy.”
Reluctantly, the five princesses stepped back into the transport and took in their surroundings with fresh eyes. The space transport was large and roomy, shaped like an old-fashioned tour bus. There was one big room that looked and felt like a living room in the center of the ship. This is where the girls had relaxed and started getting to know one another on their journey out to Borana.
Now, they moved beyond the main room and explored the rest of the transport. At the front of the ship were a modern kitchen and dining area, as well as the control room for the vehicle. At the far end of the ship were two bedrooms. One was tiny and windowless, the size of one of Luna’s walk-in closets. The walls were bare and painted a dull gray. “This room is mine,” Chamberlin explained.
The other room was large and spacious, about the size of each of the princesses’ bedrooms back home. It had one big hangout area in the middle, surrounded by five separate sleeping pods. Each pod was sparsely decorated.
“You can each design your space to your liking,” Chamberlin said hopefully.
The girls poked their heads into the pods, not bothering to hide their disgust.
The floors were stark and cold, but there was a sofa and five pet beds clustered together in the center of the hangout area that helped make it look more homey. Without hesitation, each of the princesses’ pets raced forward and claimed a bed, then snuggled in for much-needed afternoon naps.
“Look! All our pets are already becoming best friends!” Hera cried happily.
“The bestest,” Rhea said in a sarcastic voice.
After a quick glance at one another, the five girls all ran into the room and began fighting for turf. “I call this pod!” Luna screamed, shoving Hera aside to get to the pod on one end of the room before any of the other girls could claim it.
Rhea hastily grabbed the pod at the other end of the room. Juno settled in beside her. Athena took the sleeping pod in the middle of them all, and Hera floated toward the only one that was left. She flopped down on her bed, bounced a few times, and announced, “This is going to be so fun! Like a giant sleepover! I’ve seen movies about sleepovers,” she said, frowning. “But I’ve never had one.”
In fact, none of the girls had ever had a sleepover. None of them had shared a room or argued over a bed in their lives. They had never listened to the sounds of someone else snoring nearby, or made their own bed in the morning, or slept under a blanket that hadn’t been custom-made for a princess.
“Where are all the closets?” Luna asked, stepping out of her pod and scanning the area. “Where is my closet?”
“Does it matter?” Rhea snapped at her. “The only clothes you have are the ones you’re wearing and a few nasty dresses inside your hamper. Why would you need a closet?”
Luna choked back a sob as the grim reality of their situation hit her. “And the servants?” she asked.
Athena shook her head once.
“The chefs?” Luna asked, gulping. “The gardener? My chambermaid?”
“We’ve got Chamberlin,” Rhea pointed out helpfully.
Hera reached toward Luna and rubbed her back. “It will all work out,” she promised. “We just need to keep a positive attitude.”
“How about you feed your positive attitude to a space rat?” Juno said, her words coming out a little more harshly than she’d intended them to. “I, for one, have no interest in sitting here braiding each other’s hair and pretending that nothing is wrong.”
No one said anything. For many long minutes, the room was silent. Suddenly, a tinny blast of music broke through the quiet. Four heads swiveled around to glare at Luna. She had her communicator out and was streaming a cheesy love ballad at full volume.
Luna shrugged and said, “What? If we’re stuck on this horrible planet, we might as well have music.” She flopped back onto the couch and sang along.
The other girls shared surprised looks—Luna could sing. And clearly, she knew it. She was singing loudly enough for half the planet to hear her. Even though the song sounded good, after a few verses, the silly lyrics began to grate on the other girls. “Can you turn it down?” Athena asked.
“Nope,” Luna said with a shrug.
“That wasn’t actually a question,” Athena said. “What I meant to say is, ‘turn it down!’”
Luna acted like she hadn’t heard her.
Before they could argue about it further, Chamberlin raced into the room. “What is that ruckus?” he shouted over the music.
“‘Sprinkle of Roses,’” Luna said. “You are seriously out of touch, Chambermaid. It was number three on the Galaxy Top Twelve last week. And if Geela hadn’t taken over the radio stations, it would have climbed to number one this week.”
Chamberlin massaged his temples. “But where is the sound coming from?”
Luna wiggled her communicator in the air. “This adorable little box is called a communicator,” she said slowly as if speaking to a toddler, explaining the obvious. “The inhabitants of my planet use it for ordering takeout, listening to music, watching TV, booking their spa appointments, and sending messages.”
Chamberlin groaned. “Give it to me.”
“Excuse me?” Luna growled.
“Geela could be using your communicator to track you,” Chamberlin explained. “How many of you have communication devices with you right now?”
One by one, each of the girls raised their hands. “Obviously, that’s all of us,” Rhea said. “I don’t go anywhere without mine.”
In a flash, Chamberlin reached into the nearest pod and grabbed the pillow off Juno’s bed. He shook the pillow out of its pillowcase and held the case out toward the girls. “Drop them in,” he ordered. “All devices in here, no exceptions. From now on, you are to have no communication with the outside world. No devices that might help Geela track you to Borana. No social media, no messaging, no interaction with anyone except your fellow princesses and me. Period. Got it?”
The girls nodded solemnly.
Although it hurt to have their contact with the outside world severed, the princesses all knew Chamberlin had a point. Their communicators were equipped with technology that could easily bring in unwanted attention. One wrong move and Geela would be after them again.
With a minimal amount of whining, they each threw their devices into the pillowcase. Then they trailed along after him and watched—horrified—as Chamberlin threw their devices into the ship’s incinerator. The fire raged, shooting out blue and purple sparks as the girls’ devices—and the internal chips, trackers, and memories—were melted and destroyed.
It was necessary, but that didn’t mean it was any less difficult to say goodbye. Without their communicators, the five girls now had no way of connecting with the outside world, no way of keeping up on fashion or gossip, and no way of ordering clothes or takeout.
And to make matters worse, Juno no longer had a pillowcase. Life outside the Pentangle Galaxy was neither fun nor fair.