Mars 

"Princess Jennie, there you are!" 

Jennie looked up to see who had interrupted her from the activity that had occupied her for hours. The scenery on her canvas just needed a little bit more to be complete. She stood up when she noticed that it was one of her maids. Her long and straight brunette hair motioned accordingly as she did so.

"I told you not to disturb me until dusk" She said with her flat expression when the maid stopped running in front of her. 

"I know, Princess. I am really sorry, but... The Queen is looking for you" The maid answered while panting all the way. 

"Mom?" Jennie squinted her slanted eyes. "She did not say anything during dinner last night"

"Yes, I think it is one urgent case. She looks rather restless. I think you should meet her now"

The tone of urgency made Jennie sigh. "Okay. Just don't touch my things over there" 

"I understand, Princess. Do you want me to go with you there?" 

"No, no, thanks. I will be fine" Jennie left her last remark before picking her black blazer from the ground and wearing it. The clothing fit her slim body effortlessly, and not to mention, perfectly accompanied the white sleeveless top inside as well as her black trousers. She entered the castle from the backdoor that connected the garden with the enormous building. Her steps were rather heavy and her facial aura grew ill-lighted. It had never been a good news whenever her mother, who happened to be The Queen of Mars, wanted to talk to her. 

So she passed, aisle by aisle, hall by hall, room by room, until the sight of a gigantic maroon door reached her eyes. The guards on its left and right side took notice of her presence then, and knelt on their knees right away. 

"Your Highness, Princess Jennie" 

"Open the door. I heard The Queen wishes to see me" 

The huge door was soon pushed open, revealing the room that gave Jennie the uncanny feeling of both familiarity and unfamiliarity. She had been in the room for a thousand times, yet she had never been there if it was not for the so-called Kingdom issues that her mother wanted to discuss with. It was the throne room of The Queen of Mars itself. 

Predictably, her mother was seen sitting on the throne chair. Her charismatic figure was leaning straight onto the seat. Strands of silver hair fell smoothy on her shoulders. Slanted eyes that mirrored those of Jennie were as daunting as they had ever been. She was the majestic Queen CL that would appall everyone a second after she made her appearance. 

"Mother, I was informed that you wish to talk to me" Jennie spoke after she bowed her head; a symbol of respect for her mother. 

The Queen fixed her gaze at the Princess. "Yes, indeed. It took you a while to come here" 

Jennie bit her lips briefly. "I apologize. I was painting in the garden. What is it that you want to discuss with me?"

It took her mother a few seconds to give her a reply. "Jennie, you can see yourself that our beloved planet has been striving to survive these past few years, and it was all thanks to my great effort to keep maintaining our supplies and protecting them from outsiders" 

"Y... Yes?" Jennie stuttered as she opened . Her mother had unconsciously locked their eye contact that it intimidated her to a great extent. 

"But you see that I am not in my glorious young age anymore. Sooner or later, I will no longer be able to take care of what has been taken care of so far. Besides, you are still too young to take over the throne. Last month, I had this intense meeting with the senators. Some of them brought good news after coming back from negotiation with this certain planet"

At this point, Jennie swore she had no idea of what all these might lead to. The Queen had figured out the solution to the problems with the senators. Great! So what did she precisely have to do then?

"They came back from Venus with a report that The Queen of Venus has made a deal to support us for the next couple of years with food resource supplies and soldiers in case a war breaks out. However, they demand us something in return"

"What might that be?"

"The Queen wants a suitor for the second princess of Venus" The Queen continued, still keeping Jennie's stare under her domination. "Jennie, you are getting married with her" 
 
Jennie's poor brain took the statement a few seconds late. Bewildered, her eyes widened soon after the words sank in. 

"I... What!?"

Venus

A young girl in her maiden uniform was seen tailing behind an older woman who was clad in a rose-gold semi-dress. 

"Princess, are you sure it is going to be alright? What if The Queen finds out?" The younger girl leans closer to the older's back, making her volume as low as it could be. 

"As long as you keep quiet, it will be alright. Which is why, Mandy, you need to shush" 

"But... It's-"

"Ssshh, the guards are gone" The older poked her head inside a certain door somewhere in the castle. "Let's go" 

The duo stepped inside the room, tiptoeing all the way to the center of the chamber where a lectern made of glass was located. On the top of the transparent stand was a thick, brown book. The Princess scanned her surrounding, and having made sure that the room was filled by only her and her young maid, she grabbed the book. 

Precariously, she brought the object to the top of her head. The book, obviously, wobbled and lost its balance, and it took the young woman a few attempts to finally be able to have it perch on her head steadily. 

"Look! I told you I can do it!" 

"Wow, Princess, you are so cool!" The young maid clapped her hands. A gullibly  amused expression was plastered on her face. 

"Of course, not just anyone can do this" The Princess' lips formed a smirk. 

"Kim Jisoo!" 

The two girls immediately turned their attention to where the sudden shout came from. The book fell off almost instantaneously to the ceramic floor. The older stared at the image standing in front of the door; opened a little when she realized that it was no other than her own mother. 

"M- Mom"

"Is that- Oh god, what did you just do to the Kingdom Code of Conduct?" 

Jisoo snatched the book from the floor hastily. A glance to her right revealed the sight of a terrified Mandy. 

"And Mandy, I told you to remind her to never play arond the important rooms again" The Queen continued. 

"Y- Your Highness, I- I'm terribly sorry. I sincerely regret it, Your Highness. P- Please forgive me" Poor Mandy answered; her eyes never parted from the floor. 

"Mom, I asked her to follow me along here" 

The Queen sighed. "It is okay. Just don't ever play around this room again. I am doomed if The Code of Conduct goes missing or even if just one page of it gets torn"

"T- Thank you, Your Highness. And... And I am sincerely and deeply sorry once again" 

"Hey, she forgives us already, stop apologizing" Jisoo patted the shoulder of the poor maid. Mandy looked up and saw Jisoo's flashing smile at her. Soon, her heart was at ease. The gorgeous Princess Jisoo in front of her might be disobedient at times, but she owned a genuine heart and a healing smile that could purify everyone and everything. She was truly a Princess of Venus who carried the traits of her mother, Queen Sandara, The Queen of Venus. 
 
"By the way, Jisoo, I can see that you are not busy at all, are you? I have something to talk about. It is a crucial matter"

"What is it about?" Jisoo met her mother's stare. If this was going to be about Kingdom matters, then it would come as a surprise for her. The Queen barely invited her for such talks. It was usually her older sister, Irene, who was involved. 

"Come here, let's go together to my room" The Queen reached out her arm, to which Jisoo directly accepted. The Princess linked her arm around her mother's, and the two escaped the room, leaving the young maiden behind. 

"Mom, look" Jisoo pointed to the garden as they passed. "The tree that I planted last year has grown so much. It's a good thing, isn't it?" 

"Yes, it is, sweetheart" A smile brushed her mother's face. She patted Jisoo's hand then. "It is such a shame that not every planet out there is gifted with such natural beauty like ours. We really should be grateful"

"The other planets are not like this? Really?" Jisoo's dark orbs once again concentrated on the view before her. How a planet could exist without trees was beyond her comprehension. She could never imagine herself living in such place. 

"Yes, and that is the reason why we have had so many people from other planets come here to seek for support" The Queen focused her gaze on Jisoo, which made the daughter do the same to her. "Have you ever heard of Mars?" 

Jisoo's eyebrows furrowed, signalling that she had no idea. 

"Well then you'd better get yourself familiar with some background knowledge about it soon" Her mother said again. 

"Why?"

"Let's discuss about it further when we reach the room" 

"Moom, tell me just a little bit about it first!" Jisoo swung The Queen's arms. Her lips protruded as she whined. "Why do I have to deal with Mars? Am I going to be sent there for a mission or something?"

"I told you that you will know all about it once we are in the room"

"Just tell me what it is going to be about, please" The younger woman's eyes were full of plead. "The gist of it would do"

"Sweetheart, it will not take us a few more minutes to be in the throne room" The older woman elicited a second sigh that day. 

"But I'm only asking for the gist!" Jisoo's lips turned down, knowing that her mother hated it whenever she frowned. "Please"

A third sigh escaped The Queen's throat. "Fine, fine"

Jisoo's frown was soon altered into a smile. She gazed at her mom with great anticipation. 

"You are getting married" The Queen uttered. "With the Princess of Mars"

The smile that decorated the Princess' face just seconds ago vanished into thin air as the young woman tried to comprehend every single word that The Queen had just spoken. She stopped walking, then, and eventually made her mother stop, too. She kept her stare on the eyes of the older woman for a few seconds before finally opened up. 

"I AM WHAT!?"