The woman smiled, glancing down through thick, pale lashes at the infant in her arms. She felt the warmth of the small body. Clear blue eyes stared up at her. Rosy cheeks punctuated the ends of a gleeful smile. The woman gently rocked the baby in her arms, and she cooed and giggled in response. On her forehead, below the curls of fair hair, a golden crescent moon gleamed gently.

Her mother looked down with tender eyes, and laid a soft kiss on the creamy skin.

"I'll call you... Serenity."

In the rubble of their once beautiful kingdom, she cradled the lifeless body in her arms. The wind whistled past in the darkness, ruffling figure's tattered white dress. Queen Serenity's blue eyes glistened with tears, but she refused to cry. Her grief was not something she could express. It burned inside her like ice, numbing and corrosive.

She could not rejoice at having expelled the evil forces. It had been at the expense of the one thing she loved.

So much tragedy. It felt as though it had always been a struggle. There were so many memories of warmth and happiness, but every fear and hardship she could remember with precision and accuracy. The queen devoted her life to providing a safe and loving environment, but that safety and security was always at such a cost. The brighter she intensified her light, the more shadows boiled at the edges.

"This was never what I intended for you," the low voice whispered, although she knew that the cold form she clutched could no longer hear her.

It was too cruel to have survived. The corpses around her were children. They deserved shining futures--so many chances and opportunities awaited them. Each had dreams, now forever unfulfilled. She tried to protect them. She failed.

What use was her power if she could not save them?

"Oh, Serenity... all I wanted was for you to be happy."

Silence was the only reply. She would never again hear that bright voice calling out to her. She would never see that sweet smile, so pure and full of love.

A glimmer of light caught her eye, and she felt the princess's body shift in her arms. Queen Serenity gasped as the figure began to dissolve, fading as sparkles glittered and then darkened. The queen fought to maintain her hold, but she could not halt the dispersion. In moments, only a faint pulse of light remained where the princess had once been, dimming like a cooling star. She clung to it, tearless sobs shaking her body.

Why did it have to end this way?

No.

The queen tightened her grip on the fading star. She looked upwards, sapphire eyes blazing. This was not the end. She would not accept it. Above her, the darkness of space seemed infinite, but Queen Serenity knew that there was one place that she must go.

The light felt uncharacteristically cold as she summoned the Silver Crystal once again. It could no longer reflect the warmth in her heart. She clutched what remained of her daughter to her chest, the tears burning in her eyes.

When she reached her destination, the glow of the light in her arms was barely visible. Only a hazy outline existed. Queen Serenity stepped forward, staring into the swirling abyss below her. One wish. She threw herself forward, down into the place where stars were born, and she made one wish. A wish not for herself. A wish for that dying star.

"Live... filled with love and light!"