[Diana]
The contents of the box were strange. There were paper documents, photos, odd trinkets, and a few expensive items. As I sifted through the documents, I noticed that they were all written in the same script used for the lid of the box, the Imperial script. Only the oldest and most prominent noble families in Levelia used the script. It would be no surprise that House Levochtoch would use it, but it still surprised me to see it in use.
Mother taught me how to read and write using Avis'Cru, the Crusavian language, as well as Levetani, and the aforementioned Imperial (or Imperis as the Levelians call it). I never really understood why, but now I do. Mother knew that one day this would happen. At the very least she had a feeling this day would come. She trained me to be ready. She trained me to become a princess... Just as she was once a princess... If it is true, which I'm starting to believe it is. Then I will be named as the Empress' heir. Mother told me that before the late Emperor Ferandroch, husband of the current Empress, was killed he had proclaimed that his youngest child would succeed him as monarch of Levelia. There are very few records that support this, so I doubt that it's true. If it is, then everything will change.
"Hey..." Sam said as she took the seat next to me, "You look troubled. What's up?"
I smiled at her and replied, "There's been a lot of things on my mind recently... And I've only added to that growing list by opening this box."
"May I take a look?" She asked.
I nodded and handed her the box. She took one of the many paper files in it and started reading through it. Her expressions changed several times but they all had a common emotion, worry. She continued to sift through the contents of the box, bringing up anything she found interesting to my attention. She also sorted out the pictures and neatly arranged them by date. By the time she finished, we were already at Cragholven's primary spaceport, Pyeterosh Spaceport.
"Alright, I'll go get a clearance slip so you guys stay here," Gabrosch said as he left the cockpit.
"I'll go with you," Devia chimed in.
"Take care, you two," Sam said.
"We'll be fine, don't worry!" Gabrosch said as he and Devia left the cruiser.
"What's a clearance slip?" I asked.
"It's like a security measure to ensure that the vessel being used has no contraband or fugitives on board," Sam replied.
"I've never heard that being used here in Crusavia," I told her.
"Oh, 'cause it's a Levelian thing. You know, regulations and safety checks. Many Levelians are still wary of Crusavians, and vice versa," Sam replied.
"Good point..."
"Alright!" Sam exclaimed, "Let's examine these photos and see what we can learn from them."
"What can we even learn from these photos?" I asked.
"A lot of things, the circumstances surrounding the photo, who the people are, and where they took the photo," Sam replied.
A sleepy Thomas dragged himself to us and asked, "What are you guys doing?"
"I was just about to wake you up," Sam said as she pulled Thomas by the arm and dragged him to the seat behind her.
"We need your help with these," She pointed to the neatly piled photos on the chair in front of her.
"What do you want me to do?" Thomas asked as he rubbed his eyes.
"Well, you're better at remembering faces than I am," Sam paused, " And you have a better grasp at history than I do, so..."
"You want me to tell you guys who they are and where they took these photos?" He asked.
"Exactly," Sam replied.
He groaned and complained, "You said earlier that the box belonged to House Levochtoch. So you should be able to deduce who the pictures may have belonged to since you're close to Princess Alexandra and Princess Amelia."
"Well, we did try our best to figure out who the people were but most of them were unfamiliar to us," Sam argued.
"Alright, alright," He acquiesced, "Let me have a look."
Sam gave the photos to him and he started looking through them. He activated his Holo-Band and started writing down names. With each photo he looked at, the list grew longer and longer until he finished scanning through them.
"Alright, I'll send you guys the list of names via H-connect," Thomas said.
"Okay," Sam and I responded in unison.
I pressed a button on my Holo-band and a notification immediately appeared. I touched the screen, tapping on the notification, and it was asking for permission to accept the connection. I tapped the agree button and a file was downloaded.
"The list's been downloaded! Nice. Now it's time to check," I announced.
Before I could do anything, the doors of the cruiser suddenly opened. A panting Gabrosch and Devia greeted us. The menyott quickly shut the door and Gabrosch raced to the cockpit.
"What's going on?" I asked.
Devia was panting but replied, "T-the Prince... He's here and he spotted us..."
"What?!" Sam said in disbelief.
"He... He was chasing us. We only managed to escape after running around the landing pads," Devia replied.
"Everybody to their seats... Now!" Gabrosch screamed through the intercom.
Devia ran to a seat and strapped in. While the three of us put on the seat buckles before Gabrosch took off. As the vessel ascended, I looked out the window and saw a group of people dashing towards us.
"Sam!" I worriedly tapped on Sam's shoulders while pointing to the window.
"What is it?" She peered out of the window and saw them.
"Gabrosch, did you get a bypass permit?!" Sam asked worriedly.
"I did, don't worry!" As soon as he said that, the cruiser was rocked by an explosion on Devia's side.
"Gabrosch, go!" We all screamed in unison.
"I'm trying my best! J-just hold on," Gabrosch said as worry dripped from each word he spoke.
"I'm activating bypass protocols. Hold on tight, this is gonna get trippy!" He announced.
I held on tight to the straps keeping me to my seat. Then, in the blink of an eye, the cruiser accelerated rapidly. Flashes of light briefly coursed through my vision as everything around me was soon drowned in a bright flash of white.