Apparently in January it isn’t that cold where we were going so a shopping trip had been in order. She told me that her family was pretty conservative and my collection of jeans and tank tops wouldn’t suffice. “How was I going to survive in these hideous dresses for a week? How do you climb trees in a dress? Wait a minute,”I thought, “Do they even have trees?”

After the longest day known to modern man we arrived in Egypt. The family jet was in all actuality, a flying apartment. It had everything! There were so many buttons to push and gadgets to try that I am sure I missed a few. When I got bored with the technology in the back I went forward to meet the pilot and hand out in the cockpit for a bit. I tried to manipulate the pilots thoughts to let me check out the technology up here but I wasn’t strong enough yet. He didn’t budge!

After a while of just watching him fly, it got boring and I felt trapped. I went back to the bedroom area and fell fast asleep under a pre-heated electric blanket. I definitely needed one of these!

At some point Mom joined me for when I woke up she was lying curled up next to me. I didn’t move for I was afraid I would wake her, and instead just enjoyed her arm draped over me keeping me close. We had raced all over town preparing for this journey. Mom had been super quiet about it. She hadn’t welcomed my millions of question with more than a “You’ll see.” Could she be that nervous about seeing her family again?

I could feel the plane descending and fear washed over me. “Who would pick us up? What would we eat? Where would we stay? What would I learn? Why wouldn’t Mom tell me anything?” I had so many questions and absolutely no answers.

I looked at Mom, she was now awake and straightening her hair and make up. She looked so confident that I tried to be brave. All I really wanted was to go home. Suddenly I missed my teammates, my Dad, and even my brothers. Everything in me was screaming, “RUN!”

We were met by a nice man in a white shirt and gray slacks. His hair was cut short on the sides but he left some on the top, I could see a riot of tiny ringlets sticking out in all directions up there. He had a sign that read “Kundam.” I was walking past him when Mom put out her hand and said, “Amon, it’s been so long!”

Was that the family name then? I found it strange that I didn’t know this fact. I watched as he gathered our things and giggled when he winked and crossed his eyes at the weight of Mom’s suitcase. Sadly, he herded us into the waiting car. After being cooped up for so long I was hoping to run and jump, just let out some of this pent up energy. I was so happy to be out of the sky I took a deep breath and jumped in the car. We drove for over an hour or so before I dozed off. When I awoke we were on a boat….in our car!

Mom said it was called a ferry and it was the only way onto the family island. “Did she just say family island? That didn’t compute. What is a family island?” Thoughts began to whirl away in my mind again. This adventure kept growing and we really hadn’t even begun.

As the ferry got near land again I could see a large crowd on the beach where we would dock. Seeing as we were the only people on the ferry I was guessing they were all out to greet us. The butterflies in my stomach started warming up their acrobatics.

I tried to hide behind Mom as we got out of the car but my curiosity wouldn’t keep me hidden for long. As I stepped around her skirts to get a closer look, the people all stared back at me with wide eyed wonder. I heard a few gasps. Suddenly they all dropped to their knees and put their heads on the sand!

“Momma,” I whimpered, “What are they doing?” I was so scared I was shaking.

Mom looked pretty nervous too. Neither of us knew what to do so we just stood there looking back at the people who had started to lift their heads. They were clearly expecting us to say something.

A man wearing a very colorful robe emerged. He must have sensed that we did not know the protocol. He greeted us with a booming voice, “Rise all, and welcome the long awaited Princess Katalea.” He spoke with such authority but his words made no sense. Did someone tell him my nickname at home was Princess?

“Please follow me, your damsire is waiting.” He spoke so formally that I immediately grabbed for my bag. As I did, a young boy was also reaching for it. He was dressed all in white, there was no color on him except his golden eyes and his incredible tan skin. I thought he was going to grab it and run so I put my hands on it too. He shrugged and said, “I am honored to serve you while you are here, anything you need you have only to ask.”

I smiled at him and he lowered his eyes. What is going on here? I know this is a foreign country, but it’s not a foreign planet.
I sent a mental message to Mom but she didn’t respond. She just kept walking after the man in the bright robe. As we left the beach area we were shown into a waiting car with tinted windows and a driver with a suit and cap. He bowed low as we approached. While he was bowing I could see a crest on his cap. I had seen that crest before, but I couldn’t place it.