"Are you always dramatic?"

It was after the show, and the Queens took Ashley and Erin out to dinner.

"Whatever do you mean," Millie asked. Ashley smiled.

"I mean, did you have to go crazy when you introduced me?"

"Of course we did," Maiya said with a laugh, "Since you're from the U.S, we thought you might want the attention."

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," Ashley replied.

"Cut to the chase," Grace said, "We know you enjoyed it."

"Yes. I did."

Erin laughed. "Then what was the big deal?"

Ashley shrugged. "People are actually going to start calling me a princess."

"You aren't a princess," Vicki said, "You're our Queenie."

Ashley smiled. "So, what nicknames do I have? Did you think of them?"

Everyone exchanged smiles.

"Yes, we have," Courtney said, "So your main ones are Ash and Queenie."

"And Ashy," Ash added.

"True. Well, I'm calling you Missy."

"Missy. Good choice, Court."

"And you're my Partner," Grace said, "You will be working with me for a long time."

"Also a great choice."

"My nickname might not be for the faint of heart," Vicki said with a serious face.

"What? Why?"

"Because it's.... Babes!"

Everyone laughed. Ashley just shook her head.

"Next."

"Well, you know I called you Pumpkin," Maiya said, "Because you look like you'd randomly just get up and make pumpkin pie."

"I would, though," Ashley said quietly.

"You're my SongBird," Aimie added.

"I thought of a simple one," said Lexi, "Ginger!"

"The hair?"

"The hair."

"Makes sense," Erin said, "I call her Ginny."

"Oh, from Harry Potter," Millie exclaimed. Ashley nodded.

Natalie thought about it. "I haven't chosen one yet, but it's safe to say when I do have one be, it'll be good."

"And I came up with Queenie," Millie said, "But I'm calling you QueenBean."

"Fine with me!"

"And you're my kiddo," Jaye'J said.

"I guess that's everyone," Ashley said. She checked the time. 8:12.

"We should probably head back. I need to wrap up my video and post it."

"Great. Because tomorrow we will start your training," Grace said with a smile, "We just need to find out which Queens you'll play."

"Oh, can we worry about it later? I want to a take a photo!"

"All right!"

They paid for their food and all walked to Ashley's house.

"Hey guys," she said into her camera, "Ashley here with the Queens! The show was drop-dead amazing! You guys were fantastic!"

"Thank you, Queenie," Millie shouted.

"Oh and tomorrow, I'll be training to be a Queen!"

"And I'll be a Lady in Waiting," Erin cried.

"It's true," Grace said into the camera, "Queenie and Erin will be starting tomorrow!

"We can't wait for your first show," Maiya exclaimed, "We know you're going to be great!"

Ashley smiled into the camera. "Well, that's everything! I will, of course, post a video tomorrow!"

She blew a kiss into the camera. "Love you guys! Stay awesome!"

She turned off her camera and opened the front door. Everyone walked inside to the living room, and Ashley found a box.

She wasn't sure what was in the box, so she opened it.

"LED lights," she exclaimed.

"Oh, right," Jaye'J said, "We were going to install them in the reading nook, but forgot."

"Don't worry," Erin said, "I can put them up!"

Everyone gather around Ashley as she lit them. The small lights made Ashley smile, and she hung them above the women.

"Come one, everyone! Squeeze in!"

Everyone repositioned themselves to make sure they were in the picture.

"Everyone say 'Welcome Home'", Natalie instructed.

"Welcome Home," everyone yelled, and a flash.

Ashley eagerly checked the photo. Everyone was in it, and she grinned.

"I'm definitely printing this out!"

***

"Ash! Honey, is that you?"

Ashley was on the ground. She sat up and groaned, wondering how she got there. She felt someone's arms embrace her, and smelt a familiar perfume.

She looked up at the brunette with the same green eyes as her.

"Momma?"

Her mother smiled. "Yes. It's me, sweetie! I'm so glad I found you!"

"Where are we?"

"Chicago. We ran away from your dad, remember?"

Ashley blinked. "When? Why?"

Her mother gulped. "Ashy, listen. Your father doesn't have a straight mindset at the time, and we need to get out of here."

Ashley nodded and stood up. But she couldn't. Arms were pulling her into a pit.

She turned to her mother, who was fading fast.

"Mom!"

She reached out, but felt dust. The arms pulled her in deeper, and in the darkness, she heard a voice.

"Firefly?"

A scream. Shrill and loud and terrified. It took Ashley a moment to realize it was her screaming. She had woken up from a nightmare.

The door burst open. Ashley yelped, but found out it was Erin.

"Ashley! What happened? Was it a nightmare? Please tell me you're OK!"

"No, I'm fine," Ashley said, "It was a nightmare, but it was different than the norm."

"What do you mean?"

Ashley thought about it. "I was with my mom, and we had ran away from my dad. I wasn't sure why, but then arms started grabbing me and dragging me into a pit. My mom deteriorated, and then I heard.."

"You heard what? RedHead, I need to know."

"My dad. He called out to me, calling me Firefly. I screamed when the arms pulled me all the way in, and then I woke up."

Erin looked at Ashley with wide eyes. "You've never had dreams with your father in them."

"Exactly, so I'm terrified as to what they mean."

She stood up and walked to her bathroom. Erin still sat on her bed.

"I need coffee," Erin moaned, and walked out.

Ashley took a shower and dried herself off. She found a duffel bag and filled it with her swing bible, a few tank tops and leggings, along with a few bandanas to hold her hair out of her face.

She put on a black tee with blue jeans, and pulled her hair up into a messy bun. She found her sneakers and checked the time.

11:15. There was a message from Grace.

Hey, Queenie! Meet us at the theatre at 11:25. We have a surprise for you!

Ashley nodded and grabbed her shoes. She walked downstairs and found Erin in the kitchen making breakfast.

"When did we decide who was doing all the meals," Ashley teased, and sat down to put her shoes on. Erin laughed sarcastically.

"Yesterday. I knew you'd be coming home late from performing, so I'm taking care of it."

Ashley smirked and stood up. A warm and ready breakfast was on the table.

"Eat up," Erin instructed, "According to the Queens, you're going to need a lot of energy."

Ashley nodded and eat everything off of her plate. Once she was done, she checked her phone. 11:20.

"The Queens want me to meet them at 11:25. I guess I should get going."

"Alright, then, break some legs, Ginny!"

Erin gave Ashley a quick kiss before Ashley left. She walked to the theatre with a pep in her step as she walked.

"Queenie!"

Ashley heard Grace before she saw her. "Gracie!"

She ran over and squeezed Grace into a hug.

"Hey, Partner! If you want me to be your trainer, I'm going to need to breath!"

Ashley let her go and Grace gave Ashley something.

"What's this?"

"A key card," Grace exclaimed, "You'll need one to get inside of the theatre, so I got you one!"

Ashley looked down at the card. "Gracie, I mean this in the best way possible, but why would you surprise me with this?"

Grace burst into laughter. "That's not your surprise! We need to go inside first!"

Ashley and Grace entered the theatre, and Ashley noticed how quiet it was now.

They walked to the SiX area and Grace buzzed them in. Ashley found herself in front of two people with glasses, a male and female.

"You must be Ms. Sanderson," the male said, and extended his hand. Ashley took it cautiously.

"And you are?"

The female smiled. "Well, naturally you wouldn't know us."

"I'm Toby," the man said, "Toby Marlow."

"And I'm Lucy Moss," the woman said with a grin. Ashley recognized the names immediately.

"The co-creaters of SiX," she exclaimed.

"That's us," Lucy said, "And we are so thrilled that you're joining this amazing musical!"

"When Lucy and I first created SiX, we were studying for our finals in Cambridge," Toby explained, "We didn't know how much of an impact it would make until now."

Ashley smiled. "Well, I'm glad you did. SiX is my absolute favorite musical."

Lucy and Toby grinned.

"Well," Toby said, "We should probably let you go to your costume fitting."

Ashley gasped. "My what?"

Grace laughed. "I didn't get to tell you! Your big surprise was your costume fitting!"

Ashley couldn't believe it. She was going to get a costume for SiX!

"Wow. Now, that's a surprise!"

Grace smiled. Ashley bid farewell to Toby and Lucy, and the two walked into the rehearsal room.

Lexi, Natalie, and Millie were already there.

"QueenBean!"

Millie tackled Ashley into a massive hug.

"Mills!"

It didn't take long for Millie to let her go. "So, did Grace tell you about the surprise?"

Ashley blinked. "What surprise."

Millie blinked and Ashley laughed.

"I know what it is, Millie!"

Millie sighed in relief. "Great!"

Natalie gave Ashley a hug as well.

"So, are you excited to pick out your new costumes?"

Ashley nodded. "More than anything!"

Grace turned Ashley around.

"Well, listen. We need to get your roles. Which Queens will be your firsts, seconds, and thirds."

"OK."

After a while, Courtney, Vicki, and all of the other Queens arrived.

"Hey, Missy!"

Courtney gave Ashley a one armed side hug.

"I see you're prepared," she said, pointing to her duffel bag.

"Right!"

Vicki, Aimie, Jaye'J and Maiya all gave Ashley hugs.

"Have you decided which Queens you'll play," Vicki asked.

Ashley shook her head, and Grace cleared her throat.

"I have a hat," she said, "And a few sheets of paper. Maybe we could pick and choose."

Ashley gave Grace another hug. "That's perfect!"

Ashley wrote the names of the Queens onto the sheets of paper, and put them in the hat. She then closed her eyes and shuffled the names.

She pulled out two and opened her eyes.

"Anne Boleyn and Catherine Parr!"

Millie gave Ashley another hug and Maiya grinned.

Vicki and Courtney looked at each other and then smiled.

"That means we'll be teaching you," Vicki exclaimed.

Ashley grinned and pulled out two more names. "Jane Seymour and Kathrine Howard."

She didn't say them with much enthusiasm, but she still smiled.

Aimie smiled and Natalie beamed.

Grace laughed.

"That means I'm out," she exclaimed. Courtney smiled.

"Then that means the last two are Catherine of Aragon and Anna of Cleves."

Ashley nodded and pulled out the last two Queens.

"Then it's settled," Aimie said, "We have the Queens you'll play!"

"Which one do you want to start with," Grace asked. Ashley thought about it.

"Catherine Parr."

Maiya perked up. "Parr has the most blocking, and some of the hardest notes to pull off. Are you sure you could do it, Queenie?"

Ashley thought about it. Then she smiled.

"I'm sure. I know I can. I'll show you."

She found her phone and played an "I Don't Need Your Love" backing track, only to skip it to the end.

"I don't need you loo~oo~oove!"

She hit the B5 that the Parr in the soundtrack had, and all of the Queens dropped their jaws.

"We don't need your love!"

"How long have you been able to do that," Millie asked.

"Forever. Why?"

Grace smirked. "You're going to make a great Queen."

***

"Ashley! Come on!"

A few hours had passed. Grace and Ashley had been working on most of the lines.

"What is it now, Grace?"

"Your costume fitting!"

Ashley grinned. She walked with Grace to a room full of sparkly materials.

"Gabriella!"

A woman emerged from the mess. "Hello, Grace! Is this Ashley?"

Grace nodded. "Here for a costume fitting!"

Ashley smiled. "That's me. So, are we doing it now?"

Gabriella nodded. "You see, I'm the costume designer, and I need your measurements. I already have an inkling of what you'll be wearing. Do you mind?"

Gabriella held a long tape measurer and Ashley shook her head.

"Alright, now I need your height, shoe size, waist length, arm length, and the length of your bust."

Ashley stood for ten minutes as Gabriella measured Ashley and recorded everything.

"And that's it! Oh, I just need one more thing."

Ashley nodded.

"When I make alternate costumes, they typically depend on which Queens that woman would play. But since you're our contest winner, you pick your own."

Gabriella pulled out some sheets of paper from a drawer.

"These are a few concepts I drew. Tell me what you think."

Ashley looked them over. They all were amazing, but the final ones caught her eyes. She handed it to Gabriella.

"Do you think you could make me these?"

Gabriella grinned. "Yes. It's perfect!"

Ashley thanked Gabriella and walked off to the rehearsal room with Grace.

"So, you know what you're wearing?"

Ashley nodded. "And I can't wait for them to be completed. Now, didn't we have some work to do?"