Pronounced: "luh-SER-tuh man-DEN-siss"
Height: 6’0”
Age: 26
Race: Zidnorian

After Queen Turja and her friend Leogard fled Zidnor, no one on the planet had any clue as to their whereabouts, and they really didn't expect to hear any news of the two ever again. The next in line for the throne, according to the Zidnorian rules of succession, was Turja's younger sister, Princess Lacerta. Still grieving over the apparent permanent loss of her sister and her dragon friend, Lacerta was forced to assume leadership of the planet. Lacerta was not only stunningly beautiful, but also kind-hearted and incredibly gentle for a Zidnorian. Unfortunately, the latter two were not qualities the royal family desired in its queen. While Lacerta shared Turja's vision of a more tolerant, less bloodthirsty Zidnor, she was indecisive and less willing to stand up to the hard-liners in her family, led by her uncle Hul. She was also uncomfortable with the attention that came with being a public figure, whereas Turja had not only accepted it, but often relished it. The royals believed that Lacerta was too weak to rule Zidnor, and they meddled in planetary affairs even more than they did under Turja.

Then one day, Uncle Hul advised Lacerta to pay a visit to the planet Dezu, where Hul's son Kifinu was leading one of Zidnor's countless invasion forces. Kif's force was struggling against heavy resistance from the natives, and Hul believed that if Lacerta personally addressed Kif's troops, it could give them the morale boost they needed to turn the battle around. At least that's what Hul told the new queen. Hul's real reason for Certa's mission was simply to get her off Zidnor for a while, knowing that he would be the most influential lizard within the palace walls in her absence. And though Lacerta didn't trust her uncle, and didn't want to make a spectacle of herself, she couldn't wait to get away from him. She agreed to grace her cousin's Dezu base with her dazzling presence.

After Lacerta's appearance, Kifinu pulled her aside to speak to her in private. He confessed to her that he had fallen in love with a Ramnian woman he had met on this planet. This love would be unacceptable to the royal family. Although the Ramnian Serpentfolk were a reptilian race, they were traditionally held in disdain by Zidnorians due to their tiny size (about three-and-a-half feet tall) and their lack of physical strength. But they were masters of magic, and Kif's lover Koiza was no exception. She specialized in teleportation magic--it was a dangerous teleport spell that had brought her to Dezu in the first place--and she had recently become psychically aware of a habitable planet that no Ramnian had ever been to before. The less that was known about a planet, the riskier it would be to teleport there. But Kif knew that he could not return to Zidnor with Koiza, and he was tired of hiding her from everyone else at the Dezu base. He also knew that the other royals were making Lacerta miserable on Zidnor, and it made him sad to see her that way. Now there was a chance to start a new life. So Kifinu proposed that the three of them attempt to teleport to this mysterious planet. Lacerta knew the chances they were taking--an errant portal spell could easily kill them--but she deplored the idea of going back to Zidnor to face Hul again. She joined hands with Kifinu and Koiza as Koiza opened the portal. The glowing circle enveloped them...

They were alive and they could breathe. The teleport had worked. The three looked around at the beautiful planet they now stood on and beamed. They were free. Free of the hateful backstabbers of the Zidnorian royal family. Free to live the life they chose. And they would not be alone. By some miracle, they had ended up on the very same planet Turja now ruled.

After the joyous reunion, Turja allowed Lacerta to take her preferred title of Princess once again. But Lacerta left many loose ends untied back on Zidnor. Her disappearance was a dream come true for Uncle Hul, because now the next in line for the throne was his daughter Kimoda. Kim was a reactionary Hul had raised in his own image. So even as Lacerta found happiness with her sister, Zidnor fell into Kimoda's merciless hands...

Notes:

-Lacerta's name comes from the Latin word for "lizard".
-I might have a usable plot if Lacerta, Kifinu, and Koiza run into some trouble upon arriving on Geckoworld, and Turja has to go and save them. Just thinking out loud on the Internet...