Blooming Stars

Chapter 2

I had never been to the imperial palace until that day. It was more beautiful than I had imagined. The air there was different than anywhere else, and smelled light, fresh, and clean. But despite its beauty, I also found it overwhelming. Its buildings sprawled over many hectares, possibly hundreds, giving the impression that it would take a long time to walk from one end to the other. I had heard that the imperial family would take carriages to visit each other's palaces. How privileged they must be that they didn't need to walk any great distance. They were even carried around as children by servants and knights. I wanted to laugh at that thought, but then I supposed it would be difficult for small children to walk around in their enormous palaces.

Siviola Palace, the home of the emperor, was so large that it had three enormous banquet halls. My family was ushered to the third hall, one where the emperor would not make his appearance. Our lower status prevented us from having any direct contact with His Majesty aside from formal greetings. I didn't mind, however. I would find it too scary to speak to him. He was a man so intimidating that just making eye contact with him would probably make me break out in a sweat. This little mouse just wanted to stay hidden.

During the banquet, I quietly ate my food, thinking about the unfinished book sitting in my guest quarters. No one spoke to me, and even if someone had spoken to me, I probably wouldn't have heard them, engrossed as I was in my own thoughts.

Afterwards, I was able to slip away unnoticed to one of the back gardens. Other nobles milled about, but I meandered through the maze of bushes and flowers until I entered a forest. When I was certain I was alone, I reached into the little pouch I carried with me and pulled out a small magnifying glass.

I did what a proper lady shouldn't do. I got on my hands and knees and began to search among the plants.

"Ah! There's one!" I said. I quickly plucked up a plant with a star-shaped head. It was so small, its head was the size of the nail on my pinkie finger. I turned the plant over under my magnifying glass. Its head was almost translucent.

It was the Ghost Star, a plant that only grew in the imperial palace. I had always wanted to see one. Supposedly they carry a special kind of magic, but I had only done a little research on them and didn't know much yet.

I placed the plant in my pouch and went in search of a second one when I heard a strange noise. Looking up, I saw a white horse coming through the trees. I immediately stood up and brushed off my dress. I groaned when I saw the dirt smudges where my knees had been. Father and Mother would not be happy when they saw them. They already fussed at me enough about my etiquette.

While I expected a person to accompany the horse, I was surprised to find the horse alone—and limping. It wore a saddle as though the rider had been there just moments earlier. I peered beyond the horse to see if the rider was close behind, but they were not.

The horse seemed docile, so I walked over to it. It appeared it had injured one of its front legs. "You're hurt," I said. "How did you do that? And where is your rider?" I touched its snout and it was happy for the attention, but I could see the pain in its eyes. I knew a little about horses, so I bent down to take a closer look at its injured leg. "You poor thing. Let me help."

I placed my hand on its leg and uttered a spell. When father told me that I would find my most important skill at the academy, I think I already knew that skill. White light softly glowed around my hand and enveloped the horse's leg.

Moments later, the horse was able to place its hoof on the ground like normal. I smiled. "There you go. Isn't that better?"

The horse bobbed its head and thrust its nose at the small pouch dangling from wrist. The horse was so insistent that it almost knocked me over. "W-Wait a minute," I said as I hurriedly slipped the pouch from my wrist. I reached in for the Ghost Star. "Are you looking for this?"

When I held out the plant in my palm, the horse slobbered over my hand. I shivered at the slime left behind, minus the Ghost Star. I had read once that Ghost Stars were also good for digestion for a number of organisms, horses being one of them. They were like candy.

"You're welcome," I said, dejected that I'd lost my prize. Well, it wasn't like I wouldn't find another one later. "At least you're better now, right?" I reached out to touch his nose again when a cold voice cut through the air.

"What are you doing?"

My hand froze and my eyes went to a young man standing behind the horse, a young man with blond hair.