Breaking Silence

Chapter Thirteen

"Alright, I just have to figure out where to start with you," the Queen said. Her fingers quickly flipping through the pages of the large book as her eyes scanned the pages.

Princess Nubia was happily seating near the wooden table with a large smile on her face. Her eyes were glued to the glowing moonstone that sat in the middle of the table.

She was excited that her mother was going to be teaching her a new technique today and couldn't wait begin her practice. Even though she had recently found out about it a day ago, she could barely stay in one place.

"Perfect," the queen said while dropping the book onto the top pile. She immediately dashed to the other side of the room and began gathering a few items.

She got a cloth, an empty stone bowl, a large bamboo mat, a smaller version of the moonstone and a few smooth pebbles. These were what was required to start the process.

Carefully, she laid out the bamboo mat and gestured for princess Nubia to come towards her. "Lie down on your stomach," she instructed, her hands busy at work.

Knocking the moonstone three times in the stone bowl, she said a little prayer and then set it aside. Next, she unzipped Nubia's dress and placed the pebbles in neat rows on her back.

Now it was time to recite the words of the moon and ask for her blessings. If she didn't agree, the Princess would suffer from some terrible side effects and could even die.

After repeating the words for more than three times, she grabbed the stone bowl and was glad to see that the moonstone had melted. That was the sign that the Moon Goddess had granted them her blessing.

Taking the cloth, she dipped it into the liquid and began to gently cover her daughter's back. The liquid quickly dissolving directly into her skin after a minute had gone by.

When all the liquid from the bowl was used up, she removed the pebbles to see that they had left back a red dot in the center and one line connected them all together.

"Can I get up now mommy?" Princess Nubia asked, sensing that her mother was no longer doing anything to her. She was still excited to know the reason as to why she was doing this.

"You can flip onto your back now. I'm almost finished with this sweetie," she replied. She was once again searching for something in the many cabinets in the room.

She let out a breath of relief when she found the silver dust and purple flowers she was looking for. Carefully placing the flowers in a circle around the princess's body, she then sprinkled the dust all over her.

Now that all the preparations were done, it was up to the Moon Goddess to finish it.

"What are you going to do next?" The princess asked, curiousity shining through her eyes.

"Nothing darling," the queen responded with a smile. "I need you to close your eyes now and think about whatever that makes you happy. Today is the day you will fully inherit your powers."

Princess Nubia quickly nodded her head and closed her eyes shut. Her hand instantly grabbing that of her mother and giving it a tight squeeze.

Letting out a sigh, the Queen said a quick prayer to the Goddess before touching her daughter's forehead. She didn't want anything bad to happen to her child and if something happened to her, she don't know what she would do.

Elsewhere on the palace grounds, Princess Aracel was desperately trying to persuade her father to let her roam about with Darlius. His answer had remained the same for the twelfth time and the King was getting frustrated.

"You can go visit the town but not with Darlius, now I have some work to get to," he said while walking away.

She thought about just asking Darlius besides her father's words, but she could only imagine how angry he would get when her mother told him what she did.

Deciding against it, she wondered what to do. Her brother was currently catching up on all the lessons that he missed and her sister was now always busy with their mother.

She had already finish all her lessons today and was bored. Since she was always in the castle, she didn't really have any friends besides those who lived in the castle as well.

Suddenly an idea popped into her head. Why not go on a mini adventure of her own to discover something new. She had snuck out many times, but they were all to go a specific place and not to just wonder around aimlessly.

For some reason, her instincts were directing her towards an old trail in the woods. The trail led to a pool of water, which used to be visited frequently at one point in time.

She didn't know what she would find there but was eager to go. Maybe it was just a random feeling but she knew that something big and exciting would be found there.

If only her sister could come with her. She hated to admit it, but she missed having friendly competitions and her sister annoying her all the time. Now she was always by herself either stuck in her studies or practicing swordsmanship.

She didn't understand why Nubia needed to be with their mother all day long and when she questioned her, she would only giggle and shake her head.

Being banned from interacting with Darlius and not being able to be around her sister had her feeling extra lonely than usual. It was just her now.

Hopefully what she would find would be something interesting and worthwhile because it would be a waste of time if it wasn't.