The Moon Dancer

Chapter 2

The silent battle went unnoticed by the small Kouta, he was too busy playing with the beads embroidered onto his mother's skirt. As he was still a child, Kouta did not know about the constant power struggles that happened between palace residents. His eyes were still full of the sparkle that only innocent children have. To him, Judar was not a scary person that needed to be respected, he was a potential friend that needed a hug.

"Mama, Ju-Ju got a boo-boo." Kouta said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Sindri reluctantly broke eye contact to face Kouta. She crouched down to be eye level with her son, unknowingly giving Judar the perfect angle to look down her shirt.

"Shut up, and don't call me that." Judar snapped. His amusement was gone and his headache had come back. He threw a final glare at Sindri before turning around and stalking off, his mood darkening with each step.

"Screw them." Judar muttered to himself as he returned to his room, walking with a slight limp. He shook his head to get rid of the thought of Sindri kissing Kouta's scratches. He never had a mother to do that to him. He clenched his teeth, he didn't need a mother, he didn't want a mother...he didn't have a mother.

Judar flung himself onto his bed. He closed his eyes and placed an arm over them.

"Screw them." Judar whispered as a single tear fell onto his pillow.

***

When Judar woke up the sun had already set. He rubbed his eyes groggily and smeared his eye makeup.

"Shit." Judar cursed as he got out of bed. Quickly he cleaned his face and applied fresh eyeshadow. There was a quiet knock at his door.

"Master Judar, I have come to prepare you for the banquet. May I come in?"

"Sure, whatever." Judar said, quickly fixing his hair.

A female servant walked in and quickly helped Judar to get ready. She was silent the whole time, only speaking when necessary. Soon he was dressed in elegant robes of typical Kou fashion. It had been a long time since Judar had worn such heavy robes, and he wished for the moment he could return to his normal clothes.

Still in a foul mood, Judar followed the servant girl to the main banquet hall. As they got closer, the muted music became louder and the smell of food became stronger. Judar didn't feel like eating, but he wouldn't mind taking a bottle of wine to drink through the night.

The banquet hall doors opened and Judar entered. No one paid attention as they continued talking and eating. Judar's eye twitched, this was unacceptable. Judar reached in the folds of the layered robe and pulled out his wand.

"Thalg Al-Salos!"

Many screamed in fear and panic when a rain of ice shards began to fall. There was chaos as food went everywhere and guests tried to avoid the falling icicles. It took a few minutes, but eventually the guest calmed down. They all looked to the doors where Judar stood, a smirk on his face and wand in his hand.

"I have arrived." Judar announced. Satisfied with the attention he had gotten, he walked over to the main table with the Royals and took his seat. He could feel the anger radiating off of Sindri and many others. In his peripheral vision he could see many guests whispering to each other and glancing his way. No doubt they were gossiping about him, but Judar didn't care. It didn't matter what people said just as long as they were talking about him.

Judar had just picked up his wine glass when there was a loud clinking noise. The Crown Prince, Kouen, was standing and tapping his glass with a spoon. Judar groaned, it seemed it was time for the sappy 'happy birthday' speech. He took and long drink from his glass and motioned for the server to refill his cup.