Today was possibly the most important day in the history of the Fracteal Empire. Today, seven day-old Ash would be blessed by Saint China of Cruth. She would be the first ever monarch to be blessed a Saint. Yet today was the worst day of Empress Aspen's life. She didn't want this for her daughter. She wanted Ash to grow up as normally as possible. The pressure of being the Empress would be too much already without possessing unearthly powers.
"If I wasn't so weakened after bearing a child," Aspen said to herself through gritted teeth as she tottered to the balcony with her daughter in her arms, "I would save you from this cursed fate."
Aspen's sleeping quarters sat high above the rest of the castle, much as a bird would perch loftily on the highest branch of a tree. Her balcony faced the east, so the Empress could watch the sunrise every morning.
Wind whipped her rich chocolate hair into her face, and stars still speckled the indigo sky. Ash stirred in her arms as the chills crawled across their skins. Yet, dawn would come soon, and they would take her Ash away for them each to get prepared for the ceremony at midnight.
Aspen gripped the marble rail, forcing herself to set her gaze down upon the sights below, despite the dizzying height. The houses in Blaik, which was the richest, central-powered kingdom, were relatively big, each adorned with polished, black shingles and constructed of wood painted in soft, pastel colors. Of all the kingdoms except Tundira, Blaik was the most advanced, as the people used new wonders such as and self-wound watches and zippers and electric kettles (though they fell back to horse-drawn-carts and hand-written letters to preserve tradition on holidays and at rituals). Candles were beginning to be lit as dawn approached.
A soft knock on the door echoed through the room like a whisper. My ladies are here already?
"Cough, I don't feel good today," she croaked, "Come back later."
"It's me, Cedar," said a soft voice outside the door, "I know you're faking that."
Aspen sighed, shut the doors to the balcony and flopped onto the bed. Baby Ash, miraculously still sleeping, curled up in her mother's arms, snoring softly.
The door opened, and a man of nearly thirty years stepped in. He wore just a cream, cotton shirt and jeans. One would not readily believe him to be a king, much less an emperor. But Aspen couldn't look at him.
She stretched her arms and yawned, "I was just sleeping peacefully, before you came and woke me up."
Cedar didn't move. Aspen was facing the wall, but she could imagine him smiling in amusement at her.
"Go away," she said flatly.
"You're gonna need more than tricks and ill-mannered words to make me leave your side," he said, "How is Ash?" Aspen felt the bed sink a little bit as Cedar sat down.
"That's none of your business," Aspen snapped, "You gave up your daughter long before she was born, when you decided to turn her into some mystical, magical goddess. You that will ruin her life. Being the heir to the throne is enough pressure. She doesn't need people banging on her door, begging her to heal them and bring them food as well."
"You won't even let me see her? Aspen, you're over-reacting. Just think of all the people she can help," Cedar whispered, "No Saint has ever been so high in power. It's greedy not to share it with the world." Aspen felt his hand touch her arm, but she slapped it away.
"My best friend was a Saint," she said hoarsely, "And he lost his powers all of a sudden and died soon after."
"You're thinking of Coal, aren't you," Cedar said quietly, and Aspen knew she'd hit a nerve. Cedar's weight left the bed.
"My mother was a Saint. She was lucky, didn't die until she was about thirty. She died when I was but a few years old. My sister was never born. That is why my father was so protective of me." Aspen's voice shook, and she turned to face Cedar, "It's great for the first twenty or so years, but it never lasts. And then you die. Can't you see? It's a curse."
Cedar's green gaze held her intense brown one for a moment, and then he turned.
"I love you, Aspen," was all he said, and he shut the door softly behind him. The sound of soft echoing of footsteps receded.
Just then, Ash began to awake. She wiggled a bit, then, for the first time, she opened her eyes.
They were green, like Cedar's, but not as grey. They were as green as the leaves of an ash tree.
And Aspen couldn't hold it back anymore. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to capture the sight of her daughter's green eyes in her mind, for this would be the last day that she'd see them.
~.^.~
In her head, Ash had begun to call the being who held her in warm arms and fed her sweet milk her milk-giver. She rather liked her milk-giver, and she couldn't understand when another woman whose arms were not nearly as warm and took her away. So, Ash did the one thing she could: cry. She kicked and bawled.
"Oh, deary, don't be sad. You're going to get all prepared for the ceremony today!" the nervous maiden said, trying to distract the baby, "Look! You get to wear a pretty little dress." The maiden rushed into a room where the other ladies awaited. They immediately began to coo over baby Ash and dress her up. After much flailing arms and screaming, Ash was successfully stuffed into a frilly, mint-green dress, black dress shoes and a green bow headband. Then, she was plopped into a fancy stroller, which Ash thought was nice, and was rushed into a small room. Ash was very confused why so many maidens were trying to squeeze into the tiny space. Metal doors closed, and silence followed. Then, the doors opened again, and all the maids filed out, pushing her stroller. How odd, thought Ash. what was the point of that? But she was even more confused when she realized that the hall looked totally different. The floor was soft and dusky and, on the walls, were huge portraits. Faces stared down at Ash, and she whimpered. At the end of the hall, were two metal people holding pointy sticks. She thought she could see the glint of one's eyes through the beak-like visor. They bowed to her, and Ash reached out, trying to grab their ridiculous looking white feather that sprouted from their metal scalps.
Ash had never seen so much in one day, but nothing compared to the loud hustle and bustle of the outside world. So many people were there, and they all seemed to be staring at her. They parted like a wave from the shore, and someone picked her up. It was milk-giver, but she was different. She wore a long, midnight-black dress, and her hair was washed and braided around her head like a crown, threaded with the buds of moonwood. Up on it was a silver tiara studded with diamonds of every shade. Ash let out a happy chirp and tried to snatch one, but milk-giver held her firmly.
The crowd of people parted and bowed as milk-giver walked past. Is there something interesting to look at on the ground? Ash looked at the slate grey carpet, puzzled.
Finally, they made it to the other side, and milk-giver carefully stepped up a short stairway of white stone. At this end, a man wearing a crisp, ivory suit sat in a black velvet throne adorned with silver designs. A smaller, lighter version of the throne was right next to it. Ash was handed off to an older woman, and her milk-giver sat in the second throne.
Ash squirmed for a bit, but this woman didn't try to control her. There was something different about this woman. Her hair was iron-grey, which was normal for her age, but her skin was grey as well, and her eyes were the color of a storm.
Ash was set down on a cold white stone. She stopped moving, intrigued by pearly orb that hung in the star-flecked, night sky. She was disappointed when she couldn't catch the stars with her hand.
The older woman began to chant, and the crowd fell silent.
"This child who lays upon white stone
shall be blessed with powers unknown
With her hands, she can create
With her words, she can fell the great
And with her heart, she can heal
the wounded mind and cuts of steel
This child who lays upon white stone
shall be blessed to walk a path alone.
Beware the reflection."
The full moon had turned a rusty red, the color of dry blood, and now bathed light onto Ash. The elder woman's eyes had gone blank, and she lifted her arms to the sky.
It began as a breeze but quickly picked up to a strong gust until a funnel of spinning wind surrounded just her and Ash. Ash slowly lifted from the pillar, in a trance, and her eyes blank as well. Her mouth suddenly opened, and green mist twisted out. It felt as natural as exhaling, and, when she was finished, she floated gently back onto the white stone pillar. Then, she heard a scream, and she realized it was milk-giver.
Aspen walked over slowly and picked up her baby. Ash's short, downy hair was black, and her skin was soft grey, like a cloud. And those once bright, curious green eyes were the color of ash.
~.^.~
Green mist rippled through the air like a ghost's ribbon. Long after night had surrendered to the rising sun, and the hour-hand and minute-hand were about to reunite at the "12", the green ribbon of mist twisted downward and seeped into wet sand beside a tranquil pond. At first, there was silence. Then, there was a chilling breeze. The laughing of a baby chimed, sending vibrations from the spot where the green mist had disappeared. Then, a pulsing green spark floated from that spot. It seemed to loot the color from its surroundings. First, the cream-gold of the sand was gathered around the spark. Then, the turquoise of the sky glancing of the water was added to the mass of colors. The green disappeared momentarily, and a baby with sand-colored skin and turquoise hair landed on the grass with a thump. It didn't move for quite some time.
Then, her eyes opened, alert, and taking in the surrounding world.
They glowed, matching the clovers she lay upon.
*Author's Note*
Hi guys! I'm back! Okay, so I've been here all summer, but I haven't really been writing. Sure, I kept up on my "Name that Apprentice" and "Poems and Art", but I haven't really been working on a story.
I've had a few thoughts and ideas tossing around in my brain last winter/spring, but I kind of let them die away. I had another idea as well. I finally came up with an even better one, brushed the dust off my other two, and crushed them into a brand new idea!
I hope you like this one even better than my previous story, Skyling, which is currently on hold. I've kind of lost interest in it for now :/. I might go back to it some day.
I really, really hope I keep working on this story. I really like it so far. I appreciate (constructive) feedback in the comments. And votes :).
Also, this time, I will be adding songs to the chapters to set the mood. Let me know if what you think of this, if it makes it hard to read (because you like to sing along to the song like I do :D) or if you like it.
Thank you to my friend Melanie Neal for editing! Thank you to itskatbug, Kaitlin_DSouza, Jenna Heesacker and a few of my Google Plus friends for proof-reading! And thank you to anyone who reads this!
-J
P.S. Now edited.