Petunias, oleander, and daisies. These were the items carefully plucked from budding stems that, when mixed together, created a cure for the heat sickness, a common illness which affected those who slaved all day in the sweltering sun to make a living. Most of the poorer areas of the kingdom, the villages on the outskirts beyond the King's concerns, suffered the most.
The affects of heat sickness caused the body to overheat and form blisters on the skin. It also caused heightened dizziness and nausea for days. However, three tablespoons of potion, twice a day, for one day, ridded the body of the disease. The recipe was one of Sun's favorite to make, because it smelled like her mother's essence.
Unfortunately, Sun's mother, Asha had passed away when she was at the delicate age of thirteen. In desperate need of her mother, and left all alone, Sun spent her adolescent years very lonely, thinking about her mother's death. Asha had been sickened and defeated on her death bed, moments before passing on...
"There is no cure for a broken heart. And I, with all of my skill, couldn't even create a potion for it," Asha once told Sun through coughs and a bleeding nose. Asha extended a shaking hand, gently touching Sun's soft, rosy cheeks. "Make sure you pick the right man. Make sure..." Heavy coughs erupted from her throat, sending a rage of blood onto the bedsheets.
"Mother, please don't speak," Sun begged, reaching for a damp rag to dab at the splattered mess, even though she knew it would stain the cotton bedding even more. She couldn't meet her mother's eyes in fear of what lay there: impending death. For the life of her, Sun couldn't figure out how to cure her mother's mysterious sickness.
She wasn't gifted in potions and healing, no matter how many times she practiced with her mother. Sun could barely follow the simple recipes Asha had left her in a leather handbook, tucked away in the kitchen cupboards. For all of the soul gifts that existed, Sun wished for her mother's gift, even over her own.
In the kingdom of Noch, every person was born with a soul gift, a special ability or heightened sixth sense that grew stronger as they aged. Some were born with astounding strength, others, intelligence. There were also those who weren't as fortunate and where born with simple gifts, such as cleanliness or thoughtfulness. Sadly for them, the greater the gift, the greater one's own stature was within the kingdom.
A man born from a family with a lower ranked gift could become a highly ranked knight, due to his cleverness, which was cherished in battle. A lowly maiden could find herself courting a duke because of her gift of grace. A man born from a royal bloodline could be disowned by his family because he was born with the gift of agriculture. There was no rhyme or rhythm, no patterns or predictability when it came to who received what gift. It was as if each one fell from the sky at random and was granted to whichever newborn child was available.
It was clear as day, that the moment Sun was born, her gift would be glorious. She remembered her mother and father telling her stories about how she came into the world full of light and glory. Her mother had taken one look at her and said, "I'll name her Sun. Her beauty is enough to make each ray of light envious."
Asha's healing gift wasn't considered extraordinary, as there were other, more powerful healers that already worked for the King. Instead, she went around her small village, offering aid to those in need, making very little money in return. Although Asha didn't have much, she felt rich the day she fell in love with Sun's father, Coldwin - a farmer she had met while curing him of heat sickness.
Amidst curing him, Asha had learned that Coldwin had the gift of agriculture, which made him suitable for her lowliness. When Coldwin had awaken from unconsciousness, he found Asha's dazzling blue eyes and also knew he had to have her, regardless of her gift. It was love at first sight.
Five years later, Sun was conceived, with two older brothers in her wake.
George, Sun's oldest brother, was gifted in combat, and was sent off to the kingdom to join the King's army, where he fought his way to the top to be one of the King's personal guards. George's position paid well, and he'd often send money home to help with Coldwin's farm.
Cale, the second oldest, was born with the gift of compassion - a gift he secretly hated, as it held no true weight in his eyes. His job was to accompany their mother and reassure the family of those who were sick. All the while, he dreamed of being a hero, like his brother.
Cale eventually opened his own shop, which offered therapy for the mentally ill, or those depressed enough to seek counseling. When Asha grew sick, Cale began to help pay for the things his mother no longer could. His compassion for her was great, especially when he watched her die right before his eyes.
Sun was the youngest of the three, and she was to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Although there were others gifted with beauty, she was to be like a sun to their moon. But her gift also came with a curse, and her father, Coldwin had been the one to tell her the darker side of her existence...
"Be careful with this one," Sun remembered her father saying, mimicking in the voice of the old oracle as he spoke. "She will be beautiful enough to cause chaos, war, and destruction. She will turn brother against brother and husband against wife. She will be held even higher than the King, himself, and the King will be overjoyed by it. It would be best to keep her hidden from the world lest she dooms it. With every gift, there is a price."
It was a story Coldwin always reminded Sun, whenever she grew antsy about being tucked away in a small cottage deep within the woods. It was what he reminded her whenever she begged to go with him into the village that sat miles down a long, dirt road. She'd cried and pleaded to see the world around her, but every time she mustered up enough courage to ask, he'd shut her down with the truth.
No one could ever know of her existence.
The day Sun's mother died, her father - hardened by death - took her deep into the woods to live alone. She had been thirteen then, but her father still took her to that small, run down cottage and left her there.
Every other day, he'd pay her a visit, bringing food from his farm and warm wishes from her brothers. He would stay hours to chat, just to make her feel as if she wasn't entirely alone, but then he'd leave and go back to his farm and his animals.
He would always leave.
Sun had spent many months crying, hating life, and growing depressed at the fact that she lived in that cottage tucked away in the woods, all alone. No friends, except the furry creatures she'd come to know. No one to talk to or laugh with. It was enough to make any young girl crazy.
Eventually, Sun adjusted to her life and found a companion in a wild dog she'd named Grump, due to his brooding personally and sagging face. She spent most of her days learning each bend of the wood, and discovering rivers and bodies of water. Her favorite was a waterfall untouched by man that poured into a large river she'd spent a lot of her days swimming in.
Sun found rare fruits and flowers, and kept a journal of her findings, pretending sometimes to be her mother in search of a new cure. But most of the time, she would lay on the same branch in her tree, and stare up at the sky while daydreaming of finding true love...
"Someday, I will find a man so crazy in love with me that he will face off with the world just to have me." It was true, Sun thought. It was the only part of the curse that seemed romantic - the idea of men fighting over her beauty. It meant these men had to love her.
Sun smiled at that thought as she stared down at a fist full of petunia's, daisies, and oleanders. She was sitting behind her cottage on a thick tree branch, resting from her daily walk through the woods in search of the the flowers.
It was Asha who had taught her how to make the potion, and Sun still collected the flowers to make the potion for her brother, Cale.
This cure was not the only medicine Sun could make. She had spent time most of her childhood learning different remedies from Asha.
"Out of all the cures I could teach you, remember this. There is no cure for a broken heart. Not even I could create a potion for it. Sun, make sure you pick the right one. Make sure..."
Sun still didn't understand what her mother was trying to say, but oh, how she wished she could rewind time and hear her mother out. She wished she could spend one more day, even one more second in her presence. But times had changed, and soon, they would change again...
"Thought I'd find you here."
A male voice woke Sun from her stupor, and she quickly sat up from her spot on the large branch.
Every morning, she climbed into that tree to sing along with the Blue Jay that lived a couple branches up, imagining her gift was song and that every night, she performed at the castle in front of thousands of people. But today, the Blue Jay's song slipped from her mouth in sad tones as she thought of her mother's last words.
"Oh, Sun, if only you could sing as beautiful as you look," her brother, Cale, teased. He hid a gift behind his back with anxiousness. "Do you know what todays is?"
Sun dangled her bare feet from the branch and smiled down at her brother. "Tuesday? I haven't the slightest clue. Time runs together in these parts."
"It's your eighteenth birthday!" he exclaimed. "And I've got just the present for you."
"It's my birthday?" Sun mused. "Mother has been dead for five years. It seems like only weeks ago."
"Today is not the day to hark on your past," Cale corrected her. "Today is the day to celebrate your future!"
Sun's nose crinkled as she questioned his enthusiasm. "My future is bleak. But thank you brother, I appreciate your enthusiasm." She jumped down from the tree, her light blonde hair catching the wind in a graceful downpour. She marched past Cale, heading back to her cottage where she had left a bowl of mixed fruit waiting to be devoured.
"At least accept my gift," Cale pleaded, following behind her.
"I'm afraid I do not like gifts, for my own has kept me hostage all these years." Sun opened the swinging back door and stepped inside. "Ah," she said, eying her bowl of fruit sitting on the wooden table her father carved just for her. Sun sat at the table, sitting the flowers down beside her, and reached for the bowl. "These berries will be the highlight of my day."
"What if I told you that this gift would allow you to walk right into the village and cause not an ounce of chaos?"
"I'd laugh and send you on your way," Sun admitted.
With a sigh, Cale removed a white box from behind his back and sat it on the table next to Sun's fruit bowl. With a frown, she pushed her bowl of berries away and eyed the box, wearily. "What's in it?"
"Open it up and see for yourself."
Sun noted how Cale's eyes were full of mischief, and she couldn't ignore the anxiousness building in the pit of her stomach. Without a word, she opened the box and stared inside at the dark red fabric. Sun lowered her hand onto the smooth, velvet cloth and frowned.
"A dress?" she asked, incredulously. "What am I to do with a dress in the middle of the woods?"
"Dear sister, it is not a dress," Cale reassured her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "It is a cloak. One of the finest cloaks south of the kingdom, might I add. Stand and try it on."
Sun wanted to oblige, but she stood from her seat and allowed her brother to help her into the thick, heavy fabric. Cale raised the hood over her head and stepped back with gleaming eyes. "It is perfect!"
"Perfect for what?" Sun asked running her hands down the smooth material.
"Perfect for keeping you disguised as we venture into the village for a night of fun. The king's circus is in town and I've heard that it's the best show one could ever see."
"What would father make of this?"
"Father doesn't know and doesn't need to. You're of age now, you will make your own decisions." Cale lowered the hood of the cloak and pinched Sun's cheek. "What do you say?"
"I say..."
She truly contemplated her brother's suggestion with a desire wilder than all others. To go into the village was a daring task but she couldn't pass it down. She'd spent years wondering how the shops and market stands looked. She'd dreamed of watching strangers from afar, of interacting with small children. All of the colors and smells, voices and laughter, it made her giddy with anticipation. It was as if her dreams were coming true. And yet, there was one thing keeping her from going. "I say, no, Cale. If father found out-"
"He's a coward and a drunk," Cale interjected. "He's so afraid of losing you, like he lost mother, that he has kept you locked away. Screw the man. Let's go have fun, if only for a night."
"If only for a night?" she asked with a nod and a giggle. "Why not."