Up from his tree perch Judar could see the various groups of servants running around as they scrambled to make preparations for the birthday banquet. He absentmindedly tossed a peach from hand to hand and scoffed at them. The date of the princess's birthday was not a secret so preparations should have been started much earlier, and now the servants and coordinators had to run around like crazy to put together a birthday banquet.
"Idiots." Judar ridiculed as he rolled his eyes. He was actually torn between wanting the banquet to be a disaster and having it be a success so he can have some fun.
An extra loud and merry voice from the crowd of people running around catches Judar's attention. He looks down and sees a short man followed by a much taller woman. They didn't look familiar, so they probably had something to do with the birthday celebration. They were dressed in very colorful clothes and seemed interesting enough to mess with.
As Judar was going to jump down from the tree a sudden shout caught him off guard and caused him to lose his balance. The momentum from almost jumping was still there, so Judar found himself falling from the tree. He landed with a painful thud and yelped in pain.
"Ouch! What the hell?" Judar exclaimed as he rubbed his hip and thigh. He glared at the source of the distracting shout, a small boy with red hair and golden eyes.
"Oh no! Ju-Ju got a boo-boo!" The small boy shouted before racing over to the fallen Magi. He patted Judar with his small hands and attempted to kiss Judar's bruised side before Judar pushed him away.
"Get away! I don't want any of your gross slobber on me!"
"Mama always kisses my boo-boos, she says it makes them get better faster." The boy explained.
Judar ignored him and got up, but he had lost sight of the interesting couple. He sighed, playing with the small brat seemed like the second best option. He didn't want to be alone, he was tired of having no one to talk to. Besides, it might be fun to tell the kid scary stories and scare him.
"Hey kid, wanna hear a story?"
The boy nodded, his golden eyes shone with excitement. He loved stories, especially the one about Mama and the Captain. However, before Judar could even begin his story there was a loud call from a familiar voice.
"Kouta! Where are you?"
Judar and the boy turned toward the voice, seeing a princess with long purple hair. Her back was to them, and Judar considered grabbing the boy and hiding him. A smile grew on his face as he imagined the purple-haired princess's distress at not finding her son. His small burst of joy was spoiled by the boy calling out to the princess.
"I'm over here Mama! I'm with Ju-Ju!"
The princess hurried over to them, her eyes spiked with panic. She quickly grabbed Kouta's arm and pulled him away from Judar. Her eyes quickly scanned over her four-year-old son, looking for any signs of harm.
"High Priest Judar." The princess bowed in acknowledgment, her voice cold.
"Sindri." Judar responded, deliberately not using her title as Crown Princess. Sindri looked him in the eyes; they were identical to Kouta's, only hers held the caution and fierceness of one facing down a snake. Judar stared back with narrowed eyes, he refused to be the first to look away.
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.
"I hope everyone is having a good time and enjoying the food. Tonight is a very special occasion, as it is the birthday of my beloved wife Sindri." Kouen started. Clapping broke out and Sindri couldn't contain her smile. Next to her Kouta was clapping and laughing.
"It's been four years since I first met her, and boy you should have seen the trouble she caused me." Kouen joked as he continued his speech. The guests laughed along with him and Sindri playfully swatted at him.
"Blah, blah, blah." Judar muttered as he took another drink of wine. Judar tuned Kouen out, not wanting to hear any more of their love story. After what seemed like forever, the speech ended with Kouen and Sindri sharing a kiss.
"Eww!" Kouta exclaimed as he scrunched up his face at the sight of his parents kissing. Judar raised his wine glass in a silent toast to Kouta in agreement with his disgust.
After about an hour of eating, talking, and various speeches for Sindri, Judar was ready to leave. He had refilled his wine glass several times and was ready to fall asleep. He was seconds away from leaving when a familiar short man stood in the center of the room.
"Your Majesty, I am honored to have the privilege of having my circus provide the entertainment for tonight. On behalf of Ravoi's Travelling Circus of Wonders, I wish you a very happy birthday. And now, enjoy the show." The short man announced with a bow.
At the motioning of the man, Ravoi, a trio of lions were ushered through a curtain followed by the tall woman from earlier.
"I am Mistress Lo, tamer of beasts. For this performance, I suggest you guests stay back as my babies can get...playful."
At those words many of the guests backed up, giddy with excitement and fear. Mistress Lo produced a whip and began to snap it. At her commands the trio of lions jumped, roared, and did various tricks. After the lions, multiple other performers came out and did their acts.
Judar watched the performances with an air of indifference. The trapeze artists soared and danced in the air, a man swallowed swords and many other forgettable acts followed. There was no magic in any of the performances, making them utterly boring for Judar. Many of the acts could be done by anyone with magic, there was nothing special about the fire breather (who couldn't actually breathe fire) or any of the other performers.
Judar watched in annoyance as the other guests clapped and gasped in astonishment for every act. He imagined that Kouen was not very happy by the tameness of the entertainment chosen for his wife's birthday. Judar was taken out of his thoughts by the loud and cheerful Ravoi taking center stage once again.
"I hope you have enjoyed the previous performances, but now it is time for a very special performance. For her last show, it is my honor to present Ruhya the Moon Dancer."
Judar took another drink from his glass as the lights went out. He arched his eyebrow, this could be interesting. When the lights came back on there was a girl dressed in a red outfit crouched low to the floor. A steady drum rhythm started and the girl lifted her head, she was blindfolded by a white cloth. Slowly she moved her shoulders and arms to the beat of the drum. As the beat became faster Ruhya stood, her arms continually swaying.
Judar raised both eyebrows in surprise as he got a full view of Ruhya's outfit. She was basically wearing a heavily bejeweled bra with an ankle length skirt with many layers and large slits up both sides that ended near her upper thighs. It was definitely an eye-catching outfit, showing much of her skin. Judar's interest was peaked, he wondered if the outfit was compensation for a mediocre dance.
The drum beat sped up and a flute started to play. Judar watched in amazement as Ruhya's hips began to shake as the rest of her body stayed still. He had never seen a dance like this, and he quietly gasped as her stomach began to move in waves. She swung her leg out and spun, causing her skirt to fly up slightly in waves of red.
Ruhya reached up and began to slowly untie her blindfold as her hips once again began to move. Suddenly the lights went completely out. A few seconds later the curtains of the banquet hall fell, filling it with beams of bright moonlight. Judar could barely see the dancer in the dim lighting, but he could tell that her eyes were closed.
Many gasps of wonder could be heard as Ruhya opened her eyes. Staring directly at Judar was a pair of eyes that were literally glowing. Shades of blue swirled in her iris, creating a mesmerizing whirlpool. Ruhya swung her arms around and trails of brilliant blue light followed. As she spun the light changed from a vibrant blue to a pale purple with sparks of yellow.
Judar watched in amazement. He could not hear the music or any of the guests, all he could focus on was the girl dancing in front of him. She moved her body perfectly and in ways that Judar had never seen.
Ruhya's movements slowed down and she spread her arms dramatically as giant wings of light burst from behind her. The music stopped and the Moon Dancer gave a deep bow, ending her performance. A feeling of possessiveness and want filled Judar. One thought occupied his mind.
The Moon Dancer belonged him.