- My father wanted a boy. Later he accepted that his eldest was a daughter and gave up under pressure, but it was already too late. Emily was daddy’s little boy. When she was twelve she snuck out into the forest. I was only seven at the time – a timid little girl with a seemingly fragile structure. In fact, my parents refused to let me play with Emily at first. She was no joke. She would fling a cloak over her shoulders and wield father’s callibur, swinging it above her head as if it was nothing. Father would always smile and turn a blind eye. When mother was resting or visiting the village, he would take Emily to the training grounds. I was always jealous of her. Mother would fuss over her unkempt blonde hair and ripped dresses, and father would always silently encourage her to be fearless and adventurous. I, on the other hand, was obedient and timid. I was the “starchild”, according to my sister. I always did what was expected of me – princess duties like taking apples to the orphans and doing needlework. It was the petty things that wasn’t ever of any use to anyone. I argued with her, telling her that visiting the orphans made me a better person. She only said, “Ha! It made you a lady? It makes you weak, that’s what! You’ll never survive if the palace was under attack...” With that she would continue her imaginary battle with the wooden sword father carved for her.
“Em?” I asked hesitantly, “Would you protect me if it happened?” She froze and looked at me, surprised. After a few moments her gaze softened and she assured me with one sharp nod and continued her dance. It was a dance, in a way. It started as rugged grappling and sliding a sword over the ground, now she glides effortlessly from one position into another like the dance of an assassin.
Everything was the same day in and day out. Emily would sneak out and go onto secret missions of her own. When it was time for us to sink away in our plush pillows, she would tell me what happened to her that day. I believed every word, but I didn’t share her enthusiasm. It was the same old things over and over again – slicing up rotten logs and hiding from the dire wolves. She even brought home a pup once. Mother wasn’t too happy, but she let us keep him anyway. Emily dubbed him Cain and took him hunting with her. After a few months, she returned without him in tears. I never thought I’d see her cry. I held her and stroked her hair. She whispered Cain’s name over and over into her sleep. Even if I barely saw the wolf, I was sad that he was gone. There was a gloom over us for days and she tagged along when we visited the orphans, until it happened.
“Moon!” she exclaimed.
“Did you see that too?” I looked at her with excitement. Then I returned my attention to my embroidery piece. The needle moved through the cloth, tightening the stitch.
“How is this possible?” She frowned at her own needle, but it didn’t budge.
“Try concentrating harder, Emily. If I can do it, you can – you can do everything.”
She tried and tried again, but to no vail.
“This!” she threw her work to the floor in frustration. Her breathing slowed and she looked down to me.
“I’m sorry,” I started, not sure what to say. She shook her head.
“You’re not so boring after all, Moon.”
I laughed and launched a pillow at her. Mother came barging in, but her heart warmed when she caught the sight of us playing and laughing again. Cain’s absence made us stronger, she must have thought. However, it was our differences that united us.
Ever since that day, Emily kept pestering me to practice. I bathed twice a day, trying to heat up the water at my will. After that, I accidentally made the bar of soap explode, sending bubbles into every direction. They reflected the beautiful spectrums of candlelight...
“Your highness, came the guard’s bellowing voice. “We found the thief of palace food, my lord.”
“No!” a young voice cried in horror.
“Be still, thief! Be like all thieves are and accept your fate! You have brought this upon yourself,” the guard tried his best to restrain the boy, but he slipped out of his grip in the form of an owl. I gasped behind the creak of the door. Emily clasped my mouth scoldingly. A loud thump sounded on the door and we fell backwards, exposed to Father. The owl flew through above us, shrieking.
“Help me, I didn’t do it,” it whispered.
“C’mon,” I dragged her up and ran as fast as my dress would let me. The owl flew before me and we chased on after it. It landed in the servant’s bathtub and instantly whirred back into the ill-claded boy. He wasn’t much older than Em, but he was terrified and his fear made the pipes rattle.
“You’re a magician,” Emily mused. The boy straightened himself and sat upright.
“I have a name.”
“No, you’re a thief and you have no right to see my daughters!” Father came plundering in, causing bewildering thunder underneath his feet.
“No, daddy!” I cried. I reckoned if he could do magic and they do not look favorably upon him, what would happen to me? Selfish, perhaps, but even Em would appreciate an adventurous friend. He would be better company to her than I am.
“Moon, child. What are you defending him for?”
“He’s a magician, Father.”
“And that relieves him of his thievery?”
“No...”
“I didn’t steal anything, your greatness,” the boy bowed ninety degrees.
“The lad tells the truth, my King.” It was the elderly voice of the royal sorcerer. “So many magical auras in this room,” he mused and glanced at the boy and then at me. I froze and begged for his silence with my eyes.
“He is my apprentice and I sent him to bring me an apple. Nothing more.”
With that, everyone dispersed and went their separate ways. We were ordered to return to our quarters, but neither of us wanted to.
“Practice harder, Moon,” Emily said and left me.
Yes, Moon is the name I’ve been given. It is because the moon shone gold and full at the time of my brith. My name has no other meaning; no significance. Emily was named after our great great uncle, Emery the Great. It is said he was the last man to ever slay a dragon. I hear Mother constantly giggle that the name is suitable to what Emily has become.
“Xia.”
“What is that?”
Ji, the royal wizard’s apprentice was lying next to me under a peach tree, forming spheres of golden light and releasing them into the night air.
“That’s your new name,” he said, smiling without looking at me.
“What does it mean?”
“Sunrise glow. Concentrate on the physics of it. Light is energy as much as heat is.”
I tried and a small spark formed inches from my palm.
“How did you know?”
He smirked, “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
“Moon, Ji!” It was Emily. She appeared from the bush and beckoned us to follow her. I was twelve at the time. He stood up and offered me a hand, but instead of pulling me up, he picked me up with the invisible force of his magic.
“Show off,” I laughed.
“C’mon already!” Emily couldn’t contain her excitement. She had found the trail we’ve been looking months for.
The tracks were printed deeply into the damp forest floor. A few weeks before they found a tooth as large as our heads and after that, a disintegrating scale. Ji powdered it and wore it around his neck. We called it the dragon’s essence and he carried it for us with pride. We followed the trail of scattered talon-prints.
“It must be wounded,” he suggested.
“Why...” I started, but Emily interrupted.
“It keeps landing, why doesn’t it just fly?” she said matter-of-factually.
“But there’s no blood?” I protested. We didn’t know what dragon’s blood looked like, so we couldn’t look for it. However, if the dragon couldn’t fly the injury had to be great.
We didn’t find anything and some of the soldiers came looking for us near sundown. Months passed and our adventures carried into the night. Father ensured that Ji was attending serious training to keep us safe. It was considerate of him not to send a bunch of soldiers with us. He knew well, despite Mother’s begging, that it would ruin our spirits. Ji quickly became a part of the family and his magic became stronger and stronger, as did his body. As he became stronger, I became weaker it seemed. I became tired earlier each day, but didn’t want to stay home either. Ji’s arms was more comforting than my bed. I could hear his heart beating warmly against my side as he carried me while I slept. I only used my magic for hygiene and fixing my hair, but soon I became too drained to heal tiny scrapes even.
Years went by and still we found nothing. Eventually they had to leave me at home. Ji would pester my sister to come home, she told me. He would sit at the side of my bed and make me laugh with his silly magic tricks. A few years after that I started to regain my strength. I had to learn how to walk all over again. Ji would walk with me on his arm through the peach groves, urging me to do my best and become better. On one cold day I collapsed and bit my lip to keep the tears from flowing.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered and tried to get up. I hated being the weak one that everyone was always worried about. I hated being a burden to them.
Ji only shook his head in what I thought was disappointment and crouched over me, lifting me slightly by my elbows. His arms snaked around my waist and he pulled me closer, pressing his lips to mine passionately. It was the best feeling I’ve ever felt. Each day I would spend with him and we would just walk on the borderline of the forest; hand-in-hand. We were happy.
Then, one day, Emily came flying down the hill towards us.
“I found him!” She cried with joy.
We followed her into woods once more. It was far away from the palace and high up on a snowy mountain peak. Ji used his magic to keep us warm, heal our injuries from climbing, and lift us to heights that were impossible to reach. Eventually we reached the mouth of a cave.
“Emily, you brought your friends,” we were greeted with a warm husky breath.
“Yes,” she replied confidentially, “This is my sister, Moon, and Ji, a magician.”
“Strange,” the beast chuckled and slowly revealed himself to us. He was ginormous an majestic as the stories foretold. We were awe-struck.
“This little Moon is too silly for a Moon. Silly little Moon,” his body rippled in affectionate laughter. I was confused and hated his sarcasm. “She is in love with her brother.”
A surge of pre-birth memories washed over me as if the old goon was channeling his wisdom through me, and then something clicked. My Ji was gone as if he was a figure of my imagination. I turned towards the cliff and glowered down at the Earth below my feet.
“He’s telling lies!” Ji panicked, desperately trying to save his own heart. Then he collapsed. His knees gave out under him and I knew why, but I couldn’t prevent it. We channeled the same magic source. As I grew more furious, he weakened. The wind played with my hair, whipping it around my face. A spark ignited on my fingertip and I cringed into a ball of pain, screaming with anger. The fire spread to my entire body and all of my surroundings. I couldn’t see anything but the memories of a false love and my own pathetically ignorant life. Something crackled and snapped. My body disintegrated entirely. I knew it was the end, but I was still there, floating in the skies – roaming aimlessly and feeling forever broken.
