New Yearling
Date: Undated
Location: Unknown
Bolts of brilliant blue and white break into a thousand shards above my head. The cheers of celebrating citizens reach my ears from beyond the palace walls. I wish I was up high in one of the towers, so that I could see them.
Beside me, my mother squeezes my shoulder in excitement. “See the fireworks, Elf?” she asks.
I look up at her beautiful face, glimmering in the light of exploding spirals of green and yellow. Her eyes are sparkling as she laughs. The silver circlet flashes from amid the great tumbled masses of her black hair.
“Yes, I see them.” I nod solemnly, which evokes another laugh from her.
“So serious,” my father says, scooping me up onto his shoulder, “So serious at so glorious a new year. Truly, our daughter finds little humor in even the greatest of celebrations.”
“No more chiding,” my mother says with a warning glance in her eye; she smiles even as she speaks.
From my father's shoulder, I can see over the heads of all the nobles and dignitaries gathered on the balcony. Some bear the white robe and staffs of the Warriors. Others are arrayed in shimmering silks and satins. Most have jewels of some kind flashing from their heads and necks and wrists and waists. But my father's crown is brightest: gold, delicately intertwined around sapphire clusters. A single white stone shines from the center of his forehead.
A new voice speaks from below me, near my mother.
“They are lightning.”
I look down at the top of my brother's head, with hair as black as mine. His pale face is lifted up, and his gray eyes are large with awe. Flickering light from the fireworks plays over his features like magic.
“Yes, Nishi,” my father answers him. “The symbol of our realm's power. The lightning bolt.”
“Eno.” My brother touches my mother's arm. “Why do we celebrate New Year's like this?”
My mother looks thoughtful. “We did it like this back on my home planet. I'm not sure, though. You should ask one of the Warriors. They know more than I do.”
“No one knows more than you,” my father says to her.
She blushes at his praise. “In some things.” Her face turns thoughtful again.
And I can sense the hidden meaning behind the words.
“Elf, let's go see what the others are doing,” Nishi says to me. He swings me down from my father's shoulder, which is impressive because my father is the tallest man in the realm. He stands over six feet and four inches tall. A perfect height for a king, my mother says to tease him.
They tease each other a lot. But I suppose it's because they're in love. I don't know much about that, even if I am a girl. My mother told me that when she was a girl my age, she was already aware of the love between a man and a woman. Perhaps that is why she married my father when they were both so young.
I don't intend to get married when I'm young.
Maybe I will never get married.
“Elf?” I hear Nishi's voice. I look back at him, and for once, he's smiling.
He looks so handsome when he smiles. But I've only seen him do it five times in as many years.
“What?” I ask.
“They're spelling our names.” He gestures at the fireworks above us. I catch a glimpse of gray sparks against the black starkness of the night sky. The sparks form words, interlocking with the faint gleam of the stars behind them.
They're beautiful.
I catch my breath at the sight. Nishi squeezes my hand; he understands how I feel. We stand together, just the two of us, watching.
I then hear the voices of the Warriors coming toward us. I look over and see the six of my realm: handsome Darr, green-eyed Jost, mysterious Diri, sweet Aryn, dark-haired Somi, and quick-tempered Sairi. They are laughing, merry, their arms around each other in a solid line as they approach.
Nishi bows low, respectfully. I gather my satin skirt into a graceful curtsy.
“Royalty bowing to us,” Jost says mischievously. “I like it.”
Diri gives him a look. “Bow back. It's being polite.”
In a linked line they bow, though I see a gleam in Sairi and Somi's eyes. They think it's funny that they bow to royalty while royalty bows to them. I don't see the humor, but then again I don't see the humor in a lot of things that other people do.
Aryn picks me up and Nishi climbs onto Darr's back. They race us across the courtyard with great leaping steps, so that we seem to be flying. I squeal with laughter, and Nishi smiles again. The others whirl around us, looking like great white swans in their flowing cloaks.
I see my parents approaching. My mother's arm is linked through my father's, and she smiles up at him with so much love and admiration that a lump clogs my throat. Aryn sets me down gently and I run to them, flinging myself into my father's arms. Fear claws at my heart, an unexpected fear that I will lose them soon.
“I don't want to leave you,” I murmur in his ear. He looks surprised, but holds me close.
“You won't leave us, Elf,” my mother says. She has very sharp hearing and heard me. “You will never leave us.”
“Promise?” I ask, turning to her.
She takes my head in her hands and kisses my forehead. “I promise.”
I look back up at the fireworks, exploding with ever-increasing brilliance above our heads, and around at the Warriors gathered in a circle around us. Finally, my eyes meet those of my brother's. Gray as my own, yet without the brown and green shades that peep through at certain times. He nods to me. He will always take care of me. Like my parents, he will never leave me. I will never leave him. No matter what the future holds. No matter what year we find ourselves in. No matter the realm, the stars, the planets, the moons.
We are family.
And always will be.
Date: Undated
Location: Unknown
Bolts of brilliant blue and white break into a thousand shards above my head. The cheers of celebrating citizens reach my ears from beyond the palace walls. I wish I was up high in one of the towers, so that I could see them.
Beside me, my mother squeezes my shoulder in excitement. “See the fireworks, Elf?” she asks.
I look up at her beautiful face, glimmering in the light of exploding spirals of green and yellow. Her eyes are sparkling as she laughs. The silver circlet flashes from amid the great tumbled masses of her black hair.
“Yes, I see them.” I nod solemnly, which evokes another laugh from her.
“So serious,” my father says, scooping me up onto his shoulder, “So serious at so glorious a new year. Truly, our daughter finds little humor in even the greatest of celebrations.”
“No more chiding,” my mother says with a warning glance in her eye; she smiles even as she speaks.
From my father's shoulder, I can see over the heads of all the nobles and dignitaries gathered on the balcony. Some bear the white robe and staffs of the Warriors. Others are arrayed in shimmering silks and satins. Most have jewels of some kind flashing from their heads and necks and wrists and waists. But my father's crown is brightest: gold, delicately intertwined around sapphire clusters. A single white stone shines from the center of his forehead.
A new voice speaks from below me, near my mother.
“They are lightning.”
I look down at the top of my brother's head, with hair as black as mine. His pale face is lifted up, and his gray eyes are large with awe. Flickering light from the fireworks plays over his features like magic.
“Yes, Nishi,” my father answers him. “The symbol of our realm's power. The lightning bolt.”
“Eno.” My brother touches my mother's arm. “Why do we celebrate New Year's like this?”
My mother looks thoughtful. “We did it like this back on my home planet. I'm not sure, though. You should ask one of the Warriors. They know more than I do.”
“No one knows more than you,” my father says to her.
She blushes at his praise. “In some things.” Her face turns thoughtful again.
And I can sense the hidden meaning behind the words.
“Elf, let's go see what the others are doing,” Nishi says to me. He swings me down from my father's shoulder, which is impressive because my father is the tallest man in the realm. He stands over six feet and four inches tall. A perfect height for a king, my mother says to tease him.
They tease each other a lot. But I suppose it's because they're in love. I don't know much about that, even if I am a girl. My mother told me that when she was a girl my age, she was already aware of the love between a man and a woman. Perhaps that is why she married my father when they were both so young.
I don't intend to get married when I'm young.
Maybe I will never get married.
“Elf?” I hear Nishi's voice. I look back at him, and for once, he's smiling.
He looks so handsome when he smiles. But I've only seen him do it five times in as many years.
“What?” I ask.
“They're spelling our names.” He gestures at the fireworks above us. I catch a glimpse of gray sparks against the black starkness of the night sky. The sparks form words, interlocking with the faint gleam of the stars behind them.
They're beautiful.
I catch my breath at the sight. Nishi squeezes my hand; he understands how I feel. We stand together, just the two of us, watching.
I then hear the voices of the Warriors coming toward us. I look over and see the six of my realm: handsome Darr, green-eyed Jost, mysterious Diri, sweet Aryn, dark-haired Somi, and quick-tempered Sairi. They are laughing, merry, their arms around each other in a solid line as they approach.
Nishi bows low, respectfully. I gather my satin skirt into a graceful curtsy.
“Royalty bowing to us,” Jost says mischievously. “I like it.”
Diri gives him a look. “Bow back. It's being polite.”
In a linked line they bow, though I see a gleam in Sairi and Somi's eyes. They think it's funny that they bow to royalty while royalty bows to them. I don't see the humor, but then again I don't see the humor in a lot of things that other people do.
Aryn picks me up and Nishi climbs onto Darr's back. They race us across the courtyard with great leaping steps, so that we seem to be flying. I squeal with laughter, and Nishi smiles again. The others whirl around us, looking like great white swans in their flowing cloaks.
I see my parents approaching. My mother's arm is linked through my father's, and she smiles up at him with so much love and admiration that a lump clogs my throat. Aryn sets me down gently and I run to them, flinging myself into my father's arms. Fear claws at my heart, an unexpected fear that I will lose them soon.
“I don't want to leave you,” I murmur in his ear. He looks surprised, but holds me close.
“You won't leave us, Elf,” my mother says. She has very sharp hearing and heard me. “You will never leave us.”
“Promise?” I ask, turning to her.
She takes my head in her hands and kisses my forehead. “I promise.”
I look back up at the fireworks, exploding with ever-increasing brilliance above our heads, and around at the Warriors gathered in a circle around us. Finally, my eyes meet those of my brother's. Gray as my own, yet without the brown and green shades that peep through at certain times. He nods to me. He will always take care of me. Like my parents, he will never leave me. I will never leave him. No matter what the future holds. No matter what year we find ourselves in. No matter the realm, the stars, the planets, the moons.
We are family.
And always will be.
