Her Rising Dawn

Part 1- Hide And Home

The branch I was sitting on almost cracked, but I kept my balance to prevent sliding down. Seeing Draco wandering aimlessly around the area I was hiding made me burst into fits of giggles. I can't believe I was such a good hider. Plus, hide and seek would improve our hiding and seeking skills, though he would give up every time. Fun times.

My name's Kat La, but everyone knows me as Funneh. I have 4 siblings; Draco, Lunar, Gold and Rainbow. We're the royal family. But short notice, I hate wearing crowns and dresses and talking bout boring stuff about this and that and blah blah blah. While Gold is the queen, me and Draco are officially the royal guardians now. Hurrah for no more boring stuff! It's time we battle! As head of the guards, all day it's combat or hide and seek. I can spend my days thinking about the battle plans instead of gatherings and meetings. What fun!

Draco was looking up at my hiding spot long before yelling," Funneh I know your up there!" I coughed back a laugh as my body began shaking in laughter. Draco stared at the trunk of the tree I was hiding in and he shook it. I wobbled crazily but managed to hop off the branch to another tree branch, until I was another tree away. Draco scaled the tree as quickly as a monkey, his black hair flapping against his eyes and his brown tunic blowing with the wind.

I had to bite another laugh back when I saw the confused expression on his face. I also almost exploded with laughter as he shook his head and mumbled," Dang I swear she was here a while ago." Accidently, a chuckle slipped out and sharp Draco leaped to the tree where I was hiding. "Gotcha!" he yelled. I wasn't ready to give up. I pushed Draco off the tree and he fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Hey cheater!" he called to me while rubbing his back. The situation was too much to take and I fell out of the tree while sputtering and giggling. A wide smile stretched across Draco's face and he burst into a fit of laughter. Both of us spent awhile lying on the ground laughing like mad. 

"Draco? Funneh? Are you here?" a soft voice cut through our laughter as Lunar stepped towards us. The teal and purple gown she was wearing shimmered and rippled with every step she took. Truth be told, I was always jealous and annoyed how my sisters beauty hit me, but I don't understand how they be able to wear such a dress around.

Me and Draco pulled ourselves to our feet and brushed the dust off our tunics. "Hey Lunar," I said. "What's up?" Lunar pursed her lips. "Gold needs you back at the castle. She actually sent a messenger to tell you, but since I was bored, I convinced him to let me get you." A small smile creeped onto her face. She always loved outdoors, just like me and Draco.

Draco groaned and cracked his knuckles. "Let me guess," he said. "It's about the stupid ball tonight. In honor of Rainbow's birthday right?" Lunar nodded. Draco groaned again. "Why can't we just have cake and be done with it?" he asked. "Literally, that woman has a hat of cake!"

Lunar shot him a nasty glare and he kept quiet. "You know Rainbow is a fan of balls, plus it's been years since we had one. You know, after..." Her voice trailed off and I caught a few tears slip down her cheeks. I knew what she was upset about.

5 years ago, our mom had died from an incurable disease. And to add to our worries, a year later our dad was killed in a battle against an enemy kingdom. Actually, Rainbow was supposed to take the throne, but for some reason, she let Gold have it. "I don't necessarily need the crown," she had said. "It's a lot of work."

A few moments of silence rang through the air and Draco became lenient. "Fine," he said. "But only for today." He wagged a finger like he was scolding a young child. Lunar cheered up and dragged us out of the grassy field we had been playing in. The way home was a long walk, but it was pleasant. Lagoons with clear blue water sparkled around with a beautiful waterfall crashing in a nearby lake. Fields of green grass shimmered with morning dew in the sunlight and lush wildflowers grew everywhere. But the best part was the village. Bunches of small cottages lined the cobblestone paved paths with villagers clumping around, gossiping or trading. A castle stood majestically in front of everything. It had peach colored stones and many towers soaring towards the sky. A creeper grew around the walls of the castle like a green ribbon wrapping a gift. Welcome to Krewdom.

Lunar was chatty the whole way home and she blabbed about everything. And I mean everything. I, on the other hand, was tuning out her words and staring at my feet quietly. Normally I would engage in chatting with her but today, I didn't have the energy. "Funneh?" Lunar's voice smacked me back to reality and I looked at her. She had a worried expression on her face. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Sorry, I didn't mean to chat so much-" I shook my head. "It's not your fault," I said. "Just tired. Had to ride across the kingdom just now. A case of fog had just grabbed my attention." I lied about the fog but part of it was true. I was tired.

Lunar sighed and pulled me into a hug. "Whatever it is, just tell me," she whispered. "I'm here." A coughing interrupted the peaceful moment. Draco was staring at us with an eyebrow raised so high it disappeared into his dark hair. "Uhm hello?" he said. "I'm still here." Lunar pulled away and smoothed her gown. "You two go first. I gotta pick up the cake from the bakery now." She sighed. "I would have consulted the bakers at home, but little miss Rainbow has a way of finding out stuff. That girl really loves cakes." With that, she waved us off and made her way.

Me and Draco headed to the castle and when we arrived, we had barely stepped inside before we were tackled by a flurry of yellow. "My god there you two are!" yelled Gold. "I spent the whole day looking for you!" I took a look at Gold's outfit. Auburn curls tumbled to her waist and a gold crown sat on her head. The yellow gown she wore was a avalanche of ruffles and lace with topazes scattered around. I shrugged. "Sorry." Gold shook her head and pushed us inside. "No apologies," she said. "You two may be royal guards, but you still have royal blood in your veins. You need to get dressed for the ball. Funneh, your dress was just done a while ago. And Draco I have your suit ready in your room. Go try it on. Funneh, you follow me." She beckoned me to come over to her side. I let out a huge sigh and followed her. Draco went off to try on his suit.

My gown was an ombré of a bright teal to a midnight blue. Diamonds were sewn onto the neckline and shimmered with intensity. More diamonds dotted the large skirt of tulle, making the dress look like it was in a galaxy. However, besides all the beauty, the dress was quite itchy cause of the silk and the tight corset tightened my stomach, making me wanna puke. "How is it?" asked Gold with a large smile. I gave her a tight smile. "Itchy, but okay," I said. "Good, the ball begins at dusk, 7 pm sharp. Go find some jewelry and a tiara or something," she said with a smirk. My mouth curled into a small smile. "You're the queen aren't you?" I asked cheekily. "Can't you lend me some? I bet you have a ton of those." Gold laughed and pushed me out, shutting the door right in my face.

"And for a moment I thought there was an argument." I turned and faced my oldest sister Rainbow. Her pink hair was twisted and curled with a complicated style that only experts could do. Today her gown was a beautiful combo of pink and blue, topped of with long flowing sleeves dotted with rubies. And for once, she had taken off her hat of cake and replaced it with a silver tiara decorated with a small pink jewel. "What's up Funneh? Excited?" she asked. I couldn't think of an answer. "Kinda?" I decided. "Gold made me dress up and it's over the top." I gestured to my gown. Rainbow squealed and clapped her hands in delight. "I take it that it's an invitation for me to help?" she asked while grinning. I didn't have to answer. She already grabbed my hand and dragged me to her room.

Rainbow's room was a heaven of pink. The walls were pink, the floorboards were pink, the ceiling was pink, even the lights were pink. A giant canopy bed sat at the end of the room, covered in a pink blanket decorated with- you guessed it- cakes. Before I knew it, Rainbow had plopped me into her vanity seat and she stretched her hands. "Hold still," she said. Quickly, she brushed my hair and set it to the side, painted my nails with a blue nail polish and shoved a silver tiara adorned with sapphires into my hair.

"What do you think?" she asked as she swung me around in a 360 degree. I gasped. I barely recognized myself in the mirror. My eyes shimmered. "Thank you so much Rainbow!" I said. She smiled. It was ages since she had smiled. And tonight must go well for her. Just for Rainbow.