Ripples In The World

Chapter 2 - Bound by Ribbons

Edited ~ Stage 2 

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I stirred at the sound of my heavy door opening. My body was heavy and my eyes refused to open, but I didn't fight it. My body ached and muscles were numb. I was up with Katashi most of last night practising the routine for my birthday feast. We had perfected it to the last step and I had even added in a big finale for me to show off my own abilities to Master Pakku, to show him that I could do more than learn one of his routines and to help try and convince him to accept me in his class.

The light of the morning tried to pry open my eyes forcibly to which I internally groaned. I pulled the fur skin covers up over my head. "Now, now, Princess, there is no time for that, your father has requested your presence at breakfast early this morning. You have guests and he has important news." One of the palace helpers explained.

"Who might these guests be?" I said still not immerging from the covers.

"Well I'm not allowed to tell you, so you will have to go to find out," she said in a sing song voice.

"Ugh, Karma now you've got me curious!" I sat up the mass amount of warm covers slipping from around my upper body. The cool winter air nipped at my bare arms that were exposed from my white wide shouldered, singlet top.

"That was the plan Umiko." The young woman laughed as she left the room. She had been my helping hand around the palace for as long as I can remember. She wasn't a slave or anything like that we all did most things ourselves but some people helped to clean or cook or baby sit my sister and I like Karma did. She was kind of like a second distant mother to me since I lost my own to the Great Storm years ago.

The Storm hit while we were out playing with the otter penguins with some of the other villagers. We all fled for shelter. Mum found a small cave and hid my sister and I there before heading back out into the white abyss to find the others. Yue and I stayed there for hours and hours and the onslaught of snow and wind continued. We held each other and waited for Mother to return but she never did. She and three others disappeared that day and we never saw them again. But that was a long time ago now.

I clambered out of bed and proceeded to get dressed in my formalwear which included a floor length dress filled with different shades with each layer. It was off the shoulder and fur lined to keep out the chill of the North. A purple-blue sash wrapped around and defined my slender waist. The dress also had an oceanic swirling pattern around the v shaped rim at knee height that was attached to the draping fabric that flowed to the floor and dragged ever so slightly. I put on my fur and leather boots and put half of my long thick hair into a wide silver tiara like hair wrap making sure the blue crystal-like ice water tribe symbol faced the font. I then put the chunks of hair in front of my ears into pale blue-grey hair wraps and loosely brought my bangs around the back of my head to keep my hair neat for the guest. I was still buzzing with curiosity about who they were. We don't get many 'guests', what if they were from outside the pole?

I rushed out of my room holding my dress up so as not to trip and headed down the stairs and to the meeting room where I would meet my Father and Sister. I pushed open the door before I'd reached them by pushing the ice with my bending, I was so excited. I felt like a child finding out her dad brought home gifts. Inside the meeting room my father was talking to a couple of smartly dressed males. Meanwhile my sister was nowhere to be seen. Everyone turned to face me as I strode into the room, "Oh glad to see you're here Umiko, where's your sister-"

"I'm here father!" She rushed in and then composed herself as she came into the view of everyone else.

"Good. Well now that you are both here I can introduce you to our guests." My Father stepped aside revealing four males; two old and two young adults. They all wore water tribe clothing so my hopes of them plummeted. "Hahn this is Princess Yue and Nanuq this is Princess Umiko. Girls these two are highly ranking warriors of the North Pole and I'd like to you get well acquainted to one another." My Father gestured to each person as he spoke their name.