Crescent Shaped Soul - Amethyst of Deception

Chapter 4: A King (and his daughter)

Somewhere, someday
The little girl stared intently at the television, like she was hooked on it. She knew her father would be anything but happy about it, yet alas, it was the one medium she needed, waiting for the news she needed to hear. And there it was, what she's been waiting to hear:

"Princess Soraya Ismat and Prince Sohail Ismat of Zaralith are visiting Princess Celyne for her royal highnesses 13th birthday. Zaralith's royals have..." the TV echoed out, the words fading into the background as she focused on the picture on the screen, the two girls on it. One of them, the pale girl wore a yellow dress as vibrant of color like a dandelion, while the other, more tanned one was dressed white. Both had brown hair, the girl in the dandelion dress had shorter hair and blue eyes the shade of the clear summer sky, while the other was taller and had longer hair. They were hugging, the taller one trying to pick up the birthday girl, not to much success, as the other was simply standing on her toes.

The girl could feel their laughter ringing in her ears, just from looking at the image alone. Scraped and bruised knees the birthday girl had, 'Princess Celyne' they called her, it was something she could only dream of, the freedom to play outside and get battered and bruised, but happy. Instead of having the freedom like the girl on the screen, this princess has pile of work and learning she does for her father, for his approval. Because of the blisters on her fingers she needed to take a break, anyway. An unwelcome break, the only thing she still looked forward to were the Etiquette lessons in the afternoon, the only interesting thing in this giant cage. Well, besides the monthly parades her father held to fish for the praise of his people. How she dreaded those.

The princesses thoughts digressed, how could Celyne and her be so similar, yet so incredibly different. One wore a summer dress, the other a black shirt and pants.

Celyne looked a lot like she did. She had the same shade of eyes, and tilting her head to the side to look into the mirror. She had nearly identical features as the princess on screen. The shape of her nose, her eyes, her lips...everything perfectly mirrored her.

As the door to her room opened, the little girl turned back to the TV quickly, frantically trying to change the channel, as not to be caught. But it was too late.

Sato looked at her, and with a disappointed sigh, grabbed the remote and turned the programme off. "Luna, you know your father forbade you from watching this, and you know you shouldn't." She sat down next to the child, stroking her shoulder. "Why don't you go outside and-"

"-and what?" Luna interrupted, arms crossed in frustration, "Father also forbade me from being friends with Mona. The palace doesn't have a garden, you have your work and everybody else here does, father always complains about how understaffed we are. I am not allowed to go out myself. I had Mona..." Luna stopped, looking out the window, to the birds that flew outside, the embodiment of freedom she longed for. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she continued, "I miss Mona... I think she's so cool for having been friends with me, though I am younger. And father said she was a spy or something... it's...weird. She is just a child like I am. You don't believe she is, do you, Sato?" Luna pulled her knees to her chest, and rested her head against it, her brown locks falling over her legs, even if her hair was just a little lighter than that of the princess on TV.

The woman hesitated, conflicted on what to answer. But before she could gather her thoughts, Luna stood up and marched over to the mirror in her room, Sato watching her curiously. The little girl brushed some hair from her forehead aside and regarded her reflection intensely. Her eyes seemed just a little lighter than that of the princess she saw on screen, well, except the purple shimmer that enveloped the blue depths whenever... she came by. Luna turned back around, lowering her head, "Sato," she hesitated, scared to pose her request, "do you... do you think we could...do you think I could convince father to let me travel south to Neolin...? The princess there... have you ever seen her? She looks so much like me, and its her birthday, so maybe as a courtesy..."