The children huddled together as the autumn breeze tickled their skin, their eyes fixated on a dusty book on a stool. The man they had called "Grandfather" had passed the day before, leaving another crack inside their already broken hearts. With no time to mourn, they had to provide for themselves by stealing, begging, or taking odd jobs. The five of them, with the oldest being twelve and the youngest being only two, were wrapped in old clothes and blankets to keep themselves warm.
The second youngest, named Ave, who was only six, said, "Grandfather said we should connect the dots." She said this with her head up as if she was looking at the sky, her milky white eyes blind after being run over by a Noble's carriage, which injured her arms and crushed her eyes, taking months for her eyes to completely heal, taking her sight permanently due to the extreme loss of blood. She lost the chance to see the bright blue sky ever again.
The oldest, Neva, nodded as she clenched her fists in anger. "How could he have just left us like that? He said he wouldn't leave us, but he did," she mumbled. The second oldest, Corey, looked at her and patted her back. "I could always go to the Ghetto and make new toys," he said. The ten-year-old always had a talent for woodworking but was undermined due to his young age and shabby appearance. "I can't let you go back there," said Neva. "It took days for them to give you your payment, and they only gave you ten bronze Kovos for making 64 dolls, Corey," she said with a glum look on her face.
As the air got colder, the middle child stood up. The seven-year-old handed off the two-year-old, Bloom, who he was carrying to Neva, and shut the windows of the gloomy cottage they lived in, cutting off the chilly breeze. The cottage had a bare floor with a small bed in the corner where Ave and Bloom slept, and a table with two chairs with a stool on the side. The middle child Xan, slept in both chairs pushed together, while Corey slept on the table, which although it looked fragile, was quite sturdy. Neva set a blanket down beside the bed to sleep on.
The five barely had enough to buy food for themselves but luckily avoided tax by living behind an inn where Neva worked. The owner, being their Grandfather's acquaintance who owed him a favor, renovated the shack behind the inn to make it slightly larger and gave them a bed, table, and food every other day. Although the food was enough for only two people, they managed to split it so that at least one person ate something each day, even if it wasn't three times a day. Although they weren't related to each other, they still cared about each other because they were all they had.
Grandfather had found all of them in the slums when they were starving and living without a roof. Kailohm was a quite beautiful kingdom under the protection of the six gods of the Earth, the Sky, the Moon, the Sun, the Hells, and Life. Every single one of these children had walked miles to get to the temple of each god except Xan and Neva to try and be chosen to work for the temple. Each one had failed. And each time they went back Grandfather was there to help them by taking them into his small little cottage.
When Xan sat down, they all looked at the book again. While Neva was cleaning the house, she found a secret room underneath the floorboards under the bed. It was spacious and even had a bed! It had oversized pairs of clothes and papers scattered everywhere, and the book, all dusty and dirty, was on the clean bed. Although they didn't know much on how to read Kail, Kailohm's local language, Grandfather had taught them enough to know what the book said on the cover: "The Lady Who Stole the Moon."
"The Lady Who Stole the Moon," repeated Xan. They stopped talking. They knew whenever anyone described the sights of the world around Ave seemed to have a sad aura around her longing to see once again. "Sorry Ave," said Xan. As he looked down Neva said, "I'm going to open it," Corey grabbed her arm. "What if it's cursed?" he said. "We were probably going to find it anyway, so he wouldn't curse it. I think," said Neva. She reached to the book and opened the cover. "Dedicated to Neva, Corey, Xan, Ave, and Bloom, you five must find the key to your past to know the future," Corey said. "What's a future?" Asked Ave. "Something we may not have Ave," said Neva breathless as the book's empty pages were writing words on its own.
°•. Guide to Living in Kailohm .•°
•§ Kailohm's currency is Kovo. A bronze Kovo is worth fifty cents in American Dollars, so if Corey got ten, it means he got five dollars. A silver Kovo is equivalent to ten dollars. A gold Kovo is equivalent to one hundred dollars.
•§ When living in Kailohm, Kail is the local language which is used everywhere with only thirty percent of the population knowing another language.
•°∆ People Nearby ∆°•
•§ Neva, Age: 12, Appearance: Tan skin, quite skinny for her age, she is 4'9" tall, and weighs 41 kg. She has short neck-length black hair, with some hair covering half of her left eye. She has brown eyes.
•§ Corey, Age: 10, Appearance: Dark chocolate skin, he is quite skinny for his age, he is 4'7" tall, and weighs 20 kg. He has short messy hair and wears wooden goggles to hide his blue eyes.
YOU ARE READING
The Lady Who Stole the Moon
PrzygodoweIn this world, the least kind are rewarded by the gods and the most generous of people are hated. Some say, don't be greedy, no need, just wait for your time but they don't understand it will never come. A lady was born to be cursed with the will of...
