The Tale of Tara and Emiko

XXV

Emiko yawned and sat up. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping. It was a great day to be a princess.

She slipped out of bed, her scarlet sundress swishing around her ankles. A note, tied to a crow-feather quill, lay on her desk.

Thank you for your assistance, my dear.

It was quite a pleasure to work with you.

As promised, you have earned the power you deserve,

stored in the feather attached,

as well as the aforementioned changes to your world.

I wish you the best of luck on your journey ahead.

-A friend

Emiko picked up the feather. It was rather big and bulky to carry around with her wherever she went, and impossible to hide.

"The feather shrunk in size, a gold sheen covering its surface until it became a simple pin, without it losing any of its previous power," Emiko narrated.

The feather obeyed.

Huh.

"Hey! Emiko! Come on, sleepyhead!" Milo burst into Emiko's room without knocking. "Ooh, nice pin you got there. Who sent it to you? Some secret admirer??"

Emiko laughed softly. "No, not at all! Silly goose," she muttered, tousling Milo's hair. "I missed you," she whispered under her breath, so quiet she almost couldn't hear it.

Milo certainly didn't, because he shouted, "come downstairs soon, Mom's making pancakes, and if you don't eat yours I will!" as he ran off.

"Mom...?" Emiko murmured. She twisted her head to look out the windows again. The sun was so bright it hurt to look at it, shining against the dazzling blue sky. Her burner phone buzzed on her desk. Two alerts.

The first one was from a number she recognized as Zia's. Hey there Eon, it read. There's a new hunter in town. She's only visiting, sadly, but claims to know you. Her name's Selene Milsty, her official picture's attached. When Emiko clicked on the link, a stunningly beautiful girl with emerald green eyes in a standard Hunter's uniform filled the screen. Emiko felt like she'd seen her before, but she couldn't remember where. Come to think of it, where did she get this beautiful golden-feather pin? Maybe the note on the table she swore she'd read could tell her-

The paper crumbled to dust in her hands the moment she tried to pick it up again, probably made out of the same material the Hunters used for sending one-time messages. Emiko was surprised, but it didn't matter. The feeling that she'd betrayed a friend close to her had crumbled with it as she read the second alert.

Infamous Bounty Hunter Tara Grey Mysteriously Pardoned And Freed When...

Emiko had to click on the article to read more, but it didn't matter. Tara was safe. That was all that mattered.

"Emiko! Come down for breakfast before Milo eats all your pancakes!!" Emiko's mother called.

He really wasn't kidding...

"Mom...." Emiko whispered. "My-eh, um, Emiko's dress turned into a simple blue flowy top with puffed sleeves and cream-colored comfy leggings, her messy hair neatening itself into a clean braid down her back," she quietly narrated, reality molding itself to her will.

I could get used to this, she thought as she slid down the banner, the stairs blurring with speed. She'd get a hasty reprimanding from her father, but she'd run across rooftops before. She could trust herself to be safe out there.

Emiko hopped off the banister and onto the smooth marble floor, taking her first steps into h̶e̶r̶ ̶n̶e̶w̶ ̶l̶i̶f̶e̶ the life she'd always wanted.