Caged

Chapter 1: The Basics

My name is Aisha Camille Turner, but you can call me Camille. Everyone does here. Let's see, I'm twenty-one years of age, I have blonde hair and blue eyes, but the most important thing is that I live on an island. Now, I get that you've probably read many stories about people like me living in crazy places, right? Well, I'm not like everyone else; my story is 100% verifiable by hard fact. Okay, maybe not all of it, but who tells the truth all the time.

I currently live on an island called Amaluna. It is the most special place I've been in my life. But unlike most people in the world, I can see this spectacular place. The island on which I live is only accessible to people who can see the Sun. The Sun in which I speak of isn't the ordinary sun of the earth, but in truth; the Sun will find us, and once we have reached our potential; it will make up a path leading us to it, and will only appear to us alone. Once we reach the gate, the gatekeeper of Sun has to decide in which world we live in.

Amaluna is home to a mother and daughter duo, Prospera and Miranda. I can't say much about those two because nobody knows really where they came from. Our best guess comes from Cali, a very good friend of mine. He thinks that they arrived from Rome, Italy when a bad storm hit a few years ago, but like I've said; it's just a guess. Cali is one of my best friends on the island. Everyone thinks I am crazy for liking him, but they don't see the good in him like I do. Sure, when you first him, he is a little creepy looking with that lizard tail of his, but he has a good heart (except when he's crushing on Miranda, then he gets crazy). Mostly, Cali lives near a middle ground in the forest of the island between the goddesses Luna (the goddess of the moon), Azaleah (the peacock goddess), Aaliyah (the balance goddess), Creas and Neraus (the wind god and goddess),and the Amazons, who usually just hang around us, but they normally only do rite of passage ceremonies for kids on the island to pursue whatever they wish.

Oh yeah, I meant to mention the amazing group of girls I call my family. Now, before I do, will you promise to keep a secret?

Promise?

Are you sure?

Okay. We are Valkyries.

The Valkyries are usually seen as ethereal creatures born from the island itself, normally our age ranges around our twenties, and hold an air of immortality. Our hair can be anywhere from blonde to blue, and our eyes vary as much as our hair, but onstage we're all blonde to make ourselves to look like one another, and we'll all have ocean blue eyes. We protect the island, the water as it is the only gateway between worlds, and each other, although we usually pair up in groups of two or three based on our talents, but all of us share a blue tribal mark we are born with on our left side. Our leader is a sworn maiden, and the second-in-command will lead after the leader resigns or passes, unless another girl from the tribe has permission from the current leader to ascend her, and if she passes the conversion ritual successfully.

On the other hand, the Amazons, the other tribe of women on the island holds the fierceness of the island. The girls of the Amazonian tribe wear scarlet red, and their hair is always a dark chocolate brown. The girls keep to themselves, and take care of any wild animal of the forest as if it were a household pet. They will confide with us as need be, and they will be the ones who will deal with any minor situation, and if need be; we will come to their aid in order to assist whoever may need it. They also have a red tribal mark similar to ours, but have another distinctive mark, one which is unique to them alone which is a red tail. Their leader is chosen by the previous leader, or one may battle for it if one has reached maturity.

Actually, Zosima the leader of the Amazons was the first one who really welcomed me on the island.

Zosima is the wildest person I have ever met. At first sight even as a girl of twenty years of age, and the insightfulness of a child; her wild ferocity scared me half to death when she stared at me with adoring eyes and said in their traditional red uniform while perched on a tree branch hanging half in shadow like a lion waiting to pounce on its prey, "So this is the Valkyrie that I've heard Riley, Cali, and the others whisper about through the trees. Valencia was wrong to be doubtful of you, and I'm glad Esme interceded on her behalf."