The Moon Dancer

Chapter 1

It was the warm sunlight on his face that woke him up. He rolled over and enjoyed the feeling of the cool silk sheets on his skin. He wanted to go back to sleep, but his body was too alert and his mind had cleared of its sleep-induced fog. A few minutes went by before he finally sat up. The songs of birds and clamoring of servants reached his ears through the open window. He winced at the sudden increase of noise and mumbled curses to himself. Already he was nursing a mild headache, most likely the result of the empty wine bottle near his bed rather than the noise outside.

After a few seconds of stretching, he walked to a large closet and selected black puffy harem pants and a cropped black shirt that showed much of his slim midriff. He topped the outfit with a white silk shawl. He spent the next 30 minutes finishing his morning routine, which included magically braiding his long black hair, dabbing on purple eyeshadow to accentuate his ruby eyes, and putting on several gold bangles. The routine could have been completed much quicker if he had a maid to help him, but he didn't trust any of them to see him so early in the morning. It would be hard to maintain his bad boy image if the maids saw him with bed head and sleepy eyes.

He strolled out of his room and wondered what the royal chef had made for breakfast. As he made his way to the dining hall he glanced at the many servants running around. They seemed more frantic than usual and it was annoying him.

"Hey, why are you running around so much? You're making too much noise."

"My many apologies, Master Judar. There have been some large setbacks in today's celebrations and we are scrambling to fix them before the birthday banquet tonight. I shall tell the others to tread quietly around your chambers."

Oh, now he remembered. Today was her birthday, the purple-haired princess from Sindria. Judar scoffed and returned to his room. He'd rather skip breakfast then risk running into the Crown Prince and his wife. He gagged at the thought of seeing them being all lovey-dovey.

The Sindrian Princess had once caught Judar's attention but soon lost it as she grew closer to her husband. He remembered thinking he had gained a new toy. It was exciting, watching her throw temper tantrums and waiting for the next attempt on her life. His amusement was short-lived, however, and he was forced to look for a new toy.

Now he was really bored. He had toyed with the maids, caused several commotions, and even fueled small wars, but nothing excited him anymore.

"Hopefully something even slightly interesting will happen at the banquet today."

***

"Good news everybody! Something very interesting is going to happen at a banquet today!" A short and portly man exclaimed as he exited a canvas tent and walked over to a clearing set up with wooden tables. A sleepy group of people looked up from their breakfast and saw the man waving around a letter with an excited look on his chubby face.

"What is it, Ravio?" A voice questioned.

"I have just received an invitation from the palace. They have invited us to perform at the Crown Princess's birthday banquet tonight. Can you imagine it? My little ol' traveling circus performing for the royal family!" Ravoi squealed, his face red with excitement. There was a brief moment of silence before the once sleepy group all clamored to see the invitation. Their loud shout of excitement and surprise startled a flock of birds in nearby trees and sent them flying.

"It's true! An actual invitation from the palace!"

"They invite us? We're going to be paid right?"