The Moon Dancer

Chapter 2

Up from his tree perch Judar could see the various groups of servants running around as they scrambled to make preparations for the birthday banquet. He absentmindedly tossed a peach from hand to hand and scoffed at them. The date of the princess's birthday was not a secret so preparations should have been started much earlier, and now the servants and coordinators had to run around like crazy to put together a birthday banquet.

"Idiots." Judar ridiculed as he rolled his eyes. He was actually torn between wanting the banquet to be a disaster and having it be a success so he can have some fun. 

An extra loud and merry voice from the crowd of people running around catches Judar's attention. He looks down and sees a short man followed by a much taller woman. They didn't look familiar, so they probably had something to do with the birthday celebration. They were dressed in very colorful clothes and seemed interesting enough to mess with.

As Judar was going to jump down from the tree a sudden shout caught him off guard and caused him to lose his balance. The momentum from almost jumping was still there, so Judar found himself falling from the tree. He landed with a painful thud and yelped in pain.

"Ouch! What the hell?" Judar exclaimed as he rubbed his hip and thigh. He glared at the source of the distracting shout, a small boy with red hair and golden eyes.

"Oh no! Ju-Ju got a boo-boo!" The small boy shouted before racing over to the fallen Magi. He patted Judar with his small hands and attempted to kiss Judar's bruised side before Judar pushed him away.

"Get away! I don't want any of your gross slobber on me!"

"Mama always kisses my boo-boos, she says it makes them get better faster." The boy explained.

Judar ignored him and got up, but he had lost sight of the interesting couple. He sighed, playing with the small brat seemed like the second best option. He didn't want to be alone, he was tired of having no one to talk to. Besides, it might be fun to tell the kid scary stories and scare him.

"Hey kid, wanna hear a story?"

The boy nodded, his golden eyes shone with excitement. He loved stories, especially the one about Mama and the Captain. However, before Judar could even begin his story there was a loud call from a familiar voice.

"Kouta! Where are you?"

Judar and the boy turned toward the voice, seeing a princess with long purple hair. Her back was to them, and Judar considered grabbing the boy and hiding him. A smile grew on his face as he imagined the purple-haired princess's distress at not finding her son. His small burst of joy was spoiled by the boy calling out to the princess.

"I'm over here Mama! I'm with Ju-Ju!"

The princess hurried over to them, her eyes spiked with panic. She quickly grabbed Kouta's arm and pulled him away from Judar. Her eyes quickly scanned over her four-year-old son, looking for any signs of harm.

"High Priest Judar." The princess bowed in acknowledgment, her voice cold.

"Sindri." Judar responded, deliberately not using her title as Crown Princess. Sindri looked him in the eyes; they were identical to Kouta's, only hers held the caution and fierceness of one facing down a snake. Judar stared back with narrowed eyes, he refused to be the first to look away.