Jabari's Pride

Chapter 11: Bittersweet Birthday

Chapter 11:

€¥€ Bittersweet Birthday €¥€

• Princess Maha's P.O.V •

That made both my Mother and Father silent as they thought about the possibilities.

I was sure I had burned a hole through the plush tribal-print rug with the way I was pacing up and down. Riza and the rest of my maids were in my room getting my outfit ready and chatting about everything under the sun. They threw occasional glances and smiles at me. I knew they thought I was nervous about the celebration and about getting married but I was just eager for the celebration to begin. But most of all, I was eager for the masquerade ball where it'll all begin.

Midnight was slowly approaching to declare my 18th birthday. The day I become a woman, the day I am eligible to be in an arranged marriage, the day I run away to the beach far from this life, the day I will find my freedom and the day I get to rewrite my own destiny.

The people of the kingdom were also awake and buzzing. Everyone was anticipating the precious moment and as soon as midnight strikes, the celebration would begin and could last up to 3 days.

I walked out of the room and wandered around till I found myself in the garden, underneath the healing tree. As if my head had a mind of it's own, it snapped back to gaze at the vast dark sky that proudly flaunted it's tiny, sparkling jewels. But there was one jewel in particular that captured my attention like never before. The more I gazed at it's warm round glow, the more it seemed to expand and suck me in until i was entirely wrapped in it's precious light. I gasped in shock but I couldn't even breathe. In fact, I realized, I didn't need to.

My arms and my sudden naked body was glowing with the same translucent light that surrounded me. But, I wasn't ashamed of my unclothed body. It felt oddly natural. Then, something even stranger happened; one stranger than the other.

A peculiar and very beautiful woman in a bright, white, figure-hugging dress seemed to appear from nowhere in front of me. The unlimited questions in my head dissolved when she smiled at me. It was the type of friendly and warm smile that you couldn't help but smile in return. So there I stood, smiling ridiculously at her as though we had been best of friends all our lives. But in my mind, I decided right then that this must be a dream. I had fallen asleep waiting for my birthday. That seemed to be the most logical explanation from the others in my head.

She held my hand with a surprisingly strong grip and motioned for me to follow her. I did as instructed, foolishly following her in a daze. She made no sound as she walked so gracefully that I was convinced she was floating.

She led me to the bottom of a waterfall that connected to a long deep-blue running river. But the most dazzling part of the scene was the glowing golden field surrounding it. How such beauty came to be was beyond me.

I couldn't keep calling the woman "the woman" so, in my mind, I named her Moon Goddess because of the unnatural moon-lit glow that radiated off her ebony skin, her unique godly beauty along with her brilliantly done face-paint and the large crystal diamond crown that adorned her head.

The moon goddess stretched out both her palms upwards and pursed her lips into whistle position. But the shrill note of a whistle that I expected was replaced by a slow and melodious sound emitting out of her full lips in dancing waves.

The once raging and soundless waterfall became smooth and calm. Even when a strong gust of wind suddenly appeared, it remained gentle-flowing. I closed my eyes to shield them from the strong, piercing wind and when I re-opened them, I gripped the moon goddess's arm in shock. About 30 different colored ferocious wolves and lions circled us.