The Kingdom of Fallen Stars

Chapter 3

I look over the water and rub the worn wooden railing, the reflection of the moon shining on the waves. The boat creaks gently underneath my feet as it sways in the water, one of the only sounds throughout the nights these past weeks.

I haven't been able to sleep because of the future that may lay before me. What may be sitting next to me for the rest of my days. I sigh and lean against the railing, bracing my elbows on the wood and closing my eyes. I inhale the frigid air and slowly exhale, my mind taking over and creating a scene as i open my eyes. My reality warping.

I began seeing mages use their magic in a court filled with people that had powerful magic. I look around the room and see children playing with balls of light and giggling happily, making something tighten in my chest and make my hands tingle. I bite my lip gently, slowly merging with the slight crowd and my clothes begin to change into the common attire in the new court. The court of light and magic, I would name it.

I looked down at the dress that replaced the tunic and leggings I was wearing on the ship. The dress was black silk that hugged my small but firm and curved frame and at the bottom it started to glitter in the candle light as it was adorned in small diamonds, most likely to depict stars in the night sky. I then felt a strange weight on my head as everyone slowly turned to me with shocked expressions on their faces.

I look down at the ground while putting my hands on my stomach nervously, seeing a glittering ruby bracelet clasped around my wrist. My mother's known accessory, that she wore to every meeting, no matter the reason or the person. I rub the gems gently and soon bump into a solid force, making me look up and prepare to apologize.

I then see Motevas in a fine tunic, silver thread woven throughout the fabric around his neck, and his usual black leggings. The smell of cherry blossoms and steel soon fill my nose as he grins like a wolf and reaches out, putting a hand on my shoulder that felt real.

"You should sleep, Aurora." He murmurs, the sound mostly in my right ear even though he was in front of me. A squeeze on my shoulder follows my lack of response, soon making the world warp.

I blink a few times as the lights dim to the moonlight and soon I see the shining ocean, the sky lighter above me. How long was I out here? An hour? Two?

I look to my right and see Motevas standing beside me, his face blank and his hands behind my back. His phantom touch on my shoulder remained as I straightened my back and gripped onto the railing. "I can't.... I haven't been able to..." I say into the silence, not expecting answer.

Motevas glances at me out of the corner of his eye, nodding slightly and looking up at the lightening sky. "I've noticed.. You haven't gotten an ounce of sleep the past two weeks, have you?"

Ive only been able to sleep about an hour or two a day. And that was after hours of training with Motevas on the main deck. I shake my head a little and look at him, rubbing the edge of the railing with my thumb. "How can I sleep when this may be the last time I see the ocean? See the stars? The sunrise..." I look at the horizon, the sky beginning to turn a dark pink.

"Ill make sure you come back to Udrya." He says sternly, looking at me with a harsh and almost terrifying look in his eyes, daring me to question him. I look away back at the ocean and stay quiet, hoping that he will.

Another silence passes between us, both of us watching the waves and the lightening sky. I soon hear one of the shipmates from the crow's nest yell "One hour until we dock, Your Highness!", making my stomach turn and make me dig into the railing.

"Do you think I can survive if I jump off and swim back to Udrya?" I ask, Motevas laughing at the question and shaking his head.

"If you're serious, its either you'll die from hypothermia or dehydration... or get eaten in the shark infested waters a few miles back" he says, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I sigh and let go of the railing, starting to walk back to my chambers.

"The sharks may be a quicker end.." is all I say before going into my chambers and getting ready for the meeting with Aldrin Farrowmight, Motevas staying where we were and looking down at the freezing water.

I enter my chambers and shut the worn wooden door behind me, looking around in my current chambers. A bed with a black bed frame sits in the corner against one of the walls, my trunk of attire and books in front of it, my flats on the exposed side of the bed. A desk with a mirror above it sits across the room from the bed, papers scattered across it with a book opened to a page about the different wildlife in Esgal, what to avoid and what is safe to be around.

I go over to the book and rub the slightly yellowed pages, reading the page about a hare with small deer like antlers, this species being an unknown classification. Understandable, I tell myself as I put a scrap of paper in between the pages and shut it, rubbing the back cover before going over to my bed and laying down, dozing off and falling into a deep, but cold sleep as soon as my head rests on the pillow.