#kindle select

“Mommy, mommy! Look what I found!” Tsuki, the young princess of Urufu, called out as she ran towards her mother, standing in the inner garden with the young king’s advisor, Takagi. She was running down a corridor to the green space with a very perturbed frog in her hands.

Kusay, Tsuki’s mother, smiled and giggled as her daughter ran up to her with the angry amphibian, trying to wiggle free from Tsuki's tight grip on its body. Her long brown hair was pulled into a loose bun with golden accessories. Her dark skin glistened in the midday sun above. She was originally from the country of Turuk and an esteemed ambassador who happened to fall for the quirky young king of Urufu, who wooed her upon their meeting. “Sweetie, why don’t we put him in the pond? That way, he has a place to stay.”

“Excellent idea, Your Majesty,” Takagi, the king's advisor and court wizard, stepped up and took the frog from Tsuki while handing his handkerchief to Kusay so she could clean Tsuki’s hands. Takagi wore a simple dark gray attire and his long blue hair in a ponytail. The young wizard was the apprentice of the former court wizard, who died a few years prior, leaving Takagi to learn as he went. Being only thirteen then, it was a huge shock when his mentor passed suddenly. Takagi did his best to honor his late mentor and do the job before him properly, but he made mistakes occasionally.

As Kusay cleaned her daughter's hands, she asked Tsuki, “And what do we say to those who help us?”

“Oh! Thank you, Takagi!” Tsuki cheered.

Kusay cleared her throat softly.

“I mean, Teacher.” Tsuki corrected, speaking softer this time.

After cleaning his hands in the water, Takagi ruffled Tsuki’s silver hair and said, “Thank you, little one.”

Tsuki beamed up at the nickname he had given her.

After a moment of comfortable silence, a call came from one of the many corridors leading to the garden.

“My loves!” cried Tsuki’s father. His grandparents named him Stephan. He continually surpassed everyone's expectations. He was a great leader.

“My liege!” Takagi said as he bowed.

Tsuki’s father laughed as he approached. “Rise, dear friend,” the king commented to Takagi. “I’m glad all of you are having a good afternoon.”

“Dad!” Tsuki exclaimed as she ran to her father. “I found a froggy!”

“Oh?” said Tsuki’s dad, chuckling. “My love,” he addressed his wife, “You are needed in the council room.”

“Shall I follow you?” asked Tsuki’s mother.

Her father nodded. He ruffled Tsuki’s hair and said, “Please stay with Takagi, my dear.”

She nodded as she knew her father and mother were essential and needed to go to the council who needed guidance.

“Daddy, have a good meeting!” she exclaimed, waving her parents goodbye.

Takagi cleared his throat as the two turned a corner, “Now, what shall we do?”

“Huh?” Tsuki questioned.

Takagi squatted to Tsuki's eye level. “We could have a history lesson or review the other countries.”

Tsuki groaned and put her head in her hands. “But that stuff is boring! It’s about to be my birthday; why can’t we have fun?”

Takagi chuckled, “My job is to teach and guide you. If I let you slack off too often, I wouldn’t be doing my job.”

Tsuki gave her mentor a skeptical look. “I’m five.”

“Ah! Almost five. Now, where shall I begin?” Takagi said as he sat on the nearby bench.

“Ugh!” Tsuki moaned as she stomped over to the wizard.

“Oh, I know; since your fifth birthday is tomorrow, why don’t we talk about spirit power and the ceremony,” the young man said excitedly. “Now, if you remember from my previous lectures, the pure water that flows from Mount Tsukismo, which you are named after, has magical properties. It allows those descendants of the Moon Goddess to obtain and use power that matches the person using it. This power comes from the user's spirit.”

“I already heard all this,” Tsuki mumbled, but not softly enough for Takagi not to hear.

Takagi raised an eyebrow and continued, “This power manifests as an animal. For example, my spirit animal is a hawk. And because of this, I can use the attributes of my animal. I can use my spirit power to turn into a hawk, or I can have hawk-like sight, just to name a few.”

“Tell me what the ceremony is like!” Tsuki burst out.

Takagi glared at the child next to him. Even though she was a royal, Tsuki was just like any other child her age. “Ahem.”

“Oh. can you tell me about the ceremony, please?” Tsuki asked softly.

Takagi gave a pleased smile and nodded, “The ceremony has the child being anointed at the edge of the water that flows directly from Mount Tsukismo. An esteemed elder tells the child to go into the water up to their chest and look into it. Then, the child will see an animal. Of course, the elder will see it too, so there is no mistake about what animal the child's spirit power is. And that’s it! The child will come out of the water and dry off while the elder announces the animal. Then we feast!”

Tsuki jumped up and yelled, “Food! Yay!”

          The very next day was the young princess’s fifth birthday. Tsuki’s special day was supposed to be perfect. The fifth year of a Urufian’s life was when they found their Spirit Power, a cause for celebration. But what unfolded was no less than a tragedy.

As the young king and queen guided Tsuki through the forest to the choosing waters, events rapidly unfolded that toppled her world. Her father was the youngest of two boys. He had passed his older brother for the throne because of his prowess in strategy and fighting. Her mother was a diplomat from a foreign land at peace with Tsuki's.

Tsuki's father wore his customary military outfit. He had a deep blue jacket with golden shoulder pads and tassels. Tsuki always loved playing with those and the many medals her father wore on his chest. Even though he was only in his mid-thirties, her father had hints of gray hair in his usual black. This was because of the demanding duties of being a good king. He also sported a bushy mustache. His eyes were thinner than her mother's but just like Tsuki's.

Tsuki had silver hair that fell a little past her shoulders. She had slitted eyes like her father, but they were light blue. She was a bit pudgy and short for a five-year-old, but she was nonetheless healthy. Her light olive skin glowed in any light. She wore a white dress with short sleeves that reached her shins. She also wore white sandals and a crown of daisies on her head.

As they walked, her parents discussed whether she would take after them or have a different path. Tsuki looked at her father to ask a question and saw a feather falling from the sky. As it floated toward the ground, Tsuki bumped into her father's arm. It was an abrupt stop, which startled her.

Looking forward, Tsuki saw a man dressed in black holding a very long blade, longer than her father's, which he always kept by his side. It was the sword of the king, after all.

"Daddy?" Tsuki whispered as she stared at the man in black.