“Darkness be gone!” I laugh to myself as I use the “light” in my hand to get rid of it. I haven’t felt this happy in years. I feel so young, so free, so alive; it’s as if a whole new chapter of my life has opened up from just reading the Kirah. Of course, I know I don’t have any powers like the Queen of Light and her subjects, but it’s fun to pretend to be her. Unlike Ruby, I can be the Queen without having to distort my appearance one bit. Today I’m even wearing a white dress so I look even more like her.

I grin as I think about how I must look almost exactly like her, just a younger version. I want to read the story for myself so bad, but the ancient text still puzzles me. Mimi’s been trying to teach me a few phrases and how to write my name in it, though, she sees no point since it’s a “dead language.” But I’m sure many people have Kirah’s that are translated into English. If only I could get my hands on one; then, I could read all about the Queen of Light and her heroic acts.

A warm breeze blows my hair back. I take a deep breath, inhaling the fresh scent of pine. It’s quite nice up in the trees. I’m not high enough to see Bear’s Claw Bazaar, but I can hear faint voices in the distance. Sometimes the scent of pastries filters through the trees and reaches our home. I wanted to bring the Kirah up here with me today, but I was afraid it wouldn’t make the journey. Plus, I need both hands to climb; bags only slow me down. But Mimi thinks I should take a break from looking at it. She swears I take it everywhere but the bath. I can’t help that I’m attached though. It’s the one book I can look at without feeling like an outcast in society. The paintings give me hope that I can find a place in this world as the people in them have.

What I do know is I want to be just like the Queen of Light: warm, caring, and loving. I know I’ll never be a ruler like her, but I can do my best to mimic her generous heart.

“Roselyn! What are you doing up there? What have I told you about climbing trees?”

I peer down to find Mimi is standing a few feet from the base of the tree. Oops.  I forgot that she dislikes when I climb trees or go into the woods. It’s not like I even go that far; I can still see the cottage from here. Most of the time, she’s too busy with the shop to scold me. But apparently I didn’t count on the fact that she might need me to do something. I guess time got away from me today.

“How many times do I have to tell you to not climb trees?” Her tone is a mixture of concern and exacerbation.

I apologize. “Sorry. I just like the view.” Which is true. I love looking at the world from above. Sometimes I even meet a fairy or two up there; though, I can’t remember which ones are which for the life of me.

“Roselyn,” she sighs. “I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want to think about what would happen if you were to fall.”

“I promise I’m carefully. I haven’t fallen once.” A complete lie, but the truth would only make her worry more than she already does.

“Anyway,” she continues, unsure if she believes me or not. “A customer accidently dropped the last bottle of serum on the floor and now I have none left.” She hands me a brown leather pouch and a piece of paper with a few items scribbled down. “Can you please go to the market and give Mrs. Moyen this list? In the pouch should be enough pariels for the ingredients I need.”

“You’re trusting me to go all by myself?” I’ve never been to town without Mimi before. By her side, I don’t feel the ugly stares as much, but alone I’m not sure what might happen; someone could say something now that Mimi isn’t coming.

She sighs again. “I am. I’d go myself, but the shop is super busy today. Everyone wants their skin to look young and wrinkle free for the hotter months. Plus, you’re fourteen now. I trust you to go to the market on your own. It should be crowded this time of day, so there will be plenty of people there to help if you need it.”

Yeah, but who says they’ll actually help if I ask? No matter. Mimi’s right: I’m not a child anymore. I can do this one simple task. No problem. “You can count on me,” I say, flashing her a proud smile.

She smiles back. “I know I can always count on you, Roselyn.”

**

The weather is so warm today I don’t even need my traveling cloak. For once, I actually want people to see me for who I am, to see my newfound confidence. The heat is even more intense at the market, cooking the stones like fish. Even with the heat, Bear’s Claw Bazaar is as bustling and busy as ever. Many women have shawls wrapped around their heads, covering their arms and legs in long dresses so their skin doesn’t burn.  

Mrs. Moyen’s tent is one of the last tents on the right side. You can even see some of the houses from her shop.  She’s one of the oldest women in the community (don’t tell her I said that.). Her thinning gray hair is almost as scary as her rotting yellow teeth. The wrinkles on her skin sag so much they don’t even touch her bones anymore. Normally, she wears a scarf and long robe to “cover her dying beauty.”

Today, her scarf is baby blue with silver clouds, complimenting her her pink dress nicely. Her eyes almost pop out of her head as she lays eyes on me, rubbing them to make sure I was really there.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Moyen,” I greet as I step up forward.

“H-hello, dear,” she replies, skeptical and confused. “What are you doing here?” She scans the market for a moment. “Is your mother here too?”

“Sorry.” I shake my head. “I’m just running errands for her while she takes care of the shop.”

“I see,” she grumbles, still looking around as if Mimi will appear at any moment.

“She needs the things on this list,” I say as I remove the pouch from my wrist. “She told me this would be enough to cover it.” I hand her the bag and the list.

Mrs. Moyen greedily snatches the pouch, examining the note after thoroughly counting the pariels. “Lucky for her, my plants are in bloom. Just picked a fresh batch this morning. If it were later in the season, she’d be out of luck.” She dumps the pariels from my bad into her own before going in the back of her tent to fill it with the supplies. When she returns she hands it back to me and I thank her.

“Anytime,” she says, giving me a fake, scatter toothed smile. “Anything else you need?”

My mouth is about to tell her “no,” but my mind stops me.

Ask her about the Kirah.

True, Mrs. Moyen is the elder of the town, but that doesn’t mean she automatically knows about it. She could have never practiced religion in her life. Still, I guess it doesn’t hurt to try since I’m already here. Who knows, maybe she can even decrypt the ancient text; now I wish I would have brought it with me. No matter. She could be like Mimi and know some of the stories by heart.

“Actually,” I say after a moment of hesitation. “There is something I’d like to ask you about.”

“Make it quick,” she snaps. “I have other things to attend to.”

“Yes, sorry. I promise I won’t take up too much of your time.”

“Then spit it out, child!” She crosses her arms. “I haven’t got all day.”

“Do you by chance know about the Kirah?” I ask.

Her faded eyes widen. “The book of the Ora? Well of course. Most people practice that faith. I know some people who sleep with that book by their bedside every night.”

Phew. So I’m not alone in that regard either.

“Why so curious about religion all of a sudden?” She questions, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t think Mimi was the type to go to temple.”

“We don’t, but she showed me her old Kirah the other day. Unfortunately, it’s in an older language and I can’t read it. All I can do is stare at the pictures. I was wondering if you could tell me more about it.”

She scoffs. “I’d be here all day trying to recite that book to you. Plus, my memory isn’t as it used to be. I haven’t read that book in a long time.”

“Do you know anything about the Queen of Light.” I’m practically begging. I want to know everything about her so maybe one day I can have a soul as pure as hers.

Mrs. Moyen eyes me carefully. Moments, pass, yet, she remains silent.

“Something wrong?” I inquire. I hope I didn’t offend her by asking.

“N-no, dear,” she answers a moment later, snapping back to reality. “When you’re old like me, you eyes play tricks on you.” She rubs hers. “Thought I saw something.”

I glance behind me to check to find ordinary shoppers. Nothing out of the ordinary.

“You know,” Her eyes gaze into mine again. “It’s getting late. Mimi will be worried if you’re gone too long.”

“You’re right.” I frown. “I really wanted to hear the story, though.”

“Another time, dear,” she promises.

I grin. “Next time I come to the market.”

I secure Mimi’s pouch around my wrist again. I have to be more carefully on the way back so Mimi’s ingredients don’t get stolen or damaged.  Mrs. Moyen and I exchange goodbyes before I turn to head on my way back home. The plaza is still crowded, but not as crowded as earlier. The blazing sun must have scared a few people away. At least the street is easy to maneuver now. Mimi and I hardly shop at this time of day; I’m not used to seeing the bazaar so open.

The further I walk, the thicker the air gets. Is it just me? Or is the humidity finally getting to me. But as a press on, it feels as if my lungs are barely getting any oxygen. My chest is heavy. Suddenly I can barely move my legs anymore; it feels like I have cement on my feet. An ominous wave passes through me. Something isn’t right…

I scan the area to see if others are as affected as I am. Nobody seems to notice that anything’s the matter. They continue to chat and shop, carrying on as if everything is normal. Or maybe everything is normal and I’m just imagining all this. I continue walking the best I can, but it feels like my blood has been replaced with lead. The world suddenly begins to move at a rapid pace, making me nauseous. One of my steps is three of theirs, at least. I’m practically frozen in place. As I turn to look behind me, fear pierces the depths of my heart.

A person in a dark hooded cloak appears in the crowd almost out of thin air. Passerbys appear to walk right through them. Step by step, they approach me. And with each step, my heart rate increases at the same rate my anxiety does. The dark pressure intensifies as they get closer, and I’m almost forced to drop to my knees because I can barely stand.

Who is this person? What are they? Do they practice magic? It’s not like any I’ve ever seen before. They practically appeared out of thin air. What do I do? I’m helpless in this state.

Run

But I can’t move.

Just do it! Run!

I muster all my strength and dash into the crowd. The fog on me lifts instantly. I knock over a few people, almost tripping over my own two feet. I glace back as I catch my breath. The mysterious stranger is nowhere in sight. I’m positive they were just here… How did they disappear so suddenly?

I thought the dirty looks were bad before, but now everyone’s looking at me as if I’m a foreigner. My face flushes as heat rushes to my cheeks. I push my out of the plaza and to the forest as fast as I can.

Was that person even real? I don’t think I imagined something like that. But it’s strange that I’m the only one who felt their presence. Theirs was unlike any other I’ve felt before. It was almost as if I could sense the dark aura coming off of them, as if I could sense their evil intentions.

I shake my head. That’s ridiculous. I’ve been reading too many books again. I must have dozed off in the middle of market; I probably was hallucinating from the the heat. Right, only my imagination.

Keep telling yourself that. In your heart you know it was real.

Next Chapter: Chapter 4