Cursed Under the Red Moon

As I lay in my bed, I can hear the wind whistling through my window. I open my eyes, look at the night sky and see the red moon glaring at me, mocking me. I roll over angrily and close my eyes forcing myself to go back to sleep. 

After a constant rolling about throughout my bed, I peek at the horizon and see dawn creeping through. And I think to myself, ‘What a great way to start my morning’. With a dramatic sigh, more like a groan really, I yank the covers off of me and start my day. 

One of my favored part of my bathroom is the view I get to have from my window while taking a shower. I could see mountain terrains covered in snow which hasn’t melted in eons all while seeing the morning sky take over the night. 

Getting out of the shower, I look at the reflection of myself in the mirror. Sometimes I forget how obscene my face looks. One eye is a light purple, almost like the amethyst stone. And the other eye, a light colored green that looks like the underside of a bare leaf. My pale skin brings the color of my eyes out even more. My purple black hair may be the only success I have created for myself, since I inherited it from my father. 

My mother always said I was the cursed princess. Being born under the red moon didn’t help either, which happens to be today. Turning 300 years old today is supposed to be a triumph, a success story waiting to be told. As for me, I was terrified what it would mean to turn 300 years old. My father though, always the optimistic one, thought it would be blessing to have me around him, for he thought I brought good fortune to the kingdom. In reality, I’m just another spoiled princess, but also forsaken by the whole kingdom expect by my dad and sister. 

Grabbing the towel from the hook, I dry myself and ready myself for this glorious day. 

I decided to go simple today and wear my favorite dress. A long black dress, with a lace corset with bell sleeves that reach my forearms. I adorned my hair with little green flowers to match my eye and an amethyst stone necklace to match my other eye. When I open the door, I find my younger sister standing there as if she was about to knock on my door. 

My younger sister is the cherished child of the Chantra family, Night kingdom and possibly the universe. She has a bright auburn hair with green eyes. She may look like our mother but her personality is much more gentle. Today she’s wearing a pink ruffled dress which seems to be her favorite dress for the past 100 years and a small crown with pink flowers adorning it. It takes me a moment to realize that she has a box in her hand  with a blue bow on it. I was mesmerized by her giant smile to not notice the box. 

“Happy birthday my wonderful big sister” she exclaimed when I failed to say anything. She embraced me with a box as she shoved me inside my room. She closed my door and we sat down on the floor. 

“Open the box, open the box, open the box Lily” 

I couldn’t help but laugh as she looks at me all happily. I look down at the box and playfully said, “but you did such a honorable job with the bow and everything. It would be a tragedy to destroy this masterpiece.” 

She glared at me and I held my hands up defensively. Grabbing the box carefully, I undid the bow and placed it on the ground next to me. When opening the box, a blue violet hue glowed which surprised me. Inside the box was a delicate looking flower that seemed to be made of glass. The tip of the petals were a deep blue then it turned into a violet towards the middle. It stood facing up with the stem curled underneath it. I looked at my sister with tears in my eyes and think I questioned “Scar, you made this?”

She nodded her head which meant that I did ask that question out loud. I hugged her and thanked her through laughter and tears. We pulled back and look looked at each other for what seemed like longest staring contest ever. 

She sighed and said, “Mother isn’t happy at the moment. Father is making a big fuss that today is your birthday but she wants to hold a banquet for herself and exclaimed, ‘Lilith will have more birthdays to celebrate. Today I want to celebrate our kingdom greatest triumph; forming allies with our greatest enemy, the Zaryth Kingdom.”

To say I wasn’t surprised that my mom rather celebrate something other than her owns daughter birthday, but forming allies with the Zaryth Kingdom was a completely different thought that I couldn’t begin to comprehend. In all my 300 years of living, I’ve heard of the legend, his majesty, King Lethro. How he majestically fought and defeated the three last dragons in this realm. King Luthor has two heirs, Prince Levan and young Orince Theodore. The youngest heir, Prince Theodore is too young to do anything reckless. The oldest heir, Prince Levan, is a whole other story. Although they are  rumors of how reckless and extravagant he lives, he also fought in the Battle of Axon where he fought trolls and ogres to defend his kingdom. Though there is a mention of another heir, but never seen or heard of. 

“All I can say is that this present you made for me is the best gift I received today”. 

My sister laughed and said, “You do realize it’s still early in the morning. There’s still more to the day and then the banquet. Maybe father outwitted mother and did something for you.” 

I scrunched my nose at the mere thought of father ruining mother last minute banquet but there was hope for me yet.