The Kingdom of Light

The music rumbled through the speakers, not loud, not deafening, but still crisp and clear. The different voices around me made it hard to hear exactly what song it was, and even more importantly, who sang it. As usual, I was behind the bar, and as usual, it was packed. It was a Saturday, and people had just gotten paid, so the bar was packed with happy patrons who weren’t afraid of leaving a good tip behind.“Luna!” Brian yelled from the other side of the bar, waving bills above his head—he might as well have been flashing a neon sign above his head, with big, bright letters screaming notice me! “IPA!”I couldn’t resist the smile on my face, because just as short-tempered Brian could be, just as deep and considerate he could be as well. I grabbed the beer from underneath the counter, popped the lid easily and quickly—the beer opener was always in my back pocket—and set it down in front of Brian. With a smile and a short nod, I accepted the bill from his hand, and with a keep the rest

“Leslie,” I sighed, “I can’t accept all of this,” I pleaded, putting the white dress back on the bed.Leslie was sitting in the chair by the desk, looking at me intently. We had spent the last two days debating whether or not I should go to the Summer Fest or if I should just ignore it. But this morning, when they started setting up for it, placing lawn chairs and tables everywhere, creating almost a small stage, and then when they started bringing out the food, I got weak and accepted.“Luna, we talked about this,” she started. She had finally caved and started calling me Luna instead of Miss Jones. Every time she did, I got this icky feeling inside of me. “You’re our guest of honor,” she continued, a soft smile on her lips, “and the guest of honor needs to wear a white dress, and she will wear a flower crown on her head. And then you have to sit on the throne, eat, drink, laugh, and simply have fun. It’s our tradition, and we will get sad if you don’t do this for us.”A sigh escaped

We moved across the field, his hand resting gently on the small of my back, attentively, while he guided me the right way. Of course, it was obvious what way we were going. It was the golden palace up ahead.After everything being revealed, after everything happening, we were simply walking in silence. It was like he knew I needed time to process, time to process everything I had just said yes to, everything I had just given up.“What’s your name?” God, it was a ridiculous question, but I still didn’t know this man’s name, and it felt kind of important if I had to live with him, if I had to spend the rest of my life here.“My name is Nicolais Ferno,” he replied, his eyes still lingering on the palace moving closer and closer to ours. “And may I have the honor of knowing yours?”Fucking idiot Luna!He was a goddamn king, of course, he was polite, of course, he would use the proper terms, the right words, and be formal as well, while I was swearing like a sailor next to him. “My name is

I slept better after my talk with Nicolais, like I could better come to terms with what was happening, like my mind could relax better. My dream had still been about stars, and the silhouette had still been there, but not in the same cocky way, more like it had admitted defeat somehow, and instead let me wander around with the stars, making them shine brighter.Lily showed up early. She was clearly happy, smiling from ear to ear. Obviously, she had heard about my decision to leave my room. “Good morning, Miss Luna,” she smiled at me, and I took the small victory in her calling me by my first name. “I’ll get the tub filled up for you.”She disappeared into the bathroom, and soon I was greeted with the sound of water filling up the tub.The bed was so comfortable, so soft, that the last thing I wanted was to get up from the comfy, cozy heat. With a low groan, I sat up and stretched my arms above my head. After spending the last few nights on the windowsill, I could feel how my body appr

After lunch, Nicolais had some important work to tend to, something about one of the villages close to the palace. Which led to him locking himself inside his office, making me a free bird. Only, I had no idea what to do with myself.Get used to it.I guess I wasn’t supposed to do much, not that I had any responsibilities or anything to spend my days with. At least none that Nicolais had mentioned. Actually, I guess I was free to do whatever I pleased, whatever I wanted to do. Normally, I wasn’t really forced to do anything, but this felt different; it almost felt wrong somehow.The scent of flowers hit my nose as I moved out towards the garden. Some fresh air would probably do me some good. The sun was beaming down at me, just like it had done every other day, not a cloud in the sky. The heat was rough on my body, definitely something I would have to get used to as well. Even when it hit the peak of summer at home, it never got as warm as it was here.The tiles underneath my shoes we