THE PRINCESS

Kaguya kneeled down before the shrine, her hands clasped together as if in prayer. In truth, it was a pathetic attempt to keep her hands from shaking, and she could not stop herself from looking over her shoulder at the courtyard behind her.

There was no one around, as she had already known, but even the visual confirmation did little to soothe her nerves. There was always the chance that someone would stop by the shrine on their way through the palace, and then they would discover what she was about to do.

And what she was about to do was very, very illegal.

She licked her lips, turning back to the shrine. It looked like it had been built only yesterday, but Kaguya knew that was untrue. The shrine was in all actuality thousands of years old, and yet like everything on the Moon did not show the slightest hint of age. It was also dedicated to the patron god of the Moon's royal family, Kaguya's family: Yagokoro, the goddess of medicine.

The medicine goddess could create almost any drug imaginable, and with Kaguya's innate ability to manipulate the eternal...Well, the combination could produce extreme results.

After one final glance over her shoulder to confirm that she was alone, Kaguya reached into the folds of her dress and produced five shiny gold coins. She placed these coins in the wide open bowl for offerings at the foot of the shrine. There were other things in the bowl: a few copper coins, a loaf of bread, a small wedge of cheese, and a bottle of the cheapest wine. The latter items were no doubt from more poorer families who couldn't afford much. Perhaps a loved one had been injured, and the peasants sought the goddess' blessing for recovery. Lunarians did not get sick, nor did they die of old age, but unfortunately they could die from battle or accidents.

But soon, with the goddess' help, Kaguya would never have to worry about dying.

"O Goddess, I beseech ye, come to me in my time of need," she intoned, bowing her head.

"What do you require of me, princess of the royal family?"

Kaguya jumped in fright, for she had not heard anyone approach. But as she turned to take in the newcomer, she relaxed.

The woman standing before her was only a few inches taller than Kaguya, but there was an aura of unyielding power and wisdom emanating from her. She wore a blue nurse's cap on top of her long silver hair, which was fashioned into a thick braid. Her dress was red and blue, and was covered in constellation patterns. In her right hand she carried a crescent-shaped bow, and there was a quiver filled to the brim with arrows slung across her back.

Kaguya's heart skipped a beat as she settled into a deep curtsey. Here, right before her, was the medicine goddess.

"Goddess, I request your aid. I wish to make an elixir that will allow me to live forever: the Hourai Elixir," she said formally. She did not dare speak the goddess' actual name in front of her. The woman before her was instrumental in founding the Lunar Capital; Kaguya would never show such blatant disrespect!

The goddess did not even blink at the treasonous request, gazing down at the girl with distant curiosity. "Lunarians are already long-lived, and you will be considered impure if you truly desire to avoid death."

"I do not want my life to be cut short by battle. I do not want one mistake to cost me everything. No, I want to live. If I am immortal, then I can win every battle. No one will be able to usurp the throne, for I will never fade away. I do not care what others think of me. They are fools to not have realized this before. Please, Goddess, grant my request," Kaguya was proud that her voice did not falter even the slightest bit. She slowly raised her head until she was looking at the goddess dead in the eyes.

The goddess inclined her head. "I cannot grant your request. The ingredients for the everlasting life do not exist."

Kaguya smiled wickedly. "I have the power to manipulate the eternal; I can help make the elixir."

The goddess raised her eyebrows, ever so slightly. It was the first sign of emotion Kaguya had seen from her.

"Very well. It will take me a day to collect the rest of the things I require. Meet me at this time tomorrow. Make sure you are alone. I assume you know what will happen if we are caught?"

Kaguya's heart raced, and it was all she could do to nod her agreement. The goddess was actually helping her! She'd get her wish and achieve eternal life! Never again would she have to worry about her life being ripped away from her!

The goddess inclined her head, and vanished from sight.

As if in a trance, Kaguya stood, and walked dazedly back to the palace.

When the time came, Kaguya returned to the shrine. Every second leading up to this moment had lasted forever; it had taken all of her self-control to make herself act normal. The charade appeared to have worked, as she was not followed. The medicine goddess was there, holding a vial of pale silver liquid.

"It only needs your power, Princess," the goddess said kindly, smiling gently at Kaguya.

She took a deep breath, and approached the shrine. The goddess held out the vial, and Kaguya took another deep breath to calm herself before turning to the container.

She focused on the vial of liquid. Without her power, it was meaningless. It would spoil eventually, becoming useless. It would change, turning into nothing.

So, she made the liquid not change. It would never change, never spoil, never become nothing.

It was eternal, and whoever drank it would become eternal too.

Kaguya dared not celebrate, not just yet. The hard part, the part that would get her arrested, was yet to come.

The goddess examined the concoction, and pronounced it fit to drink.

Kaguya took the vial, and brought it to her lips. The liquid shook, jarred by her unsteady, nervous hands.

"The first taste will prevent you from growing up or aging, and the second will make you incapable of getting sick, but as a Lunarian you already possess those abilities," the goddess advised, standing patiently to the side. "It is the third taste that will render you incapable of dying. You will still be as frail and vulnerable as you are now, but even complete destruction of your body will result in complete restoration. You will still feel pain, but even the gravest of injuries will heal in a matter of days. However, your body will still require food and rest, and if anyone were to consume your liver raw they too will become immortal."

Kaguya nodded, and steeling herself, she took a sip of the elixir.

Immediately her mouth was on fire, for it was like she had consumed the hottest flame in the universe. She choked briefly, not at all expecting this adverse reaction. But she got her wits about her, and forced herself to consume the swallow of elixir. Her throat burned as the liquid traveled downwards, and when it reached her stomach she could feel her entire body burst into flame. She tried to scream, but no words would come out. When she reached down to try and put out the flames, she realized with a start that her body was completely normal. The feeling of being burned from the inside was completely within her mind.

Finally, the burning feeling faded, and Kaguya could speak once more. She gasped for breath, collapsing to the ground. That was too much! She couldn't go through that again, and she still had two more sips until she reached full immortality!

The goddess put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, and this touch of compassion was what made her stand up and grimly take another sip.

This time, her mouth and throat burned not with the hottest fire, but with the coldest ice. She could feel her body become numb with cold, and she was half-surprised to find that her breath was not visible in the air. The icy feeling spread throughout her until she could no longer move. Again she tried to cry out, but her vocal cords were frozen solid.

This feeling too faded away eventually, and Kaguya did not fall to the ground as before. She did not feel any different, but as the goddess said, she didn't really have much use for the first two tastes.

It was the final taste's effects that she so desired.

Without even pausing to deal with the second sip's aftermath, she dove straight into the third sip.

This sip was much more tolerable than the previous two. The taste was warm, but it was more like a gentle caress from the sun rather than the scorching heat of fire or the burning numbness of ice. She had no trouble getting this swallow down. An odd warmth spread from her core and all over her body. She shivered, and the warmth faded away.

"I...did it," she whispered hoarsely in amazement.

She turned to thank the goddess, but the woman was staring in alarm at something behind Kaguya. The princess turned, and dropped the vial she held in shock. Most of the remaining elixir splashed onto the ground.

There, staring at the two in disgusted horror, was Watatsuki no Yorihime, a fellow princess of the Moon only a couple hundred years older than Kaguya. Yorihime was staring at the discarded vial on the ground. The blue-haired princess then slowly dragged her gaze to Kaguya's own fearful expression.

"You...just drank the Hourai Elixir…" she said faintly, shaking her head slowly in disbelief.

"Yori-" Kaguya started to walk towards Yorihime, but the girl quickly pulled out a wickedly-sharp sword from a sheath at her side.

"Stay back!" Yorihime ordered, her voice cracking at the end. Kaguya obeyed, eyeing the sword warily. Yorihime's skill with that sword was rivaled by no one.

"What are you doing here?" Kaguya demanded fearfully, gazing around the courtyard for any other signs of life. Thankfully, there were none.

"I sensed that the medicine goddess was busy, and you were acting strange yesterday, so I came to see what was the matter," Yorihime replied, not lowering her weapon.

Kaguya cursed. Yorihime's mind was as sharp as her sword, and the girl could also summon godly powers. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She should have been more careful, especially around Yorihime!

"Th-there's only one of you, and two of us," Kaguya bluffed, searching for a way out. She was loathe to hurt a member of her court, but the consequence for drinking the elixir was…

Oh. Oh.

Kaguya did not have anything to fear, then.

Yorihime shook her head. "Everyone else is on their way. I told them once I saw you making the elixir." she looked past Kaguya, to the goddess. "Why would you do this, Lady Yagokoro…?"

The goddess had no time to reply, for at that moment palace guards swarmed out from the doors to the palace like sand falling out of a sieve.

Among those come to arrest the duo was Yorihime's older sister, Toyohime. The blonde girl was brandishing her favored fan, which was powerful enough to reduce forests to atomic level.

The other guards joined the sisters in surrounding the two guilty women with their own weapons. Kaguya's arms were wrenched behind her, and she was led away from the shrine. She knew she was being escorted straight to the dungeons.

The last thing she saw before the doors to the courtyard were slammed shut was Toyohime approaching the goddess with a look of great betrayal.

Kaguya's stay in the dungeon was almost nonexistent. The royal judicators had all the evidence they needed to convict her, and it was lying in front of the shrine.

She was hauled from her cell, and marched straight up to the courtroom. The guards holding her threw her roughly onto the polished marble floors, and she carefully picked herself back up. Everyone from the palace was here to watch the proceedings, she realized as she looked around the room. The Watatsukis, the palace guards, the goddess of situation-reversing, Sagume Kishin. All except Sagume were pointing at her and whispering to one another.

...Even her own parents were here, she noticed, tears coming to her eyes. They stared at her with disapproval etched all across their faces. Kaguya looked away, feeling shame burn her cheeks. It then occurred to her that the medicine goddess was not here with her. She looked around again, and confirmed that her co-conspirator was absent from the trial. What had they done with her?

She had no time to wonder, for the hushed whispers of the crowd ceased as Lord Tsukuyomi himself entered the courtroom.

Kaguya, like everyone else, knelt down as he sat in the empty throne in the front of the room. The founder of the Lunar Capital was here, to decide her fate-! Her heart raced, and she felt beads of sweat begin to form on her brow. Things did not bode well for her.

"...Rise," his voice boomed throughout the room. After the Lunarians stood, he turned his wizened face onto Kaguya, who tried not to flinch underneath his gaze.

"...Kaguya. You are accused of drinking the Hourai Elixir and becoming impure. How do you plead to that?"

She saw the vial she'd discarded in one guard's hand. She knew she was trapped.

"Guilty, My Lord."

Lord Tsukuyomi inclined his head in response. "...An honest answer. The punishment shall now commence."

Two guards grabbed her again, and she did not struggle as they led her to a wooden stake to the right of the room. She said not a word as they bound her tightly to it. She tried to move an arm experimentally, but the ropes did not give way the slightest bit.

"...The consequence for drinking the elixir is death. Does the condemned have any last words?" Lord Tsukuyomi asked her, no trace of emotion in his eyes.

Kaguya shook her head, instead focusing on preparing on what was about to come.

"...Very well. Begin the execution."

A guard came forward, carrying with him an ornately-decorated ceremonial knife.

As the executioner drew closer, Kaguya turned her gaze back to her parents. Her mother was weeping softly into her father's shirt, and her father refused to meet his daughter's eyes.

She felt a cold sting on her neck, and she switched her gaze down to the knife that was currently slicing her throat in half.

She cried out as her vocal cords, arteries, and veins were severed. Pain overwhelmed her senses, and she tried to draw in a breath, but found she could only gurgle as blood poured from her wound. She attempted to hold her gaping neck together, but for some reason her arms wouldn't obey her.

The pain soon turned to black, and then she knew nothing.

Then, she was waking up in the courtroom. Although she couldn't see it, she could actively feel her throat put itself back together, until it was like the past two minutes had never happened.

The onlookers gasped and murmured in wonder to each other.

Lord Tsukuyomi only frowned. "...Kill her again."

And thus, Kaguya had to experience death once more. Still, she eventually woke up with a healed throat. Again, the executioner was ordered to try again.

And again. And again. Annnnnd again.

Finally, even Lord Tsukuyomi had to concede the effort was wasted. "...The elixir has already taken effect. She cannot be executed for her crimes. Therefore, she shall be exiled…"

Kaguya breathed a sigh of relief. Anything was better than being killed again!

"...to Earth."

"What?!" she shrieked as the onlookers gave a collective hiss of disgust.

She's have to live with humans?! Forever?! Suddenly, the knife didn't seem so bad anymore.

There was a reason Lord Tsukuyomi founded the Lunar Capital. Humans were filthy creatures; bloodthirsty, irrational, and their planet sucked the life out of all that lived on it. Earth was...impure.

Like Kaguya, now that she had drank the Hourai Elixir.

"...Tonight is the full moon, yes?" the Lord asked Toyohime. The princess nodded wordlessly. "...Then she shall be exiled immediately. Make sure she arrives on Earth and does not return."

Kaguya burst into tears as she was cut free from the stake and prepared for her exile.

When it was time, Kaguya was loaded onto a boat with the Watatsuki sisters on the shore of the Sea of Tranquility. The sisters were well used to sea travel, as they themselves lived in Mare Ingenii, as it was their duty to watch over the Earth and make sure no earthling could harm the Moon.

Kaguya was locked in the hold of the boat with the pitiful remains of the Hourai Elixir, and as the ship rocked back and forth she wept, but no tears came from her eyes. She had no more left by now.

Countless hours passed. She couldn't tell what was going on above, but she knew they were crossing the Sea of Tranquility, then the Sea of Rains, the Ocean of Storms, and finally Mare Ingenii, where Yorihime and Toyohime lived.

The door leading to the bow opened, and Yorihime gestured for Kaguya to come out. Seeing as the princess had her sword drawn, Kaguya hastened to obey.

She'd never seen the Earth so closely before. She could see the blues of its oceans, its green landmasses, and the white puffy clouds that dotted the planet like flowers in a field.

She could feel her lip start to tremble again as she gazed upon her future prison. On that planet lived countless humans and their violent, irrational urges. And here she was, about to join them.

She could see the barrier that separated the Moon from the Earth. On the night of the full Moon, it was visible against the cerulean color of Mare Ingenii.

"Swim towards the barrier and you'll find yourself on Earth," Toyohime said gruffly, not looking at Kaguya.

When she hesitated, Yorihime said impatiently, "Go!"

The sisters grabbed their weapons, and before they could draw them Kaguya jumped from the boat and into the sea.

She surfaced soon, and began clumsily swimming towards the shimmering barrier before Toyohime could blow Kaguya through it with her fan.

Kaguya dove underwater as she reached the barrier. She felt a sharp, electric tingle go through her head all the way to her feet. She resurfaced, and found herself on Earth.

She could see a beach of some sort up ahead, and she propelled herself forward, knowing there would be only death waiting for her if she turned back. Even though she couldn't die, she'd rather the Watatsuki's weapons not be used on her anytime soon.

When she reached the beach, she crawled onto the sand, and flopped onto her back. Her eyes immediately caught sight of the Moon up above, and she choked back a sob.

No, she would not cry anymore. Exile or no, she was still a princess.

She stood, willing herself to calm down and explore her new surroundings.

Beyond the beach was a forest of tall, thin green plants of some sort. Seeing no other option, Kaguya hesitantly walked toward the strange forest, tucking the vial of elixir into her dress. Surely she could find some sort of city before too long. She was exhausted by her swim, and she had no desire to sleep on the ground like a peasant.

Alas, as the night wore on she could find no city, or even any signs of human life. Clouds had formed up above, and water had started to fall from the sky.

Kaguya soon lost what little vision she had, and didn't see that there was a large rock in her way. She tripped, and fell face-first into the mud.

That broke her. Humiliated, frightened, and alone, Kaguya curled up into a ball and cried.