Prologue: The Vulnerable Soul

18th Century Hawaii…

On the beaches of Kauai, a girl covered in blood and bruises, was found unconscious. She could not breathe properly, her ribs sore from bruising. Her hands and legs covered in blood, as if she was stabbed and she tried to stop the bleeding. Her eyes fluttered open, groaning in pain as she sat up. Her breathing was shallow and unheard in the vast night. Her outfit consisted of a red skirt which had overlapping lace designs. The lace and skirt was held in place with a simple belt. The woman had a top that was tied to her one shoulder and she had red flower bracelets on both of her wrists. Her eyes were golden orbs containing white pupils. Her roots were a dark brown that receded into soft golden tips. Unfortunately, all these beautiful and intricate details were ruined with dried blood.

"Kalani…"

Her eyes shot upwards, gasping slightly. She frowned as she looked up at the moon, confused as if it talked to her. She shook her head and looked at her hands, seeing blood. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to remember what had happened to her. She could remember men… and running feet on sand…

"Kalani…"

Confused again, she looked up at the moon, cocking her head slightly. Her brows furrowed with distress. Was she going mad?

"You are Kalani Keao" a mysterious voice echoed. She wasn't afraid of it… instead it calmed her. She sighed softly as she looked out on the water. She gave a few turns of her head, as if she was contemplating listening to the voice. A slight shrug tugged her shoulders as she thought,

Why me?

She stood up slowly, trying to avoid any more pain. She looked back at the jungle and decided to find something to heal her wounds. Thankfully, she didn't forget everything. What she can remember is what she was taught about natural medicine.

She ripped a plant from its roots, groaning slightly as the pain shot through her broken ribs. She shuffled back to the temporary shelter she made and sat under the small roof. Sighing softly, she thought,

What hurt me like this? Who hurt me like this?

Before she could come up with possible suspects, she heard a faint flutter of wings and a squeaking sound. She stood up and went to investigate the sound. After a few whacks of branches in the face and tripping over roots, she came across a small hummingbird-like creature. It had a long nose like a hummingbird, but had the eyes of a human. The right eye was purple, while the left was blue. It had a birth mark under the right eye while a golden feather was atop its forehead. It seemed scared… poor thing.

Kalani has heard of these creatures before but they were known as the assistants of the ʻO ka hana niho. Also a hummingbird-like creature, but larger than this one. She had heard legends of their beauty and intelligence. She approached this small creature trying desperately not to scare it. The creature turned and squeaked in fear, bolting into a shrub.

"No, no. It's going to be okay, I'm not gonna hurt you… I'm here to help." Kalani assured the small creature.

Its head popped up from the shrub, its eyes narrowing in suspicion. Kalani sighed and smiled as she sat down to put her hands on her knees. The creature floated closer, still cautious of the mysterious girl. Kalani held out her hand for the creature to sit on. Kalani gave an assuring smile and stroked its head. It squeaked in response,

"Oh, sorry. My name is Kalani Keao, and yours?" Kalani asked. It felt strange using that name for some reason. It was as if her subconscious told her it wasn't her actual name. It squeaked once and smiled,

"Baby Tooth? That's a strange name… but I won't judge. Are you lost, Baby Tooth?" Kalani questioned, concerned about Baby Tooth's sense of direction.

She replied with a nod and a sad look on her face. She held a tooth in her small hands and showed it to Kalani. She squeaked a few times. Somehow, Kalani could understand this small creature… she didn't even speak bird!

"So you need to get back to the Tooth Palace to deliver the tooth? Okay… so where is this Tooth Palace?"

Baby Tooth squeaked and had an embarrassed look on her face,

"In a palace in Southeast Asia? But I don't know where it is…" Kalani confessed nervously

Baby Tooth frowned while her eyes widened in disbelief. Her little mouth dropped but she soon closed it and gave Kalani a glare

"I just woke up! But you can show me right?" Kalani winced as she asked.

Baby Tooth nodded once again, this time confused as to why Kalani was so nervous. But the little helper kept her worries to herself.

Kalani sighed, "So I have to fly there? I don't know if I can… yet"

Baby Tooth cocked her head in confusion. She may have been one of those spirits that relies on walking. This put Baby Tooth into a state of worry. Kalani responded by standing up and walking towards the beach. Baby Tooth followed in confusion, squeaking as to what Kalani was doing.

"I'm finding out if I can—" Kalani said before she got shot up into the sky.

Kalani squealed in terror before she fell into the sea with a loud splash. Baby Tooth squeaked in fear as well, afraid that Kalani might have drowned after not coming up for some time. Before Baby Tooth rushed in to check, Kalani's head popped up. As Kalani swam back to the beach, she was laughing and jumping with joy.

"I can fly! I can't believe it! I can 'ōpiopio fly!" Kalani squealed in delight, ignoring the pain coursing through her body. Her hips and back gave screams in her head, but Kalani's excitement drowned it out. Baby Tooth smiled, proud of Kalani.

"Okay. Let's find the Tooth Palace." Kalani said finally.

After a few hours of flying and Baby Tooth squeaking in Kalani's ear, the duo finally reached the Tooth Palace, a giant palace hidden inside a mountain, millions of fairies were seen flying from and to the palace. The palace seemed to have been made from gold and various jewels. It had spires that were connected with a path or dome. What perturbed Kalani about the palace was the fact that it seemed to be floating inside of the mountain… she could see it was attached to the walls. But wasn't gold heavy? How didn't it instantly just collapse?

"Is this the place?" Kalani asked Baby Tooth, but she was not seen on Kalani's shoulder.

Kalani started to worry, but before she called out, Kalani saw Baby Tooth rush towards the palace. Kalani followed, of course, still worrying about her little friend's wellbeing. Kalani's injuries started to ache again, forcing her to land on a small island with a spire built on. She lied on her back, with her knees brought up. Baby Tooth saw this and had to inform her queen. She flew up to where her queen was, then started squeaking and pointing to where Kalani was lying. The queen frowned and flew towards the wounded spirit, kneeling close to her. Kalani was afraid that the Queen will harm her so she tried to shuffle away.

"It's okay… I won't hurt you. I'm here to help," The queen assured Kalani. "What happened to you?"

"I-I don't know…" Kalani responded nervously, sitting up slowly.

"That's alright, let's get you cleaned up" The Queen smiled, helping Kalani stand, "My name is Toothiana, and yours?"

"Kalani Keao" Kalani replied, feeling that strange sense run up her back again.

Author's Note:

Yeah... I fixed a few things... for those who have read the story before the changes, I just wanna say that I'm happy now. I'm happy with it and I hope you are too. So here are the translations.

Translations:

'O ka hana niho : The Tooth Fairy

'ōpiopio : fucking

Yep... I don't know ho accurate google translate is for hawaiian because it keeps changing. If you know a good translator, leave a review or PM me. But anyway I'll...

See you in the next chapter ;3