Chapter 1: Moon
"Aqua!" called an elderly voice. Aqua, a young bluenette set the broom she was holding down on the wooden floor and scurried down the stairs out of the observatory. It was imperative that she immediately went to go see what the old woman wanted. The stairs led to a large round room, which walls were decorated high and low with shelved books. A dusty green chair sat in front of a blazing fireplace. Sitting upon the chair was an elderly figure garbed in black robes. Again, she opened her mouth. "Aqua!"
"I'm here," Aqua said, and stepped closer to the old woman. Even while in front of the fireplace, Aqua still felt very cold. Being kept in the observatory above and unable to close the windows were what contributed to her chills. That, and she was also clothed in an old sac. The old woman lifted at knobby hand and pointed somewhere on the wall above.
"Fetch me that book, girl," she ordered. Aqua hesitated.
"But miss," she began, "couldn't you just use your magic to-"
"Do you mean to disobey me, girl?" snapped the old woman. "Surely you haven't forgotten about your... punishment the other day... have you?"
Aqua felt her hand rubbing her right arm. She winced at the pain the action induced. Of course she hadn't forgotten. Why, just the other day, she was caught sneaking cookies in the kitchen. The old woman was so furious that she had cast a Fira spell on Aqua's arm. Before then, Aqua was told not to touch the cookies. But she isn't even going to eat them, Aqua had thought. She figured there'd be no harm in taking one... only she was wrong. "No, I haven't forgotten," Aqua answered.
"Good," the woman replied. "Now do as I said and fetch me that book!"
Aqua nodded and hurriedly scrambled up the ladder that would allow her to reach the book the old woman indicated. Only the book was a little too far for her to get a good grip on. When she attempted to pull the book from its shelf, she lost hold of it, and it plummeted to the wooden floor below. Oh, no, Aqua thought. She was definitely going to get in trouble for that one. Aqua nervously made her way down the ladder and turned to face the old woman, whose swollen, but harsh eyes were already upon her.
"I taught you better, you useless mongrel," she fumed. "Clumsiness is not allowed in this hold! If it weren't for your recent punishment, I'd zap you where you stand."
Aqua flinched at the cold threat. She knew full well that the old woman would certainly fulfill that threat. Just this once she was glad she had been punished recently. Aqua bowed low and apologized. "Forgive me, miss," she said somberly. The old woman scoffed.
"Get back up the stairs and finish sweeping. When you're done, it's off to bed."
Aqua nodded and briskly walked out of the room and up the stairs back to the cold observatory. Instead of picking up the broom she had left there, she flew to the open window and began to weep. If I didn't have to stay here, she thought, I already would have ran away a long time ago! True enough, she did not desire to stay with the old woman. But she had to. The woman was not hesitant in allowing both Aqua and her mother live with her when their own home was burned to ashes in a mysterious fire. The only condition was that they would have to work for her.
Aqua dried her eyes and slowly walked towards the large telescope which pointed skyward into another open window in the roof of the room. She stood on her toes to peer into the lens. There was an indigo sky adorned with brilliant white dots. Another white dot sat in the middle of all the others, but this dot was rather large. Aqua could see small splotches of darkness splayed across the white dot. It looked like a face. Aqua and her mother had been looking out at this dot a few nights ago. She was told the dot was called a Moon.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Aqua's mother had said. "You know, my father told me once that there are many moons just like this one, but in other worlds."
Aqua looked at her, confused. "What do you mean, 'other worlds', mommy?" she'd asked. Her mother smiled, flashing brilliant white teeth. Her deep blue hair dangled beautifully away from her slender face. "Somewhere out there," she had explained, "there's a world with a heart-shaped moon. My father said he saw it once... it was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes upon. I'd like to see that moon myself someday... but as of now, I don't even know how to get to other worlds. So that's why I use this telescope, to keep looking for that moon."
Aqua listened intently on her mother's story. Could a heart-shaped moon really exist? And if it did, how could it possibly be in... another world? Do other worlds even exist? Aqua's mother playfully pinched her nose. "Don't think too much on it, dear," she said. "When I do find that moon... I'll take you with me to see it. Away from the old witch. Just the two of us."
Aqua removed her face from the lens. It had been some time since her mother had left to do the old woman an errand. When are you coming back, mommy? Lost in her thoughts of her mother, and the heart shaped moon, Aqua curled up on her cot and slowly drifted off to sleep.