When I arrived back at the tree, Moon was happy to see me. He chattered about and climbed up onto my shoulder excitedly. It made me giggle as his tail wrapped itself around my neck protectively, tickling me. Usually, Moon carried his hammer with his tail but he was currently holding it in his hand since he was on my shoulders. My portal closed behind me and I smiled at my monkey companion.
"Moon! You'll never believe what I saw this morning!" I stated happily, walking back into our tree house with Moon. He chittered questionably and I laughed, "No I promise it wasn't anything bad!" And I proceeded to tell him how I saw a ship with travelers on it. He seemed interested in what I said, and that only made my smile grow wider.
By the time that I was done talking, Moon and I had already finished eating a wonderful fruity lunch with Botan. Once we were done, Moon decided that we should play tag. He tugged on my arm for only a moment before using the super-strength that his hammer provided him with to speed away out of my sight. A large grin grew on my face and I made my portals. Jumping through them constantly, I eventually caught up to Moon. Poking the little monkey in the chest, I giggled before he could catch me and spun away from his reach, calling upon my portals to help with my escape.
Like that, Moon and I spent the rest of our day chasing one another around the island. We avoided both the beach and the area around the village, knowing that our game would be interrupted if we went either one of those locations. Instead we hung out near the tree house and the vast forests surrounding the island. Eventually the sun began to paint the sky gold while simultaneously making the shadows in the forest grow long. Deciding that we were done for the day, Moon and I made our way back to our house.
I had a scowl on my face though. Just as the sun began to go down, Moon had caught me. Now the little brown monkey had a crazy smile on his face as he danced around by my feet. He knew that he had won that day's round of tag-and-hide. Once he saw me pouting though, Moon was quick to scramble up to my shoulder. He pressed his face against mine and cooed while petting my hair affectionately- It was as though he knew my exact train of thought. The action only served to make me irritated, despite the warmth I got from his attention. I could never stay mad long when it came to Moon.
"Don't you worry Moon, I'll get you tomorrow." I stated, holding my head up high and crossing my arms in front of me. Just as Moon was about to chatter to me in reply, he looked over to the village, suddenly going still. I looked too, and saw that he was being summoned by the villagers. There were two great flames that were alight in the village and they glowed with a fierce golden glow in the dark of the evening.
"Is it that time already?" I asked, looking up into the sky. Usually the villagers would call Moon down from the tree house every full moon. He'd go down the tree and the villagers would give him enough food for the both of us. We usually stored it for the winter months, where the plants would no longer bloom. I was never sure as to why the village did this, but it had helped us out in the winter- more times than I could count. Looking up at the moon now though, it was only half full.
From my shoulder, Moon gave me another pat on the head before he hopped down. Moon dragged his hammer along behind him, his tail wrapped around the handle, and quickly disappeared into the shadows of the night. I didn't wait too long before I finally turned and went back to the house. As I walked, I found myself staring blankly up at the fading sky and wondering why the villagers would call for Moon so early.
"Elena."
I turned to the sound of my name and smiled when I noticed that it was just Botan Ficus. "Hello!" I greeted, giving the elderly man a smile as I approached. "How was the rest of your day? Did your injuries heal up nicely yet?"
"Yes, I believe that they have, my dear." He said and I could hear the smile in his voice. He walked slowly, but I could tell that he was much better than when Moon had first found him. "And my day was fine, thank you for asking."
I nodded and looked outside, noticing how the stars were now out. Glancing at Botan, I took a small step backwards, away from the entrance of the tree house. I was about to speak to the elder when he suddenly put up a hand to stop me, shaking his head. I gave him a small smile before I waved him goodnight and opened a portal. It was a nightly routine for me to go up to the roof at night with Moon. I was glad that Botan understood and hadn't tried to keep me in house.
A few minutes later and I was on the tallest peak of the entire island- the very top of the tree that Moon and I lived in. It was a little odd, but sprouting out from the trunk of the tree was a very large and sturdy totem. The totem sprouted a couple hundred feet into the air and I helped Moon build stairs that went to the very top of that totem a long time ago. I could see every inch of island from my spot at the top of it and considered this to be the tallest peak of the island because of it.
A few years ago I had planted a tree at the very top of the sky totem. Now, that little sapling had grown into a rather large tree and I was already in the process of making hammock. When it's finally done, I'll be able to hang it between the tree's large and sturdy branches so Moon and I could enjoy the stars at our leisure. I layed down on my back with my hands behind my head and sighed.
I loved the stars. Moon and I would spend hours upon hours up here simply watching them. I've considered trying to use my portals to get to them, but I could never seem to throw them far enough away from me to try. I figured that as my body grows, the power of my portals would too. Eventually I would reach the stars with my own hands.
Sometimes, if I'd stare at the stars for long enough, I'd feel a deep longing in my chest. It'd hurt, enough to bring tears to my eyes and make my body go numb. It gave me the feeling that my real home just might be among those stars instead of the World of Twelve. I didn't know what I'd do if that were true. I didn't know how to reach the stars, I had no way of reaching them either, and I couldn't just leave Moon behind by himself. That little monkey was the most family that I have ever had in my life.
And yet, at the very same time, I felt like someday I'd have to leave.
Just as I had made that thought, I heard the distant sound of a yell. I sat up as the, now constant, shout was coming closer by the second. Curious, I climbed up my tree and looked down the totem to the branches of the tree beneath it. I felt my mouth swing slightly open as I witnessed Moon dragging a person behind him with his hands. The poor person was banging the back of their head on the wooden stairs that climbed to the top of the totem as Moon dragged them along behind him.
When Moon stopped just a few feet away from me, I hopped down. The person hadn't noticed me yet as I blinked, still surprised that Moon would drag someone along like that. A memory of Moon trying to do something similar to me suddenly came to the forefront of my mind and my shock seemed to dissipate slowly. The person groaned, sitting up, and my eyes shot to them instantly.
I noted that the person was a girl, a teen really. With a slight bit of shock I recognized her as one of the people that had been on the wrecked ship. Her long green hair reached the middle of her back, and two ditzy flowers were on a headband in her hair. I suspected that her beautiful olive-toned skin would have been flawless if it weren't for her trip with Moon up the tree. Then I noticed how she had thick ropes tied around her wrists and ankles, binding them together. It looked rather uncomfortable.
Before I could say anything, the girl yelled in alarm, closing her eyes tight and thrusting her arms out despite them being tied together. Moon had leapt up at her, and had begun to easily untie her with the use of his sharp canines. Moon jumped off of her as soon as she was free and the rope was cast off beside her. The teen grew quiet. Opening her golden brown eyes she looked from her now unbound wrists to Moon, who was staring up at her curiously. Again, just as I was about to speak, I was interrupted by the teen yelling once more.
"You bully! You thug! Monkey head! That's not how you treat a princess!" the green-haired teen yelled out and Moon chittered before running to me and climbing up onto my shoulder. "Bully! You're lucky you're so small!"
"Hey!" I snapped, making her stop. I gave her a small glare, not liking how Moon now hid behind my head as he peaked out at her. "No need to be so mean, Moon was just helping you out."
She blinked and looked me over. She had an odd look on her face as she regarded me, as though she were thinking of someone else. Then her eyes spotted Moon peaking out from behind my hat.
"Wha- when did you get here?" She asked, making me frown. Moon had just untied her, she wasn't even going to thank him? Then she looked around and gasped, her eyes going wide at the sight of the island under the blanket of the stars. "It's incredible...!"
Moon hopped down from my shoulders and grabbed a small red flower that had been growing nearby. He set his hammer down beside me and climbed up on the green-haired girl, putting it in her hair as an apology.
"Thank you." the girl blushed and my opinion of her became a little better.
"How come your here?" I asked curiously, going to stand next to this girl. She had to be older than me by a few years because she was much taller than me. My head easily came to just over her elbows, letting her tower over me. I silently told myself that I still had growing to do.
The girl sighed at my question.
"I was traveling on a ship with my friends. But we got caught up in a storm last night." the girl said, biting her lower lip. I glanced up at her. "We must have gotten sucked into that tornado that I saw, because the next thing that I knew I was waking up on the deck of the ship with my friends, the ship bumping into this island. We went to look for food and were captured by the Sedida's that live here... and I think they're planing on hurting my friends.
"I'm really worried for them, and as much as I like this view, I know that I have to go and help my friends. That masked monster down there is keeping them prisoner and I'm really worried as to what he's going to do to them." She looked down sadly at the trees far below us, towards the village. The glow of their fires hadn't died down yet and easily illuminated the large gates that lead up to the tree house.
I tilted my head in contemplation. My opinion of this teen had changed once more; she really cared for her friends and that made my heart beat a little stronger. I glanced over at Moon, who was still on her shoulder and saw that he seemed to have a liking towards her. It was rare for him, to like someone so quickly. I watched as the teen's expression steadily turned from worried and sad to a steady determination. It looked as though she was ready to face anything to help her friends out.
After a moment of silence, Moon chittered and I nodded my head.
"Alright then," I said, giving the green-haired teen a smile. "Why don't we go see if Botan is ready then, huh?" I looked up at Moon who chattered in agreement. She gave the both of us odd looks, making me laugh. With a smile I felt my hands heat up with the pulse of my magic. I made two portals with my hands, seemingly surprising the green-haired teen who gasped, and hopped through them. Only a moment later, I heard the poor teen's screaming in between my portal jumping, and I knew that Moon had grabbed her hand again in order to drag her down the tree.
I arrived a good minute or two before Moon and smirked down at him, knowing that I had won this round. Moon chittered, looking slightly upset that I had cheated, and the commotion seemed to bring Botan to the window. The green-haired teen only groaned as she sat up again, making Moon grow quiet.
"You really need to stop dragging me around like that if you want us to be friends..." she said, and I almost snorted. There was no way that she was fast enough to keep up with Moon and I, which was why Moon had been dragging her around in the first place. I heard Botan chuckle, which brought the teen's attention to him. I had covered my mouth with my hand to try and hide my smile before I looked over to Botan myself.
"Well, well, well." Botan chuckled, "It looks like our little God has brought a little friend to our dinner tonight."
The teen stood up on her feet suddenly and waved her fist at the masked old man. "Hey Kanniball, I'll make you really regret kidnapping me!" She yelled back, making me laugh. I couldn't fight my smile anymore and simply put down my hand as I skipped my way into the tree house.
"Come on," I said with a wave of my hand over my shoulder, "We have some herbal tea that will calm you down."
Moon followed me into the house and she followed after silently. We went into the living room and sat around a small fire pit. Botan had already brought out a tea pot with herbal tea in it, as he usually does in the evenings. This time though, he had an extra tea cup ready, as though he knew that the teen was coming. I suppose her screams weren't very subtle...
"My name is Botan Ficus," Botan said calmly as he handed over a cup filled with herbal tea to the teen. He then gestured to Moon and I, "And these are my humble hosts, Moon and Elena."
"It's nice to meet you," the green-haired girl said, blowing on the tea before taking a sip. "My name is Princess Amalia Sheran Sharm of the Sedida Kingdom. I've come here traveling with my four friends, Evangeline of the Cra, Rule the Enutrof, Sir Percedal the Iop of Sadlygrove and Yugo, with his little Tofu bird, Az." She took another sip of her tea before putting it down and staring into her coconut cup sadly. "We're traveling in search of Yugo's family, and we were well on our way before we got caught up in that storm last night. When we were searching for food in the jungle, we got captured by the Sedida's that live here. Now, I'm very worried for my friends and hope that nothing bad has happened to them..."
Moon then grabbed Amalia's cup and brought it back to Botan to fill up once more, making the princess smile. I noticed that my own tea was gone and passed it to the elder as well. Once the princess's cup was filled, Moon brought it back to her, chittering to her softly.
"Ah, Moon." Amalia said with a smile of thanks before looking between me and Botan almost shyly. "What a funny little monkey..."
"My people have worshiped him for hundreds of years." Botan stated, making Amelia look up at him from Moon in surprise.
"Hundreds of years? But no animals can live that long...!" Amalia said, making me smile proudly at Moon.
"Maybe," I said gaining Amalia's attention, "But his magic hammer gives him powers, see. Despite his appearance, Moon is very strong!"
Moon chattered happily at that, He made fists with his hands and held them up above his shoulders as though he were making muscles. Then he walked in a circle with a serious face. I laughed at his antics and Amalia joined in once she noticed what Moon was doing.
"He's not the danger on this island." Botan then said with an amused tone to his voice. His voice then turned cold as he mentioned his enemy. "Saul The Crooked, is an evil and power-hungry being that's as smart as a monkey." Botan's voice grew grim and our laughter was quickly quieted as Botan told us how Moon found him. "Saul tricked me, then trapped me in the void of the highest cliff on the island. It would have been a fatal fall if I hadn't been able to summon some leaves to cushion it, thanks to Sadida. That's when Moon found me and brought me to live here with him and Elena, until my injuries heal. Without them, I would have been pushing up ditzy flowers... I now wait for the moment when I can challenge Saul once more."
"My friends could help us!" Amalia suddenly said, getting my attention. I smiled at the thought of finally helping out Botan. He wouldn't be nearly as worried for his people if he could finally challenge Saul...
Amalia then looked over at Moon, "But Moon has to let me go so that I can warn them."
"I can take you down to the village," I said with a smile and Moon looked between me and Amalia sadly. I pet him on the head softly as he crawled onto my lap, "Don't worry, Moon! I promise to be careful!"
"It would seem that Sadida is with us," Botan mused, "When his belly is full, our friend is pretty easy to convince, and I think he likes you a lot too. If you ask him nicely, Amalia, I'm sure he'll help."
I nodded my confirmation only a moment before realizing that Moon had fallen asleep on my lap, a citronana peel on his furry chest. I giggled and scratched the fur on Moon's belly, watching with amusement as his tail twitched before his hand swatted mine away. Moon opened his eyes and yawned cutely before rubbing his eyes. I smiled at Amalia and she nodded before facing Moon.
"Moon, can you help me and my friends defeat Saul?" Amalia asked, and it was a moment or two before Moon replied. He chittered happily and hopped up, grabbing Amalia's hand. I saw her eyes go wide as she realized what was about to happen. "Wai-" She tried to say, but Moon was already dragging her off.
I laughed and stood up, crating a few portals to follow when I looked back at Botan. He shook his head before waving me along.
"I'll follow at my own pace." He said calmly and I nodded.
I hopped through my portals and made my way down the tree and to the village. Moon was going to arrive before me this time. I looked around, seeing how much the village has changed since I left. Then I spotted Moon just a little ways from me on Amalia's shoulder. Just beside her, I saw the boy that wore blue clothing that was similar to mine and the beautiful blonde lady from the ship. They were both tied up to posts but they were getting the ropes untied by the small round bird. If I remembered correctly, Amalia had said that the little bird was a Tofu and that it's name was Az.
In front of Amalia and Moon was a crowd of villagers who had been knocked over. The old man and the orange haired man from the ship were sitting in the middle of the fallen villagers. The orange haired one held up the sword with a single eye and looked at it with excitement.
"I must be getting stronger than I thought!" He said, amazement in his voice. The old man stood up beside him, shaking his head.
"Afraid not, my dear Iop. I believe that that helping hand came from our dear Amalia." he said with a smile in her direction. Amalia gave a small shy smile and Moon caught his hammer, which I assumed he had thrown first, in order to knock the villagers down in the first place.
"It must be related to my powers, but I can't stand having my hands tied," the boy in similar clothes as mine spoke up, watching Moon in fascination while rubbing his wrists. He and the woman beside him were now untied. I spotted the large bell on top of the tower and remembered how the village would use it to call meetings in the square. With a smile I spotted the cliff that they would gather at.
"Amalia!" I called out, making everyone look over at me. "I'll call everyone here, you and your friends should get to that cliff there." I pointed to the cliff before making my portals and hopping through them to the bell.
For some reason, as soon as my portal opened, I heard a collective gasp come from the group that Amalia traveled with. I didn't let that bother me too much, since it must be surprising the first time that you see someone open up a portal in general- I had noticed long ago that none of the villagers seemed to hold the same ability as me. It must be rare or something.
Once I got to the bell, I couldn't hear what the group was saying. But I did catch the eye of the boy in blue. I was too far away to see the color of his eyes, but they seemed to be familiar to me somehow. Neither of us looked away from one another, not even noticing that we were staring until he was shaken by the red haired man with the sword. Didn't the old man call that one a Iop?
Shaking my head from the odd trance that I had been in, I turned to the bell and started to ring it. I saw villagers' heads appear out of windows and doors of their homes, looking around curiously before making their way to the gathering cliff. The villagers who had been knocked out, came-to groggily, before making their own way to the cliff, sitting down tiredly and facing it.
When I was satisfied that all the villagers had heard the bell and were making their way to the cliff, I opened my portals again and made my way to the cliff myself. When I got there, I landed just beside the group, glad to see that they were already here. I couldn't help but laugh when I noticed that Moon had decided to sit on top of Amalia's head proudly, his hammer at her feet. This made the others look at me in slight surprise.
"Once everyone's here, you can talk to them." I said with a smile, addressing Amalia. She nodded, looking back over the cliff as I was suddenly surrounded by her friends.
"I'm Sir Percedal of Sadly growth!" The Iop yelled out before his sword started to laugh at him.
"My name is Rule and this is the lovely Evangeline." The old man said, then pointed at the blond lady.
"I'm Yugo! It's nice to meet you!" The boy in blue said.
I just barely said my name in return before they started to ask me questions all at once, making me a little flustered. All I could catch from their questions were the words said most often: 'portal', 'family', 'Yugo' and 'how'.
"Woah, hey... Don't touch the hat." I responded when I felt a slight tug on my hat. My hands flew up to my head to make sure that it stayed on. Not even Moon could see what was under my hat. Suddenly the group went silent, looking at me expectantly. Then I realized that they were probably waiting for me to answer their questions. I gave them a sheepish chuckle. "How about one question at a time...?"
Before they could ask me any more questions though, Amalia suddenly began to address the crowd of villagers that had gathered at the bottom of the cliff. The group looked from me to Amalia before taking up positions beside her so that they could see what was going on. I caught Moon smiling at me before I felt another gaze on me. I turned my head to the side, noticing that Yugo was standing just a little ways from me, looking at me sideways too.
Our eyes locked and I could now see that his eyes were a beautiful azure color. I felt my heart give a jolt and my eyes widened in shock. Warmth shot up my spine and the only thing that I could see properly were his azure eyes. Slowly his eyes grew wide, as though the same striking familiarity occurred to him too.
We simply stood there, staring at one another. Why did I feel as though I knew him? Simply thinking his name seemed to make my body tremble. I wanted to go to him. I wanted to hold him close, tell him everything about me that I could think of and ignore everything that wasn't him. I wanted to listen to every word he had to say about himself. My heart stuttered again, before beating faster in my chest. A heart-wrenching longing hit me in the gut. It was so familiar to how I felt after a dream would fade from my thoughts that tears almost threatened to prick at my eyes. It made me feel as though I couldn't breathe as the feeling stole the breath from my lungs.
I blinked, sucking in a sharp breath. I couldn't seem to look away from Yugo's eyes. Then, like nothing had happened, the world came out of it's haze around me. I could suddenly hear Amalia speaking just in front of us and I could see the red headed Iop shuffling his feet just behind Yugo.
Yugo's eyes looked glassy, but as he blinked, they slowly seemed to focus again. Had he gone through a similar experience as me? But then I saw the confusion in his expression. He looked me in the eyes again and there I saw the same question that I was thinking;
What just happened?