Nadia couldn't sleep.
Maxx's words rolled around in her head, popping up again whenever she started drifting off. J for Jenna. Was he right? Did Nadia have a pin of royalty pinned to her tunic?
She touched the metal lightly. It chilled her fingers, having collected the chill from the night air.
Nadia gave up on sleep and wandered outside the tent (it had come with the horses).
The stars glittered far above her. Oh, she had forgotten the beauty of the stars.
She remembered a fairy tale her father had told her before his death at sea.
The Story of the Tailor and the Sky
Once upon a time, there lived a skilled tailor. He had two beautiful daughters. Sadly, they could not marry, for the man was growing old and needed help maintaining his shop. The youngest daughter wanted more than anything to find true love. Her older sister was more practical, not allowing herself the dream of love.
The old tailor one day walked in on his youngest daughter and a strange boy talking happily and exchanging small kisses. They were obviously deeply in love.
The tailor was not mad, but he was deeply sad. For now, he would have to let the girl go. He wanted to keep her happy and she was obviously happy with this boy.
He gave the boy permission to marry his daughter and hobbled slowly to the pile of work waiting for him. However, the boy stopped him.
"I am not who you think I am," announced the boy, and transformed into the handsome god of the night sky. "Since you have shown the kindness of a father-in-law and the love of a father, ignoring the fact that you cannot possibly run the shop without both of your daughters. I have an offer for you."
At that time, the night sky was dark and void of anything that sparkled with beauty. The god understood that the people needed some light to keep the monsters away, and so he had been searching for a tailor to sew some beautiful lights onto the sky. Now, he had found just the man.
The moon was the first thing bestowed upon the sky, and that was where the tailor would live. His daughters cried to see him go, but he kissed both of their cheeks and said, "Don't worry. I shall sew the brightest light in your names."
With that, the god of the night flew him to the moon.
And the man began his work.
He sewed tirelessly, never resting. He sewed pictures with gleaming gems of light, constellations for the people to find.
Fear of the night slowly became erased from the world. People took walks after dusk, necks craned to look at the stars, finding the pictures and telling tales of the pictures they found.
It was many years before the old man considered his work done. The sky glowed with stars,his own creation.
His daughters had waited patiently for their star for the many years. They missed their father desperately, but were able to move on with their lives. The oldest daughter became the second best tailor in the world, after her father. His shop lived on, making and repairing the finest clothing-and for an affordable price.
The youngest daughter got married to the mortal form of the night sky god. She spent her days as a storyteller, spreading the stories of the stars around the globe.
Then one night, the oldest sister stepped outside to admire her father's good work.
Directly above her, there shone the biggest, brightest star of them all. It was radiant in its beauty, lighting up the night sky and making the rest of the stars pale in comparison.
Around the world, her little sister saw it too, as she stood on a balcony overlooking the city in which she had just performed.
The girls knew their father was with them then, and would be with them always, protecting them from the dark and sewing the stars.
Nadia realized she was crying. Tears ran down her face. She wiped them away and smiled up at the blurry sky.
The stars twinkled merrily above her.
And slowly, Nadia began to develop a plan.