Chapter 8: Luna Meets Princess Alesia (Part 1)
[Luna]
The moment I stepped foot into the garden, a wide smile crept onto my lips. As I look around, I imagine myself back at the palace. I ran towards the center of the garden, which was full of beautiful flowers and colorful butterflies. I know I look like a child now, but I don't care because I miss this kind of place. Whenever I see a garden, I feel relaxed and remember my twin because when we were young we used to go to our palace’s garden and play all day.
I smiled while imagining I was with Leena while chasing all the butterflies and smelling the flowers. When I got tired, I lay down on the grass and looked at the clear blue sky. Tears rolled down my face, so I quickly sat up and wiped away the tears. Damn, I miss them so much.
"Hey! Are you ok?" I heard Venice ask. I thought she had left already.
I looked at her and gave her a small smile. "Yes. I'm fine. Don't mind me." I said.
She sat down next to me with a sorry face. "I'm sorry for what I did earlier… I get furious when I'm hungry."
I chuckled. "It's ok. I didn’t take it seriously earlier.”
“Then why are you crying? I really felt bad about what I did earlier,” she said with guilt.
I looked at her with a sad smile. “It’s just that I really miss my family, especially my twin,” I said and sadness was clear in my voice.
"You have a twin? That’s awesome! Speaking of family, I miss them too..." she said and let out a sigh.
Silence enveloped us, and I let out a deep sigh, too. Well, Venice is not that bad at all. She was kind. I was right; she was just in a foul mood earlier because she was hungry and then I accidentally spilled her food.
~~~~~
It's already late at night, but I am still wide awake. I don't know, but I can't sleep. Groaning frustratedly, I got out of bed and silently went out of my room because I’m afraid Ereia might wake up.
I sighed in relief when I successfully went out of the dorm. My feet took me to the garden, and I did not expect to see anyone there. I saw a silhouette sitting on the bench and looking up at the starry sky. Because it was dark, I could not see her face clearly.
"Who are you?" the person asked and belonged to a female voice. She was looking at me as I walked near her.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you. Don't worry, I won't bother you." I said and smiled at her.
"I mean, who are you?" she asked again.
"I'm Luna," I replied as I lay down on the grass and looked up at the starry night sky. I smiled as I stared at the stars, and especially the moon. There's this weird feeling again like the moon is calling me.
"I'm Alesia." She introduced herself and I noticed she stood up and walked toward me. I’m surprised when she lay down next to me. So I turned to look at her closely. Our gaze met and stayed connected, for I don’t know how long. She's so beautiful, like a princess.
Her crystal clear blue eyes seemed to hypnotize me. We just stared at each other and I felt weird. But I shrugged it off. I felt like she was really hypnotizing me.
Before I knew it, our lips touched. I was stunned.
Did she just kiss me?
Damn!
When I realized what had happened, I pushed her slightly and stood up with a shocked expression. We looked at each other and our eyes widened. My gosh! I kissed a stranger! No, a stranger kissed me! And worst of all, it's a girl! Oh, come on!
“W-why did you kiss me?” I stuttered.
She smiled and said, “Because I like pretty things, especially your kissable red lips.”
My jaw dropped. With a flushed face, I ran back to the dorm and quietly entered my room. I sigh in relief and then lay down on my bed while thinking of what happened just a while ago.
Just what the f*ck had happened earlier?
Aahhhhh! I can't sleep! I messed up my hair in annoyance because I still remember that kiss even though our lips just pressed for seconds. I can’t believe that a stranger girl stole the first kiss that I reserved for a special someone.
Ugh! I should just forget about it and think that it never happened.
~~~~
The next day I was looking terrible, and I looked like a zombie because of the dark circles around my eyes. Luckily, I have special powers. If I haven't, Ereia will surely laugh at me. In just a snap of my fingers, the dark circles around my eyes vanished. I smiled in relief.
A knock on the door gets me back into my trance. I quickly grabbed my bag from the study table and opened the door. Ereia greeted me with her arms crossed around her chest while looking at me with a pout.
"What took you so long?" she uttered.
"Sorry, I woke up late," I said while smiling. She nodded, and we walked out of the dorm.
A few minutes later, we arrived in the cafeteria. The students were still looking at me. And it’s weird, but I choose to ignore their stares.
My eyes widened slightly when I saw a familiar girl that caused the dark circles around my eyes. She also looked at me with a smirk. I looked at her companions, and it surprised me when she was in the group of Zaphe, Claudette, Nicole, Leemin, and Zenon.
"Oh Luna, what is your order?" Ereia asked me, so I turned my attention to her. I told her my order, and as usual, Ereia objected again, but she didn’t have a choice, so she still ordered it, anyway. After we got our order, we went to the table where Ereia's friends were. And I saw the girl again from last night whom I forgot the name of.
Unfortunately, I was sitting next to her, and she was staring at me, so I got conscious.
"Luna, this is Alesia Gregory, the princess of Enchantreia Kingdom," Ereia said. I turned to the girl next to me and smiled awkwardly.
"Hi..." I greeted. Ugh! Why do I still remember what happened last night?
"Ah Princess Alesia, this is Luna Syesha McCleen, my new friend." Ereia continued. Alesia smiled at me and held out her hand to me. I composed myself and I put the thoughts away in my head about what had happened last night, so I smiled and shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Luna," she said while smiling widely.
"Nice to meet you too, Princess..." I said.
Suddenly, my stomach grumbled. They heard it, so they all laughed at me. To cover up the embarrassment, I also laughed at myself.
Afterward, we started eating. I ordered as much as I ordered yesterday but I still ate it all, so I was very full.
"Do you have a pet in your stomach, Luna?" Zaphe said, and they all laughed, causing me to pout. And as always, Ereia pinches my cheek.
After we ate, we left the cafeteria, and at the same time; we walked toward our class. Well, I'm the only one who's in a different class because I'm still in the beginner's section and they are all in the supreme section. While walking, I felt awkward with Princess Alesia, so I didn't say much the entire time until we parted ways.
When I arrived in the classroom, my classmates were still looking at me. I just went straight to my designated chair.
"Hi, Luna!" my seatmate greeted me. Who is this girl again? Ericka? Erin? Erisa? Eris? Yes, it’s probably Eris. I just smiled at her in return.
"Good morning, class!" the teacher greeted as she entered the classroom. We greet her back too.
"Ok class. I have an announcement. You all know that every 2nd week of the annual class there will be leveling, where we will know if you have become stronger and if you will get a chance to move into another section. Leveling will take place next Wednesday so the council announced that there are no classes for a week starting today, so you can start practice now." the teacher said and my classmates rejoiced. Then the teacher said goodbye and left the classroom. My classmates suddenly went wild.
"Kyaaaa! I'm so excited!"
"Yahoo! We have no class for a week! Thank God!"
"Oh, I probably have no chance of moving to another section, so let's just go to the city, guys!"
"Cool! I haven't been there in a long time!"
Since there was no class, I got up and left the noisy classroom. When I came out, I saw Venice pass by.
"Venice! Where are you going?" I ask.
"In the girls' restroom. Remember our punishment?" she said, and I slapped my forehead when I remembered that. Of course. How did I forget our punishment?
“Shocks! I almost forgot. Let's go together.” I said.
"Ok..." we walked together, and we were just talking about random things. I found out about the other rules from her, which I still didn't know because I didn't ask Ereia either.
Sometimes we were laughing at our exchange jokes. I found out she's easy to talk with and now we are friends. We just parted ways when we arrived in the restroom.