When Everything Shines

Her fingertips brushed along the aisles of book, dust billowing around her face, causing to her sneeze. She rubbed her nose with her other hand and pulled it away, grasping the other end of a thick red book. She squeaked slightly once she pulled it out, stumbling from the weight of it, and sighed, enclosing it with her arms and walking over to the nearest table.

She slammed it onto the wood, causing a sharp slap to echo through the silent library, startling a group of ladies-in-waiting, who looked over at Princess Kisa, then looked away with smiling faces. Of course, she was used to this. Being the only daughter of the king, and at a young age, everyone in the castle talked about how cute she was. With her pretty orange hair, soft like silk, and beautiful wide eyes that sparkled like the sun.

It was too poetic for Kisa.

She had just turned 13 a month back, and still she looked like a child, despite the mall bust forming around her chest. She wore flowing sparkling dresses, so they were covered most of the time with thick vibrant fabric, but she didn't mind much. She loved going to the knight's training grounds and watching them train with swords, and absolutely loved spending her time reading in the library.

The only place she wasn't allowed to go was the wizard's section of the castle. It was a place under the castle, like a basement but large and like any other floor of the castle. There were classrooms for the young wizards who wanted to be part of the society that resided in the castle, to aid the royal family with their powers. Kisa was intrigued by this, but her parents forbid her to go here.

Something about young wizard magic, raw and uncontained, being awfully dangerous. She knew that, yet she wanted to see what it was like down there. Her friend and crush Hiro, who's father was a well-respected knight, was a wizard-in-training as well. They always talked and played in the garden when he wasn't training and she wasn't learning of her origins and how to rule. He was her only friend. The only one who treated her like a regular person, and not some fragile princess.

She remembered something he had told her a while back, something she never forgot; when everything shines, the earth will stop spinning. He said it was something from their wizard history books, a code even, maybe a prophecy. Kisa loved how it sounded, and she always thought it had to do with magic. Because magic is beautiful, and it shines bright then the sun.

She sat down, moving her skirts out of the way and pushing her orange hair from her face, licking her dry lips and opening the book. Dust blew at her face ad she coughed, waving her hand in front of her face. She realized half these books haven't been read in a long time, and had literally been building dust in those shelves.

She didn't mind much, since she loved these old books. The pages were a faded yellow, crisp and beautiful, with wonderful handwriting sprawled in the book. Of course, she realized sadly, this was in another language. The kind her kingdom once spoke long ago, until it developed into a more modern tongue.

She was being tutored in this language, but she wasn't very good at it, so she struggled to read it correctly. She tapped her fingers on the page and leaned forward, whispering what she was able to read.

"…distressed town uncovers truth…uhh…betrayal of heat…heart…hearth…?" She squinted her eyes and bit her bottom lip, her finger brushing the words on the page. "Let's see…king murdered and prince missing….from…palace…" She sighed, giving up and pushing the book away. It was beautiful, but hard to read. She slapped it shut and stood, putting it away and wiping her hands on her pale pink dress, pushing hair behind her ears and turning, walking off towards the back row of books. There she saw him, leaning against the shelves with a bored look on his face.

"Hiro!" She squealed, running up to him and tossing her arms around his neck. He stumbled back in surprise, and steadied himself by pressing his hand on the wall behind him. Kisa pulled away and beamed at him brightly, and he smiled back as he gently pulled away from her, cheeks tinged red.

"You know, princess, it's not good for you to be running around hugging boys like that." he teased, nudging her. Kisa sighed heavily, flicking his arm and then grabbing it gently, leading him to the table nearest the end of the shelves, where three chairs sat perched along the rims. That's the thing with Hiro; he treated her like another kid when no one was around, yet he never called her by her real name.

He obediently sat down across from her, and she shifted, placing her hands on the table and smiling at him, tilting her head to the side. He watched her with a small smile on his face, and then nodded, shifting to get more comfortable, and folded his arms on the table, too.

"Alright," he began, already used to this ritual. Kisa was curious, so everyday she would give him that look, basically telling him to tell her of his lessons that day. So, he did so. "Today we learned how to make a potion. Usually we don't learn that until we're older, but this one is required to know. Anyway, it's real easy. All we have to do is get some ingredients from the back room; frog leg, spider hearts, and pig tears. Mix it up in a boiling pot and then, we have a potion."

"Well," Kisa said, impatient. "What does it do, though?"

Hiro smiled. "It sees through lies. All you have to do it set it in a cup between you and the other, and it smokes if the person is lying. It's simple, really."

Kisa looked excited at this and nodded eagerly, staring at him with wide, joyous eyes. "Can you bring some tomorrow and test it out? Please?"

Hiro didn't even hesitate. "Of course, princess."

Kisa smiled and nodded, and they talked some more before the sky dimmed black and grey, and Kisa was sent off to bed, as was Hiro. They waved goodbye as Hiro went towards their wizard's section of the castle and Kisa towards her bedroom. That night, she dreamt of magic and potions.

The next morning, Kisa awoke to the sound of people talking. She opened her eyes and sat up slowly, pulling at her messy hair, bright eyes wide with sleepiness and curiosity. It was her mother and one of her ladies-in-waiting. It was Tohru, she noted, one of the ladies there she really liked. She had a frantic expression on her face, and was speaking rapidly to the queen, who nodded every once in a while, looking solemn. Finally, she ushered Torhu away, and turned, looking surprised to see Kisa awake.

"What's going on?" Kisa asked drowsily. Her mother shook her head and sat next to her, running her fingers through Kisa's hair and smiling slightly. This made Kisa nervous.

"Nothing," She said, pulling away and standing up. "A merchant is wandering around, and several people claim he sold them fakes. Its nothing…your father and I are handling it."

Kisa nodded and watched her mother leave, telling her to get ready for lessons, before she disappeared. Kisa was up and ready within five minutes, bathed and sparkling, her blue dress flowing past her feet, her hair shining in the light. But she didn't go to lessons; she went straight to the library.

As she suspected and hoped, Hiro was waiting at the table, a vile set up in the middle of it. It was clear, and she could see it was a pale green, and smelled of magic. She walked over and grinned when he jumped and smiled at her, motioning for her to sit down, which she did.

"Princess," he said seriously. "Do you believe all wizards are good?"

Kisa nodded. Hiro gave her a look, and she blinked, before understanding and nodding, speaking this time.

"Yes." She said clearly. Nothing happened. Hiro smiled at her and shook his head, cupping his face in his hands and leaning towards her.

"Do I make you nervous?" he asked, referring to his magical abilities. Of course, poor Kisa misunderstood and flushed red, smiling at him nervously and running her fingers through her soft hair.

"N-No…" She said softly. A puff of smoke billowed out and curled round her mouth, making her speak clearly. "Yes, you do."

She blushed; angry at Hiro for leaving out the fact the potion obviously also made you tell the truth as well. He looked at her curiously, and asked, "Why?"

She blushed deeper, wringing her hands together and speaking again, her cute small voice suddenly nervous. "Um well because…you're training, so you might accidentally hurt me."

The smoke puffed out again and slapped around her mouth, and her lips moved at their own accord again, her voice bursting out what her heart was holding in. "Because I think I'm in love with you!"

He jarred in surprise, his hand knocking over the potion as it spilled over the carpet, his body stumbling from his chair. The chair flipped over and slammed to the ground, right in the potion, at which it splashed all over the chair's legs.

"Wh-What?" he stammered, face red. Her eyes were wide and she covered her mouth, giggling through her lips nervously.

"It must be…" She paused. "It must be, um, a mistake. I mean…" She trailed off shyly, tracing her pink lips with her finger nervously, at which they parted as she bit her fingernail, chewing on it nervously. Well, how awkward. A young princess confessing her love to her best friend, and a wizard-in-training, at that!

"Oh." He said, astonished at her sudden confession. Kisa went even redder and shook her head, clutching her dress and turning her red face away from him. Now it was out; she knew she shouldn't love him. She was a princess, and he was…anyway, she was too young to love. Yet, she did. So much.

"Sorry." She mumbled. Hiro was silent, staring at her, his feet standing on the green liquid, bubbling and swishing around his feet. She heard him take a step, since a small splash was heard when he moved. She stayed still, holding her breath until he was in front of her. She turned around and looked at him shyly, frowning slightly, knowing what was coming.

"Princess…"

She winced, bracing herself for words of rejection.

"I…I, um…"

She closed her eyes, taking an intake of breath, and…

"I think I love you too."

Okay, she wasn't expecting that. She stared at him in surprise, before taking a step back and smiling.

"Really?"

He nodded slowly. "Princess, I…" He paused. "Kisa…." He closed his eyes, listening to his own voice, speaking the name. He said it again and again, and Kisa just watched him until he opened his eyes and looked over at her.

"I love you."

She smiled, stepping forward and putting her hand on his cheek, tilting her head to the side and staring at the potion, spilled all over the floor. "That's not a lie." She said, before turning and leaning in slowly, hartbeat in her head. His eyes closed and he leaned in, lips parting. Closer, closer…

"Princess!"

Kisa jumped away, red in the face as she spun around to face her tutor, Shigure, who had his arms crossed and eyebrow quirked.

"You skipped lessons." He said, giving Hiro a cautious look. His face was red and he was tugging at his collar nervously, biting his bottom lip. Kisa shifted and smiled at him nervously. Shigure sighed, scratching his chin and shrugging.

"Come with me now and I won't tell your parents." He said, caving in to her adorable expression.

Kisa beamed. "Thanks!" She went to follow Shigure, but paused, hastily turning around and pecking Hiro on the mouth before scurrying after Shigure.

"Well," Hiro sighed, a bit dreamily. "When everything shines…it means something."