[Aureus Moonrise]: 708.Island of Jewels

Island of Jewels
Gaia Moonrise

Ally ran through the forest, chasing Sarah, her best friend, in a fun, all-afternoon game of tag. She jumped down a dirt hill, over a log, under an overhanging tree, and jumped a creek. Coming up on the wire fence around their property, her friend slowed trying to think of where to go next. Ally closed in on her.

“You’re mine now!”

Sarah screamed and laughed, running away again. Even with the close call, Ally still hadn’t caught up to her friend. Sarah ran harder, widening the distance little by little. She jumped a boulder and ran past the creek again. Her best friend bolted right after.

The two girls greatly enjoyed their games of tag. It was one of their most valued games. They were able to run free in their gracious backyard. They liked to make believe that they were princesses, taking their mares for a good trot on summer afternoons, after festival. They liked to believe that they could summon all the fairies to their side, asking them for guidance on political issues or which prince each of them would marry. They liked to believe they could dance under the sun or in the moonlight to please their gods that worshipped their young beauty. They both knew that they were all games. Still, it felt lovely to them to dream.

Ally chased Sarah down a slope where no trees had grown into the filed yet. This was the open filed they often held horse competitions at. The crowds cheering each princess on filled the silence around them.

Birds took flight as Ally cried, “Tag! Tag! You’re it, you’re it!”

She screamed again, escaping Sarah who was now ‘it’ and intended on getting her back.

The girls ran down a second slope in the field, a slope that neither of the girls had noticed wasn’t there before.

At the bottom was a large, raised, round stone. It was covered with markings. The girls didn’t notice, believing they had willed it to be there with their imagination. Ally jumped onto it, running back and forth on the far side, waiting for Sarah to catch up. Sarah crawled up its height, then looked at Ally to find which way to dart. She lunged and caught her wrist, ally grabbed hers and swung her around, much like a dance. They laughed and spun on the stone, then collapsed down, breathless. Ally looked down at the stone realizing that it wasn’t disappearing. Sarah looked down too, but neither of them had time to speak. It started to glow a bright blue, shooting light and sparkling orbs upwards to them. Sarah, the younger of the two, grabbed ally, who protectively held her tight. The trees, the grass, and the sky all faded away.


Ally blinked. They were still in the forest, they were still on the stone, and most importantly, Sarah was still with her. She stroked her back, signaling it was safe to look.
Ally looked around, deciding whether or not to believe she had fallen asleep or if this was really good game.

“Are we still in our own kingdom?”

“No…”

Ally looked at her. Sarah was standing up and looking intently at the forest surrounding them. “This forest is mostly pine. It’s so much thicker than ours. Look, there are cypresses and Christmas trees all around. Ours had deciduous trees and a few conifers. They’d set our kingdom alight in the fall and shower us with their blossoms in the spring. This forest has so few changing trees.”

Ally looked at her with admiration. She was right. Looking around them, she noticed the trees also had richer color and the sky was a darker, deeper blue, like looking at photographs of the Earth. All the colors, in fact, even the dirt looked better in color.

She had just stood to join her sister when she heard soft, quick thuds behind her. She turned and jumped back, gripping both of Sarah’s hands.

The thuds were coming from hooves, but they weren’t horse hooves. Two male centaurs walked peacefully towards them.

Sarah muffled a sharp gasp, sinking her back into her sister’s. They didn’t look like they wanted to hurt them, but their bare muscles and hoofed legs seemed threatening enough.

The brown-black haired one with a brown fur covered body seemed to be the leader. The blonde-haired, white-bodied centaur walked a step behind him. They both had flowing back-length hair, like men did in ancient Greek myths.

The girls stood frozen as they approached and stopped in front of them. They dropped their torsos and bowed. The dark-haired one righted himself and addressed them.

“Greetings, princesses. We are happy that you arrived safely.”

Ally and Sarah were completely mind-blown. What in the world happened? Sarah whispered to her, “Why are they calling us princesses? We’re not princesses.”

The centaurs continued since the two girls remained silent. “The Oracle told us you would finally arrive today. But we don’t know what you’re to be called. What are your names?”

Ally answered slowly, hoping the names would clear the mistake. “I’m Ally.”

“And I’m Sarah,” she turned around and faced them.

Instead of them taking back their presumption of them being royalty, they simply nodded. The fair-haired one commented that they were unusual, but pretty names.

“My name is Karos, leader of the centaur army.” He turned against the stone. “One of you ride on me, and the other on him.”

Ally very hesitantly and carefully slipped herself over his bare back. She looked around, trying to find a place to hold onto.

“Grasp around my waist if you need to.”

The white centaur looked over at Sarah and stretched out his hand. “My name is Minos, your highness. I am honored that you ride me.”

Sarah, who was extremely shy of the beast, slowly took his hand and he guided her safely to his back. Too shy, she didn’t hold on as he gently broke into a trot.

Ally scooted up on Karos’s back. “May I ask you something?”

“Yes, of course, Princess Ally,” came his matured voice.

“Sarah is my sister, but we’re not at all related by blood. I’m twelve and she’s eleven and a half. We’ve never even heard of this place. How can we be the princesses of it?”

“Hmm. Twelve and eleven. A year younger and a year older than we had guessed,” Karos mused. “But even so, you two are our princesses no matter what age you are. As for the rest, blood does not stop family from being family, and as to your royalty, you will learn.”

“Mr. Minos?” Sarah asked quietly.

“Minos is fine, Princess. What is it?” His voice was light and younger than Karos’s.

“What’s the name of this Kingdom?”

The Centaurs looked at each other feeling a tiny strand of nervousness. “Skylyis.”

She smiled. “That’s very pretty.”

Minos smiled back. “As pretty as our princesses.”