Luzian

Before the idea of Kaiserin was born, I had another idea for a novel, one where the protagonists were four girls, but criticism made me try to change it, give it a better backstory. That’s how Mistral’s dark godmother idea was born, and then I realized that the Light was boring compared to the Dark Empire, and that Kaiserin’s life was more interesting than Mistral’s. This is what would have been the first chapter of my original novel:

 

A young brunet was walking in the middle street, the houses of the High Priests were looming over her.  After spending most of her life in a tiny shack and then living in a small room in one of the temples, the houses around her looked incredible huge and intimidating.  After a while she stopped in front of one of those houses.  It was almost as big as the temple where she used to live, but the architecture was simpler.

She didn’t know how to feel, she was going to see her brother after seven years of living apart.  She stopped before the door and steeled herself.  She knocked and waited what felt like an eternity for someone to open the door.  In the meantime she couldn’t stop from wondering, what if they don’t open? What if they don’t let me in? What if my brother doesn’t recognize me or want me anymore?

The door opened and she saw a young woman, Luzian thought that her fears were going to come true after seeing the annoyed look on the woman and her hard eyes, but then, the face changed completely and she was greeted by a huge smile and laughing eyes.  Before Luzian could react the young woman hugged her and dragged her inside the house.

“You must be Luzian, Camil’s sister.  He’s going to be so happy to see you again!” They were in the middle of the room before Luzian could notice what was happening.  “You arrive just in time, we are about to finish cooking dinner, but first you should take a bath, you must be so tired after your travel, you need to rest your muscles and…” Luzian’s face betrayed such confusion that her companion stopped talking.  “I’m sorry, my name is Mistral, I’m Melch’s and Soturi’s daughter and your brother’s good friend.”  Just then Luzian noticed another woman in the room, a very tall woman that looked so out of place there.  “Arla, look!  Camil’s sister is here.  Luzian, she’s Arla, a friend.  Arla, why don’t you go tell Camil his sister is here?”  Before Arla could move, Mistral finally let go of Luzian and started walking toward a door.  “Never mind, you are so slow, I’ll go.”  And then she was gone, leaving Luzian stunned, not knowing what to do.

“Don’t worry, Mistral is just too much, try to not take her seriously.”  Arla approached Arla and hugged her.  “I’m sure you and I are going to be such good friends.  I’m a good friend of your brothers and if you are anything like him I know you and I are going to be good friends too.”

“Welcome Luzian, my name is Onid,” said a shy girl that Luzian hadn’t noticed before.  “Camil talks so much about you that I feel like I already know you.  He misses you so much, I’m glad that you are here, he will be so happy to have you here, I hope you can stay a long time.”

“Hi,” Luzian was finally able to say something.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.  Do you know where my brother is?” Just as she was asking, she noticed her brother entering the room.  She couldn’t help herself, she just ran to him and hugged him.  “Brother! I’m so glad I can finally see you.”  He looked so good, he was taller and his hair was longer, but he was without a doubt her brother.

“Hi sis, you look so beautiful!” Camil was holding her sister as if she was going to banish the moment he let her go.  The last time he had seen her it had been in an extremely difficult situation.  He had thought that he would never see her again, but she was with him again and he was happier than he could remember.  “I’m so glad you could finally come to me.”

“I’m glad I’m here as well.  I’m sorry if I dropped unannounced, I think you weren’t expecting me until later, but I was desperate to see you and I came here as soon as I could.”  In her brother’s arms, Luzian felt happy and secure, feelings she hadn’t felt in years.

“Don’t worry, you arrived just in time, a little later and your brother would have died, he was desperate to see you too.”  Mistral was back in the room, now accompanied by her parents.

“Welcome to my home, I hope your stay here is pleasant.  You are free to stay as long as you want.”  Melch was nice, but just to be in the same room as him was intimidating, he was a living legend after all.

Melch was the only High Priest that wasn’t part of the Royal Family.  His fair hair and skin marked him as chosen by the goddess, and because of that the Priests had given him the opportunity to be one of them.  People said that he had been born in one of the small town near the Shadows, but soon his good deeds and the love for the people had attracted the attention of the High Priests that gave him an opportunity to be one of them and be part of the government.  Since he had joined the government things had improved so much for the common people, and no one could be more grateful for that than Luzian and his brother.  Their mother had been accused of high treason and all their family had been sentenced to be exiled to the Shadows.  Only Melch’s intervention had saved her and her brother from being sent there.  Luzian had become an acolyte in one of the temples and her brother had been accepted as Melch’s apprentice.  It had taken seven years for Luzian to reach adulthood and only then she had been free to go looking for her brother.

“You must be tired, go and rest a little, we have time before dinner is served.”  Soturi approached the siblings and gently separated them, for they were still in each other’s arms.  She put her arms around Luzian’s shoulders and guided her to the door where her husband and her had entered the room.  “Don’t worry, you and your brother will have all the time you need to catch up later.”

Camil walked with them, holding her sister’s hand while she tried to stop the whirlwind of ideas going through her mind.  After going up some stairs Soturi took Luzian inside a big room, one bigger than the room she had in the temple, as big as the shack where they used to live as children.  It was simple, but it had every comfort she could ask for, and the view was to die for.

“This is where we have to separate, my room is next door, if you need me you can call for me.  I’ll see you in an hour.”

“Wait, this room is only for me?  But is huge!” Camil smiled, for he undertood where his sister was coming from, he had felt the same way when he first arrived to Melch’s house.  His reaction may have been even stronger, because he was expecting exile and instead he had arrived with a loving family and good friends, from a nightmare he had come to a dream come true.

“All the rooms are the same, well, the one Melch and I share is a little bit bigger, but don’t worry, you will get use to it.”  Soturi opened a door that Luzian hadn’t noticed.  “This is the bathroom, you will share it with your brother, I hope that’s not a problem.  I will start a bath so you can relax before dinner.  I’m sure you must be very tired.”

Soturi went into the bathroom and Camil went to his room, leaving Luzian alone in her very own room.  She couldn’t believe how in just a few minutes her life had completely changed.  It was like being in a dream, one she didn’t want to wake up from.