As the cold grip of winter gave way to spring, the air began to warm, the citizens began taking in the gentle breeze, and one young man was celebrating his ninth birthday.

Today was Saturday, meaning that unfortunately Luke wasn’t going to see Julia, given he don’t where she lived. He had asked before, but the girl insisted her relatives would get angry. Still, he woke up eager to be greeted by his older brother.

“Hey…mom?”

Even though it had only been three months since his mother had spent an abnormally long time of an hour around him, doing more than just making food, Luke had returned to expecting her absence. Yet, here she was, sitting on the table expectedly.

“Your brother left to see his friends today. He should be back later.”

“Okay,” Luke found himself uneasy at the idea of his brother leaving without telling him. “I guess I’ll go see Elizabeth and see if she’s okay.”

“The princess has been ill recently. You’d best leave her be today.”

The boy was beginning to feel nervous. He couldn’t quite understand why, but his mother had seemed eerily cheery. Her face was a long smile, as if she were laughing silently.

“So, um, did you want to tell me something?”

“Should I?” The woman had sounded perplexed at the question.

“It’s my birthday?”

“Oh. Were you expecting something?”

“A…A cake?” The son had managed to squeak out, struggling more and more to continue the conversation.

“Oh no, I reminded Matthew to get one before he comes home. Why don’t you go see your friend, Janey?”

“It’s Julia. And I don’t know where she lives.”

“Well, I guess today is a good day to learn. You should be off; the sun will be setting soon.”

Luke wanted to ask where breakfast was, or how late was it for the sun setting to be a problem. Luke remembered it was winter, but he was pretty sure it was still morning. But right now, none of his questions mattered because his mother had offered him an out and he took it without hesitation, walking out the door as if he were a statue, returning to normal once he felt he was a safe distance away.

As Luke made his way down the path toward the gate, he realized he could possibly narrow down where Julia lived.

‘She probably lives in the south, southeast, and maybe in the middle ring?” Luke began thinking to himself. ‘But what if she’s rich? She did come from Umbro.’

Once Luke made his way to the upper ring, he decided to search there first. Unlike the middle ring, the houses, business, and other buildings were far more pristine, with clean walls, mostly white, and having running water, hedges in fantastical shapes, and other extravagant features.

As the boy searched as best he could, he saw no signs of the girl. It didn’t take but a few minutes for Luke to realize the folly in his plan.

‘Even if Julia is here, I’d have to knock or something. You idiot, why didn’t you ask where she was? I mean, you did, but why didn’t you ask what direction and ring she lived in?’ Luke’s inner thoughts chastised him relentlessly.

Sighing to himself, Luke took the long way around the ring, figuring he may as well take in the sights. Along the way he noticed a couple boys hurling rocks at each other without using their hands. One boy would shoot fire, the other lightning, but they’d always block projectiles with the upturned pavement that covered their front.

Through the gates of one house, Luke could see a girl using the mist off of a waterfall to float in the air. Turning his head upward when he heard sounds, the boy watched two kids race each other, one flying using the wind and another turning into a lightning streak.

As Luke’s vision leveled with the earth, he saw a man using fire to light up his stand, a stand that let out an intoxicating aroma of brown sugar, the sign above revealing it to be a churro stand. The boy wanted to kick himself, but he knew there was no action he could have taken prior that would have led to the acquisition of such an incredible looking sweet.

When Luke finally returned to his humble abode, or his tiny shack as he preferred to call it, he saw a unfamiliar sight, a stranger. Getting closer, he saw it was his friend; not wanting his mother to see her, nor her to walk off, Luke booked it for the girl despite running on little fuel.

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“Julia! Julia!”

The girl seemed spooked initially, but turning to see the origin of the shouts, her face lit up. Once the boy had finally reached her, he slumped forward, taking in heavy breaths until he could hold himself up.

“Hey, Julia…what’s that?” The boy’s eyes locked onto a silver object the girl had in her two hands.

“Oh, I wanted to give you a present, since it’s your birthday.”

“You remembered?!”

“Of course. I wouldn’t forget my best friend’s birthday.”

The girl handed over the bracelet, which Luke realized was completely plain except for a butterfly on one end.

“My aunt and uncle gave this bracelet to me for Christmas, but I wanted you to have it.”

“Why?”

“When I came here, my parents were afraid I’d get bullied. They thought I’d make no friends, and I believed them. When I saw you, I thought maybe you’d want to be friends. I’m so glad I met you; you’re the first friend I’ve ever had, but I think my aunt and uncle are going to tell my parents about what happened during Halloween and my parents will keep me in Umbro.”

Luke looked at the girl before looking back down at the bracelet, a tenseness building up in his stomach and chest.

“Sorry if that sounded sad. I just wanted to let you know why I got you this.”

“I like it! Thanks Julia.”

Doing his best to suppress the anxiety, Luke threw open his arms hugged the girl.

“I better be going. My aunt gets worried when I’m out too long.”

“Wait, can you at least tell me where you live?”

The girl hesitated for a moment before turning around and pointing to the south side of Lumina.

“It’s on the poor ring, near the gate. My aunt and uncle don’t make much, so they live in the cheapest part of town.”

The next moment, the girl fled, leaving Luke to return to his home. When he turned the door handle, it refused to budge. The boy initially sighed, but soon realized this was a blessing. Grabbing a nearby potted plant and yanking the soil up by the plant’s stem, Luke grabbed a key and unlocked the door.

The house was quiet, only strange ambient cracks to keep the boy company. The anxiety from earlier was at a standstill as Luke was anticipating his mother to pop up at any moment. He knew the door being locked meant he was the only one in the house, but he couldn’t stop himself from imagining his mother speaking to him with an even more twisted smile than before.

Looking through the kitchen and even opening the door to his parent’s room, he could see nobody was home. The anxiety from early began to subside, but now a strange new appreciation washed over him; the house seemed spacious for reasons he couldn’t discern. Turning toward his room, Luke’s mind began to wander back a few months.

‘Elizabeth?’

‘Who was that girl?’

‘Julia.’

Luke’s attention had wandered back to the bracelet as he stopped in front of his door. Opening it and walking in, he shut it behind him and locked the door.

‘Why were you with her? Why did you run from me?’

‘Mom said I can’t be seen with you in public, so I took Julia and-‘

‘Liar! You don’t like me anymore, do you?’

‘No, that’s not it.’

‘You hate me, don’t you?’

Luke’s memory was suddenly spliced together with an image of the princess standing over him, face obscured by the shadows. Shaking his head violently, the boy returned to his previous memory.

‘Elizabeth’

‘If you really care about me, you won’t ever see that girl again!’

‘I won’t do that.”

‘Then leave.’

‘Elizab-‘

‘LEAVE!’

That ear shattering scream had snapped Luke out of the trance he was in. Inspecting the bracelet, he figured there was no way he could carry it with him, but his mind had convinced him he couldn’t leave it out in the open. Pulling out one of the drawers underneath his bed and tugging the mattress away from the wall, he managed to secure the bracelet in an isle between the drawers.

Moving his mattress and drawer back in place, Luke let his mind drift again as fell flat on his bed…until his door was rustled by knocks. Getting off his bed, Luke cracked opened the door until he saw his brother.

“Matt? What are you doing back?”

“Well, mom kinda just scooted me out and said she’d be taking care of you.”

“She said you went to see friends and get a cake.”

“She didn’t tell me to do that. But, now that you mention it, have you had lunch?”

Luke shook his head.

“Well, I guess we know what we’re doing for lunch.”

----------------------------------------

“Are you sure this is okay?”

Luke had eyed a pizza and chocolate cake sitting next to him on a table, his brother sitting across from him.

“It’s the least I could do for your birthday.”

“I didn’t want you to spend a lot of money.”

“Don’t worry about little bro! Dad gives me plenty. We’re nobility and you oughta be treated like it. Can’t believe mom lied to you though.”

Taking his brother’s word, Luke dug into his food.

“Luke, we need to talk.”

“Oh here we go. About my mana?”

“No, it’s something else. You know next year I won’t be around as often. I’m just worried about you.”

“About me being bullied?”

“No, about you being alone. I guess you have your friend and the princess.”

At those words, the younger brother prematurely swallowed his pizza, his stomach displeased with the decision.

“Is there something you wanted to tell me?”

Luke froze; he hated when his brother read his face and actions, he knew it was a specialty of his, but he never knew what gave away the problems he was having.

“My friend might not be coming back after this summer, and the princess is angry with me.”

“Why is the princess angry with you?”

Luke relayed what had happened during the winter, much to his brother’s shock and disgust. The younger sibling felt cathartic to see his brother angry at their mother for what had happened and had secretly hoped Matthew could set things straight.

“Luke” the teen clasped his hands together, “from now on, you need to decide things on your own. If you want or need to see the princess, go see the princess. If you don’t want to train, don’t. Neither father nor mother can force you to do anything.”

The boy had felt unnerved at this revelation, as if he were being asked to test the limits of power he never knew existed.

“As for your friend, I’ll do everything in my power to get you to Umbro.”

Luke stood upright in his seat, electricity sparking through his nerves. Looking toward his food, he remembered that despite the intensity of the situation, he was still just having a birthday lunch.

“Sorry to spring all this on you right now, I just didn’t know a better time” Matthew let out a nervous chuckle.