The Princess and the Dark Air

Episode 1:

"Venture to the Ice Kingdom"

by Courtney Timmons

Chapter 1

“Yes! I’m sixteen today!”

Emi Kaguzami is a sixteen-year-old girl from the Snow Kingdom. Her hair is very long and straight with a single pink left bang. Her right eye is pale blue while the left is a pale green. She’s the fair skinned princess of the Snow Kingdom with a very childish personality.

“It’s just another stupid birthday, Emi,” spoke the boy sitting across the wooden table from her. “Nothing special about this one.”

Kite Sezumo is a seventeen year old Snow Kingdom boy with gray hair and even grayer eyes. He’s not quite tan, but he does go outside a lot more than Emi. He’s not royalty either. Despite that one thing, he’s Emi’s best friend. Seems a little strange considering one is always negative and the other is always positive.

“You’re such a pessimist, Kite!” Emi exclaimed with irritation in her voice. “Of course today is a very special day! Today is the day that marks my entry into adulthood! Tomorrow, I begin my journey to find my power as you did last year.”

Kite frowned at her. The thought of his journey was not something he was ready to think about so soon. “It’s not as fun as you think.” Kite snapped at her. “I had to set out on my journey alone. I had no idea what I was doing. I almost got killed a hundred times; I had little money and had to get side jobs—HORRIBLE side jobs. I was beaten, tired, almost eaten for an entire year! And all I have to show for it is this! “ Kite angrily thrust a small brown pouch onto the table surface.

Emi looked down at it. Her gaze shifted to her friend across the table. His arms were folded, his shoulders were hunched, and he was pouting like a toddler who didn’t get his own way. Emi looked at the pouch again. She reached over and held it in front of her face. “So you’re a Dust Sprinkler. Lots of the Kingdom are.”

“Lots of our kingdom is pathetic.” Kite muttered. “Do you have any idea what kind of ridicule I put up with when I got back?”

“That was a month ago…”

“And I’m still putting up with it!” Kite slammed his fist against the table.

Emi ignored that rude gesture. She typically did ignore Kite when he acted on the rude side. “From Tac, I assume?” Emi watched Kite nod. “You’d think a bigger brother would be happy to see his younger brother after a year.”

“Yeah. Just so he can make fun of me. Noa is an Arch Master, he’s a Sword Master, and what am I? A Dust Sprinkler! How pathetic.”

Kite is the youngest of three Sezumo children. His older sister, Noa, is twenty-one years old, making her the oldest. Emi looked to her as a sort of role model, despite one significant flaw of hers. Tac is Kite’s older brother by two years. People often mistaken him and Noa for twins. Emi would never admit such a thing, but she used to have a bit of a crush on Tac back when they were younger. Then again, it wouldn’t be a very big shocker. Tac did consider himself to be quite the ladies man.

“Noa didn’t say anything, did she?” Emi asked, foolishly. Kite quickly glared at her when she said that. Emi had to rethink what she had said after she had said it. Emi then quickly apologized with an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry. I forgot she’s been mute ever since she got back from her journey.”

"It’s a good thing too. Otherwise, she’d be laughing it up with Tac if she could.” Kite commented.

The journey you keep hearing about is a big tradition of the planet Emi lives on. On one’s sixteenth birthday, they are sent off to visit the thirty kingdoms until they are given their power. Once they are assigned a power, they return home immediately. It takes most only a year. It takes the very skilled less than that. Noa is an Arch Master. Each power is described in two words. Therefore, an Arch Master is a type of Weapons Master who can use a particular type of weapon. So Noa is a master at Archery or the bow and arrow.

“At least your parents were proud of you.”

Kite shot from his chair. “Nope!” He exclaimed. “Disappointed is more like it! They get two Weapons Masters and a Dust Sprinkler! I’m an insult to their gene pool!”

Kite left out the fact that his parents were also Weapons Masters themselves. That only made the thought worse.

“You’re such a drama queen.” Emi laughed.

Emi’s bedroom door opened. The friends looked towards the door. A tall man with long white hair and a long white beard entered the room, his robes dragging along the floor. His pale blue eyes fixed themselves on Emi. He had a warm smile on his face.

Emi smileed at him. “Good day, father!”

Kite instantly forgot his rut and bowed his head towards the man. “Good day, King Takashi.”

King Takashi bowed his head to the children. King Takashi Kaguzami is the king of the Snow Kingdom (it’s a total given!). He is the only living relative of his daughter. That’s why he keeps a commoner such as Kite and his family around. The Sezumo’s are the nearest thing to family for young Emi besides her own father of course. “Good day, Kite. Happy birthday, dear Emi.”

Emi sprang to her feet. She hurried to her father and wrapped her arms around his torso in a tight hug. “Thank you, father!” She told him, happily.

The smile on Takashi’s face remained warm as ever. Yet at the same time, he seemed a little bothered by something. “The celebration is going on downstairs. You should go now. They’re waiting for you,” Takashi said to his daughter.

Emi looked up and stared the tall man in his blue eyes. She blinked her mismatched eyes a few times before she released her grasp on him. She smiled and replied with, “Alright! Let’s go Kite!” Emi made her way to her bedroom door.

“Whatever.” Kite told her, apathetically. He rose from his seat at the table.

Takashi noticed Kite rise from his chair. He raised a hand to stop his movements any further. Kite was a little startled by this gesture. He did indeed stop however. Takashi turned his attention back to his daughter. “Emi, you go on ahead. I’d like to speak with Kite for a moment.”

Emi stared back at her father with a confused expression. The girl was already at the door to her bedroom. Kite, on the other hand, seemed to be getting nervous now. Small beads of sweat became visible on his face. Emi shrugged. “Alright!” Emi exclaimed like the child she was. She grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open. “Catch you later, Kite!” Squealed the girl as she shot out the door and down the hallway.

I can’t believe she ditched me so quickly! Kite thought with resentment. His still gaze went to his king who had now turned back to him and was staring him dead in the face from his amazing height. “Um…” Kite began. He started shaking and sweating even more. “Okay…Whatever I did, sire, I apologize. I DIDN’T MEAN IT! Really I didn’t! You know how kids get. I mean—“

Takashi immediately cut him off, shaking his head in amusement at the boy. He knows nothing yet, and he’s already singing like a canary. “Calm down, Kite,” the king laughed. “You’re not in trouble. I just have a little proposition for you.”

Kite immediately calmed down. He was very much relieved to hear that. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” King Takashi nodded. He strolled past Kite and looked out the large arched window of his daughter’s room,that looked out unto their kingdom. His blue eyes watching the snow fall. “You know what a sixteenth birthday means on our planet.” He saw Kite’s reflection in the window’s glass. The boy had nodded. “It’s a dangerous world too. Especially in between the Kingdoms.”

Kite flinched as bad memories flooded into his mind. “Don’t remind me.”

Takashi’s blank gaze turned to one of sadness. “I don’t want to send my daughter into this world alone. Especially not now.”

Kite became uninterested pretty much immediately. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about Emi. She was his best friend. It’s just that he didn’t think that the King needed to be as worried as he was. “I’m sure she’ll be able to handle it if you send someone with her.” Kite told him.

“Exactly.” The King agreed. “That’s why I request you accompany her.”

Kite’s eyes widened right when he heard that. No way! He thought. I’m not going on another journey! I just got back from mine! “No offense, sire, but I just got home a month ago. I’m not ready to set out again. Why not have a soldier or someone better trained escort her?”

“Because Kite, I trust you.”

“How does trust fit into this, sire?”

The King began looking around. It seemed a little strange to Kite. Why was the king so solemn? He was typically very different. Not only that, but he also seemed fidgety and worried. “There have been…rumors going around that Emi may be in grave danger upon setting out on her journey.” The king said.

Kite’s eyes widened again. What kind of danger? He wondered. He shook that thought out of his head, and went back to his usual pessimistic deposition. “You know, it is dangerous out there.”

“Bigger than that, Kite.” The king immediately said. Kite became worried again now. He began thinking about what could be any worse than what people would run into on their planet on a regular basis? “You know about the Element Guides, correct?”

Kite was getting nervous all over again. He began to believe he knew where this was going. He nodded to the king’s previous statement. “There’s only ever been two; both male and both from the Dark Kingdom.”

“And whichever kingdom the Element Guides are from, that Kingdom gets complete control of the planet.” Takashi went on.

“Let me guess…the rumors are saying that Emi may be the next Element Guide?”

Takashi looked at Kite. “You’re a smart boy, Kite. Which brings me to why I want you with her. The kingdom fears the Dark Kingdom may try to kill Emi during her journey.”

“Why me though?”

“The Dark Kingdom is powerful and highly res—no, feared. At this point, I don’t know whom I can trust. I know you’d never want to hurt Emi, right?”

Kite shook his head, quickly. “Of course not…But I’m just a Dust Sprinkler. I couldn’t do much to protect her if the moment arose…”

Takashi sighed. He wasn’t going to give up on this difficult teen. He knew exactly how to push this boy’s buttons. “Maybe you’re right. Perhaps I should ask Noa, or Tac.”

That hit Kite hard. He was not about to lose out to his brother or sister. “No. No, no, no!”

A sly smile crossed Takashi’s face. Just as I thought. “So you’ll do it, then?”

Kite nodded furiously. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Emi. I especially don’t want my sibling stealing my thunder!”

That tickled Takashi’s funny bone. He began laughing at the boy’s statement. “Thunder! Ha! You’re a funny kid!” Takashi exclaimed, patting Kite on the back. “Now go join Emi at the party.” Takashi gave Kite a little shove. Kite was a bit hesitant at first. He looked back at Takashi with a slight sense of worry. He then turned around, stumbling a little as he hurried out the bedroom door. Takashi smile then faded. He turned back to the window, watching the snowfall. Another sigh escaped his lips.

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

It was nighttime in the Snow Kingdom. As usual, it coninued to snow outside. Inside a small house in the North village, Kite was packing his bags on his bed. The Sezumos lived in a small and quaint house. There was only five of them, so they didn’t really mind. There were actually two beds in Kite’s small bedroom. One for him…and one for Tac.

A very handsome young man stepped into the open doorway of the bedroom. He leaned against the door, his pale and friendly blue eyes fixed themselves on Kite, and he smirked as he watched him packing away. He was nineteen years old with gray hair that reached his shoulders. His hair was much lighter than that of his younger brother.

Kite felt the eyes on him, and he didn’t like it. He felt himself growing annoyed. He stopped packing and turned to the boy in the doorway and asked, “What do you want?”

Tac, Kite’s older and much more attractive brother, smacked his lips and arched an eyebrow. “Why are you packing?” He asked with a grin.

Kite always grew frustrated when his brother answered a question with another question. “I’m going somewhere.” He told him, turning back to his packing. He knew he shouldn’t give Tac an upfront answer since he would begin taunting him. That’s just how Tac was.

“Where?” Tac asked again, sounding like the annoying child who just kept asking the same question over and over again, no matter how many answers you gave them.

Kite reared his head around and glared at Tac, which, might I add, he wasn’t affected by in the least. “Why do you care?” Kite asked trying not to sound annoyed. No way was he giving Tac what he wanted.

“I’m your big brother. Just doing my job.” Tac answered.

“Well don’t!”

“Stop being so touchy!” Tac teased.

“Get out, Tac!”

“Or what? You’ll dust me?” Tac waved his hands about to imitate dust throwing.

“MOM!” Kite shouted.

“Mama’s boy!” Tac laughed.

“Shut up!”

A young woman walked into the doorway. She looked like she could be Tac’s twin, if not for her being twenty-one. She had timber wolf gray hair, lighter than both her little brothers and hid away her ears yet was an inch or two shorter than Tac’s hair; it reached her jawline. She had pale blue eyes that had the slightest hint of lavender in them. She looked at Kite and arched an eyebrow.

“No one called for you,” snapped Kite. The young woman stuck her tongue out at him. “Same to you!” Kite shouted at her.

Tac nudged his older sister in the elbow. She looked at him. “He’s going somewhere, Noa. But he’s not saying where.”

Noa grinned wickedly. “Don’t even think about it, Noa!” Kite shouted at her. She looked at him innocently. Noa had no voice, and figuring out what she was trying to say wasn’t too difficult for her brothers by now.

An older version of Noa pushed her out of the doorway. The two had the same hair only this woman’s hair had a bit of curl to it. Their eyes were the same, however. “What is it, Kite?” Asked their mother.

“They’re bugging me again,” Kite told her. He folded his arms and turned back to his bed. “Please explain to them the concept of respect.”

Thai Sezumo, their mother, frowned at her son. She rolled her eyes and faced her two eldest. With much sarcasm, she asked them, “Noa. Tac. Do you understand the concept of respect?” Noa and Tac gave their mother toothy grins and nodded in unison. Thai threw up her arms in triumph. “My job is done!”

“MOM!” Kite shouted in disappointment.

Tac smirked. He tapped his mother on the shoulder. “Mom, why’s Kite packing?”

Kite’s eyes widened. He waved his arms at his mother as a way of trying to stop her from revealing crucial information. “Don’t tell him!” He demanded.

Thai smiled at her oldest boy and proceeded to answer without hesitation. “The king asked him to escort Princess Emi along her journey to find her power!” She exclaimed. She leaned in towards Noa and Tac, and in a whisper, she continued with, “Supposedly, the Dark Kingdom is going to try and kill her.”

“MOM!” Kite cried in defeat.

Noa and Tac gave each other a high five. They had just scored a point over their brother, which they had tended to do rather easily. Tac turned his attention to Kite. “If the King asked for your help, then he must be desperate.”

“No. He trusts me and has faith in me.”

Noa rolled her eyes at her brother’s sureness of that.

“Shut up, Noa!” Kite told her.

“Maybe we should escort you as you escort your girlfriend,” Tac offered. “Whaddya say, Noa?” Noa smirked.

Kite shook his head in disagreement. “No! You can’t come!”

“Excellent idea, Tac!” Thai interrupted. “Just think of how popular we’ll be in the kingdom to have all three of our children receive honors from the king for protecting his pride and joy--his daughter! Your father and I will be so proud.”

“Mom, you’re making things a whole lot worse!” Kite shouted at her.

Tac tapped Noa’s shoulder. “Let’s start packing, Noa!”

Noa raised her fist in the air as a way of saying, “Way ahead of you.”

Kite threw himself onto his bed and began throwing a tantrum. “NO!”