COMING SOON...
PROLOGUE
“Swiftly my sun princess… like the wind…”
An
echo from the past rippled through her mind, giving impetus to her feet and
such sweet comfort to her heart.
Frantic,
she pushed aside the overhanging branches that got in her way and pulled at her
hair and clothing. The sound of her panting breaths. The crunching and snapping
of dried leaves and twigs underfoot. Both rang in her ears as she hurtled
through the woods.
They
were coming closer.
The
sound grew—the rhythmic beat of their horses’ hooves reverberated like the rumble of
distant thunder with the threat of a seasonal storm.
She slowed her pace, then stopped. With hands
propped upon her knees, she looked down and took stock. Counted each blade of
grass she could see and refocused.
She could not outrun them. In truth, they would
soon be upon her.
A
flash of joy sparked within as she looked around and realized precisely where
she was. Resuming her run, she swung to the right as she sprinted ahead, onto and then off the rough
path. Back into the thick foliage, and onto the mossy earth, she came to a
skidding stop.
Reaching up and up, the grand old oak stood before
her, at once ominous and majestic in the way its outstretched branches spread
out to embrace and blot out the sky.
Lowering
herself to the ground, she lay down amongst the gnarled, exposed roots of the
old oak. She closed her eyes and began to quiet her harsh breathing and slow
her fast-beating heart. Using every ounce of her waning energy, she focused,
called upon the power of her ancestors, and bit by bit, as she’d been taught,
brought her most vital of organs under her control–slowed its frantic beating
to a sporadic, dull murmur.
Reaching
out with her mind, she waited and remembered another time…
Papa peered down at her.
“Some
might call our gift a curse, Micha. In fact, many of our ancestors were shunned
and even persecuted by those who feared what they did not understand.
“But
you must never surrender to the fear and mistrust of others. Remember, my sun
princess, you are Aisuru Senshi. Beloved of God. Embrace your destiny. Never, ever be
ashamed of what…and Whose you are...”
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