Chapter Text
For one of the few times in the previous years, the Young Princess was in her room and stayed there throughout the first sight of the moon. It was around this time that she would usually slip from her Kingdom’s castle and out into the capital mountains. It was strange, watching the moonlight rise from the treelines below, as opposed to rising from over the Kingdom’s walls. It was a new look at the same thing, and Mesa appreciated it to some degree. She still felt trapped, however. Bounded by her royalty, just because she was recently announced the Queen-to-be in light of her Mother’s retirement of the throne.
She wondered if she could make arrangements to get out of the castle more than her mother did. If she was Queen, no one could deny her, right? Interrupting her stargazing mid-thought, the Young Princess started to hear footsteps from the hallway outside her door. They were metal, heavy, and had the tone of someone who had places to be. A guard, she guessed, come to check on her. “Mother, you always worry too much,” she whispered to herself before getting up from her bed where she was sat.
Turning to the door, she, in fact, noticed one of her mother’s head guards as he opened the door. However, he seemed to have something for her, as she quickly noticed the piece of paper in his hand before he began to speak.
“Princess Vasilissa, someone has requested to have your presence,” he said. At that, the soon-to-be Monarch perked up curiously. “Under the name Dysnomia. Young woman, black hair, cyan eyes, looked like she had a signet ring on, but wouldn’t give details of her reasons or her affiliations. Only that it was your decision, not ours, if you were to talk to her. As it stands, it is your choice whether you meet with her or not. She also gave this to pass on to you,” he explained, before kneeling down and handing Mesa the piece of paper he held.
Taking the paper from him, Mesa carefully opened the folded sheet, various thoughts running through her head as she began to read it over.
Dear Young Lady Mesa Vasilissa,
I would just like to personally congratulate you on your announced Queenship. Your mother was a fine ruler, and her father before her, and I am sure that you will carry on this tradition. However, I would like to give you some.. proper guidance, something that neither your mother nor your advisers can.
If you wish to hear me out, tell your guards that you will schedule a meeting. The terms will be yours, as it’s not in my right to demand anything from the Young Princess and Queen-to-be. It’s simply an offer, and on your grounds we can meet.
May your reign be long and prosperous,
-Dysnomia, Member of The Lunar Signs
The bottom of the letter below the name was marked by a fine symbol painted on, of a half-moon half-sun that she could only assume was the emblem of "The Lunar Signs."
Mesa tilted her head, re-reading the letter for some time. She wondered what all this was, and what might become of it if she accepted. What was this strange symbol painted on the letter, and who were The Lunar Signs? Looking back to the guard, she sat silent, contemplating, for a moment before confirming her decision. “I’ll schedule a meeting with this woman, then. Two days after my coronation, as soon as the moon rises, at the Dreamspeaker’s Garden,” she said. “Dreamspeaker’s Garden as the moon rises will give me enough time to chat with her, and the guards will be able to keep their normal routes while still being able to watch over me. Correct?” With that, the guard nodded and went to pass on the information to this mysterious “Dysnomia.”
Meanwhile, Mesa sat down at her bedside with the letter, her gaze fixated on this strange symbol. She had no real context to who these “The Lunar Signs” were, or if she should even know about them. What kind of organization were they? Were they even a proper organization, or were they just a group of citizens, hoping that by contacting the soon-to-be Queen they’d get some official recognition?
As her gaze began to wander away from the symbol and over to the stars once more, she began to consider asking her mother about all this. Already her reign was beginning to feel like a burden on her, and she hadn’t even taken the crown yet. She wouldn’t be able to ask her mother about everything, though, so she also began to debate against this. She wanted to be her own Queen, an independant from those who reigned before her, a break from the mold of royalty.
A deep breath and a sudden overwhelming wave of tiredness soon came over the young princess, soon to be Queen, a title she wasn’t sure she was ready for but she would have to acknowledge. Everything seemed to be going so fast for her, and the more she thought about it, the more sleep began to sound like the best thing in the world.
Undressing and slipping into her nightclothes, Mesa laid down on her bed and flicked the lamp at her bedside off, allowing the moonlight to shine undiluted across the room. With her body resting on its side, her eyes settled on watching the stars out, her thoughts beginning to relax until she eventually drifted to sleep.