Piled high on either sides of the entrance to the Temple of Time were gifts: clocks, watches, cakes, trinkets made by hand and toys bought from the store. The sun was high in the sky, cicadas buzzing in a tune that sounded like summer. The people of the village were bustling about, getting ready for the Moon Festival that would be taking place later in the day until early the next morning.
Sitting inside of the temple, on a chair made of melted down time keepers, was a young girl with silky pink hair and eyes to match. Her dress was a simple white frock with a pink ribbon going under the bust and her shoes were plain white flats. The young one's eyes were closed, her expression one that could have been mistaken for relaxation.
Gentle rays of light lapped at the stained glass windows depicting a girl in the center of a million gears. Colorful fractals of the sun's rays mottled the marble floor, swirling in graceful patterns that the Keeper's Assistant would have found beautiful had she not been so worried about her Mistress's expression. What was the girl seeing? What part of history was she in?
It was nighttime, the light of the moon lapsed every so gently against the water. The Keeper of Time was wearing her favorite pink gown with lots of ruffles and ribbons that the Queen had given her for her fifth birthday. The child was only six years old and was standing with her birth parents at the waters edge, she explained to them how she could see everything from the moment the earth was created to the end of it all.
"You're a freak," the child stopped short. She had never been called a freak before; powerful and knowing yes, but a freak? No one dared utter that word at a Keeper. Her birth father stood up, taking his wife's hand. "You're a freak," the child's mother echoed. The two stood up and slowly backed away towards the edge of the beach.
"Wait!" The girl called after them, running towards them, desperately wanting the love of the only people she really cared about. "We absolve our parental responsibilities," they got into a car and drove off, leaving the girl there alone. She sunk to her knees, shaking, her tears soaking into the beautiful cotton of the pink dress.
A hand was placed on her shoulder, she was taken into the warm embrace of the Queen. "There, there, your parents are fools to think that you are anything but wonderful."
"Ma'am," that wasn't right. Whose voice was that?
"Ma'am!" There it was again, that odd squeal like a child whining for attention. "Reyna!" The Keeper of Time's eyes snapped open at the sound of her name. She had warned her assistant never to disturb her when she was within the folds of history and yet here the noisy girl was, her expression worried, hand still on Reyna's shoulder.
"What is it Kotoko?" Reyna stood up and smoothed down the folds in her gown. "The car to take you to the Capitol is here." Kotoko said nervously and handed Reyna her jacket. "Thank you," Reyna took her jacket from her assistant and walked to the doors that led to the main room. She swung open the grand French style apertures and stepped out into the hallway where several people were milling about, leaving offerings and gazing at the beautiful collection of clocks Reyna was forced to maintain.
"There she is!" A child shouted and Reyna winced as the little girl ran up to her, "have a good evening Ms. Reyna," the child bowed respectively, the large bell sleeves on her robe reaching the floor. Reyna bowed in return, "you as well Wren." One great thing about being the Keeper of Time was never having to ask anyone's names.
The ride was long from the Village of Time to the capitol. It was covered in beautiful greenery along with stretches of odd barns and lands filled with animals. When Reyna finally stepped out of the car, she was so tired from watching grass turn to buildings that a yawn escaped her cherry red lips.
"Good evening Ms. Reyna," a man greeted her with a bow. He was already in his robes as well, "I will be your assistant for your time in the capitol. My name is-"
"John, you're a foreigner aren't you?" He stood and smiled with a nod of his head, clearly impressed that the stories were true. With one look, Reyna could see your whole history. Other Keepers could do things like that too, like the Keeper of Nature could tell how many bugs you've squished in your lifetime, or the Keeper of Darkness would be able to tell if you feared the dark.
"Right this way please," Reyna followed him into the building. She wouldn't see any of the Keepers until the Festival began, but until then there was so much prep that Reyna wouldn't have had time to say hello if she wanted to. "Are you ready?" John asked looking a bit uncertain, he was obviously new at this. "Yes," Reyna nodded her head and stepped into the room that would be hers until the end of the Moon Festival.
"Let the preparations begin."
Elias had been driving all morning and had dozed off in the car, drool pooling onto the hand that was leaning against his face. A bump in the road caused Elias to hit his head on the top of the vehicle and a straggled cry escaped the boys already parted lips. "Sorry Sir!" The driver profusely apologized, but Elias waved the words away, it was an accident, nothing the driver could control.
The boy rubbed the saliva on his jacket before touching his eyes with the heel of his hands to wipe away the last traces of sleep. His heart fluttered at the thought of some of the beautiful things he was going to see, buildings, the Tree, even other Keepers. There was one in particular that Elias had always loved but was too much of a coward to say anything. She was possibly the most beautiful thing his eyes had ever lay on, but Elias would never tell her that for he was scared of rejection.
Then suddenly, the car pulled into a marble entryway beyond large golden gates. His heart fluttered once more at the realization that he was so close to her and yet so far away still, there were the hours of dotting on and prep before he could actually see any of the people he considered his friends. Elias had always thought of it as some kind of perverse torture, but no one else seemed to agree with him and so the ritual of getting ready for hours and being pampered on by the King and Queen continued despite his hate for it.
The moment his foot touched the steps that led into the palace, an Assistant came stumbling down the stairs to his aid. "My name is Kalani and I will be your assistant today," she breathed, a bit overweight but cute with sparkling green eyes. "You're dehydrated," he stated and continued his walk up the stairs. Kalani seemed a bit flustered, but said nothing as she followed him, then took the lead at the door and led Elias upstairs. He caught a glimpse of pink hair wearing a towel and heading towards the bath house. A smile crept onto his lips, the first thing all Keepers did when they came to the palace was bathe. They had no regard for separate gender bathing in the capitol and it was one of Elias's favorite times. It was probably the only time he ever got to see a naked girl.
"Shut up you pervert," he whispered to himself, causing Kalani to turn around. "Excuse me sir?" She asked, puzzled. Kalani had been taking out the towels. "No, it's fine; I was just talking to myself," he began pulling off his wine colored shirt, Elias's muscular form now visible. The blush on Kalani's face came through full force, or maybe that was just the dehydration the assistant was experiencing. He took the towel from her and headed to the bath house, hoping that she would be there as well.