Louise

  Early in the morning, Louise argued with one of the priests. They all sat together in their small, beautiful hall to ask the gods for their promises. Everyone sat on a fine cushion and called for the words of the sand gods. The walls were white, but the ceiling of the hall was painted like a sky. Louise, as so often, saw only scraps of pictures. Frustrated, she shook her head. One of the boys her age looked over at her. He grinned and asked her if her eternal failure was perhaps due to Lou. Wouldn't it be better if she went home and never came back?

  Louise would have liked to sp him in the face.

  And to make matters worse, he mentioned the old legend that her parents never wanted to tell her. Neither her nor Lou. But when Louise entered the temple as a disciple, she heard this:

  The old story was about a young woman with white spots on her face. She brought misfortune upon her people whenever she smiled. At the end of the story, she voluntarily sacrifices her life to the gods to spare her people another curse.

  It was a gruesome legend.

  And this legend was the reason for Lou's misery. He was born with white spots. And when the priests were asked to ask the gods about its spots, the fear came true. The family was informed that another cursed one had been born. Why, however, was unclear. A test of the gods?

  Louise understood why her parents hardly wanted to say a word about this legend. And yet, when the boy suggested that she ask her brother to end his life, as in the legend, she wanted to punch him. It made her all the more angry because she knew that one of the priests at the time suggested to her parents that they kill the child immediately. But since Lou's white spots were considered an unclear test, this priest was reprimanded by his colleagues. Louise had heard some old priests talk about the incident. Her parents never said a word about it.

  Now she knew that Lou's white was nothing more than a coincidence. There was no curse. And the legend was just a fairy tale.

  Lou must never hear this legend.

  And until now, the gods hadn't told them how to deal with Lou's curse. Of course, they didn't. No matter how many times the priests asked. There was no curse! It's silly. The Wise aren’t wise, the priests are fools... They are superstitious. All of them! If there's one thing the gods want, it's Lou's happiness. If only they would tell me this... Or one of the other priests. Would he pass it on? Would they believe me?

  Did someone lie in the past?

  For what?

  Louise had become skeptical. Skeptical of everything she knew and believed. Did the gods of the sand exist? Were the images she saw truly the words of the gods? Today she had seen a princess with gray eyes and long brown hair. She was walking through a forest. Hand in hand with an elf. His green-blue dragonfly wings shimmered in the sunlight. Their clothes looked unusual. Presumably a picture of a distant future. What were the gods trying to tell her? In another vision, she saw a queen dressed in a foreign gown. The queen stood in the middle of a burning castle. Images of a distant future. That's all she saw.

  Sighing, she came back from her current duties. The afternoon sun burned unmercifully. She had been sweeping and cleaning. Her clothes stuck to her skin. She was tired. Calling for the pictures was very exhausting for a weak witch like her. Louise wanted to see pictures of her family, so she asked for them, but the gods showed her a queen. And a princess with her boyfriend.

  Sighing, she brushed a strand of hair out of her face. She desperately needed a bath. But while she was still thinking about going to the baths, she spotted a figure hiding behind a palm tree and waving at her. Narcisse.

  The dragon was dressed all in bck and grinned broadly. His sharp, pointed teeth sparkled in the sunlight. Narcisse was very good-looking. But also very conceited. Today he wore his hair pinned up. A golden hairpin held the hairstyle together. All illusion. Part of his magic.

  Smiling, but also a little nervous, Louise went to him. "Can I help you?"

  "I snuck in!" He winked at her again.

  "I can see that." In fact, dragons were not allowed to enter the temple without their riders. Unless they have been invited. A safety measure, since white dragons, as friendly as they seemed, were still dragons. An enraged dragon was able to destroy the temple in a matter of seconds. And they listened only to their riders. "What gives us the honor?" She looked around nervously. But no one seemed to be in that area of the temple. Just her and the dragon. They are so scary... Is Lou okay? Isn't he afraid?

  "Do you want to see Lou? If so, I can secretly take you to our mountains!", whispered Narcisse. "You could meet him. Lou wants to see you."

  "He wants to?" When she st saw him, he wanted to send her away. "How is he?"

  Narcisse shook his head. "I've rarely seen anyone so fragile. He cries and screams a lot. I've never experienced that before. But don't worry, he's safe with us."

  Louise nodded. "He's been through a lot. I'm worried."

  "We all are. Well if you want to see him! I'll get you to him tomorrow. In the afternoon. Lou will be pleased."

  "Thank you."

  "That's what friends are for, dear!"

  Louise didn't notice that two priestesses had discovered her and Narcisse. The dragon didn't care about the women. But Louise would have an unpleasant experience shortly afterward. While Louise was still going to her room to pick out fresh clothes, the women told the others about their discovery: Louise had a boyfriend. They hadn't been able to see Narcisse clearly, as he was standing with his back to them. But now they thought Louise had secretly met with an admirer.

  When Louise went to the spring a little ter, the first suspicious gnces met her.

  Harper

  Lou sighed in his sleep. I stroked his soft hair.

  Mom had washed his hair again today. With a scented soap that Renan brought over after she asked for it. Lou seemed to like the scent. He never smiled, but whenever he liked something, his pale cheeks reddened.

  Lou often didn't know what he liked and what he didn't. But for us, it was easy to see. The colors blue and red, for example. He liked them. Yellow, on the other hand, was less to his liking.

  In his sleep, he hugged the diamond I had given him. Max called this an engagement gift. She teased me about it all the time. Engagement gift! It was a gesture of love! And a gift out of spite. These Wise Men wanted to exploit us. And Lou, whom they made suffer for silly reasons? He should have one. And the Wise DON'T! HA!

  Lou grabbed my hand and pulled it into his embrace as well. The gesture was so innocent and sweet that my siblings squealed in the background. They almost woke Lou up. But I couldn't bme them. He was cute.

  I looked at his delicate wrists. Has he gotten thinner? This isn’t good. Lou was still struggling to eat enough. What do you like best, Vivi? Do you only like figs? I will ask Renan, Basil, or Narcisse to bring various treats from you humens. Lou should like some of it.

  sasi