Beautiful, Beautiful

Born of Beauty

Petunias, oleander, and daisies. These were the items carefully plucked from budding stems that, when mixed together, created a cure for the heat sickness, a common illness which affected those who slaved all day in the sweltering sun to make a living. Most of the poorer areas of the kingdom, the villages on the outskirts beyond the King's concerns, suffered the most.

The affects of heat sickness caused the body to overheat and form blisters on the skin. It also caused heightened dizziness and nausea for days. However, three tablespoons of potion, twice a day, for one day, ridded the body of the disease. The recipe was one of Sun's favorite to make, because it smelled like her mother's essence.

Unfortunately, Sun's mother, Asha had passed away when she was at the delicate age of thirteen. In desperate need of her mother, and left all alone, Sun spent her adolescent years very lonely, thinking about her mother's death. Asha had been sickened and defeated on her death bed, moments before passing on...

"There is no cure for a broken heart. And I, with all of my skill, couldn't even create a potion for it," Asha once told Sun through coughs and a bleeding nose. Asha extended a shaking hand, gently touching Sun's soft, rosy cheeks. "Make sure you pick the right man. Make sure..." Heavy coughs erupted from her throat, sending a rage of blood onto the bedsheets.

"Mother, please don't speak," Sun begged, reaching for a damp rag to dab at the splattered mess, even though she knew it would stain the cotton bedding even more. She couldn't meet her mother's eyes in fear of what lay there: impending death. For the life of her, Sun couldn't figure out how to cure her mother's mysterious sickness.

She wasn't gifted in potions and healing, no matter how many times she practiced with her mother. Sun could barely follow the simple recipes Asha had left her in a leather handbook, tucked away in the kitchen cupboards. For all of the soul gifts that existed, Sun wished for her mother's gift, even over her own.

In the kingdom of Noch, every person was born with a soul gift, a special ability or heightened sixth sense that grew stronger as they aged. Some were born with astounding strength, others, intelligence. There were also those who weren't as fortunate and where born with simple gifts, such as cleanliness or thoughtfulness. Sadly for them, the greater the gift, the greater one's own stature was within the kingdom.

A man born from a family with a lower ranked gift could become a highly ranked knight, due to his cleverness, which was cherished in battle. A lowly maiden could find herself courting a duke because of her gift of grace. A man born from a royal bloodline could be disowned by his family because he was born with the gift of agriculture. There was no rhyme or rhythm, no patterns or predictability when it came to who received what gift. It was as if each one fell from the sky at random and was granted to whichever newborn child was available.

It was clear as day, that the moment Sun was born, her gift would be glorious. She remembered her mother and father telling her stories about how she came into the world full of light and glory. Her mother had taken one look at her and said, "I'll name her Sun. Her beauty is enough to make each ray of light envious."

Asha's healing gift wasn't considered extraordinary, as there were other, more powerful healers that already worked for the King. Instead, she went around her small village, offering aid to those in need, making very little money in return. Although Asha didn't have much, she felt rich the day she fell in love with Sun's father, Coldwin - a farmer she had met while curing him of heat sickness.

Amidst curing him, Asha had learned that Coldwin had the gift of agriculture, which made him suitable for her lowliness. When Coldwin had awaken from unconsciousness, he found Asha's dazzling blue eyes and also knew he had to have her, regardless of her gift. It was love at first sight.