Cosette lived a privileged life.

  At least, that’s what she was told. She was told that she was the child closest to god. The one that would rise above the rest of Lune and become the true representation of divinity. The one that would lead Lune with her pure smile and connection to the world.

  Everything was to lead up to the moment she became an adult. That was when she could receive her divine birthright. Until then, she just needed to prepare.

  Cosette’s mother and father were harsh. They knew that if this was the girl that was going to lead the city, the one that would have supreme authority over all by her very blood, then she was going to need to be perfect for it. There would need to be no mistakes, and no questions in her divine right to the top.

  So, they got to work early.

  Cosette learned many things in her starting years of life. It was at a forced, accelerated pace. She learned how to read, then write, then to present, then to deliver a grand speech all before she turned ten years old. She needed to prepare early, because skills took years to incubate. Thus, a perfect leader at an adult age would have all of these skills maximized since childhood.

  She was taught many complex concepts. Religion, institutions, economy, politics, and the world. She didn’t even know how she was able to understand them, but she was forced to. The more she knew, the more perfect she would be. As the child closest to God, it had to stand that she was the best.

  But, as the child closest to god, her existence was also a secret. Her birth wasn’t supposed to happen. It was called to be cancelled by the previous governor, but she was born anyway. In secret, with the nascent divine power that only her parents understood. If anyone else were to find out about her when she was so young, the political fallout would be immense.

  That is why she needed to be prepared in secret. The goal was eighteen years of training and preparation, until her blood would be proven to the world. Unfortunately for Cosette’s parents, there would only be ten.

  Cosette sat alone in her room. It was a room of many riches. Books, toys, and jewelry sprinkled about messily. A piece of paper sat on the desk across from her bed. A test made by her mother, with a failing grade plastered over it.

  Cosette didn’t want to fail. She truly didn’t. She just couldn’t think straight during the test. On that day, she heard the festival of the Moon taking place outside of her house. She heard the laughter, the cheers, and the excitement of people celebrating the man in the sky. It distracted her, and she couldn’t think.

  In her studies of politics, Cosette was taught that understanding people’s demands and wishes were some of the most valuable assets she could have as a leader. But, there was this aching desire inside her heart as she took that test.

  Who are these people? Why could she never see them?

  This wasn’t a new thought. It was something she had been thinking about for a very long time, but it was something she felt like she could never grasp the answer to. Because once she claimed her birthright, then she still wasn’t going to be one of those people.

  “Cosette.”

  The voice of her mother spoke out. The girl responded instantly, standing straight up out of her bed. However, her mind was not all there.

  “Yes, mom?”

  “We’re going to need to do something about your current work.”

  Cosette’s mother appeared at the door, grabbing Cosette’s hand and taking her down the stairs. The two of them walked down, leaving them with ample time to speak.

  “Your results aren’t up to standard. This test isn’t the first time I’ve had to grade you harshly. Our accelerated learning plan doesn’t work at this pace,” her mother spoke. “We’re going to need to make you faster.”

  “F…faster…?”

  Cosette didn’t fully comprehend what that implied. She already felt like she had to learn a lot, and didn’t understand how adding more information would help her.

  “Yes. If we fall behind, you won’t have the knowledge you need by your eighteenth birthday.”

  Cosette bit her tongue. She didn’t want to respond, because arguing was a pain. It’s not that she hadn’t tried before, but she never knew how to win. The two of them walked quietly to the dinner table, where some food had been made for them.

  Cosette’s father was at the table, reading a newspaper. The three of them sat down for dinner. It was a nice dinner. Her mother was a very good cook.

  “Dear. We’re going to need to both support Cosette. She’s been struggling. At this pace, she won’t be able to claim her divine right in any reasonable timeframe,” Cosette’s mother said.

  “I think first. We need to focus on her divine magic,” her father responded. “She’s ten years old and hasn’t even shown a sign. What kind of governor doesn’t have that?”

  “She has the most divine blood in the entire city, is that not enough?”

  “Blood only gets you so far, Florence. You need the authority to back it up too, and power is the best authority.”

  “The power is in the mind. That’s why she needs to be taught as much as possible. You don’t understand, Payne. A truly capable leader is a smart one.”

  “No, you don’t understand. This is a city of divinity. Just smarts won’t get you anywhere. The blood that she is fostered with is what matters! You’re always so irrational!”

  Cosette hated listening to this. Her parents constantly arguing over what to do with her, it made her sick. She didn’t know how to fix it. She was told she had divine blood, but she never showed off her magic. Maybe she could impress her mother, but what about her father too? And her mother wasn’t happy with her performance right now.

  Regardless. This wasn’t the first argument, but she couldn’t eat under these conditions. So, she tried to stop it, just for a moment.

  “Mom… Dad…” Cosette asked. “Tomorrow is the last day of the festival. Do you think we could go do something together?”

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  That question stopped the argument. Both of her parents looked at her. However, the question did not solve the problem.

  Her mother walked over, with a blank look in her eyes. With a swift move of her hand, a slap reverberated across the room. Across Cosette’s cheek.

  The room was filled with silence. The girl was trying to process what happened to her. A stinging pain rang across her cheek, as she looked back at her mother, her hand raised.

  “Cosette. You do realize that we can’t waste time, yes? If you simply performed better than we wouldn’t be having this argument in the first place. My plan isn’t wrong, it’s just your father can’t see it because you haven’t been producing results.”

  Cosette didn’t respond. Remaining quiet, the girl felt water welling up in her eyes. Her father began to speak.

  “Maybe it’s not producing results because it’s a bad strategy? This nonsense about the mind is only making her magic dwindle. We need to have priorities, and yours are clearly all messed up!”

  “It should be working, she’s just not responsive to it. And you aren’t either. I can’t believe the both of you!”

  “Me? I’m wrong for being right? Of course, it’s always with you.”

  “When that miscarriage almost happened. When that miracle of god saved us, who was the one who bore that pain? Me, not you! I know how to nurse my own daughter!”

  “She’s my daughter as well! Is God’s intervention not proof that we should focus on her latent magic?”

  Her parents kept on arguing. They argued, and argued, and argued. Cosette’s mind began to tune them out. Filtering out everything they said… except for what they said about her. They kept on talking about her.

  “Cosette’s not trying hard enough! Maybe the noise of the festival is distracting her, and we need to move to a quieter area!”

  “She’s trying on the wrong things. Perhaps she’s weak there because her power is in her magic, and you don’t understand that!”

  Soon, Cosette stopped hearing full sentences. She could only hear words.

  “Cosette… divine… magic… failure…”

  “Weak… distracted… lazy… girl…”

  “Deprived… useless… future…”

  “Cosette…”

  “Cosette…”

  “What… happening…”

  “Wrong… what’s…”

  “Cosette!”

  Cosette suddenly saw the moon again. There was no house, there was no table, and there was no roof. Only the moon shining down on her.

  “Mom…? Dad…?”

  She couldn’t see them anywhere. Around her was… rubble. Pieces of wood, furniture, and stone scattered around. Her entire house was reduced to nothing. Her parents were nowhere to be found.

  “What… what happened?”

  The strangest thing she saw around her were crystals. Lots of beautiful, glowing crystals. They glistened in the moonlight, stabbing through the remains of her walls, furniture, and debris. She felt something in her body, a kind of energy that she had never felt before this point.

  And from the crystals, she felt this very same energy. The same energy that flowed through her blood. Was this… her magic? Did she do this?

  What happened to her mother? Her father? The house? How did she do this? She was struggling to learn magic earlier, and now…

  Cosette heard footsteps coming over. What happened must have caused a ruckus, and she was at the center. She couldn’t be here. Not here, not anymore. She hoped her mom and dad were okay, but regardless, she needed to leave now.

  Her desire to leave… it flowed through her body once more. Out of her back, two majestic wings sprouted from them. They glowed pink, and were filled with divine energy. She didn’t know how they got there… but she knew why they were there. They flapped, taking her off the ground, before she flew off.

  She flew off to never be seen in this city again.

  “Cozy…”

  Adelyn’s voice cut through the air, as Cozy finished her story. The girl looked back at her friends. She did not know how they would react, or what they would say.

  “So, you’ve been on your own since then?” Ed asked.

  “Yes. I knew I needed to do something… so for two years I drifted about. I hated my own powers… what I was born with. I needed… a different thing to fight for. I tried learning some magic… Love Magic in particular. It didn’t fulfill me. What would fulfill me, that I would be good at?”

  “Merchanting…” Teddie said.

  “Yeah. I thought that would be the best. I had all of this knowledge on money… speaking lessons… negotiations… and I talked to a few people. Some of them were slimy, some of them were nice, but they were all working for one thing… themselves,” Cozy said. “So, that’s what I thought I would do. I would become the best, strongest merchant in the world, by my own hands.”

  Cozy shook her head a little bit, before sighing. She looked at the group. Her friends.

  “When I first saw you three in that shop. I figured I could take advantage of your journey… and tag along for the ride for that goal. I could use you. I’m… I’m sorry. For ever seeing you in that way.”

  Cozy had never admitted that. She didn’t want to, because she was worried that it would hurt them. She would lose their support, and go back to being alone.

  “Cozy,” Adelyn said. The girl stepped off the porch and began walking to her. “Think about what you’ve done now. You said… you trusted us. If you saw us like that, would you still say it?”

  “Yeah. I think you’re lying to yourself a bit there,” Ed nodded. He followed Adelyn down from the porch. “Maybe you were lying about lying, but it doesn’t matter anymore.”

  Lastly, Teddie followed them down. “You’re Cozy. You’re our friend. That’s how I see you, that’s how Adelyn sees you, and that’s how Ed sees you…”

  The three of them walked up to Cozy. And then, all at once… they gave the girl a group hug. All three of their arms wrapped around her.

  “““That’s not gonna change!”””

  Cozy paused as this happened. It felt… nice. She thought that maybe they would pity her for her birth. She thought that they might try to accommodate to make her feel better. But this was nicer than anything that she could’ve imagined.

  Cozy closed her eyes, and smiled. The hug felt like it lasted forever, but it eventually came to a close. The four of them stood, all with smiles on their faces.

  “We’re gonna get our divinity together, and nothing’s gonna stop us,” Adelyn said. “Whatever challenge is going to get in our way, we’re going to win!”

  Everyone nodded, before they turned to Midnas. The god had been silently watching this entire time, with his own satisfied expression.

  “I’m glad to see you again, Cosette,” Midnas said. “It warms my heart.”

  “So,” Cozy said, pointing at the god. “What are we gonna need to do to get our divinity, Midnas?”

  “You already have it, my dear. It’s the other three. You could sit out of my test if you wished to.”

  “Not a chance. Throw it at us already, no more waiting!”

  “Very well.”

  Midnas raised his arms, and the crystals around the moon began to morph together. The ground began to rise into the air, as a torrent of rocks began to form. They stacked together, forming arms, then legs, then a face. Crystals protruded outwards, as a massive moon statue began to form.

  “The first test is a test of your will. You all are merely projecting here, but that doesn’t stop you from fighting,” Midnas explained. With another flick of his finger, Adelyn’s chainsaw and books were summoned into her hand. “And you will show me what your mind is truly built for.”

  “So it’s a fight?” Ed said, summoning a blade. “That’s easy. We’ve been fighting all the time! This is gonna be a piece of cake!”

  “It’s nothing that we aren’t used to. Just like we’ve done every time,” Adelyn said. “Are you guys ready?”

  “More ready than ever,” Cozy said. “Let’s do this, guys.”