Page 1 of Princess Takes Academy
rincess Takes Unicorns Prequel
1
XOCHITL
Age Four - After Queen Takes Queen
“Wake, child,” a woman whispered. “I have something to show you.”
I sat up, rubbing my eyes. She sounded so familiar, but when I looked at her face, I didn’t know her. Fear squeezed my throat and I cowered back against my pillows, hugging myself. How did she get inside the nest? A stranger? “Who are you?”
My arms still had light, white scratches from the giant bird’s talons. Mama frowned every time she saw them, because we were supposed to heal really fast. The scratches hadn’t been that deep, but they had still left scars.
Something told me if this woman scratched me…
I wouldn’t see Mama ever again.
The stranger had long shiny black hair, and her eyes made my chest feel like I couldn’t breathe. Her eyes saw everything. It felt like she unzipped my stomach and rummaged around inside, looking for something she’d lost.
“My name is Isis.” Her voice was so gentle despite her eyes. “Do you know me?”
I hadn’t heard of Isis, until our queen came and made Mama her sib. Isis was Queen Shara’s goddess, like Coatlicue was mine, Mama’s, and Grandmama’s.
A goddess. Sitting on the edge of my bed. Talking to me like I was her friend. I gulped and nodded. “You’re our pretty queen’s goddess.”
She smiled. “Yes, Shara’s very pretty, but so are you. You’re also as brave as she is, did you know that? You escaped the sun god.”
I looked away, tears burning my eyes. I hadn’t felt very brave when the giant bird had swooped down out of the sky and carried me away. I sniffed and wiped my nose. “He killed Esperanza. He almost ate me. I wasn’t brave. I cried a lot.”
“Crying doesn’t mean you weren’t brave.”
“I was scared,” I whispered, shivering.
“It’s okay to be scared, too. You were still very brave. You still fought. That’s all that matters. You didn’t give up. That’s why I thought you might be able to help me.”
I dared a quick look back into Her eyes. “Me? Help you?”
“Yes, if you’re willing. May I show you something?”
I nodded, and She held her hand out. I took it and before I could slide out of bed, we were standing outside in front of the huge tree Shara had grown. I’d never seen anything like it before. It was so tall and wide it looked old, even older than Grandmama, but the queen had grown it from nothing in a single night. Mama hadn’t let me stay to watch, but I heard the whispers.
Shara had grown the tree from blood. Lots of blood. A queen’s sacrifice.
Someday, I would be queen. I’d need to be able to make sacrifices like that, too. I didn’t know if I could do it. Thinking about it made my tummy feel like I’d eaten too much cake.
I probably had eaten too many sweets. Sarah had been making cake every day because I was sure that cake would make my unicorns come to me quicker. Papa had said so.
“I’m going to show you a secret.” Isis smiled at me. “Ready?”
She stepped into the deep, dark crack inside the tree. She didn’t pull me in after Her, but paused, looking back at me and letting me decide if I wanted to follow.
The hole was yucky. There might be spiders. I hated spiders. Uncle Itztli hated spiders, too.
But I didn’t want to let a goddess down. I wanted to be brave. Like Shara. Like Her.
“We’ll only be gone a few minutes,” Isis said. “I promise to see you home safely and back in your bed by morning.”
I took a deep breath and stepped into the dark hole with Her. She held my hand firmly, which helped, though Her hand didn’t feel right against mine. I couldn’t figure out what it was that made Her different.
