prologue
“Well that can’t be right!”
The girl looked down in confusion, wondering what had happened. The tattoo had appeared, the compass was there, but there was something seriously wrong.
It was spinning. Like a fan, it kept going around and around and around, not stopping in any direction.
“What’s wrong with Mittens’s compass?”
“Yeah, why isn’t it pointing?”
“I think it’s time for you two to go clean your room.” Their mother said sternly, and led them out of the room. She turned back to the young girl.
“We will fix this. No child of mine will have an irregular compass,” she said, almost talking to herself.
“We don’t have time, Odalia. She has to go to school”
“Our daughter will not make a fool of our name, Alador!”
“Mom, I-“
“Be quiet, child!” Odalia said, slamming her hands on the table. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “You’re wearing the extra long tunic to school today.”
“Odalia, it’s the middle of the summer, she can’t-“
“Are you seriously questioning me right now, Alador?” She whisper-yelled. She grabbed her daughter by the wrist. “Go get changed. NOW!”
“But what about my pre-“
“Are you seriously still worried about your gifts? Are you an idiot, Amity?” Odalia yelled. Amity’s eyes welled with tears, and her mom sighed.
“Great, now I’m the bad guy.”
Amity sighed, and made her way up the stairs. It was going to be a long day.
——-
“What do you mean it appeared out of nowhere, mija?”
Luz looked at her mother pleadingly. “I mean I woke up and it was just. There! And it’s spinning in circles!”
“Luz, it’s not spinning.”
“But-“ Luz looked down in exhaustion. Why couldn’t her mother see the arrow of the compass, which was literally spinning in circles?
“No buts! You are in big trouble, young lady. Go to your room.”
Luz stomped up the stairs. How was this her fault?
She had woken up this morning as she usually does, getting ready for the day, excited to open her presents. When she had been brushing her teeth, she noticed a fleck of black on her skin. She turned her arm to look, and sure enough, a compass tattoo was stamped onto her skin. What was weirder was the needle, which was spinning rapidly in circles.
The girl flopped on her bed. Why was this happening to her? What was this compass, and why did it feel so… important?