• tab A tattoo here is a mark you get from the day you are born. A tattoo to us is our mark that we belong to this kingdom. As we get older, we get more and more tattoos. They mark us. Our people mark us. We are bound to our people and our duty.
    tab My people haven’t really done that for centuries. Some families still keep that tradition. And my family is one of them.

    tab My name is Miles Dreamer and I lived in the same home my family has for nearly three thousand years. I’m seventeen years old and a junior in high school.
    tab Like I said before, my family has been living in the same home for three thousand years. The house has been rebuilt several times and so has the neighborhood. It used to be a huge village. But as my people died out…so did our town. It soon became a small area. Very few families were left to keep on the tradition.
    tab “Miles.” Came a sweet voice.
    tab The sweet voice belonged to that of my little sister, Luna. Luna was nine years of age and the sweetest little girl on earth. She had the most beautiful raven black hair and ice blue eyes, like my father and me. She didn’t carry on our family tradition. To tell the truth, she doesn’t know of our tradition.
    tab Ever since my father remarried, he decided to keep our tradition between himself and me. My step-mom, Nora, tried to convince me that I should get them removed because they were ‘unattractive’. Of course I kept them. But she did the same to my father, now he doesn’t have his anymore.
    tab My tattoos were hot pink spikes covering my body entirely. Well, not entirely. They were in a nice pattern actually. But tattoos were on my face, my arms, my back, my chest, my legs…everywhere.
    tab “Luna. Hello.” I said. “Is there something you need?”
    tab “Mum told me to get you.” Luna replied. “It’s time for supper.”
    tab I stood up from my desk and walked to where Luna stood. I put my hand on her shoulder length hair and grinned.
    tab “Alright.” I said. “C’mon.”
    tab I picked Luna up and put her on my back. She put her arms around my neck and gripped the front of my blue cotton T-shirt. Luna always liked it when I carried her on my back. She liked it more when we went to the store and I’d run with her on my back. She always said she felt like flying.
    tab “Hey Miles!” she chirped. “Mum said that I can get my ears pierced this weekend. I was wondering, will you take me?”
    tab “Sure thing.” I told her.
    tab I could never resist her. She was so sweet and kind to me. Even though she didn’t know about our tradition or was part of it, I, along with my friends, treated her like she did.
    tab We made our way down the halls and the stairway. We came to the foyer of the house then turned to the left to go into the dining room.
    tab “Here she is!” I sang. “Princess of the Moon, Luna!” I made a weird sound with my mouth that sounded like a trumpet. I set Luna in her chair and made a bow. “Your Majesty.”
    tab Luna giggled. She always liked it when I treated her like a princess. I looked over at my other sister, Kristy, to see her clapping and laughing. She was four years old and she had red hair like Nora. But she got the ice blue eyes from my father.
    tab “Miles.” Nora said softly as she shook her head.
    tab Though she didn’t like my tattoos, she loved it when I played with the girls. She said that was helpful, especially since she was pregnant. Yes. I was going to have another half sibling. After the readings, we found out she was going to be a girl. Oh goody.
    tab I chuckled and took my seat at the head of the table. My father wasn’t around due to work so I sat there. I was the man of the house until he returned.
    tab “So Miles, how was school?” Nora asked as she brought the plates in.
    tab “It was okay.” I said as I got up to help her.
    tab I took the plates from Nora. People normally made it seem like step-moms are evil and wicked. Not mine. She was kind, sweet, and the best cook around. Okay, she wasn’t the best. But her cooking was still edible.
    tab “I heard that you’re letting Luna get her ears pierced.” I said after setting all the plates down.
    tab “Yes, I am.” Nora said. “Will you take her this weekend? I’m a bit busy and need to go to Kristy’s ballet practice.”
    tab “Sure.” I said. “Can I get my ears pierced too?”
    tab I was somewhat joking. But I was also serious. I’ve always wanted my ears pierced but we never had time to go.
    tab Nora let out a little laugh. She sat down in her seat slowly and looked at me.
    tab “Okay.” She said. “I’ll send extra money.”
    tab “Great.” I cheered.
    tab After dinner, I spread myself across the floor. I did this almost every night. Nora played the piano softly while Luna and Kristy played with my hair or used make up on my face. Kristy was sitting on my back brushing my hair through. She liked doing that. She wanted to be a beautician when she grew up.
    tab Luna got some of her play make up and applied that to my face. I couldn’t help but laugh here and there. And when she showed me the mirror, I always let my face fall to the dark carpet to muffle my loud laughter.
    tab After that little family time, it was that time to get the girls ready for bed. Since Kristy was so young, I gave her her bath. After that, I got her into her pajamas while Luna took her bath. After all of that was done, I would sit in the rocking chair in the middle of their room. I would always read the girls a story for bed.
    tab “Hm…what should we read tonight?” I asked as I looked at the shelf.
    tab “Can you read the story of King Arthur?” Kristy asked as she cuddled up in her quilt.
    tab “Yeah!” Luna cheered as she climbed into the top bunk of the bed.
    tab “That story? I read that last night.” I said. “Oh okay.”
    tab I sat in the rocking chair and read until the end of the story. I looked up and saw both girls asleep and knew it was safe to leave the room. I walked down the hall and looked in Nora’s room. She was fast asleep. Being pregnant must’ve been exhausting.
    tab I made my way to my room and soon enough fell asleep. I woke up to my alarm as I do every morning. I got myself dressed and went down the stairs to do my chores: laundry and cooking. It was Saturday.
    tab I had to get Luna ready for town and Kristy ready for ballet practice. I went down stairs and set the kitchen table with cereal, milk, spoons, and bowls. After that, I went up to wake the girls up.
    tab “Kristy! Luna!” I chirped in the doorway of their room. “Wake up. It’s Saturday.”
    tab After I knew they were awake, I went to Nora’s room. I opened the door and peered in.
    tab “Nora?” I asked. “Nora, it’s time to wake up.”
    tab “Good morning, Miles.” Nora said as she slowly sat up.
    tab “Tired?”
    tab “Your new baby sister kept me up all night.”
    tab I walked over and kneeled down by the bed. I looked Nora’s stomach and rubbed it a bit.
    tab “Hey kiddo, you keeping your mama up all night?” I asked the unborn child. “Now that’s not nice.”
    tab Nora laughed. She thought it was funny how I talked to the unborn infant.
    tab “Any day now.” Nora said. “Any day, you’ll have another sister.”
    tab I laughed. I didn’t mind having another sibling, but couldn’t she have a boy? God must’ve been telling me something: screw you.
    tab I left the room for a few minutes so Nora could get dressed. When she was done, I helped her down the stairs. She always had trouble with the stairs due to carrying that weight on her stomach.
    tab “Miles! Miles!” Luna sang. “I’m ready!”
    tab I laughed and grabbed my jacket. “So you are.” I said. “Go get your jacket and we’ll head out.”
    tab Luna ran off to get her jacket. She came back after a few minutes with it on and she ran for the door.
    tab “Hurry up!” she cried. “Come on!”
    tab “I’m coming.” I said. “Bye Kristy. Bye Nora.”
    tab “Bye-bye sissy! Bye Mum!” Luna called.
    tab “Bye dears.” Nora said.
    tab Kristy had a mouth full of cereal so she couldn’t say anything. But she did wave to us.
    tab Luna held my hand as we walked down the road. We passed my best friend’s house. She was sitting on the front porch then she saw us. She ran up and joined us.
    tab “Hey Lanky.” She said.
    tab That’s what she, and my other friends, called me. I was taller than most others. I was also very thin and slim. But I did have a lot of strength to help me swim.
    tab “Morning, Gwen.” I said.
    tab Gwen Sky was my best friend. Like my parents, her parents had a divorce. Both of our fathers were best friends and when her family moved back into our town, I met her. Gwen and I hung out a lot. We knew how each other felt.
    tab Gwen’s tattoos were green vines covering her body. She didn’t get more tattoos as often as I did but she did have a lot like me. The vines looked confusing, hard to follow, and very sexy. Her tattoos did stand out easily, and that’s what made them look good. Her cropped, dirty blonde hair and dark brown eyes made the green seem very bright. They became noticeable and seemed to glow on her sun kissed skin.
    tab Like me, Gwen and her family have tattoos. She had the same tradition I did. But unlike my family, or more like my father, her family never got their tattoos removed.
    tab Gwen was also very strong. She took after her own mother and knew how to beat up some guys, even the toughest guys on the wrestling team. And in school, Gwen was the first and only girl to join the boxing and wrestling team. And, sadly enough, she got suspended a few times for picking fights. But she isn’t all tough and mean; Gwen also does dance and band. And, though she sucks, Gwen is also part of the chess team.
    tab “Hiya Gwen!” Luna said as she gave her a hug.
    tab “Hey there kiddo.” Gwen said as she hugged her back. “What’s new?”
    tab “Miles and I are going to get our ears pierced.” Luna replied.
    tab Gwen laughed a bit. “Is that so?” she asked.
    tab Luna nodded and Gwen laughed a bit more. She thought it was funny that I was going to get my ears pierced. But she knew why I was also going. She knew I was going to get more tattoos.
    tab After walking a bit, we got to the place where people get tattoos and earrings/body jewelry. I signed in Luna and she got her ears pierced. I got signed in and I got my left cartilage pierced. I walked back up to the counter.
    tab “Yes?” the lady working there asked.
    tab “Yeah, I’d like to get a tattoo.” I said.
    tab “But you’re only seventeen.” She said, remembering when I signed in for a piercing for myself.
    tab “Yes but…”
    tab “You need to be eighteen.” She interrupted.
    tab “Jasmine.” Came a deep voice. “It’s alright. He already has special consent. Come on back, Miles.”
    tab I followed the broad man into the back room.
    tab “Hey, Cody.” I said as I slipped my shirt off and sat on the stool.
    tab Cody was a tattoo artist. He was also my sixth cousin’s uncle twice removed. He had blue spirals for his tattoos. There were many. Much more than the spikes that I had.
    tab “More tattoos, eh?” Cody asked. “Where at?”
    tab “Two for each ear and the rest of the way down my spine.” I replied.
    tab “Got it.”
    tab I felt the needle on my back. In our tradition, we use a very special ink. As we grow and such, it grows. We get a tattoo on the back of our necks on the day we are born. As we grow, the tattoo gets bigger the same way. Same for all of our tattoos we get as time goes by.
    tab After quite a while of time, I slipped my shirt back on. I jumped off of the stool and stretched.
    tab “Thanks Cody.” I said softly.
    tab I stepped out of the back room and into the main room where Luna and Gwen were. I saw the two and smiled. Gwen smiled back and Luna gave me a curious look. She didn’t know why I went to the back room.
    tab “Hey Miles,” Luna began to ask, “why’d you go back there?”
    tab I just smiled. I didn’t really want to tell her. If I told her why, she would start bugging me about why I got them. Why I got the tattoos. I couldn’t break my secret to her. Not after I promised my dad that I would keep it safe.
    tab “Just some business to take care of.” I said. “I had to go over a few things with Cody”
    tab Luna nodded in a cute way. She looked up at me and showed her little grin. I couldn’t help but want to smile. I showed her my smile then lifted her up into the air. I swung Luna around so she was now clinging to my back. I heard her shrill giggle of joy.
    tab I looked over to where Gwen was standing. She shook her head and chuckled. I knew her. Gwen thought it was funny and cute how I always play around with my sisters.
    tab “Hey Miles,” Luna started to ask me, “can we go to the park and play?”
    tab “I don’t see why not.” I said with joy, basically saying ‘yes’. “Hey Gwen, care to join us in a fun filled day?”
    tab Gwen and I shared a small laugh. We just liked to laugh now and then, even if there was no reason for the laugh.
    tab “Okay.” Gwen responded. “That sounds like fun. Race you there.”
    tab Gwen went running out of the door and I swore I heard Luna telling me that we couldn’t lose. I started off into a slow run until I was out of the store. Once I was on the sidewalk, I picked up the pace. I was now going fast, that was the way Luna liked it. I noticed Luna let go of my shirt and had her arms spread out like wings. Luna liked to do that. Like I stated before, she felt like she was flying.
    tab We had caught up to Gwen. It wasn’t that hard. I was still faster. I was better with swimming, but I was good with my running. I had soon passed Gwen with Luna still on my back. And in no time, we had reached the park.
    tab Soon enough, Gwen had caught up to us. She was wheezing, coughing, and laughing. She was having way too much fun. I could tell that much. But she was like us. She was having fun.
    tab “Okay, looks like you two won.” Gwen said as she tried to catch her breath.
    tab “Yep!” Luna cried out and by my ear, which hurt might I add. “We totally beat you!”
    tab I rubbed my ear. The loud cry of joy made it ring. It wasn’t the best feeling I’ve felt.
    tab “I’m sure you’ll do better next time.” I said, trying to lighten Gwen’s spirit.
    tab “Nah.” Gwen said as she put her hands up behind her head. “Hah! No one can beat you in swimming and track. Heck, you run the mile in about three minutes.”
    tab “You’re exaggerating.” I said with a laugh.
    tab “Nope.” Gwen said. “Remember? The gym teacher timed you for out mile run. He said you did the best…three minutes and twelve and a half seconds. Great timing.”
    tab I couldn’t help but chuckle at the truth. The truth, when it was good, had a tendency to make me laugh and smile.
    tab “And truth be told,” came a familiar voice, “you may be a fast runner, but your swimming is much better.”
    tab Gwen, Luna, and I looked over to see Drake Patch. He was my age and a very close friend of ours. Drake had auburn hair that was spiked up in the back and emerald green eyes. It was odd though. No one in his family had those characteristics. But like his family (literally), Drake had tiger stripe tattoos. Everyone on his father’s side of the family all had tattoos that made them look like tigers. Drake’s matched his eyes: emerald green.
    tab Drake was also an odd kid. He flirted with almost every girl in our grade or one grade below us. He always bragged about his muscles and such. But beneath that feint he was a complete coward.
    tab There were two others standing behind and off to the side of Drake. There was Rosie Mead and Corey Field. They were the last two in the little group I hung out with.
    tab Rosie was a one of a kind chick. She constantly dyed her hair bright blue on the left and a vivid green on the right. She kept the right side kept short and choppy while the left side was perfect, long, and pulled up into a single ponytail on the side of her head. Her tattoos were odd and very few got those tattoos: Xs. Rosie had red Xs here, there, and everywhere. She looked creepy, especially with her almost black eyes.
    tab Rosie was also odd. She was what we called ‘lolita’. She wore bright, frilled clothing. She was also a hacker at times. If she wanted to (which she did once or twice might I add), Rosie could hack the school files and change all of her grades so she’s an A+ student. And most likely if she wanted to, Rosie could also program a universal remote control and have it connect to a satellite and then tap to the government’s phone and find out how they want to screw with our lives. But that’s only if she wanted to.
    tab Corey, the other teen, was a calm and sweet child. He had soft and shaggy blonde hair with deep and dark blue eyes. He had the weirdest tattoos of them all: golden bubble-looking tattoos.
    tab There isn’t much on Corey. He’s top of the class, captain of the chess team, and a member of the science club. He’s a bit nerdy, but that can be good for some of us, especially around finals time at the end of each semester.
    tab The three teens joined us in our playing around and having fun. It was more than fun since we were friends hanging out with each other.
    tab For a while, we were playing in the park. We decided to use the marry-go-round thing. It was fun to play on. I had a tendency to get dizzy easily, but it was fun. I grabbed the bars while Gwen, Corey, Rosie, Drake, and Luna were sitting and holding on very tightly. I started to run slowly but I soon picked up speed. I heard my friends and half-sister wail with joy and soon, I myself was having fun.
    tab I had jumped onto the marry-go-round thing and I was holding on as if my life and safety depended on it. Which it did, might I add. I was laughing a lot with the girls and guys. Spinning around like we were was fun. No. It was beyond fun.
    tab The speed was fast since I was the one who moved it around so it was spinning. Sadly, I was losing grip. I then flew off because I lost my grip. I went flying and landed on the grass. I was laying on my back laughing. After what felt like minutes later, I heard everyone laughing and talking above me. My eyes were closed so I couldn’t see them. But I knew they were there. They were talking and laughing.
    tab “Hey Lanky,” Gwen said, “you okay and still alive?”
    tab “I’m okay.” I said. “But I’m not sure about the alive part.”
    tab We all burst out in unison of laughter. I heard a couple of thuds and I automatically knew that the rest of the group collapsed to the ground due to their laughter. They had apparently lost all control over their laughter and fell. Good thing too. If they continued to stand and laugh, they may just fall and get hurt.
    tab I opened my eyes to see the partly cloudy sky. The bangs of my black hair swayed in my face. I sat up and looked around. Kids were playing. Kids with tattoos. Kids without tattoos.
    tab Everything looked great. The trees shaded the park. Kids were having fun. Luna and Gwen were having fun. Drake was having fun. Rosie and Corey were having fun. I was having fun. It was perfect here in Star Hill, California.
    tab I pulled myself up off of the ground and stretched. I felt so stiff from just laying on the ground.
    tab “Hey guys,” I began to say to Luna and Gwen, “let’s head on home.”
    tab Luna jumped up and looked at me. She had on a bright smile and her ice blue eyes twinkled at me.
    tab “Okay!” she chirped.
    tab “Perfect timing.” Gwen said. “It’s about lunch time.”
    tab I couldn’t help but laugh. Gwen had a tendency of thinking of nothing except her stomach. She was one of the very few girls in school who didn’t care about her looks. Most girls just say they’re fat (though they’re probably only eighty pounds) and want to diet. Gwen, she says “Screw that s**t! I’m going to go to Mickey D’s and get a large shake”. Gwen’s an odd person. But she’s my odd person.
    tab “You guys also coming with?” I asked the other three.
    tab “Nah.” Rosie replied as she dusted her dress off. “Mum and Dad don’t like it when I go running off to others’ houses.”
    tab “Dude, I got a job to head to.” Drake replied. “Plus, my cousin is visiting and I need to clean my room.”
    tab “You can already guess I’m busy.” Corey said. “But we’ll get together again real soon.”
    tab I nodded and walked off with Luna and Gwen. After walking a bit, we started up with talking.
    tab “What’re you going to cook for us?” Gwen asked as her stomach growled. “You could go all out and make fried chicken, potatoes, corn, gravy, stuffing, pie, cookies, and home made grape juice.”
    tab I just gaped and shook my head. Gwen was definitely in one of her hunger moods. I didn’t know what to say or do about that except cook.
    tab “I’ll cook what I can.” I said as I walked off a bit. “C’mon you. Hurry up or I’ll leave you behind.”
    tab “Miles!” Luna squealed. “Don’t be mean!”
    tab Luna ran after me and jumped up onto my back. She clung tightly to my shirt and giggled. I jumped up a bit and put my hands underneath Luna to make sure she wouldn’t fall off.
    tab “All aboard!” I sang out. “Next stop, the beloved Princess of the Moon’s home.”
    tab Luna giggled again and I heard Gwen start to laugh. Gwen came up along side of me and smiled. After a few seconds, we started off in a low jog.
    tab We jogged through Star Hill, California. That was our hometown. There were about two thousand inhabitants in the town and it was almost always warm. Sure we got rain, but almost no one in Star Hill has ever seen snow. The only people that have seen snow were those from the east or north.
    tab Star Hill was normally quiet, unless you catch the two types of people fighting because of differences. Now not many people without tattoos know why we have these markings upon our skin. But some do. The legend was old and well known with my people.
    tab Legend has it that my people were different from the others. While they had their God we had our three titans: Heavens, Earths, and Hells. I was told by Granny, one of the eldest people in Star Hill, that our people had tried to use the titans to kill off the other humans, the ones without tattoos. Most people didn’t believe that. They said it was rubbish. No one would believe that the titans would be used for such evil. They did, however, say that the humans were going to use the titans against us to destroy my people.
    tab Honestly, I don’t know what I believe. The legend took place millenniums ago, so I wouldn’t know for sure what the truth was. But I did know one thing: our feuding had been going on far too long.
    tab After about ten or fifteen minutes, we made it to my house. The front door was opened so we knew automatically that Nora and Kristy were home. In the driveway, there was a motorcycle.
    tab “Daddy’s here?” Gwen asked.
    tab I almost forgot. Gwen’s father drove a motorcycle rather than a car. Jake Sky, Gwen’s dad, loved the feel of the air in his hair and face. Jake always claimed it was like flying through the air.
    tab “Only one way to find out.” I said to Gwen as I walked up to the door.
    tab As soon as we got into the house, we could hear talking between two people: Nora and Jake. It sounded like they were going over something, but I couldn’t be quite sure.
    tab “Oh!” Nora exclaimed when she saw us enter the kitchen. “Welcome back. Oh, Luna, will you go upstairs and play with Kristy? There’s something Jake and I need to talk about with Gwen and Miles, okay sweetie?”
    tab “Okay Mommy.” Luna said as she jumped off my back. “Bye-bye!”
    tab With that, Luna had run off and in a matter of seconds, I could hear her little feet running up the stairs. As soon as we couldn’t hear her, Nora turned to me to speak.
    tab “Miles, for the weekend and Monday, you’ll be with Jake.” She said. “Do you know why?”
    tab I shook my head. I looked at Jake to hope that he would explain. Luckily, Jake did end up explaining.
    tab “My boy, we’re going to England for a little ‘family reunion’.” Jake said. “We’ll leave this afternoon.”
    tab I nodded. I knew what Jake meant by ‘family reunion’. For us, that is when the head member of each main family goes to a council and talk over some issues. I was the last of the Dreamers; therefore, I was the head of the family. I had never gone to one of the council meeting for two reasons: one was because I was too young when they were held and two was because the last one held was when my father still wore his tattoos.
    tab “Well Jake, I hope you take care of my little man.” Nora said with a threatening tone.
    tab “Don’t worry Nora.” Jake replied. “As for you, Miles, head on up and get packed. And Gwen, do you think you can stick around here to help Nora out with the kids?”
    tab “Of course, Daddy.” Gwen replied. “I’ll run on home and get packed.”
    tab “No need to.” Jake said in a cheerful tone. “I already packed for you.”
    tab Gwen gave a bit of a dumbstruck look. She seemed rather shocked to hear what her own father said. Her expression then became that of an angry person.
    tab “So, let me get this straight,” She began to say, trying to keep her voice calm, “you were going to have me stay here even if I didn’t want to?”
    tab “That’s the main idea.” Jake replied.
    tab What came next was to be expected. Gwen smacked her own father upside his head. Nora, whom wasn’t a fan of violence, just let that incident slide. Nora probably thought the same thing I did: he deserved it.
    tab “Ow!” Jake whined. “You definitely have your mother’s cruelty toward me.”
    tab “Well, if you weren’t an a*****e, I wouldn’t have to beat you senseless.” Gwen growled at him.
    tab I just sighed and shook my head. I took off toward the stairs and to my room. I grabbed one of my backpacks out of my closet and threw some clothes I would need on the trip. I even grabbed my formal outfit for when the council meeting started. I walked over to my dresser and picked up my cassette player and some of the tapes for it. I had music mainly from the 80s and all the way back in the 1400s. I put mostly the 80s music in my bag.
    tab After only about four or five minutes, I had my bag all packed. I threw my backpack onto my back and dashed over to the stairs. When I reached the stairs, I sat up on the banister and slid down it. Soon enough, I reach the base of the bottom of the steps.
    tab “I’m ready!” I called out so Nora and Jake can hear me.
    tab Jake entered the area I was and smiled. “That’s good. Do you have all that you need?”
    tab “Yep.” I replied.
    tab Jake nodded and we made our farewells. Within the next hour, we were at the airport and soon enough in the air. The flight apparently, according to Jake, took around nine hours. I didn’t know what happened over the flight because as soon as I was comfortable, I fell asleep.