The sky stretched out like an endless canvas of cerulean blue, with only a few cotton-like clouds drifting through it lazily. A gentle breeze rustled the evergreen leaves of the olive trees, carrying the scent of citrus and the sea. Vibrant hues of flowers danced in the wind like calm waves of a rainbow ocean, the bees buzzing without a hurry among them. At the heart of the garden, towering above all, stood a tall willow tree. Its long, verdant green branches gracefully cascaded down, providing shade to a woman resting on the stone bench underneath and the group of children at her feet.

  "Then, the brave King and the Dragon clashed in a fight. They fought for days, then weeks. Weeks turned to months. Ultimately it became clear that their prowess was equally matched and they achieved a stalemate. So the Dragon made a proposition to the King. 'I will enchant your shield with my flame,' he said, 'it will shine as brightly as the Sun itself allowing you to take its place.' The King agreed right away and thus he became the new Sun, ending a hundred years of the Dreadful Night," the woman’s motherly voice went silent, as she observed the reactions of her little listeners.

  The children sat with their eyes wide open, the story clearly making a great impression on them. A boy sitting closest to the woman furrowed his brows as a question budded in his mind.

  "If the King is the new Sun," he started timidly, "then doesn’t it mean that he can’t go home anymore?"

  "Well… the Sky is his home now," she answered.

  "But…" continued the boy, "he’s all alone there. Isn’t he feeling lonely?"

  The woman smiled with motherly tenderness.

  "He’s not alone," she said softly, caressing the boy’s cheek, "every year, the Dragon Tun Ri Zhe will fly up to the Sky to meet King Aelius, who became his good friend."

  Hearing steps on the cobblestone, the woman’s gaze snapped to the guest.

  "Hester, it’s a pleasure to see you. You haven’t been visiting lately."

  The Queen gave her an apologetic smile as she approached the bench. The children seemed completely unaware of her arrival.

  "I’m sorry, my Lady. Things have been busy at the Palace," she said, her attention caught by a girl sitting across from her. Blond hair neatly tied in a braid circling around her head that shimmered with golden reflections in the sun. A round angelic face and eyes sharing colors with a clear sky. The resemblance was undeniable.

  She was looking around the garden curiously, observing every little detail surrounding her with great interest. At last her gaze turned to Hester, but she appeared to be focusing on something behind her. Like she wasn’t even there. But Hester didn’t mind. She watched the girl quietly, the corners of her lips lifting with affection as she watched the girl’s blue eyes widen at the wonders of the world around her.

  "I heard that Anastasia is making kollybos today. You should see if she needs help," the woman leaned towards the children and lowered her voice to a whisper, "maybe she’ll have some snacks for you as a reward."

  Driven by the prospect of being able to stuff their mouths with honeyed delicacies, the children spared no moment to rush out from the garden, their excited laughs and voices carried by the echo long after they were gone.

  "How is Oriana?" the woman asked once they were alone.

  Hester regained her focus and joined her companion under the willow tree.

  "She seems well, a little distracted if anything. Thankfully, it was like you said, my Lady. Valeria intervened before anything could really happen," the Queen lowered her head and thanked the woman.

  "The Wolf’s fate is still strongly tied to your daughter’s, but the future remains unclear. Let’s hope that Oriana chooses wisely."

  Queen Hester remained silent. The same question that had been present at the edge of her mind for years, now pressed for answers stronger than ever.

  "There’s something you want to ask about," the woman said, noticing the crease between her eyebrows.

  Oriana’s mother weighed her words carefully.

  "I still can’t fully understand why we can’t simply tell them about it. Why are the engagements with Emil so important?"

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  The woman appeared as if she had been expecting the question.

  "Two paths lead to the same goal. Only one, however, prepares for what to do upon reaching it," she answered. "For her own good and ours, Oriana has to make that choice herself."

  Seeing as the Queen’s expression suggested she wasn’t fully satisfied with the answer, the woman spoke again.

  "You should put more trust in your daughter, Hester. We are all bound by Fate and you know better than anyone what happens when you try disobeying it." Her voice was calm, but beneath the surface lingered something unsettling. Something sounding almost like a threat.

  Hester understood the veiled meaning of her words immediately. Her eyes involuntarily drifting in the direction the girl and the children ran away to.

  "I… understand," she said, her voice cracking ever so slightly. It was subtle, but enough to betray the emotions she worked so hard to contain.

  "I believe this isn’t the only thing you came to discuss with me," the danger in the woman’s voice vanished as quickly as it appeared. If Hester didn’t know better she would think it was just her imagination.

  "It isn’t," she answered, regaining focus on the real purpose of her visit. "My husband… is there any new information about his condition?"

  For the first time during the visit, the woman seemed disturbed. She sat quietly gazing in the distance as if she was looking for something.

  "I’m sorry," she said at last, "his fate remains out of my reach. Were there any changes?"

  "The episodes are becoming more frequent and he’s taking longer to recover between them. We tried everything, but nothing appears to have any effect on his health."

  The woman covered Hester’s hand with her own.

  "I’ll keep looking into it. Eventually something will unveil. In the meantime, have faith that your daughter will do the right thing," she patted her hand, marking the end of their conversation.

  The slow, rhythmic ticking of the metronome resonated in the room, disturbing the silence so monotonously that it was almost unnoticeable. Thick burgundy curtains pulled shut were like sentinels protecting the interior from the persistent rays of afternoon sun. Hester carefully undid the knot on her silken blindfold and placed it neatly on the vanity. She didn’t get up immediately, allowing for her senses to readjust to her new surroundings. She took a deep breath. The air was heavy with a scent of dust and incense, a stark contrast to the fresh aroma of citrus and sea she felt just a moment ago. The visits always drained her out of energy, so she would resort to them only when necessary.

  Her husband’s worsening condition was one of those cases, although she wasn’t expecting to get any satisfying answers. Whatever the illness that had befallen him was, it stayed a mystery for her and every physician that examined it.

  The Queen sighed heavily and forced herself up from the chair.

  "How did it go?" asked Flavius, the moment his wife entered the room.

  She sat at the edge of the bed, where he was resting and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. It was still noticeably warm, but the fever was mostly gone.

  "She still doesn’t have answers," Hester admitted, feeling slightly reassured by seeing her husband in a better state than before.

  "Gods only know what's wrong with me... Or, well, not even them it seems, " the King tried to play it off as a joke, but the worry in his eyes betrayed him.

  A wave of despair and inadequacy washed over Hester, as she sat by his side feeling helpless against an illness that took hold of her beloved. She clenched her fists trying to combat the trembling. She couldn’t show weakness. Not in front of him. Not now. Both her husband and her daughter needed her more than ever, so she had to stay strong. She would find a way to make everything right, no matter how impossible a task it was.

  "It’s going to be alright," she said softly, "we’re going to find the cure. There are more things we can try. It’s not over yet."

  The King gently cradled her cheek, his thumb softly brushing against the skin. There were no words that could express the magnitude of the love and admiration he held for his wife. From the day they met, he knew that her brilliance was beyond what was expected of her and beyond anything he could hope to match. Flavius always felt that it was cruel of their houses to force her into marrying him. That’s why he never held it against her when she ran away upon learning about the engagement. Even when she returned and agreed to fulfill her family’s wishes, he was ready to let her go.

  A heartbreak was easier than being the one that clipped her wings and locked her in a gilded cage for his own selfish desires. But days turned to months, months turned to years and Hester never left. She never lost her brilliance and with time he even saw in her eyes something he wasn’t even dreaming of hoping for. Love. Then, Oriana was born and the moment he held her in his arms for the first time he knew that he would never be able to repay the heavens for granting him so much happiness.

  Perhaps his sickness was simply the price he had to pay for this life, for the love of this incredible woman and the perfect daughter she blessed him with. If so, then he was willing to accept it, he was willing to pay, but… There was still so much more he could do for them, so much more he could help them with. If only he could stay with them a little longer, if only the Gods gave him a little more time, then he would stop resisting, he would stop fighting and accept his fate, but… not just yet, not now. Just a little longer and he would surely be ready to welcome Death with open arms.

  "Anything new about Oriana?" the King asked, pushing aside worries about himself and focusing on a much more important matter. His daughter’s future.

  Hester shook her head.

  "The same as always. We aren’t supposed to intervene," Hester answered, frustration in her voice unrestrained.

  "I hate that this impertinent snob is getting anywhere near our daughter and we have to just accept it," Flavius gritted his teeth. There weren’t many people who he considered worthy of Oriana and Emil had proved time and time again that he wasn’t one of them either.

  "Well…" the corner of Hester’s lips curved slightly, "they didn’t seem to mind the little nudging we’ve been doing, so maybe our hands aren’t as tied as we think. As for everything else," she sighed, "we have to hope that Valeria and Oriana’s feelings are strong enough to overcome this."