"Cora, can't you see, she is tired?"
"But we just started. Get up, Eleni. You need to run two more laps," the woman instructed her daughter firmly, not paying any heed to her husband.
"M-Mother, can I take a small break?" the girl panted, speaking in her lisp.
"You just took a break," the woman glared at the girl but her father cut in.
"Yes, sunflower, you can take a break. Go on in, drink some water."
The girl threw a scared glance at her mother before running inside the small house. But she could clearly hear the voices of her parents talking.
"Why are you overworking her?"
"Is there any other way? How is she going to survive this cruel world?" The woman scoffed.
"You are not the only one who's afraid of that. But she is still a kid. Have mercy."
"You never know, what might happen. It's better to be prepared, don't you think?"
The man gravely nodded.
"If she were at Terraskee, she would have been doing the same thing."
The man smirked playfully, putting an arm around his wife's shoulders, "You do boast a lot about that. Let me tell you, the children at Igniskee undergo the same training as well. My son was... is great at archery." The man closed his eyes.
The woman sighed, resting her head over her husband' shoulder. "I know you miss him, Egan. It's a shame that our baby cannot get the best of either of the Realms."
The six-year-old, gobbled a loaf of bread, dropping crumbs allover her dress, as she listened to her parents. Not having a care in the world.
***
The events of the previous night, had found a permanent residence in my head. Lord Ralph's gentle face, turning furious; my supposedly normal sundial, suddenly glowing. It was now locked in an old trunk, since carrying it around was dangerous. Sundials weren't supposed to do that.
I entered the tent and sat beside Rosa, who was silently humming a jolly tune. I looked into her parchment and found her trying out a new typeface. If she would be satisfied with the designs of all the letters, I would have to learn it and practice it until my hand flew on the pages on their own accord.
"Hey, Rosa, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course," she smiled sweetly at me, her silvery eyes, welcoming.
"I read somewhere that some sundials are different," I said with as much nonchalance as I could muster.
She put a finger on her chin, "Different as in, do you mean magical?"
I nodded.
"Of course. But they are rare, I suppose," she shook her head, "very ancient stuff. Only the mysterious Summer Realm does these sorts of things."
I nodded.
"The House of Aries in particular – you know High Queen Brianna's collection."
I sucked in a breath, trying to keep my expressions neutral. Rosa was oblivious of the effect that this conversation was having on me.
"I bet every generation of Arien royals got a shiny magic sundial," she mused, "But why do you ask suddenly?"
I smiled with clenched teeth, "As I said, I read somewhere about it."
But I watched as Rosa suddenly became enthusiastic, "Now that you mention about it. The House of Aries is just so cool," she paused a little to giggle, "I mean, they have fire but they are so cool. With such a rich history -- what with High Queen Brianna and the feud. And you have seen their Defensor, Lord Ralph - he is just so... Wow."
I rolled my eyes at that bit.
But she waved her hands in the air, talking to her own self rather than me, "And not to forget, in the history of all the Conquests, it has never once happened that a Defensor did not show up for the final round, after being qualified. Can you believe the Aries Defensor, he had just gone missing, before the Finale, you know, in the last-to-last Conquest?"
I listened to her tale half-heartedly, rolling my eyes as she kept rambling on. Should have asked Violette instead of Rosa, I thought.
I had of course heard about such magical sundials, but they always sounded mythical to me. They showed time without even needing the sun or the moon – belonging to the ancient High Queen Brianna's collection of magical sundials.
The only female to have ever become the Conqueror of the Four Realms.
But even then, she was condemned, accused of being guilty. I remembered the articles that I had read. The High Queen, after being branded as the Conqueror by the Throne, had been accused of having a whirlwind relationship with an Autumn Realm's Defensor during the Conquest. The Earth people had rebelled after the news had come into limelight, stating that she had seduced their Defensor into losing.
And all the Realms other than the Summer, conservative back then, sported a bruised ego watching a female becoming the High Queen. And so, she was asked to step down from the Throne, but she did not relent.
Everyone seemed to have forgotten that the Throne was never wrong in choosing its Conqueror.
But years later, her rule was brought to an end abruptly. Her family, the House of Aries, had found her dead in her room. Assassinated.
And thus, the foundation for an eternal rivalry had taken place between the Two Realms. High Queen Brianna's House, along with the other two Houses of Summer Realm, forever defended her honor, blaming the Autumn Realm for her death.
People had now forgotten the tale of the mighty High Queen, who had walked on this land thousands of years ago, but the feelings of hatred, were planted in every generation of the Two Realms.
"...but I am worried," Rosa was still speaking, "Lord Ralph might not make it to the finale as a Summer Defensor. This Orlon is just winning too much. Eleni, what would happen, if he wins the Throne?"
"I don't know," I said through gritted teeth.
Rosa had tingled a theory in my head. At the mention of King Orlon, something clicked in me.
I had clearly seen Prince Nova being controlled by some mere guards in the library. Was he under someone's orders?
I sighed and knew - it was time to pay him another visit.
That evening, I polished my daggers clean. Just in case.
***
When I had found that I was an Earth Elemental, or when I found out that my mother used to be the Head Guard of a Virgo Defensor, or when I found out that my father was not from the Autumn Realm, I had been crumpled like a parchment, that was used over and over.
But now when I knew, that my father had been from the Summer Realm, from the House of Aries, I was numb.
And when I had realized that he possessed a magical sundial, that only the royals of Aries House did, it did not have any effect on me.
Maybe I was finally getting used to all that life could throw at me. What could be worse than being a Luesha who was a product of the Enemy Realms?
So, what if my father had been a royal?
So, what if I had fire element lying low in my veins?
It didn't change the fact that I was a Luesha.
With both my friends being Luesha hunters.
And now the Commander of these hunters, was breathing heavily on my neck.
The word 'execute' sing-songed in my head making me light-headed.
I recalled the events of my last meeting with Prince Nova - Was he really evil, or was he playing a part in a grander scheme?
With feet that felt like stone, I made my way to the Gemini palace. The land that I walked on, and the trees that passed by my pitiful self, did not sing to me. There was utter silence. Sensing the omens that nature gave me, my brain screamed at me to turn back and go, as the palace's whiteness came into view. But I kept walking as though in a maniacal resolution.
The guards opened the gate for me without asking any question, and I found myself in the foyer. One of the servants guided me into Prince Nova's study. I remembered it was the same study where he had questioned Una after the disaster of the royal ball.
When the door opened, I realized how much of an idiot I had been. What was I thinking coming here?
I made the worst impulsive decisions. And by worst, I mean, deciding to come to meet the devil right when he had company.
"Come on in," Prince Nova's ever-so-welcoming voice spoke, not a hint of surprise on his face.
And his guest, Lord Ralph turned sharp to look at me, his neutral face changed in a heartbeat and turned into a scowl.
"So, you indeed are his spy?" Lord Ralph said, getting up from the couch, where he had been sitting. Taller than Prince Nova and Una both, he looked like he could crush me with a small squeeze.
"You were talking about Eleni, then? Of course, I can be so daft sometimes," Prince Nova said, his face not betraying the lie he was spewing.
"But since when do you hire thieves, Nova?" The Summer Defensor said with a raised brow.
Prince Nova laughed making me flinch. He folded his hands across his chest and narrowed his eyes at Lord Ralph, "Now, now Ralph. I am sure that's not how it is."
"For the love of the Throne, I told you. That sundial - there's no way..." He stopped mid-sentence and turned suddenly to me, the red of his eyes glowing like actual fire.
I stared at him back.
"Nova," the Lord said without moving his eyes away from me, "can you leave us alone for a while?"
My stomach churned at his tone, and I took a quick glance at Prince Nova. I could swear I saw him glaring at Lord Ralph's back.
"I see I am being thrown out of my own study. Well, just don't make her uncomfortable, Ralph," he chuckled and walked out of the study.
I realized then, what a tightly-sewn mask of goodness he wore.
The air in the room shifted as the Air Defensor left. I watched Lord Ralph turning a ring on his left index finger, and picked up a half-full glass of water from Prince Nova's table. He gulped down the liquid in a long swig and I suddenly felt my throat getting parched.
"Sit," he said rather ordered.
I gulped and sat clinging to one corner of the couch, in a brooding sense of anticipation.
I sensed his hesitation as he opened and closed his lips several times, "Where did you get the sundial?"
I stared into nothingness, unable to look at him, not knowing if I was scared of him or scared of the truth. I heard his noisy sigh.
"Listen, my father," he said slowly, "before going to the Conquest, had selected two ancient sundials, one for him and one for me. He went missing, some say..." his shoulders sagged as he paused, "some say, he—he ran away with a woman of the Autumn Realm. I was a mere kid of five then. My mother had been... Nevermind. All these years, I just am waiting in vain to hear something from him, but..."
Without even realizing it, a tear escaped my left cheek, as I heard the wretched tone of this giant-like man. For years, I had yearned to know about my father, just like him.
But like a tumble down from a huge mountain, I found myself rolling into the wild epiphanies that my mind was comprehending – my father had been a royal, with a family of his own before falling in love with my mother.
He raised his head to look at me, "Did you, by any chance... meet him? Did you steal from him? I will let you go, miss. But please, just tell me where you got this from."
I looked at him, into his scarlet eyes. His broad shoulders shrunk closer; his hands clasped tight with each other. The desperation in his voice broke the walls that I had built around me, that guarded my horrible secret.
He missed his father - was waiting for his father just like I waited for mine.
Lord Ralph still wasn't getting it.
We were waiting for the same person. Same father.
I was afraid to tell him for he was going to hate me - hate me for snatching his father, for being the reason that he grew up fatherless, for being the reason his father was supposedly dead. I was afraid of what he would do to me.
Once I told him, he was going to figure out my secret. All of it.
But he deserved to know.
My throat choked from the unshed sobs, as I finally spoke -
"My father gave me the sundial too."
***
Author's Note: Let me just explain a little. Ralph is her half-brother. Eleni and him have a common father. The father was a Defensor too, twenty years back. He was a Prince of the Summer Realm. Also to understand what Rosa told us, that Eleni ignored, you can check the flashback of chapter nine!
So yes, Eleni is a hybrid of Fire and Earth - Aries and Virgo.
~Happy Reading❤✨~