The King's Flame

Prologue

Kira walked barefoot in gentle steps through a forest of vibrant colours. She wore a light white silk dress and had her long golden hair down, dancing to her waist as she moved. Small and delicate, she had the spring glow of a twelve years-old in her curious eyes that fearlessly explore forest. She heard a voice call her name; a very soft, very distant voice, like a whisper that could be heard clearly, coming from all sides. Her heart said she should head north. The voice kept calling her, making her steps faster, almost running towards something she didn't know what it was. Suddenly, the voice stopped and she slowed her pace – not fast enough as she, unaware, fell into a ditch in front of her. The hole was not deep, but the shock of the fall left her stunned. Kira felt something move around her, and when she tried to get up, a huge black snake was coiled around her leg. She screamed and flapped her legs for the animal to leave her, but it didn't seem to work. In tears and frightened, she tried to get up, but was stopped by a weight on her shoulder; another snake was going up her arm towards her neck. Kira screamed for help until she was completely choked. And then she woke up.

Seven years later...

On the outskirts of the Edreston Forest there was a small village of stone houses built close to the banks of the River Vire. The villagers lived a simple and peaceful life, taking care of each other as if they were family. This is where Kira lived her entire life. Her mother, Uma, was an experienced healer, highly respected by that small and humble community since the moment she arrived there with a months-old Kira in her arms. When Uma passed away, Kira was just nine years old and was raised by Madam Orana, the village doula, who raised four other orphaned girls. The loss of her mother was painful, almost unbearable, but she lived in peace with her sisters-at-heart and the villagers who took care of her with such affection.

Kira and Lila, one of her sisters, a beautiful young woman with thick black hair and tanned skin, were sitting on a rock by a stream. The two of them had just bathed in the clear waters of the River Vire and wore only their thin linen nightgowns, which clung lightly to their bodies because of the moisture in their skins, while their dresses dried on the branch of a nearby tree. Lila was sitting behind Kira, gently untangling her sister's damp blond hair.

- Have you slept better this night, Kira? - Asked Lila. Being a few years older, Lila had an almost maternal affection for her.

- I’ve been trying. - Kira replied, a little sad. - Those dreams won't leave me alone.

- Dreams are revealing, sister. They try to warn us about our destiny. Who knows what the future holds for you?

- Not all dreams are bad, I think. The one with the serpents terrifies me deeply, it's the most frequent one but ... My favourite is one with a boy, a little boy. I don't see him well, but he sings a song for me about a bird that flies beyond the Mountains of the Sun. And he tells me that everything will be fine. I feel safe.

- Since when do you dream about it? - Kira asked, curious.

- I don't know, honestly. It is a very old dream.

The girls become startled when they heard a noise coming from the forest. Nervous, they get up and hold hands, looking around to try to find out what that sound was and where it came from. Before they could be afraid, a person appeared from behind the trees.

- Lila! Kira! - Shouted the brown-haired girl.

- Lanaida? - Said Lila. The girl was one of their sisters. - What are you doing here? What happened?

- Soldiers! There is an army approaching the village! - Lanaida replied, breathless.

- An army!? - Kira reacted, incredulous.

- Yes! They're coming from the South, Virean's son saw a camp a few miles from here and said he saw the army coming towards us. Come on, we need to go!

Kira and Lila put on their wet dresses, their shoes, and ran back home with Lanaida. The three of them found the village in an uproar, people running around nervously back to their homes seeking shelter. The three entered their house and found Madam Orana and their other sisters, Amarna and Guilla, there.

It didn't take long for the bustle of the village to turn into a heavy silence - which didn't last long. In a short time, the noise of the cavalry was audible, but the nervousness only became terror when screams began to be heard in the distance, getting louder and louder. Orana's daughters were all together with their mother, sitting on the floor in a corner, holding hands and holding each other.

- Don't be afraid, my girls. - Said Madam Orana. - May the Goddess protect you along the way.

- Madam Orana, what does that mean? - Asked Lila.

Before Lila could be answered, the door was broken open and three soldiers in dark steel armours entered the house, drawing screams of despair from the girls. Cruel smiles formed on the faces of the men.

- Take the girls, kill the old woman. I will warn Prince Nichol. - Said one of the soldiers before turning around and leaving.

- Let's go girls. - Said one of the other soldiers. - We have no time to lose.

Before she could even react, Kira saw Lila running at one of the soldiers with a knife. The girls screamed and dispersed around the house, trying to escape. Kira managed to get to the door and looked back, quickly seeing Lila being hit in the stomach by the soldier she tried to attack and the other man holding Lanaida and Guilla by the hair. Amarna managed to get to the door and ran out of it, pulling Kira by the wrist. Outside the house, the girls came across their burning village. Men, women and children running in desperation while soldiers wielded bloody swords. There were bodies on the floor, bodies of people they knew. The time for the shock was short and the both of them started running again in a desperate attempt to save their lives. A few meters away, they were intercepted by other soldiers. The last thing Kira saw as she crawled across the floor, terrified, were the snakes entwined on the silver breastplate of the soldier who knocked her out.