The Moon Kingdom

Thoughts

My future was decided.

My future fiancé Roland was standing right in front of me. At that moment, he seemed to me like a symbol of my despair, my helplessness.

Fate was, as always, unfair to me.

Pain so familiar sank into my heart again. The shackles of which I had been a prisoner all my life tightened. I couldn't breathe.

An uncontrollable impulse appeared in me. All I wanted was to escape. I desired to run without stopping, to be free.

My eyes were burning. I wanted to be alone and let my heart cry.

Suddenly, I felt a breeze coming from somewhere. It smelled of a pine forest. I looked at Gabriel. Our eyes met, trying to calm me down.

The breeze touched me lightly, almost imperceptibly. It felt like Gabriel was the one touching me.

With each touch from him, I calmed down more and more. Our souls were intertwined. We were involved in a mental conversation. Everything we wanted to say but couldn't say was written on our faces.

Gabriel POV

I would give everything to be with my warriors at this moment and to train with them. Unfortunately, I was in a distant kingdom because of my brother's engagement.

The marriage between my brother and the princess was a kind of peacekeeping action between the two kingdoms. As I entered the palace, I felt something...

Something was wrong here. There was something sinister in the air that made me shiver.

"Do you feel that?" I asked.

"Yes, I feel it, too, evil is hovering in this kingdom," replied Ignis.

"That's what I said."

I guess you're wondering who I'm talking to. This is Ignis, my salamander. When I say salamander, please don't imagine it as a pet or something. Ignis is much more. He is a fire salamander that resides inside me, or more precisely, he is the other part of me.

I'm what they call a shapeshifter, but not exactly. The blood of the king flows in my veins, which gives me the strength of the four elements, but also that of my mother.

You see, my mother Leah came from a community of warriors. She was born in a land called Vulcanorum, part of The Fire Valley.

My mother was a warrior and a shapeshifter like me. But let’s stop talking about my past. Recently, it was my Coming-of-age ceremony where I underwent my first transformation.

Having recently transformed, I was eager to test my newfound strength. My dissatisfaction with this trip was obvious.

As I continued to complain, the trumpets sounded, which meant that the ceremony began. As I entered the hall, I felt a strange feeling, something attracted me.

"Gabriel, do you feel that?"

"What," I asked Ignis.

"She's here, our soulmate is here somewhere," he said.

I smelled the air. A sweet and all-consuming scent enveloped me. Yes, she was here, I could feel it with all my senses. When I entered the throne room, I saw her.

Oh my God, that was her. She looked gorgeous and was so beautiful that it took my breath away. At that moment, I was lost for eternity. I loved her from the moment I saw her, even though I didn't know her yet.

Our joy was instantaneous. As I walked towards her, my heart threatened to jump out of my chest. I could feel her emotions raging, too.

The strings of fate connected us little by little.

As we continued to look at each other, I noticed something amusing. Her face gradually started to redden. She was blushing.

At that particular moment, I couldn't stop myself, and gradually, a smile began to appear on my face, lighting my features.

"How sweet she blushes," I told Ignis.

"She's just as beautiful too," he said.

My brother Roland was next to me, his eyes were filled with passion...I did not like it at all.

Because our relationship with my mate was not yet complete, anger arose in me. I felt a strong urge to tear his eyes out because of even looking at her. I tried to control myself, but Ignis's anger was burning and that didn't help at all. His anger only fueled my own.

"Who is he to look at her with those eyes? She is ours, only ours," he said.

"Ignis, calm down, now is not the time," I said.

"I can't," he replied.

My eyes turned fiery red. The swirling anger in me was obvious. I began to breathe slowly, finally managing to suppress my instinct. What the hell was I doing, I wondered...

The princess was going to be my brother's fiancée. My joy disappeared instantly as this thought appeared in my mind.

I was at a dead end. If I declared her as mine, it would provoke a war, a war so bloody that no one can comprehend.

She seemed to feel the change in me.

I felt her feelings delivered throughout our bond.

She felt sadness, helplessness, and pain so piercing that it almost knocked me down.

My heart was breaking for her, for me, for our cursed destiny. I wanted to hug her and never let go.

With pursing pain in my heart I used my powers to calm her down. Unfortunately, I had to be content with only that.

I also sent a light breeze and mentally added some calming words.

After a while, she started to calm down little by little...

A sadness that would not leave our hearts soon nested in me and also in her.

I didn't know what we were going to do, but one thing was for sure, I fell in love with her from the moment I saw her.

She was mine, and only mine...I would fight for her until my last breath, even if that costs me everything.