Chapter 13 - Past
"Dilara!" Different types of voices called for the little girl until the owner of the female one found her. "What are you doing here, dear? You are going to wake the twins."
The North Star told her, with a sweet tone, taking her eldest daughter in her arms, so they could look better at the birthday babies, who were now taking their afternoon nap.
"I want to play with Ã'an and Nin'in." Like any other child of her age, her words were still not accurate, yet her mother could understand her perfectly as she smiled at the nicknames Dilara had given to her siblings.
They were a mixture of the little ones' names with the words little brother and little sister in their language, and somehow it made sense in her head when her parents showed the babies to her for the first time.
Ã'an was Gra'an, the youngest of Inina and Azriel's three children, besides being the only boy too since the couple didn't know yet about the future addition to their family that was already in the womb of the Oracle.
And Nin'in was Ai'slinn, their second daughter who had dark blond hair, almost brown like her brother.
... Their parents chose both names after they discovered the Hesperides' ancestry that they had inherited.
Meaning Gra'an, the one born from the sky because he was a future Harpy and Ai'slinn, the grace of the woods because the girl would be a Dryad when she grew up...
Of course, they were still too young to demonstrate such characteristics already, just as no one knew what their older sister's gifts were... Or at least that was what their parents thought.
However, after receiving some invitations from other Oracles who could see the future to predict Dilara's when she was born, Inina and Azriel finally decided to accept such an honor given to them when they received the news about the twins' pregnancy.
... It was no secret among the Hesperides that when twins were born in their people, one would be a Harpy and the other Dryad.
And such knowledge made the couple decide that it would be a good idea to figure out which one would be what close to their birth while they preferred to leave their own eldest daughter as a mystery that they would discover over the years with her...
Or at least, that was what they planned then.
Taking the little girl back to her own room, Inina heard all the things she would like to do with her siblings later when they were older since, in her young mind, she imagined that they would already be able to play more with her after the party that would take place tonight.
... And talking about such an event, getting Dilara ready for it was precisely the first thing that the North Star did after returning to the room full of toys with cream-colored walls, dark furniture, and white mattress, curtains, and rug...
"Look at you. So beautiful." Charmed with her own daughter, Inina ended up commenting after placing the simple tiara on her golden hair, preventing them from falling on the face of the three-year-old. "My baby is growing up so fast. I wish I could just stop time so that I would have you forever by my side."
Using the nickname that she always called her children, especially her eldest daughter, she commented while the blue embroidery that the white dress had, enchanted the little girl.
Perhaps that was not a choice that many would make for a child, but Dilara very rarely would mess her clothes, and it had been a gift from the royal family of their kingdom itself.
... The dress also has the symbol of the Tavares' family in it among the flower embroideries... Making the outfit be more than perfect for their heiress...
"Madame, the twins are awake." Ending that sweet moment between mother and daughter, one of the castle's servants mentioned after knocking on Dilara's room's half-open door.
"Thank you. I'll go there in a minute." Not saying much more than that to Dryad that she soon left, Inina returned her attention to the little girl who was already playing with some dolls near her window.
The room was on the first floor, giving a perfect view of the forest, even if it was not very high, but that didn't change the concern that the North Star had like any other mother when she went to confirm that the locks in all windows were closed before leaving her daughter playing there.
"Dilara. Mom is going to see the twins and will come back in a minute, okay? Wait for me here." Placing a lock of hair behind the little girl's ear, she told her, just to see her daughter nod to her before she left the room, soon sending a nanny there as she met one of them in the hallways.
... But little did Inina know it was already too late...
Knocking against her window, Dilara heard a noise that soon caught her attention before she saw a rare butterfly completely blue like the color of the embroidery on her dress, making her stand up.
She wanted to see the little creature more closely...
However, that was impossible through her window until the insect hit the glass a few more times, crossing it on the fourth attempt as if it was a ghost, enchanting even more the little girl who wanted to pick it in her hands.
... And in less than three seconds, Dilara did something unusual that she had never done before... She didn't follow her mother's orders...
Following the butterfly to the garden, Inina and Azriel's eldest daughter had to go down some old stairs alone, passing by the long hallways to get there, but strangely nobody saw her as she walked through all these places.
... Not even her father...
Accompanying the little creature to the woods, she laughed as she jumped after the butterfly, trying to catch it to show the twins and their parents later.
Innocently having no idea that she shouldn't be there and that something terrible would happen to her soon...
And just as mentioned, it was too late when her family found her minutes later amid the wildflowers near the garden when Saram's royal family arrived, without imagining that she was the future Mate of the little Ka'lih that was yet in his mother's womb.
... Everything about that day of joy was canceled now, despite the guests being already arriving while the Earl of Tavares just wanted the best healers in there at this very moment as faster as they could... No matter how.