Her Kingdom

Their Childhood

Chapter 1 - Past

Soft linen sheets lined the bed on the day that the world was blessed with another small Eos life...

Eos or Aura was known as the people of the sky with beautiful wings on their backs that reminded anyone else of the divine angels.

They did have the magical ability to manipulate fire at their will, making humans and other mystical races believe that they were also children of Gods of the Sun and the Sky.

Most of the people of their kind were part of the same kingdom Aura-ladus, which was used as a reference by the other rulers of their race, in other words, Aura-ladus was the kings of the kings, the supreme ruler among the Eos.  

... And even the term Aura originated from them...

The citizens of Aura-ladus were known as Aurae, and they always had the habit of calling their kingdom Aura when answering someone about where they were from, so soon, the term became another way of calling the people of sky among the other races.  

... And it was in the beautiful land that the little Anwyn had just been born, in a small county a few days away from the capital Ladus, which was built largely over the large araucaria-like trees...

The newborn was extremely small in her father's arms, the hair on her head being a blond so light, almost white, that everyone in the room knew it would only last a few days.

... It was something typical of the Eos...

Their typically blond or brown hair changed to unusual colors in their first days of life, being pink, blue, purple, green, and even a mixture of more than one color, common to be seen in their people.

Rare were the cases of children like the little Arabella, Anwyn's oldest cousin by only a few days difference who had her black hair since birth.

A black as coal unusual among the Aurae, being the reason behind her name, which in their language meant the rare beauty in the darkness.

And like her cousin, Anwyn's hair was also the motivation behind her name, even though the little girl had very fair skin similar to the Welsh meaning of it, in the Choujouni Realm, her name meant the glow of the morning.

... Tribute to the morning sky that was in a light, pastel pink color just like her hair became after a few days...

"She looks so pretty..." Like any mother in love with her newborn, Anwyn's mother was also in love with her little girl, the youngest of three other boys.

"Yes, she is, just like you." And being the devout husband that her father was, he didn't lose the chance to praise his wife while sitting beside her in the bed, where the Aura woman held the sleeping baby in her arms.

"I can't badly wait for the day that she and the boys will be able to play together." The woman's eyes traveled to the foot of the bed, where the three little boys now slept...

Upon hearing of the news of their sister's birth, they soon woke up, invading the couple's room in the middle of the night when the healers let them pass only to find a sleeping baby, making them soon fall asleep too while the couple happily watched them.

... Sadly, the years didn't pass by with the same happiness...

"C'mon, Ara! You will never beat me if you keep being that slow." The young twelve-year-old Anwyn told her cousin that now lived with her family while she fought back against the attacks done by the other girl.

Just a little before the girls' tenth birthday, the kingdom of Arabella's parents had been taken over by the Naiads, their lands confiscated by the people of the land and sea.

Their royal family was almost all annihilated if it wasn't by their queen's last act of love that ended up saving her only daughter. 

Distracting the soldiers, she gained enough time for Ara and her nanny to flee to Aura-ladus, to the nearest county that was ruled by her brother's family, that was a nobleman in Aura.

"That's not fair, Wyn! You had always been better than me when fighting with ring claws!" Arabella spoke, flying away with her wings that looked light blue in the afternoon as they reflected the color of the sky in the white feathers.

"And you better than me when fighting with swords, but I didn't complain when you beat me on it this morning." Returning to the land, Anwyn soon hid her black wings that, unlike those of her cousin, were black as the dawn.

... Such a contrast between the girls was something that the servants of the old castle always liked to talk about... 

Despite having the same age, Anwyn and Arabella were opposed in everything they did and liked, being like yin and yang, even with their appearances... 

However, such differences soon began to fade away when the young girls met Brion at Arabella's thirteenth birthday party.

... The boy was the eldest son of the new general of Anwyn's father, and he was more than delighted in the eyes of the teenagers who couldn't help but fall in love with him, although they never mentioned about this passion to anyone or each other...

Two years soon went away, and the friendship between the trio was yet strong, even with the hidden feelings that they kept in their hearts.

Brion was becoming an excellent warrior like his father, dreaming of being a Helias like Anwyn's brother was, or even become their next sovereign, after all the crown wasn't hereditary in Aura- ladus.  

... Unlike the other kingdoms like the one that Arabella's family ruled, there was no royal family in Aura...

The crown was always passed on to the strongest person among the Eos, who won the competitions.

Even if the person wasn't part of their kingdom, they could compete to be the next leader of their kind without a problem if they had the blood of the race of the sky and sun on their vein.

... And even if she didn't talk about it, that was the title that Anwyn wanted...

Growing up like any other Eos child, the young woman has always learned to fight since she was able to sit, yet unlike her brothers who longed for Helias' position, Anwyn wanted to be their Queen.

Not that there was anything wrong with being a Helias, they were also highly respected figures in Aura-ladus since they were the six most powerful beings besides the King in their kingdom.

They were also his right hand, the ones who he could trust the most in between their kind as no Helias would ever betray their sovereign.  

... The reason why Anwyn believed her brother was the perfect Helias, and that one day, he would serve her too...

However, she never expected Brion would invite her and Arabella to the unexpected competitions of that year, after the sudden death of their King in the winter that went by... And likewise, she never expected her life to change so much after that month.