Her Kingdom

Under the Sunlight Again

Chapter 4 - Present

Going up the old stairs that were connected to the roots of the big tree, hidden under the earth along with the dungeon, Anwyn could only think that Kaylan hadn't lied to her.

As he had told her, the corridors were empty with few guards in their way, but the dethroned queen could easily deceive them with the cloak of the young man.

... Her steps were slow, and her body still heaving due to all the poisons but, using all the emotions of hope that remained in her heart, she climbed each step, one by one, until her eyes met with the daylight again...

The light was strong for someone who had spent so many years in the dark, but she couldn't stop yet.

She didn't know how much time she had until they noticed that she was no longer in her cage... Until her cousin noticed that Anwyn was missing and sent someone after her.  

... So hidden even more under the cloak, she went on to the main route that existed at the foot of the castle, place of all the traders and sellers...

Her hair wasn't an uncommon color among the Eos, but Anwyn couldn't risk that anyone recognized her amid the crowd that was once full of life with people from all kinds of world, including the Naiads, their rivals.

And that was one of the first things that the young queen noticed differently in the place... The number of people on the streets was less, nothing compared to her memories, even if there was still a reasonable amount that allowed her to hide among them perfectly.

"Here." Frightening Anwyn, an older man offered her an apple when she could no longer walk, crouching down beside a wall. "Don't worry, it's free for you, young lady."

Seeing her hesitation in picking the fruit, the elder kept saying to her while his granddaughter called him back to the small stall that they had.

"... N-no, I-I ca-can't..." Her words came out with difficulty, but despite her hunger, Anwyn couldn't accept the apple from the old man without giving him anything in return as p*****t.

"As I said, it's okay." Assuring her, he said, placing the fruit in her weak hands. "Judging by the cloak, you must have lost someone in the frontlines too..."

The dark coat that the soldiers from Aura-ladus wore was unique, with feather embroidery all over the fabric and golden details around it, making it easy for anyone to recognize the brave heroes and heroines of their kingdom.

"Did you see that young lady over there?" The old gentleman continued to tell her, pointing to his granddaughter, who had short brown hair, making her easy to recognize among the sea of colored hair. "She is my granddaughter, and she also lost her parents at the border, so the only thing we can do now is hope that this war will end soon so that we can go back to times of peace like it was with the Queen Anwyn's rule."

Holding the apple more tightly in her hand, Anwyn didn't know what she could do when she heard her name left his mouth.

As old as he was, he should already have lived under the rules of several sovereigns in Aura-ladus, so why would he have chosen especially her to remember the peaceful times that their people lived in?

"T-thank you s-so mu-ch."Tears welled up in her eyes as she struggled to stand up, thanking him for his good deed. "I will... Ma-make sure to... To always remember...  your kind gesture."

Looking into her eyes, the elder couldn't believe who the person before him was...

Opening his mouth a few times, he seemed to want to say something else, but he gave up, so he just placed another apple in Anwyn's hands, and in silence, reverenced her before returning to his granddaughter's side.  

... Lost without knowing what to do after the elder's action, the former Queen observed him with his granddaughter a little more before leaving... Holding the apples firmly in her hands as if they were the most precious thing in the world...  

The sky was already turning red when Anwyn's feet finally left the capital's land, and the hope in her chest increased as she took a deep breath, thinking that she had achieved her freedom again.

... But sadly, it didn't last long...

Before she could even take another step away, a sword was being aimed at her throat, and she was surrounded by the winged people who were her own kind.  

"Don't think you can run away from here, Anwyn." Coldly, Brion spoke to her, and she never expected that this would be the way they would meet each other again after years.

... Fate really seemed to be much more wicked than she thought...

In the mind of the young Queen, she never thought that one day the man that she loved would point his sword at her, threatening her life.

And she couldn't stop thinking that she must have been a very silly girl, blinded by a youthful passion that wouldn't make up for every sleepless night that she worried that Brion would never return from the battles that he led against the Naiads years ago before the present war.  

... In the end, he was her enemy, not the people from the sea, as she believed in the past...

Her light hair flew in the air when the cloak left her head, and for the first time in years, she opened her wings in all their glory, pushing away some soldiers who surrounded her before she ignored the words from her old lover as she flighted into the sky.

... But as she expected, Brion didn't let her go so easily, following her in the air as they fought against each other while he used the help of the soldiers who were with him to stop Anwyn, but again, she was able to easily defeat them...

Stealing a sword, she fought almost toe to toe against Brion, despite her weaknesses, and after her wing was cut, Anwyn found herself almost falling into the great river that bathed the capital and ended in the land of the Dragons.

However, it would be too easy if she lost there after everything that happened, and she hadn't run away after years to end like that...

So, despite her pain, she continued to fight, hurting the man in his waist, increasing his anger as he knew that even after years, he wasn't yet able to compete against her.

... The sound of the staling blades was the only music around them as the twin moons were already in the sky when Anwyn saw that more reinforcements were arriving to capture her, led by a Helias that she recognized so well from the past...

Zanth was her right arm and best friend after her cousin...He was her fifth Helias who always listened to all her problems as a good friend, being the only person closer to her age besides Arabella in the court. So it was painful for her to see him there too, but what could she expect?

If Arabella and Brion had betrayed her, so why couldn't Zanth do it too? After all, he was no more special than anyone else in the castle, or the kingdom.