Jayra couldn't believe what she just heard. To think that her family was right here all this time… That she would finally meet them…
"A-Are you sure?" Jayra asked.
"I'm sure," Lera tearily nodded. "You look just like our mother…"
She didn't know what to think. She knew that she had a family, but to think that she was already within her reach was like this.
"We'll have to confirm it first," Casimir interrupted.
"Right, we'll be needing your blood sample so that Casimir can do the blood compatibility testing with Lera right now," Queen Mother Mona seconded.
"Yes, please," Jayra eagerly nodded. "Do what you must."
Nodding back, Casimir guided her to a seat and then started getting her blood sample. There was silence as they waited for him to perform the necessary procedures after getting all that he needed.
Waiting with bated breath, Jayra felt Bella's hand on her as she gently squeezed it. She turned to her sister-in-law, whose reassuring gaze at her was enough to give her some encouragement and comfort through the nervousness she was currently feeling.
Shaking her head, Jayra's eyes then landed on Lera who was also looking at her intently. Both of their gazes were filled with hope as they anticipated the result of Casimir's test. She knew it wouldn't take long since she was aware of the process, and yet it somehow still felt like ages as she waited in her seat.
After a while, she then stared at Casimir. Specifically, she stared as he mixed her blood with Lera's. He had already chanted the spell for it, and she could only wait as she eagerly watched the test result unfold. If the blood formed clumps, then that meant she and Lera weren't related by blood.
Seconds ticked by, Jayra's face lit up as she saw the results of the test. There was no clumping, and it only meant one thing… Lera was indeed her older sister.
"Oh, heavens! It's a match!"
Jayra's eyes blurred with happiness as tears started streaming down her cheeks. She felt like she was on cloud nine, and her joy only grew brighter as she felt Lera's warm embrace wrap around her.
"Oh, my younger sister. I'm so glad to have finally found you!" Lera burst out as she hugged her. "Oh, if only Mother was here. Oh, thank you so much, Almighty, for keeping my little sister safe. I'm sure Mother is so happy right now like me!"
"Thank you for not giving up on me!" Jayra sobbed as she hugged Lera tightly. Her heart was in so much joy right now that she felt like it would burst open from inside her chest.
[Wife… I'm so happy for you,] Bartos beamed through their bond. [Feeling your emotions right now tells me that it's a successful match. You actually found your family present among the Helonian's entourage!]
[Yes, husband! Lera… Do you remember Lera? The King's cousin who was always with the Queen Mother? The Chancellor of Helion?! She's my older sister!] she boasted. [Isn't my older sister so great like me?!]
[This is a call for a celebration!] Bartos chuckled. [I will inform this good news to His Majesty this instant!]
Back in the real world, Lera gently pushed her away before then caressing her cheeks and lovingly cupping her face. "I knew it. My hunch is never wrong. I felt it the first time I saw you. You're exactly how I remember Mother," Lera stated with her brightest smile. "Those beautiful blue eyes and that wavy blonde hair of yours… I always adored them, but I'm not fortunate enough to inherit such traits. Most of my facial features came from our father."
"Our parents… Where are they?" Jayra excitedly asked.
She was feeling hope now, but seeing how Lera's face fell, she instantly knew that something bad happened to their parents.
Shaking her head, Lera held her hand as she then guided her to a seat. Her sister sat beside her, and she took a deep breath before she started with a sigh. "Our parents are both gone already, Jayra."
Jayra's shoulders slumped at that deliberation. But then she was at least grateful to find out that she had an older sister.
"Our father, Maza, is King Azarel's brother. He's a fallen angel turned demon who followed King Azarel and was very loyal to him. Although Father committed various crimes following Azarel's orders, he was someone truly devoted to Mother," Lera narrated. "They had me as their firstborn daughter, and then came the time when Devon had his rebellion against his father and killed Azarel."
"That's also the time when Queen Mother Mona sent Amon away to save him, right?" Jayra inquired.
Lera nodded. "Amon could've been a potential threat to Devon at the time, so Aunt Mona didn't take any risks and sent him away. Two years passed, and a prophecy reached Devon about the true heir and ruler of Helion who harbored the demon blood. But unlike other demons, this ruler was someone who would bring Helion back to its feet," she continued. "During that time, Mother gave birth to you, and unlike me, you inherited Father's demon blood. It was also then that Devon conducted a purge against all who harbor the demon blood in them."
Lera took another deep breath before she continued. "Our parents prepared themselves to fight against Devon's tyranny with the others, but Mother didn't want to risk your life, so she sent her most trusted servant to flee Helion with you to keep you safe until their fight against Devon is over…"
Jayra weakly nodded as she listened. Looking at Lera, she couldn't help but reach out to her older sister's face to wipe away some of the tears on her cheeks.
"I was only two back then. Devon spared me because I'm purely human like Mother. There was no trace of demon blood in me at all," Lera stated, her voice trembling. "I didn't witness it all, but Aunt Mona did. She was the one who took me in and cared for me when my parents fell in the battle against Devon."
"I tried to find you the moment we got our freedom from Devon, but it was hard. It's like finding a needle in a haystack since we didn't know where the servant went," Lera kept on adding. "She didn't come back. I waited, hoping that the servant was well with you and that you would come back, but it never happened."
Jayra smacked her lips as she shared her own life story. "From my end, I was found outside Ebodia Castle when I was a baby. A royal guard found me outside the castle walls, and then he took me into the castle," she recounted. "I basically grew up inside the Chapel helping take care of it and running errands. I was fortunate enough to have a memorable encounter with Princess Xenia when I was young."
"Tell me more about it," Lera curiously remarked. "I want to know everything."
Smiling brightly, Jayra eagerly continued, "My life changed knowing Princess Xenia."
"How did you two meet?" Lera asked.
Jayra had a wide smile as she answered, "I was fourteen at that time and was running an errand that time, I stopped by a particular stall because I saw a beautiful hairpin. I picked it up to have a better look, but the seller immediately thought that I was a thief trying to steal it. To be fair, I looked like a beggar at the time. So I guess that justifies his accusations somewhat. Still, that was when I met Princess Xenia. She was just seven at the time, and I was lucky she was there."
She chuckled at the fond memory, "I remember insisting that I wasn't a thief, but the seller insisted that I was being suspicious. He even insisted that if I wasn't a thief, then I should buy it since I already touched it with my dirty hands. I didn't have money at the time. So again, that justifies the seller's accusations. He was about to hit me when Princess Xenia swooped in and stood up for me. She didn't even care how dirty I was back then, or how she'd get hurt trying to defend me. Instead, she just hugged me and protected me with her body, shielding me from potentially getting hit."
Jayra paused a while and smiled seeing how Lera was immersed in listening so she added, "Fortunately, the Princess was with his brother, Prince Ezekiel, so she didn't end up getting hit. After all, was said and done, the seller was punished according to his acts. And ever since then, Princess Xenia would often check in on me in the chapel. She would always bug me to play with her, and we eventually became close friends after the fact…. More like sisters even."
"Is that why you're at Cordon right now?" Lera asked.
"Our King asked me to go with her to Cordon, I was really grateful to have even been offered the opportunity. I wanted to look after her like how she had protected me with all her might. In fact, even if the King hadn't asked me to go with her, I probably would've begged him to let me accompany Princess Xenia wherever she went. Also, at Cordon, I met the man for me, my husband."
"I am so glad Jayra that you were with good people and living a good life. Mother will surely be happy wherever she is right now," Lera commented, teary-eyed.
Unknown to the reunited siblings, the others inside the tent had already left in silence to give them the privacy they needed, knowing how the two had more catching up to do despite everything that had happened.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l