"Where am I?"
Lory looked at the white dome ceiling above her. The ceiling was carved with intricate shapes and had gold and crystals chandeliers hanging from it. She looked down and noticed white marble underneath her feet. The place was familiar to her.
?
The sudden reflection from the giant glass window beside her surprised her. The window was high enough to reach the ceiling. Lory had not seen such a glass window in a very long time. Her eyebrows gradually furrowed and she slowly walked toward it. She held her breath at the overly familiar view in front of her.
There were no clouds in the star-speckled sky and a row of towering skyscrapers stretched through the horizons. The dark night was tinted with colorful lights and a half-moon hovered at the fringe of the luminous cityscape. Lory touched the glass window and murmured, "Herriond?"
Her attention was broken by monotonous footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw a woman with a long nightdress walk pass her. It was clear the woman did not see her yet she was close to Lory. The woman had a beautiful oval face with almond-shaped blue eyes and long blonde hair. Her skin was fair enough to seem transparent. Lory gasped as she took it in.
"Mo…mother…?" Lory stuttered.
The woman kept walking without a break in her pace. Lory watched her mother's retreating figure with shock. Lory could not help but chase after her mother as her figure kept moving further. Her mother walked through the hall and the maids bent the waist respectfully as she passed by. Her mother acknowledged them with a slight nod.
'Is this Cestine palace?' Lory wondered but tried to dismiss her thought. Half of the Cestine palace was burned to the ground by Nazareth. The city of Herriond had also burned to ashes and her mother… Her mother died when she was barely six years old. The fact that they were all there could only mean Lory was in a dream.
Her mother stopped in front of the door and knocked softly before she opened it slowly.
"Hi, sweety. Why are you still awake?" Her mother asked with a gentle voice. Lory's eyes blurred with tears as it was a long time since she heard her mother's voice. She even thought she had forgotten how it sounded like.
Her mother chuckled lightly as she approached the bed. A little girl with dark bluish wavy hair broke into a childish smile when she saw her mother. The little girl's blinked her big purple dolls eyes a few times as her eyes sparkled like a night covered with stars.
"Mother!" The girl called. An endearing smile on her small face.
"Now tell me, why haven't you slept. It is almost eleven o clock, Lory?" Her mother sat by the bedside and pretended to be angry.
"It… It is because Luc was mean today," The little Lory cutely puffed her cheeks. "I wanted to sleep with him but he refused!"
"Oh, why not?" Her mother giggled as she found her daughter cute even when angry.
"He said he was already a big boy and he can't sleep with a child anymore," Little Lory looked dejected by her twin brother's actions for the first time.
'Pffft', Queen Lorenna couldn't hold her laughter anymore. Her children were adorable and she couldn't wait to tell Marcus about this. Lorenna wore a serious face when she saw her daughter was still angry. "Ehm… Why do you want to sleep with Lucas? Aren't you a big girl too?"
"That... It is because Fred was alone and sad. I asked Fred to watch a movie with me to cheer him up but…but the movie he chose was a horror movie!" Little Lory fiddled with her fingers nervously. She gave in and tearfully told Lorenna what happened. She was not especially happy when Fred laughed throughout the entire movie and made her more scared than she already was by teasing her.
Lorena covered her mouth as she painstakingly held her laughter. She could imagine how Fredhard teased her beloved daughter. Fredhard might look like a calm and mature kid but she knew he was actually playful and mischievous. He was also the spitting image of his father, Stephan.
"Fufufu~ but I believe Fred was no longer sad all thanks to you, isn't he?" Lorenna fixed her daughter's blanket.
Lory tilted her head with innocence. She still couldn't help but worry for Fred, "No, he laughed too much he might have a stomachache. Do you think he is gonna be alright?"
"He'll be fine," Lorenna helplessly shook her head. Her daughter had been mad at Fred a few moments before but she was now worried about him. She poked little Lory's nose and watched it twitch. A bright smile touched her face.
"Now, sleep," Lorenna turned off the main light and turned on Lory's pink unicorn bedside lamp. She gently stroked her daughter's hair. She was amazed by her beautiful daughter and wondered how she would look like as a grown-up. Marcus might need to worry so much about her beauty. Lorenna's eyes turned sullen and her smiled became sad. 'The future', she used to never care about it but her dreams were now filled with nightmares and terrors of the future. She was too scared to even sleep.
"Mother…?" Lory called softly.
Lorenna quickly wiped the tears on her cheeks. The room was dark so her daughter didn't notice her tears. Her answer was calm, "Yes, sweety."
"Can I be a king?" Lory asked with a childish voice.
"You want to be a king?" Lorenna asked for clarification.
"I heard father talking with Uncle Steve… They said to be king, Luc would endure pain and hurt throughout his life. I'm worried… Will Lucas be hurt? I don't want him to... Can I be the king instead?" Lory pleaded as she did wish to see her brother in pain.
Lorenna could not stop the tears from pouring down her cheeks this time around. Little Lory was shocked to see her mother's tears. She quickly rose from her bed and wiped off her mother's tears with her small chubby hands, "Are you angry? I'm sorry, mother. Please don't be angry… I don't wanna be king anymore…so don't cry..."
"Oh Lory, my beautiful child!" Lorenna pulled her daughter into her arms. She tightened her hold as more tears streamed down her face while Little Lory was confused. "This is so unfair. Why does it have to be you? Why must it be my children? This is so cruel!"
The grown Lory's eyes turned moist as she watched the scene. Tears fell down like pearls on her cheeks as she closed her eyes. She approached her mother who still held little Lory on the bed. Lory slowly sat by the beside opposite her mother.
"You knew it, didn't you?" Lory asked softly. She reached for her mother's face but her hand passes through it. It could have been a dream or a memory, "You knew it all along…"
Little Lory eventually fell asleep while Lorenna stayed by her beloved daughter's bedside and watched her sleep. Lorenna's eyes were swollen from crying. She caressed her daughter's cheeks and said quietly, "I won't let anyone hurt you… No one can take away my sweetheart."
Lorenna cupped her hands and closed her eyes like she was praying. A dim blue light gradually emerged from her hand. She opened her hand to reveal a glowing blue flower. Lorenna opened her eyes and smiled gently, "This is my last Gift to you."
The flower floated away from her hand and slowly sunk into little Lory's chest. The mark of the bluebell flower glowed all over Lory's body.
A blue light filled the room as the bluebell flower emerged from the floor and spread throughout the room in bits. The flower even slipped between the floor cracks as it grew rapidly.
The bedroom door was suddenly kicked roughly and Marcus frantically entered the room. Lorenna's body swayed but Marcus caught her before she could hit the floor.
"Loren, what have you done?" Marcus held his wife and looked at that face that had turned as white as snow.
"What all mothers should do…" Lorenna answered with a weak smiles.
"You used up all of your mana!" Marcus' hand trembled and his eyes were filled with sadness. The consequence of using all of one's mana was a shorten life span.
"I see it now… The reason I fell in love with you and why we had twins. It's all God's plans. She said our union would decide the course of the world's fate… I didn't understand it at that time but now I do," Lorenna murmured to herself but Marcus could still hear her.
"Lorenna, stop talking. You need to save your strength!"
"I'm fine..." Lorenna weakly shook her head and said in low voice. She reached for Marcus' cheek as tears fell from her blue eyes. She did not have much time anymore. She would never see her children grow up or become great leaders like they were destined to be.
"Promise me you will protect Lucas and Lorient! Don't let them take my children away..."
"Of course, they are my children too," Marcus smiled bitterly. Determination filled his eyes. He said, "I promise you! My soul will never rest until our children are safe. I give you my word."
Lorenna smiled faintly, "I accept your words… My King!"
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