Warm oranges, reds and yellows, leapt from the open fireplace within Naomi's quaint home in Strelle Forest. It was around this focal point that Astrid, True and their new self-appointed guardian gathered to share their thoughts - every evening, since the day Naomi found them. To both True and Astrid's relief, this cottage, that they managed to call their new home, was hidden from the Emerald Army's watchers, it was as if it was enchanted to be overlooked. It crossed True's mind that this may in fact be the case.

True managed to relax with ease within the heat of the fire. He put his arm around Astrid's shoulders and pulled her to his side, inviting her to watch the flames dance with him.

"Oh, aren't you two just a picture?" Naomi cooed over them. She placed two full mugs of hot cocoa on the mahogany, coffee table, that stood in the middle of the room.

As soon as Naomi took up her seat, in her scarlet, floral armchair, with her own cocoa mug cradled in her hands, Astrid and True broke apart and reached for theirs.

"Seeing the way you two are, reminds me of a time so long ago, I've forgotten how much I've missed it..." Naomi sighed. It looked as though she had spoken her thoughts out loud without realising it. However, it was in fact the beginning of a story that Naomi longed to share with the pair, since she met them a couple of days ago.

"My family live in the same residential area as the Fiosolim family," Naomi began.

"Fiosolim? Really?" True could not hold back his excitement, "I've never met a seer! That's fascinating!" He looked over to his companion who had fallen silent from hearing that family name. "Astrid?"

Astrid stretched her mouth into a fake smile out of politeness, not wanting to disrupt Naomi's story further.

"Oh, they were a fascinating bunch, that's for sure. A family that kept themselves to themselves, mostly. I remember, they were not allowed to be away from the smoke for too long, so it was a rarity to see a Fiosolim outside their home. But there was one in the family that lived by me that refused to be cooped up. He found that life far too solitary. He longed to go out and meet other people who wouldn't have that glassy, misty look in their eyes- that's how he worded it," Naomi explained with such admiration in her voice.

"I'm guessing you two were friends?" True asked a leading question to encourage Naomi to carry on with her story.

"You could certainly say that. I adored him. He was so easy to get along with. He cared about what others had to say. He was interested in other families' trades. He made you feel like you were the most interesting person he'd ever spoken to."

"That doesn't sound much like a Fiosolim, well what I have heard of them anyway," True pondered aloud.

"Oh, he was nothing like the rest of his family, I think that is why he sought escape, Jameh-Lius - that was his name - always loved coming to my house, he felt more at home with us healers, with me, than with his own lot." Naomi, took a slow sip of cocoa as she let her mind drift into the past.

"He sounds lovely," Astrid said, allowing herself to enter into the magic of Naomi's storytelling.

"Oh, he was." Naomi managed to respond before a sadness reached her eyes. "Our friendship could never last though, Noir-Astra made sure of that!"

"Noir-Astra?" The way that Naomi dropped such an evil name casually into conversation made True's ears perk up. "What do you mean?"

"Oh no. It's all in the past now," Naomi said in a dismissive manner.

True and Astrid shared a look and simultaneously took a sip of cocoa to help them cope with the awkwardness that they found themselves in.

Moments that passed felt like hours as a heavy silence took over. However, a thought came to True's mind that he could not ignore. "Naomi?"

"Yes?" she responded with only a second of hesitation.

"You mentioned when we first met that you were the healer at Astrid's birth..." True made sure to tread carefully with each word as he felt Astrid shift next to him.

"Yes, Naomi. Please, could you tell me about my mother?" Astrid pitched in, full of hope to learn the truth by someone, she believed, would not hold back important details.

"Oh, by the stars! I don't, I..." Naomi's voice trembled, "that's complicated."

"But don't you think Astrid has the right to know?" True asked, feeling affronted on behalf of his best friend.

"Of course, you are right." Naomi's eyes flew up to the ceiling, "Oh, Illuminare-Trabem, true master of light, judge me not!" She suddenly closed her eyes to compose herself before she began. "Astrid, dear, I have to tell you before anything else, that you are loved, okay?"

"Okay." Unease settled inside Astrid's chest. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear more but she knew that she mustn't stop Naomi now, for this could be her only chance to hear where she truly came from.

"Your mother was... Now, this'll be hard to swallow, but I swear it is the truth." Naomi found it hard to get her words out, she feared the implication of such a secret to leave her.

"Go on..." True pushed, beginning to lose his patience.

"Your mother was, erm, is Queen Davìa."

"What?" True's voice echoed around the room as shock caused it to become a shout.

"I know," Naomi sighed, took in a sharp breath and started to tell the whole story.
"There were rumours that Queen Davìa and King Lux could not bear children. Those rumours were true for the longest time. They tried to conceive an heir for years but were not successful. Then word came to the Slànacus that she was with child, but it was kept quiet, for there was a scandal surrounding her condition."

"A scandal? Couldn't King Lux and Queen Davìa not just have conceived a child at last? Why was it seen as a scandal?" asked True.

"Yes, that was my thought before I heard the truth. However, a prophecy that the Fiosolim were trying their hardest to hide got leaked, which caused many to worry." Naomi suddenly turned towards the fire. She could feel a tear threatening to fall and she did not want to let herself cry in front of the youngsters sitting cosily on her couch.

"Is this the prophecy?" True asked quietly, he looked anxiously towards Astrid who began to look uncomfortable.

"Indeed. A child born with the royal seal, born under the red moon, with eyes of violet, will bring forth the end of the light." Naomi recited the words that so many were taught over the last decade. Words that Astrid was never allowed to forget.

"Jameh-Lius' grand-father was the one who received this message from the smoke. He saw fit to pass this message onto the royal family." Naomi's demeanour suddenly became heavy under an unseen pressure that crushed around her. "I soon found out that people's worries about the Queen were not just gossip."

"What do you mean?" True asked, his arm squeezing Astrid closer to his side.

"Jameh-lius, my dear friend, my..." A tear escaped Naomi's left eye and rolled down her cheek before she managed to wipe it away. "He was desperate to meet with me, a week before the Queen was due, moments after I was told that I was selected to be her healer. We met in the Enchanted Forest just beyond where the Draoicis-Lus family forage for Dormi root. He made sure we were hidden. He was crying. He was distraught. He told me that he had kept something from me and no longer could. He was ashamed and scared of how I would react."

Naomi's head dropped in despair as she fought against her better judgement about whether she should carry on speaking. But Astrid's gaze pulled at her heart and she knew deep down that she must. "He told me that nine months prior to our meeting that day, he went for a walk to Luna Lake after having an argument with his father about me. He didn't feel like he could talk to me about it at the time." Naomi's lip quivered. "Oh how I wish he did, then maybe..." She shook her head suddenly and carried on. "It was at Luna Lake that Noir-Astra grabbed him and took over his mind; Like the great darkness had done to many others before him. But this time Noir-Astra made him go to the palace, the dark magic changed his form to look like the King and he lay with the Queen."

"By the stars!" True couldn't hold back.

"Of course, it wasn't his fault! But, that is why the Queen was suddenly able to conceive. For it was only in the knowledge of the Slànacus that it was the King that couldn't produce an heir." Naomi then crumbled, she no longer could hold back the tears that desperately fought to leave her.

Astrid slowly got up, tip-toed to Naomi's side and knelt before her. "Please, Naomi. Don't cry..." she whispered, sorrow making her words tremble.

"I'm sorry, I am so sorry, Child. But as soon as I heard what he had said I felt my heart break. I loved him, I still do... and I cursed you for my heart-ache."

These words struck Astrid hard, they churned at her insides.

Naomi's hand flew to caress Astrid's cheek, "I was wrong to! Dear Astrid, believe me, I know I was wrong to ever do such a thing, to think such a way. I was upset, that is all. As soon as I saw your beautiful face, those violet eyes, my heart melted. I knew that you were a child that deserved love."

"Her mother didn't think so though..." True said resentfully.

"Unfortunately the truth got to King Lux, Jameh-lius' ambitious brother betrayed him. He saw the truth in the smoke and ratted on my dear friend, his own brother! His message confirmed the King's suspicions, moments after your birth, Astrid, you were ripped from my grasp, taken out of the room and your tiny screams were all I could hear. That sound has haunted my dreams ever since." A look of horror took over Naomi's face, which caused True to jump to his feet.

"What? What is it?" True demanded.

"They branded you, with the Royal Seal of Warning. They branded you with the Ember rod, they branded you like a criminal. They did that to a newborn baby..."

"I was told it was a birth-mark..." Astrid whispered, running her fingers across a tiny area on her ribs.

"Marked by fools at your birth, fools that listen to ridiculous tales from Fiosolim... it makes my blood boil still to think of it. I have hidden away from society ever since that awful day. I moved to Strelle Forest, built my light orb within the walls so that it could be hidden from any prying eyes." Naomi stared at the fire, which was beginning to die down. "They wouldn't let me near you. They sent you straight to the Emeralds. That's why I built my cottage here. To be as close as I can to you."

Astrid held her hand out to the one who, she now knew for sure, truly loved her as a true parent. Naomi took her hand in hers and kissed her slender fingers.

True didn't know how to digest all that he had heard. A heavy sigh left him and he slowly sat back down.

"What happened to Jameh-lius? My father?" Astrid asked quietly.

Naomi drew in a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Jameh-lius was banished to a non-magical realm. I never saw him again."