Twelve Years Later

In a small village not far from the kingdom of Serenity, she played with her friends. Laughing at the conversations going on and watching the boys being fools, she sat in the grass making a flower crown. Rolling over to her knees to stand up she heard her mother calling for her.

"Loraz! Come quickly!"

She looked towards the voice and then down at her outfit, her skirt was covered in dirt from rolling down the small hill behind Tylic's family stable earlier in the day, she smelled of wet fur from laying with the gillimens, and a day of baking in the sun; pieces of straw fell from her hair from their game of hide-and-seek out by Mr. Pumpington's farm and she could now feel the rocks in her shoes from the race she won by the half-dried up pond not far from Alise's house. The thought of going home in the state she was in made her knees quake, but she knew she had no choice. She looked back at her friends and smiled.

"Mother's calling me now. I will see you all again soon."

No one answered her as they watched Tylic and Jonic running about. She patted off what dirt she could from her clothes as they pranced, made grunting sounds, and taunted each. Tylic and Jonic were having a sword fight to the 'death' with their self-made wooden swords. Marie, Bon, and Alise giggled their delicate giggles at the boys as they made fools of themselves. Vestin, who stood closest to her, was to fight the winner of the match and just studied them as the awful display called "fighting" continued. She noticed that he would take glimpses at her every so often though. Shrugging her shoulders, she waved to them and then turned to run home. She stopped at the touch of a hand grabbing hold of hers. Looking back her eyes slightly began to glow.

"Oh, it was you. What is it now, Vestin?" She asked.

"Will you be coming out tomorrow?" He asked.

"I might come out, but after I've done my chores and completed my lessons for the day. Mother has been very hard on me these days about my lessons being completed."

"If you make it out tomorrow, meet me at the well behind the bakery, I want to give you something."

"A present for me... can you show me now, please?"

"I can't, you have to wait until tomorrow."

"Oh please, please, please."

"No. You have to wait until we meet."

"Oh, that is not fair, why wait. Why can't it be now? Is there something special about tomorrow?"

"Your mother is waiting for you so you can get it tomorrow."

She crossed her arms over her chest and her sweet smile twisted into a frown while her hazel eyes began to water. Blinking her eyes a few times she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

" If you want it so badly then remember to be at the well behind the bakery."

The rest of their friends stopped playing to look at them. Tylic nudged his elbow slightly into Jonic's side and pointed at Vestin as he whispered something to him.

"What is this Vestin; have your eye on Lo do you?" Jonic said.

His long skinny arms folded in front of his chest as Tylic stood by his side and laughed. They held a smug look on their faces as Vestin's face turned beet red.

"Lay off you guys...," Bon said.

"Oh, come on, he was joking with him...," Tylic replied.

With a sigh, Alise asked in a soft voice,

"Why are you all making a big fuss? Is it any of our business if he fancies Lo? Let them be."

Rolling her eyes Marie looked over at Alise and scoffed then sighed herself then walked up to Bon and pulled her back to where they were sitting.

"Alise is right. Let them have their precious little moment. Leave it be and come finish the fight you two," she said.

"Awe, come on Marie, we want to watch what happens next," Jonic replied.

"Yeah, quit messing with our fun. Everyone already knows that he's head over heels for Lo. Just look at how red he is right now." Tylic said.

"We said to leave him alone, guys. Why do you keep teasing him about it every chance you get?" Bon said.

"Bon, stop feeding into it. They're looking for a reaction." Alise said.

"Hey if you're not going to finish the fight then I'm going home. This isn't fun to watch, and I don't want to listen to it." Marie said.

"Ugh...could you guys keep quiet!" Vestin said.

They laughed at Vestin's outburst tears forming in their eyes and his face went even brighter red. Loraz looked at Vestin and smiled then walked up to him grabbing his hand.

"I find this side of you the cutest Vestin," she said.

She kissed his cheek, and everyone's eyes grew big. Vestin looked at her and touched his cheek with his free hand. His face was still red, he just stood there speechless.

Jonic pulled at Tylic's shoulder and singled him to follow him. Reluctant to go, Tylic scoffed and followed him away from everyone. As Marie already walking towards her house looked back at Alise and Bon motioning for them to follow.

"Let's go, Bon. They need to be alone." Alise said.

Bon shook her head and ran to catch up to Marie.

With the two alone Vestin let out a breath. His chest felt heavy as he took deep breaths and searched for something to say. That was the first time she had been so forward with him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Uh...yes, yes, I am fine. Just let me think for a moment."

Loraz smiled as she watched him flustered over a kiss on the cheek. She had liked him for so long and thought of many ways to tell him and would often give him signs of her feelings towards him. After waiting for him to confess to her about his feelings she decided that if she waited any longer, they'd both be married off to other people and full of regret. She could no longer wait for him to take the first step.

"I like you, Vestin. You're funny and cute. Maybe in the future, I can be your wife. I'm sure mother would love that as well."

Vestin looked up at her and froze for a moment as her words sank in. He stared at her and when he realized it wasn't a dream and he was wide awake, he felt his face get hot.

"Wife... marriage... you to me?"

Loraz giggled at his reaction and took the flower crown she made and placed it on his head. She had planned on giving it to her mother, but it would serve as his reminder of the promise she made to him at that moment.

"Yes silly, but you have to wait until we can convince mother, so promise that you will give it your all to gain her blessing."

"LORAZ!"

Loraz snapped her head in the direction of her mother's voice, her eyes wide as she jerked upright.

"Oh, my... she's never done that before, I must go now, Vestin, but I promise to meet you tomorrow, okay."

"Tomorrow, go before your mother comes to chase after you."

Vestin let go of her hand and she smiled at him before she raced off towards home. She wondered if she was in trouble for something she forgot to do at home; her mother would never raise her voice like that to call for her. With her skirt gathered in her hands, she quickened her pace. Lucky for her they did not live far from Tylic and Jonic's house. Her mother had been I'll for some time and she would often play close by in case she needed to return home quickly. She wondered what would become of her if the illness claimed her mother's life since her mother had been sick for a very long time. To her knowledge, they had no other relatives she could stay with, and the closest orphanage was at a church in the castle city of Serenity. She shook her head of thought and walked up to her house. The door wasn't closed so she leaned her head in to see if her mother was close by. She stepped inside after scanning the living room and peeked over at the kitchen.

"Mother..."

She heard noises coming from the back of the house where her mother's bedroom was and looked in that direction. Slowly she walked further into the house following the noise. As she walked past her bedroom, she noticed a few bags packed and a clean dress laid out on the bed. Puzzled by this she made her way to her mother's room and pushed the door open and peeked in. Hiding behind the door she saw her mother staring at a small holograph of them taken when she was much younger. Not even looking over her shoulder her mother spoke, her voice sounding as if it were a bit shaky.

"Please come inside, Loraz. We must speak of something important."

When she entered her mother's bedroom and turned around to face her. You could see that her skin was an unhealthy pale color, her eyes a stunning grey appeared swollen and red as if she hadn't slept in days. The once long healthy brown hair she had in her youth, now riddled with white hairs and dry as dirt, lay along her back and across her shoulder. Loraz stood before her mother, puzzled. She knew even though she was twelve that her mother looked as if she were preparing herself for something drastic. Yet she waited for the words from her mouth rather than bring it up herself.

"Yes mother, you called for me."

"Loraz, my child, you must listen to what I have to tell you. I wish for you to understand that I have always loved you as if I birthed you myself."

"What are you talking about, Mother? I am lost in what you are trying to say."

"Sit down my child; we've much to talk about. After tonight you will know the truth and understand your true purpose in this vast world."

"My true purpose...mother you are scaring me."

Loraz went and sat on the bed in a frightened daze. She thought about her mother's words and tried to figure out what her mother was trying to tell her. All that was clear to her was that the woman she had grown to love and cherish as her mother, was not her mother at all.

Her mother smiled and patted her daughter's head. The child she had raised since birth was about to be gone from her sights. Although she wished to go with her on her journey it was not in the stars for such a wish to be granted. So, she had to tell her everything before she sent her off.

"Don't fret, my child. I will protect you even when I am gone from this life. I will watch over you in my next life." Her mother said as she went to sit in her rocking chair next to her bed. "There isn't much time to explain everything in detail but listen to my words carefully. You are of royal blood. The rightful heir to the throne of Serenity, though it may be hard to believe this now. You are not alone, my dear Lo; I wish we could be together longer so I may witness the beauty you will grow into, the bright young lady I know you will be. Before we continue, change out of that dress. You will be leaving here tonight with a close friend, be quick about it, we've no time to waste."

Loraz got up and went to her room to change, her mother's words weighing on her mind. She had many questions she wanted the answers to but felt that she would just confuse herself more if she asked any of them. She decided to wait until her mother explained everything to her first. It would all make sense once her mother told her all the details.