Hyra

The lunar star rose gracefully in a clear sky, dotted with flaming stars. Hyra, standing in front of the window, took a deep breath, her eyes closed. She especially liked the night, and in Alliopyr, it was always beautiful. A gentle wind lifted her long gray hair.

"The moon looks bigger, don't you think?!"

- Stop that! It's always the same song every night.

- But it's true! Believe me, if you look better...

- And then what else?! Hyra replied, ruffling her little brother's hair. You should be sleeping now.

- Tell me one last story, asked Mylan, pulling the blanket up over her shoulders.

Hyra smiles fondly. His younger brother had a vivid imagination for his eight years. She couldn't deny him anything.

“Okay, but just one last then. It's a short story.”

He clapped his hands happily.

- It is a legend of our people, told for centuries. Not so long ago, in the days of magic and wizards, there lived a good and pure king. It was King Espyre. He had four daughters, each more beautiful than the next, representing one of the four elements. Princess Pahela represented: earth, Princess Imany: fire; Princess Achyra: air; and Princess Rodya: water.

- Woah! Mom has the same name as Princess Rodya!

- I knew you would notice it! It must have been a prevalent name at the time.

- Or maybe it's her? It would be so good!

- Listen first! So where was I? Ah, yes! This royal family was respected and revered throughout the kingdom. Princess Pahela married King Toulbot of the mountains and Princess Imany with King Chakyr of the plains. The time came when Princess Achyra, newly seventeen, was to marry Prince Elynor of the kingdom of Radyra. They were engaged from the age of ten.

- Seriously? These arranged marriages! If it were me, I would have refused!

"They had no choice, you know? It was an alliance with the neighbouring kingdom to keep the peace. So they got married, and the ceremony was impressive. But Prince Elynor’s brother, Prince Desylor, who was the greatest wizard in the kingdom of Radyra, and secretly in love with Princess Achyra, predicts two years of famine; except if the princess retired to pray, in the sacred forest, named Elyra with him, for three years, before the wedding."

- Elyra… Does that mean something to me!?...

- Indeed, this forest existed. It is always marked on the cards as a reference to the past. It was located in the far north, in the Furya kingdom, of King Colyre, where the snow never stops.

Mylan rubbed his arms, wincing:

- Brrr… It must be cold there. I do not want to go there. However, I would like to see the snow. It is always summer here.

- I would like to see her too. To avoid famine, King Espyre agreed to send Princess Achyra, accompanied by her sister Rodya, with the sorcerer. But this forest in particular. It is said that on her, no snow fell once.

His little brother's eyes lit up with this revelation:

- How? What?! So all around there is snow but not in the forest?!

- Exactly. It is also said that any sick or weak being, who enters this forest without lousy intention, is instantly healed. Once there, the sorcerer prince seduced the princess, who fell in love with him, and they had twins.

- What?! I want the details. How do you make a child? Do we order it from heaven?

Hyra's laughter echoed happily through the room.

- Of course not! I can't tell you about that, she chuckled.

- Oh, no! Father doesn't want to say to me, and now you!

- Listen. You're still too young to hear that. When you are my age, you will understand.

- You will be sixteen in two weeks, so I should wait for eight for that?!! It's not funny, Mylan complained.

- Patience is a virtue; do not forget.

- I will try... What they called them?

- In fact, that's what is astonishing in the story. We do not know their name, except Princess Rodya, who had accompanied her sister. We just know that it was a boy who, by his strength, was nicknamed: the sun prince and the girl, by his beauty: the moon princess. They are the twins of prophecy! They were nicknamed thus, because the queen of this sacred forest: the fairy mother Melyarie, who married Prince Desylor and Princess Achyra, had a vision concerning their children. She blessed them and predicted a bright future, where they would save the forest from the darkness. They lived happily together during these three years. But when it was time to return, the wizard, who did not want to be separated from his wife and children, sent a letter to King Espyre informing him of the extension of their stay.

“He was naive, this king.”

Mylan concluded, shaking his head.

- Indeed! But those wizards were feared and respected at that time. No one was contradicting them. It was then that Prince Elynor, who was bored with them, paid him a surprise visit!

- Oh, no! He will find everything!

- Unfortunately, this is what happened. When he saw the children, he went into a rage and killed his brother and his fiancee. The horrified Princess Rodya took the children and ran away with them, as far as possible. No one knows what happened to them next. The legend just says that they will reappear at a crucial time to save the sacred forest. Prince Elynor stalked them for an entire year but never found them. Back in the kingdom, he lied to everyone by accusing the fairies of having killed Princesses Achyra and Rodya, as well as the wizard. He did not reveal the existence of the children.

Mylan shook his head, offended:

- This prince is a real monster. I don’t like him at all!

- Me neither. Because of him, a war broke out between men and the magical creatures of the forest. It wasn't just fairies, but also elves, undines, goblins, nixes, and so on! This war lasted over a year and ended when the fairy mother used supreme magic, hiding the forest from the outside world. The enraged Prince Elynor swore to burn the woods as soon as it reappears. And when he became king, he had wizards banished everywhere, under pain of heavy penalties.

- Maybe this legend is right after all. There are no more wizards in all realms.

- Perhaps. The legend also says that the twins will appear when the sun and the moon are in broad daylight.

- Wow! A solar eclipse! I would love to see that!

- I imagine it must be extraordinary. But it's still a legend, what do you want? My story is over. It's time to sleep, Mylan.

The latter yawned, stretching lazily:

“I do not want.”

- We have to, Hyra replied firmly, tucking him in.

- You are going to sleep too.

- Yes, I promise.

As she was blowing out the candle, Mylan asked her one last question that troubled her greatly:

- Big sister, you are so beautiful that you could be called a moon princess, too! Who told you this story?

- It's our mother. Come on, good night Mylan, she said, kissing him tenderly on the forehead.

As she closed the door, she heard him whisper:

“Me, I say this story is true…”

Hyra went to her room, thinking. She had known this legend for a long time, but she had never thought about it. Mylan was convinced of its truthfulness when he heard it for the first time. But for sure, it was wrong since their mother was not a princess. She was just a water priestess.

They lived in a castle, but it was King Pulyre's, who had housed them since she was four years old. There were indeed a lot of similarities... She would ask her that tomorrow, she said to herself, sinking into Morpheus's arms.

That night, she had a bizarre dream. She dreamed that she was running in a forest, with a handsome young man, with long red hair, who kept telling her over and over:

"Come get me! I'm not far."

- Tell me where then?

- Come get me! I'm not far.

- Come... I'm not far.

She fidgeted in her sleep, repeating those few words. Two shining eyes appeared in the mirror in her bedroom. And a smile formed on the face of a creature, who whispered:

“The time for revelation has arrived!”