Chapter 3 : Erden

"Alex," the queen hide her face in hands, still couldn't believe what was she saw.

what happen with our daughter?"

The king stared at his wife helplessly. He didn't know how to explain things when he himself hadn't understand the sight he saw minutes ago. The man wanted to believe this all was only a daydream. There's no way his daughter could produce fire from her palm like that.

A flash of memory popped out in the king's mind. An old bed time story which his mother loved to tell her kids about knights who has powers . but its only exist in stories, impossible to came true.

"Call Marfiato, I need to talk with him," command the king.

***

"What's happen, Marfiato? How can the fire touch alex but never hurt her? H-how—Oh god!"

The Queen lost her words. She's been bombarding the adviser with questions, leaving the man without no space to talk back. The King guided her to sat at one of the chairs, telling her to take deep breaths and calm herself down so Marfiato could answer their questions.

He turned to their trusted adviser and healer in the palace. "Please explain, Marfiato."

Marfiato gave his bow before went to closed the door and walked to one of the shaleves in the further one from when the King and Queen sat. He pulled a book, an old one with think dust simmering on the cover. The title written in gold ink, contrast to its base which black as night. Marfiato blew the dust away before giving it to the King.

"What's the meaning of this?" asked the king tilted his head a bit, "Erden?"

The healer nodded. His eyes darted from the book to his majesty's confused face. "Erden is not a tale, my King. They are real. They are our last hope when the country is in danger."

"Don't you joke with me, Marfiato. What Alex has to do with this story?"

"I'm afraid I have to tell you that princess alex is one of the erden, my king. She is the one called fire erden," Marfiato spelled every word with a serious expression, "the incident was caused by her yet had the ability to control the power. She knows how to create it, but not the way to put it off."

Hearing that, both the king and queen was devastated. The king shook his head in disbelief. All this time he only thought it as a story that mothers in SpiegelWelt used to read for their kids before going to bed, like what his mother, too. No one ever considered it as a real thing. Moreover, even it was true, the fire erden was told to born on the night where the red moon appears above the lake as mirror and they should be born together with the water erden. Them both are a indentical twins from body and soul.

As he remembered that, the king snapped from his thought. "Alex couldn't be the fire erden! She's not even has siblings whatsoever twin. She's a only child," he said sternly.

Marfiato fell silent, looking like he was thinking hard. To be honest, Marfiato had seen this will happen. He had seen the future of the princess, all thanks to his envisage ability. But, he could do nothing to change that. No one has the ability to interfere in what the owner of earth and sky's plan.

"My King, we can't avoid the fate. God has decided and sky mirror has chosen princes Alexandra as the fire bender."

The King's forehead creased. He knew there's something more that what Marfiato had said. "Tell me, Marfiato. What had you saw? I know you know something. Are you going to hide such an important matter to your king?!"

Marfiato's old body dropped tp the floor, kneeling before his majesty with fear. "I dare not, my King. I don't mean to hide anything from you and your grace. I just—I just worried if you know this, you'll be sad."

"Nothing could make me more sad than not knowing anything about what the hell happended to my daughter. I command you to speak!" rebuked the king with voice soared through the room.

The queen who had been silent all this time raised her head and called for both her husband and Marfiato's attention. "Stand, Marfiato. Please tell us what should we do?"

Marfiato stood from his position and walked closer to the queen as she asked. He sighed at the sight of the queen's wound and what will he tell her after this. Poor the leaders of SpiegelWelt, he thought.

"My King, My Queen, would you like to hear a prophecy?'

"What prophecy?"

The King looks at his queen who nodded once. They need an explanation even if it a prophecy.

Marfiato gave him a old parchment. "After a war broke between the Erden, the ancestors wrote a prophecy which said that will come a day in the future where all the Erden would reborn and lead their clan. But there's a reason why this prophecy was not known by the outsider. Along the good prophecy, a bad one also came along. It said that the long lost fire bender will born to bring disaster with them. They'll born when red moon appears and and awakening in the seventeenth of the moon is at it's peak. This is the sign for SpiegelWelt's downfall."

"Red Moon," murmured the King as he read line by line on the brown paper.

"Yes, My King. The fire bender will bring SpiegelWelt to it's downfall on they seventeenth when the red moon appears along the master of darkness," stated Marfiato, voice wavering.

The Queen gasp. A fear seeping through her heart. Fear for her daughter. She couldn't understand marfiato's statement, but she knew something it bring no good for Alex.

"Where does this prophecy came and why Alex could be the fire erden when she has no twin?"

Marfiato shook his head responding for the King's question. He himself quite doesn't understand why. "I need time, My Lord. I will look for the answer of every your question."

"What could we do for now?" urged the King.

"Look for the other Erden," offered Marfiato, "but it's not easy."

"Why?" hissed the queen.

"We never know where and when the sky mirror will shows up and tell us the erden's location. They are sacred's knights. They only show the power when two mirror sky connect."

The King groaned in frustrate. "Find them!" he growled.

*****