2023 Story Collection

The Isle of Dragons and The Land of Giants X

"The surrounding kingdoms are planning to wage war on The Kingdom of Gold." The words fall from him. A deafening silence follows. His face filled with sadness.

She pulls him into a warm, loving embrace. He wraps his large arms around her, squeezing tight. She rubs circles into his back for comfort. They stay like that for a moment before he finally pulls away. He moves so slowly, it's as if he doesn't want to let her go.

"Well, it was only a matter of time. Without their resources, the other kingdoms have nothing to gain from them," she says, opening her door wider to her chambers and inviting Knox in.

She can't help but watch Knox as he looks around. Her chambers, a large cave filled with carvings and paintings. Her bed is large and still a mess, the red sheets under the furs exposed. There is a large stain glass window to their left. It is of her with a large crown and fur over her shoulders. Dragons fill the sky behind her. Coronation day. His eyes linger on the window for a moment.

"It was a gift from a young artist on the day I was made queen," she says. Noticing his interest, she elaborates. "He made all the stain glass windows in the palace. He died much too young." She turns before Knox can see the tear that slips from her eye.

She wipes it away quickly as she takes a seat near an unlit fireplace opposite the window.

She gestures for Knox to sit in the chair across from her. The chairs are a deep red fabric, matching her sheets, with a dark wood stain on the legs and arms. Red was her favorite color. It seamed to be the one thing that was left unchanged with time. He sits.

"I knew they would eventually turn on us. I just hadn't expected news to travel this quickly and for them to come up with such a cruel idea." She leans forward, her interest peaked at his words.

"What idea?" She asks, a cut to her voice.

"All the surrounding kingdoms plan to wage war, not together, but separately, all at the same time as some sort of game to see who can conquer us first." Knox clenches his jaw, trying to control his anger.

"Are they so bored that they have nothing better to do than waste resources on a war of pride?" She snaps. "They are truly fools."

"The Kingdom of Gold will not survive a day in this war." Knox leans forward, his hands covering his face, elbows on his knees. "I can't watch my people die."

"Then what will you do?"

"I do not know," he says. "I cannot save them, but I cannot leave them as they are."

"Why not?"

"This letter is an omen," he says. "Jullian does not know we are here. No one does. So for his bird to find Fredor and deliver the letter, it is something stronger than even a simple omen. I fear it may be Fate."

She sits up in her chair, Fate. She was the First Princess. The first child born into royalty. She was a Magician that held immense power, her magic lied in time and space. She was a being with unmatched potential, but was soft and kind to those she cared for. But to the ones who hurt those she loved, she had no mercy.

Some believed her to only be a legend due to her solitary and shy nature, but she was as real as Liliana was. After all, they used to be best friends as girls. Liliana taught Fate to fight and stand firm in herself, and Fate taught Liliana to be a kind and patient.

The thing about Fate is that she often stayed out of matters. Her magic was far too strong to use for anything that wasn't important to her. If she truly helped that letter find its way to Knox, that meant that she cared about what happens in some capacity for what was to come. More importantly, she had picked a side.