** When their beloved mistress is murdered, a white raven and a black fox embark on a journey for revenge. Will the brave familiars manage to recover the stolen heart in time - or would they lose themselves? **
"Sometimes love is
what drives you to...
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From then on, Lir and Cian held each other's hands tightly as they wandered through the strange valley. More and more trees lined up, like in an orchard, carefully tended. The trees had different degrees of ripeness. On some, without exception, hung the thick, rich silver apples. Others were still in their spring blossom, and the silver petals moved gently in the wind as if waving to the spirits of nature.
Above it all was the ghostly whisper of the silver stalks and leaves, welcoming their two guests far too kindly and caringly.
"Where do you think the heart is?" asked Lir after a while.
"It could be anywhere, but I think we'll feel it... like last time," Cian speculated, his sharp, dark eyes intently surveying the landscape. The white Raven nodded, and he felt her slender hand tighten around his fingers. Reassuringly, he squeezed it.
She pulled at him and pointed ahead with her finger at some point.
"Do you see that?" she asked, stretching a little to see more. Cian peered in that direction until something suddenly blinded him. A speck of yellow-gold light squeezed through the silver leaves and shimmering trees. It almost looked like a small, radiant sun was shining towards them. Then another and... another one.
"What's that?" asked Cian, shielding the radiant brightness from his eyes until the dark blue got used to it.
"I don't know, but it looks like... Apples."
In front of them, the silver apple trees suddenly opened up, and a wide, open clearing appeared. A river had carved its way through it, its water shimmering just as silvery as everything else in this place. A single tree stood on the other side of the watercourse, right in the center of the clearing.
It was different from the silver trees. Although its trunk, branches, and leaves were the same silvery, moonlit color as the rest of the orchard, no silver apples were hanging there.
No, apples of pure gold were hanging from this tree. They shone and glowed towards the fox and Raven like bundles of celestial light, so splendid and well-formed that Cian and Lir's mouths watered. The scent of the fruit was even more beguiling than any other before, and as their eyes settled on the golden temptation, it was as if the apples promised them the best meal in the entire Otherworld. A bright glow emanated from each one, enveloping the whole tree in a warm, soothing light.
