The Dawn

Chapter Four.

Her.

Elara. The name felt like both a curse and a comfort, a name given to her by the woman who raised her, the only name she had ever known. But there was another name, buried deep within the shadows of her past, one that she had only recently begun to understand. A name that belonged to a life she could scarcely remember, a life that had been stolen from her before she was old enough to grasp its meaning.

She had grown up in the shadow of a lie, living a life that was not her own. The woman she called Mother was not her mother, but a maid, though Elara hadn't known that then. To her, the tiny cottage in the heart of the forest was home, and the kind, stern woman who cared for her was family. There were no grand halls, no glittering gowns, no crown to weigh heavily on her brow. Just the quiet solitude of the woods, the crackling of a fire in the hearth, and the simple, hard life of a commoner.

Elara didn't remember much about her real parents. Sometimes, in the quiet moments just before sleep claimed her, she would catch fleeting glimpses of them, her mother's gentle smile, her father's strong arms lifting her high into the air, but those memories were hazy, like a dream half-forgotten upon waking. She had been so young when it happened, too young to understand the full horror of what had been done to her family.

Her parents were the rulers of a prosperous kingdom, beloved by their people and feared by their enemies. They were just and fair, but that hadn't saved them. One night, without warning, another kingdom attacked, driven by greed and a lust for power. Her parents had fought bravely, but they had been betrayed, their own allies turning against them in the final moments. The castle had been overrun, the throne usurped, and the royal bloodline extinguished, save for one.

Elara had been spirited away in the dead of night, carried from the burning castle by the only person who had remained loyal: a maid who had served her mother since she was a girl. This woman, who Elara knew only as Mira, had risked everything to save her, to protect the last living heir to the throne. They had fled deep into the forest, where the kingdom's reach could not find them, where the dangers of the outside world were kept at bay.

Mira had never told Elara the truth of who she was. She had kept the secret locked away, hidden beneath layers of caution and fear. Elara grew up believing she was a commoner, the daughter of a humble woman living a simple life. She was taught the ways of the forest, how to forage for food, how to sew and cook, how to survive. But there was always something more, a sense of purpose in Mira's teachings that Elara didn't understand. The way she was taught to move silently through the woods, to read the stars for navigation, to defend herself with a dagger she was never without, it all hinted at something greater, something Elara couldn't quite grasp.

It wasn't until years later, when Mira lay on her deathbed, that the truth finally came out. Elara had been by her side, holding her hand as the woman who had raised her struggled to draw breath. The illness had come suddenly, taking her down like a storm felling an ancient tree. In those final moments, Mira had spoken of things Elara had never heard before, of a kingdom lost, of a throne that was rightfully hers. The words had been jumbled, feverish, but they had planted the seeds of doubt, of questions that Elara could no longer ignore.

After Mira's death, Elara had searched the cottage, desperate for answers. And she had found them, hidden away in a small wooden chest beneath the floorboards. There were letters, old and yellowed with age, bearing the royal seal. A tiny, faded portrait of her parents, painted when they were young. And a necklace, heavy and ornate, with a pendant in the shape of a crescent moon, a symbol of the royal family.

The truth had shattered the world Elara thought she knew. She was not the daughter of a maid; she was a princess, the last surviving heir of a kingdom that no longer existed. Her parents had been murdered, their throne stolen, and she had been hidden away like a secret, her true identity kept from her to protect her from the same fate. She had been living a lie, her entire life a carefully crafted illusion to keep her safe.

But safe from what? From whom? Those were the questions that haunted her now, that drove her forward as she navigated the dangerous path she had chosen. The kingdom that had once been hers was lost to her, the people who had killed her parents likely long dead. But there were still those who would kill to keep the past buried, to ensure that the last trace of the old regime was erased forever. If they knew who she was, what she was, they would come for her. And this time, there would be no one to save her.

Elara had spent years training, preparing herself for the day when she would no longer have the luxury of hiding. She had learned to fight, to survive, to navigate the treacherous waters of a world that would seek to destroy her if it knew she existed. She had become someone else, someone stronger, harder, more capable of protecting herself. But the truth had a way of creeping back in, of reminding her of who she was beneath the layers of armor she had built around herself.

She was still that lost little girl, searching for a place she could never return to, for a family that had been taken from her. But she was also something more now. She was a princess, a survivor, and she had a purpose, one that burned in her like a fire she couldn't extinguish.

As she walked through the forest beside the man who had become both her ally and her enemy, she could feel the weight of her past pressing down on her, a constant reminder of what she had lost and what she had yet to reclaim. She had learned to bury her emotions, to keep them hidden away where no one could see, but sometimes they slipped through the cracks, seeping into her thoughts when she was least prepared.

She was a princess, yes, but she was also alone. Alone in a world that had forgotten her, that had moved on without her. And now, as she stood on the precipice of something that could change everything, she wondered if she was ready. Ready to face the truth, ready to reclaim the life that had been stolen from her. Ready to become the person she was always meant to be.

Elara wasn't sure. But she knew one thing for certain: she couldn't do it alone.

And that was why she needed him.