"Elina, you need to get out of here!" said Queen Genevieve as she rushed inside the room.
"Mother? Mother, what is happening?" Princess Elina asked frantically as she ran towards the Queen.
"The kingdom is on fire. Dark wizards and soldiers are everywhere. You need to leave the castle. Right
now."
"No mother, I won't leave you here alone. I will find Father and get him to help us." The little five year
old replied with determination.
She gripped her mother's hand tighter as another blast went off at some part of the castle. Elina didn't
know what was happening. There was a huge commotion all around the castle. But why would a
sudden rebellion start in the kingdom when they had been living in peace and harmony for centuries?
Her thoughts were interrupted when the door to her room flew open. Armed soldiers who clearly didn't
belong to the Kingdom of Corona trooped in. The last person who was in, however, was very familiar to
both the Queen and the Princess.
"My my, the Queen and the Princess together? My luck isn't so bad after all."
The man in front of them wasn't the same one who brought Elina presents on her birthday or sneaked
her out of the castle when he went horse riding despite her parent's disapproval. He wasn't the one
who read her stories at night when her parents were too tired from the day's work. He wasn't the Uncle
Eric Alwin Hudson Dragna she knew.
No. It couldn't be.
Standing before her was a savage monster thirsty for power and money. His otherwise warm brown
eyes were blazing with a strange red hue. His brown hair was tousled and face deathly pale. A sneer
played on his lips as he watched his sister-in-law and niece with a calculating look.
Queen Genevieve draped an arm around her daughter and pulled her closer to her own trembling
body.
"Not another step forward Eric or I will not hesitate to use my powers on you."
Eric Dragna cracked a smile and fixed his eyes on the little shaking body beside his sister.
"I'm not here for you Genevieve, dear. What I want is the little bundle of powerful magic you have with
you and the throne she will inherit when she is older."
Before any of them could utter another word, the door was opened roughly. But this time it was the
soldiers of Corona with their bloodied black and red uniform and steel armors with the royal crest.
Leading them was King Trystan Dragna.
"Father!"
The Coronian soldiers charged forward at the flick of King Trystan's wrist. In the commotion, Queen
Genevieve managed to usher the Princess across the room to her husband.
"Are you both alright? Did he inflict any harm?" The King let out sigh of relief when he found them
unharmed and pulled them into his arms.
"Your Highness, we cannot hold him back for much longer, he's too strong for us." One of the Coronian
soldiers called out.
"Genevieve, take Elina and escape from the castle. Ride Fin and get the child to Agatha at any cost.
We cannot lose her. She's our only hope if things don't go our way tonight. I will not die knowing that
the kingdom has gone into the wrong hands." King Trystan fished a dagger from the belt around his
waist and pressed it in Queen Genevieve's trembling hand. "For your defense."
He bent forward to place a swift kiss on his daughter's forehead.
"Stay safe for me, pumpkin. I love you."
Bright honey gold eyes, identical to King Trystan's own golden orbs brimmed with tears as the little
princess wrapped her arms around her father's neck.
"You too. I lo-"
A loud growl from Eric Dragna cut her off mid-sentence as he ripped his sword from the now dead
soldiers' abdomen. King Trystan got his own sword in position as Queen Genevieve grabbed Elina and
left the room as quickly as she could. A sharp stab of pain struck her, starting from her stomach and
travelling all throughout her body. Her back hurt, but she had to do this for her daughter, her people.
From all around her, Elina could see blood and hear cries of terror and pain. She wanted to yell at them
to make it stop. With whatever energy the Queen had left, she teleported them to the Royal stables.
The scene wasn't any less loud or bloodier. In fact, it only seemed to increase now that they were
outside the palace walls.
The stable was on fire and they could see the stable helps and soldiers rushing, cutting ropes and
dousing water on burning beams, letting the housed dragons and horses free.
"Fin!" Queen Genevieve almost cried in relief when she found her dragon safe and unscathed. Not all
dragons were invincible or immune to fire. Only those of the fire elementals. Fin was a water elemental
dragon, hence her apprehension. The dragon in question roared in answer when he noticed his master.
The queen helped her daughter climb up onto Fin's mighty shoulder and strapped her in the saddle
securely. She placed the reins in Elina's hands and gave them a quick reassuring squeeze.
Elina watched in mild confusion as her mother unclasped the sacred amulet from her neck and clasped
it around her own. She opened her mouth to ask her why but the Queen shushed her.
"Listen to me carefully baby girl. I need you to keep this amulet safe for me. Whatever happens, do not
take it off. Now follow this path to reach the palace gates. Fly across the village until you reach River
Avalon. Once you reach the river bank, look around for a Guardian. Her name is Agatha and she will
be waiting there for you. Don't stop until you get there even if somebody asks you to. Understand?"
She instructed. Queen Genevieve placed a cold shivering hand on Elina's tear stained cheek, wiping
away a tear as it fell.
"What about you, Mother? Father?" She asked. The noises around them seemed to get louder by the
second.
Queen Genevieve gave her daughter a small but beautiful smile, one Elina didn't know if she would
ever see again. The queen's honey gold eyes filled with fear and panic, glistened with tears.
"We'll be fine pumpkin. And so will you. Your father and I are ready to put our lives down to protect you
and this kingdom's future if we have to. Remember this, you are beautiful, brave and so strong. You
make us so proud and we love you with our whole heart. That will never change even if we aren't there
to remind you everyday. You will grow up into a fine young lady and lead this kingdom to prosperity. I
am sure of it. But for now, you have to leave. Protect yourself. That horrid man will stop at nothing until
he gets what he's after. I will miss you, baby girl. Remember that I will always love you okay?"
She hugged Elina tight and kissed her forehead softly. Elina breathed in deeply, taking in her mother's
warmth. Queen Genevieve pulled back and pat Fin's body. "Stay safe."
She took a step back to allow Fin to ascend.
"Your Majesty, look out!"
Queen Genevieve moved out of the way just in time to avoid the whole right side of the castle tower
from crashing down.
"Mother!!"
Princess Elina held the reins tightly in her hands as she frantically tried to spot her mother amongst the
gathering dust from the fallen rubble. Fin flew up steadily dodging the flying debris and boulders. If
Elina was shocked at the scenario inside the palace grounds, she was flabbergasted and utterly
miserable when she got a view of the burning village.
People were trying to escape and everywhere she turned, the orange red hues of the flames that
enveloped Corona in its tight scorching grasp was what she could see as far as her vision would go.
Her heart beat harshly against her chest that she was afraid it was going to pop out.
'Don't stop until you get there, even if somebody asks you to.'
'Stay safe for me pumpkin.'
"But I cannot let my kingdom go to ruin right in front of me. I wasn't trained so much for nothing. I
wasn't gifted with such powerful magic for acting like a coward. I know I'm too young to be of major
help but anything will be welcome by these people right now."
Princess Elina was determined. Her eyes glowed a brighter shade of gold as she steered Fin towards
the ground. Fin growled in protest, but the princess was having none of it.
"We have to help them Fin. I can't let them die when I know I can do something to help. And something
tells me that I shouldn't ignore what I feel right now."
At last Fin obeyed her order and descended. Elina could feel the heat scorching her skin but it didn't
harm her. She may be just a child but her powers out matched even the Guardians - the highest ranked
mages who had the power of clairvoyance .
For what seemed like ages, Elina helped people put out fire and clamber upon dragons, which took
them to the portals and dropped them to the neighboring kingdoms of Eleandra and Avrael.
Just as she helped an old lady up on Fin, she heard an anguished cry and a shout for help. With
whatever energy she had left, Elina ran towards the sound of the shouts. She found a boy of her age
shaking the body of a woman. His face was wet with tears that seemed to glisten from the light given
by the fire burning down his house.
"You have to let her go. She won't wake up." Elina said softly, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. He
shook his head and held her even tighter.
"I can't leave mother here. Even big brother is gone. He said he would be back soon but he still hasn't
come." The boy croaked. A fresh set of tears streamed down his face. Elina felt her heart ache at the
sight.
"Please, you will die if you stay here any longer."
"Just go on without me. It doesn't matter."
"No you don't understand, I cann- Watch out!"
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