I'm so glad you
Chapter 6: The Queen's Familiar
By Joy Daud
The moon hung low over the palace, blood-orange and bloated—an omen.
Kimo stood at the balcony of the East Wing, eyes scanning the gardens below. His fingers twitched, the memory of the forest still alive in his skin. Something had awakened within him, something ancient and raw. But the warmth of nature warred with the cold inside him—the frost his father had raised him to carry.
Behind him, the door creaked open.
Oki slipped into the room, candlelight dancing in her eyes. "I can still feel it," she said, voice hushed. "The thing she summoned. It's not from this realm."
"She's preparing for something more than just control," Kimo replied. "She's feeding a darkness she can't contain."
Oki nodded. "I saw its eyes. It wasn't just a creature. It was... listening."
Kimo turned from the window. "Then we must speak with my father."
---
The throne room was silent when they arrived.
King Ryon sat alone beneath the silver chandelier, the fire behind him casting tall shadows on the marble floor. He looked tired—aged beyond his years—but his crown still gleamed, sharp as the judgment in his eyes.
Kimo walked forward, Oki at his side.
"My prince," the king said flatly. "And the maid who clings to your shadow."
Oki bowed stiffly. Kimo did not.
"We need to talk," Kimo said.
The king raised an eyebrow. "Do you come as my son, or as a boy playing druid in the woods?"
"I come as a protector of the realm. Something your queen is no longer."
The air grew cold.
King Ryon's voice darkened. "Watch your words. She is your stepmother—and your future queen."
"She summoned a creature from the Flame Realm," Oki said, unable to stay silent. "I saw it myself. It smiled at me, as if it knew who I was."
The king rose, slow and deliberate. "You bring me gossip from a maid?"
"She's not just a maid," Kimo snapped, stepping between Oki and his father. "She has seen more truth than your court ever dares to speak."
Ryon's eyes narrowed. "You sound like your mother."
"I take that as a compliment."
Silence fell like a sword.
Then the king spoke again, colder than before. "I forbid you from entering the forest again. And if you continue to challenge my queen, I will consider it treason."
Kimo's jaw clenched. "So be it."
He turned on his heel and left, Oki following—but the king's words followed them both like a curse:
> "You are not ready for war, boy. And the forest will not save you from fire."
---
Later that night, a scream shattered the halls.
Kimo and Oki raced through the palace toward the west wing, where the guards stood frozen—terrified.
Inside one of the guest chambers, the room was burned black. On the wall, scratched deep into the stone, were three words:
"It has begun."
The scent of ash and sulfur still hung heavy.
And in the hallway, a single black feather lay on the floor, pulsing faintly with heat.
---
Far beyond the palace, deep in the forest's oldest roots, the ancient voice spoke again.
> "The queen has loosed her familiar. Fire now walks on two legs. The prince must rise, or the kingdom will burn."
---
To be continued…
In Chapter 7: Oaths of Thorn and Flame
Where Kimo must choose: bind himself fully to the forest and awaken the Guardian's legacy—or watch the first city fall under the queen's fire.