ELEVEN YEARS LATER.
King Michail reveled in the tale of the child supposedly devoured by a beast. The news had brought him such savage satisfaction that he declared a feast lasting seven days and nights. The great halls of Harcadia echoing with laughter, music, and the clatter of goblets. Golden banners fluttered from every rampart, and the air was thick with the sweet scent of roasting meats and spilled wine.
For a while, the relentless search for witches, wizards, and sorcerers was forgotten as Michail basked in this peace, convinced that the threat of prophecy and magic had been vanquished forever. The kingdom flourished, growing ever richer and unchallenged.
The rumors of the prophecy child's death spread like wildfire through whispers and drunken boasts, until even the smallest child in Harcadia believed that the future had been swallowed by the forest. Magic was now a memory burned, banished, and utterly destroyed.
But deep within the tangled wilds of Kenac, where no human dared tread, Aelwen, the child of prophecy, the one everyone believed was gone, lived. Her health was radiant and her spirit untamed.
Each year, her beauty grew more luminous as if touched by moonlight itself. Her eyes were enchanting, shimmered with a pearly white. Her hair, long and silvery cascaded in soft waves down her back.
"Rosemary, yarrow, and black henbane. Be back before dusk!" Lois called from the doorway.
"I've got you! I won't be long, I promise!" Aelwen replied, bounding down the creaking wooden stairs cheerfully. The wind caught her hair, sending it streaming behind her like a banner of glimmering silk. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she landed nimbly at the bottom.
"Careful, you might hurt yourself!" Lois fretted, catching her gently by the elbow.
Aelwen gave her a dazzling, dimpled grin. "You know I'm always careful, Nana." Her laughter was bright and infectious ringing through the cottage like a chime.
"Don't forget what I asked you to fetch. Rosemary, yarrow, and—" Lois began with her tone mock-stern.
"Black henbane!" Aelwen finished with a playful wink, swinging her herb bag over her shoulder.
"Go with Babis!" Lois called after her.
Aelwen stopped, glancing over her shoulder toward the hearth where a white wolf lay stretched out, his eyes moon-bright and uncanny locked onto hers. Babis raised his head, muscles rippling beneath his thick fur.
"Why? Nana, I don't want to," she protested, but Babis was already on his feet, padding over silently.
He stopped in front of her, looking down with a grin. "I'm faster and quicker if you hop on my back," he said in a low and rumbling voice.
Aelwen rolled her eyes, feigning reluctance though she was secretly thrilled. "Whatever," she sighed, swinging astride his broad back.
"And stay off the water!" Lois called, voice trailing after them as they disappeared into the wild.
"I know that!" Aelwen laughed, waving.
Aelwen was a force of nature in the forest, skipping over roots and ducking under branches. The forest was her secret kingdom. She knew every glade, every mossy stone, every song the birds sang above her. Only the path that led to the village. It was easy to come across hunters, traders and fishermen. That path was a forbidden ground, and Lois's warning hung heavy in her heart whenever she wandered too close.
"I wish I could go there," she murmured wistfully, gazing down the sun-dappled path, her fingers twisting in Babis's fur.
Babis glanced back, his eyes warm with pity. He was more than a guardian. He was a brother, a friend, the only family she had after her mother's death. In the darkest times, it was Babis who kept her safe.
"Lois wouldn't want you near that area," he said, giving her tunic a gentle pull with his teeth. "Stop dreaming."
"It would be fun!" Aelwen teased, hopping down and dancing backwards through the ferns.
"Ael, stop!" Babis called, bounding after her, his tail lashing with mock annoyance.
"Okay, okay, I was only kidding!" she giggled, skipping back toward him.
Suddenly, a sharp crack echoed through the trees, the unmistakable sound of a branch snapping. Instinctively, Aelwen pressed herself behind a tree, her breath catching. She scanned around for shadows, heart hammering in her chest.
"What's that?" she whispered, crouching beside Babis who growled low in his throat.
A voice drifted through the underbrush, scared and trembling. "Mom? Isley?"
Peering through a curtain of leaves, Aelwen spotted a boy in a dark cloak. He was tall for his age with tousled black hair and eyes as dark as obsidian, glinting with tears. He looked older than her, lost and out of place in the wild.
"Don't go, it's too dangerous!" Babis tugged at her dress, his anxiety plain.
"I'm not, but he looks lost," Aelwen murmured, watching as the boy stumbled forward, calling out.
"Who's there!" His voice cracked, fear and desperation thick in every word. "Show yourself. I won't harm you!"
Aelwen suppressed a giggle, nudging Babis. "Maybe he's a wizard?" she whispered, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Shush!" Babis hissed, but she couldn't help herself. She peeked again. Her curiosity burning.
The boy's clothes were fine, better than any she'd seen on the rare travelers who skirted the forest's edge. His hair curled against his brow, and he looked as if he belonged somewhere grand.
"Ael!" Babis growled softly.
"He has no powers," she guessed, watching him. Only someone from a wealthy family would dare wear garments of raw silk into the wild.
"Do not use magic," Babis warned, his voice serious.
The boy fell to his knees, voice breaking. "I just want to go home," he sobbed, shoulders shaking.
"Told you he's lost," Aelwen whispered, pity welling up in her chest.
Aelwen froze, every muscle tensing as a deep, guttural roar thundered through the forest. It was the sound of a bear, hungry, and it sounded so terrifying. The ground seemed to tremble with its fury.
"Guards! Anybody!" the boy screamed, terror splintering his voice. He staggered to his feet and ran blindly straight toward Aelwen.
Aelwen stepped from her hiding place just as he crashed through the brush, his eyes wide with terror. He skidded to a halt stunned by the sight before him.
His breath caught in his throat as he gazed at her. She stood bathed in dappled sunlight, her silver hair fanned around her shoulders, her eyes brilliant and unearthly. For a moment, all sounds faded except for the wild pounding of his heart.
Aelwen flashed him a quick, reassuring smile, then her eyes glanced past him and widened in alarm.
"Run!" she cried, grabbing his hand and pulling him away just as the bear barreled into view. They raced through the underbrush, Babis streaking after them like a silent shadow.
They didn't stop until they reached the riverbank, their lungs burning and hearts slamming against their ribs. Aelwen released his hand, her cheeks flushed and her breath ragged.
"That was close," she panted, relief and adrenaline tangled in her voice.
Ciaran shrieked, stumbling backward as he caught sight of Babis. Aelwen looked back to find Babis staring.
"He won't harm you!" Aelwen assured, wrapping her arms around Babis's massive neck.
"What? A wolf? And you think it won't hurt me?" Ciaran sputtered, disbelief and fear warring in his eyes.
"You should be grateful she saved you," Babis rumbled, his voice deep and dry.
Ciaran's jaw dropped and his skin began blanching. "W-what—a talking—" His eyes rolled back, and he slumped to the ground in a dead faint.
Aelwen and Babis exchanged a look.
"Is he dead?" she asked her voice soft with worries, kneeling beside him. She murmured a quick enchantment then her fingers began glowing faintly.
"Aelwen, have you gone mad—" Babis yelled.
"He's alive!" Aelwen beamed, relief softening her shoulders.
Suddenly, Ciaran bolted upright, scuttling backwards. "AH! Who are you people?" His gaze flickered from Aelwen to Babis, disbelief etched deep.
"Be careful, you could fall into—" Babis started, but Ciaran's foot slipped and he tumbled into the river with a splash. Aelwen burst into peals of laughter at his clumsiness.
"Help!" he sputtered, thrashing wildly. Without hesitation, Aelwen dove in, cutting through the water. Babis gripped Ciaran's tunic in his jaws and hauled him to the shore.
"He's alive," Aelwen gasped, brushing wet hair from her face and wiping water from her eyes.
"Let's go. His people will find him," Babis said, shaking out his fur and glancing nervously at the sky.
"People?" Aelwen turned with curiosity burning in her gaze. Her eyes darted around for people.
"Your grandmother will be waiting," Babis pressed.
"Who are you?" Ciaran asked, voice trembling as he struggled to his feet.
"Me? I'm Aelwen!" she replied with a smile so dazzling. Her strange white eyes glimmering in the sunlight.
Ciaran stared in wonder and confusion mingling on his face. "You have beautiful eyes," he murmured, unable to look away. Something electric passed between him.
"Don't stare too long," Babis grumbled, stepping between them.
Ciaran jumped back, frightened, eyeing Babis warily. "Why does he talk?"
Aelwen tried to answer, but Babis fixed her with a look. "Ahem."
"Well, if you don't want me to tell him, stop talking!" she huffed, crossing her arms simultaneously glaring at Babis.
"Who are you people?" Ciaran asked again, clutching his head as if hoping it was all a dream would help him in some ways.
"I already told you who I am. Why can't you tell me yours?" Aelwen challenged, tilting her head.
He hesitated. Then a hint of pride and fear wrestled across his face. "That's because a prince—" He stopped
"You're a prince?" Aelwen giggled.
"Yes—the future king of Harcadia!" he blurted lifiting his chin with pride.
Aelwen's brows shot up. "Harcadia? You? A prince?" She eyed him, amused yet skeptical with his response. What would a Prince be looking for in the forest. She was used hunters, fishers but not a prince.
"Is it that hard to believe?"
She shrugged, grinning. "No, well… You should return to your castle, my lord," she said, her voice lilting with mischief.
"And you? You don't look ordinary to me," he said, studying her with growing fascination.
"Of course I'm special. I'm a witch!" Aelwen declared, her voice ringing with pride.
"A witch?" He laughed, disbelief plain but Aelwen smiled.
She raised her hands, blue flames blossoming from her fingertips. The magic danced and flickered so alive and real with color and, illuminating her strange glowing eyes.
Ciaran's face drained of color. He stumbled backward, fear and shock twisting his eyes into something raw and vulnerable. The stories his father told, the warnings, the hatred of magic, all crashed into him at once.
"What's wrong?" Aelwen's smile faded, her heart aching at the look in his eyes.
A look that saw a monster. The joy of discovery was gone and replaced by an old and familiar loneliness, sharp as winter's bite.