A few days later.
Eight o'clock in the morning.
The sound of rubble filled the air, screams rising all around.
Alessandra opened her eyes, trembling with fear.
Alessandra: "Mary… where are you?"
She looked around the room—smoke, fire here and there. She leapt from her bed and ran toward the door, but as she turned she saw a dark shadow standing behind her, laughing.
Alessandra: "Who are you?"
The shadow (with a cruel laugh): "The children of your people!"
Alessandra jolted awake—everything had been a dream.
She covered her head with her hands, exhaling in relief.
The door creaked open, and Mary appeared at the threshold with a worried smile:
Mary: "You're awake, Alessandra? Your mother is waiting in her chamber—she wishes to speak with you."
Alessandra: "Alright… I'll change my clothes."
After dressing, she went to the queen's chamber. Mary opened the door for her, and Alessandra rushed into her mother's embrace.
Alessandra: "Good morning, Mother."
Elizabeth, lying on the bed, weary and frail, murmured:
Elizabeth: "Alessandra… there is something I must tell you."
She gestured for Mary to leave. The girl, worried, leaned closer.
Alessandra: "Mother… why are you still so tired? Are you ill?"
Elizabeth sighed, then began speaking cautiously:
Elizabeth: "In this kingdom there are tribes…"
Alessandra (interrupting): "Mother, I know—Harry is from the Tribe of Wolves."
The queen closed her eyes and continued with exhaustion:
Elizabeth: "There is the Tribe of Swordsmen, and the Tribe of the Jinn—the strongest of all."
Then, her voice heavy with longing and regret, she whispered:
Elizabeth: "Alessandra… you and I—we are of the Tribe of the Jinn."
The child froze for a moment, defiant:
Alessandra: "But we're commoners, Mother… we have no powers."
Elizabeth cut her off with quiet firmness:
Elizabeth: "Your father is a commoner, my little one… but you are not."
The world turned upside down inside Alessandra's chest. Though still so young, she understood the meaning—she was not what she thought she was.
The queen continued:
Elizabeth: "I married your father when he was young because he possessed the necklace—the Wolf Fang. That fang makes the Jinn fear him, obey him. He declared himself ruler of our kingdom and wed me to secure his hold over the Jinn."
Alessandra stared at her mother in shock, the words flashing in her mind like lightning.
Elizabeth's eyes brimmed with sorrow as she went on:
Elizabeth: "The reason I tell you this now… is because life outside the palace is harsh. Our people hate your father. They want him gone. He deprived them of a decent life while we live here in luxury. People are dying of hunger. If war breaks out, no one will be spared."
Tears streamed down Alessandra's cheeks in silence. Elizabeth wiped them gently:
Elizabeth: "My daughter… I know this is hard to hear. But now, we stand on the edge of war."
Alessandra (in a trembling voice): "What does this mean? What will we do?"
Elizabeth gave her a faint, weary smile:
Elizabeth: "I want you to grow stronger. To understand the world around you."
For days Elizabeth had not slept, haunted by the threats from her people and her heated quarrel with Samarth—for she knew her people's strength too well. If war erupted, the entire kingdom would fall.
The queen pressed her hand to her temple:
Elizabeth: "Ah… my head."
Alessandra (gasping with worry): "What do we do now?"
Alessandra suddenly remembered what she had seen in the library—Mary with Samarth—and told her mother everything. Elizabeth's face hardened with icy calm:
Elizabeth: "That wretch, Samarth."
Alessandra (hesitant): "Mother… is Mary of the Jinn as well?"
The queen hesitated, then said:
Elizabeth: "She was my servant when I was a child in my father's kingdom—he sent her so I would not be alone. Mary married a son of the Wolves and bore Harry. No one ever knew she was of the Jinn—not even her husband."
The girl faltered:
Alessandra: "Then why does Uncle Samarth want Father to abdicate? Does he fear we'll all die?"
Elizabeth let out a faint laugh, but her eyes were bitter:
Elizabeth: "No… of course not. He wants the throne."
Alessandra (shaken): "Impossible… he's my uncle!"
Elizabeth cut her off, her tone sharp:
Elizabeth: "In the rule of kingdoms, there is no place for family ties when greed is involved. All that matters… is the Wolf Fang."
Her hand went to the imagined weight of the necklace, as though she felt it even now. She continued:
Elizabeth: "Many covet the power of the Jinn's kingdom. Whoever holds the Fang—even if it's just a piece of metal—commands the army, the throne, and the crown. Whoever holds the Fang holds the kingdom itself."
Alessandra sobbed bitterly as the truth unraveled before her eyes: she was not just a little princess—she was heir to a dangerous secret that could change the fate of the entire realm.
…
Alessandra, her tears still fresh, her eyes red from crying:
Alessandra (with a quivering voice): "This morning… I had a dream. There was a dark shadow… it said to me, 'the children of your people.'"
Queen Elizabeth froze. Slowly she turned toward her daughter, shock flooding her features.
Her breath grew ragged. She no longer saw the dream as a child's fancy, but as a hidden message. All her thoughts of the Jinn's threats shifted in an instant.
They had not only threatened Fenric… they had appeared to his daughter.
Her eyes widened in terror, her lips trembling:
Elizabeth: "They want her… they want Alessandra on the throne."
But why? Why now?
She clapped a hand over her mouth, a silent cry breaking in her throat. She collapsed to her knees, overcome by dread.
Elizabeth (hoarse whisper): "Damn it… how did they reach her?!"