Chapter Two: The Forgotten Princess
1293 Words
The journey to the royal palace was silent.
Lyra sat inside the royal carriage, staring through the window as the familiar countryside disappeared behind them.
She had lived her entire life in a small village surrounded by forests.
Now, for the first time, she was traveling toward Elarion—the kingdom she had been forbidden to visit.
Across from her sat Prince Kael.
He had barely spoken since they left.
His dark clothing made him look almost like a shadow against the pale morning light. A silver emblem was embroidered across his chest: a crescent moon surrounded by three stars.
Lyra couldn't stop staring at it.
“You keep looking at my crest,” Kael finally said.
Lyra looked away.
“I was just curious.”
“You've seen it before.”
It wasn't a question.
Lyra frowned.
“I've never seen you before.”
“Not me.”
Kael's eyes met hers.
“The crest.”
Lyra's fingers tightened around the fabric of her dress.
She remembered the dreams.
A massive palace.
A silver throne.
A woman standing beneath a blood-red moon.
And that same crescent surrounded by three stars.
“I've seen it in my dreams,” she admitted.
Kael went completely still.
“What else have you seen?”
“Why?”
“Because your dreams may not be dreams.”
Lyra's heart began to beat faster.
“What does that mean?”
Kael leaned back.
“It means your memories may have been taken from you.”
Lyra stared at him.
“My memories?”
Before he could explain, the carriage slowed.
A massive gate appeared ahead.
Lyra's breath caught.
The royal palace stood beyond it.
It was far more enormous than she had imagined.
Seven black towers reached toward the sky, their tips disappearing into the morning clouds. Silver vines covered the palace walls, glowing faintly with magic. Hundreds of windows reflected the sunlight like pieces of ice.
But there was something else.
A feeling.
The moment Lyra saw the palace, her entire body reacted.
Her heart ached.
Her palm burned.
And somewhere deep inside her, something whispered:
Home.
She quickly covered her hand.
Kael noticed.
“The magic is reacting to the palace.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“You do.”
“No, I don't.”
Kael studied her.
“You've spent seventeen years believing you were ordinary.”
Lyra's eyes narrowed.
“Because I am.”
“You aren't.”
“Then tell me who I am.”
Kael said nothing.
Lyra's frustration grew.
“Everyone keeps looking at me like I'm some kind of monster. My mother wouldn't tell me anything. You dragged me from my home. Now you're bringing me here without explaining anything.”
Kael's expression softened.
“You deserve the truth.”
“Then give it to me.”
He looked toward the palace.
“Your mother was once a royal servant.”
Lyra blinked.
“What?”
“She served Queen Seraphine.”
The name sent a strange chill through Lyra.
“Who was Queen Seraphine?”
Kael looked at her.
“Your grandmother.”
The world seemed to stop.
Lyra stared at him.
“My grandmother?”
“Queen Seraphine was the last Moon Queen of Elarion.”
Lyra shook her head.
“No.”
“She ruled this kingdom seventeen years ago.”
“No.”
“She was killed the night the palace was attacked.”
Lyra's breathing became shallow.
“My mother never told me any of this.”
“She was protecting you.”
“From what?”
Kael's voice lowered.
“From the people who murdered your family.”
The carriage stopped.
Lyra looked toward the palace.
For the first time, she noticed the soldiers standing along the entrance.
They weren't welcoming her.
They were watching her.
Waiting.
Kael opened the carriage door.
“Come.”
Lyra didn't move.
“Why are they afraid of me?”
Kael paused.
“Because they know what you are.”
“What am I?”
He looked directly into her eyes.
“The last Moonborn.”
---
The palace doors opened.
The moment Lyra stepped inside, hundreds of candles burst into flame.
A murmur moved through the crowd.
She felt every eye on her.
Nobles.
Servants.
Guards.
Magicians.
Everyone was staring.
Then a woman stepped forward.
She wore a long emerald gown decorated with golden embroidery.
Her expression was cold.
“Is this her?”
Kael nodded.
“Yes, Queen Elara.”
The woman's eyes moved over Lyra.
“So the Moonborn survived.”
Lyra's stomach tightened.
“I'm standing right here.”
Queen Elara smiled faintly.
“I can see that.”
Kael stepped between them.
“She has just arrived.”
“And she is already displaying unstable magic.”
Lyra frowned.
“I haven't done anything.”
“You don't have to.”
Queen Elara turned toward the court.
“Prepare the Moon Chamber.”
Kael immediately stiffened.
“No.”
The queen looked at him.
“No?”
“She isn't ready.”
“She doesn't need to be ready.”
Kael's voice became colder.
“She needs time.”
Queen Elara stepped closer.
“You've become protective of her rather quickly, Prince Kael.”
A strange silence followed.
Lyra looked between them.
Protective?
Kael's jaw tightened.
“I am protecting the kingdom.”
“Of course.”
The queen turned away.
“Take her to the eastern wing.”
Two guards approached.
Lyra followed reluctantly.
As she walked through the palace, something strange happened.
She began recognizing places.
A staircase.
A painting.
A long hallway.
A garden visible through an enormous glass window.
She had never been here.
Yet somehow, she knew where everything was.
She stopped in front of a painting.
It showed a beautiful woman wearing a silver crown.
Lyra stared at her.
Her heart began pounding.
“Who is she?”
Kael stood beside her.
“Queen Seraphine.”
Lyra slowly raised her hand.
The woman in the painting looked exactly like her.
Same eyes.
Same dark hair.
Same crescent-shaped birthmark beneath her collarbone.
Lyra touched the painting.
A flash of light exploded through her mind.
She saw a woman running.
She heard screaming.
Fire.
A baby crying.
Her mother's voice.
“Take her and run!”
Then another voice.
A man's voice.
Cold.
Cruel.
“Find the child.”
Lyra screamed.
She stumbled backward.
Kael caught her before she hit the floor.
“Lyra!”
She gripped his arm.
“I saw something.”
“What?”
“The night my family died.”
Kael's expression changed.
“What did you see?”
“Fire.”
Her breathing shook.
“My mother was carrying a baby.”
Kael stared at her.
“Was the baby you?”
Lyra nodded slowly.
“There was a man looking for us.”
“Did you see his face?”
“No.”
She closed her eyes.
“But I heard his voice.”
Kael's hand tightened around hers.
“What did he say?”
Lyra opened her eyes.
“He said…”
She swallowed.
“Find the Moonborn.”
Kael went pale.
Before either of them could speak, every magical light in the hallway went out.
A cold wind swept through the palace.
Then a voice echoed from somewhere deep within the walls.
“The Moonborn has returned.”
Lyra's silver mark began to glow.
Kael drew his sword.
“Stay behind me.”
But Lyra didn't move.
The voice came again.
“And this time, she will not escape.”
Far beneath the palace, something ancient awakened.
And for the first time in seventeen years, the sealed gates of the Moon Chamber began to open.
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