CHAPTER 3 — THE COLD THAT WATCHES.

  “You say that as if you don’t like things to be perfect yourself,” Nar snorted, hiding his smile behind his cup of tea.

  “Well, I do like things to be perfect and executed perfectly — clinically even — but I’m not as obsessed with it as our empress is,” Clara replied, despite smiling herself.

  “I’m not sure ‘obsessed’ would be the correct wording to describe my passion for my work,” Luna said as she entered the dining hall.

  “There you are. Thought you’d take forever,” Aag mused.

  “Not funny,” Luna said, walking toward Mr. Vale and giving him a hug, which he gladly accepted

  “My daughter — how have you been?” Mr. Vale asked after taking his seat.

  “Mostly good,” Luna answered, sipping her tea. “Though sometimes… bored.”

  “Yeah, ma’am — these days haven’t found anything entertaining,” Clara said with a straight face, adding to her sarcastic comment.

  “Well, she is the only one who can run an entire empire and a business and still say she’s bored — that definitely sounds like my sister,” Aag said, eyeing Luna.

  Lady Marie and Mr. Vale chuckled, already accustomed to the daily banter.

  “I am human too, aren’t I? Can’t blame me for being bored,” Luna said, though her smile betrayed her amusement.

  At the mention of Luna referring to herself as human, a brief flicker of amusement crossed Clara’s face — as though Luna calling herself human was some private joke. Perhaps it was.

  “By the way, the council requested to have an audience with you,” Mr. Vale noted as the dinner gradually came to an end.

  “What’s the reason this time?” Luna inquired, placing her cutlery down as the maids gathered their finished plates.

  “Heard it’s related to the matter of the kingdoms outside the empire seeking alliances,” Aag replied, while Nar and Clara listened with calm expressions.

  “Yeah — you’re correct about that,” Mr. Vale confirmed, his expression serious.

  “Then Aag, you can handle it. Just send me a report after you’re done,” Luna said while getting up from her seat.

  “Don’t you think you should attend the councils sometimes? They demand your attention as the Empress,” Mr. Vale said, eyeing Luna as she walked toward the door leading to the grand staircase within the estate.

  “I do know that,” Luna replied, briefly turning to face him. “But you already know — most of the high-ranked people there are only seeking my attention. That annoys me the most. Plus, the department of empire alliance matters definitely falls under Aag’s place as First Prince.” Her voice was calm, yet carried that undeniable authority she seemed to carry effortlessly.

  “Nobody can win an argument with you,” Mr. Vale said with a sigh.

  “I will see to the matter. You don’t have to worry about it,” Aag said.

  Luna hummed in response as Clara, Nar, Aag, and Mr. Vale watched her disappearing figure. All wore smiles that spoke of pride, devotion, care, and love.

  “She turned out to be the beautiful, talented, independent young lady I hoped she’d become,” Mr. Vale said, his voice carrying that hint of affection and unmistakable pride. Aag, Nar, and Clara only hummed, but their smiles clearly showed agreement.

  “Alright then — it’s getting late. You all should head to your rooms and please, for once, actually go to sleep instead of staying awake working until morning,” Mr. Vale said as he moved toward the door.

  “Yeah, we will, Dad. Take care of yourself,” Aag said.

  “Good night, Uncle,” Clara and Nar added together.

  “So… see ya in the morning,” Aag stated casually as he made his way toward the door, while Clara and Nar nodded, following a few minutes later.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  PALE CITY

  Back in Pale City, Kai and Rave continued their search and exploration within the ruins of the palace. The deeper they ventured, the more they noticed how the palace seemed to be in better condition — as if it were still being used and taken care of.

  What they seemed not to notice were the sharp, glowing eyes of a creature — a beast that had watched them from the beginning, following their every step and perhaps even understanding their language.

  As the boys entered what seemed to be a throne room, the beast lurked, as though ready to attack — or perhaps stop the boys from entering further into the forbidden chamber, something precious to the creature.

  Just as the beast was about to intervene and reveal itself, a dark blue-purplish light shone from behind. A portal opened, and through it stepped a lady with an otherworldly aura. She was dressed in a pale pink, fine, flowing silk gown and adorned with shining pearls and diamonds. Her presence was elegant — undeniably not human.

  “No need to attack them. We were only supposed to keep an eye on them,” the lady spoke, walking toward the majestic beast. Its black and gold scales shone under the moonlight that fell through the large windows of the palace. Its claws were sharp enough to pierce anything, but what was most magical was its immense size and the wings that could easily cover the sky, shining with their own light.

  “I know,” the beast replied in its deep voice that resonated off the palace walls. “But they’ve entered the throne room, and you know it puts me on edge as its guardian.”

  “Yeah, I know,” the lady said as she stood beside it, eyeing the boys who were exploring the throne room and talking among themselves.

  “But you can’t reveal yourself. What if those boys spread rumors? It would be annoying to deal with those petty humans.”

  “What about that boy — Lyra?” the beast asked, glancing at the lady beside him. “Did he wake up yet? It’s been a week.”

  “He did, but I put him back to sleep,” the lady replied. “He appears to be human, but he didn’t sustain any serious injury — only minor scratches, that’s all.”

  “He must have come here using the Black Forest,” the beast said as it began walking back toward the portal.

  “Yeah, you’re right. That’s the only safe way here. But I think he must have fallen on a slope and got those scratches,” Lyra replied as she too began walking back after glancing at the boys one last time. Eclipse, the beast, hummed in response.

  As they stepped through the portal, it brought them to a garden-like place where flowers, lakes, and small animals and insects of different species coexisted in harmony. It was unlike anything one would find on Earth. Everything seemed to shine with its own aura and light. It screamed mythical, magical, and unreal — in simpler words, the perfect fantasy land.

  “Is she coming today? I haven’t seen her in a while,” Eclipse asked as he made his way inside the garden, where a dome-like structure waited.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t get any details about ‘her’ coming today from Lady Elena,” Lyra replied as she walked beside Eclipse.

  IN THE GARDEN.

  “You should’ve known — I heard she’s been busy in the human realm, attending matters related to the empire there,” Eclipse said as he lay down on the grass, curling up in a comfortable position and closing his eyes, while Lyra took her seat at the tea table.

  “Though I hope she comes today,” Lyra spoke as she accepted the tea the crythmaids had served her, while Eclipse accepted his portion of snacks.

  “I’m sure that today being the lunar moon in the human realm means she should come.”

  “ Now that’s better — after a long day, tea seems heavenly,” Lyra stated with a smile after taking the first sip of her tea.

  “You always seem to love your teas,” Eclipse noted, glancing at Lyra with one eye open, already anticipating a flustered retort.

  “I simply enjoy them — that’s all,” Lyra said, mockingly offended. “You can’t really say I love this human tea. It doesn’t even compare to the tea we used to have back home.”

  “Yeah, that’s why every week you go to the human realm to get these tea packs, isn’t it?” Eclipse noted in his unusually calm, teasing voice.

  “That might be another thing,” Lyra started — but stopped mid-sentence when she realized Eclipse’s plan to tease her. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” she said, squinting at him suspiciously.

  “Not sure why you’d come to that conclusion,” Eclipse replied with a hint of affection and amusement, glancing at Lyra. “But I do seem to enjoy your flustered reactions.”

  That’s how their evening went — teasing each other — until both Lyra and Eclipse stopped mid-conversation as they sensed the presence of Lady Elena.

  “She’s here finally,” Lyra noted, setting her teacup down.

  Eclipse hummed, having sensed it too.

  ARRIVAL OF LADY ELENA.

  “Ah! There you are. I was searching for both of you,” Lady Elena said as she walked toward Eclipse and Lyra, who gave subtle nods to acknowledge her presence.

  “How was your day today? I heard you went to the palace back in Pale City,” Lady Elena asked as she sat opposite Lyra, who motioned for the crythmaids to serve her tea.

  “Yeah — had to go, as again some humans decided to make the palace their adventure spot,” Lyra said, leaning back in her seat.

  “Well, we can’t do anything — not until 'she' orders us to. Just keep an eye on those humans, and as long as they don’t poke around the palace, it should be fine,” Lady Elena said, sipping her tea.

  “Figured that’s what we had to do,” Eclipse added, “plus those boys don’t seem older — roughly around the human age of sixteen to eighteen years.”

  “Lady Elena,” Lyra began carefully, “is she going to come today? It is lunar moon too.”

  “First of all, it’s just Elena for you guys,” she said with a small smile. “And yes — she’s going to visit us today.”

  “So we will get to see her. It’s been a month since I last did,” Lyra noted with a thoughtful expression and a knowing smile, while Elena nodded and Eclipse hummed.

  “How was the human realm? I heard there have been developments — that they are now technologically and scientifically advanced,” Elena inquired.

  “Yeah, they definitely have developed a lot since… I don’t know, maybe the Stone Age,” Lyra said.

  “Not bad,” Elena stated. “They did match up to her expectations.”

  “We all know she always had expectations for the human realm,” Lyra began.

  “Yeah, she still cares for those petty humans — to the point that she lives among them to protect them, even after how those humans behaved toward her,” Lady Elena said, her voice carrying parts of anger and disgust.

  “She still forgives them and even lowered herself to reside with them,” Lyra said, her voice hinting at controlled anger.

  “You two are forgetting that’s how she’s been from the start — always forgiving, caring,” Eclipse spoke up, his tone knowing and understanding. “She helps, cares, shelters others and even us, yet she has been alone for centuries. Even with us serving her, we still can’t share her burden. She knows that no one else can handle it or share it.

  And just as an comfortable, knowing silence began to settle, one thing was sure,

  “ in the garden it was peaceful, the tea warm, conversation flowed naturally, the world slept in peace … but the presence of ‘her’ was about to shift everything.”

  To be continued......

  --------------------End of chapter 3 ------------------