"Sister?" Lyana would never have thought of that. "But how is that even possible? I've seen the paintings. The hair, the eyes, she looked very different from her parents or King Ulric."
Nevis smiled weakly. "That is probably true. Tell me, Your Royal Highness, have you ever heard of the children of nature? That is the name they received from the people. They are children who are only born every hundred years on a full moon night. The eyes as blue and radiant as the summer sky and the hair as silver as the moon. It is said that they can talk to mystical beings and thus make flowers and trees bloom forever. They are considered to be the kindest and most good-natured creatures there are on earth. Unfortunately, it also makes them more vulnerable than normal people.
They don't know mistrust and hatred. Loss and grief ... they perceive it all differently than we do."
Nevis looked into the distance with a wistful look.
Lyana, on the other hand, realized that the garden in the castle must once have belonged to the princess. That's why all the flowers were blooming there, even though it was freezing everywhere.
"Did you know the princess?"
Nevis nodded. "Oh yeah. She was a wonderful person. Always friendly and always with a smile.
She could cast a spell over any grouchy peasant or snooty nobleman. Every young man was probably infatuated not only with her kindness, but also with her extraordinary beauty. I was also a little bit in love with the princess," the old man admitted with a laugh. Lyana could understand him well. Even as a woman, Princess Feronia had stolen her breath from her. She had a bad conscience now because she was so unkind towards her. All because she had seen the woman as a rival. Even though she was no longer among them for a long time. But then she got suspicious of something Nevis had said. "How long has it been since she died?"
"This year ... no, in the next few days, it will be exactly 49 years ago. I myself was only 16 years old at the time. "
The sun princess noticed how dizzy she was, which is why she had to hold on to the edge of her bed. "But ... but how is that possible? The king ..." Nevis quickly handed her the cup of water that was on the floor next to her.
Lyana gratefully drank it up. She handed Nevis the empty mug and looked straight into his eyes,
which radiated an indescribable sadness. "This is a story that is not easy for me to tell. I never
shared it even with my son. Since I don't know whether I will make it a second time, I ask you to
listen carefully to this old man and not to interrupt me." His gaze was so urgent that Lyana could
only nod. And so Nevis began to tell his story.
"As mentioned earlier, I was only 16 years old that year. For a long time I had supported my father
in his work and when I turned 16 I took up my position as King Ulrics valet. At that time, however,
he was still Prince Ulric. Usually, the Prince of the Ice Kingdom was provided with an elderly or at
least his a servant his own age. That I was given this honor at my age was both flattering and
terrifying. After all, the prince was twenty years older than me. But he was a warmhearted man who
always forgave my mistakes and helped me get better. I soon became a close confidante of the
prince and so I could stay in the room even when his sister, Princess Feronia came to visit him. This
always gave me the opportunity to indulge in my secret crush and admire her beauty. Until then I
had only seen her in paintings, but there was no comparison. When she spoke, it sounded like she
was singing. Her laughter was as bright and clear as a chime and when she walked across the room,
her every movement was so fluid and every step as if she were floating above the floor. No wonder
that her parents always preferred her, even over her own son, the heir to the throne. Her mother in
particular was proud to have such a special daughter. If you now believe, however, that Prince Ulric
was jealous of his sister because of this, then you are greatly mistaken. Nothing could get further
from the truth. Because of all the people in the kingdom, the prince himself was probably the most
smitten with Princess Feronia. When she was younger he had used all of his free time playing with
her. My father once told me that he even kept skipping lessons because he preferred to go to his
sister.
So it happened that over the years the princess had built a deep bond with her brother. For her he was like a second father, brother and best friend at the same time. She confided so much to no one else. Prince Ulric enjoyed it very much, just as he loved giving her presents. On a particularly cold winter day, he came back from the village and brought her a beautiful hair ornament. There were lots of little pink roses. Incredibly rare in our kingdom, but when he discovered them in the market, he must have thought of his flower-loving sister and bought them all.