The queen was also hit hard by the death of her daughter. She suffered a nervous breakdown and lay
unconscious in bed for five days before she eventually died of a broken heart. So it happened that the king and his son not only had to carry Feronia to the grave, but also their wife and mother on the
same day. But they had no time to mourn. War broke out in the west. The peasants rose up against
the nobles, who suppressed them for years and demanded completely excessive taxes. Our kingdom
had long ago promised the peasants that they would stand by them in the event of war. Usually it was the king's duty to watch over his kingdom and for the eldest son to go to war to lead the troops.
But my king couldn't bring himself to do it. He had just lost his wife and daughter. He couldn't take
the risk of losing his son too. So he decided that he would go to war in place of the prince and that
his son should watch over his throne. Prince Ulric refused, but not even he could oppose an order
from the king.
The war did not last long and the peasants won. The warriors returned, but our beloved king had fallen on the battlefield.
Within a single month, Prince Ulric had lost his parents and only sister.
As sad as these events were, you have to ask yourself what all this has to do with your family. But my story doesn't end there.
After the death of his father, Prince Ulric was crowned king as soon as possible. But our new king
was unable to rule. He suffered too much from the death of his parents and especially from the loss
of his beloved sister. He often spent days in her room. Sometimes he just stood in front of her
painting, until his legs could no longer support him. I was sure it wouldn't be long before we would
bury our new king as well. But instead everything turned out very differently. One day he happened
to find a message in Feronias room. It was a letter from the princess' fiancé. In it her lover wrote
that he could no longer meet her. He would keep her time in good memory, but he had lost his heart
to someone else.
It seemed he had a fiancée for a long time and after years they were reunited and he had realized that she was the one he really loved. Since he was so sure about it, he didn't want to waste any time and therefore the wedding had already taken place.
The letter was signed by the Prince of the Sun Kingdom.
As King Ulric read these words, he realized why his sister had decided to put an end to her life.
Now that he had found an enemy, everything made sense to him. But his request to speak to the
royal family was refused and he was not only thrown out of the castle, but his kingdom was threatened with war if he were to be seen there ever again. At that point he had a purpose again.
Revenge on the royal family of the sun empire. However, he could not risk the welfare of the people
in his kingdom for doing so. He knew that the realm of the sun was too powerful. Yet he could not
give up his revenge, he wanted to cause them as much pain as he had to go through. But to do so he
would have to be able to bring them into his kingdom. He knew it could take years to accomplish
this. However, a person does not live forever. Tree spirits on the other hand ...
I had already mentioned at the beginning that children of nature were said to be able to talk to
mystical beings. For a long time, like most people, I thought they were simple old wives' tales or
exaggerations. The fact was, that Princess Feronia actually spoke to them. She even housed tree
spirits in her garden. Probably the most powerful beings known to us. However, that didn't mean
they weren't able to grieve as well. King Ulric knew all of this as his sister often told him about them. So he knew that they could grant you a wish if you offered them something in return that was worth as much as the wish itself.
If I hadn't been there myself, I probably wouldn't have believed it. But when night fell I followed the king to the garden. The moon shone through the glass and fell directly on the great wisteria. At first nothing happened. I firmly believed that since King Ulric was just an ordinary person, the spirits would not show themselves. But then the king began to speak to the tree. He put a hand on the trunk and asked him for a wish and the possibility of avenging Feronias death.
It was completely crazy, but the spirits answered his plea, whether out of pity or because they too wanted to see the death of the child of nature avenged.
The tree spirits gradually appeared and began to speak. This language was completely unknown to
me. At first I even thought it was some kind of singing. But then the king answered them. He asked
them for one of the most precious things one could ask for. He asked for time. In exchange for this, he offered them his heart.