A cool breeze blew through the supple green twigs in the palace orchard. The humid scent of the sea permeated the air, although the beach was some miles away from the Hasurei Kingdom royal palace. Tama was sitting on the east wing balcony overlooking the gardens. She was a girl of sixteen, with the strands of her dark brown ponytail floating in the breeze and her pensive brown eyes blazing with some otherworldly light. Her scarlet dress, crafted of simple fabric, shimmered under the sun. She was leaning on the balustrade of the balcony, supporting her chin with her other hand, and was reviewing a letter she'd written on a small piece of parchment. A white pigeon sat with ruffled feathers by her side, cooing at her to hurry up.
The letter read:
"How are you, Mom? How's Dad doing? Big Brother Yannou and I are fine! Yannou's working out with Princess Alvina and the royal knights. They say they're heading for another expedition soon. Do you see anything about their future in your Vision? – I mean, between Alvina and Yannou! Haha, Big Brother's really into our scarlet-haired princess!
"As for me, I'm alright. Princess Amida seems a little better, although her coughs haven't passed. Dealing with curses is painful… We've been treating Amida for eleven years, and yet she's still sick! How cruel must one be to curse their king's far-off descendant this way?! That old Vizier Prudus of Hasurei was a handful! Our grandpa Carneh is the Shadow God and the king of monsters in Lunaria, but even he's not that heartless!
"On a more urgent business: I've had that dream again, with Ronna, the green dragon. Today, I discovered she lives in a swamp in the far north. My guess is Drahvelt, the kingdom of dragons, although it pains me to think so. After all, Drahvelt is our enemy! Ronna took me to the giant tree where she nests, and I saw the great volcano of Mt Belphezar right up to my nose, so I concluded that it was Drahvelt. After all, that volcano harbours their capital.
But that was the least of it. While I marvelled at Ronna's tree in the swamp, a red lava dragon came down from the volcano! Ronna told me he was her mate, Beilung. He was surprised to see me, but Ronna reassured him it was alright. A lava dragon from Mt Belphezar is bad news, Mom! What if he remembers me when he wakes up? You told me that dragons can travel through Dreamscape, so he should! Do you think Beilung might be affiliated with the people of Belphezar? I hope not! Maybe I should tell Ronna never to take me to her house again? What do you think of this dream? Please advise me!
"Love you,
"Tama"
Tama reread the letter a few times. The pigeon cooed at her and pecked her hand.
"Ouch!" Tama rubbed it. "Okay, okay, I'm finished!" She laughed at the pigeon. "Here!"
She folded the parchment and placed it in the box attached to the pigeon's leg. The pigeon flapped her wings and ascended the skies. She whirled around and headed to the north where Tama's hometown lay. Tama watched her disappear through the clouds.
A cough sounded from beyond the curtained doors. Tama whipped around and hurried back inside. The room was golden, furnished with a white wooden wardrobe of rose ornaments, a white bed with a blue canopy, a round table for dining, and some puffy white armchairs. In the bed, lay a sixteen-year-old girl with blazing blonde hair and sky-blue eyes, her skin white as snow and her lips pink as a rose. She was tucked into two sets of blankets, groaning. Tama ran up to her and placed her hand on her forehead. It was burning hot.
"Princess Amida, why didn't you call me?!" Tama exclaimed.
She grabbed a green glass bottle from the bedside table, containing a strange magenta-coloured liquid, and poured the drink into a silver chalice. She helped the princess sit up and brought the chalice to her lips.
"Drink it all!" she urged. When the princess emptied the chalice, Tama put it away and helped her lie down again. She sat on the edge of the Princess' bed and touched her forehead. "You're still burning, but the fever will go down now that you've had your medicine," Tama said. "Couldn't you call me sooner?"
"But you were writing a letter to your parents!" Princess Amida replied in her meek voice, smiling. "I didn't want to disturb you."
"I can write letters at any time!" Tama argued. "Your health is important!"
"It's not like it'll get any better than this." Amida sighed. "Even the Lotus Temple's remedies can't lift this curse."
"We'll find a way! My mom's toiling hard in the temple to find a remedy through her Vision. You can't just give up!" Tama frowned. "Don't you remember how we promised to travel the world together? You must get better so we can do it!"
"Come on, Tama, that was long ago!" Amida smiled. "We were just kids."
"'Never give up on your childhood dreams', wise men say!" Tama countered with a grin, trying to cheer her up.
Amida broke into a weak laughter, covering her mouth with her hand. Their banter was interrupted by a knock on the doors.
"Who's there?" Princess Amida asked, not expecting visitors.
"Her Majesty is summoning Your Highness!" cried the gruff voice of a palace guard from beyond the doors. "It's urgent!"
"Oh, goodness!" Amida leaned forward with the little strength she could muster, trying to get up.
"Lie back down!" Tama pinned her to the bed. She glared at the doors with knitted brows and shouted: "Princess Amida is ailing! Tell the Queen to get over here with whatever business she's got!"
"Tama, don't be so rude!" Amida clutched her hand, frightened. "Mother can't stand insubordination!"
"I don't belong to the Queen but to the Lotus Temple!" Tama countered. "You hear me?" She shouted to the doors again. "Tell her to get over here and_"
The doors burst open. Several palace guards, armed with swords and shields, walked in. They made way for a seventeen-year-old man with blazing blond hair and sky-blue eyes like Amida's, but his eyes exuded arrogance and guile, contrary to Amida's sincere spark. He was dressed in a noble white suit adorned with golden epaulettes and carried a navy blue cape of pure silk. At the sight of him, Tama's innards churned with disgust and her nose turned up.
"Prince Ishgal…" She gritted through her teeth.
The visitor was Ishgal Blackthorne, Amida's older brother and the heir apparent to the throne of the Hasurei Kingdom. Just like Amida, he was Tama's childhood friend, but for Tama, that friendship ended years ago when she was thirteen and Ishgal – fourteen. Tama vividly remembered that day, getting lost in the woods with only Ishgal for company, drenched in the rain, looking for shelter before the search party would find them. The boy whom she looked up to as a brotherly friend turned out to be a beast lusting for her body. The search party arrived just in the nick of time. Ever since then, Tama made sure never to walk alone, for the shadow of Ishgal lurked after her in her worst nightmares. The sight of him brought chills to the back of her neck.
"Oh, hello, Tama!" Ishgal grinned, his eyes blazing as he glanced at Tama's breasts. However, he quickly averted his eyes from her and turned to Amida, giving her a faint bow as was the royal custom. "Your Highness is requested by Her Majesty for an important audience! It concerns our kingdom's future."
"Our kingdom's future?" Amida asked. "What does Big Brother mean?"
"Princess Amida, as you might know, we're at the brink of war with the neighbouring kingdom of Drahvelt, and unless an important diplomatic step is taken, our people will suffer," Ishgal answered. "Our mother, Her Majesty Queen Eclaire the Illustrious, has consulted the Drahian officials and come to an agreement: since the current king of Drahvelt, Gerart the Bloodthirsty, is unmarried, you are offered as his bride."
Amida covered her gaping mouth with her hand, speechless from horror. Tama widened her eyes too.
Princess Amida, the gentle girl with barely the strength to get up, was to become the bride of Gerart the Bloodthirsty, the man who slaughtered his whole family upon ascending to the throne?!