The palace corridors were unusually quiet. Moonlight filtered through stained glass windows, painting fragmented rainbows along the stone walls. Lira paced her chambers, her silk robe swishing softly against her ankles. She couldn't stop staring at the ring lying on the floor, its strange symbols glinting like trapped stars.
The whispers hadn't returned, but her pulse still thrummed with unease. It wasn't just the voice that had unsettled her—it was the feeling that it had known her, seen her in a way no one else ever had.
"Find me."
The words echoed in her mind like an unspoken promise.
Her door creaked open, and Aelis slipped inside. "I thought you'd be resting by now," she said, her brow furrowed with concern.
Lira shook her head. "I can't. Something happened tonight, Aelis. Something I don't understand."
Aelis crossed the room, her movements cautious. "Is this about that man you saw?"
Lira nodded and gestured to the ring. "Look at this."
Aelis picked it up, turning it over in her hand. Her frown deepened. "It's… strange, but it's just a ring, Lira."
"No," Lira said firmly. "It isn't. When I held it, I heard… a voice."
Aelis's eyes widened. "A voice? What did it say?"
Lira hesitated. "It told me I'm not who they think I am. And it told me to find it."
Aelis stiffened. "Lira, this could be dangerous. Enchanted objects often are. You should tell your father."
"No!" Lira snapped, then softened her tone. "I can't. He'd dismiss it—or worse, confiscate it and bury it in the vaults. Aelis, I need to figure out what this means."
Aelis hesitated, biting her lip. "And how do you intend to do that?"
Lira turned to the window, her gaze fixed on the moonlit horizon. "I don't know yet. But whoever—or whatever—that voice belongs to, it knows something about me. Something important."
Before Aelis could reply, the ring began to glow faintly in her hand. Both women froze as the shifting symbols rearranged themselves into something resembling an arrow, pointing toward the window.
"It's… giving you a direction?" Aelis whispered.
Lira's heart pounded. "It wants me to follow."
Aelis grabbed her arm. "You're not seriously considering this, are you? It could be a trap."
"It could be," Lira admitted, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and determination. "But what if it isn't? What if this is the answer I've been waiting for?"
"Answer to what?" Aelis demanded.
"To why I've always felt so… different," Lira said quietly. "You've seen it too, haven't you? The way people look at me—the way even my father keeps his distance. It's like I don't belong."
Aelis's grip loosened, her expression softening. "Lira…"
"I have to know the truth," Lira said firmly.
Aelis sighed, then nodded. "Fine. But you're not going alone."
Lira gave her a grateful smile, and together they began to prepare.
...................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...............…
The journey started in the dead of night. Lira and Aelis slipped out of the palace through a servant's passage, cloaked in dark robes to avoid detection. The ring's glow was faint but steady, leading them through the quiet streets of the capital and into the dense forests beyond.
The further they traveled, the stranger the world seemed to become. The trees grew taller, their branches twisting into unnatural shapes. The air grew colder, and the distant hoot of an owl sounded more like a warning than a song.
"How far do you think this thing is taking us?" Aelis asked, shivering slightly.
"I don't know," Lira admitted, clutching the ring tightly. "But I can feel it pulling me forward. We're close, I think."
They walked in silence for what felt like hours until they reached a clearing. At its center stood a stone archway covered in ivy, its edges carved with the same shifting symbols as the ring. The air around it shimmered faintly, as if reality itself was bending.
"This must be it," Lira said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Are you sure about this?" Aelis asked, her hand resting on the small dagger at her waist.
"No," Lira admitted. "But I don't think I have a choice."
As she stepped closer, the ring in her hand grew warm, its light intensifying. The symbols on the archway began to glow in response, and a low hum filled the air.
"Princess Lira of Astoria," a voice echoed from the archway.
Lira froze. It was the same voice she'd heard in her chambers—deep, resonant, and undeniably otherworldly.
"Who are you?" she demanded, her voice shaking.
"I am the Keeper of Secrets," the voice replied. "And I have been waiting for you."
The glow from the archway intensified, and a figure began to take shape within it. At first, it was little more than a shadow, but as the light solidified, a man stepped through.
He was tall and otherworldly, with pale skin and hair as dark as midnight. His eyes were a piercing silver, and he wore a cloak that seemed to shift and shimmer like smoke.
Lira took an involuntary step back, her heart pounding. "What do you want from me?"
"Not what I want," the man said, his voice smooth as silk. "What you need."
"I don't understand," Lira said.
The man's gaze softened, and he stepped closer. "You are not who they think you are, Princess. You are not merely a daughter of Astoria's royal bloodline. There is a greater truth hidden within you—one that has been kept from you for your entire life."
Lira's breath caught in her throat. "What truth?"
The man reached out, his hand hovering just above hers. "Let me show you."
Before she could react, his hand brushed the ring in her palm. A surge of energy shot through her, and the world around her dissolved into a whirl of light and shadow.
When the chaos subsided, she found herself standing in a vast, unfamiliar landscape. The sky above was a swirling mass of stars and colors, and the ground beneath her feet seemed to pulse with life.
"What is this place?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"This," the man said, stepping beside her, "is the Realm of Whispers—a place that exists between dreams and reality. And this is where your story truly begins."
Lira turned to face him, her fear melting into determination. "Tell me the truth. Who am I?"
The man smiled faintly, his silver eyes gleaming. "You are the last heir of a forgotten kingdom—a kingdom that was destroyed to keep its secrets buried. And now, Princess, those secrets are yours to uncover