Chapter 7: Oaths of Thorn and Flame
By Joy Daud
The great hall echoed with voices—not of celebration, but accusation.
Citizens crowded beneath the banners of the crown, their eyes full of fear and doubt. The queen, robed in white and gold, stood before them like a grieving saint. Her voice was sweet, soft, laced with sorrow.
"I never wanted harm to come to this kingdom," she said, tears in her voice but not in her eyes. "But strange things stir in the forest. Magic... forbidden, unnatural. I fear our prince has been touched by it."
Gasps rippled through the crowd. All eyes turned to the prince—stoic, still, cold as marble.
Kimo said nothing. Not yet.
King Ryon stood beside the queen, hand raised for silence. "We have long cherished peace. But peace cannot thrive when my own son walks in shadows and disobedience."
The crowd murmured.
Oki, standing off to the side, clenched her fists. She wanted to scream—but this wasn't her moment.
Kimo finally stepped forward, his boots heavy against the marble.
"Peace?" he said, voice low. "You call this peace, Father?"
The king's brow hardened. "You defied your king, your family—"
"I defied your silence," Kimo thundered. "And your queen's darkness."
The hall went still.
The queen let out a fragile gasp, stepping behind Ryon like a wounded bird. "He accuses me again... I only sought to protect our people."
Ryon turned, furious. "Enough! You will not speak to her that way—"
"Then answer me this," Kimo shouted, voice cold as winter wind. His eyes locked on the king's.
"Where is my mother?"
Gasps cracked through the crowd like thunder.
Ryon's face tightened. The queen reached for his arm, whispering something that made him flinch.
Kimo stepped forward, his aura rising—not fire, not ice, but something alive. The faint sparkle of green light danced at his shoulders, like fireflies waking in his blood.
The citizens stared. Whispered.
"Did you see that?"
"What was that glow—?"
Kimo's voice dropped into something darker.
"You are the evil," he said, eyes locked on the queen. "Not me. You stole this kingdom's heart."
The queen flinched—not in fear, but fury veiled as fear. Still, the people did not believe the cold prince. Not yet.
The king raised his staff, slamming it down. "Take him away!"
Guards stepped forward. Kimo didn't move.
But Oki did.
She slipped from the crowd, disappearing into the night, her cloak pulled tight as she ran—through the palace, through the gates, into the forest.
---
The trees welcomed her like an old friend.
She moved swiftly through the underbrush until she reached the hollow stone, the one with symbols carved in an ancient tongue. She dropped to her knees and whispered a name:
"Elira."
The wind stirred.
"I know you," Oki said softly. "I've always known. You were more than queen. You were the last true guardian. And your son—he's not lost. He's waking up."
Leaves swirled into the air, forming a glowing circle. A spirit emerged—tall, cloaked in silver mist, with gentle eyes that burned like stars.
> "Why do you speak her name?" the spirit asked.
Oki looked up, steady. "Because I remember her. And I remember where she went."
The spirit's light flared.
> "Then speak, child of memory."
But before she could answer, the ground beneath them split.
Black vines burst from the earth. The queen's summoned familiar—now larger, more human, its wings curled with smoke—rose from the roots with a piercing shriek.
Oki stood her ground as the spirit lifted its hand.
> "Protect the heir. The forest has chosen him."
Flames clashed with light.
Oki screamed—
---
To be continued…
In Chapter 8: The Legacy She Left Behind
Where the truth of Queen Elira begins to surface, and Oki faces the price of remembering what the world tried to forget.