The last threads of sun filtering through the stained glass lit the shaded room, casting interwoven colors across Elara's furious face. She stood breathing deeply, her hands gripping the cold windowsill. "Why do they forbid me from even seeing the real world?" she whispered, her voice low with a frustration she had long suppressed.
Lina, her trainer who had raised her since childhood, approached cautiously. "Elara, you are the future princess. Your actions must be..."
Her words were suddenly cut off by a distant explosion that shook the walls. The ringing of bells and screams erupted from everywhere. Through the window, Elara saw smoke rising from the city's distant walls, and black and red banners waving on the horizon.
"It's Ishtar!" a guard shouted, running down the hall.
Lina grabbed Elara's arm fiercely. "To the cellar, now!"
But Elara tore her hand away stubbornly. A cold surge suddenly flooded her veins, an unexpected power that made Lina recoil involuntarily. "No! I will see what is happening with my own eyes." She ran towards the balcony overlooking the main square, defying the guards' disapproving stares.
From the balcony, she witnessed a scene she would never forget. Knights clashed, swords flashing in the emerging moonlight. Then she saw him... a young knight on a jet-black horse, his black armor etched with intricate gold designs making him look like a phantom from old legends. He advanced with confidence, as if he knew exactly where he was going.
When he raised his visor for a moment, Elara's eyes met his from afar. They weren't just blue eyes... she felt a strange heat strike her face despite the distance, as if a great power was being restrained. A look of confidence and sorrow, mixed with a latent fire.
"Who is he?" she whispered to herself.
Lina, who had followed her, answered in a dry tone: "Prince Mil... of the Mayar ruling family of Ishtar."
"And why are they attacking us?"
"They are looking for something that must not fall into their hands," Lina replied sharply. "Something that could destroy Restoria if they knew its location. Now, this is not your concern."
But Elara wasn't convinced. She watched Mil advance steadily, occasionally pausing to study the palace as if searching for something. At one point, their eyes met again, and this time she saw something different... a flicker of hidden recognition, as if he knew her from before.
Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind her. "Elara! Get away from the balcony!"
It was her father, King Sal III, standing in the doorway, his face pale and his hands trembling. "Go to your room, now! This is no concern for a naive princess like you!"
His words struck her like a slap, but before she could retort, she saw Mil suddenly pull back, signaling his forces to withdraw. Why were they retreating after just starting the attack? He glanced toward her one last time, a quick look that carried an unwritten message, then disappeared into the night.
Hours later, as a tense quiet returned to the palace, Elara sat in her room, staring at the stars from her window. Something inside her said this day was just the beginning... the beginning of something far bigger than she could imagine.
Suddenly, she heard a soft knock on her door. When she opened it, she found no one... just a small piece of paper lying on the floor. She picked it up with a trembling hand, revealing a brief message written in elegant script:
"The truth is not what it seems. Be wary of those you trust."
And when she looked up, she saw a shadow disappearing at the end of the hall... heading towards her father's royal wing. A shadow that held secrets that would change her life forever.