"Sir, perhaps this is your destiny." Commander Carles said to King Theodor.
With tears streaming down his face, the king released his embrace of his little daughter. With a heavy heart, he had to give his little daughter to one of the palace servants. "She is a beautiful baby, but her beauty will become a thorn, and it will pierce her into darkness. Forgive me, Isabella, your father is forced to let you go." King Theodor's words sounded even more heartbreaking, and Commander Carles also felt saddened upon hearing them.
"Sir, you must do this, otherwise the baby will bring disaster to the kingdom," Carles tried his best to convince the king. He looked up at the sky and pointed at the moon, which looked very charming, with a faint red glow, as if surrounded by burning flames, and in the end, Carles seemed to be hypnotized.
The moon seemed to be able to control humans, and it was not an ordinary moon. It was the incarnation of the great Queen Glovia.
A servant named Grace now helped the man come to his senses, patting him on the shoulder, intending to make him realize that he was under the influence of sirih.
"What is this?" Carles finally came to his senses. The king, seeing this, was forced to give up his daughter.
"Carles, you know how much I wanted a child, this beautiful baby. Now she is born, with skin as white and smooth as silk, and small, red lips. She is truly adorable when she sleeps," said the king, sobbing as he hugged his daughter tightly. An inevitable separation would eventually come for both of them. The baby's tiny hand clasped the king's fingers, as if she also did not want to let go of her father.
Carles, who was watching this, could not bear to separate the father and child. Grace, a middle-aged woman around 40 years old, was also saddened to see the father who was reluctant to let go of his baby.
"Sir, the Red Moon will open soon. If it finds this baby, all of Esteria will be destroyed, and if the seal is broken, our entire nation will also be doomed. Queen Glovia will rise and the whole world will be in great destruction."
Carles' words convinced the King that his choice was the best one.
King Theodor gave his little baby to Grace, and Grace happily accepted the tiny baby. "Please, do it without hurting her. I really can't bear to see my daughter cry. Do this quickly, Carles. I'm sorry to trouble you."
Carles had no issue with that at all; he didn't even feel bothered by the King at all.
"Calm down, Your Highness, I will do it quickly, without hurting the Princess."
After that, Carles took Grace and the baby onto a horse-drawn carriage, and they left through the back door of the palace. The weather was extreme at that time, with snowstorms everywhere because it was winter. But strangely, this was the first time in Grace's life that she saw with her own eyes a terrifying red moon above the land of Esteria. It looked like a story from a fairy tale about hell, but it was real.
Grace, who had been silent all this time, looked very confused. "Mr. Carles, what will happen to this baby?" Grace asked, looking down.
"Don't worry, Grace, this baby will disappear soon. You just need to stay quiet and pretend that this disappearance never happened." Hearing this, Grace was frightened, a vague wound appeared in her mind and she wondered if she could believe it.
After a long journey, they finally arrived at the Lost Tower, which was the final resting place for all criminals and rebels from both Esteria and other countries. It was located far from the foot of Mount Safier. This very remote place would be where the blue-blooded baby would disappear.
"Markus, is everything ready?" said Carles, who had just arrived.
"Everything is ready, my lord. As you commanded, I have brought the most beautiful red rose in the land, with very sharp thorns," said Markus with a smile.
"But my lord, why do we need a thorny rose? I mean, in a gloomy place like this, wouldn't it be better not to have something as beautiful as this rose?"
"To kill the baby."
"You only need to come this far, Markus! Return to Esteria and tell the other residents that this country is safe from disaster and I will take care of the rest here." Hearing this, Markus was truly delighted.
"So, we will be safe, sir?"
Carles nodded, responding to his subordinate's words.
"But sir, don't we usually only kill troublemakers who harm the country? Why a baby this time? And whose baby is it?" Markus made a big mistake by asking that question. Carles drew his sword and pointed it at Markus.
Markus's body trembled violently when he saw the sword in Carles's hand being swung towards him.
"You'd better keep quiet about this, Markus, and if you can't keep this secret, then you'll know the consequences, Markus." Seeing the weapon being swung toward him, Markus was terrified. He even panicked and chose to kneel down and beg for mercy from Carles.
"Forgive me, sir, I promise I won't tell anyone about this."
"I accept your apology, Markus, but remember my message. Tell everyone in this country that the sacrifice has been made and we are all safe." Markus nodded, then left.
When Carles went to the horse-drawn carriage, he was shocked to find that the royal guard who had been driving it was dead beside the carriage.
"Damn, this can't be." Carles quickly pulled open the door of the carriage. He opened it, and sure enough, it was empty.
He then looked around, until he finally found a woman running, who he suspected was Grace. She had already run very far, but Carles was not going to stand by and let that happen. He quickly took the horse-drawn carriage and chased after Grace.
Panicked and confused, Grace had only one way to escape the pursuit of the royal commander. She jumped into a ravine, hugging the tiny baby in her arms so that it would not get hurt.
The woman's body rolled down the steep, snow-covered cliff. With what little strength she had left, she walked with difficulty, dragging her leg, which had been injured by a piece of wood.
From the top of the steep cliff, Carles tried to find Grace's current location. Unfortunately, he failed.
In the middle of the snowstorm, Grace was determined to take it back to her village in eastern Esteria, far from the Kingdom. However, her vision began to blur as the cold she felt grew colder and colder. "Poor Isabella, why are they doing this to you? If I die here, will you also come to an end?" The woman's tears broke as she looked at the tiny baby.
The baby smiled, seemingly unafraid and not crying. Her eyes now emitted a dull red glow. "What is this? What's wrong with her eyes?" The little baby grasped Grace's fingers with her small hands.
Instantly, she was healed, the wound on her leg had disappeared. The cold air finally vanished. Until finally, she found a small hut in the middle of the quiet ravine.
"From now on, your name is Rossy, and you are my daughter. You are no longer part of them, and you are no longer Isabella Eurora Theodor. You are now Rossyella. A beautiful child like a lovely red rose, you will grow up well and become a sweet child," said Grace in the midst of the snowstorm.
Twenty years have passed...
The baby grew into a beautiful girl with beautiful eyes, skin as white and smooth as snow, long shiny white hair, and lips as red as beautiful roses. However, when the girl looked in the mirror, she would untie the rose ribbon on her right eye and see how terrifying her right eye looked. This made her very sad, and she had to always cover one eye with the rose ribbon, lest others run away in fear of her.
"What's wrong, Rose? Is something bothering you? Tell your mother!" Grace said to her daughter.
"Mom, why am I the only one who is different? Why don't they have scars like this, and why is it only me?"
"Listen, Rossy, how many times do I have to tell you? You are different, you are not like other girls because you are special. So never mind what others say about you. You are you, and you are beautiful in your imperfections." Grace hugged her daughter tightly, stroking her beautiful long hair.
"Rossy, will you help me again today?" Rossy nodded in agreement. She packed a few things with enthusiasm, put on a red cloak as a hood, and left with Grace, leaving their house in the middle of the forest to go to work.
TO BE CONTINUED