Prince Noore sat in his private study staring into space, his unfocused gaze wandered from one corner of the room to another.
His mind repeatedly replayed the scene of Princess Qamari getting enveloped in a brilliant radiance of light, disappearing. He was finally able to understand his Royal Father's uncontrollable rage towards him after discovering the 'golden bird's disappearance had connections with Princess Qamari. If he was in his spot, he would be mad with rage as well.
He had far underestimated the girl, thinking of her as just the true princess of Jinn Kingdom as her father was the pervious king before meeting an unexpected end. Although he trusted his Royal Father would not get him married to a girl with no benefits, believing was still different from seeing.
It was only after seeing how mysterious and magical Princess Qamari was that he fully understood his Royal Father's intentions. He did not believe in the dark magic user nonsense. Not because of the brilliance of the light that covered her, but because he believed his father would not get him married to someone who could spell the destruction of their entire family.
In front of the ability to shape and change any lifeform's direction in life, what was a little bit of benefit? With Princess Qamari's magic, he would not only be the emperor of the Amayan Empire, he could also gain the qualification to reign over the seven realms.
Moreover, with the princess, there was still the missing mysterious 'golden bird' that was prophesied to bring prosperity and wealth to the possessor. He was absolutely certain that the two were greatly related to each other seeing as they both went missing at the exact same time.
The more he thought about the magical princess and her 'golden bird', the more the greed in his heart boiled and festered, until he could no longer control it.
"I must get them both back! Princess Qamari was originally meant to be my wife anyway." He self-righteously hissed, his blue eyes overflowing with greed and avarice.
Standing, he picked up his weapon and left, his rushed footsteps resounding in the quiet room.
********
Princess Qamari welcomed another day in the Sealand forest with the roar of clashing wild beasts. Since the island was at the bottom of the Black Southern Sea, it was hard to determine the passage of time. However, to keep track of time, Princess Qamari used the closing and blooming of the purple flowers by the lake, as they only bloomed during the night.
The forest was still as dark, shadows sweeping back and forth as they glided, stomped, flew, or sprinted away, all either engaged in a deadly battle or fleeing their impending death.
Although there seemed to be no significant change in the environment, Princess Qamari noticed that there were far less dangerous beasts roaming about during the day, than the night. This kind of explained the reason why she did not immediately get attacked when she fearlessly ventured so deep into the forest on her very first day.
Softly breathing in relief for the nth time at her great fortune, Princess was just about to retreat further into her makeshift shelter when her violet gaze connected with crimson violent and vicious ones.
'Well, there goes my great fortune.' She darkly thought with furrowed brows.
The owner of the blood-red gaze exuded a vicious and ferocious aura, its shadowy size large enough to rival the ancient elephants from the olden time. Two huge horns protruded from the top of its head giving his profile the appearance of a demon of hell. It slowly slithered towards her as it held her eyes, its gaze predatory.
With a hammering heart, Princess Qamari shakily gripped the sword in her hand tighter, shouting in her mind to not scream and remain calm, holding her position until the last moment. It was an excruciatingly difficult task to perform when she was under the impending threat of death.
But she remained seated in the same spot as the figure finally entered the range of her night-sight. What she saw broke the semblance of calm she gathered. Slamming her mouth shut to strangle the scream bursting from her lungs, she stared with wide eyes at the mini-blue dragon that glided carnivorously towards her, its two front claws digging deep ravines into the leave and bone blanked ground.
With a roar, it lunged at her. Princess Qamari finally dodged to the side, rolling onto the ground to distance herself before getting to her feet, her sword gripped tightly in her hands as she pointed it towards the mini-blue dragon.
Missing its prey, the dragon roared towards the sky with even greater fury, enraged. Flexing its claws, it slashed forward in a sweeping manner, intending to shred the puny creature to minces.
However, Princess Qamari rolled onto the ground again, using the propelling backward force to lengthen the distance between them even further. With a pallid complexion, she got to her feet and ran for her life.
Trees, plants, and the grotesque bodies of mangled beasts swept past her as she ran without direction, only thinking of leaving the dragon's sight. Her foot caught in a sinuous root, bringing her crashing to the ground with brutal force. She painfully reached out for her golden sword that flew out of her held, gripped it tightly, and instinctively twisted her body onto the other side of the ancient tree, missing the gaping mouth of the ferocious beast by a breath.
The mini-dragon was beyond enraged now. Ruthlessly swinging its blue spikey tail onto the huge tree standing in the path to its prey. The tree swayed and collapsed under the immense force of the blow as it exploded with a bang in mid-air before even hitting the ground.
Princess Qamari, who was now exposed and badly injured from the fall, stood trembling on her bleeding limbs, the golden sword gripped firmly in her hands as she stared at the avaricious beast.
"Am I going to die here?" She calmly whispered with dull eyes.
Her head, her body, her entire being felt as if it were on fire. There was something swelling within her core, straining against the confines of the barrier within her mind as it throbbed in sync with the golden sword in her hands that was now glowing, surrounded by a halo of light. The glorious beacon, fierce and untainted, blazed like the great desert sun as it spread out.
The light swirled and spun, reaching out to the shining glory of her core, as if trying to awaken the brightness that would chase away the darkness and prevent her approaching death, as it finally fused into her soul. Then before her very eyes, the sword in her hands flew out of her grip, rose into the sky, and transformed into a huge glorious golden bird.
Awestruck, love and pain bloomed in her heart as she witnessed the true soul of the golden sword. Tears trickled from the corner of her eyes. All these years she'd been so wrong. All these years she considered herself alone and powerless.
Yet now she could see how very blind she had been. She was never alone or powerless. She always had the company of the 'golden bird' and her magic.
The lifelong, unseen barrier within her snapped the moment the golden sword transformed. Power, cool and peaceful and immense, poured through the breach. Princess Qamari threw back her head as the magic rushed to fill every corner of her being, torching her body like the bright moon, healing all her wounds and injuries in an instant.
The magic was warm and exquisite, glorious and soothing all at once. She was magic, pure and cool, endless and wholesome.. Her incandescent form rose into the air, glowing with the light of the moon as it brightened her surroundings.