Dragon Prince: The Storm's Courage

Chapter Two: The King's Message

The kingdom of Katolis has started to awaken by the rising sun. Birds started singing their morning songs as the sun had started to rise to from the mountains and the faint silver of the moon could hardly be seen in the morning sky. As the sun had started to rise from the golden and blue sky, the people of the village had started to awakening and getting ready to start their day. The adults had started heading towards nearby markets or started heading towards work. The teenagers had started working their morning jobs or meeting up with each other in their favorite hangout spots. While the kids had started helping their parents, playing with their older siblings or playing with their pets.
Shira's room is neat and tidy at first glance and full of books. Her bed has a red and yellow blanket. The walls and floor were made of finely wrought stone, and the antique wooden furniture boasted delicate carvings animals. Candles flickered, casting peaceful shadows across the walls. There's a single window that gazed from the east.
But Shira sat by an easel in her bedroom. She was reading a brown-covered book by the candlelight.
"It was a big world, and sometimes it felt daunting.
The girl was the granddaughter of the famous inventor who had built wings out of wax. And so, she knew the Warning Story better than anyone. It was the stormy of how her uncle had died because she didn't listen to Grandfather's warnings not to fly too high, and so his wings melted when he flew too close to the sun.
The girl told her mother that she wanted to fly more than anything. But her mother and all the other adults told the girl it was too dangerous. They told her over and over: Remember the Warning Story.
Nevertheless, she persisted.
The girl found the old wax wings, which had been hidden away. The wax was strong enough to hold the feathers, but the hot sun would melt the wax. So the girl strengthened the wax by adding her strongest glue, which she knew would stay solid even in the heat.
When the others saw her wearing the new and improved wings, they yelled at her to stop. "You'll fly too high!"
Were they afraid she would fail, or were they afraid she would succeed?
With some luck and a strong breeze, the girl flapped her wings. Soon she was airborne. Soaring through the sky, she felt so free! And from high up there, the world looked... smaller. Not smaller, but just the right size. And the girl knew she could do anything, even change it."
Shira smiled at the legend that was passed down from her fallen mother. She wonders... if there's a chance she could perform such magic that's not the dark magic. Maybe there is a way to change the world between their kingdoms... somehow.
Shira closed the book and slipped it into her satchel. After she learnt about the assassination, she started packing too since she was ordered to by King Harrow. But she jumped in place when she suddenly heard a firm knock on the door. Shira gotten up and opened the door to see one of the members of the Crown Guards.
"Hello, can I help you?" Shira asked him.
"His Majesty wants to see you," said the Crown Guard.
"What's it about?" Shira asked the Crown Guard.
"I don't know," admitted the Crown Guard as they both walked out of Shira's room and into the hallway.
⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️
"You wanted to see me?" Shira pushed open a heavy door and peeked inside. The throne room, with its soaring ceilings and stone columns, was one of the most intimidating places in the castle; the sheer size could make even a ward of the king feel insignificant. A long crimson carpet ran from the entrance to the foot of the hand-carved throne that had occupied this room for centuries. Standing candelabras cast shadows over the marble floors.
In the middle of the great hall, King Harrow stood alone around a long table. A three-dimensional map of the five human kingdoms and Xadia was laid out before them. It looked like a table game, with pieces representing the various armies and miniature terrain delineated by kingdoms.
But this was not a game; this was the place where the powerful discussed trade routes, treaties, and other things of international importance. In more troubled times, the table was used to devise battle strategies. King Harrow stood over the table, his brow furrowed. But as soon as he saw Shira, his expression filled with joy and delight.
"Shira!" He hurried towards the independent young girl, a glowing smile on his face. "I'm so glad to see you."
She recognizes the king as King Harrow, husband of the last Queen Sarai, father and stepfather to Ezran and Callum, the one of the people who had killed the Dragon King, Thunder. King Hallow is a tall and imposing man as he stepped forth from the table. He has brown skin gleams flawlessly with no scars and has angular features. He has a dark brown goatee and dark brown hair that was styled into dreadlocks, with most of the locks tied back in a bun and with golden bands on the ends. His green eyes shone with kindness and love, but Shira could see guilt and sorrow in his eyes.
Shira walked the length of the red carpet toward her caretaker.
"My King." Shira made a short, formal bow. 
King Harrow looked surprisingly uncomfortable. He reached his hand out in a hesitant, but reassuring manner.
"No... at ease, Shira," said Shira. "I don't mean for this to be so formal."
"Okay." But Shira stood with her back as straight and stiff as ever.
The king looked into Shira's eyes and smiled sadly. "Shira. I know I'm not your birth father, but I've always wanted you to feel comfortable around me. We are family. I want you to know that I love you as my own daughter." From deep within his royal robes, the king withdrew a parchment scroll and handed it to Shira. She turned the scroll over carefully. It was stamped with the official red wax seal of the King Katolis. "Your mother, Bianca, wanted me to give this to you... when she didn't make it back from the Border. I was going to give it to you later, but I don't know when I will see you again. I want you to break the seal when... well, you'll know when."
"If you get killed." Shira started to become desperate, her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "But why? Isn't there any way to stop this?" 
"It's not that simple Shira," said King Harrow.
"It seems very simple to me," Shira said, her desperate frustration growing. "You don't want to die. I'm sure the elves and dragons don't want to die."
The king smiled at her. After all, his ward was correct. "There are centuries of history, of wrongs committed on both sides. I have done many terrible things. I thought they were necessary but now... I don't know anymore."
Shira stepped back. It was hard to believe her warm, doting adoptive father committing unforgivable acts, but here he was admitting to the unthinkable. What, exactly, had he done?
Shira desperately wanted to reassure the king, whose shoulders bore the burden of whatever past choices he had made. But how could she tell her adoptive father, the king, that it was time to move on?
"You're the king!" Shira pleaded. "You can do or undo anything!"
Harrow chuckled bitterly. "The great illusion of childhood is that adults have all the power and freedom. But the truth is the opposite. A child is freer than a king."
Shira gave her adoptive father a skeptical stare, but she knew King Harrow was the most stubborn king in the history of Katolis. If he believed he deserved some terrible fate, there was no changing his mind.
But King Harrow shook his head stoically. "Take care of your brothers, Shira." He turned away.
Shira knew that this is her cue to leave. She trudged towards her door and slipped the scroll into her backpack, wondering if this was the last time she'd see the only parent she had left.
From the moment Shira had lost her mother to the Dragon King and she has been adopted by King Harrow. He has treated her as his own daughter. The closer she got to the door, the more Shira's insides crumbled.
Suddenly, Shira felt King Harrow standing behind her. She turned around, she wrapped her arms around King Harrow and squeezed her adoptive father tightly. Shira felt the king's strong arms wrap around her. She shut her eyes and let her whole body relax into the embrace. A silent sob escaped from her. Warm tears were sliding the king's face too.
It was a while till the two of them both pulled back from their embrace. King Harrow gave his daughter a long, loving look and Shira smiled back at him.
But Shira knew for a fact, once the moon reaches its highest, the king and the assassins shall both decide their fates on that very night.