The Princess of Eden

Chapter 1

"Who knew that even beauty could be dangerous?"

As the woman was checking her house to make sure all appliances were turned off, she heard a sound from one of the bedrooms upstairs. She rushed upstairs to her daughter's bedroom to make sure that she was alright. When she opened the door, she saw that a figure was hiding inside the bed sheets, trying to contain her laughter; but was quite unsuccessful as her giggling could still be heard.

"Never ever scare me again like that Sia", the woman spoke.

"Sorry mommy", said the child as she pushed the blanket aside, revealing her adorable face with short red hair and a lovely smile.

"Now tell me. Why are you up so late? You should have gone to sleep by now", the woman asked her daughter as she sat beside her on her bed; brushing away the hair on her forehead.

"As if you don't know. You promised me that you would tell me the story of the Lost Princess today. That's why I have been waiting for you to complete your work", the little girl replied.

The woman smiled and started tucking her daughter to bed. "Well then, get comfortable. And no asking questions in between or after the story, okay. Well so the story goes like this,-

Long ago, during the medieval times, a group of special mortals, about 30 or so, decided to find themselves another beautiful world to live, unable to bear the insults they received here among regular mortals. They were burned down as the regular mortals feared that they were a threat to the society.

With their magic and special powers, they pleased the 4 elements of nature- fire, water, earth and air. They combined the powers of the 4 elements to open a portal to another land somewhere far off, away from the regular mortals. The land they reached was the most beautiful place ever. There was greenery everywhere. Trees with many beautiful creatures and fruits, mountains as tall as the sky, rivers cutting through valleys with water as clear as glass and much more was there. It was the most beautiful place ever. They named this place 'Terram Elementorum' which translates to 'Land of the Elements' in Latin.

Years later, as the population grew; the land started being divided into kingdoms. One such kingdom was the kingdom of Eden. It was founded by Leonardo. It rose into a prosperous kingdom after many years.

After many generations, Princess Siofra was born. With her birth, the entire kingdom broke into celebrations.

Soon after her birth, a mysterious woman visited the royal palace. As soon as she saw the princess, she said that she would be taken away from her kingdom by a demon from the Moors of Carta. There was no way to prevent it , but it could be delayed if she was taken back to the world her ancestors left ages ago until she came of age.

Hearing this, the king was horrified. He refused to let his daughter be taken away. He made sure the palace was surrounded with the best guards all the time.

But soon, the queen fell ill and passed away 10 days after the woman's visit. While grieving his queen's demise, the king found out that the princess had been taken. He sent many scouts to the Moors of Carta to bring back his daughter. But all failed.

The kingdom fell in despair. It was prophesized that without the princess, the Kingdom of Eden can never thrive for more than a century. Only the 4 most worthy warriors of this land can save the kingdom and bring back the princess."

"That was depressing and wonderful at the same time. But mommy what happened to the princess?" asked the little girl.

"Nobody knows clearly, my dear. Many believe that she was taken to the Moors of Carta by one of the demons as the old woman said. But no demon could pass through the borders of Eden without paying tribute to Ayante (Mother Nature), which is against their rules."

"But some people believe that the princess was taken to the mortal world by one of the servants on the orders of the queen who wanted to save her daughter."

The little girl was unwilling to sleep after such a thrilling tale as her head was filled with questions. But tiredness took over and she lay on her bed and told her mother. "That was the best story I ever heard mommy", saying this she fell asleep, unaware of the sad smile that had crept on her mother's face.

"Sleep tight Sia. Because some years later, you have a destiny to fulfill." Saying this, the woman kissed her daughter's forehead and left, carefully closing the door behind her.