The Guardian Spirit (The Guardians of Nine Heavens #2)

Chapter 25: Orphaned Princess

In the evergreen Spirit Forest of ancient times, there was a field full of holes dug into the ground. In these big holes was located the Kingdom of Bunny Spirits, or, as they more referred to themselves, the Usagi Kingdom. In this kingdom, there lived both high-class and lower-class rabbit spirits. One of the most powerful high-class clans was De Lapin, the royal clan of the Usagi. Another strong clan was Kaninchen.

There were times when the Usagi Kingdom prospered, but as every kingdom, it also had its time of downfall - it happened when the clan of tailless foxes, the Fox, attacked. The king of the Usagi, Guillaume De Lapin, bade farewell to his beloved family - his wife Queen Matilda, and young, over a hundred-year-old princess, Lutecia:

"I am going. I need to protect my people".

"Please, do not die!" Matilda sniffed, her nose twitching. 

"Papa!" Lutecia, still a child, was crying.

"Aww, do not grieve, my little ones!" Guillaume hugged them both, deeply sad himself. "I shall return. I promise," he kissed his wife on the lips, his child on the head, and left the palace together with his rabbit troops, followed also by his main advisor, Feuer von Kaninchen.

Months passed. Few troops returned and sadly announced their loss of the fight, but the far graver news was to follow - the king had died in battle. Poor Queen Matilda cried and sobbed for days, and fell ill from so much worry and sadness. Little Lutecia wept together with her mother. They mourned the king in the whole kingdom...

But the kingdom needed a new king, for the ill queen was unable to take the lead, so she soon married the first man after the king - Feuer von Kaninchen, the late king's grand vizier. Little Lutecia never liked this gloomy redhead old man who always claimed her father the king never had time for 'senseless' games with the princess and kept him forever busy. Now, when her father had died and this man was to take his post she got greatly displeased. The far more unpleasant fact was that this once old widower's only daughter, Gretchen, who was a little older than Lutecia and thus always tried to bully her whenever she had a chance, got to become her very own elder sister. She would have even more chances to play on her nerves! Her worries grew because of her mother's illness too - Queen Matilda's condition was getting worse and worse each day...

Once, the ill queen, who was stuck to her bed, called for her little daughter. When Lutecia awedly entered and closed the door behind, the kind bunny queen smilingly spoke:

"Come, my dear Lulu..."

Lutecia slowly walked up to her mother and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Yes, mommy?"

"Lulu, darling, my days are drawing near..."

"Huh? No!" the child grabbed her hand, "You can't, mommy! You can't leave me!" tears filled her eyes.

"I... I am sorry, dear..." tears streamed down the sad queen's cheeks too, "It is the law of nature - mothers leave before children..."

"No! No!"

"Just remember, my dear, both your father and I will join the core of nature, and watch you from there. You shall be alright, you'll see. Just remember..." she coughed, and then spoke with a serious tone: "Be aware of foxes, Lulu, and you'll be fine..."

Lutecia heard her mother wheeze and then felt the woman's hand get heavier. She gasped and looked at Matilda - she had closed her eyes and seemed to slowly go pale.

"No! Mommy! Mommy!" she began shaking her, but the woman didn't open her eyes, for she was no more.

The orphaned princess' sobs and whimpers could be heard from the room... From then on, the final words of her mother got deeply stuck in her heart and mind:

"Be aware of foxes, and you'll be fine..."