“Wow, you have grown so quickly, little one, and your fur will be as soft as a cloud,” Elira exclaimed, her voice warm. “I’m sure Mother would adore you. She’s a little fragile at the moment, and Father’s being overprotective. You’ll meet more furry and feathery friends soon enough, I’m sure of it.”

“How do you know all this?” Nyra asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

Elira smiled softly. “It’s because I’ve seen it somehow.”

Nyra remembered her last dream after her mother and siblings left to hunt on their own.

“I told you your fur would be soft,” Elira continued gently. “But I didn’t realise how much you’d grow in just four years. Your fur is so soft that I could sleep on you, ha ha.”

“Am I really that different?” Nyra asked, her voice tinged with doubt.

Elira nodded thoughtfully. “Most lions I know have slick fur to blend into the grass and are smaller than you.”

“Is that why my mother left me without a name?” Nyra’s voice wavered.

“Oh dear, not at all—"

“Then did she abandon me?” Nyra interrupted, fear creeping into her words.

“No, my dear lioness,” Elira said firmly. “I’ll give you a name one day, but not from my lips. Someone close to you will.”

She paused, fading slowly into the distance. “Dreams are hard to remember, but I know you’ll meet someone powerful who will protect you as I tried to. And I’m sure you’ll protect him too.”

Nyra Reached out. “Wait, Elira, don’t go!"

***

Nyra gasped and blinked a few times. She looked around and found herself surrounded by flowers and shrubs, with trees scattered here and there.

A quiet thought crossed her mind: You have a powerful presence, Elira.

“Nyra! There you are,” a voice called over. “Are you alright?”

Valerie approached, concern furrowing her brow.

Nyra turned to her. “I’m fine. Why?”

Nyra touched her cheek and felt a tear run across her fingers.

“Oh… Yeah. I’m alright,” Nyra said, wiping the tear away. “I don’t know where this came from. Shall we go back inside? Everyone seems on edge.”

As they returned to the hall, a heavy silence fell over the room. Eldric raised an eyebrow and glanced at Valerie, silently asking if everything was alright

Valen noticed something was off, but before he could stop himself, he looked directly at Nyra.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked bluntly.

Valerie shot him a sharp glare. “Think before you speak! Nyra told me she’s fine, so there’s no need for concern.”

However, Mirael wasn’t convinced. Nyra’s puffy eyes betrayed Valerie’s words, but Mirael said nothing.

“Let’s move on. We have this to discuss,” Nyra said quickly, gesturing to herself as she tried to steady the fragile thread holding the conversation together.

“Ahem. Right, yes,” Elena stammered, clearly uncomfortable with the tension. “You were a lion until this morning, but we have nothing to go on. Did anyone see anything last night?”

But before anyone could answer, the door cracked open. Zara, Nero, Horus, Mistral, and Koda stepped inside, their presence shifting the atmosphere from tense to one of cautious curiosity.

“We have something we’d like to share,” Nero said calmly. “Rachelle, will you relay it for us?”

Rachelle blinked in surprise but nodded. “Er, sure.”

Mistral stepped forward. “First, we would like to try something. Rachelle, please come stand with us.”

Rachelle glanced around at the puzzled faces but agreed, stepping forward.

“Please bear with me, Your Highnesses, Nyra, Lady Mirael,” she said, trying to maintain composure.

The group settled into their seats. The room seemed to hold its breath as Rachelle joined the animals.

Mistral looked at her calmly. “Rachelle, have you ever tried touching the animal you’re communicating with?”

“I haven’t,” Rachelle said, frowning. “I usually just listen. Why? Is there another way?”

“Physical contact might help,” Mistral suggested gently. “You could be missing things by only listening. Rest your hand on me, I’m the largest here, and I’ll help pass on what you might have missed.”

Rachelle hesitated, then reached out and placed her hand on Mistral’s flank.

“I’ll try,” Rachelle said.

She took a deep breath and turned to the others. “They want to be involved too, and apart from me, they stayed up most of the night as well.”

“By all means,” Eldric said, gesturing towards them.

Nero stepped forward. “That evening, it was Rachelle, Mistral, Nyra, and I gazing at the clear starry sky. We talked about its appearance, but Nyra turned in earlier than us and looked exhausted,” Rachelle relayed.

Mistral’s ears perked up. It was a new feeling as Mistral started to speak; it was as if his voice was inside Rachelle’s head, and she could hear him as clear as day. But by the widening of everyone’s eyes, so could they.

“We didn’t think it was important,” Mistral explained. “Nyra could’ve been exhausted from running with Mirael on her back, so we let her go. But maybe that’s when it started.”

Then, Zara stepped forward, and Rachelle picked her up. “May I ask you something, Mirael?”

“Of course,” Mirael said gently, seeing how hesitant Zara was.

“I was wondering if anything happened between… when you fled from the Duke's place to the campsite?” Zara asked.

“Not really. I had a spat with my father. That night, I snuck back to where they held Nyra, freed her from the cage, and we escaped through a hidden hole in the wall I used as a child to visit Lornyth. Leo noticed, but let us go, then we found the campsite,” Mirael explained.

“I remember the wall brushing my side. The hole’s definitely child-sized,” Nyra joked.

“Were you hurt?” Elena quickly asked.

“Not that I can remember. Nothing stings now, at least,” Nyra said.

“So we’re back to square one,” Valerie sighed, then turned to Eldric. “Your Highness, how did you come to choose these animals? You have a huge wolf, an unnaturally small hyena, a muscular bear, a nimble jaguar and a proud eagle, all of which understand the human language.”

“I don’t know. I felt a strange attraction to these animals and had to take them in to protect them and my kingdom,” Eldric explained.

“A strange attraction? But magic hasn’t surfaced in hundreds of years?” Valen questioned.

 “It could explain Nyra’s change and maturity, as well as the unique abilities your animals have,” Valerie suggested. "In the past, people labelled animals like these as monsters or dwarf animals. Perhaps people misunderstood them all those years ago.”

“Her maturity? Why would that be different?” Valen asked.

“Her body and mind acted as if she were 18, but she’s four years old as a lion,” Valerie explained.

“Sorry to correct you, but to you humans, I am four. I am actually closer to 18 to 20 years old in lion years,” Nyra quickly added.

“Oh. Right. Yeah, animal ages are confusing. Sorry about that,” Valerie said with an awkward laugh.

Valerie cleared her throat, returning to professionalism.

“Well, as magic has a possibility, we have to review the history of both Dawellen’s palace and the kingdom of Lornyth to see what magic existed in the past. We should also check that hole in the wall. Maybe magic once protected it, but something altered the spell as the hole got bigger.

Valerie continued to spout theories. Known as The Genius Princess, all her ideas had helped develop her kingdom of Valroth and solve problems, big and small. And when Valen and Valerie put their heads together, they were unstoppable.

“Could we use your Royal Library? And… if permitted, access the forbidden library as well?” Valen asked.

 As for Valen, he’s known for being a ‘Blunt Prince’. He doesn’t always think before he speaks, but when he does, his insights are sharper than people expect.

***

They stepped into the vast library, where the quiet sound of rustling pages filled the air. Royal scholars researched new ways to help the kingdom prosper.

The librarian looked up over the top of his glasses, straightening with a slight arch in his back. With his spectacles perched on the tip of his nose, he spoke in a cultivated tone, drawing out each word like a gentleman of old.

“Your majesties, ladies and…” he paused, eyeing Nyra curiously.

“Oh. Nyra, sir,” she said politely.

“Ahem, Your Majesties, Lady Mirael, Miss Rachelle and Miss Nyra, how may I help you?” he greeted.

“We are curious about the history of magic,” Elena began. “It may have resurfaced, and we wish to research it.”

“I will get scholars on that immediately. Please follow me, Your Majesties King Eldric and Queen Elena,” he said.

“Is there anything we can help with?” Valerie asked.

“Orwin,” the librarian called to a nearby scholar. “Take Their Majesties of Valroth and these ladies to the section on the history of magic and theories while I escort Their Majesties of Lornyth to the forbidden section.”

“Understood,” Orwin said as he stood from his chair.

Orwin guided them away, while Percival beckoned Eldric and Elena.

“This way, Your Majesties,” Percival said.

He led them through aisles of unresearched books until they reached a large gate with the Lornyth crest branded on it. Without a sound, it parted, and torches along the walls flared to life one by one, illuminating a long, descending corridor. At the end stood a sturdy wooden door reinforced with iron.  Another crest was embedded in the wood, similar to the royal emblem, but depicting a lioness instead of a crowned lion. Regal and poised, it seemed to whisper of a time when a queen had ruled, and her legacy had been carefully hidden.

Percival selected a black key from his ring, slid it into the lock and turned it to the right. The door opened slowly with a long, drawn-out creak, releasing a faint breath of air heavy with the scent of dust and old parchment. More torches lit themselves as the chamber revealed its vast shelves.

“Here we are,” Percival said softly, his fingers brushing along the spines as if greeting old friends. “We keep the history books in the east section.”

The library stretched farther than Elena had imagined. Rows seemed endless, each aisle swallowed in shadow until a torch lit itself as they drew near. The air was cool and heavy, carrying the scent of parchment and ink that had long since dried.

“We’ll cover more ground if we split up,” Eldric suggested, heading for a section marked with the royal crest. “Look for any references to magic—extinction, exile, anything.”

Percival gave Elena a quick half-smile before disappearing between two shelves. Alone, she trailed her fingers along worn spines until they rested on something warmer than the rest. A deep green leather-bound book. It gave a faint hum under her touch, almost like a heartbeat.

Glancing around, she slowly pulled it free. The moment it left the shelf, the book began to glow, shining brighter and brighter.

“Eldric!” Elena cried, with fear in her voice, unable to let go of the book.

Eldric ran to her location, but he was too late. The light engulfed her and then vanished along with Elena.