"There was once a kingdom, ruled by a loving king and queen. The queen became pregnant shortly after their marriage, but unfortunately she did not survive the childbirth. Heartbroken, the king vowed to protect his daughter, and raise her with enough love for the two of them. He named her Ila, which means earth or island, as she was what kept him rooted and steady."

"Ila?" Kaiden asked. "As in Aila without the a?"

"Hmm" Aila mused. "That's an interesting thought but it must be a coincidence. The meaning of Ila's name is part of the story. However, I also wouldn't be surprised if our parents are not so different at all, and they used this story to relate it to me."

Kaiden nodded. "What does Aila mean?"

"I don't know," Aila spoke after a short pause, frowning. "My parents must not have told me."

A silence fell, punctuated by the sounds of nature around them: of their footsteps in the soil, of Kallias' hooves trotting rhythmically in front of them, of the river rushing beside them, of the wind whistling between the trees, of the animals chattering in the branches.

Aila stopped and listened for a few minutes before continuing.

"Ila and her father were best friends. They were almost inseparable. However, one day a woman came to the palace and her father ended up falling in love again. He remarried, and Ila found herself with a new stepmother."

"Oh no," Cas shook his head. "There are enough stories about evil stepmothers."

"Wait, do you not know this one?" Aila whirled on her friend, surprise evident in her features. Her eyes widened as he shook his head. "Well there are apparently not enough evil stepmother stories then," she said in reply.

"It appears so."

"Ila's stepmother craved power. She wanted the throne to be hers, and hers alone. She dreamed of being the sole ruler, the only source of authority in the kingdom, and so she set a plan in motion. Her only obstacles were her husband, and her stepchild."

"Dramatic," Kaiden's lips twitched up.

"Indeed," Aila imitated him.

"She began to make tea regularly for the king, tea with a hint of poison within it. When the king fell grievously ill, and the royal apothecary had conducted all her tests, they had identified the poison - and the antidote."

Aila paused to create more tension.

"The antidote was the milk of a lioness. It was something so hard to obtain, so rare to find. The stepmother, now the acting sovereign, issued an order to a young Ila, to go and retrieve the milk to save her father."

"Ah, and so a lion-whisperess was born," Kaiden grinned.

"Shh, I'm telling the story," Aila playfully nudged his shoulder with hers as they walked.

"Ila would have done anything for her father. Though she knew the risks of her journey, she couldn't imagine a world in which he did not exist, nor did she want that world to come to pass. She sent for a carriage, and ordered it to take her to the jungle."

The afternoon sun was high overhead now, and surprise coursed through Aila at how quickly time was passing. She didn't even feel tired, with her mind awake as the tale unfolded.

"Two weeks passed in the kingdom. The king was growing more and more ill, and the city was becoming more and more desperate. There was a grief that hung in the air; worry gripped the hearts of the people, as they feared for their monarch and his daughter whom they truly loved."

Aila took a breath, trying to remember how her parents had recounted the story many years ago.

"One day, as the king was having a coughing fit, his wife entered the room and took a seat beside him. She spoke quietly to him, telling him about how he would not survive much longer, about how she hoped he would be reunited with his daughter in the afterlife soon, about how she would bring glory to the country and it would prosper under her name. When a servant entered the room, she kissed his forehead, placed a petal of the poisonous leaf in his hand under the duvet covers, and whispered in his ear: 'I always know how to achieve what I want.' And the king's eyes closed."

"Forever?" Castor asked, seeming dazed.

Aila smiled mysteriously.

"A sudden clamour in the courtyard drew the stepmother's attention away from her husband. Irritated and unwilling to resolve trivial matters, she stood and moved to the window in order to see what was going on. The sight before her eyes was no trivial matter at all. She recoiled backwards as if she had been slapped in her face, for Ila was there, sitting on the back of a lion, with a dozen more following behind."

"The lion whisperess," Kaiden whispered dramatically.

Aila grinned.

"The people in the courtyard were either frozen in shock, much like the stepmother, or shouting in fear. They didn't seem to register that their princess was unharmed and perfectly comfortable on the lion's back. Ila calmly rode the lion to the large double doors, where she dismounted and summoned for the apothecary and some vials. When she arrived, Ila extracted some milk whilst speaking soothingly to the animal, before she raced upstairs and knelt by her father's side. She ignored her stepmother, still stood like an ice statue by the window, unable to believe what she had seen. Seconds after Ila's father had ingested the milk, his breathing eased. Minutes after the antidote was consumed, his eyes opened, shining with relief as he saw his daughter safe before him. When he beheld his stunned wife, he shouted for the guards, who quickly took her into custody. Her mind couldn't process it all, leaving her unable to put up much of a fight."

"Do we ever find out how Ila managed it all?" Kaiden asked.

"I'm getting there," Aila gave him a look, and he put his hands up in submission.

"When his wife was placed behind bars, the king turned to Ila and asked her what had happened. She told him how she had ventured into the jungle and found the lion's den, where she entered in an unthreatening, slow manner. At first the lions were alert and wary, but as she explained her predicament and placed her hand out in a placating gesture, they relaxed, allowing her to even stroke their manes. Ila explained that animals are so much more intelligent than humans give them credit for, that they themselves are almost like people in a way. The lions seemed to realise that she needed help, that she was pure of heart, and they bowed before her, allowing her to ride them to the palace gates."

Aila took another breath before she continued.

"The king asked Ila what she would like to do with the lions, and she said they should be free to go back to their home. After collecting enough milk from the willing animals, it only took days for the king to fully recover. The kingdom was once again stable, under the kind rule of a king and his daughter, who had not only saved them all, but had also created a world where animals and humans could live together in harmony."

"And then?" Kaiden asked.

"What do you mean?" Aila's brows furrowed. "That's the end. There's closure."

"It feels like there's something missing," Kaiden frowned.

"I disagree," Aila countered. "It's a happy ending; the evil person has been defeated, Ila saved her father, and the animals and humans no longer have a true border of fear separating them."

"We don't really discover how Ila did her lion-whispering," Kaiden argued.

"We don't really discover how Kai's brother did his shape-shifting either," Aila raised an eyebrow, a challenge glinting in her green eyes.

Kaiden opened his mouth but no words came out.

"Ila and her father's story isn't truly finished," he murmured finally. "In Perador, as long as life goes on, our story does too."

"I understand that. But in Merelia, we believe in hope and happy endings, and in order to get a happy ending..."

She lowered her voice to a murmur and met Kaiden's intense gaze.

"Sometimes it's necessary to stop the story."

Helooo! I hope you enjoyed this one too. There's so much foreshadowing in these chapters but I can't expand without giving things away and it's honestly killing me haha!

Please let me know any thoughts and theories you have, and vote if you liked this style!

I feel the need to say that Ila is a professional lion-whisperess. Please do not try to approach, stroke or ride a lion in your own time. I am not  condoning such behaviour. Lol.

Have a great day wherever you are, and I hope to see you in the next chapter! It's... going to be a good one.  😉

~ MaddyWilson 💙