Juna bolted upright from her sleep, beads of sweat dripping from her forehead. It was a nightmare that she had, of course. But her sudden movement woke her husband up too. He groaned, “Juna?”

     She took a couple breaths before she looked at her now awake husband. “It’s okay, Jol. I just had a nightmare.”

     Jol sighed. He sat up and rubbed her shoulder. “Let me get you some water.”

“It’s fine, my love. I’ll go.”

     Normally, Jol would have argued but the day before had been extremely busy and he was too exhausted. “Be careful.”

     Juna kissed her husbands forehead before getting out of their bed and lit a lantern before leaving the room.

     She left their family farm slowly, taking deep breaths.

     A week had passed since she had lost her child during childbirth... For the third time.

     And ever since, the nightmares refused to stop.

     She swallowed back her tears as she approached the well that was just outside the farm. When she reached it, she placed both her hands on the well and leaned forward, taking another couple deep breaths.

     Her hand touched her stomach and for some reason, even touching her belly just made her feel worse.

     It had become obvious that she could never have a child.

     She just had so much difficulty believing that.

     She shook her head, holding back the tears, before tossing the pail into the well and pulling out some fresh water.

     After taking a sip right out of the pail, she set it aside and turned to return to her home.

     But just as she was about to walk, she heard something.

     It was faint, but she heard it.

     Crying.

     Wailing.

     A baby.

     She turned her head and looked in the direction of the woods and stood there frozen for a long time, listening to the crying.

     She stayed long enough for her worried husband to come looking for her. “Juna? Are you alright?”

     She held her hand up, silencing him.

     He approached her with a worried expression on his face. 

     “Do you hear that?”

     Jol hesitated, listening carefully, “what?”

     “It’s a child, Jol. I hear a child. It’s crying.”

     Jol looked at his young but heartbroken wife, “come now, my sweet. Let’s get you to bed.” He took her hand.

     But she pulled it away. “You don’t hear it?”

     “Juna…” He took her hand again before pulling her into a hug. “My love, you need to rest, your sorrow is making you­–”

     She pulled away. “I’m not crazy, Jol!” She cried. “There’s a child! I can hear it!”

And without another word, she turned and started to run in the direction of the woods, holding her lantern tightly in her hands. 

     “Juna!” Jol yelled as he chased after her.

     He was so exhausted. He didn’t have the energy to entertain his wife’s fantasies.

     But his love for her made him push those thoughts aside and just follow her.

     Follow her until she realizes herself that she was imagining things.

     He picked up a shovel that sat near the well before he chased after her into the forest that was always dangerous at night, he didn’t have time to return to the farm to get a sword, so this would have to do.

     Juna opened the gates that led to the woods and continued running, bare foot, in her thin nightgown and a simple scarf to protect her from the chilly night.

     Jol followed closely behind her, worrying so much for her sanity but not knowing what else to do.

     She ran and ran and ran, following the sound of the cries that she heard,

     And as she felt herself get closer, Jol froze.

     He stared in shock as he too started to hear it.

     The cries of a baby.

     His wife was right?      

     It was minutes later that Juna finally came to a stop. She was gasping for breath as she collapsed onto her knees and fell forward, her hands holding her up as she stared at the ground.

     The crying had stopped.

     Jol approached her quickly, “Juna!” He called, “are you...” His voice faded as his eyes widened.

     Underneath her was a child.

     Just like she said.

     It was a child, wrapped in a thin cloth.

     A single night out here would have killed him. 

     And Juna found him before that could happen.

     Juna was crying as she picked up the child and wrapped it in the scarf she had as the only protection for her against the cold night.

     Jol fell onto his knees next to her. “Juna...” He stared at her before he looked down at the child.

     And when he did, his throat went dry.

     Red eyes.

     He had red eyes.

     Jol looked back at his wife and saw her smiling as she touched the cold cheeks of the little boy.

     The infant stared back at the woman that gave him warmth, his red eyes as bright as the full moon that sat right above them all.

     “Someone abandoned him.” Juna whispered.

     “For good reason…” Jol said. “His eyes, my love…”

     She wasn’t listening.

     Because in a matter of seconds, she had fallen madly in love with this child. “We have to take care of him.”

     Jol’s eyes widened.

     “He’ll stay with us. He’ll be mine.” She was smiling, “he must be a gift from god.”

     “Juna.”

     She stood up and turned, walking in the direction of the farm. She held him close to her, letting her warmth fill the freezing baby.

     Jol followed behind her, trying to find a way to convince his wife that this was a bad idea.

     “Juna–”

     “His name will be Lumyryn.” She smiled as she said it.

     Her husband watched her as she stared lovingly at the little boy. “Lumyryn?"

Red Knight. He thought.

     “I think he’s going to grow up to be very strong.” Juna said, still smiling, “I mean look at him… what a miracle for him to have survived… he’s freezing.”

     Jol took a breath and then released it.

     “Lumyryn.” He said, “Red Knight. It’s perfect.”

When her eyes fluttered open again, she was in Lights arms and she could see the tall towers of the Red Palace.

     The capital?

     How was she all the way back here?

     The last thing she could remember was getting disciplined my Light about her carelessness.

     “She’s awake!” She heard Heart say happily.

     She felt Light slow down, though he was still leaping from roof to roof, making his way towards the castle. “Are you alright?” He asked, looking down at her.

     Meenu nodded. “My head is aching. But I’m fine.”

     And just as she closed her mouth, she could suddenly smell the lovely scent of Avaryn and she was in his arms, her cheek pressed against his warm tunic. She didn’t know how, but within a matter of seconds she was transferred from Light to Avaryn.

     “What happened?” She heard Avaryn say, sounding worried. “I came as soon as I sensed her… her aura seems weak.”

     “She passed out,” Light said, removing his mask.

     “I’m fine.” Meenu said, getting dizzy. “You can put me down–”

     And before she could finish, Avaryn had already made his way into the castle with her in his arms.

     Soon, they were in Avaryn’s room and Meenu was lying in his large, comfortable bed.

     She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine.” She said as Knight, who was on the bed with her, rubbed his head against her.

     Avaryn, who was sitting in a chair next to the bed, was rubbing his temple with his fingers as Light explained what had happened in Lumyryn.

     When he mentioned the ring, Avaryn took Meenu’s right hand in his and examined it.

     He tried to pull it off.

     And unsurprisingly to everyone but him, it didn’t come off.

     “Meenu…” Avaryn sounded annoyed and ready to give her a good talking to.

     And in the moment, Meenu was reminded of Blood. Her heart felt strange as she remembered how Blood would discipline her.

     Avaryn’s voice sounded exactly like that, ready to give her a long lecture.

     Of course, she shouldn’t have been surprised. They were the same people.

     But for some reason, Meenu’s heart did feel strange.

     “You’ve been a warrior for only a couple days and you’re already going around doing foolish things,” Avaryn started, “I knew you weren’t ready… what on earth was Master Red thinking–”

     Meenu lifted herself up from the bed and leaned against the headboard. She was fine. So she rolled her eyes again and Avaryn saw it, making him more annoyed.

     “Meenu Kyrus­–”

     He cut himself off when the door of his bedroom creaked open.

     Everyone turned and looked at the door and everyone was surprised except for Avaryn.

     A girl peeked in, her usually pale cheeks as red as roses.

     She had large, red eyes and lovely pink lips. And as she stuck her head in through the open door, her long, pitch black hair tumbled over her shoulders and fell to her waist. An embarrassed smile graced her face when she realized that she had everyone’s attention. “Oh… I… um…”

     Meenu squinted at the girl who was a complete stranger to her. And when she looked at everyone else, she saw that Avaryn had a small smile on his face.

     Light looked like he knew her already.

     And Heart’s cheeks were so red that it was unbelievably clear that he fancied the young girl.

     “Come in, Avaryna.”

     Meenu’s head snapped towards Avaryn. “Avaryna?”

     Avaryn’s little sister?

     The girl who was once engaged to her adopted brother?

     The young, seventeen year old girl stepped through the door. She was wearing a pretty red, simple dress that went down to her ankles and she clasped her hands nervously in front of her.

     She was gorgeous, and Meenu stared in awe.

     She looked nothing like her brother… aside from the red eyes and black hair.

     And they were most definitely opposites when it came to personality.

     The shy girl swallowed back her nervousness before she spoke. “I… I um… wanted to meet… um… Big Sister Meenu.”

     Big Sister Meenu?

     Meenu was a little flattered by that title.

     “Of course,” Avaryn said as he got up from his seat, “come here.”

     She put her hands on her sides and smiled a big, close-mouthed smile before lifting herself on her toes in excitement. She then walked over to her brother and sat in his seat.

     “Meenu, this is my little sister, Avaryna,” Avaryn said as he stood behind her chair and patted the little girl’s head. “You met each other when you both were younger but I’m sure that was too long ago for either of you to remember.”

     Meenu nodded before smiling at Avaryna. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

     The girl, who looked rather mesmerized by Meenu, smiled widely. “Oh, the pleasure is mine!”

     Her voice was soft and sweet and the complete opposite of her brothers strong and deep voice. “I have wanted to meet you for a long time,” she said. “When big brother told us about you… I was so excited!”

     Meenu felt her cheeks warm up. She liked that Avaryn spoke of her to his family.

     “You are so pretty!” Avaryna said.

     Meenu laughed, knowing she was anything but pretty. Especially at that very moment.

     She imagined herself smelling a lot like sweat and horse and maybe Knight too.

     But still, this girl thought so highly of her that even at that moment, she thought Meenu was pretty.

     So Meenu smiled and took the girls hand in hers. “Are you staying here now? At the castle?”

     Avaryna nodded eagerly. “My mother and I both…” her voice trailed off. “Oh… one second!”

     She stood from her seat and ran to the door. “Mother! Why on earth are you waiting outside? Come in here!”

     And a second later, Avaryna was pulling the gorgeous Mother Queen Tabitha into the room.

     Light and Heart got onto their knees almost immediately and Meenu wondered if she should do the same, but Avaryn held his hand out, stopping her. “It’s fine.” He said.

     The Queen looked rather nervous and Meenu wondered why she was standing outside this entire time.

     She looked at her son, who smiled and gave her a single nod.

     The woman, who looked exactly like her daughter except had brown eyes and long brown eyes, touched the heads of both the warriors that were on their knees as she walked towards her son.

     The two of them stood up and she smiled at them. “There’s no need for that.” She said.

     Both Heart and Light looked a little flustered.

     She then looked at her daughter, who smiled and pointed eagerly at the now empty seat next to Meenu’s bed.

     Meenu was nervous now.

     This was Avaryn’s mother.

     She had heard a lot about how kind she was… but still.

     This was her potential mother-in-law.

     And that wasn’t a thought that was easy to process.

     Of course, they had met before.

     But it was the same thing with Avaryna. They had met so long ago that Meenu could barely remember it.

     Queen Tabitha sat in the empty seat and reached out to touch Meenu’s hand.

     When they touched, suddenly, the Queen’s face felt relieved.

     She closed her eyes and held onto Meenu’s hand with both of hers.

     For a long moment, they were silent.

     Meenu looked at Avaryn, confused, but he wasn’t looking back at her. He had his arms crossed and was looking away.

     Suddenly, Queen Tabitha opened her eyes again and smiled sweetly. “How are your parents?” She asked.

     Meenu smiled. “They’re fine. Very well, actually.”

     Her smile stayed on her face. “How I long to see them again. They were my good friends. Especially your mother.”

     Meenu let out a small laugh.

     And Queen Tabitha continued to ask her a lot of questions.

     Time passed as Meenu spoke to both Avaryna and Queen Tabitha about her own family and some other things. The topic was mostly Meenu and the choices she had made.

     Thankfully though, neither Queen Tabitha or Avaryna judged her decisions.

     They just listened carefully.

     Eventually, Avaryn had to step in and tell the two that Meenu had to rest, so the two women said their goodbyes.

     “Heart and Light, if you don’t mind, could you escort them to the dining room for dinner?”

     Heart and Light bowed, “of course,” Light said.

     And in a couple more moments, Meenu and Avaryn were alone.

     Avaryn sat back in his seat and sighed, putting his elbows on Meenu’s bed and resting his face in his hands.

     Meenu hesitated before reaching out and running her fingers through his hair. “Why do you seem so nervous around them?” She asked.

     He lifted his head up and looked at her. “They’re not supposed to be here.”

     “What?”

     “All this time they were in Destyn.” He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. “They were safe there. Now Lady Kiaryna has brought them here, into the center of all the trouble. It’s dangerous here.”

     Meenu understood now.

     “It’s obvious that the woman is threatening me. She’s trying to keep me from doing anything she doesn’t want by putting my mother and sister at risk.”

     “Isn’t Lady Kiaryna supposed to be the protector of the Lumynos?”

     Avaryn looked at Meenu. “Yes, she is.”

     “Isn’t the protector supposed to be… good?” Meenu asked, “aren’t they all Lumyryn direct descendants?”

     “Kiaryna came into power through marriage. She took the title of Protector a long time ago when her husband, the real direct descendent of Lumyryn, died. People even say that she killed him because she was that power hungry.”

     Meenu’s eyes widened.
     Gosh was this family complicated.

     Avaryn sighed and shook his head, “anyways, her history isn’t what’s important. What’s important is that you’ve got this ring on your hand, which you picked up from this crazy woman’s garden.”

     Meenu was suddenly a little more nervous than she was before now.

     She had imagined Lady Kiaryna to be a kind woman who may forgive her. But now she was completely wrong.

     She tried again to pull it off with all her might but it still refused to come off. Meenu sighed, “this is ridiculous!”

     Avaryn took her hand and he too tried again, but again he failed. “Maybe I should ask Master Red. He isn’t going to be happy but we’ve got no other choice.”

     Meenu nodded. She knew she was going to get into a lot of trouble, but it was better than the alternative, which was apparently getting onto the bad side of the cruel Kiaryna.

     “He’s returned to his hideout temporarily though.” Avaryn leaned back in his chair, “so you’re not allowed to go anywhere until he gets back and we figure this all out, understood?”

     Meenu nodded.

     She had no choice.

     She sighed sadly but smiled when Avaryn reached out and held her hand. “Did you find anything in Seliaryn’s home?”

     Meenu shook her head. “Am was there though.”

     “Am?”

     She nodded, “Lady Kiaryna’s daughter.”

     “Hmm.” Avaryn looked at her in confusion, “what did she say to you?”

     Meenu smiled now, “she told me the story of Mina’s rose,” she said, “how she pricked her finger while thinking of Lumyryn and the rose never died.”

     Avaryn hesitated.

     “The rose you got me, it’s from there, isn’t it?”

     His cheeks turned ever so slightly red. So much so that Meenu couldn’t even see the change in colour. “Yes.”

     Meenu was grinning. “You’re quite the hopeless romantic, aren’t you?”

     Avaryn rolled his eyes before he let go of her hand.

     She giggled, knowing that he was embarrassed. “There’s nothing wrong with being a helpless romantic. I’m sure even the most fearsome of the Lumynos were hopeless romantics.”

     “Are you making fun of me?” Avaryn asked as he stood up. An eyebrow was raised and he had a teasing smile on his face.

     “Of, of course not.” She kept giggling.

     He rolled his eyes once more before climbing onto the bed and pressing his lips against hers.

     She let out a laugh against his lips, knowing that he was trying to stop her from embarrassing him anymore. But she let him kiss her.

     And she let him pull her away from the headboard so that he could push her down onto the bed and kiss her comfortably.

     When he was on top of her, he deepened the kiss and stroked her warm cheek. Her heart was beating so loudly that even she could hear it in her ears, so she was sure that he could hear it too.

     He pulled away after a long time and pressed his forehead against hers, “Meenu…” he whispered.

     “Don’t bother.” Meenu said.

     She knew exactly what he was going to say.

     He was going to ask her to stop her hunt for Seliaryn. To stay here with him. Maybe even use his kisses to bribe her.

     But that wasn’t going to happen.

     So he stared at her for some time before sighing and giving up for now. He kissed her lips once more before lowering his head and kissing her neck.

     His fingers rested against her waist before moving up to her chest.

     And as she smiled, enjoying the feeling that rushed through her as he kissed her, she lowered her hand to touch the back of his neck.

     But as she did, her elbow suddenly hit the soft head of the sleeping Knight.

     Knight immediately jumped off the bed and whined.

     Meenu gasped and sat up, pushing Avaryn off of her. She looked at Knight who stared at her and Avaryn in annoyance before he curled up into a ball on the floor and tried to fall back asleep.

     Avaryn chuckled as Meenu started to laugh.

     And then he kissed her again.