"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."

— Nelson Mandela

Five years later

"Mum! Dad!!!" The little brown haired girl yelled, as she was taking little steps around the forest, observing nature with her curious eyes. Her hair, braided and decorated with the flowers she picked up from the ground, I her dress a tiny, little wooden axe, she probably wouldn't be able to use to protect herself.

"They are nowhere to be seen!" The blonde haired boy answered. His brown eyes scanned around the forest, and his little heart began beating faster., in his hands, he held a wooden sword that he was ready to use if case he needed to protect him and his sister from any unknown enemy they could encounter.

But the unusual siblings weren't alone.

Two grown, grey wolves stood by their side, loyal to the death, and ready to protect the children if it was needed.

"Mum! Dad!" The little girl called again.

"It is not fun anymore!" The boy yelled.

Suddenly behind the two of them, the strange noise was heard, something was approaching them, and for a moment neither of them was able to distinguish the difference of noises that were approaching them.

"Take out your axe!" The boy said to the girl and stepped in front of her, but she didn't listen to him.

"Why would I? Those are just mum and dad playing around!" The girl answered, but the boy wasn't quite convinced.

And then...

"Boo!!!" Zorya yelled as she jumped from the nearby tree from where she was observing her children.

"I scared you little one? No need to raise sword at your old man!" Darius said as he approached his children.

"You two are no fun!" The boy, Cyrus yelled at his parents as his lips twisted making an adorable frown.

"No, you two are just bad at playing hide and seek." Zorya answered and ruffled the blonde curls of her little son.

The white-she wolf, that despite being old, was still able to run around her young Queen, stood right beside her, over the years the two of them formed the unbreakable bond although Snezika was a grown wolf, Zorya and her family became her pack.

"I wasn't afraid! Nature doesn't scare me!" Little girl, Mira said.

"That is right, nature can't harm you my dear, nature is in all of us, and we just a small part of it. If nature wanted to destroy us, believe me we would be gone a long time ago." Zorya said, and her little girl absorbed every word, her mother said, watching her with blue eyes, admiring the woman in front of her.

"Let's play more!" The little girl said clapping excitedly with her little hands.

"Shouldn't we had back, for the dinner?" Zorya asked.

"Please mum, can we stay here a bit more?" Cyrus asked.

"Please?" Darius pleaded as well chuckling.

The Dark King changed so much in the past five years, at first he became more anxious and overprotective of his family, but then he learned to enjoy in his happiness and allowed it to completely take over him. Soon, as the years passed, he looked younger, like a completely new person.

"Fine we could stay a bit more." Zorya answered chuckling at her husband, the children clapped their hands.

"Could we go to the meadow and watch the sunset?" Cyrus asked.

"Of course, hop in little princess." Darius said and bended down, so Mira could hop on his back, and be carried.

"Yes!" Mira smiled, her little legs felt tired from playing around the forest for almost whole day, but children were still happy they could spend so much time with their parents.

"Let's go." Zorya smiled as she walked through, the trees, skillfully jumping around, like she was born exactly there, in that forest and spent her whole life there.

"Mum wait for me! I will fall if I jump around like you!" Cyrus yelled and Zorya took his hand in his.

"As long as I am here, I will never allow you to fall." Zorya answered and Cyrus smiled happily.

Darius followed them, carrying Mira on his back, and she managed to help him navigate on his way.

Dairus still had trouble with his eyesight, that could never be fixed, and for the past few months, he felt it was getting slightly worse at the times when he would try to read, or write, but his other senses were becoming extremely sharpened.

As soon as the family was on the meadow, they sat together, preparing to watch the most beautiful sunset, that was their ritual. When the weather was nice, they would sit together before the dinner, talking, watching the sky, spending the most precious time together.

For five years people of Wlania lived in tranquility that nobody dared to disturb, and so Zorya and Darius were able to dedicate themselves to wonders of parenthood, that changed their lives beyond recognition.

"Can you tell us a story?" Mira suddenly asked.

"What story my precious princess?" Darius asked.

"A story about how you two meet?" Cyrus asked.

"But my little prince, you heard that story so many times." Zorya smiled.

"Пожалуйста, я обещаю есть овощи!" Mira begged, sometimes, she would surprise her parents with her perfect speaking of Russian language.

"Okay, then I shall tell you the story." Darius laughed, and everyone began listening to him.

"The armies of Walnia were in war against Gora Nevskaya, because we were lacking food for the winter that was about to come." Darius began speaking.

"But I was the princess there, and I wasn't going to give my home away so easily!" Zorya said.

"So I meet this beautiful, little savage on the battlefield." Darius teased.

"Hey! Don't call me that way in front of the kids!" Zorya pouted.

"Don't worry mum, dad told us that being "savage" is sometimes a good thing!" Cyrus said.

"Well it helped me become the Queen." Zorya chuckled.

"What happened next?" Mira asked.

"Then, your mother lost someone very dear to her on the battlefield, her brother Yaropolk that is watching over us from the sky. See, you always need to take a good care of each other, and never turn back on each other, because having a sibling is very important." Darius warned as the twins hugged each other, making their parents smile.

Sometimes, they were nostalgic of old times, but they were proud of what they achieved in present time.

"But soon, my brother Boris, hurt by everything that happened decided to throw me in prison, and your father, saved me, making a peace between our lands with marriage." Zorya said.

"It means there will be no more war? Ever?" Mira asked.

"Of course not little princess, and even if the war comes, we shall protect you." Darius said.

"Uncle Jonah and uncle Avram too?" Cyrus asked.

"Yes of course, they will protect you as well." Darius laughed, his brothers were so proud to have the title of uncles, but over the years, the two of them became parents as well. Jonah married Mary, Zorya's godmother, and Avram married Lana, woman that was part of the female army, Zorya was training.

"I do not fear! I want to be a general someday and take our great army into the wars and glory!" Cyrus said, raising up his wooden sword proudly, reminding Darius of him when he was little.

"Calm down little man, you still have so much to learn." Darius warned chuckling at his son.

"I will always pray that you two will never have to fight wars." Zorya said.

In the years, she took on, upon reading and learning about the Christianity, but in her heart rested Mother Nature, and through her veins, pagan blood never left her, but that didn't stop her from believing Christian God, as long as she could spend afterlife with her family, who was Christian.

"Wars are scary, people die, and wolves too." Mira said, remembering the stories about Kreshnik, and the stories about the fallen soldiers.

"How old would Maria be now?" Cyrus asked.

Mira and Cyrus were too little to know such a information, but those were the stories whispered by the castle's walls, and the children sometimes, couldn't be protected from their own curiosity.

"Maria would be 10 years old today." Darius answered. He loved his family, to the death and he would do anything for them, but the beautiful face of his dead daughter, that he could see clearly in his head, haunted his dreams sometimes.

"She is an angel now." Zorya said and touched the hand of her husband.

After a moment of silence, Mira suddenly yelled.

"Look, the sunset is so beautiful!"

Truly, the sky, was slowly becoming darker, as the sun was sinking into the sea, preparing for the calm, and cold night that will follow. The blue color of the sky, was becoming red, as the stars became slightly visible, following the moon who came to replace the sun.

"I wish you could see it clearly dad." Cyrus said.

"I don't have to, I already know I have the most beautiful three Suns beside me." Darius answered with a smile.

Soon, the four of them, followed by the presence of the three wolves, made their way to the castle.

*Пожалуйста, я обещаю есть овощи! (pazhaluista, ja obeshayu yest ovashi)-Please, I promise I will eat vegetables

Hey guys, here is a little time skip, I hope you liked it. How do you feel about Mira and Cyrus? I hope you find them as adorable as I do!  Please vote and comment to support me and thank you for reading! Please stay safe!