Chapter-3

2 years passed consecutively and Rohana turned 5 this summer. 

On this fine day, when some clouds were covering the sun, Rohana decided to take a stroll in the garden. She decided her spot to sit under a purple orchid tree. 

She sat beside the bed of white candytuft paired with dendrobium orchids. It was her favorite place. She can see the side face of her castle which was dyed with the color combination of dark harbor and white. 

She opened her book and immersed herself in reading. Sun which was hiding behind clouds saw this chance to peek at her. Curtains of orchids tried to hide her small body under its embrace. But today nothing can stop the sun from looking at her, not even clouds. 

Beads of sweat covered her forehead as she read. The wind took pity on her and blew her face gently.

A rustle was heard behind the tree. She closed her book and was prompted to look at the other side of the tree. She was about to get up when she heard a shrill voice.

"I am sorry my lady." A lady squeaked from behind and Rohana looked down. 

Then a yellow figure showed herself in front of her. Her whole body was covered in a yellow cape-like thing which seemed to be a part of her body. 

Rohana looked up and saw the most beautiful golden orbs perfectly embedded in the hooded frame of the eye. Her small nose has a tint of freckles. Her whole body was golden yellow. 

The other party closed her eyes and bowed her head, which showed her golden curly hair which reached her waist. 

"I finally have the honor to meet you in person." A chirp could be heard in her calm voice. Rohana noticed a small sun on her forehead which fit her round face.

"Who are you?" Rohana asked as gently as ever.

"My bad, I didn't introduce myself." She struck her tongue out.

"This subject is called Maria Almer. I am the greatest queen of day and light." 

"… Almer...??" Rohana anticipated the name; she had heard this surname before. Then it struck her… that lady, the queen of the night.

"Yes, Ophia Almer is my biological sister." She smiled at her and sat down on the dry grass. She looked up in the sky and frowned.

"This sun is bothering you, right??" 

Rohana nodded. "It's hot outside, I was just about to go inside." 

"No need." Maria shows Rohana her toothy grin. She snapped her fingers and soon the sun was covered with a thick layer of cloud.

"Is this ok now??" she asked while maintaining her grin.

"Yeah." Rohana nodded her head and looked down at her book. Nothing seemed to interest her more than this book she was holding.

After getting ignored by Rohana, curiosity got the most out of Maria. No longer holding herself, she asked.

"What is this book about??" 

"This book is called 'Principles of Time'" She didn't even glance at the other party while reading.

"Awesome." Maria stuck her thumb up. Her face was full of surprise.

"As expected of you." She again grinned.

"What are you doing here??" Rohana finally looked over and asked with a hint of innocence.

"My lady, this is not fair. You met my sister quite a few times but I had no means to contact you." Her voice dropped. 

"What's that supposed to mean??" 

"My lady, I and my sister can contact you by your soul and energy. When you met my sister for the first time you awakened the first step of your power, but your energy was too low because of your body. And I couldn't meet you, but today you are pouring too much energy. So, I decided to come here and meet you in person."

"Ohh…" Rohana understood. For the past few months, she has been experiencing some abnormal changes in her body. Her body temperature drops and rises simultaneously, which is giving small heart attacks to Jarvis and other workers who are close to her.

She was about to open her mouth when her body shook with pain erupting on the left side of her head. 

She closed her eyes and clutched her hair. Seeing her condition, Maria held Rohana's hands and squeezed them gently. Suddenly her pain lessened.

"I can only do this, my lady." She whispered, while her eyes were closed.

After a while when the pain subsided, Rohana opened her eyes and what caught her attention was a white naked Rapier in her right hand. 

She held the sword firmly and knew that the handle was made with tungsten, the strongest metal. She touched the knuckle guard, which was adorned with white veins, and had a crystal blue rose on the top of the hand shield. The double edge was carved in the small icy florals. 

She was so dazed by the beauty of the sword that she forgets about her surroundings.

"My lady, congratulations. You have awakened your shield. Soon your soul beast will also greet you." Maria chirped. Excitement is written all over her face.

"What's a soul beast."

"Ahem… a soul beast is your blood animal, which is bound by your soul. Only an Elementalist such as you can have blood bound to a beast for your protection. An Elementalist is really strong he/she can handle the power of nature so it's important to have a protector when they have to put their guard down sometimes. It's like a knight."

"Understood." 

"You should start practicing your sword from now on, my lady." Maria smiled at her.

"I already know how to use a sword. I have been practicing." 

Maria was dumbfounded, she again struck her thumb up.

"You are really awesome. I mean I know you are. But with your age and body, you are doing a tremendous job." 

~~~

"Your Highness, wake up." Jarvis knocked on Mahagony's door styled according to Rohana's preferences.

Rohana who was already awake got up from her ruby wingback chair. She holds the perfectly carved handle and pulls it open. 

Jarvis bowed and glanced at the little princess who was ready in a white frilled shirt paired with chocolate brown pants. Her straight black hair was still down. He came in.

Rohana again got seated in her previous position. Jarvis picked up the comb from Rohana's dressing table and approached her. With light hands, he pulled Rohana's hair into a sleek ponytail.

When Rohana was born everyone in the kingdom was really happy. But there was still some fear in the women. They were still reluctant to join the imperial palace and serve their only princess.

The servants were not changed instead Rohana adapted herself to the environment. Her father and brothers might have no experience with a girl child roaming in the palace.

The knights and butlers respected the lady and never breached her private space even if she is a baby. Jarvis had bathed her till she was 2. After that, Rohana takes care of her body on her own. 

While combing her hair Jarvis eyed the book which was lying on her lap.

"Are you interested in elemental magic, your Highness??"

"Umm- hmm… but I can't find the particular information I want."

"Might I help you??"

"Jarvis, if there is no ruler of nature. How we are still alive??"

"Your Highness, the ruler had split the work into different realms. For example- day and night have their own realm. Life and death are existing in shadows. Powers were divided when the universe was born, by the sovereign herself. The order from the Supreme God was taken quite efficiently. The sovereign can't be present everywhere, so she divided her work. That's why we are still existing, Your Highness."

"So, it doesn't matter if the ruler came back or not??" 

"Your Highness it does matter. The sovereign is the soul of nature. Without her, even these realms will not exist. The realms can only exist for a thousand years at max. And after every 100 years, she is born again."

"Born??"

"Yes, the cycle of nature. The sovereign has to travel different dimensions at a given time. So, she has to reincarnate again and again to balance the universe and her powers."

"Ohh…" she pondered and looked at her hands where she was holding the sword the previous day.

"There is a very popular tale about the sovereign of nature and the monarch of darkness."

"Monarch of Darkness?? Why I haven't heard of this title before??" she muttered but got heard by Jarvis who was pouring her tea.

"The two most authoritative personalities after the supreme God, The Sovereign of Nature and The Monarch of Darkness. They both exist from the beginning of time and space."

"But these two personalities fell in love with each other, even after having the polar opposite traits. They believed to broke the rule of God, not to fall in love. But they still did, which resulted in their banishment."

"Banish??"

"Yes, they both were punished from the realm of the supreme god. The sovereign of nature has to accept the cycle of life and death, she will be born and die in the evening. No one can touch her body after death, not even air. Punishing all those souls with her."

"How??"

"She will go again and again in the cycle of life and death, her friend 'life' and her lover's brother 'death' have to see her in pain of the cycle. Every time, she will die in the time of evening. Letting the souls of 'day' and 'night' see her death together."

"What about the Monarch??"

"His soul was split into three from grief and agony. When he saw her dead for the first time, he shed tears of blood. But unlike her punishment, he was given the life of eternal. He has to see her die in his arms. In this meantime, she travels across the dimensions and only his one piece can follow her."

A heavy silence followed. Jarvis eyed the princess who was in her thoughts.

"No, they were not punished. The supreme god, who is the god of everything, even love. How can he give punishment to his subjects just because they had followed the principle of love? Yes, they both had to travel across the dimensions but for their own benefit. Their power can't be held in a single shell for a long time so they had to go over the cycle of life and death to uphold their power efficiently. But, only the sovereign of nature has to go because she had a single soul, and the monarch of darkness has three pieces of soul that can hold his power."

"The realms of Sovereign are not getting punished with her. it was given so that life and death can hold the sovereign in their arms. She dies in the time evening so that both day and night can witness the two lovers merging in their inner peace. Her dead body can't be touched by any element because her tremendous power which is overflowing during her death can destroy the course of nature. She can heal anyone but can't heal herself because it's a give-and-take process. She absorbs the injury and pain of others in herself, but she can't inflict her pain on someone else."

Jarvis was dumbfounded by the information.

"H-how…??" is the only thing he could utter.

"The supreme god is merciful, he knows everything. While giving the two monarchs their work he knows they are in love. He knew that she had to travel through dimensions but her lover could control the power from any place. He still permitted his soul to travel with her, one at a time. Because his power is much stronger." She chuckled.

"Even the wife of the supreme god, the supreme goddess travels with him whenever he is incarnating in any dimension of time."

"He is merciful to those who understand love." She smiled at the end.

"Princess… how do you know?? Where did you read this??" the surprise on his face can't be concealed.

This is the first time he has heard the alternative of this tale.

The dazed Rohana came to her senses and eyed Jarvis staggeringly. The same thought struck her mind. The whole room was silently anticipating her answer. Same question is in both minds. How does she know??

"It just came into my mind…" She wandered her words.

Jarvis who was still stunned decided to tell her the news he was here for.

"Your Highness, the letter came."

With the mention of 'letter' she sprung up in surprise. Her confident face suddenly turned nervous. What's the letter about?

"What did it say??" Jarvis has seen this confident lady turning red in anxiety whenever there is mention of the 'letter'.

"They are coming back day after tomorrow."

Her clear eyes looked at Jarvis in hope. He chuckled and picked her body up. 

"It's true, my princess."

"What am I supposed to do now?? Do I have to prepare a banquet?? What do I do Jarvis??" the smile returned to her pale face.

"You don't have to do anything, princess. Just greet them when they come back." Seeing her smile, his face also erupted into a big smile.