[YOU ARE AN ONLY CHILD]

"Can you leave us alone? I want to talk with the princess alone." I said to the maidens.

"Mum, aunt Lora and aunt Lucia can stay, I'll explain why later. They can leave if you don't want them here after that." Chesa said and I nodded my head to agreed with her.

The other girls bowed and left the room, leaving me with the three ladies. "Mum Aunt Lora is your first lady in waiting, and she's also your most trusted person, and the only one you call friend." Chesa said, trying to explain why she made them stay.

" And of course, Aunt Lucia, my nanny is your second lady in waiting. They knew what was going on even before you told me, and they know you better to be the ones who reminds you of your past." Chesa continue talking when I didn't say anything.

I took my seat behind the desk and at the flip of Chesa's hand, three seats appeared in front of the desk and the three ladies took their seat as if nothing happened.

" So tell me, who's this stranger that gave me this book." I said, trying to hide my surprised face from the ladies.

" He's no one that we no of. All I know is that he visited you several before the incident. Dad kept saying he's a demon and will bring bad luck to us if you keep meeting him, but you didn't agree." Chesa said with a worried look.

" How does he look like, how long did I meet him?" I asked, I was beginning to get worried as to what kind of man can be a bad luck to me if not the abusive husband I know in my real life.

" Nobody knows how he looks except for you. He always has a mask on the upper part of his face and he dress in long royal robes. He looks very rich and powerful but nobody knows where he came from." Lora answer me.

" How can it be that non of you no him? How did I meet him in the first place? " I asked, getting impatient with everything.

" Your Highness, you were on a stroll in the city one afternoon, He stoped your horse and insisted on talking to you. That's about one and a half year ago." Lora replied.

" So why does the king thinks he's a demon if no one has ever seen his face before?" I asked no one in particular.

" Dad thinks he came to get you away from him. I remember the day of the incident, he was here to visit you, and you both went out on your horses.

Dad came to your palace and find out you went out with him, so he went after you but return with you on his horse. You were unconscious and went into comma after that day." Chesa said sadly.

" Then I think your father is right if he says he's a demon and a bad luck. How can he visit me and I'll be in comma for a year." I said, trying to reason with them.

" Your Highness, is not like that. He's a kind man, and he knows you better. He told me a day like this will come when you won't remember who you are, and it came true." Lora said happily.

" How can I find him? want to see him, and what is his name, where does he stay?" I asked all at once.

"Your Highness, nobody knows that, not even you, and you can't go to him. He always come and go when he likes. And sometimes he comes when you need him the most." Lucia answered me.

" What do you mean by when I need him the most, why would I need a stranger?" I asked, not understanding anything, and the girls exchanged looks not knowing who to answer. I noticed there was something they wanted to tell me but they were scared of me or whoever it was about.

" You Highness, please don't be upset but, you never liked your marriage with His majesty. And things got out of hand in the last few years, before the strange man came to your life." Lora answered boldly.

"So it's not just in my real life, even in this life I still don't like him, and he claims someone is a demon and not him? He's the devil then." I started smiling while thinking and the ladies thought something was up with me.

"Your highness are you okay?" The ladies asked in unison.

"Am okay. I just remembered something. Tell me more about the king, my so called husband." I said while smiling.

"Your Highness, that's going to take a long time, and it almost evening." Lucia said, and everyone agreed with her.

"Okay then tell me how my life was, before and after marring Marcus, the king" I asked and the ladies went into total silence.

"Mum, for that only auntie Lora can tell you. She's been with you since childhood, so Lucia and I are just going to listen." Chesa said, earning a look from all of us. We then turn to Lora waiting for her to talk, but she looked as if she was going to talk about something she shouldn't.

"Your Highness, please understand me if I make it short, and if am not able to answer some questions after." She said and I just nod my head in response.

"You are an only child of your parents, and a direct descendants of the founder and first king of this kingdom. You had a brother, but he died few weeks after birth and your parents never gave birth again.

You fell in love with a man nobody knows about. All I know is that he was a commoner, and you'll sneak out to meet him. Your parents forbid you from seeing him when they found out he was just a commoner and a son of a blacksmith.

Not just that, you were destined to marry a man from the other half descendants of the first king, but you didn't want to. Before your parents passed away, they forced you into marring His highness King Marcus, but you never consummate your marriage with His Majesty.

When he found out you were already pregnant, he became very angry, but he accepted the baby nonetheless. He didn't want anyone to doubt his potency, and things hasn't been easy between you two till now.

Even though he is the king, the people of this kingdom listen to you more than him. They fear and respect you as their Queen more than they do to His Majesty. With the help of your pet, you saved this kingdom from disaster and since then we all know you as our savior and protector." Lora narrated to me.

I kept seeing myself at places and time in the story Lora was telling me. It was just like I was the one who really lived the life she was narrating to us. I looked at the ladies and they all had mixed feeling writing on there faces.

"Mum please, can you tell me who my real father is? I want to know him." Chesa said, breaking the strange silence that took over the room after Lora's story.

" Chesa, how will I tell you when I don't even remember my own name? Please give me time to remember, I promise to tell you immediately I do." I said and Chesa became calm after.

" You said something earlier, that has gotten me thinking. How am I supposed to be the goddess of earth when I don't know anything about it?" I asked Chesa.

" Your Highness you are truly the goddess of earth, and the power you hold is almost the same as that of the first king of this kingdom, that's why people fear what you can do." Lucia who has been quite all this while said.

" I wouldn't like to rule a kingdom where the people fear me for who I am." I said and the ladies started giggling.

" Your Highness, you are not the one they fear, it's your pet. That beast is feared by everyone except for us three, even the king is scared of your pet." Lora said, smiling as if she was telling a joke.

" You mean I have a beast as a pet, how is that even possible? What type of beast is that?" I was getting afraid, so I needed to no more.

" Your Highness, the beast isn't really the pet, your pet is a white dove but.... " Lucia started talking but stopped midway. I gave her a look prompting her to continue but someone else did.

" It transforms into the beast when ever you ask it to, and the beast is a white dragon." Chesa said, continuing from where Lucia stopped.

" What! a dragon?" I exclaimed in fear.

" Yes mum, and it's the most beautiful dragon I've ever seen. It has the same attribute as you. Even though dragons breath either fire or ice, your dragon breath both fire and ice, and sometimes he breath what you asked of him." Chesa said happy.

" Where is it, I want to see it." I said in a hurry.

" It's right here with us, you just have to call it and it will appear." Lora said.

" But how, what is it name?" I asked her.

"Azus, that's it name, just like your late brother. You named the dove after him because, the dove came to you on the same date your brother passed on. You were just five years old." Lora's voice rang in my ears, as I wonder what to do or how to feel.

I started thinking, trying to remember if I've owned a dove as my pet before, but I couldn't remember anything like that.