Prologue

On a sunny day, two girls could be seen on top of a hill. The girls were similar in appearance, they had the same facial features. The two girls were sisters. One was older, nearly 13 years of age, while the other one was younger, only seven years old. If one listens closely, one can hear the younger one's laughs, the laughs of someone who has not yet experienced the sorrows of this world; carefree and without any worries.

"Stop it, big sister!" the little girl giggled as she ran across the flower field. Her older sister just smiled as she ran after her and replied in a happy voice: "I will catch you soon, little one." The older sister was happy. She loved her little sister more than anything in the world and always tried to spend time with her. When the two of them were together, she finally managed to forget her worries and was able to smile freely again. Despite being only twelve years of age, the older sister already had lived through many hardships. Now she was even scared to go home and for what was awaiting her. Everything had changed about two years ago.

She was just ten years old when she first visited the market with her mother. For a long time, she always tried to convince her parents to let her go to the city, but her mother always smiled sadly and just shook her head. The girl did not understand at the time and asked over and over again, but her mother always denied her and just shook her head. So when she was finally allowed to accompany her mother, she was so happy. Who knew that this day would change her life forever?

The night before she was so excited that she woke up even before the sun rose. She quickly jumped onto her mother's bed, shaking her awake, and urging her to go. Her parents just smiled at her and stroked her hair softly. The girl remembered her mother whispering in her father's ear, "It will all be all right. She is just a little girl. They will not do anything to her, will they?" Her father looked at her mother for a long time and replied, "No, they will not touch a hair on her body. It has already been a while, but they should still fear me. If they hurt the two of you, I will not stop for a second and march into the city to burn it to the ground."

Thinking back, the little girl thought that maybe her parents knew what was to await her? But if they knew, why did they not try to stop her more vehemently? Why did they change their mind about letting her join her mother on her way to the market? Why did they not forbid her to go and lock her up in her bedroom? The girl did not know. Looking back, she felt so foolish.

After she and her mother packed their things, they eventually left their little hut. It took them nearly an hour to reach the city, called the White Star of the Mountains. The city was small, only housing a few thousand people but nevertheless, it was very famous for its white walls that reflected the sun and gave it its name.

When they reached the city gates, they were stopped by two patrol guards. The first one just looked at them and sneered, "Foreigners, have no place in my city. Move before I cut you down!" The little girl just looked confused at her mother. "Foreigners," she thought, "What does he mean by that? We are just here to go to the market." Suddenly the other guard spoke: "It's okay, Karius." Then he looked at her mother apologetically and said: "I am sorry V, for what you have to go through. I assume you are here to visit the market? There is of course no problem; please come inside." He then looked towards the little girl, smiled, and asked: "And who are you, little one? You know you have the same eyes as your mother. I will be sure you will grow up as beautiful as her." The little girl's cheeks grew red, and she quickly hid behind her mother. There she replied in a low voice, "Nymeria." "Nymeria? That's a beautiful name." The soldier smiled. He then pushed the gates open, and after the both of them walked through, he shouted towards them, "Please give me regards to your husband; we have not spoken in a while."

Nymeria was struck after entering the city. There were so many colours and different smells, and there were people everywhere. This was much more exciting than she could ever imagine. Holding her mother's hand, she walked with an excited smile through the streets. Looking left and right, she saw something new every few moments. After a while, she noticed something peculiar. With a questioning gaze, she turned toward her mother: "So many of them look so angry at us, why is that?" Her mother looked at her sadly and asked, "If you look at them, what do you see?" The little girl looked at everyone, but she could not figure out what her mother was talking about. However, she did not want to disappoint her and continued observing her surroundings. Eventually, she cautiously said, "They all look like father." "Like your father?" her mother asked. "Yes," Nymeria answered more confidently, "All of them have white hair and blue eyes; they look completely different than you, me, or my little sister." 

"I see," her mother said, "Do you think that's a bad thing, that we look different?" "No, why would it," answered Nymeria. "I agree with you," said her mother, "but many people think differently. Do not ask me why, but they think that if you look differently, they have to treat you differently." "But that's unfair, isn't it? Why would they do that?" the little girl questioned. "Do not ask me why; I have never understood it either. I guess this is just the way the world works," her mother answered in a sad tone.

"After this, the little girl grew silent. She thought about what her mom was telling her. She thought about people treating her differently just because she did not look like them, and she thought about what this would mean for her. This continued for a while until the little girl asked her mother, "Why do we look different? Have we done something bad that has Nyria punished us?"

After hearing her daughter's words, her mother just started to laugh. "Done something bad? No, little one, we have not done anything bad. I just came from a place far, far away, that's why we look different". After hearing her mother's words, Nymeria grew excited again. "A place far away?" she thought, "that sounds so cool. I have to visit there once." She turned to her mother and asked excitedly, "Where is this place? Can we visit? When can we visit? Do I have any grandmas and grandpas there?" "The place is very far away", her mother answered. "You remember the forest behind our house? You have to cross the whole forest first and then the big lake behind it. The journey will take a year or more." Just as she finished her sentence, the two of them turned a corner and finally arrived at the marketplace.

Immediately, the little girl forgot everything she had just talked about with her mother, as she was so fascinated by what she saw. There were nearly 50 different stands with food, clothes, and jewellery. Many of the things she saw, she saw for the first time. With a happy smile, she walked through the stands, pointing her finger at the different goods and asking her mother what they were. The day quickly passed and when the sun was about to set, they were on their way home. It was then that it happened.

There was a group of a few soldiers that appeared in front of them and blocked their way. The soldiers were led by a hulking man that was over two meters in height. The man, seeming to be about 30 years of age, had long white hair that fell onto his shoulders and a beautiful face that looked like it was carved out of marble. From around the mother and daughter, some hushed whispers could be heard: "The young city lord is here", "Finally, he is going to get rid of this foreigner scum" and "They are trash, just the sight of them makes me want to vomit. It's good that the young lord appeared; he is surely going to take care of this."

Hearing the whispers, Nymeria started to become scared and hid behind her mother's back. But suddenly, a loud voice could be heard: "If anyone dares to insult them again, they will be put down by my blade. Both of them are the citizens of my city like everyone else. You should treat them with respect." Curiously, the little girl looked around to see who spoke. It took her only a moment to realize that it was the beautiful man at the front, the man whom everyone called their young lord. Gratefully and respectfully, the young girl looked the man in the eyes, and with tears in her eyes her mouth formed a voiceless "Thank You."

It was only then that the man seemed to notice her. He fell on one knee, but he was so tall that he still towered over her. He suddenly reached out his hand and grasped the young girl's face. Her mother wanted to intervene but was stopped by one of the soldiers nearby. The man meanwhile, slowly traced his fingers down her cheekbone until he reached her neck. He then pulled up her face so that she looked him directly in the face. "Young one, what's your name?" he asked her. The little girl looked at him and whispered in a barely noticeable voice, "Nymeria."

"Nymeria?" the man asked, "That's a beautiful name. How old are you?" The little girl did not know what to do. Why was this man talking to her? What did he want from her? Helplessly, she looked towards her mother, but she just stood there, frozen without making a sound. After a while, the girl looked up into the man's face: "Ten", she said with her little voice trembling. "Ten?" the man smiled. "Ten is a good age. Nymeria, in three years, when you become thirteen and I become 35, the two of us will become husband and wife." He then stood up and shouted, "This is a joyous day; today I found my future wife. Men, inform my father; today we will have a party!"

Shortly afterwards, the soldiers and the people around them left. Now it was only the two of them, mother and daughter. Nymeria was confused, marriage? She was only ten years old, and she wanted to travel the world, see and experience new things, but now she was supposed to get married? She helplessly looked up to her mother, but her mother just stood there shivering, with tears in her eyes and repeatedly whispering, "No, she has not deserved this. Why? She has not deserved this?" 

Suddenly, Nymeria was ripped out of her thoughts. In front of her, she saw her little in a flower field, with her arms on her hip and a red face angrily pouting: "Why have you stopped?" The little girl asked, while simultaneously stamping her feet on the ground. Nymeria was sure that while the action, was supposed to look intimidating, coming from a seven-year-old girl, it just looked adorable. It took a while for Nymeria to realize where they were. She was not in the city anymore; she was in the forest, together with her little sister collecting food for their dinner. Exhausted, the older sister suddenly fell to the ground, teardrops falling from her eyes. Her little sister was confused. Had she done something wrong? Why was her older sister crying? As she did not know any better, she just sat down next to her older sister and started crying. 

After a while, her older sister stopped crying and started to stroke her younger sister's hair. "No worries," she whispered in her ear. "Everything will be all right. Big Sister was just a little bit sad, but it is okay now." "It is okay now?" her little sister asked, slowly looking up with her adorable big grey eyes. "It is okay now," Nymeria confirmed. Then she stood up, puffed her skirt, and extended her hand to her sister: "Come on" she smiled, "we have to go home now." Shortly afterwards, one could see the two girls hand in hand hopping down the hill and happily giggling.

....

When they arrived home, they could already see their mother waiting for them. Their mother has always been very beautiful. Tall, with long legs and auburn brown hair that fell to her hip. She always had a smile on her face; however, it hardly ever reached her eyes in the last few years. In addition, once every so often, Nymeria could hear her cry at night. Nymeria could hardly remember the day when everything changed. Back then, she was very young, even younger than her little sister now. Back then, she, together with her mother and father, lived in the castle grounds. Her father was the captain of the guard and feared for his strength, and her mother was the head maid of the city lord's brother. They were not wealthy, but they were happy. Back then, she was five years old.

One night, her mother came home, bruised and bloodied. Crying, she told Nymeria's father what had happened, but Nymeria was unable to understand what she was saying. Shortly afterwards, her father took his sword from the wall and stormed out of their home. At the same time, her mother broke down on the floor, crying, and all Nymeria could do was just stand there helplessly. A few hours later, her father came home, saying "it is done" and moved to their bedroom. The next morning, they were woken up by the castle's bell and loud shouts declaring that the lord's brother, together with his three guards, had been killed overnight. Even though nobody knew who the murderer was, her father, the captain of the guards, had to take responsibility, and they were forced out of the city the same day.

Nine months later, her little sister was born; however, what should have been a joyous occasion turned out to be a sad one. Nymeria noticed that her parents always treated her little sister differently than her; while her mother seemed to be sometimes even scared of her, her father always displayed a cold attitude towards her. Nevertheless, her little sister never once cried or was unhappy but always had a cheerful expression. For Nymeria, she was the most important person in her life.

That night they had a quiet dinner. Just when they were about to finish, her father spoke: "Nymeria, you will be thirteen years old in three months; do you know what this means?" Hearing her father's words, Nymeria began to shudder. "Knowing what this means," she thought, "of course, she knew. This was the day she had been dreading for years. She was about to get married to a man nearly three times her age. Moreover, she would forever be stuck in this place, unable to travel the world and see new things." Nevertheless, she tried to be resolute as she did not want to worry her parents and said: "I am going to get married to the young city lord. I am looking forward to it." She tried to say it in a cheerful voice, but could not hide her body from shaking as tears slowly started rolling down her face. Her little sister immediately starting to worry jumped from her chair and started hugging her, while her parents just stared at each other silently.

After Nymeria stopped crying, her father stood up and looked at her, and he said in a resolute voice: 'Your mother and I both know that you do not want to get married, and that is why we have decided to flee from here in one week. Get yourselves ready." Then he stood up and left their home without saying another thing. Nymeria could not help herself and smiled, she did not need to get married to the city lord's son. Her mother noticing this looked at her saying: "You should be happy but you should always remember. Even after all that happened, your hand being promised to the young lord, your father being released from his position as head of the guard, and me being...", she stopped midsentence and continued, "even after all that happened, your father still loves this place. He grew up here, and his family has been here for generations. It will be difficult to move for him, and he may never be the same.'

After her mother finished speaking, silence arose between the three of them, and Nymeria started to feel bad about herself. "After all, she would be the reason why her father would feel bad. Should not she just stay here and get married?" She was confused; she was the one who wanted to go to the market; she was the one who pressured her parents; she was the one whom the young lord liked, and she was the one who did not want to get married. "Is it really all right", the girl thought, do others have to get hurt just for me to be happy?" Nymeria could not find an answer. She was just a twelve-year-old girl; she did not understand that a parent would do anything to keep their children safe, even if it would hurt them.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by a crisp voice: "Where are we going?" the younger sister asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "To my home," the mother said, "through the dark forest and across the endless lake. It will take us some time, but eventually, you both will meet your grandparents." "Our grandparents?" the two sisters asked simultaneously. They have never even heard a story about them, now they are going to meet them? "Yes," their mother smiled wryly, "your grandparents, the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Nemia." The two girls just looked at each other in silence; their grandparents were alive they wondered, and more importantly, they were royalty? The two could not believe it.

…..

Over the following week, the family continued their daily tasks normally so as not to raise any suspicions. The week flew by quickly, and it was now the last day before the family was supposed to leave. But as fate would have it, misfortune struck again. Like any other day, the two girls were just collecting their food in the nearby forest when they noticed smoke coming from the city. They quickly returned, and as they drew closer to the city, could hear the clashing of swords and the cries of the children and women; they could smell the blood and of the burned bodies. As quickly as their little legs could carry them, they ran to their home, but what awaited them was much worse than they could imagine. Their home was burning, and in front of it were their mum's and dad's heads on spikes.

The little girl wanted to scream and run towards their parents, but her older sister quickly grabbed her by her hand, covered her mouth, and pushed her to the ground. She then whispered in her ear to keep quiet and hide behind a bush, and so the two girls ended up hiding and observing the many men, surrounding their house, waiting for them to leave. The men sat in a circle around the burning house, screaming and singing, drinking beer and eating meat. All of them wore black iron armor and had either swords, axes, or spears lying beside them. The two girls just lay there, unable to move and silently whimpering, hoping for the men to leave so they could rush to their dead parents. Minutes quickly turned into hours, and soon it became night.

The girls were still hiding behind the bush, and the men were still singing and partying around the fire. Suddenly, one of the men stood up and slowly lurched in their direction. When he was just at arm's reach, he stopped, stripped down, and started to relieve himself. The older girl instinctively reached over to her younger sister, barely covering her mouth in time to prevent her from making a sound. It took the man nearly a full minute to finish, while the two girls struggled to hold their breath and not make a sound. After the man returned, the others slowly stood up and left. Finally, for the first time in hours, the older girl relaxed and drew in a deep breath. It was then that it happened.

Behind them, the cracking noise of a branch could be heard, and the little girl let out a loud squeak. It happened quickly and a man stood in front of them and smiled dangerously. The man wore black armour like the others, with a red fire-spewing dragon on its breastplate. The man had long and oily hair that hung deep into his face and yellow teeth. He had a big scar on his face that went from his left eye down to his right cheek. The girls, unable to hide anymore, slowly stood up, staggering backwards. Suddenly, the older girl pushed the little girl down the hill, screaming for her to leave, whilst she ran forward toward the soldier. The soldier just smiled and slowly drew his sword.

The little girl, surprised by her sister's action, lost her balance and rolled down the hill. When she finally reached the bottom, she had long lost consciousness and just lay there, unable to move. In the meantime, the soldier, having dealt with the older sister, calmly walked to the edge of the hill looking down below. After not seeing the little girl he turned his back, deciding it was not worth pursuing her. The little girl meanwhile remained unconsciously at the bottom of the hill for three days. When she finally awoke, she turned toward the forest, not to be seen by human eyes for the next few decades.