Prologue

The night’s wind was softly blowing the curtains around and the gleam of the moon crept into the birthing room. A bowl of red water with a towel in it sat on the small table made of Elivian wood and the fabric of the bed sheets were made of wolf’s fur that was now becoming stained with the blood of the queen in labour.

“Breathe, Neyra! Breathe! The baby’s almost out. I just need one more push from you,” The midwife, Kathia urged.

“It hurts, Kathia. I think there’s something wrong.” Neyra said in tears as she tried to push.

“There’s nothing wrong, my dear. You just need to push. Gemma, get behind her and massage her shoulders to ease her pain.” Kathia said to the handmaiden that was assisting her to birth the queen’s baby.

Gemma went behind the queen and rubbed her back just as she was instructed.

“Just try to breathe, my lady.” She said.

Neyra screamed in total agony as she struggled to push out her child. It was more pain than she had been expecting but she was comforted by the fact that the king, her husband wasn’t present.

“Do you want us to get the king? It might help you relax if he’s here.” Kathia asked.

“No! Please, don’t get him. I can’t stand the mere sight of him and it will only make this worse. Don’t call him!” She begged the midwife.

“Ok, I won’t call on him but you have to keep trying. Another push and the baby will be out.”

Neyra pushed one final time and just as her screams slipped out of her mouth, her baby slipped out of her right into Kathia’s hands.

“What is it? What…is it?” Neyra asked impatiently, with her heart in her throat.

“It’s a boy, my lady! It’s a beautiful boy.” Kathia said with a smile, happy for her queen’s good fortune because she knew how badly King Darth wanted a son, an heir to his empire.

“Thank the Mother Eyah!” The queen said and her tension eased.

Suddenly, she felt another sharp contraction in her abdomen and let out a loud, sharp wail.

“What is it, my lady?” Gemma asked in shock.

“There’s something moving inside me.” Neyra said in total terror.

Kathia handed the baby to Gemma and put her hands on the queen’s belly. She felt the movement inside her and her eyes widened in disbelief.

“There’s another baby inside you.”

Both the queen and Gemma gasped after hearing Kathia say this. They couldn’t believe what they had just heard.

“It’s impossible! No woman has ever birthed two children at once since the time of Old, way before the emergence of this land.” Queen Neyra said, trying to make sense of what was happening.

“That is true, my lady but, there IS another child inside of you and it wants out.” Kathia said.

Just like that, Neyra was back in labour and the excruciating pain resumed. The second baby took a lot longer to come out and the Queen bled very badly because of it. She was doing something that the bodies of women in Troleyadia weren’t built for; birthing twins.

After much stress and effort, the second baby was finally out and she was a beautiful little girl.

“Twins, my lady! Twins!” Kathia said with tears rolling down her cheeks, not because she was happy but because she was sad.

“Give them to me.” Neyra said weakly, still losing a lot of blood.

Kathia and Gemma handed the twins to her and she held them in her arms with so much love in her eyes and a powerful urge to protect them.

“My babies,” she said, “I’m sorry, little ones but unfortunately, I won’t be able to watch the two of you grow up and fulfill your destinies as the Mother Eyah had prophesied. I love the both of you and if the Mother deems it, we shall reunite…in this world or the next.

"I shall call you both Annalah and Harriem, after my parents, for you both share not just their blood but their spirits as well." Queen Neyra said and kissed their foreheads.

“My queen, you cannot seriously be considering hiding them away. If the King found out, he would kill us all.” Gemma said in fear.

“I cannot let him kill them. They are the only hope for the people of Troleyadia and this entire realm. They must live and fulfil the prophecy. I have waited for this day for many moons and now, the Mother has chosen me as her vessel. I will not let her down and neither will you.” Neyra said to the two women.

The palms of the babies started to glow ominously and after a few seconds, two identical marks appeared on their palms; The mark of Mother Eyah. Gemma was shivering in fear after witnessing this. She couldn’t try to defy the King in any way because she knew how vicious and unforgiving he could be.

“I’m sorry, my queen but I’m not ready to die. I have a little sister and I’m all she has in this world. I cannot help you. I’m going to inform the King about this so I suggest you say goodbye to your children.” Gemma said and ran towards the exit.

Before she could leave, Kathia grabbed her and tackled her to the ground. She took a knife from the table and ran it into the handmaiden’s back to make sure she didn’t spill the beans.

“I’m with you, my lady. Your children are the only hope for this land and I will make sure they’re safe.” Kathia said to the queen with her bloodied hands.

“We have to take them somewhere they can never be found, somewhere Ginx magic won’t be able to locate them.”

“But where? King Darth has all the Ginxs working for him and he will find them anywhere in this world,” Kathia said.

“Then we take them off this world.” The queen said.

She took off the medallion around her neck and held it out for Kathia to take. The midwife took the medallion and her hands were trembling as she did so.

“This was a gift from my father. He gave it to me before Darth conquered Troleyadia and slayed my parents and my brothers. It is a key that opens a gateway to another dimension but it can only be used once and after it is used, it will become dust. Take it to Shadrin’s Rock and place it underneath the waterfall. The gate will open and you can cross over to a realm called Earth. The door will shut after you cross to the new world. There, you will be safe and so will my children.” Queen Neyra said.

“But, how will they return to fulfil the prophecy?” Kathia asked.

“They will find a way to return. It is their destiny after all. You have to keep them apart so their powers won’t overwhelm them. They will need to be older and stronger before they can be around each other so separate them, Kathia. When they come of age, tell them why I had to leave them, tell them I had no choice and tell them, I love them.”

They heard noise coming from outside and it sounded like someone was coming. Kathia had to leave immediately so she wouldn’t be caught. She took the children and put them a basket.

Neyra took one last look at them and smiled, knowing that they will one day fulfil their destiny.

“Goodbye, Kathia and may the Mother protect you.”

“Goodbye, my Queen.” Kathia said in tears and hugged the queen before leaving with the babies.

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A few minutes later, the King and his escorts came to the birthing room to check on the progress of his queen. They were shocked to find nothing but a dead maiden on the floor and a bleeding queen on the bed.

“What has happened here? Where is my child?” Kind Darth demanded to know.

His most trusted Kingsguard, Phileous, rolled Gemma’s body over and discovered that she was still alive. She had blood spewing out of her mouth and was struggling to speak.

“Twins…!” she managed to whisper.

“What was that?” Phileous asked her and leaned closer to her mouth.

“The queen…had…twins.” Gemma said again before breathing her last breath.

Phileous told the King what she had said and his eyes ignited with rage. He stormed over to Neyra and held her by the throat.

“Where are they?” He screamed.

“Somewhere you will never find them. How does it feel, knowing that your own children are destined to kill you?” She asked with a mocking smile.

“I will find them and I will kill them myself.” He said and stormed out of the birthing room with his guards.

“Oh, Mother Eyah! Protect my children. Save them from this evil so they can manifest your light and will when the time is right.” Neyra said and looked at her hands. She was still bleeding and her eyelids were getting heavier. She was dying.

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“Gather as many men as you can and search for the midwife. She must have the children. Kill her and kill them at all cost. Do you understand?” King Darth said to Phileous.

“I understand sire! It will be done.” Phileous replied.

He assembled his men and they ran out of the castle to look for the children. They got on their horses and let the hounds lead the way.

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Meanwhile, Kathia was running as fast as her legs could carry her through the woods. She knew the King’s men were most likely tracking her with their hounds so she needed to move fast. She made to Shadrin’s Rock and put the medallion beneath the waterfall and waited anxiously.

A bright blue light began to shine and the light turned into a ring-like door to another world; Earth.

Kathia ran towards the portal and as she was about to enter, an arrow found its way into her shoulder. She screamed in pain and fell just at the foot of the gateway.

Phileous and his men stepped into the light and approached her.

“Give me the children and I’ll give you a quick and painless death.” Phileous said.

“You served the last king, didn’t you? You swore your loyalty to him and his house in perpetuity, or have you forgotten?” Kathia asked him.

“I have a new king now.” He said.

“Then you will die by his side when the prophecy is fulfilled.” Kathia said and threw the basket containing the children into the portal.

The gateway started to close and in desperation not to fail his king, Phileous ran towards the portal and managed to jump into it just as it closed. There was a massive gust of wind as the portal closed and it blasted the other guards all over the forest.

Kathia saw this as an opportunity to escape so she picked herself up and ran deeper into the forest, never to be seen again.

When the other guards managed to regain consciousness, they returned to the castle and informed the King about what had happened. King Darth was furious and he angrily stormed back into the birthing room.

“They escaped you, didn’t they? I can see it in your eyes.” Neyra said with a soft laugh.

“Yes, they made it through that portal but, my most loyal Kingsguard went through as well and he will kill them so wipe that smile off your face.” He said with a scowl.

“He won’t succeed. They will live and they will return to make you pay for your sins.” Neyra said.

“And you will live and pay for yours.” King Darth replied.

“It’s too late for me, Darth. I’ve lost too much blood and I can feel death coming for me. I’m ready for it. I’m ready to be with the rest of my family.” She said with a solemn smile.

“I’m afraid it’s not your time yet, dear wife.”

A Ginx walked into the room and as soon as Neyra saw him, she could tell why Darth had brought him and it made her shed a tear in sadness for what was to come.

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Phileous opened his eyes and found himself on asphalt. He sat up and held his head with some strain in his facial expression. He didn’t know where he was and wasn’t sure what had happened.

Then, he remembered! He looked around but there was no basket. He roared in anger and tried to get on his feet when he saw two massive beams of light accompanied by the loudest sound he had ever heard speeding his way. He managed to jump off the road and the truck sped by.

“I’m definitely not in Troleyadia anymore.” He said, got on his feet and walked into the night to scale through this new world.

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Meanwhile, a woman was having a night jog when she heard crying. She took out her earphones and heard the cries even louder now.

She followed the sound and found the basket. She opened it up and gasped in surprise when she found two babies inside it. She looked around, trying to see if anyone was around but no one was.

Having no other choice, she took the basket and the babies along with her.