Once the whole party was ready to leave Lissandra felt the air and disbanded the invisible barrier. It was time to continue the way back through the mountain, just as they had been doing for the past week. She knew it was only about another week of traveling, as she had travelled a similar path each year ever since she got to know Thomas. The sadness inside her roared as she thought of him. She still had to tell him the horrible news, that the two of them couldn’t be together, even though it was all she had ever wished for. Lianne had been justified to point out that she would lose Thomas to protect her. Lissandra felt her mood change and was quickly to remember the happy times she spent with Thomas.  She met him one time when she was summoned by a friend of her mother, who had taken over taking care of the two girls after their mother died.  

“Has your mother ever told you that her best friend went over the Mountains of Eternity?”

“No, I have never even heard of someone that went over the mountains.” Lissandra recalled the conversation her sixteen-year-old self had with Elaine, her caretaker and mother’s friend.

“Well this person did it, and it seems she has returned again. This is the second time she returned apparently, and only because of the fact that her husband in the Kingdom of Yule died. She desired to be home, and took her son with her.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“She wished to meet the eldest daughter of her best friend, and I said I would grant that wish, as your mother would have wished for you to meet her.”

“Okay. So that’s why I had to grab my belongings?”

“Yes, we’ll be going to Yara to meet her and her son there.” The two of them departed to travel to the border city. Once they arrived they were welcomed by Yalene, the Magician of Yara.

“Welcome Advisor Elaine and Princess Lissandra. Joan and Thomas have been waiting for you. I will guide you towards their housing, as they’re currently staying with Joan’s sister and her other son.” Lissandra wondered who they would meet, but she remained quiet and followed Yalene towards the house at the edge of the city where they entered.

“Come in!” A voice yelled as Yalene knocked on the door. The three of them entered and saw Joan sitting by the fire together with her sister.. They were told Thomas and his brother were out in town, because Thomas had never seen the town his mother was from. Yalene left Elaine and Lissandra at the house as she returned to her duties as Magician of Yara.

“It is a pleasure to meet you my lady.” Lissandra didn’t know what to say but she didn’t want the awkward silence to move on so she started talking.

“The same goes for me darling. I’m Joan, me and your mother used to be best friends. I met her when she started roaming the kingdom to find her true calling, and that’s where we ended up traveling together. All of this happened before she met your father and got dragged into the royal business and what not.” Elaine nodded in agreement. She was the first person to befriend Lissandra’s mum after she had appeared at the castle, and was the only one who remembered the stories she had told about the travels with Joan.

“I’m Lissandra, I heard you asked for me. Is there a reason my sister wasn’t allowed to come at all?” Lissandra had been wondering this the whole time travelling towards Yara but when she had asked Elaine she only retrieved a vague answer.

“There is darling. The last day your mother and I spent sleeping under the sky we saw something important. It was written that no matter what happened her daughter and my son had to meet one day, and that it would be for the best. I would love to introduce you to Thomas and his brother but I’m afraid they’re out. You see, they only recently found out they were brothers.”

“I can understand that Joan. Thank you for explaining.”

In the days that followed Joan and Elaine talked a lot so the advisor of the king would be able to get some kind of information about the Kingdom of Yule, as there wasn’t much known of. Elaine had known about the prophecy. The King saw it in the stars, and she knew every bit of information they could gather about Yule would be able to make a difference for the princess that would eventually go there. Lissandra often accompanied Elaine on those visits and learnt a lot about the country.

It was on the third day that she finally got introduced to Thomas. She was immensely exited to finally meeting him and the two of them talked a lot. Thomas explained her all the questions that had been in her mind after hearing so much about the Kingdom of Yule, while Lissandra filled in Thomas’ questions about the kingdom his mother came from.

The two of them eventually fell in love, and Elaine saw it all happening. She was wanting to stop the two of them from doing so but Joan told her not to. She told the whole thing that had been written in the stars on that day, and it came down on that it was predicted that this would happen.

“Elaine, please be careful. I promised the Queen that I would never tell anyone about this unless necessary, just as she asked me to keep this hidden from the king at all cost. He probably wouldn’t want his daughters to marry with a common person instead of a Magician.” Elaine nodded in agreement, because she knew how the king was.

Eventually the day came that Thomas announced he wanted to go back to his own kingdom. Even though he liked living in Linea, the two months he had spent there made clear to him his heart laid in Yule. His mother didn’t try to stop him, but instead she called him, Lissandra and Elaine to her.

“I am not going to stop you from going Thomas, I know where your heart is. But there is one thing I am asking you. It seems you have taken a liking towards Lissandra, please take her with you. She knows how to protect people from the cold, as her mother taught her that, but she will also be able to visit you at least for a few months every year. Her job in Linea isn’t done yet, but her story is bound to be written at some point.” Thomas looked surprised as his mother was speaking, but his face also said he could live with this decision. It meant he would be able to live in the two worlds his parents came from.

Lissandra was less happy with it, but she knew it was selfish to have Thomas stay just for her, so she nodded as well and knew she would do everything to have Thomas safe. She and Thomas went to his brother, who looked exactly like him, except for the fact he had the same deep blue hair as Joan had, a trait that was familiar in their country. They explained the situation and Thomas’s brother didn’t really have much to say about it, or rather he seemed indifferent about it.

Lissandra got snapped back to reality when she heard someone call her name from a the front of the party. They had been on the way for that past few hours and Lissandra and her horse Toby had been walking somewhere in the middle.

“Lady Lissandra! There you are, the King has been looking for you.” One of the servants rushed towards her side and caught his breath.

“He wants you to come to the front of the party, he wants to discuss something with you.”

“Thank you. I will reach out for him.” With that the servant left and Lissandra told Toby to rush towards the front of the party. It took the two of them a while to reach that because of all the snow, and not all of the party members were friendly enough to let her and Toby pass by smoothly.

In the end she managed to reach the front of the party and saw King Roland sit on his horse with a fierce look on his face. He was accompanied by one of the older generals and together they were discussing fighting tactics.

“Roland, you asked for me?” Lissandra addressed him in an unformal way as they were soon to be equals in rank.

“I did Princess Lissandra. As you are to become my wife I like you to travel with me from now on.”

“It will be as you wish, your majesty.” Lissandra answered with a stern voice. She already had enough of King Roland and his people, but knew he was the one to blame for everything that had been happening. She was once more relieved that it was her who was riding here, and not her sister.

As Lissandra thought of her sister she reached out for her. Their special connection made it easy to reach for each other and it only took a few seconds before Lianne answered her call. The two of them traded information about how things had been going. Lianne saw once more that her sister had been right when she took her place, and thanked her again.

“Thank you Liss, I don’t know what I would have done in your place.” Liss sounded a bit disappointed but at the same time was very relieved that she was safe and sound back in the castle at home.

“You’re welcome Lia. How’s dad?”

“He’s coping, but he misses your critical thinking and your laughter as well. The castle has been less alive now that you’re gone.

“I can understand, please tell dad I love him. I miss everyone as well, even though I’ve only been on the road for four days, it feels like an eternity. It’s probably why the mountains have that name.”

“I will sis. Speaking of messages, Elaine asked me to remind you not to trust anybody. She’s very sceptical of the King’s decision and angry she didn’t get to see you off.”

“Thank you Lia, and I can imagine she is.” Lissandra chuckled on her horse and quickly looked away as King Roland stared at her in disbelief.

“I think I have to go, before someone wonders what I’m up to. Please give Elaine a hug, and tell her I am very well capable of taking care of myself.” Lissandra managed to keep a straight face as the connection vanished. Being aware of her surroundings again she saw that the party had stopped, and a load of snow was blocking the pathway through the mountain.

“Lady Lissandra?” The general next to the king spoke to her.

“Yes General, what can I do for you?”

“I think now it would be a good time to show off your magic, by clearing the way in front of us.” Lissandra nodded. She knew this was merely another trick of the King to show how powerful he was with his new wife next to him, but she had some sensibility left. She nodded towards the General and manoeuvred Toby in front of the pile of snow.

Several days later Princess Lissandra joined King Roland and his party on the journey back to his homeland Yule. Everyone looked relieved that they were finally on the way back. King Roland was mainly in his own tent at night to stay away from the bitter cold, but Lissandra walked around and learnt about the party members. She was welcomed by all campfires of the servants, but the soldiers welcomed her as well once she showed interest in their work.

Lissandra was soon to learn the kingdom of Yule was much more different than she could have ever imagined, as she asked the servants her questions about how the kingdom worked, and who had the last say. There was one old lady, who was the chief of the kitchen’s staff who told Lissandra about the older times, before King Roland’s father was King.

“You see my lady, back then it was usual that the King and Queen ruled the kingdom together, and that important decisions such as was were declared by both of them. Yet as Harrold ascended to the throne, everything changed. It was as if he wanted to be the only one making decisions, while it was the custom that the first in line for the throne married a wizard. A lot of blood has been shed before he arose to the throne you see. First his eldest brother died to an unknown disease, and after that the sister who was supposed to be crowned disappeared into the nothingness. It was then that Harrold was forced to marry a girl of one of the wizard families of our kingdom.”

“So you could say that Roland’s father killed off everyone in line for the throne to gain it himself?”

“Indeed my lady. But that is not the only thing, as Harrold decided which wizard girl he wanted to marry, he laid his eyes on the most fragile of them all, she was very indecisive and didn’t know what happened to her when the King asked for her hand. But however her father thought it was an honour to have his daughter be the Queen of the country and he agreed. This was the beginning of the end.” The chief of the kitchen took a break and let Lissandra take all of this information in as one of the kitchen maids continues the story.

“You see Princess Lissandra, the Queen we had was only for show, and even though she only died a few years ago, she has never made any decisions towards the war, or important matters as she was supposed to do. In the end she was just a puppet of her father and of King Harrold. But we all saw it too late, and nobody was able to object anymore.”

“Not only that.” The chief of the kitchen continued. “Everyone who tried to object was found dead by mysterious beings, it was as if King Harrold had magic himself. Even though he wasn’t supposed to. It was said only the males worthy in line of the throne were only able to see the markings that showed up at the coronation. The tale goes that Harrold forced his young bride to chant the words of the markings in her mind, so he could become the real king. Most of the people forgot about this tiny detail and only the strongminded still dare to talk about it, since only one person has to tell to the King you spoke about it and you’re a dead man.” The group around the fire nodded in sync with each other as they were joined by some soldiers.

With that the conversation had come to an end and Lissandra immediately felt the change of how the servants felt. They started talking about the people they had left behind, and Lissandra dozed away for a second.  

Princess Lissandra stayed at the fire that night, she wanted to hear more about the old times, but was afraid this was the only thing she would hear about this matter. It seemed nobody was allowed to talk about it. She was still quite suspicious as why there was such policy that they couldn’t tell her about everything, and nearly broke the main rule of her magic. “Thy shall not pass someone else’s mind if thy has no reason to assume it’s a criminal.”

However there was one loophole in this rule. You were allowed to open your mind and to feel around you to see how many emotions people showed. The people of Linea were skilled in hiding their real feelings to magicians, but maybe the people of Yule didn’t know how to do so, since magic was only used by the families of the wizard lines. Lissandra opened her mind as the servants and soldiers continued the small talk around the fire, and saw what she expected. She soared around with her mind and felt the trembling over everyone’s emotions. The soldiers’ ones were hidden better than the regular servants, yet with some difficulty those could still be shown in the area around them. It was as if Lissandra saw a sort of aura around each person, along with the lines of her own magic. The magic not a lot of people had, but was very important to the kingdom of Linea.

The “lines” Lissandra saw where a type of old magic in the Kingdom of Linea and it was some kind of special magic that could only been used by the strongest magicians. The royal family had always existed of the most powerful of them all, so all of them were able to see them, including Lissandra. Her sister however had difficulty seeing them, and usually relied on what Lissandra told her about the lines she saw. Those lines showed the relations from one person too all others surrounding a person, yet it also showed lines that were as thin as light, and that meant the person had no clue about the relation itself, but it was there. This was usually seen by family relatives who didn’t know they shared the same blood.

Lissandra decided to look around in the aura of the head of the kitchen first. It showed some powerful lines towards some of the servants, yet the one that was strongest and most visible let towards the mountains. She knew by this that the woman had left someone very important behind for this exhibition, and Lissandra was curious to find out why. The other lines of the woman showed her that she was absolutely disgusted because of the King, but was afraid to be named as a betrayer. It was as if there was no single positive to be named about King Roland, and Lissandra knew enough by that one look, she was going to get a rough time once she arrived at the castle.

“My Queen, could I ask you something?” One of the younger soldiers approached her. It seemed that most of them had already gone to bed as the air was becoming even chillier.

“Yes, what’s your name lad?” Lissandra wondered who the soldier was who had awoken her from her daydreaming but was intrigued that such a young lad wanted to talk to her as well.

“I am Luca, my Queen. I’ve seen you spent some time watching us train, I wondered what kind of soldiers you have in your kingdom. While we were there I didn’t see any kind of patrol through Yara at all, while that is very common in our border cities.”

“We are a kingdom of peace, and because of that we don’t have an army, yet everyone gets the opportunity to learn how to wield a weapon of choice. You usually start training with one at an early age. Some of the inhabitants don’t like it, while others take a liking toward it.” Lissandra thought for a mere moment and decided this wouldn’t harm anyone if Luca knew this about her country. She was however warry of telling more about her home, since she didn’t fully trust the king nor his court wizards, whom she hadn’t met yet, enough to be totally sure that they wouldn’t gain the memories of the conversations she had had from servants’ and soldiers’ memories.

“I thank you kindly, my queen, for this information.” With that Luca departed to his tent and went to bed. Lissandra realised she should follow soon, as she didn’t want the be the last one out in the cold. She thanked the servants who were still around for their time and departed to her tent.

The tent she had taken with her from her home country was different than the tents from the party of King Roland. They weren’t made for this kind of strong winter, but hers was. It was made out of two different kinds of fabric, one was to protect anyone inside from the rain and icing wind, while the other fabric was meant to keep the person inside warm. The top layer looked a bit like plastic where you could see through, but was way stronger than that, while the layer beneath it was made out of the colours of her kingdom, showing the emblem of the royal guards, who only existed in name.

Lissandra opened her tent and zipped it tightly. The servant King Roland assigned to her had been inside all evening, as she was waiting for the Queen to return.

“Queen.” The servant bowed respectfully and took the cape of the queen as she put it away in one of the bags of the tent.

“Eliza, are you warm yet?”

“No my lady, the King had ordered me to come to him and report about your whereabouts.” The girl looked really fragile, but seemed to have a strong connection with the king, or at least, she was loyal to him in all ways.

“What did you report to him?”

“I told him the same as usual. That you join in the servants for the night, and that you would come back as one of the last.”

“Okay Eliza, thanks.”

“My queen.” With that Eliza bowed and disappeared in the cabin made for a servant in the tent. It had just enough space for one bedroll, but it was enough. All the belongings of Eliza where at one side of the tent, and when Lissandra had chosen the tent to take with her, she had been cautious of that as well.

Lissandra waited till she felt Eliza was fully asleep, and then she kneeled down on her bed. It was time to perform the daily enchantment to protect the whole party from the stabbing cold. She started with opening her mind to see the whole party and feel everyone asleep. Then she soared into the sky, out of her tent, and found the tent of the King. There was a fire burning inside and one of the servants was staying awake to make sure it stayed on. Lissandra felt that he was to the point of falling asleep while she knew he was not allowed to sleep on the job. She gave him some energy to continue and soared up higher in the sky to oversee the whole party.

“Winter, cold, stay away. Let me protect the people who have less to say.” Lissandra spoke the words loud and clear as she pictured a barrier a mind, overviewing the whole tent camp. There was an invisible barrier that held the cold away from the camp and protected the animals. It took a lot of energy but Lissandra knew it was worth it. She then retreated her mind to her body and fell on her bed, exhausted. The last thing she did was checking on her own horse as she sent him some energy as well, then she wrapped herself in her blanket and fell asleep.

The next day, Lissandra got woken up by Eliza at dawn, as she had been the nights before as well. She saw Eliza looked a bit better and a bit of colour seemed to have returned on her face. Lissandra grabbed her cloak, and started helping Eliza with packing all her belongings. She loaded her horse with the tent and all the other things, which was not a lot, just a few dresses and some of her magical belongings. She didn’t trust the servants of the kings and that’s why she didn’t take a lot of them with her. She only had the most important ones with her, and she knew would be able to recreate the others if she really needed them.

As the week ended Roland hoped this princess would come back with him. He had grown to like her, as she was the sweet kind of girl you would want to tend for you kids, and who would not speak up in an argument. It would be a fitting queen on his side, as he was looking to make all the important decisions himself, just like his father has done before him. This wasn’t really the custom in his kingdom, it was said that the King and Queen held an equal power, but his family line was trying to change that.

Lianne left the room she had been staying in and returned to the unknown place as she hugged her sister while they crossed each other’s path. The two sisters didn’t really need to talk about anything, as they shared a magical bound. It was something only known by twin sisters, who had magical abilities. There weren’t a lot twins around with magical abilities and the princesses were rare in that case. Having twins meant that the love of the parents was real, and this was very common in Linea to appear, yet they had heard, this was not the case in Yule at all, as people were often forced into marriage.

Lissandra already knew a lot about King Roland because she had heard a lot from her sister during the nights she was in her own room. For Lissandra the choice was clear, she was going to go with King Roland, because of his character, even though now he appeared all nice towards her sister, she knew that could change in a minute if she wasn’t there to save her sister. Lianne was afraid of hurting anyone, and Lissandra had always been protecting her because it was her little sister. She could not stand the fact to see Lianne hurt, as much again. She promised her mum she would always protect her sister when her mum’s disease caught up with the time.

Their mother had lived a happy live with the two girls, yet a terrible disease took her away when the girls were just 12 years old. Lianne had been broken, and Lissandra knew she never wanted to see her sister like that ever again, so she had taken up the job to protect her sister, and she had done ever since.

Lissandra knocked the same door as her sister had done last week and introduced herself.

“I am Princess Lissandra, Daughter of Linea.” Her voice sounded more secure that her sister’s and she felt the anger of King Roland because of the fact that he wasn’t allowed to make the own decision. She then realised her sister wasn’t allowed to go with him, and that she would prevent everything so that wouldn’t happen. She knew Roland would eventually destroy her beloved sister

The week was one with King Roland was one of the worst weeks Lissandra had ever experienced, and she and Roland never really got to know each other that well. He was cold towards her and didn’t want to say a thing. On the third day Lissandra had enough of it and she did something that was forbidden by the laws of her customs. She investigated the heart of King Roland and saw the darkness his father left him with, but also the fact he just wanted to have Lianne because she would be able to follow him without friction, so he would be able to rule on his own. It was there she decided she was not only going to save her sister, but she also going to save the Kingdom of Yule. It was time for her to let go of her true love and fulfil her destiny as saviour.

King Roland really tried to give the second princess the worst week of her life, but he didn’t understand that was that even how much hatred he showed towards her, she would not let go of the fact that she wanted to protect her sister. One day the sisters even switched places, but Roland didn’t realise as he was just thinking of another miserable day with who he had called the second princess. He treated Lianne, who took the place of her sister, like garbage, and it was only then that Lianne realised her sister was right. This wasn’t the man he showed her he was. He was, in fact, the cruelty himself, and even though she had taken a liking towards him, she now knew it was impossible for her to go with him, because she would be threatened much differently once she would arrive at the palace.

At the end of the week the King and Lianne joined Lissandra and King Roland for dinner, yet before that the two girls had a secret gathering in a pass a bit up in the mountain. It was freezingly cold there, but the two of them used the magic their mother learnt them to keep warm.

“Sister, you shouldn’t go with him.” Lissandra started as they finished checking the areas on anyone listening in on them.

“My heart says I want to, but it I look how he threatened you, hoping I would go with you instead, he’s wrong.” Lianne had tears in her eyes and was doomed to lose the man she had taken a liking to.

Lissandra looked in the heart of her sister and saw some kind of spell. It was almost like someone manipulated her sister’s feelings. She looked inside herself and took a deep breath. With some effort she managed to lift it and show Lianne what she was doing. Her sister looked shocked, that someone was able to fool one of the most powerful magicians in their country was unbelievable. She was sure her father didn’t even notice it either.

“Liss… I don’t have words for what you just did.”

“It’s alright Lia. I promised mum I’d protect you no matter what, after all you’re my little sister.” With that Lianne’s feelings disappeared and her mind went back to normal, yet she still felt like she needed to oppose her sister.

“But… Sister, what about your fiancé? Won’t he be upset? I mean, what the two of you have, it’s something really rare.” Lianne was pointing towards something obvious, true love, and she knew her sister sneaked away every year to be with the guy in question for a month.

“He will be devastated sister… But I cannot let you go, I cannot let you stay with that creep. I won’t be able to reach you when you are that far away, and who knows when you need help. Besides, the people love you here, you will most likely be chosen to be the new Queen once father dies. They need you.” Lissandra held her tears back as she thought of Thomas, her loved one, who lived in The Kingdom of Yule, just at the edge of the Mountains of Eternity. His father had been from that kingdom, but his mother was born in Linea. She had only met him once before he went back to his country but their bound was strong enough for her to visit him each year.

“But I still cannot let you go.” Lianne felt the emotion through her sister and knew she was right, and it pained her heart so much. The two of them went down the mountain and reached for the city of Yara, knowing this would be there last day together in a very long time.

“Ah daughters, there you are. I was wondering where the two of you went. King Roland has been looking for us, it’s time to join him in the dining room for our last meal together.” The two sisters nodded at their father and gave him a hug. He had a hard time as well, he knew tomorrow there would be only one daughter left, and the other one would go and fulfil the destiny the stars had shown him when he last looked at them, the day that his wife died.

Lissandra and Lianne looked at each other as they talked through the connection they had as twins. The two of them knew very well how their father felt, and they felt the same way, but it was necessary for one of them to leave.

“Not a word about Thomas Lia, father doesn’t know, and he will not let me go if he knew I am giving up my true love to save you.”

“Okay then Liss, I will not say a word.” Lianne sounded angry, but she knew her sister was right, as usual, even though that didn’t mean she had to agree with her.

The tree of them entered the dining hall at the same time. The local magician had outdone herself and made sure there was a feast prepared in the town hall, but it didn’t look like a townhall anymore. There were large tables everywhere and the whole town was invited, it truly looked like a feast as if there was a wedding going on.

“Welcome King Roland of Yule, King Laurence of Linea, and Princesses Lianne and Lissandra, Daughters of Linea. I am Yalene Magician of Yara, Border City of the Mountains of Eternity.” Yalene took a breath and gestured them to the places on the honourable table where there was one chair left free for herself after she would be done speaking.

“Tonight, we have prepared a feast to celebrate the engagement between King Roland of Yule and Princess Lissandra, Daughter of Linea.” As Yalene was speaking Lissandra chanted in her mind who was going to go down south with King Roland. Yalene never flinched a bit as she spoke out the name of the princess that would be leaving Linea, but inside she was also very upset one of the two beloved daughters of Linea would be leaving.

King Roland’s face was devastated once he heard the name of the Princess who would be joining him, and Laurence saw that, so he became very worried about his daughter from the one of the other feeling, yet he knew he could not back of his word, as that would mean he’d go against what the stars had told him. He stood up and decided it was time for him to say something.

“As we all know now, our beloved Daughter of Linea will leave us to become a Queen in a different Kingdom, bordering ours. Before she starts her long journey, I would like to give her my blessing. Please stand up, Princess Lissandra, Daughter of Linea. I will hereby grant you the royal title Princess of Hope, as has been written in the stars. May you carry out this title with great pride, and never forget where you came from.”

With that King Laurence sat down and all the people of the village started to cheer and clap loudly. He knew in his heart that he had made the right decision to give his daughter the title or Princess of Hope, even though that usually given in a time that everyone needed the hope. It had not even occurred before that someone had gotten that title, but he knew that the time was right, and she was the one who needed that title.

The feast lasted the world night and after that was done everyone was sound asleep. Lissandra just hugged her sister one more time as the two of them wished each other save travels, and then turned towards her dad. She slept in the room next to King Roland as she was in the meaning of their people now married to him, yet there still had to be an official wedding at King Roland’s castle for the two of them to be really married.

The following day Princess Lissandra left with King Roland, and his party. It was her duty to make sure all the gifts, packages, servants, horses and other things would make it safely through the pass. She was going to use the magic her mother had taught her for this, but it also meant nobody could know she was helping everyone to stay warm and away from the darkness the blizzards in the Mountains of Eternity could call on. Her mother had taught her this when she was just a little girl, and she and Lianne practised a lot until they were fully fluent with this skill. Then their mother would tell them to find a pack of rabbits and guide them into the snow. It was their task to keep them warm, and to make sure they all stayed alive. The girls thought this was awful, but at the same time they knew there was no other choice than to practise with the rabbits as if they had been practising with real people there could be real danger.“Thank you mother.” Lissandra whispered as she prepared herself to use all her energy to make sure everything was covered. It was time for her to travel through the mountains once more, and this time not to visit her beloved one, but to dive into a new adventure.

Just above the endless sea King Roland lived in the castle of Yule. The other side of the kingdom was bordered by the Mountains of Eternity. King Roland looked for a wife across the borders of his country, forced by his people’s customs, which stated he had to marry a woman with magic abilities. He had, however, had no luck in his own kingdom as all the wizards that had been born had been male.

A while ago a trade party from his cousin visited him. She married the King of Janyin after he sailed the sea to come seek for a wife of royal blood. The trade party sent the regards of his cousin, together with a message about the Kingdom that bordered Janyin. His cousin wrote that her husband felt as if the kingdom bordering Janyin was a treat and hoped King Roland would be able to either invade the Kingdom of Linea or to make a treaty with it as well. He sent his regards as well, together with a route through the mountains to reach the Kingdom of Linea.

King Roland travelled through the mountains only to end up in the land none of his party had ever seen before. They only knew the name, Linea, meaning, The land of Peace. He kept the alliance with Janyin in mind Their king proposed to take over Linea, as he knew King Roland had both wizards and trained soldiers on his side.

Roland however had a better idea. He knew his people were getting warry about the fact that he still hadn’t married, but there wasn’t really a suit wizard he could marry at the moment. He decided to go over the mountains to see if he could ask for the one of the daughters’ hand of the King, knowing they had no choice since otherwise he would just invade their kingdom and destroy everything together with the alliance from Janyin. He knew Linea would be eager to do so, as they were named as the country of Peace.

Once the King arrived with his party from the mountains, they were all frozen and some even died from the cold up there. King Roland immediately realised his messengers had never returned to him, because of the stabbing cold. Once you got halfway, you wouldn’t be able to survive on your own, only the strongest would be able to.

In the first town the party passed they were welcomed as if they had been on a long journey. Everyone in Yara was nice, and King Roland was soon to discover the tales of Linea being the land of peace, were correct. As they explained who they were, and where they came from, the master of the tavern immediately sent word to the town’s magician, hoping she would be able to contact the king.

King Roland and his people made themselves comfortable as the villagers of Yara told them how it was done in their country. It seemed that nobody had ever gone to war, but that nearly everyone knew how to fight. Each year there was hold a tournament, in which everyone could participate, woman, man, it didn’t matter. It seemed the people fought for honour and their ranking of their cities in the kingdom, but at the same time everyone was equal. Children were taught how to farm once they were able to walk, and same went with fighting. The few chosen ones that had potential for magic were put under the wings of the local magicians. Once they were old enough, they were sent to the unknown castle of the royal family, in which they were educated further, and were given the honour of becoming the magician of one of the cities or villages close by, or somewhere further away, if there was a city in need of a magician.

The royal family, the villagers told King Roland one day by the bonfire, was one of the eldest family known in the whole kingdom. Yet they followed the same rules, but there was something special. They were the centre of all the magicians, and their castle was in a hidden space somewhere in the centre of the kingdom. All the magicians knew where the castle was, because all of them had to pledge loyalty to the King once they turned 23 and finished their master magician studies. This royal family was also the one educating the magicians to become real masters. In the middle of the kingdom, yet not too close to the castle, was a sort of small house that led into the ground, known as the Magician’s Keeper. It was there that a huge amount of people were able to stay to finish their studies and be assigned to a village by the King.

The villagers never told what kind of magic their magicians possessed though, since that was an unspoken rule in Linea, no outsider gets to know how complex and well evolved the magic in the kingdom was. It had been like this for years, and this was one of the reasons the kingdom had never been at war. Countries and kingdoms surrounding them had tried, yet nobody succeeded because magic was not only used to come to a civil agreement, it was also used to manipulate people, and to make sure nothing bad would happen to no foe nor enemy.

After what looked like eternity the King of Linea arrived together with his two daughters. The magician of Yara had contacted him through her mind, explaining the situation. The King of Linea, Laurence, knew exactly why the king of the other kingdom had come. There had been enough signs to know what he was up to, and a powerful magician as he was, he had sensed the party crossing the Mountains of Eternity. It had taken him a lot of power to make sure that nearly all of them survived, yet he hadn’t been able to prevent some of the weaker people freezing to death.

It was a sunny day as the two Kings met for the first time. The plaza of Yara had been cleared, even though it was marking day, and everyone was wondering what the king was up to. If the King of Linea had an audience with a high placed member of another kingdom or country, this was usually done in one of the cities closest at the borders, because the citizens of Linea didn’t like foreigners exploring their kingdom if it wasn’t necessary, they rather had everyone stay at the borders in peace. The King had also cast an enchantment over the plaza, meaning everyone was able to see the two Kings, but nobody would be able to hear what they were saying, except the ones with magic. It was done because of one of the old customs of the country.

“I welcome you to this country, King of Yule, I hope you were welcomed pleasantly in the border city Yara.”

“I thank you, King of Linea, let us refer ourselves by our name, as we are equals in rank. I am Roland of Yule, pleasure to make you acquaintance.” King Laurence nodded, and he introduced himself as well. With that all formalities were gone, and the Kings could speak freely.

“I think I have to explain why I came from so far, Laurence, as nobody has ever crossed the Mountains of Eternity before, as history tells us.”

“You don’t need to Roland. I am a man of less words, but none the least a magician as well, I know why you came here, and I know I am in no state to neglect you what you seek, that’s why I brought my two daughters with me, so you could meet them. But remember, the final decision of who is going with you is not mine, but its theirs to decide.” King Laurence had read the thoughts of King Roland, but not all, as that went against the rules of his country, all he saw was the desperation of finding a queen who had noble blood but was a magician at the same time. It seemed his own citizens had forsaken him, as only noble boys had been born in his era. Yet behind the desperation lied an evil plan to overtake Linea if they wouldn’t agree on King Roland terms. He was someone who didn’t want his country to go at war, as many lives would be shed for nothing in that case.

“Both of my daughters will spend one week with you each, and then after two weeks you will return over the Mountains of Eternity, as if you had never been here before. It custom of my people that foreigners don’t cross the border cities, and I gave them my word to keep that custom when I was crowned to king.”

“I understand. I thank you Laurence, for listening to me.” Roland was relieved that his search had come to an end. In two weeks he would have found himself a queen, but above all, he would have done something none of his line had ever done before, and he would go down in history. He was the one who defied Linea, so it meant he exposed the power of the Kingdom of the South as never before.

“Tomorrow my youngest daughter will pick you up and show you the beauty of her voice, and her knowledge. She will stay in the same tavern you are, as I am sure you won’t miss use any of the privileges I’ve granted you.” Laurence looked Roland in the eyes and saw that he wouldn’t. With that the enchantment of the King of Linea came to an end, and the two of the kings parted their ways.

On the plaza all the people were wondering what their King had decided, but they knew to be patient. Usually the whole kingdom knew what the King had discussed with the foreigners, but it would only become public after the persons in question had left the country again, so nobody would do something out of rash emotion. But today was different, and everyone knew so as they heard the king speak. The enchantment of the dome had ended, but there was a new one. This one was hearable on every plaza just as the first enchantment made the two Kings visible on every plaza in the whole kingdom, but nobody had told the foreigners that, even though all of the villagers knew it.

“Dear citizens of Linea, I am hereby announcing that King Roland of the Kingdom of Yule, which lies after the Mountains of Eternity, has asked for one of my daughter’s hand in marriage. We have come upon an agreement in which our princesses will decide who goes with him. We wish the lucky princess a happy life in the unknown, and she had her husband may live on forever.” As the king stopped speaking the enchantment faded as well, and the citizens were perplex. So far, everyone who tried to approach the king for the hand of one of his daughters had been neglected, but this time he had accepted the offer. In the whispered around the plaza you could hear the unbelievable voices of the citizens spread, but the magician of Yara made sure no foreigner would be able to hear those.

The following morning Princess Lianne entered the tavern, she demanded no special treatment like the southern king had demanded in his body language, and the master of the tavern knew better than to treat her like a special guest. She got a room next to the King’s and knocked on his door.

“Hello, I am Princess Lianne, daughter of Linea.” With that, the servant of the king let her in and she introduced herself again to King Roland.

“I welcome you, Princess of Linea, into my small residence.” With that King Roland gestured to his servant to leave the two of them alone, yet a female servant remained, at the request of the Princess. She didn’t want anything to happen, nor that people would talk about the fact she had been alone with the King for a while.

In the week that followed Lianne and Roland got to know each other better, they didn’t differ much in age, as Roland was 25 years old, as Lianne was 23. The two of them rode on horseback and Lianne showed Roland some of the farms that were in the area, but she was also careful that she didn’t show her heritance nor the ones of the people. Roland asked her about the different customs and why things were that way, but mostly he asked about how she was, what did she like, and how could he have never heard of the fact that the people here were really so peaceful.