Isadora sat alone in the swing as her mind shifted to many things. This swing brought many beautiful memories to her. But with those beautiful memories came an unbearable pain of loss that never left her heart since she was young. The face of her beautiful mother crossed her mind and a tear fell on her cheek. She swallowed the apple instinctively as she sobbed silently. She was glad that Laura was now around to see her in this state.

But she knew she had to be strong. That did not mean the end of her life. She had a life to live and she knew her mother would have wanted the best for her. She had wished her the same before she left this world.

Thinking about that, her mind shifted back to that awful night that remained engraved in her mind since she was a child. That day, she had woken up as usual, with her mother being by her side. Her father was busy planning the ongoing war between Crescia and Valoria. He had promised her to come and have dinner with them that day and she was happy for that. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

After taking a bath, she heard the sweet melody of a flute coming from the garden and as curious as she was, she went to find out to only find her mother seated on this same swing while her lips worked delicately on the flute in her hand.

"Mother?" She called softly and her mother looked at her direction. She stopped playing the flute and gestured her to sit beside her.

"Can I blow that?" She asked innocently. Her mother smiled and looked at the flute hesitantly before she gave it to her daughter.

The little Isadora took the flute excitedly and started blowing it but it only brought out funny sounds. Her mother smiled at her but the little girl soon got disappointed.

"Mother? Why doesn’t mine sound as good as yours?" She asked while her eyes stared at her mother’s.

"Because it’s your first time Isa. I’ll teach you how to play the melody." Isadora’s was happy and they spent the rest of the day practicing the melody with her mother.

"That should be enough for today," her mother said standing up. It was already late in the evening but little Isa had been persistent on learning how to play the melody. Isadora was tired so she didn’t argue with her mother.

"Can I keep it?" She asked halting her mother on her tracks. Her mother turned around and stared at her before she placed her arm on Isa’s small head while smiling.

"Of course Isa. I will give you everything there is in the world as long as I can get it. But take care of it. It is very expensive." Little Isa nodded and her mother smiled at her. "Time for supper then." She said and carried little Isa in her arms.

They made for the dining room and little Isa was more than happy when her father stepped in the room. She rushed and hugged his legs making him to stiffen but he eventually crouched to her level and hugged her back.

"So, how was your day darling?" He asked her once they were seated by the table. The maids served them and Griffin joined them too. He was the king’s brother and the general of the royal Crescian army so he was clad in knights’ armor.

"Today Mother taught me how to play the flute." Isadora said proudly as she stared at her mother for acknowledgement.

"Yes darling. And I have to say that you catch things fast." Her mother added.

"When I’m not busy, I’ll listen while you play the flute." Her father said before he took his fork and started feasting on his food. Isadora was a bit sad by this. She at least wanted to play the flute now for her father but he seemed too occupied with his food. And to worsen the situation, Griffin and he started talking about political matters. She loved listening to the political topics they talked about but not tonight. Her young body was tired and she was angry at her father at the same time.

"Let me take you to bed darling." Her mother said once she emptied her plate. Isadora did not protest today as she was feeling tired and sleepy, something that surprised her mother. Little Isa would be stubborn and wake till late at night to only hear as Griffin and her father talked. But today was different. Her mother thought that it had to do with the fact that she was tired from today’s activity.

"Good night Isa." Her mother whispered to the sleepy child before she blew a few candles in her room. Isadora drowned in sleep and the last thing she heard was the sound of the door closing.

Isadora was awoken by the screams in the palace and the sound of the bell ringing. Her father had once told her that the bell only rang when there was trouble or an attack on the palace. She quickly slid her small feet into her sandals before she walked out while rubbing her sleepy eyes. But once she stepped out, what she saw made her eyes grew as wide as saucers. People were running helter skelter carrying buckets of what looked like water, rushing in the opposite direction. She looked at that direction and saw a big fire consuming that side of the palace. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed that it was the part of her parent’s quarters.

"Your Highness?" She turned around and saw the worried face of her uncle, Griffin.

"Where is mother and papa?" She asked, genuinely concerned. Though she was little, her mother had taught her that fire was not a good thing. That made her scared because the fire was bigger than the one she was used to.

"Your father and mother," he began shaking. "They are inside the fire." He said with a straight face as he watched the reaction from the little girl and he could see worry in her face.

"I need to see them." She said and started walking away.

"Stop!" Griffin called but that made her to run now. He cursed under his breath and ran to get her before she would do anything stupid. All Isadora wanted for now was to see her parents, especially her mother, safe and sound. She couldn’t imagine seeing her mother hurt. Your mother is strong. She encouraged herself as she made her way through the crowd. She threw furtive glances behind and could see as Griffin tried to make his way through the crowd. Thanks to her small body, she walked easily and no one noticed her. She made her way through until she reached to where the fire had occurred.

The fire had now subsided, thanks to the effort put on by the knights and everyone else present. Some people were ramaging through the debris and her heart skipped a bit when she saw her parent’s bed in ashes.

Griffin found her and closed her eyes protectively with his big hands so she could not see what had happened.

"Your Highness? The King’s and Queen’s bodies have burned beyond recognition. This is all we found." A knight said as he gave a crown to Griffin. The golden crown was now painted black beyond recognition. "I’m sorry for your loss." The knight bowed and left.