Voices in the Blood
The foreigners did not move blindly.
They never had.
In a shadowed chamber far from the council halls, their leader turned to the figure who stood behind them—half-hidden, cloaked in loyalty too rehearsed to be real.
"You know the kingdom's veins," the envoy said smoothly. "Its gates. Its weaknesses."
The man bowed slightly. "If you wish to rule this land," he said, "you must go through the prince."
A pause.
"And if we remove him?" another foreigner asked.
The man shook his head. "You won't."
"Why?"
His answer was immediate. Certain.
"Because of Oki."
The room stilled.
"She stands between him and death," the man continued. "Between him and deception. Between him and you. No blade reaches Prince Kimo while she breathes."
The envoy's lips curved slowly.
"Then we don't fight the prince," he murmured. "We unmake what guards him."
That Night — Prince Kimo's Dream
Sleep took Kimo like a tide.
He stood in a field of silver light, the air warm, familiar. His heart knew it before his mind did.
"Mother…"
Queen Elira stood before him, just as she had in his childhood—gentle, radiant, sorrow-softened eyes.
"My son," she said, opening her arms.
He went to her without hesitation.
"You've grown tired," she whispered, brushing his hair back. "The kingdom asks too much of you."
Kimo's chest tightened. "They're coming," he said. "They want control. They want the forest. The lake."
Elira smiled sadly.
"Then let them come."
He froze. "What?"
"Peace is sometimes surrender," she said softly. "Respect your stepmother, Queen Maerith. She only wishes to protect what remains."
Something shifted.
"You must open the gates," Elira continued, her voice soothing, persuasive. "Accept what arrives. Even if it hurts. Even if it feels wrong."
Kimo's hands clenched.
"That doesn't sound like you."
Her eyes darkened—just slightly.
"Trust me," she urged. "I am your mother."
The world trembled.
Suddenly — Another Voice
"No."
The light fractured.
Another figure stepped forward—stronger, fiercer, her presence burning truth into the dream.
Elira again—but not softened by fear.
Not broken.
This Elira's eyes blazed.
"My son," she said sharply, standing between him and the other vision, "look at me."
Kimo's breath shook. "Mother…?"
"This kingdom was never built to kneel," she said. "Not to foreigners. Not to fear. Not to lies wearing my face."
She turned, fury radiating.
"You dare use my love to weaken him?"
The false image recoiled.
Elira cupped Kimo's face, her touch blazing with strength.
"You are my blood. And as long as you stand, this kingdom stands with you."
Tears streamed down his face.
"I'm afraid," he whispered.
She smiled—proud, unyielding.
"Then rule anyway."
The dream shattered.
Awakening
Kimo jolted awake, frost exploding across the chamber walls.
Elsewhere in the palace, Queen Maerith gasped, clutching her chest as her spell broke violently.
"No…" she hissed. "She interfered."
At the same moment, Oki sat upright in her room, eyes glowing faintly.
"They touched him," she whispered.
Her jaw set.
"And they will never do it again."
Far away, the foreigners felt it too—the shift, the resistance, the awakening of something they had hoped to control.
They had tried to turn the prince against himself.
Instead—
They had forged him.
To be con.....