"Everything alright there?" The Emperor hinted towards the intense light creeping out the windows and the door behind Hans as he was greeted by him and two dukes.
"Doesn't seem normal to me. The light's blinding!" Duke Bouvardia couldn't help but comment with a slight movement of his towards light.
"Luna.." Hans' low tone was filled with worry as he hurried up the stairs into the ballroom.
"The kids could be in danger," Rezef rubbed his face with his hands, his eyes tensed up, "Come along, Arthur. I don't think it's a joke."
"Right behind you." Duke Bouvardia rushed inside behind him while the Emperor took slow calculated steps in case of any unknown dangers.
"Are you alright? Hurt anywhere? What was that light? A malfunction? An attack?" Hans' hands trembled as they rested on Luna's shoulders while his eyes searched for any harm she might have been exposed to.
"I'm alright. I'm okay. And one question at a time please." Luna's soft expression turned serious as she saw the violin's bow. "Amazing! If anyone had been standing in that direction, they'd be dead by now if the bow struck them in the head." She whispered softly with surprise.
Hans traced in the direction she was looking at. The bow was there, its frog visible while the adjusting screw was plunged into the wall. "God! Who uses a bow as a lance? Terrifying!"
"Terrifying indeed." Luna felt a shiver down her spine as she agreed with her uncle.
"The question remains," Owen interrupted their conversation, "what was the source of light?" Luna shrugged, her eyes wide with her lips pushed out.
"Maybe me?" A strong feminine voice echoed in the ballroom. Everyone looked around searching where the voice came from.
"Up here." The voice came again. They raised their heads to the chandelier right above where Luna stood. "Hi there." The voice was friendly like the appearance of the person. Short blush pink hair tied into a crown braid and gleaming crimson eyes. The yellow pinafore dress over the white top made the girl seem harmless but everyone knew better than to fall for the exterior.
The girl jumped from the chandelier making Luna take a few steps back. "What's with the serious expressions? I didn't mean to make my entrance so grand." The girl frowned, her lips pursed as if she had been accused of something sinister. "I was sealed here for a long time; try to understand."
"Sealed?" Hans repeated her words.
"Laurier rose. That's one of my names. Does it ring a bell?" She asked with an expectant gaze. Luna and Hans exchanged glances.
"Also called Adelfa." The girl added as she showed a red Oleander mark on her wrists.
"Oh! The Oleander's contract spirit!" Hans gasped.
"Sorry for not recognising you. It's just we've never met you." Luna apologised.
"Seriously! Why do all of you Oleanders keep calling me Adelfa when you can call me Laurier rose? It's a nice name too." Her face was red with frustration. "Doesn't matter which generation it is of you!"
Luna gave a nervous laugh, "It evokes the sense of power, I guess?"
"Please call me Laurier rose. I'm a female spirit. I like being cutesy at times." She cupped her smiling face with her hands attempting to look adorable.
"I haven't seen any ancient beings except for our house elf. It's a pleasure. Rezef Lily." Rezef introduced himself with a smile and a firm handshake.
"Happy birthday Luna. I almost forgot to wish you." Laurier rose turned to her. "As a gift, I'll grant a wish of yours that's within my power."
Luna glanced at Owen, Hans and Rezef thinking about the possibilities of the wish she could ask of. Her gaze went to the floor beneath her feet, the pattern of oleanders beautifully indicating the spring of life into the room.
"My parents." Her expression turned grave, "And Florence. And the knights that went missing alongside them. I want to know where their graves are."
Hans could understand the pain in her eyes. No matter how much he loved her, he could never replace the affection that her parents had showered her with. Five years had passed, yet no one knew where they were. Their last trace was in the Mulberry Forest as they were heading to the capital, but it disappeared in the middle of nowhere.
"Is it possible to know where the graves of the living will be dug?" Laurier rose asked.
"Wh..what do you mean?" Luna's voice trembled searching for hope in her words.
"It's not possible for anyone to know where someone will be buried till death knocks on the door, unless the person has written the place in his or her will." Owen explained, "What she means is they're not dead. Not yet at least."
"Not yet?" Hans scoffed at him. Owen's face remained expressionless. "Every living thing has to die at some point. The plants, animals, us humans, we all die. Even the longest living creatures, the dragons, die as well at some point. Only God is immortal." He turned his face to Hans, " Did my words offend you?"
"Not wrong, but you can work on the choice of words." Hans averted his gaze.
"It's a first for me to be criticised for my expression of words. I'll think about it." Owen turned his head away. "You may continue what you were saying, Miss Laurier rose."
"Ah right!" Laurier rose clasped her hands, "There." She snapped her fingers releasing pink sparks from the tip of her fingers. The sparks flew in the air and scattered themselves into shining pieces, like the stars in the sky.
"These tiny stars represent all the descendants of Oleander alive. Not your mother since she's not Oleander by birth." Laurier rose explained. "This is you and Hans." She pointed towards the two stars close to each other. "The brighter one with the pink tinge is you and the white one's him. Easy right?"
"It's easy to understand." Hans nodded alongside Luna.
"And that's your elder sister Ramona." She hinted at a faint star. A star suddenly appeared near the faint one. It was the brightest with the deepest hue of crimson in it. Luna raised her eyebrow as she glanced at Laurier rose. "Ah! I didn't think I would see the birth of an Oleander this way."
"Pardon?" Luna and Hans asked in unison.
"Your sister just gave birth to a healthy baby boy." Laurier rose gave an awkward smile. "Congratulations, you're an aunt now."
"I never approved her marriage with that beast, but I guess I'll go there. Not because of her; I'll go to see my nephew." Luna's face was scrunched with disapproval of her sister's choice but her eyes were gleaming.
"Do that as soon as you can." Laurier rose turned her finger towards the two stars at quite a distance from the other ones. The white one was brighter than the yellow. "Those are Grace and Florence. See? They're alive."
"How can we be sure they're alive?" Owen gave a piercing gaze for an explanation.
"That? It's simple. As long as the stars don't fade into nothing, that means they're alive. The baby's star is the brightest because it's a newborn and also because it's the strongest one. Luna follows suit. Grace and Hans have equal glow while Florence's is growing faint because she's getting weaker by the day but it's not at a life-threatening stage."
"Hold on! Hold on!" Luna stopped her. "If it's growing weak, it's slowly reaching death?"
"Yes."
"But Ramona's star is-" Luna's eyes squinted in its direction.
"It's almost nonexistent." Hans' face was filled with worry.
"It's because she's to die soon." Laurier's voice was almost a whisper. Her expressions screamed she didn't like announcing bad news. "It's normally not possible for a human to have children with a dragon even with a strong core of energy like your sister's. And if one does succeed in that, it comes with a hefty cost."
Luna's and Hans' eyes welled up with tears as Owen asked the question for them, "How much time does she have left?"
"Given the depleted energy of her core, twodays at most. Who knows? She might not make it until dawn." Laurier felt something stuck in her throat as she continued, "I suggest you save her child first before Florence. Get a wet nurse with you to that island. The child will starve to death after Ramona is gone. You know no one lives in Noirblumen because of that dragon there."
"The dragon's tears! They can save her ca..n't they? It has healing properties and grants one a long life. Felix Lilian drank it...he..he's still living after three centuries." Luna clapped her hands as tried to laugh.
"It can replenish mana, cure diseases, detoxifies the deadliest of poisons, but it can't restore the core's energy." Laurier fidgeted her fingers, "If it could, wouldn't the dragons be immortal by now?"
Luna's chin quivered, her breath heavy but she didn't break down there. There were eyes watching, waiting for her to fall apart so they could gobble up her efforts with one tiny error.
"And Florence? How long does she have?" She asked after a long silence.
"Six to eight months till she's in the danger zone. A year more and she dies if she isn't rescued."
"You know their location right?" Owen tried to soothe Luna by asking the question himself. If it wasn't tormenting to ask when their loved ones were to die, then what else was?
"Yes, but it's not within my reach. I'm banned from that land. If I were to even step there, I'd be burned because of the curse." Laurier knew what came after that question so explained it before he could ask. "Though, I can help you reach there and save them yourself."