Princess Sheana leaned back into a comfortable position against the pillar she took for support. She didn’t care if the slouching position would add wrinkles to her blue gown.
Being in the room, in the middle of the actions with powerful beings and watching history happen right before her eyes, she was rendered silent.
She stared at the bright bubble and felt the need to stretch out her hand and touch it. She imagined it was warm inside the bubble, so warm that her scars might feel like honour marks.
But as she hadn’t been invited or given importance past helping Aenyra stand or walk, she didn’t force her presence. Resigning to be a wallflower and watch the magic unfold, it would be a tale for her friends and future generation.
In the bubble, she no longer saw the three mates or their memories play out. Instead, she saw herself.
Princess Sheana stood straight and became focused at the image. It was her but the phoenix feathers had darkened and her level had risen tremendously, she stood at the top of the dynasty with a crown on her head.
What shocked her was the fact that beasts from every clan stood under her in pure submission. Princess Sheana blinked, she rubbed her eyes and glanced at the image again but despite her doubts, the image didn’t change.
Although the dynasty was one and ruled by the powerful phoenix bloodline of the royal family, the clans weren’t united. Serpents had there abyssal coil, dragons had Drakheiron, foxes had Lioris and other beasts had their own territories in the kingdom and most territories only gave face to the crown but didn’t submit to it.
That was why her heart was on her throat when she witnessed the dynasty, the beasts uniting under her. What was worse was the fact that she stood alone. As far as she recalled the astronomer’s reading of the stars, she and her sister were supposed to unite the free world.
So, why did the vision show only her as empress?
"A sun can’t have two suns, similarly an empire can’t have two empresses," Aenyra spoke from behind her. She walked over draped in a regal gown that shaped her figure that was in the brights colours matching her darkened phoenix wings.
On her arms she carried a little child with mismatched eyes and a cute face that was the perfect copy of Aenyra, looking innocent as she nestled into Aenyra’s arms.
’Aenyra gets married with child in the future?’ Princess Sheana swallowed hard. The saliva was like razors that cut her throat as it went down.
She felt a terrible pang in her heart. Not only does the dragoness get married and have a daughter but has the audacity to rub her happiness in her face by coming to see her when she ascends the throne of lume dynasty.
Sheana dug her sharp nails into her palms. Her anger at the betrayal made her want to strangle Aenyra in the present time to prevent Aenyra from growing into the traitor in the vision.
"But our night skies have learnt to host three moons so why can’t the dynasty embrace two empresses?" Sheana inside the scene asked Aenyra.
"Don’t be stubborn!" Aenyra scolded.
Sheana moved closer, removing her crown and placed it softly on Aenyra’s head without messing up her perfectly styled hair.
She then touched the child’s face with a softness that was unlike her. "Is it strange that everytime I see her, I want a child of my own?"
’Are you insane?’ Sheana scolded inwardly. Why would future her caress her flames child with someone else and wish for her own child. It puzzled her.
The present her that lives by the rule of self-preservation and selfish rules would never stoop so low as to accept the child born of the woman she loves and someone else.
In fact, if Aenyra announced in immediate future that she was pregnant and was in love with some beast, she might unleash her phoenix fire and reduce all three of them to ashes.
But the scene continued despite her anger and unacceptance of what was to come. Aenyra touched her hand and also touched the child’s face.
"She does give that energy to every beast that lays eyes on her."
"She is perfect," Sheana bloomed, her face and motherly affections showing in the warmth on her face. "When I become a mother, I want to have a daughter as beautiful as her," she added.
"Don’t let Sseraphis hear you,"Aenyra whispered. "You know how he gets when someone so much as envies his daughter’s beauty and wishes for a daughter like her."
Princess Sheana blinked. She twisted a finger in her ear and repeated that conversation in her head to make certain she heard right. That beautiful angel in Aenyra’s hands was Sseraphis’ child.
’Does that mean that Aenyra and Sseraphis? No, impossible! Is it?’ she took a closer look at the child and her mismatched eyes had a hint of violet in them but they were also molted amber-gold which was the colour of Aenyra’s eyes.
’So all that talk about protecting her brother in law is because she is in love with him. No wonder she rejects a perfect woman such as myself,’ Sheana thought, brushing her hair back and glaring at the dragoness in the scene.
"Don’t remind me," Sheana faked a shiver. "Let me carry her for a while," she picked up the little girl and swung her in the air before holding her close to her chest by the waist.
Princess Sheana turned away. Her breathing getting frantic and the anger under her skin boiling over to a breaking point.
Not only is the future her alright with the fact that Aenyra betrays her, her brother and has a child with Sseraphis but she also happily carries the child. How infuriating!
Sheana wished there was a way for her to enter the playing scene and slap some senses into the mind of her future self.
"The crown must have messed with my head!" She concluded, it was the only explanation that made sense from what she was seeing. Bracing herself, she glanced at the scene again.
"What do you think would be the best name for a daughter?" She asked. .
"Something that definitely doesn’t include your name in it," Aenyra replied.
"She is the daughter of fate. Of course her name needs to announce that fate. How else are beasts supposed to know that she was born of a bond no one thought would succeed."
"True," Nytherael stepped in and instantly joined the conversation. He approached them lazily, eyes focused on the little girl in Sheana’s arms. "And what is wrong with Ssaeltherael? I think it sounds regal and unique," he continued, taking the child into his arms without asking.
"Papa," the girl called out, wrapping her tiny hands around Nytherael’s neck.
"Don’t rub salt in my unfulfilled dreams!" Sheana scolded him. "Just wait until I have someone calling me mama, you’ll never hear the end of it," she added, pouting. She dropped her head on Aenyra’s shoulder and put on a pitiful look. "Wife, your brother-in-law is bullying me."
Aenyra caressed her hair in a comforting motion and scolded Nytherael, "Did you have to come for her? I was going to being her over."
"On that note, Aeltharion asked me to tell you to stop coming over and kidnapping his little princess and Sseraphis said that he’ll poison you when next you pull this stunt before Ssaeltherael has had her meal," he said.
Aenyra’s jaw dropped and the scene ended.
Princess Sheana’s jaw dropped. She brushed her shoulder and wade off her earlier curses and bad wished for Aenyra.
"Clever dragoness," she beamed, realizing that she had misunderstood and the child belonged to the tri-soul mates while Aenyra was married to her.
Then, her mind halted processing. She frowned and yelled, "How long ahead is that? And how can I fast-forward to that moment?"