The Latitude of Light

Alius wasn't supposed to be there.

His father had ordered him to remain inside the castle after another failed attempt at knight training.

"A knight's son should not waste his time wandering through books."

Alius had said nothing.

He simply waited until evening and slipped into the forest.

The forest was one of the few places where nobody expected anything from him.

No sword.

No armor.

No lessons.

Just silence.

He walked deeper between the ancient trees, carrying an old book he'd found in the castle library.

Then—

CRACK.

A branch snapped somewhere behind him.

Alius stopped.

His blue eyes narrowed.

Someone was there.

He slowly turned.

A girl stood several meters away.

She wasn't wearing Dragonville's colors.

Her clothes carried the silver-green markings of Silvafontis.

Alius immediately recognized them.

His expression changed.

"You're from Silvafontis."

The girl looked at him suspiciously.

"And you're from Dragonville."

Neither moved.

Two kingdoms.

Two completely different worlds.

Alius is still standing there.

Melora is standing opposite him.

He recognizes the silver-green symbol of Silvafontis.

She recognizes the Dragonville knight crest on his clothing.

Neither knows what to make of the other.

Then Melora notices the book in Alius's hand.

She tilts her head.

"You're a Dragonville knight?"

Alius looks down at the book.

"...No."

Melora blinks.

"But you're wearing their crest."

"I'm a knight's son."

She pauses.

Then smiles.

"Ah. That explains why you look like you don't want to be here."

Alius looks at her.

For the first time, Melora sees the tiniest hint of amusement in his expression.

And she realizes something.

This mysterious boy might actually be interesting. 👀🌸

Melora studied him for a moment before glancing at the book in his hand.

“Wait… if you're a knight's son, shouldn't you be at the training grounds?”

Alius said nothing.

She continued, genuinely curious. “Most boys around your age are training with swords, aren't they?”

Silence.

Alius's fingers tightened slightly around the book.

Melora noticed.

She could tell he didn't want to talk about it.

Instead of pushing him, she smiled lightly.

“Okay. You don't have to answer.”

She stepped closer to a patch of flowers and crouched beside them.

“I'm actually not here because I have anything important to do either.”

Alius finally looked at her.

Melora gently brushed a leaf aside.

“I'm Melora Quintina. I'm from Silvafontis.”

She paused.

“I'm the fifth daughter in my family.”

Alius raised an eyebrow slightly.

“There's eight of us.”

His expression changed just a little.

“Eight?”

“Yep.” She laughed. “And trust me, it's exactly as chaotic as you're imagining.”

She began counting on her fingers.

“Everyone has an opinion. Everyone argues. Someone is always borrowing something without asking. Someone is always shouting my name from another room…”

She sighed dramatically.

“So sometimes I escape here.”

A small breeze passed through the trees.

The flowers around her swayed with it.

Melora smiled.

“This is the only place where nobody asks me to do anything.”

She looked toward Alius.

“What about you?”

He was quiet again.

But this time, she wasn't asking about the training grounds.

She was simply curious about him. 🌸🌬️

Alius was quiet for a while.

The wind moved gently through the trees, carrying a few petals past them.

Then, unexpectedly, he answered.

“My mother disappeared when I was three.”

Melora's smile faded.

“She… disappeared?”

Alius nodded.

“One day she was there. The next, she wasn't.”

He looked down at the book in his hands.

“I was too young to understand what happened. I don't remember much about her anymore.”

He paused.

“Actually… I don't remember what she looked like.”

Melora didn't interrupt.

“My father never talks about it. Whenever I ask, he changes the subject.”

His voice remained calm, but there was something distant in his eyes.

“So it's been him and me ever since.”

Melora looked at him quietly.

Suddenly, his earlier silence made sense.

The training grounds.

His father.

The pressure to become a knight.

Perhaps Alius wasn't simply avoiding his father's expectations.

Perhaps he had spent most of his life trying to understand the one thing nobody would explain to him.

Melora gently sat beneath the tree.

“That must have been lonely.”

Alius looked at her.

She didn't ask him to tell her more.

She didn't say I'm sorry repeatedly.

She simply stayed there.

After a moment, Alius sat down too, leaving a comfortable distance between them.

For the first time in years, he was talking about his mother with someone who wasn't trying to silence the subject.

And neither of them noticed the strange blue flower blooming between them.

A flower that hadn't been there a moment ago. 🌸

Alius stared at it.

Melora did too.

Neither of them knew why it had appeared.

But Alius's knowledge magic immediately recognized the flower.

It was an ancient species believed to have disappeared centuries ago.

And somehow…

it was growing exactly where they had been sitting.

Alius slowly leaned forward.

The blue flower was unlike anything he had ever seen.

Its petals were almost translucent, glowing faintly beneath the shade of the trees. Tiny silver veins ran through them.

Melora reached toward it.

“Don't.”

She stopped.

Alius stared at the flower.

“Don't touch it yet.”

“How do you know what it is?”

“I don't.”

He carefully examined the petals without touching them.

“But I've read about something similar.”

Melora tilted her head. “In one of your books?”

“Yes.”

“What does it say?”

Alius's eyes narrowed.

“It shouldn't exist.”

Melora gave a nervous little laugh.

“Well… that's comforting.”

Alius ignored the joke.

“It's called a Lunaris Bloom. According to the records, the last one disappeared more than three hundred years ago.”

Melora looked at the flower again.

“So… how did one suddenly appear here?”

“I don't know.”

A breeze swept through the forest.

The Lunaris Bloom began to glow brighter.

Then—

WHOOSH.

A powerful gust erupted around them.

Melora immediately stood.

“Alius!”

The wind wasn't coming from her.

She could feel it.

Her own magic responded instinctively, surrounding her with a soft current of air.

Alius stood as well, his blue eyes fixed on the flower.

The glow intensified.

And suddenly, a tiny symbol appeared in the center of the flower.

Alius froze.

He recognized it.

It was an ancient symbol from a civilization that had vanished long before Dragonville or Silvafontis existed.

But there was something else.

The symbol was identical to one he'd seen before.

In an old book in his father's study.

The same book his father had forbidden him from ever opening.

Alius whispered,

“...Mother.”

Melora looked at him.

“What?”

Alius didn't answer.

He couldn't.

Because for the first time in fifteen years, he had found something that might connect to the mystery of his mother's disappearance.

And the flower was pointing toward the Silvafontis side of the forest.

Alius took a step toward the glowing path.

The strange blue flower seemed to pull the wind toward the Silvafontis side of the forest, its petals pointing like a compass.

“I need to follow it.”

He started forward.

“Wait!”

Melora caught up with him.

“You can't just walk across the border.”

Alius stopped.

“Why not?”

“Because you're from Dragonville.”

She pointed toward the distant trees.

“The border isn't just a line on a map. There are guards, magical barriers, and patrols on both sides. If they find a Dragonvillian wandering into Silvafontis without permission…”

She shook her head.

“That's going to be a very unpleasant explanation.”

Alius looked toward the path.

“But that flower—”

“I know.”

Melora's expression softened.

“And I know you want answers. But rushing across the border alone isn't going to help you find them.”

Before Alius could respond, a faint golden glow appeared around Melora's wrist.

She looked down.

“Oh.”

Her bracelet was glowing.

Alius noticed it immediately.

“What is that?”

“My reminder.”

“Reminder?”

“To go home.”

The glow pulsed again.

Melora sighed.

“My family has probably noticed I'm missing.”

She stood and brushed the leaves from her clothes.

“I should go.”

Alius looked at the flower again.

“When will you come back?”

Melora smiled.

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Same place. Around sunset.”

Alius nodded.

“Alright.”

Melora took a few steps toward the Silvafontis path before turning around.

“Don't cross the border without me!”

Alius gave her a faint smile.

“I won't.”

“Good.”

She waved.

“Goodbye, Alius!”

“Goodbye, Melora.”

Melora disappeared between the trees, leaving behind a gentle swirl of petals.

Alius remained beneath the tree.

He looked down at the mysterious Lunaris Bloom.

Then toward the path Melora had taken.

Tomorrow.

For the first time, the mystery surrounding his mother didn't feel completely impossible to solve.

He just needed to wait.

And perhaps, for once, he wouldn't have to solve it alone. 🌸🌬️