Chapter 1: Prologue
“ZANIE!” Three year old Grace shouted as she jumped onto her four year old sister’s bed.
“Go away. I’m trying to sleep.” Zanabelle replied, her voice muffled by her blankets and pillow.
Zana pushed Grace off of her, making Grace fall to the floor. Of course, the little girl would not be deterred.
Grace stood up and grabbed a hold of the purple blankets which had green flames on them and yanked them off the bed. Zana sat up, glaring at Grace who simply smiled back at her.
“C’mon, you gotta see this!” Grace grabbed Zana’s hand, dragging her out of her bed before continuing to lead her out of the room.
Grace peeked around the corner of the cabin, Zana coming to stand behind her. Their father, Merlin Calodonensis, stood in their garden talking to a strange man that neither girl recognized.
The man was wearing royal red and gold robes. There was a gold crown resting upon his sandy blonde hair, his eyes being the same color as the sky on sunny days. Standing beside the man was a young six year old boy, also dressed in a red suit, except for the gold embroidery to which the boy had black. The boy had tan skin like his father, but that was where the similarities ended for the boy had brown eyes and messy brown hair.
Standing next to the Royals, Merlin seemed out of place. He was dressed in regular commoner clothes, a brown shirt, pants, and boots. The only color was that of a blue hooded cloak he had wrapped around his shoulders. The hood was down however, revealing his somewhat long red hair.
Merlin was currently sharing a laugh with the strange man while the young boy shyly examined his surroundings. Zana noticed the boy beginning to look in their direction, so she quickly hid around the corner so she wouldn’t be seen. Grace didn’t move so Zana grabbed the collar of her younger sister’s dress and pulled her back, out of sight. All the boy saw was a flash of long white hair.
The boy took a step out from behind his father from where he had been shyly hiding himself to investigate.
“Virgil?” The man looked down at his son questioningly.
Merlin turned, following the boy’s gaze. He chuckled before smiling. “Alright, girls, we know you’re there. Come on out and say hello to some friends of mine.”
Zana walked out from behind the side of the house while Grace shyly peeked from around the corner before she rushed to her father’s side. At the sight of the two girls, Virgil’s eyes widened and he quickly rushed back to his own father’s side.
“These are my daughters, Zanabelle and Grace Jynx. Girls, this is King Arthur and his son, Virgil.” Merlin said, introducing them all.
“You never said you knew royalty.” Grace said, looking at her dad briefly in awe before looking back at the no-longer-strangers.
“Well, Merlin knew me before I became King.” Arthur chuckled.
“We only met an hour or so before.” Merlin responded.
Before Arthur could reply, he was interrupted by Virgil gently tugging on his father’s shirt, shyly looking over at the girls.
“Father, why do they look like that?” Virgil asked, gesturing at the girls with his hand.
“That’s insulting.” Zana wrinkled her nose at Virgil in disgust. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m insulted.”
“This is the first time Virgil has ever left the palace. He’s never met any . . . well, magical people. The only person besides Merlin that I’ve met is Freya.” Arthur explained.
“What kind of Prince waits until he’s six to see his kingdom?” Zana questioned.
“Zana, don’t be rude.” Grace scolded her.
“I made Zana out of clay.” Merlin explained, ignoring his daughters, and answering Virgil’s question.
At this, Virgil looked at Zana. The fact that she was made out of clay made sense to the young boy. It explained her pale, almost grey skin, and her short green hair. It didn’t explain however her purple eyes, which seemed very human-ish.
“As for Grace, well, her mother is Freya.” To this, Arthur looked at his friend surprised.
“Who’s that?” Virgil asked.
“Most people know her as Lady of the Lake.” Merlin answered.
“Oh.” Virgil replied, looking at Grace.
Grace’s pale cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she grabbed a strand of her long wavy white hair and began to play with it as she often did when she was nervous. At first glance, Grace seemed more human than her older sister, having inherited her father’s pale skin and facial features. She also had her father’s ice blue eyes which were a much brighter shade of blue than Virgil had ever seen. And through Grace’s white hair which had light blue streaks in it making it look like the color of freshly fallen snow or sea foam, Virgil could see that she also had pointed ears.
“You look more like an angel than a mermaid to me.” Virgil said.
This caused Merlin and Arthur to laugh, while Zana rolled her eyes in disgust. Virgil and Grace though were simply left confused.
Grace looked at them before looking at Virgil. “She’s not a mermaid. She’s a naiad. There’s a difference.”
