Four years later, a letter arrived at the Palace. Opal was sitting in the garden with Uria and Vena; they were talking casually about the recent events in the other Kingdoms.
Varin walked into the garden and bowed. She was helping Soria, who was named Crown Princess three years ago. The decision was made between the two sisters. Varin had no desire in ruling and Soria wanted to give it a try.
"A letter arrived half an hour ago from the Regila Kingdom. It was a reminder to attend the Seven Kingdom meeting." Varin stated. They all looked at Opal. "Should we attend?"
"You personally signed the Peace Treaty. Ojun should go. When is the meeting?" Opal replied. "In six months' time." She nodded. "Discuss it among yourselves and then tell us the verdict." Varin glanced at her parents and bowed before leaving.
"What do you think they will decide?" Vena asked. "I'm not sure." Opal asked. She really wasn't sure. Since that night, they never brought up her going back but she felt their panic whenever she left home on her own.
She felt their relief after she returned home. They always waited until she home before going to bed. These past four years has kept them on edge. It was a good thing for them because their level of perception became extremely high.
Opal wasn't idle while waiting for her sons to make their decision, she was training and getting her strength back up. Reconnecting with certain subordinates of hers. The movements went unnoticed since she was the master of the intelligence underground on the Continent.
Two days later, Opal was in the training ground with Sena, Sera and Rya. She was watching them train as they caught her in the end of her afternoon training. The twins just turned 19 and Rya is almost 12. Sena was already a high-level martial artist at fifteen, now her she's even stronger than before.
Sera stepped into the high-level when four years ago and Rya is mid-level.
"I was Rya's age when I pretended to be older and joined the army as a mercenary in the Heln-Yalki war. You were a tiny baby back then. I had to wait until you were a few months old before I felt reassured about leaving you with someone I trusted." Opal said as Rain stood behind her quietly.
"You've never made me feel as though I wasn't your son." She smiled. "You are my son. I raised you, when I tried to get you to say sister, you called me mama instead. What else was I to do besides raise you as my son?" Rain sat next to her.
"Thank you, Mother. For everything." Opal looked at him. "Of course, my eldest." Rain smiled and tears welled in his eyes. "Such a crybaby." Opal murmured as she wiped away his tears.
"In front of my mother, I'll always be a child." She chuckled. "Stop picking up your brother's bad habits."
Rain sighed deeply. "We'll go back." Opal raised an eyebrow in question. "Are you sure?" He nodded. "We talked it over with Varin and Soria, then we talked it over between ourselves. It was a unified decision."
"Then in the next two months you should prepare." Opal looked at the girls. "We have to make everything fall into place, despite how messy it will become."
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In the Feri Kingdom, a rumor was brewing. A rumor of a village and a pair of siblings who looked different from their parents.
The village was very close knit, so they all knew the children truly belonged to the parents. Despite their differences, the village valued the children greatly.
Since they were born, the death rate in the village dropped almost instantly. With their harsh winters and frequent cold winds coming directly off the sea, the children were the most vulnerable and the quickest to die.
It's been almost fifteen years, yet the rumor chose now to spread. It was clear that someone found it strange. The other villages surrounding that village wanted to see these children for themselves but were chased away.
The Feri Kingdom has always been closed off from the other Kingdoms except for merchants, but this rumor never left the Feri Kingdom until now.
"Oh? So interesting?" Opal was hearing the report from the Pendant Tower. "How different are the children from their parents? Does anyone know what caused it?" She asked Manager.
"No one knows. Apparently, the woman was very week when she was pregnant and was only able to eat fruits, but when she gave birth, she was in good health, and the children were healthy and strong." Manager replied.
"How am I just hearing about this? I thought I said to alert me on things happening in the Feri Kingdom?" Opal wasn't pleased, she'd always had a special interest in that Kingdom.
"Master, this information was only circling around the villages until two years ago. After all, the woman's other children looked just like her and her husband. Nothing else was amiss but the rumor came back full force recently." Manager explained.
"Find out where this rumor came from. I want to meet the person and ask them about the children. They make it seem like the children are monsters of some kind." Opal stood up.
"This will take some time, Master. Afterall, Feri Kingdom isn't like the other Kingdoms." Manager said. "I'm not exactly in a rush. Use money as well. If we can bring a Princess out of that Kingdom, information should be easy as well." Manager nodded and Opal left through the back alley of the Pendant Tower with a box in hand.
"How long do you intend on following me?" Opal suddenly stopped and turned to look at the woman behind her. "Master. It really was you." Bira dropped to her knees.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to realize. You were always the most observant one." Opal removed the hood from her head. "Stand up." Bira stood.
"When did you recover your memories?" Bira asked, walking closer to Opal. "The last time you saw me." Her eyes widened. "Back then, we were sure..." Opal smiled.
"If I didn't pretend, would I be able to finish my plans?" Bira nodded. "I suppose that's right." She mumbled to herself. "When did you get here?" Opal asked.
"Yesterday. I came after I heard that news came from Ojun about you. After all these years, you suddenly allowed word to get out, specially to me, I knew something wasn't right. So, I came immediately." Opal nodded.
"Stay a few days and then go back to Regila. I have more use for you there rather than here, blowing my cover." She nodded as Opal pulled the hood over her head and walked towards the street.