Extra Chapter 21 – Meeting the Great-Grandmother (POV Luna)
The castle felt different today. There was an air of quiet reverence, as if the walls themselves knew that someone of great importance was about to cross the threshold.
I stood in the grand hall, smoothing the fabric of my gown, trying not to fidget. Beside me, Rhydian stood tall, ever the composed king, though I knew him well enough to see the slight tension in his shoulders.
"She's late," he murmured.
I smiled faintly. "She's old. Let her take her time."
He huffed, but there was no real impatience in his tone.
Then, just as the clock chimed, the great wooden doors at the end of the hall creaked open. A hush fell over the room as the guards stepped aside, and the woman who had once ruled an empire with only her presence entered.
My great-grandmother.
Eldara Moreau.
She walked slowly, her frame wrapped in deep crimson robes embroidered with silver thread. Her long white hair was braided intricately, pinned with tiny gemstones that glimmered in the dim torchlight. Though age had softened her face, there was no mistaking the sharpness in her gaze—the weight of a hundred years of wisdom reflected in her silver eyes.
I swallowed hard. It had been years since I had last seen her, and yet, her presence still commanded the same respect, the same quiet awe.
As she approached, her gaze swept over me, then over Rhydian, her expression unreadable. And then, her eyes fell upon the small bundle in my arms.
For a long moment, she said nothing. Then, with slow, deliberate movements, she reached out a hand.
"May I?"
I hesitated only a fraction of a second before carefully shifting my daughter into her frail yet steady arms.
Eldara cradled her with surprising ease, her fingers tracing the delicate curve of her cheek. "She carries our blood," she murmured. "I see it in her eyes."
I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "She's strong," I said softly.
Eldara lifted her gaze to mine. "She will need to be."
There was something about the way she said it—something ancient, something knowing—that sent a shiver down my spine.
Rhydian shifted beside me. "She will be protected."
Eldara's lips curved slightly. "Protection is only as strong as the will to survive, young king."
Rhydian didn't flinch under her scrutiny, but I could feel the way his hand brushed against mine—a silent reassurance, for both of us.
The great-grandmother turned back to me. "Come. Walk with me."
I nodded, falling into step beside her as she carried my daughter through the halls of the castle. The echoes of our footsteps mixed with the distant sound of wind against the stone.
"I was here, once," Eldara murmured after a while. "Long before you were born."
I glanced at her. "When?"
"When your grandmother ruled."
I frowned. My grandmother had rarely spoken of those days, and now that she was gone, there were so many questions I wished I had asked.
Eldara must have sensed my thoughts because she smiled faintly. "There is much you do not know about your lineage, child."
I exhaled. "Then tell me."
She stopped in front of a tall stained-glass window, the colors dancing against her face as she looked out over the kingdom.
"Our family has always been more than what we appear to be," she began. "We are more than rulers, more than warriors. We are the keepers of the past, the ones who carry the knowledge of those before us."
She turned to me then, her gaze piercing. "And now, so are you."
I swallowed hard. "I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of responsibility."
Her lips curled in amusement. "No one ever is."
She shifted my daughter slightly in her arms, cradling her close. "This little one… she will grow up hearing our stories. She will learn from our mistakes and build upon our triumphs. But it is you, Luna, who must guide her."
Something tightened in my chest.
I had always known that being a mother was more than just caring for a child—it was shaping their world, teaching them, preparing them for the burdens they would one day bear.
But hearing it from Eldara, from someone who had seen generations rise and fall… it made it all the more real.
I looked down at my daughter's sleeping face, my heart aching with love and something deeper—something heavier.
"I want her to have a choice," I said finally. "To decide who she wants to be."
Eldara nodded approvingly. "Then you must teach her what it means to choose."
Her words settled over me like a cloak, and I felt the weight of them press into my bones.
She studied me for a long moment before reaching into the folds of her robes and pulling out something small and delicate.
A pendant.
It was old, the edges worn from time, but the gemstone at its center still gleamed with an eerie silver light.
Eldara held it out to me. "This belonged to my mother. And her mother before her."
I hesitated before taking it, the metal warm against my palm.
"It is a talisman of protection," she said. "It has seen many battles, many rulers. And now, it belongs to your daughter."
I clutched the pendant tightly, my throat thick with emotion.
"Thank you," I whispered.
Eldara reached out, brushing a knuckle gently against my cheek. "You are doing well, Luna."
I let out a shaky breath, nodding.
We stood there, three generations bound by blood and history, beneath the watchful gaze of the moon.
And in that moment, I understood—really understood—what it meant to be more than just a mother.
I was a guardian of the past.
And a guide to the future.