Hi, so, I've finally bit the bullet and posted this. It's one of those stories I can't get out of my head. Plus, I figured since I'm on self-isolation, why not give this a try? Hopefully you guys enjoy it. This will have different languages, but I will always include translations at the very end or the very beginning.

For the sake of confusion, yours and mine lol, here are a couple of pronunciations:

'Qurion' = Q-Rye-On

'Kensien' = Ken-Sea-In

'Atoni- = Ah-Tone-Eye

'Mairi' = My-Eerie

"When I was younger, my father would tell me of secret realms, places hidden in plain sight. He would tell me of forgotten books, cities long swallowed by the sea or sand, and drunken tales of sailors who stumbled too far in one direction. There would always be whispers of other worlds, strange beings that were human, but also something else. Something supernatural. He spoke of a place that was enchanting, bright, and filled with beings so pure they radiated happiness and joy. Then there was a place so dark and foreboding the very creatures who dwell there radiated nothing but anger and fear.

"Of course, these stories were nothing but myths to some. But there were others, like my Father, who searched for these places. Some returned, others didn't. When he came back to me, he was haunted, afraid, but he found salvation in my Mom. She saved him, brought him back to life, and then they had me. But that's not the point. The point is, I think had those others known the name of the realm they wanted to find, they would've had a better chance at success. For example, the bright and enchanting place? My father calls it Qurion, Home of Angels. The dark and foreboding place? He calls it Kensien, Dwelling of Demons. Don't ask me why, he never explained it to me.

"Now, these two places lived in harmony until the unthinkable happened. One day, Prince Atoni of Kensien was on a diplomatic mission for his people. They needed a type of medicine that was only found on Qurion. But he found more than medicine. He found Mairi, Princess of Qurion. It was truly love at first sight. Vowing to return, Atoni took the medicine to his people. For four years, Mairi believed Atoni to be a liar, but she was wrong. Atoni returned exactly five years later, on the exact date, and the two started their love affair in secret.

"And as one might expect, a child was produced from the union. That's when their problems really began. A child of Kensien and Qurion blood was forbidden. It was unholy, unrighteous, and punishable by death. Because of that, Atoni and Mairi knew they couldn't stay. With a note signed by both parties, they vanished into thin air. The sudden disappearance of both Heirs sent Kensien and Qurion into a frenzy. For eighteen years, soldiers of both realms searched high and low, but Mairi, Atoni and their unborn child could not be found. To this day, the two King of the realms meet on neutral ground and wait for their children to return. No one knows where they went or if they're even still alive."

Leroy closed the little journal and looked down. His daughter yawned and stretched, a sleepy smile on her face. No matter how old she got, Rachel still demanded to hear the story before she fell asleep. Every night since she was four, Leroy would climb into bed and tell her the same story his father used to tell him. Getting older meant reading it from a journal, but the words were still the same. Hiram hated that he filled her head with fantastical worlds and missing princesses, but with the monsters of the real world bearing down on her every day, Leroy couldn't bring himself to stop.

"Thanks, Daddy," she whispered.

"You're welcome, Firefly," he whispered back.

He kissed her forehead and slid to his feet. Rachel promptly fell asleep as Leroy slipped out of the room.

Across town, hidden behind the trees, a home rested in a clearing. It was as elegant as it was private. On a balcony overlooking a small pond, a teenage girl with dark brown hair, beautiful brown eyes, and flawless brown skin stood out against the white walls and white railing of the home. The girl inhaled, exhaled, and closed her eyes. In a matter of seconds, dark brown hair gave way to long, red tresses. Black ink materialized on her neck, her arms, and her fingers. And when she opened her eyes, brown flashed gold, then red, and finally settled on a mixture of the two. This girl, daughter of Atoni and Mairi, first-born child of Kensien and Qurion blood, stretched out her arms. Gray wings sprung from her back and curled around her like a blanket.

Then, she shot into the air.

While Leroy and Hiram slept, something strange was happening in their daughter's room. A seemingly human girl rose from her bed as blue flames sparked at the tips of her fingers. Soon, the fire spread down her arms, over her chest, and to her toes. Golden light bursts from her chest and the glow wraps around her like a cocoon. She floats back down to the mattress, the light sinking beneath her skin.

As one being soared through the Ohio skies under the cover of darkness, another was resurrected through fire and light.

And so, the Wheels of Fate started to spin.