Chapter 5 - Five Years Later—The Shadow Over Stonehaven
Five years passed beneath the gray skies of Stonehaven. Rowan and Rose grew into bright, sharp-eyed children with hair the color of spun copper and eyes that caught the light like polished amber. They knew nothing of palaces or crowns; their world was the smell of damp pine, the warmth of Gabriel’s hearth, and the steady, protective presence of their mother.
Elara had built a formidable reputation across the neutral territories. No longer just a refugee, she was now the head counselor of the Stonehaven Legal Guild, representing the defenseless against the predatory tax and blood-oath laws enforced by the major packs. Yet, a cold dread pooled in her chest every time the spring winds blew from the south. Rumors reached the border towns of Nightfall’s expansion. Under Grand Judge Allaric and his ambitious daughter—now Queen Isolda—the borders were tightening, and the taxes on neutral trade routes were quadrupling.
One evening, a panicked merchant rushed into Elara’s office. “Counselor Wind! The Nightfall border guards have seized a shipment of winter grain intended for our orphanages, claiming it violates royal trade tariffs!”
Elara rose, smoothing her dark wool coat. Rowan and Rose, sitting by the corner sketching with charcoal, looked up instantly.
“Mama, are you going to the border again?” Rose asked, her small voice carrying a gravity far beyond her five years.
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“Just for a short negotiation, little one,” Elara smiled, kneeling to kiss their foreheads. “Gabriel is outside. Stay close to him.”
As she rode out toward the Silver Creek checkpoint, she did not know that a royal delegation from Nightfall had crossed into Stonehaven earlier that morning, led by a king who had finally discovered the truth of a forged letter and a missing kingdom.
