Beneath the quiet of golden skies, mischief blooms where no one expects it.
---
The gentle breeze of late morning rustled through the royal gardens, carrying the sweet fragrance of sunblossoms and whispering secrets to the hedges.
Kaelith Solmere strolled alone, his mind distant. Despite the serenity of the palace grounds, an invisible weight tugged at his chest. The state of the outer districts, the coldness in his father's eyes, Vaeron's unshakable presence in court—each thought piled upon the last.
He exhaled.
"It's too quiet."
And in that exact moment—
Thwack!
A soft pillow struck him square in the face.
"Ambush complete!" came a triumphant voice.
Startled, Kaelith spun around—only to find a silver-haired whirlwind in a lavender dress, standing atop the garden table with hands on her hips like a conquering empress.
"Lyriel…" he muttered, lowering the pillow. "You're getting sneakier."
"I've improved my strike angle. Also, I added a faint explosion charm in the pillow. Did you feel the air puff?"
He stared at her, both impressed and mildly alarmed. "You put what in the pillow?"
She hopped down like a cat, grinning ear to ear. "Don't worry, I tested it on Vaeron's training dummy first. No damage! To the dummy, anyway."
Kaelith knelt beside her, brushing a leaf from her hair. "One day, you'll actually blow something up, and I won't be able to cover for you."
"Pfft," she said, waving him off. "That's a problem for Future Lyriel."
He chuckled, the tension in his chest softening. Lyriel always knew how to find him when his thoughts were clouded. Somehow, her mischief often hid exactly what he needed to hear.
"Did Vaeron scold you again?" she asked, softer now, her red eyes locking with his.
"No," Kaelith replied. "But he's… becoming something else."
Lyriel crossed her arms, pouting. "I don't like him. He always looks at me like I'm in the way. Like I'm a flower he'd rather pluck than water."
Kaelith blinked. "That's… poetic."
"I read it in a scroll and decided it sounded very dramatic."
The siblings both sat under the shade of a flowering sunroot tree. The silence between them was gentle, familiar.
"You're going to beat him," Lyriel said suddenly.
Kaelith looked at her.
Lyriel said,"You're going to become stronger. Kinder. Brighter. You'll win the Trials. You'll change Solaris."
He didn't answer immediately. Her words stirred something deep within him.
"And when you do," she continued, grinning slyly, "you'll make me Grand Royal Inventor of Flying Thrones and Weaponized Teacups."
"I'm not letting you arm the palace with teacup grenades."
"You say that now." She nudged him with her elbow. "But when you're king and assassins are hiding in your soup, you'll thank me."
Kaelith burst out laughing. "What goes on in that head of yours?"
"Genius," she said. "And just a pinch of chaos."
---
As the sun shifted overhead, casting streaks of golden light through the canopy, Kaelith gazed at his little sister with quiet admiration.
Beneath her laughter and tricks was a heart that understood far too much. She saw Vaeron for what he was becoming… and still believed Kaelith could be more.
Perhaps… she was right.
Perhaps one sun didn't have to burn brighter than the other.
Perhaps it just had to shine differently.