The cosmic lights materialized once more in the very heart of the Everleaf Kingdom, where the Great Golden Tree continued to radiate its divine, blinding luminescence, utterly stealing the breath of everyone present.
In that enchanting, timeless moment, the tree's massive golden trunk parted slowly, and Dalirina descended from its core, beautifully enveloped in a spinning halo of swirling golden leaves.
The exact millisecond her feet touched the grassy ground, Fairo rushed toward her. His handsome face was twisted with a volatile mixture of raw terror and profound shock—an emotional expression no one on the continent had ever seen on the usually composed prince. Throwing his rigid royal pride entirely to the wind, he pulled her into a fierce, suffocatingly tight embrace, exhaling a shuddering, heavy breath against her neck: — "I thought I lost you... I thought that damn magical tree was going to take you away from me forever!"
Before Dalirina could even fully process the sudden, overwhelming depth of his emotions, a tiny, brilliant spark of light fluttered out from between the upper golden branches. A small fairy emerged from her secret hiding place, soaring gracefully on translucent, glittering wings.
She hovered around Dalirina's head, her emerald eyes wide with deep, ancient reverence, before stopping directly in front of her face in mid-air. Her voice was as soft and clear as a celestial melody: — "You are our Queen, aren't you? You are of the sacred 'Friez' bloodline we have awaited for long centuries!"
Dalirina tilted her chin upward, her own emerald eyes flashing with a touch of instinctive, royal arrogance despite her massive inner surprise: — "Yes, I am... though I admittedly only discovered this matter a few days ago."
The fairy bowed gracefully in mid-air, her wings sparkling: — "At your absolute command, Your Majesty. Do you have an immediate request? I shall fulfill it instantly as a token of my eternal obedience to your blood."
Dalirina turned her gaze away, looking toward the massive white dragoness, Elinor, who was whimpering in absolute exhaustion upon the grass. — "Can you heal her?" Dalirina asked, her voice softening. "I want her to be better than ever before, to stand upon her feet with her full, terrifying strength."
The fairy smirked playfully, doing a quick flip in the air: — "That is incredibly easy!"
She produced a tiny crystal vial containing a strange, pulsing, glowing liquid and deftly poured it down Elinor's throat. Within a mere matter of seconds, every single ounce of fatigue vanished completely from the dragoness. She surged to her feet with a newfound, vibrant power, roaring happily as she rushed over to Dalirina to nudge her affectionately, sniffing her clothing to ensure her beloved rider was entirely unharmed.
Fairo let out a breathless, relieved chuckle, quickly slipping his mocking facade back on as he looked up at the massive, glowing beast: — "Good grief, I nearly fell over backwards when this giant lizard rattled the entire earth just by standing up! Little fairy, could you perhaps make her sleep or shrink her massive size a bit? That would be a fantastic relief to my nerves."
The fairy giggled merrily, her wings buzzing: — "Of course, that is simple!"
However, Dalirina turned to look at Fairo, eyeing his completely shattered, dust-covered armor with a scoff of playful disdain. She looked back at the hovering fairy and said: — "Can you make him a bit cleaner... and perhaps shut him up entirely too?"
The fairy gasped in pure excitement: — "Request fulfilled!"
With a swift, blinding wave of her sparkling wand, Fairo's tattered, bloody clothes vanished, replaced instantly by clean, incredibly luxurious royal garments of silk and leather. The dark dirt instantly dissolved from his face, and his messy hair bound itself into a neat, perfectly styled arrangement... but at that exact microsecond, his voice was completely severed!
Dalirina stumbled back a step in pure surprise, while Fairo desperately tried to speak, moving his lips in a silent, frantic flurry of absolute shock and anger, completely unable to produce a single syllable.
Dalirina let out a nervous laugh, waving her hands frantically at the fairy: — "Wait! Hold on! I didn't mean for you to take it so literally... I still actually need his voice!"
With a quick flick of her tiny wrist, the fairy instantly restored his vocal cords, and Fairo immediately barked out in frustration: — "Really, Dalirina?! Turning me into a silent puppet for your amusement?!"
Their playful bickering was suddenly cut short by a massive roar of thunderous cheers echoing from the distant horizon.
They turned to see the inhabitants and armored soldiers of the kingdom flooding toward them in utter awe. The fairy soared high into the sky, her melodic voice echoing across the vast lands: — "O people of the realm! Our true Queen has returned! She is of the sacred Friez bloodline, and she is the legendary one who has restored eternal life to our Sacred Tree!"
A breathless, suffocating silence gripped the massive crowd for a single second before the entire population dropped heavily to their knees, bowing in profound, trembling reverence. Tears of pure joy streamed down their weathered faces.
A group of elegant elven women stepped forward with beautiful welcoming songs, gently taking Dalirina by her hands to lead her away toward the palace, while the boisterous men surrounded Fairo with wild, overwhelming hospitality. Meanwhile, the small children sprinted excitedly toward Elinor, trying to touch her pristine white scales and massive wings, causing the terrifying dragoness to shyly back away in comical, wide-eyed confusion.
Dalirina was carefully brought into the grand women's pavilion, where they completely surrounded her, examining her regal features with immense admiration. They began gently styling her striking white hair, dressing her body in the finest royal silk garments embroidered with pure gold threads and the unique bounties of the lush realm. In that warm moment, Dalirina entirely forgot all her defensive arrogance, experiencing the sheer joy like a happy, excited child.
On the other side of the grand courtyard, the men dragged Fairo directly into the central royal tavern, pouring massive flagons of sweet ale and lighting roaring hearth fires to celebrate his sudden arrival.
They clapped his heavy shoulders heartily, shouting in loud celebration: — "You lucky prince! Congratulations on your grand union with the legendary Friez bloodline! You have successfully won the heart of our beautiful Queen!"
Fairo instantly choked on his drink, his face flushing a deep crimson color as he tried desperately to defend himself: — "Whoa, hold on a minute! I haven't married her... she's just my friend!"
The men erupted into a boisterous, deafening laughter that literally shook the wooden tavern walls. One of the older soldiers winked knowingly at him over his mug: — "Ah, so she is your secret lover and the absolute lady of your heart, then?"
This time, Fairo did not deny the word.
He remained completely silent, a mysterious, subtle smile gracing his lips as the men continued to talk excitedly about their kingdom's achievements and the grand history of the Sacred Tree that would soon change the fate of the entire world.