Time passed over the kingdom of Light like a gentle spring breeze. After Nicholas was born, everything seemed to change. The castle was more alive than ever — the light seemed to dance on the walls, the birds sang earlier, and the gardens bloomed even before the time.
Every morning, when the first rays of sunlight caressed the windows, Sofia was already awake.
She held little Nicholas in her arms and sang to him softly, songs that her mother had whispered to her when she was little. Sofia's medallion, always worn around her neck, vibrated slightly — like a heart beating in the same rhythm as the child's.
— "See, Nicholas?" she would say. "This is the light that unites us. I felt it too when I was little."
Whenever the boy laughed, a gentle light would light up around them, and everyone in the castle would feel an inexplicable warmth, like a blessing. The queen often smiled and said:
— "When we are together, the whole house seems alive."
The years passed easily, like a story told at sunset. Sofia and Nicolae were inseparable — they ran through the gardens, hid behind the walls and listened to fairy tales from old Leana, who knew all the legends of the kingdom.
Dragoş often came to the castle. Although he lived in the village, the king's people let him pass, because everyone knew that the girl and the boy had been good friends since childhood.
He always brought something: wild flowers, a raven feather, a shiny stone found near the lake. Sofia collected them in a small box, saying that they were "gifts of friendship."
One day, Dragoş, who was ten years old, was carving a wooden sword in the garden.
— "What are you doing there?", laughed Sofia.
— "A sword," he said seriously. "When I grow up, I will be a knight. That way I can protect you and Nicolae."
Sofia raised her eyebrows.
— "And who do you think you have to protect us from?"
— "Why will he come," Dragoș said simply. "Codrion appeared to me in a dream and said: The light must be guarded by brave hearts."
Sofia looked at him in amazement. Something in her heart twitched. Maybe the boy was right. Maybe it wasn't just a game.
From that day on, Dragoș came more and more often to train with the palace guard. He learned to shoot a bow, to ride a horse, to fight. Every time Sofia saw him, she smiled, but she also felt a strange unease — a premonition that their path, once common, would part.
The years passed in silence.
Sofia had turned fifteen. She was taller, more graceful, with golden hair and eyes full of that light inherited from her mother.
Nicolae, now seven years old, was a little storm of energy — always between questions and discoveries. He loved to play with Dragoș, who taught him how to hold a wooden sword or climb trees.
— "You are the brother of the Light," laughed Dragoș. "But you also have fire in you."
— "And you are the shadow that guards us," Nicolae replied jokingly, not knowing how much truth was hidden in his words.
Sofia looked at them with love. For her, Dragoș was no longer just a childhood friend — he had become someone she could not part with in her thoughts. She missed him even when he was far away, in the village, training.
One day, the King called Dragoș to the great throne room.
— "Boy, I have heard that you are diligent and brave," he said. "The country needs young men like you. I want to send you to the School of the Knights of Light. There you will learn to fight for justice — and to protect your loved ones."
Dragoș knelt, his hand on his chest.
— "I swear by the light and the sword that I will defend Sofia and Prince Nicolae as long as I live."
The king put a hand on his shoulder.
— "So be it. For the light feeds on loyalty."
Sofia learned the news that very evening.
When she saw him, tears were playing in her eyes, but her smile was sincere.
— "Dragoș… you kept your childhood promise."
He smiled and answered softly:
— "I have only just begun. Everything I will learn… will be for you."
That night, Nicolae had a strange dream. The sky split in two: half light, half shadow.
A golden ray descended towards him, but on its way it broke in two — one part touched Sofia's medallion, the other disappeared into the forest.
He woke up scared, ran to his sister and nestled next to her.
— "Sofi, I dreamed that the light broke!"
She hugged him tightly.
— "No, my dear. The light does not break. It only hides… when it feels that the time of trials is coming."
And, in response to her words, Sofia's medallion and Dragoș's ring — far away, in the knights' hall — began to shine at the same time.
From the forest, the wind brought a deep and ancient whisper:
"Years of Light are over. The trial of the chosen ones is coming."
Sofia looked at the starry sky, with her brother sleeping in her arms.
She felt in her heart that the time of childhood had faded and another light, bigger and more dangerous, was approaching.