Nadira A Fairy Tale

By Alexandra Lane

Love binds them together. Fate tears them apart

Headstrong and far too rambunctious for her own good, Nadira has always struggled with finding love. But when she meets the handsome young man Jai from a neighboring kingdom, their hearts instantly connect.

Jai, however, holds a secret. He's a prince, destined to wed T

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fairy Tales of Color Productions
• Release date: Nov 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9780578787343

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a beautiful forest called Thasos. Within this forest, a village of humble people lived in harmony. Life was simple and uncomplicated—until that one fateful day when dazzling amethyst crystals, wrapped in a note, were discovered.

The note read:

These magic crystals are a gift to your land,

trust in their powers and wealth will expand.

A child filled with goodness and light,

will bear a heart-shaped birthmark, purple and bright.

The crystals and child will share a bond,

its mystery and understanding will go beyond.

As time builds and trouble spills the child will find its way,

and rise above the troubled heart, all without betray.

The child must marry of the highest royalty,

hearts connected by true love and loyalty.

Like precious stones are to a jeweler,

the child will wed and be crowned as Ruler.

But an evil heart and a devious mind,

will counter the crystals and weaken the unkind.

So, bring forth compassion and charity to boot,

and watch life abound bearing happiness as fruit.

As foretold, the village prospered and grew into the magnificent Kingdom of Thasos. And as prosperity continued to multiply, two new kingdoms resulted. The Kingdom of Oros, constructed upon the grandest of mountaintops, and the Kingdom of Nebula, an empire built upon the clouds. Two kingdoms, where enormous eagles, colossal doves and fearless hawks ruled the skies due to their great size.

Memorable stories of how the three kingdoms rose to power abounded and everything was good but, as always, where there is good, there is also evil. In the darkest hours of night, covetous witches plotted and schemed to overthrow the three kingdoms so they could rise in power for themselves. But as long as the crystals existed, their powers were stunted. Knowing no one would ever suspect a child, under the cloak of night, one of the witches sent her young daughter into the palace to steal the magic crystals, and then hide them deep within the forest. The witches would later retrieve the crystals and, together, destroy them with their dark magic. The only problem—the little girl could not remember where she had hidden the crystals.

As the years passed, the stories, which were now ancient, lingered, though new faces to kings and queens arose. And what should have been a grand celebration in the Kingdom of Oros, instead turned grim as the news of Queen Xylena’s pregnancy was met with sadness. Her husband, the great King, fell ill from the bite of a rare, but deadly, mortem spider. Although the royal physicians tried everything, the good King died. Gloom filled the kingdom for no one believed his demise to be an accident. Everyone feared his death was by the hand of the wicked Queen Xylena for all knew of her greedy, dark side, which, soon after the King’s death, became even more apparent. Under her rule, the Kingdom of Oros became a dark and bitter place.

Queen Xylena, a beautiful green-eyed woman who harbored a heart as dark as midnight, finally gave birth to a baby girl she named Theodora. To everyone’s surprise, the child bore the purple heart-shaped birthmark. And although the people rejoiced before the Queen, in secret, they were disheartened. Queen Xylena, on the other hand, was overjoyed. Her daughter was to become the most powerful Ruler of the three kingdoms, and she would be right—by—her—side.

King Hansani and Queen Liana of Nebula are now worried, for their son, Prince Jai, was destined to marry the Queen’s daughter. And there was nothing they could do to stop the inevitable. The foretelling must be fulfilled.

Chapter 1

Nadira ran like the wind. She stretched her long, powerful legs and ran as fast as she could as four boys with determined faces chased her. Her eyes were steady and focused, and her arms pumped hard as her long dreads flounced in the wind behind her. She could see the forest ahead. I can make it. She bent slightly into the wind, forcing her body to move even faster. She didn’t dare glance back for fear she’d break her stride and lose her speed.

Nadira dashed into the forest and ran toward the tall trees stretching above the cliff. Using all her strength, she jumped and grabbed hold of one of the tree’s vines and swung herself over to one of the giant mushrooms, bounced off its cap and landed on a soft bed of ferns. Nadira heard the swooshing of branches and the crackling of leaves underfoot, all rushing toward her. She quickly rose, snatched up a red rod protruding from the soil and stuck it between her belt and pants. She ran to a clearing within the forest and dove into the creek; four splashes followed behind her. Swimming as fast as she could to the other side, Nadira climbed ashore, pulled the red rod from her belt and jammed it into the ground.

I win! I win! she shouted, jumping around, flinging water everywhere.

The four boys crawled out of the creek, coughing and choking. Exhausted, they fell to the ground, their chests heaving visibly.

Nadi…Nadira, how did you learn to run so fast? gasped one of the boys.

I learned from the fastest man in the whole forest: my father!

With dripping wet clothes and soggy dreads, the boys struggled to stand. All right, you win, Nadira. This is the third bet we’ve made, and you’ve won them all. You are the champion. We concede.

Hey! Nadira shouted. Don’t forget! For the next three days, you are my servants and, whatever I want, you must obey! 

Yeah, yeah, said one of the boys as they walked off, defeated, into the forest.

I win again! Nadira shouted, stretching her arms high.

Nadira! called a distant voice. Nadira!

Nadira’s eyes widened as she jerked to a stop. She was supposed to be home early to help prepare dinner and set the table. Coming, Mother! Nadira took off running toward home.

When she dashed into the woods, an Old Witch with a milky white eye and an old tattered dress stepped from behind the trunk of a large tree. With her one good eye she watched Nadira run through the forest like a gazelle. You must die, my dear. You—must—die. 

Nadira’s father, Kellan Sall, a dark-toned husky man with salt and pepper braids, and the owner of a local flower shop, was very proud and protective of Nadira. As her father, he taught her to be strong, and courageous. But the one thing he taught her that was the most fun: how to run like the wind.

Her mother, Albina, a genial woman, who always wore her hair in a single braid down her back, could bear no more children. Therefore, she wanted her only daughter to be the finest young lady in the forest—charming, poised, fashionable, kind, and studious. However, the only part of that vision that emerged was studious and kind.

Through the years, Kellan and his wife noticed that their daughter was quite different from the other girls. She was unusually strong and extraordinarily fast, and though she possessed outward beauty, she relished in her abilities more.

Nadira arrived at her modest, two-story, mushroom house on the edge of the forest. The only home with a red roof, because Nadira wanted their house to be different from the others. The fireplace was ablaze as smoke rose from the chimney and dissipated in the breeze. The newly painted light-blue shutters and fresh flowerbeds underneath the windowsills welcomed the spring season. However, her smile came when she saw that the soft light from underneath the mushroom cap had not come on yet. I made it, she thought. For that was the rule: be home before the forest lights come on.

Nadira burst through the front door dripping wet and smudged with dirt.

Albina was setting the table when she stopped and stared at her daughter from head to toe, water dripping on her floor.

Sorry, Mother! Without further words, Nadira kicked off her shoes and dashed up the winding staircase, straight to the washroom.

Albina slapped her hand to her hip and glared over at her husband. Kellan, this must stop. She’ll never find a proper suitor if she continues to carry on like this.

Kellan blew out the long fire stick in his hand after he lit the last lantern. He rubbed his dirt-covered hands on his pant legs then snatched off his knit cap freeing his pent-up braids. She’ll be all right, Albina. He stepped into a small washroom and cleaned his hands. He reentered the room and sat in his comfortable chair, releasing an audible sigh.

I think you may have overdone it Kellan, she’s different than the other girls. I didn’t expect my only daughter not to have any delicate qualities at all. You made her too rough, and now none of the boys notice how truly beautiful she is.

They notice.

No—they don’t—because she’s always beating them up! No boy likes a girl that’s stronger and faster than he is, and definitely not smarter.

We’ve known her whole life that she was different, Albina. She was never like the other girls, and she never will be, we both know that. When the other girls played with dolls, she wanted to learn how to fight. When they braided each other’s hair, she wanted to learn how to run like the wind. When they went shopping for dresses, she sat by the creek and read books. There is nothing ordinary about Nadira—nothing. So, I guess she just needs to find a young man that can keep up with her, that’s all.

I’m just worried about her, Kellan.

As I said before, she’ll be fine.

Albina crossed the room and yelled upstairs, Nadira! Dinner’s ready!

Sitting at the dinner table that evening, Nadira went on and on about her big race in the forest, how none of the boys could ever catch her because she was too fast.

Albina suddenly cleared her throat, loud enough to interrupt her daughter. Nadira, Instructor Abasi is starting music classes for all the girls who are interested, so I thought I’d sign you up.

"But Mother, I already know how to play the forest drums! Papa taught me how, and I’m very good, right Papa?" She asked, grinning at her father.

Kellan nodded. She’s excellent. Better than me.

Albina glared at her husband, and Kellan quickly went back to eating his butternut squash soup.

I play all the time with Papa and his friends, especially when they’ve had much to drink from the grape vines. Don’t I, Papa?

Um, yeah, she does, replied Kellan, with his head down, trying not to glimpse Albina’s eyes.

Besides mother, that’s not what I really want to do.

Albina sighed aloud. Nadira, we’re not having this discussion again.

Mother, I know you don’t approve, but I really want to compete in the Kingdom Competitions. Thasos has never placed nor come close to winning, and I believe I can change that. Just imagine, for the first time ever, we would be recognized as one of the great kingdoms. Nadira turned to her father. Papa just think about how a win for Thasos would change your business. You and Mother would never struggle again because of a bad season.

Nadira, I don’t want you to worry about us, said Kellan. "Your mother and I will be just fine. We had one bad season because of the drought, but the rain finally came, so I believe this is going to be a particularly good season for us all. So, you just