The Hidden Bond

From the dawn of our kingdom, the nobility forged bonds with mystical creatures that guarded and guided them.

As heirs to those noble lines, the power of the creature each of us was paired with at birth determined our standing and sway within the royal court.

Today was meant to be a monumental day for my sister Yasmin and me: The day we would bond with our magical guardians.

"Father, I've chosen this serpent egg," Yasmin declared.

"And let Selena have the Griffin egg," she added.

Yasmin approached, the Griffin egg cradled on a silver tray. However, as I reached out, she yanked her hand back. The egg tumbled and shattered, its yolk painting the floor.

Yasmin gasped, stepping back with a look of shock. "Selena, I thought you loved Griffins, that's why I passed the egg to you. How could you let it break on purpose?

"Even if you despise me, you shouldn't reject Father's gesture. That Griffin egg was his decade-long quest."

She cut herself off and turned to our father, her head bowed in apology. "Father, it might have been an accident. Please, don't be angry with Selena. Blame me instead! I'll accept any punishment on her behalf."

Father's voice was ice as he dismissed her plea with a flick of his wrist. "Enough, Yasmin. I'm not blind. Selena, since you disrupted such a crucial ceremony, I must be stern.

"Effective immediately, Selena will be confined to Ebonwave Island. She'll stay there until she sees the error of her ways.

"Yasmin, you're tasked with taking Selena to Ebonwave Island. Keep a close eye on her for me."

Once we were alone, Yasmin's smile spread across her face, smug and self-satisfied.

"Selena, you lucked out and became the heir in your previous life, but this time around, don't kid yourself. You'll just be a spectator on Ebonwave Island, watching me take the reins as the heir with the white Wyvern at my side!"

That was when it hit me – Yasmin was reborn, too.

In our previous life, Yasmin, convinced she was the queen's true-born daughter and rightful eldest princess, proudly took on the mantle of heir. When it came time to pick our magical guardians, she naturally went for the Griffin egg.

The only egg left with any promise of hatching a strong creature was the serpent egg, so I had to make it my choice.

Digging through ancient tomes, I discovered that those eggs could evolve with the right kind of magical nourishment before they hatched. Lucky for me, there was a spiritual spring among the nobles' possessions, and I submerged my serpent egg in its waters.

Yasmin looked down on my efforts to enhance the serpent egg with the spring's power.

"Selena, no matter how much you try to improve that serpent egg, it's still just that – a serpent egg. It'll never become a Wyvern.

"However, me? I've got the real deal – a Griffin egg. I don't have to lift a finger, and what comes out will be a Griffin, no doubt about it."

Yasmin's taunts did not faze me. Day in and day out, I tended to the serpent egg with waters from the mystical spring, while Yasmin neglected her Griffin egg, leaving it to gather dust in the corner of the room.

To everyone's surprise, my diligent care paid off, and a majestic white Wyvern emerged from the serpent egg. Yasmin's egg, however, hatched only a half-formed creature, more turkey than Griffin.

Armed with my formidable white Wyvern, I won my father's approval and was declared the rightful heir. Yasmin, once the darling of the court, was relegated to a distant and insignificant landholding.

On the day of my ascension, Yasmin, under the pretense of a celebratory toast, poisoned me.

I watched her revel in her supposed victory, but I kept silent about one crucial fact: Wyverns are innately arrogant and hold humans in contempt.

Sure, a mystic contract could bind a Wyvern to serve as a magical guardian, but it would do so begrudgingly.

In my previous life, when the white Wyvern first hatched, I was ecstatic. However, joy turned to dismay as I realized it would not heed my commands. It wreaked havoc, each incident more catastrophic than the last, all to compel me to break our bond.

I knew all too well that if I severed the contract, the Wyvern would become an unstoppable force of destruction, with me as its first victim.

To prevent further calamities, I sustained it with my own lifeblood, which it accepted with reluctance. This sacrifice, however, drained me, shortening my life considerably.

Yasmin thought she stole a powerful ally, but what she actually took was a curse. To think she could live a second life and calmly assume the role of heir was nothing more than a delusion.