I'll always be here

[Tennantsayswhat]

“Woah there, careful now. “ He grabbed her just as she almost catapulted face-first into an Orakian war-axe.

“Daddy, daddy, daddy, what’s this? And this, what does this do? Can I hold it?” She bounded around the room babbling and pointing.

“Remember why we came?”

She made a face. “To learn about why…..bad….things?”

He smiled, “We must never forget our history. Because once we forget it-“

“-we’ll repeat it. I know, daddy. “

Her newly solemn attitude lasted for a grand total of four and a half minutes before her excitement got the best of her. She leapt around the corner and crashed right into a tall marble pillar. The column started to wobble, the orange ball balancing on top. It rolled and leapt off the edge, right towards her. The soft glow lit up her smiling face as she reached out to touch the pretty.

“DON’T-, “ was all he had time to say before her small hand reached out and grasped the glass-like orb and –

Nothing. She laughed and turned to show him but the smile faded from her face as she saw his eyes. For a split second, relief passed through his mind, followed by absolute, utter horror.
* * *
Every child in Adaris grows up hearing the tales of the Baelaeran wars. Before the fighting started, the kingdoms had been enjoying the most prosperous age in millennia. It had many names: the golden age, the long peacetime, the age of the prophets. Before the war, prophecies were abundant, but after the slaying at Daenar Cathedral, the art of prophecy was lost. All but one prophecy had been fulfilled.

“The essence of Orakis will be captured, and without it, their forces will fail. None may touch the essence without invoking death but the one that will turn to the darkness and slay the Lion Prince. Should he fail in this moment to end her, darkness will once again descend on the kingdoms. In his hands lie the fates of all.”
* * *
The prince beckoned to his only child, the remnant of the woman who had changed his life, then abruptly left it.

“Come here, darling.” She ran, laughing, into his arms. With one hand, he held her tight, whispering how much he loved her, while the other grasped his dagger. She stiffened as the dagger cut through her heart and passed into his.

They were buried as they were found, clasping each other, connected by the dagger through their hearts.

[Calidore]

My first impression of this story on reading it was that its back has been broken by a vicious swing with the WTF bat. Specifically, you have an object whose touch means death to everyone but one person, who then must either be killed instantly or bring ruin--but this incredibly dangerous, apocalyptic object is not only displayed unprotected and unguarded, but is a round ball placed on a flat surface where it can easily be dislodged by a bump or a well-aimed sneeze. This is an egregious case of a writer settling for a shortcut because he doesn't want to be bothered putting the effort into creating something plausible, and crippling a perfectly acceptable story as a result. I would strongly encourage you to put the effort into creating something plausible.

One thing I can applaud is your restraint. So many people feel the need to overwrite, especially when creating a world, that it's nice to read a story that if anything is underwritten. A little more on the world's background and the Basketball of Doom (or whatever object you end up with) might add some flavor.

A few little things briefly took me out of the story as well, but they're papercuts rather than spinal fractures:

* First referring to her father as "the prince" after the break made me think at first that this was a third separate segment. There's no reason in the story to make this a revelation, so I'd just move this up front for a cleaner transition back to the present.

* Four and a half minutes is a long time for an unoccupied small child to stand solemnly. You can safely reduce that by about four minutes (and count yourself lucky if you get that much).

* A dagger's awfully small to impale two people--maybe change it to a shortsword.

* Chronology--you have her 1) catching the ball; 2) seeing her father and her smile fading; 3) he's relieved; 4) he's horrified. That 3 doesn't follow that 2 very smoothly. I was going to suggest 1-3-2-4 or 1-3-4-2, but since you have her running laughing into her father's arms right away, I'd say just leave 2 out altogether and have him quickly mask 4 before she sees him until she's hugging him.

Overall, thumb in the middle pending spinal fusion surgery.