The Prophecy
"Did something happen when we left?" Jade asked as Hurricane and Cyclone entered from the open doorway of their humble abode.
Cyclone stared at his sister calmly as if wanting her to answer the question directed for both of them. Both looked weary and exhausted. Hurricane especially looked extra agitated—quite a contrary look to when she led the meeting earlier... That is before the troublesome twins decide to derail from their plans.
"Nothing for you to worry about," Hurricane assured her before slumping to one of their makeshift chairs-groaning as she leaned at the backrest of the chair. "Yet," she added belatedly as an afterthought.
Cyclone, who went in after his sister, kept giving his Hurricane funny glances. This made Jade frown. Things must have gotten really interesting with the council to evoke this lasting impression from Cyclone, who is usually the most level-headed, acting like this.
"Really? Cause seriously, you both looked like you needed a long reprieve after this. Do you want me to boil you some tea? It might help." She urged.
Cyclone, after some time, decided to seat himself beside his sister-still in deep thought. He doesn't seem troubled, albeit he looks very determined—this piqued Jade's interest. Something must have happened to get these two to act like this.
'Well, if it's these two, I wouldn't be worried. I'm pretty sure they will prioritize our safety more than anyone else." Jade thought with a small smile. She knew from experience that even though Hurricane and Cyclone tend to act detached most of the time, they really care the most for the family. This made her wonder how they both met and what happened to them in the past to make them both like this.
Although Hurricane's history felt like an open secret to all of them, they don't really talk about it- especially not in front of her in fear of triggering her trauma. After the incident of their memories returning and Hurricane waking up three days after she drank the sea of memories, they all decided it was best not to talk about it.
Even though she was too young when it all happened, it obviously left a bad mark on her to cause her to be like that. But since the latter decided to open up to them about this, she must have finally decided to face her demons. This thought made Jade proud and emotional...
'I guess I'll learn about that later...' Jade thought. After all, Hurricane promised to tell them about the Prophecy and what happened and later after that.
"I need coffee. Lots of it." Hurricane answered with a groan.
"Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, my coffee addict cousin but, this ain't earth," Jade replied dramatically. Her words made Hurricane groan yet again in despair. This caused Cyclone to smile and for Jade to laugh at both of their reactions.
Their years of living on Earth really changed all of them. Their habits, reactions, likes, dislikes, and some even have their personalities all changed. It was like their days spent growing up in Titania never existed.
Grandma Isadora must have really thought a lot about the spell she enacted to make them like this. 'Speaking of Grandma...'
"Any news about grandma yet?" Jade asked.
"Nothing is sure yet, but Jago thinks she may have been abducted and brought here in Titania by Uriah's beasts for questioning or, worst, a hostage. That may be the reason why we couldn't find a trace of her when we arrived at her manor back on Earth... Clever old geezer must have thought it funny to scatter us from all over the country so that she could lie her way with Uriah's dumb beast goons," Hurricane huffed in frustration.
"Speaking about that, where are the others? I know I promised to tell you guys about the Prophecy and all the shenanigans before you guys left."
"Ah, since you guys took a long time in a meeting with the council, Jethro and Jullian presented to bring the younger ones to bathe first before dinner. Mint tagged along with them. They'll be back soon." Jade replied good-naturedly.
"That must be the reason why you smelled like roasted chicken!" Cyclone burst out for the first time since arriving. All the stress from the recent council meeting must have really made him hungry.
"Yay!" Jade responded with fake enthusiasm-already having mixed feelings about them finding out that later on that they are not having chicken for dinner but birds she and Ellia caught when they were practicing her archery skills this afternoon.
Oh well...
_____
Dinner, today for Cyclone, felt like being around his parents back on Earth after the first time he stayed out all night to play games with his friends at one of their homes. They used to stare at him from across the table and wait for him to tell them about his experience. All this staring made him feel precisely like what he felt then. He turned to Hurricane, signaling the latter for help, but his sister just smirked at him and then finished eating her food.
It was the second time they had a quiet dinner after Jago's scolding incident. But gone were the scared feelings they felt back then, for it is now eerily replaced with sickening anticipation. They must have really been curious about this to make them act like how they are now-like crows on the lookout for something to chew on.
After some time passed, the table was all cleared up, and their tableware all cleaned; the Blacksmith kids decided to huddle on their bunks, all waiting for the Calamity siblings to start their storytelling.
The tense atmosphere made Cyclone want to spit out a dry joke to ease it but on second thought, decided against it. Joking on the worst situations was supposed to be Jethro's thing and not his—but right now even Jet is staring at him strangely and it's kind of ticking him off and not the right kind. He really wished they get this done and over with. Just sitting here and having a staring contest with his cousins is making him really exhausted.
Eight pairs of curious eyes and ears stared openly at their cousins all sat atop their bunks, eager to hear the story from them.
"Go on, we're waiting." Jethro urged annoyingly.
Hurricane cleared her throat before she started speaking.
"This happened sixteen years ago..."
-O-O-O-O-
Central Palace of the Trevailles family, ruler of Titania
Emperor Hanson was currently having an audience with the nobles when one of the empire's knights excused himself and leaned in to whisper in his ear. The nobles who were currently at the hall with the emperor, all looked at the exchange with interest mixed with worry. They could tell from the shocked expression of the emperor-He looked like he just received a piece of alarming news.
Moments later, the emperor, all flustered, dismissed the nobles in a hurry before almost running out of the throne room. His sudden actions really shocked the nobles who were still inside the room, although they were left with some questions and a halfway done meeting, they had no choice but to leave it at that and hope they get wind of whatever is going on to make even the ever calm Emperor fly in a flurry like that.
---
As the Emperor nears the lounge room where the mysterious visitor is asked to wait, he suddenly felt goosebumps on his skin. A collective screech from a flock of birds made him looked outside from the humungous palace windows. The clouds looked heavy and dark and the birds turned out to be a flock of crows seemingly trying to find shelter from the incoming storm that is about to hit them. He felt somewhat ominous as if something really bad is going to happen.
Upon arriving at the door, the servant announced his presence before opening the room, and inside he found the priestess Isadora with a panicked expression, and an obviously aggravated-looking winged lion Jago-his guardian, and a blonde-haired woman he has never seen before.
The Emperor was confused and wanted to say something but Isadora got to him first.
"I-I am really sorry your highness, please forgive me. I tried to stop her but she said she must see you in person to tell you what the Gods told her in her dream." Isadora said, almost shivering in fear.
"It's all right Isadora, I'll hear her out. What she needs to tell me must be urgent for her to look this scared." Emperor Hanson said before taking a seat on one of the couches placed inside the room and urged them to follow suit.
While Isadora did take a seat, the unknown woman refused the emperor's offer and looked at him square in the eyes.
Emperor Hanson noticed the woman's features for the first time. She looked gaunt and the rim of her eyes looked red as if she just cried her heart out before coming to the palace to meet him. The way she stared at him unnerved him and not in a giddy way, no, but in a way that made his insides lurch in derision.
"Pray tell, who are you and why do you seek me?" He calmly asked the woman.
The woman stared at everyone in the room with a scared expression. Her gaze felt like she was looking through them before landing on Jago. Then she shakingly started sobbing.
"I am Amor from the seer tribe and I have come, bringing with me a prophecy foretold by the Gods. I have seen it...The Gods showed them to me. The deaths, the betrayal, and the one who calls herself queen!!!" She shrieked in despair.
The Emperor, Priestess Isadora, and Jago all stood out in alarm. The woman looked like an emotional wreck and was spouting words they couldn't even understand. She kept muttering "No," again and again before crouching down-both her hands covering her ears, and crying her eyes out.
Priestess Isadora ran to the woman's side and tried in vain to comfort her and ask her to calm down. Whilst Jago who was just observing quietly on the side slowly walked near the Emperor, his eyes not leaving the woman.
"If it is as you say it is, how come I was not aware of this?" Jago asked confused. Everyone in Titania knows that Jago was a gift from the Gods to the chosen Emperors that will lead over Titania. If there was one who knew the Gods better, it should be him. But they have not been in contact with him since they told him last about a new child inheriting the throne. He was so against it at that time because the child they were meaning to put into the throne was just born at that moment. It was such an absurd idea for him to put an infant on the throne that he left the Gods in frustration. He never had the confidence to tell Hanson what the Gods want and just bought himself time until the child turns an adult before announcing this piece of news but it seems that they have other plans now.
The woman jerked aggressively-almost hitting the priestess in the process, before speaking out.
"N-no one can escape the prophecy! Not even you, guardian of the True Kings nor you, the Chosen One! There will be a rise of new power and the court of evil shall reign over the kingdom and its people!!!! Deaths! Deaths everywhere!" The woman shrieked again.
Emperor Hanson suddenly paled in distress. He felt his knees weaken at the woman's words that he slowly seated back to the couch behind him. The woman was saying absurd things! Deaths? of whom? him? his family? negative thoughts erratically filled his head. He felt like the ground was spinning beneath him.
"This-this c-cannot b-be. The true heirs all came from the Trevailles bloodline as it should be for all eternity. That is the promise made by the Gods to my family yet you are claiming that a new queen shall rise to power? What absolute insolence!!!" the Emperor shouted angrily.
The woman jerked in shock but remained resolute.
"It shall happen as the Gods predicted, true heir. Soon your daughter will rise as the next chosen one but before she could claim her rightful throne, one born with evil intent will steal it from her." Amor said.
Emperor Hanson felt his blood leave his body. His daughter? his beautiful Moira? No, no way! 'This cannot happen! She just turned four!!! This is impossible!' he thought in panic. One by one the tears left his eyes and slid down in his face with no plans of stopping anytime soon. He felt a mix of anguish, fear, and anger fill him. The Gods cannot do this to him!!! He has been a good leader and not once has he cultivated greed in him nor the people around him! Why must he be punished like this? He thought in despair. He stood up and went in front of Amor, trying to look her in the eyes before speaking up.
"What? no, no, no, how can we stop this? There must be a way out of it! Please tell me. I have done nothing to anger the Gods! Why must this happen to me? Moira is still a baby! Please don't subject her to this!!!" He begged miserably.
The woman then spoke as if in a ghastly voice.
"There is a way. But I will not give them to you without a price. Sacrifices shall be made and blood will be shed. True heir, you must be willing to pay them."
It was one of the Gods. They were speaking through her. Emperor Hanson knew this the moment he heard the voice. It was the same voice he hears in his dreams telling him that he is the true heir.
"I will. I will pay whatever the price if you keep my family safe!!!" He shouted eagerly.
"Very well, you have been a good Emperor Hanson, and for that, I will help you out a little. What has been said will happen still and sooner than you think but I will give you a promise," she paused and smiled a little before continuing,
"She who walks the path of lust and blood shall end in the path she chose.
The agony of eight will be their valor,
Four born from the elements,
Two from the battlefield,
One a dragon born,
And the true heir.
Beware thee from the masked foe,
Beware thee whom you trust.
In the hands of the true blood lies the outcome of the war.
Be it good, be it bad. Only one can tell.
Sing of death, sing of blood,
She who walks the path of lust and blood, in lust and blood she will meet her end." she said before passing out cold. Isadora was just in time to catch her from falling to her face.
It was a prophecy. Hanson thought with a shiver...they were given a prophecy about their saviors and Moira is one of them, meaning she will live to survive the calamity that is about to befall them.
He had only heard about them in stories. There had been prophecies from a long, long time ago, at the time of his far-off ancestors. A time that was all written in the history of Titania when the Gods bestow these prophecies to the people when they are about to face a force of evil that they could not take alone. They had always needed the Gods—relied on them in times of strife and hunger.
He just never expected this to happen now and in his reign. He may have been gifted the throne as his birthright but that doesn't mean that the responsibility along with it is not his burden to share. And now, Moira...his precious Moira's burden too.
Drops of tears fell from the Emperor's eyes. He slowly leaned to the couch's rest for support. His limbs were still shaking from shock and despair, his eyes still wet and brain still muddled.
Hanson threw his guardian a look of compassion and broken defeat. He felt somewhat relieved to hear that his beloved daughter would live to save them all but terrified all the same for the evil that will come to devour them.
Jago on the other hand could felt guilt wracking his being. Is this the result of what he did in the past? He knew better than anyone else that no one could go against the Gods and change his fate at a snap of his fingers. Even the all-powerful Gods could not even change it, but still, they try to help the humans by giving them prophecy and gifting them seers who could see the future and warn them about it.
But now his time has come. He will have to do this, later on, might as well do it now.
He looked his broken master straight to the eyes before speaking out,
"Forgive me. I have known for a long time that Moira is the chosen one. They told me about it the day she was born and I disagreed with them and chose not to disclose the fact till the day I deem her ready to take the throne. I am sorry for making this grave mistake. I shall offer my life to compensate for my sins." The winged lion solemnly said.
Instead of bursting out in anger as Jago had predicted, the Emperor gave a bitter smile before saying, "It's okay dear friend, I understand that your actions came from your intention to protect my little princess from the pressure and dangers of leading at such a young age."
Jago bowed in shame, Emperor Hanson truly was a great emperor. He was able to surpass his predecessors at such a young age and was able to remain kind-hearted and courageous until now. Jago couldn't be more proud to call him his master.
"So enough talk about offering your life to atone for your sins. I just want you to protect my daughter as you protected me. She has a great future ahead of her. That's all I ask of you buddy." The emperor continued while hugging the big lion.
Isadora who was now staying on the couch nursing Amor who fainted after saying the prophecy, teared up at the exchange before her. She felt her admiration for the powerful beings before her hike up a notch after witnessing what just happened.
'I will do that too. I will even risk my life to save the child.' she thought silently.
Today or anytime soon, she promised to give her help to Jago and the emperor when the time comes that they will need it.
All three of them, four including Amor who slept peacefully at Isadora's lap, all sat in the room in silence. No words could ever properly describe how they feel now. They just hope that whatever is coming for them will not kill them all.
___
Somewhere inside the room, behind the big and heavy blinds by the window was a child playfully hiding from her dad and his guardian. She was planning to playfully surprise them when she heard sobbing and shrieking from a woman she haven't met before.
Her cries sounded so anguished and full of pain that they scared the little princess into staying in her hiding place.
Later on, it was her father that she heard screaming and crying and what he, the woman, and Jago talked about shook her to the core and made her sob silently behind the curtain blinds where she was hiding. She was uncontrollably shaking in fear.
At the young age of four, Princess Moira Trevailles has already made a name for herself by being exceptionally smart that she had all her teachers singing praises of her outstanding abilities and kind-hearted nature. Both the nobles and commoners admire the little princess and wanted to be close to her but only a few had the chance to do so because she is rarely allowed to go out of the palace.
That is why it was no shock that she understood what they were talking about and how it involved her.
While they were all sitting in silence inside the room, contemplating their next move, the hiding child was quietly pouring her heart out in secret very much afraid to let her father know about her existence and what she just found out...
A/N:
I'm super duper sorry for taking a long break in writing this story ;(
I just got a new job and it is taking all my time and energy for training that is why I was writing very slow and not updating as fast as I did before.
I will be back to writing regularly as soon as I'm done with training. Wish me luck!!!
Here's Chapter 22 ya'll
Please enjoy!!!