The Rosewood Prophecy

---Indigo---

I watched Lord Victor topple forward to the ground. Blood formed a puddle around him immediately. Mere inches away from Lord Victor's head was Katherine, who looked up at me with a mixture of shock and relief. "Indigo!"

"Sorry I'm a little late to the party," I said as I carefully walked around Lord Victor and helped Katherine to her feet. "I hope I'm not too late."

The two of us ran over to Aaron and pulled him up as well. Aaron's entire side was soaked with blood, and a dagger was still stabbed between his ribs. Katherine carefully pulled out the dagger and immediately placed her hand over the wound. Blue healing magic danced from her fingers to Aaron's ribs. There was a bootprint on the side of Aaron's face, which I gingerly tried to wipe away with my sleeve, along with any blood on his face. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"I'm alright, just a little bruised." Aaron mustered a smile. "How are you, Indigo? You gave Kath and me a heart attack when we first found you."

"Thanks to Katherine's healing magic, I feel so much better than before. At least I'm conscious and not bleeding anymore." I smiled gratefully at Katherine, who returned the smile. Sure, my body still hurt all over and I was covered with cuts and bruises, but it beat being unconscious and chained in midair.

"How long have you been conscious?" Katherine asked. "We've been so occupied with Lord Victor; neither of us checked on you."

"I've been conscious for a while now. I sort of heard you two talking when Katherine was healing me. I tried to tell you that the orb was fake, but I'm not sure if I managed to say anything." I thought back. "Hearing Katherine scream was what really brought me back. That was before Lord Victor showed the memories. I watched the whole thing. It was…tragic."

Katherine and Aaron nodded gravely. Although there was no forgiving what Lord Victor had done, we all sympathized with the boy who watched his best friends and girlfriend die in front of him. I felt that if we had met Lord Victor when he was still a schoolboy, before he turned evil, we might have actually become friends.

"Aaron's sword was on the ground near me. I had to wait until Lord Victor's back was turned to pick up the sword. He was busy shouting at Aaron, so I thought perhaps I could sneak up on him," I continued to explain. "I was so scared that he would turn around and see me creeping up to him. Fortunately, both of you kept him distracted."

"I saw you." Aaron said, a grin appearing on his face. "When Lord Victor was asking us questions, I saw you pick up my sword and slowly move towards us. That's why I tried to make him mad so that his focus would entirely be on me."

"Oh my gosh, was that why? I thought you had gone crazy," Katherine exclaimed, taking her hand off Aaron's ribs. "I kept gesturing for you to stop talking and you just ignored me."

"You got his foot off my face, Kath, so thank you for that. I thought my skull was going to crack," Aaron joked. Both Katherine and I looked at him exasperatedly.

"Don't you ever do that again! What if Lord Victor got so angry he actually killed you?" I jabbed a finger at him.

"Don't do what?" Aaron pouted, trying to look innocent.

Katherine slapped his shoulder. "Don't use yourself as a target, dummy. Especially with someone as dangerous as Lord Victor. Didn't you see how he was losing it a little at the end? I was so worried that he'd crack and just annihilate you, Aaron."

"Alright, alright, just this once, I promise." Aaron put up his hands in surrender, and then winced as the movement stretched his rib wound. Katherine inspected the wound again.

"It stopped bleeding, so I think you're okay for now. Just be careful, okay? I don't have unlimited healing magic."

"Yes ma'am," Aaron said solemnly. Then he glanced over at Lord Victor lying facedown on the ground. "Is he…dead?"

I frowned. "I stabbed him through the chest. He should be dead, but he's Lord Victor. I'd be surprised if he actually died. It would be too easy."

As I spoke, we all saw Lord Victor's body shudder. We collectively took a step back and brandished our weapons. I handed Aaron's sword back to him and pulled out the spear of light. Katherine and Aaron watched in amazement as the spear extended to its full length.

Lord Victor was laughing. His entire body shook from the laughter. Slowly, he pushed himself up from the ground and turned to look at us. There was no wound on his chest. "Wonderful, Indigo. No wonder you're the mastermind. You're so smart."

"It's over, Lord Victor. We're going to end your reign of terror today, right here, right now." I tried to sound brave, even though my spear trembled. Lord Victor burst into laughter again.

"Hahahahaha! You three, defeat me? I take back what I said—all three of you are equally stupid. You are literally about to die, yet none of you realize that everything you are doing is futile. Like I said, you cannot defeat me. You never could have, and you never will." From inside the wide sleeves of his robe, Lord Victor drew out a pale red orb. Black, smoky tendrils swirled inside. We gasped. The orb! This one was the real orb!

"This orb gave me power beyond your imaginations. It also made me immortal. As long as this orb remains safe in my hands, no one will ever be able to defeat me," Lord Victor boasted confidently. He twirled his fingers, and the orb hovered obediently above his hand. "The prophecy is fake."

"No, it's not." Katherine's voice rang out. Then to my surprise, she began to recite it. "Seven shall rise in times of fear/Trek far to defend all they hold dear/Hidden desires become—"

"Stop, stop, stop. Are you reciting the prophecy to me?" Lord Victor looked incredulously at Katherine. "Were you hoping that it would be a magic spell against me? Sorry to disappoint, but it's not. Don't forget, I was also once a part of the Rosewood Seven. Also, at least get it right if you're going to recite it; how embarrassing."

"What are you doing?" Aaron hissed to Katherine.

"I hoped it would do something to him," Katherine whispered back. "We can't let him use the orb's power against us!"

I ran the prophecy once through my head. "No, Katherine is correct. She didn't recite it wrong."

Lord Victor gazed at us as if we were the stupidest beings in the world. "Are you questioning me, a member of the first Rosewood Seven and an evil lord, what the prophecy is? You kids weren't even born when the prophecy was first spoken. Imagine going on your little quest and not even memorizing the entire prophecy."

"I was going to say the whole thing, but someone rudely cut me off—" Katherine's anger flared up. Lord Victor held up his hand.

"My dear Katherine, you missed the entire first stanza. Let me recite the prophecy to you." As we looked at him in confusion, Lord Victor cleared his throat and began to speak:

"When power corrupts, the innocents bleed

Injustice is the darkness's seed

A darker night shall rise from the old

When all hope is lost, and truth is untold

Seven shall rise in times of fear,

Trek far to defend all they hold dear,

Hidden desires become fatal baits,

Snow and fire obscure their fates.

Three shall stand before the enemy:

The first holds the sword of destiny,

The second dons the cloak of great might,

The last one wields the spear of light.

What was captured must be freed,

Blue and gold shall seal the deed,

In opposition the tear will mend,

Ancient summons bring home a friend."

He looked at us with contempt. "It's only sixteen lines of verse. What kind of 'chosen ones' are you if you don't even know your own prophecy?"

We were stunned into silence. The Rosewood Prophecy we all knew by heart was only twelve lines. It had been that way for generations. So what was this new stanza that Lord Victor just recited?