3. Prophecy

It's already very late in the night. Strangely, somehow Elaine was still wide awake. No matter how hard she tried to keep her eyes shut, her mind couldn't seem to rest. She felt uneasy, wasn't able to stop herself from tossing and turning in bed. "What's wrong with me tonight?" – Elaine's wondering why. She felt nauseous and her heart was racing. "It must be anxiety." – She guessed so. – "But from what?". Her gut kept telling her that something was about to happen. It's unclear but not her imagination. She's not a Seer or a Fortuneteller, then where was this ominous prediction came from?

– Haizz – The young queen heaved a long sigh quietly. "Well, it's not like I could stay awake all night. I guess I should ask Anna to bring me a cup of hot milk. Maybe it'll help me sleep easier." Elaine then turned her head to look at her husband next to her. The young king was still soundly sleeping even after she made all those noises. Somehow she got irritated and had an urge to pinch his nose for no reason. So she went ahead and did it. There's no need to restrain herself, right?

But when Elaine pinched his nose, she still got no response from him. It became kind of boring if there's no reaction so she stopped pinching and released her hand. The queen intended to leave the chamber for some fresh air and call her maid. But just when her feet touched the floor and she was about to get out of bed, Elaine noticed that someone was standing quietly in the corner for who knew how long.

– Aaaaa – Totally caught off guard, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Under the sudden fear, Elaine's voice became very loud and clear – Guards! There's an intruder. Catch him!

She then turned to the king lying next to her and shook him with all her might.

– Will! Will! Wake up!

She kept screaming and shaking the king but there's no response. Weird! No matter how soundly he slept, there's no way she got absolutely no response from him, right? Just now her scream would have echoed in the whole castle. And the guards who should have already come in here were nowhere to be seen. Something's wrong here. Elaine then called him again with a softer voice.

– Uhm, William?

While her mind still kept thinking, she calmed down and stopped her fruitless action, knowing well it wouldn't be of any help. "I must be looking hilarious just now." – Elaine was a bit embarrassed with her action. She then turned to check in wary of what the suspicious man doing and realized that he was just standing there the whole time, not even reacted to her dying-pig scream the slightest bit at all. Was he that confident no one would hear her voice? Then he probably had cast a Sleeping Curse powerful enough to make the entire castle fall under his spell except for her. But what scared her was the fact that he had precisely kept her outside of the magic's range without her noticing. It's unusual for a spell with such a large scale to leave no trace behind. And yet she didn't feel his presence until now.

Finally came to this conclusion, she really freaked out. The number of people who had such power was very few. But none of them should have any grudge against her, William, or this kingdom. "Then who was this? Someone's so free they began stirring trouble?" – She shook her head, denied the stupid idea that just randomly popped up. – "Nope. No way. Not anyone would be so messed up in the head like me. Maybe a hidden hermit now decided to make himself known? Or someone who just succeeded in raising their rank?" But whoever he was, he's definitely powerful, at the very least much more than her. And even though she had the title "Great Holy Saintess", she couldn't fight back. Using magic might harm the child. Did he especially choose to come at this moment because he knew she's pregnant?

Chills ran down her spine from the sudden thought. "He couldn't have any good intention." Elaine tried to calm down and think again. "If he hadn't started doing anything then that meant there was something else he wanted. Just what is it?" She was racking her brain, mustered all her strength to come up with an answer. "Yeah. Nice try. I'm not that smart anyway." She gave up immediately after taking a few seconds of operating her useless neurons. The only answer she could come up with was that maybe he wanted to have a conversation with her privately. And that sounded even more ridiculous. But somehow her gut churned and the ominous feeling earlier just came back stronger than ever. "What was it that made him resort to doing something like this?" Casting a spell this grand isn't easy. It must have cost a lot of materials, magic, and time. All this was just to have a chat? No way, right?

Elaine hoped she was overthinking but she couldn't stop herself from letting her mind roam free and her imagination run wild. Her face got paler as time went by. She kept looking at the figure in the corner of the room, tried to figure out what's he going to do. The man wore a black cloak with a hood and stood in the dark so she couldn't see his face. "D@mn it! Say something already! Your silence is killing me!" Elaine didn't even care if she's a Saintess anymore. She swore in her mind to prevent herself from going insane in this bizarre situation. The tension kept rising in the air for a whole minute before the man opened his mouth.

– It looks like you finally calm down. – His voice was warm, gentle, and full of kindness. Weird! It didn't sound like he had any bad intentions at all. But she didn't put her guard down. Instead, Elaine got even more scared because of how strange things turned out. She'd rather felt hostility than kindness from such a suspicious man. But if he didn't have bad intentions then what the h€ll would he want to do. Or maybe he was just faking it? For what? He got the upper hand. There's no need to do something like that. Or maybe he's taking precautions? But even if her class was an Archbishop, she was still pregnant. How much a threat she was?

She tried to stay calm but her mind was already a mess. After a long time, she asked.

– Who are you?

– It doesn't really matter who I am. – The man shook his head lightly.

Elaine thought that her veins would pop out at any moment after hearing those words. "Still playing this game, huh? Being mysterious won't help you become popular with the ladies, you know?" She spewed out sarcastic remarks in her mind while maintaining a poker face and continuing to ask.

– Then at least you have to stop hiding in the dark. – Her voice was a bit shaking. She would immediately fight back if he made a move. She'd probably lose but at least she can dispel the Sleeping Curse. It may harm her child a bit but there's no choice. She just has to try to fix things out later. Had determined what to do, she once again opened her mouth. This time, her voice was clearer. – Tell me what is your intention for coming here.

The man didn't reply. He went silent for a while. It looked like he was considering her demand. The man put down his hood so his face would be visible to Elaine. His hair and his eyes were white. Even his skin was pale. His face looked lack of life even when it was of a young man. Seeing him, Elaine jumped in fright. She's also a magic caster so she knew this is a sign when someone sacrifices too much of their lifespans. He looked like he didn't have much time left. Just what was worth risking his life for?

But that's not the only thing she's curious about. Right now Elaine was confuzzling about why his face looked so familiar.

– Um… you,… you are?

While Elaine's trying to remember who the h€ll he was, Anthos interrupted her line of thoughts by outright saying his purpose of coming here.

– I'm a Seer. I came here to give you a Prophecy.

Noticed the golden emblem on his chest, this time she's even more shocked. A Seer? Only one in thousands of light magi might become a Seer. Their group was independent, extremely mysterious, and totally uninfluenceable. Although they can be treated as members of the Church, in reality, aside from the law they had to abide by, not even the Pope could command them. And it's all because of one simple reason. They can see the future.

It is noteworthy to repeat that they can "see" the future, not "predict". Fortuneteller could initiate their prediction through a crystal ball, cards, etc. But they had one big problem. Usually, their fortune-telling wasn't really accurate.

Oracle and Prophet would passively receive divinations. A lot of them weren't about the future. And if it was, the probability would be very high (because it's from their Gods). But the tricky part was it rarely happened. They usually lived their whole life without ever receiving one (Gods weren't that free after all).

Now one appeared here. At this kind of time? And a Prophecy on top of it? Not a premonition? Did he lose his mind? Why did he tell someone a Prophecy privately? Just what the hell was happening?

Seeing how shaking the queen was, the man sighed. He didn't want to do this. It was too cruel to a young woman. But there's no other choice, if he didn't do this, the kingdom would be doomed. Looking straight at the queen, he said:

– It is about your child.

– What's about my child? – She looked like she's on the edge of breaking. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest like it's going to jump out. She held her breath, hoped that it's not something serious.

– If your child is happening to claim the crown, then before their twentieth birthday, they will die.

– No, they won't. I won't let anything happen to them. – Elaine was shaking her head as hard as she can, denied what she heard.

– True, that is if you were still alive at that time. Both you and your husband won't be there to protect your child.

– No, no, no… It can't be… – Her legs gave out. Elaine was kneeling on the ground. She's trying to progress what was happening. – Why?

– What? – The Seer couldn't hear her mumbles. He asked again.

– Why is it so important that you have to tell me privately? – Looking straight at his eyes, she said. Elaine was trying to detect if he told a lie. The Prophecy is true doesn't mean that he would tell the truth.

– Because the kingdom's fate depends on it.

– I don't understand. You even sacrificed your life for seeing the Prophecy. But is it worth it to see something that can't be changed?

– The future isn't fixed. – He shook his head lightly. – If it's fixed, then no one would try to foresee the future.

– Are you trying to tell me to defy fate? – This time, she was gaping, her mouth was big enough to fit an egg in. What this man just said defied all common sense.

– No, no, no, no… – He shook his head furiously. – There's no way we can go against it. But we can avoid the Prophecy.

– But my child is the only one who can have the throne. My brother-in-law is sterile. There's no other royal blood left in this generation. How can I avoid it?

– You're right when you said there's no other royal blood left in this generation. – The Seer nod lightly and looked deep into the queen's eyes. – I'm sure you know the way.

Seeing that he was hinting at something, Elaine fell silent before figured out what the man was thinking about. After a long while, she asked again:

– What will happen to the kingdom if the Prophecy comes true?

– Ruin. – A yellow light wrapped around his body. The Seer teleported.

Elaine stared blankly at the place the man disappeared. She recalled the time they heard they're going to have a baby. They were really happy that finally, they would become father and mother. They have waited to have this child for a long time. They even argued with each other what their child's name was going to be. They had prepared everything just for the moment this child was born. Now all that's left was the pain of being apart from their child. She couldn't see their child crawling, trying to stand up, or learning to walk. She couldn't teach their child how to speak, couldn't hold in her arms, or see their baby grown up. All that's gone. Gone.

– Elaine? – The king spoke lazily. It seemed like he woke up from his sleep. The Sleeping Curse was already lifted.

– Will, I'm right here. – Trying to swallow her own tears, she answered. Her voice was a bit shaky but she covered it up with a smile. She can't have him know about this.

– Sleep, it won't be good for our child if you stay up late. – William yawned, he covered his mouth and said.

Elaine slipped into the blanket and hold his body tight, tried to sleep away her pain.

~ ○ ~

The young queen was standing in front of a little wooden house. After a long sigh, she braced herself to go inside. Just one step through the door and it took all her strength. She then saw a blonde woman sitting on an old bentwood rocker in front of a burning fireplace. It looked like she was only three months pregnant. The house was warm and cozy but somehow her figure was so lonely in this room.

- You came. – Wendy said without turning her head. – It's been a long time since my father was exiled. How is His Majesty? I haven't given him my thanks for saving my life back then yet.

- Will is still alive and kicking. – Elaine said with a faint smile on her face. Then she lifted her head to look at Wendy and got straight through the point. – How did you think about my proposal? What would you choose?

After Elaine said, Wendy kept a long silence. Just when the young queen was about to open her mouth again, Wendy finally replied:

- I agree. – Had heard the longing answer, Elaine heaved a sigh of relief. But then she continued. – But with a condition. – She laughed faintly at what she just said and kept talking – Or rather a request.

Elaine then stood up straight and said:

- What do you want me to do?

Wendy put her right hand on her belly and patted gently. Her voice was hazy like she reminisced about a faraway past.

- I want them to grow up together. They're twins and I don't want them to be separated. – This time she turned her head to look at Elaine. With a soft wary voice, she asked. – Please, promise me.

Elaine frowned as she recollected her thoughts about what Wendy just requested. It sure does a bit of obstruction to hiding her plan as a secret. But Elaine herself was also a woman, she could understand a mother's feelings. This is the least she could do for Wendy.

- You have my word.

~ ○ ~

Elaine had already left the little wooden house. Only the blonde woman stayed. Alone in her own house, tears finally made their way to fall down.

- I'm sorry… I'm sorry… sorry… – She whispered in a shaky voice, liked it would shatter at any moment. Never before she felt so powerless. There's nothing she could do for her children. Their father had just passed away. Their mother was about to die as well. And from now on, they couldn't call each other brother and sister in public. Thinking to here, her heart was like being punctured again and again.

Wendy lowered her hand and started rubbing her belly. She carefully felt the warmth, imagined she was touching her children. And with her broken voice, she started singing. A language didn't exist in this world. A strange and exotic melody no one here had ever heard of before. The lullaby and her quiet sobbing kept echoing in the dark.