Tale from the past.

"We were once the same."

She began, having heaved a sigh and gotten back up on her feet.  She turned her back to me and proceeded to twist the tip of her hair with both her index fingers, slowly.

"We called ourselves– the guardians." She added. "Sworn to protect the realms from evil even this one we know to be Earth.  But our Governess went rogue- Endia, she had become power drunk and sought more power for herself. She broke the rules and showed no remorse. Her ways were totalitarian– brutish. She wanted to be God, for the realms to fear her, tremble at her name. She began to brainwash the guardians, making them see reasons for her ways, she won some, she lost some but had a greater vote. That was what caused the divide. They that stayed we called the Darker for they chose the way of evil and us who wouldn't be a party to it, they called the Whiters, a sarcastic interpretation for 'the so-called righteous ones." She concluded.

"Wow. How far back was this?" I inquired.

"The beginning." She said, 

"It was a great war that day. Many fell as we tried to restore balance and menace, Endia died at the hand of your grandmother–The bravest of us all." She added, having turned towards me. I could see it in her eyes. It was as though she relived the moment while she narrated her tale. 

"Despite her death, her disciples still upheld her legacy and so we had no choice but to maintain the classes we had put ourselves in but darkness will always try to triumph over light and light over darkness. Many years passed, my mother died, the war did not end, and we were scattered. In the ruins, we found ourselves, Sarah and I. Two teenage girls lost. We made a family of ourselves but she always showed the signs of a Darker. We were two different people, I just thought– love was strong enough." She said, 

"So you're saying there is good in evil," I asked with raised brows.

"Quit thinking like a human." She said, 

"I am human," I told her.

"Only a bit of you is." She said, 

"Humans tend to give a name to anything they find hard to comprehend. They call us witches, and yes, not all witches are evil as you now know." She told me.

"She said a lot back there. Said you had made a mistake again." I told her.

She sighed.

"When we felt a bit of peace, Sarah joined us, the Whiters. Our friendship was strong. Stronger than anything. And then we were sent on a mission to this realm. To guard it against one who sought to destroy it. It was how we met your father. How I fell in love with him–the mistake." She answered.

"But even she was guilty of the same mistake," I said, 

"I was the one who married him and had a child for him even when I knew the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy. The elders were furious when they found out. I was almost banished. I had to take an oath that once you came of age, I would put an end to your life when the powers in you were ripe to manifest so it ended with you." She said, 

"What?" I couldn't believe what I had just heard

"Yes.." She answered. "But how could I kill what I carried for months and pushed out with so much agony? I had to go the extra mile to protect you." She said, 

I found her last statement to be a questionable one.

"What did you do?" I inquired. 

"What I had to." She said, " I paid a visit to a woman named Amalthea, a whiter long banished for having questionable powers. She helped me protect you." She said, 

"How?" I inquired.

"When you turned sixteen, she made a clone of you while you slept. That clone took your stead. The one I ended up killing. She helped me hide your powers. Kept you off the raider. We had tricked the elders, hidden all of it from their knowledge but with such favour comes a great sacrifice." She told me. 

"What sacrifice?" I asked.

"For many years, I was tormented by the Demons from the Eye. The Eye is a very dark place, where nothing is hidden. They knew what I had done, the good thing was they had no relationship with the Kingdom of light. It's how my secret stayed." She told me.

"You mean, all the talks in your sleep, wanting to be alone, the strange behaviours, it was all–" I began to put the pieces together.

–"Yes, I was paying the price. A price I am willing to pay over and over again." She told me. I could see the love in her eyes. 

"But if you possessed such powers, how did you end up dying?" I asked her.

"Sarah." She voiced.

"What? She killed you?" I had gotten really upset.

"Indirectly." Mom said, "years passed and she found out you were still alive. Quickly, she told the council of elders of my betrayal but was wise enough to leave the parts where you were involved. She was saving you for today. " she added.

"Your people killed you?" I questioned.

"They reverenced my mother for her service to the kingdom. They couldn't just do it and so they sent me on a quest to a different realm as a punishment since they knew my heart was here on Earth." She answered.

"I couldn't just disappear, my death needed to be faked. I knew wherever they were sending me, they secretly meant for me not to survive because it was against the law for a whiter to kill a whiter. I didn't die in an accident, love. I was taken away. " she said, placing her right palm on my left cheek gently as she looked straight into my eyes but I couldn't feel her touch.

Her words were sad. My heart felt it greatly. It hurt me to relive that moment, remembering how I had gotten the news, and how I had spent the rest of my life blaming Dad.

"Which is why the accident had to be an explosion. So it would be hard to tell." I said, looking away. "Do you know the pain we had to bear not even having your body to bury!" I swiftly turned my face back to hers.

"I waited patiently for you to find this necklace." She told me.

"You should have told me everything when you had the chance!"  I told her.

"Yes..yes..I should have." She said, nodding her head affirmatively. "but that was another mistake. I thought I still had time." She added.

I turned my back to her and swept my hair behind my head with both hands.

"So you died eventually," I said, 

"Yes, in battle," she answered.

"Shouldn't you warn them?"

I asked her.

"They already know." She told me.

"You and I just realised they aren't so all-knowing." I turned towards her.

"Sarah might have hidden a lot from their knowledge but this one, she made known. She is trying to send a message. They must be prepared as we speak. I must leave now."  She told me.

"Leave? Just like that? Like you did years ago?" I felt hurt.

"You do not need me, Ann." She said, 

"How do you know that? You put me in this mess and wouldn't even help me out of it?" I questioned.

"Enough of this!" She yelled. "Enough with the blames! You do not have the time for this! This journey you are about to begin needs you to be strong, prepared, and mentally fortified! You are no longer a child! " she went on.

"You want me to teach you how to use the powers you possess, you are more focused on saving the life of your beloved. What if I taught you and you couldn't handle it, then you make a mistake, would you blame me for that too?" She asked me.

"You have the power of life and death. How can the one you love be dying? How can your life be at a standstill? How can things not work how you want them? I cannot teach you what you already know. No one can! Only you can open that door I shut a long time ago to keep you safe because you are the key! And now an even greater responsibility rests on your shoulder, Sarah is a threat to this realm, you must uphold the duties of a whiter, protect this realm from her!" She said, 

"Unless you would rather embrace the darkness inside of you. Which is why I refuse to teach you. I would be biased. You can do and undo. This is why Sarah is desperate for what you have. Take charge of who you are and you will be so amazed by all the things you can do. " she added with a faint smile. " I promise you." She concluded.

At this point, I could see her fading. I wished to stop her but her words were stuck in my head like echoes and as she was no longer in sight, I felt strange. Holding on to my head, my knees hit the floor. There was this vibration inside of me, so strong like something was trying to break free. I had flashes of memories racing through my mind at such great speed, I didn't know which to hold onto, my head or my heart. It was so hard to breathe, my mouth remained open and my eyes moved strangely.

I could not tell what was happening to me but I heard myself screech so loud, louder than anything humanly possible and as I did, I watched the entire living room tear apart instantly.

My eyes illuminated. I wanted to, but I couldn't stop it all from happening. Deep down I knew I was going to cause an earthquake.