The War of the Twelve Crusaders - Premonition Part 2

The girl was at once dumbfounded by the remark. Her, the descendant of a dragon? It sounded unreal to her, but the thought at once piqued her imagination. She stopped fidgeting in her bedsheets, and simply lay down as she contemplated what she’d heard. The whole thing…it was true? She looked to her mother for a response, mouth slightly open in shock, but found that her mother had stood up and was walking towards the door.

“Perhaps I should give you a moment to think about it,” she replied, turning to look at her daughter and noticing her daughter’s expression of surprise. In the midst of the shadows, she did not appear as old as before, but she then seemed mysterious to the young girl. That shadows that enveloped the room, the sun having set some time ago, somehow added to the feeling of mystery. What else did her mother know? What else had she hidden? As the lady attempted to exit the room, a question worked its way through the daughter’s head, and she said to her mother:

 “Mom, does that mean that…I can use one of the weapons?”

At this, her mother turned around. Even in the shadows, the daughter could see an exasperated expression on her mother’s face. Obviously, the girl had started the wrong conversation.

“Well…yes,” replied the mother after a moment of silence. She sounded more like she was unsure of what to say than she was concerned about her daughter’s question. “But…the weapon…it isn’t a possession of the family anymore.”

“Why not?” Now the girl was more curious than dumbfounded. The mystery alluded her.

“…Well…that’s a story for another time,” replied her mother, who smiled momentarily. “I can tell you about it later. Tomorrow, if you want, your father and I could hire some soldiers and we can help you hone your skills. As the major-blood heir of Fala, you possess great powers.”

The girl simply nodded. Now that she recognized it was nighttime, she felt far more tired and at ease. She decided to place the million questions she had in her head and place them elsewhere for whenever her mother returned. Her favorite time of the day was finally over, and she was prepared to sleep. She’d ponder about what she learned later.

Darkness enveloped her room as her mother closed the door, and the girl, curling up in her bed sheets, was soon fast asleep.

******
 
The woman closed the door behind her, and the light from the neighboring torches illuminated her face and greeted her. That’d been quite the hard concept to explain to her daughter, but she had explained it, and there was no turning back. Now her daughter would have to be trained, and that would be a tedious task. Part of her wondered if her daughter would forget about it in the morning, but she doubted it. Her daughter had an incredible memory, and something as important as finding out who are you won’t slip from your memory any time soon. She knew that, and knew her daughter would no doubt be eager to be with a parental figure for a change. That girl was too lonely. However, the thought somewhat scared her. What would her daughter think when she woke up in the morning? She was fearful for her daughter, she being but six and inexperienced with the world. How should she interpret the news?

Nonetheless, the woman turned down the hallway and walked ahead. She was too tired – she needed rest. She yawned. The stone floors chilled her feet, and the neighboring torches warmed her face. She looked morose, and she was – she kept trying to think about what she would do the next day, but her head was so muddled that she found she couldn’t think about anything. All of her thoughts vanished into the gray fog of her mind. She turned and walked down another hallway, but only for two steps. There was somebody there.

The figure was partly masked by shadow. He wore white robes, and she could see his brown shoes illuminated by the light of a torch. His head and shoulders were obscured by shadows, but she could easily envision his red hair. This was an all-too familiar figure, but, in her muddled state of mind, she didn’t know what to say. In the split second that she saw him, her head created a thought. Before she knew what she was doing, she yelled out:

“My word!! Saias!?”

The figure in the shadows was quiet for a second. When he talked, it was with the soothing voice that she had known him for. That voice was not, as she had heard descriptions in the past, of Saias’s, and so she paled as she realized she was mistaken. However, she did not say anything until the figure in the shadows finished.

“Yes, I have often been told that I look like him. From birth I was called his likeness. But surely you would recognize your own husband?”

The woman watched as the man walked out from the shadows. The man’s elaborate robes were fringed with gold, and his red hair was parted on either side of his forehead. He looked noble, and he was noble – he was the duke of the mansion. He was about her height, but seemed to tower over her. The duke was the epitome of nobility and power in the land, but his kindness for others and his leading of the church made him a well-respected, beloved figure. She admired and loved him, so, when she spoke, she backtracked on what she had said and attempted to explain her behavior. She bowed slightly in acknowledgement of his presence, and spoke rather rapidly.

“My apologies, Aelius. The day has been absolutely tiring for me, and, when I saw you, I mistook you for someone else. I’d remembered the stories my grandmother told me about her ancestor, the servant in the court of Saias, and I’d heard so many ghost stories related to ancient figures visiting their descendants, that I believed you to be the Fiery Bishop. My superstitions got the best of me, I’m afraid. Besides, perhaps the most important point of all, I have never seen you anywhere near here ever before.”

“You are correct. I’ve never been anywhere near the room of my daughter.”

“So, what brings you here?”

“My attendants and couriers have often told me of your habit of reading stories to our daughter. I’ve heard of such an event from talking to the plebeians, but I never suspected you took part in it.” She flinched when he spoke the word “plebian” with contempt. She could never quite explain to him the importance of the common people. Fortunately, his feelings for the common people had never been revealed to the populace, and so it was only her and those attendants in the castle who knew how he truly felt. Despite that, he gave the poor whenever he could, and did his best to improve the lives of his people, and she respected him for that.

“Yes, I’m sorry. If you will it, I…”

“I love it. I came to see the event for myself, and it was wonderful to hear my daughter joyous and curious for once in her life. Thank you.”

“Thank you for your acceptance, sire.”

Aelius clutched the woman’s hand with his own and held it tight. He stared directly at her. His voice was sincere and firm, and she blushed as he spoke.

“You have no need to act submissive around me, Aisa. You are not my servant. You are not a soldier. You are not a citizen. You are my wife, and you are my equal. Never, ever forget that.”

Before she could respond, he spoke again: “Please, do not thank me. Stand a little taller and be proud of yourself, Aisa, Duchess of Velthomer.” He smiled, as did she. It was no wonder they loved each other passionately. He was her confidence, and she was his happiness. They were a perfect couple. However, the happiness did not last. His face hardened, as did hers. The topic that they had debated a thousand times to no avail, both of them knew, was about to come alive again. It always did when they had conversations in the night. They steeled themselves and prepared for the conversation they did not wish to start. After a long time of awkward silence, both of them shaking aside their tiredness and sadness, it was Aelius, as always, who spoke first.

“I see that you did not tell Terasu. Why?”

“She is too young. I don’t want something like that troubling her when she is so…impressionable.”

“And yet you decide to tell her of her powers? That is an equally important move as telling her of her fate, and it is equally impressionable. Aisa, our daughter needs to prepare for the future now. We’ve no idea when the events it spoke of will occur. For all we know, they may happen tomorrow. She needs to know now, and she needs to prepare right now.”

“Those events may happen twenty years from now! Fifty years, maybe even a hundred years! Can you be sure they will happen so soon? And, by the way, how does a young child prepare for a future in which all the people and the all that she loves perish or wither?”

“She will learn in due time, Aisa. People who have suffered worse fates than her have hardened and become stronger. She will harden as well, particularly if we tell her now and train her. Terasu is one of the few people explicitly mentioned in the prophecy. It has to mean something – I’m sure of it.”

“It only stated that ‘The Child of Velthomer’ will suffer all these pains. Aelius, how can you be sure that is our daughter? For all we know, it could be you! You yourself are a child raised in the house of Velthomer, as well as Terasu. There are too many uncertainties here for us to be sure. Perhaps she could have a child of her own, and that child may be the one stated. Please, reconsider your thoughts!” Though it embarrassed her to admit it, she knew she was pleading to him. She couldn’t bear to see her daughter suffer, even if it was so that she could suffer no more by the hands of the prophecy.

“Aisa, we’ve had this conversation a thousand times. I have to issue an ultimatum, whether you like it or not. I have waited two long years for this, and I shall wait no more. Either you finally tell her of the prophecy, or I tell her myself.”

“But…”

Before Aisa could respond, Aelius grabbed her other hand with his own. They looked in each other’s eyes. She looked tired and fearful; he looked strict and tense. They let go of each other’s hands, and Aelius began to walk away, followed quietly behind by Aisa. They walked together in peaceful silence, each contemplating what the other was planning. This wasn’t normal for the conversation to end like it did, and that led Aisa to suspect that Aelius was going to present more evidence in favor of his point. She was too tired to reject his actions, and so she groggily walked ahead, sleep beginning to grasp her. The walls felt like they were closing in on her, and the ceiling about ready to collapse. It might as well have, for she knew that the events of the night were no doubt going to dictate what would happen in the next few years. She had no idea what to do. However, they did not walk for long, and both were soon standing at the balcony overlooking the entrance hall, besides the stairs that led up to their position. They grabbed the balcony with their hands, and both were staring at the object that was hung above the door.

“The crest of the House of Velthomer,” said Aelius.

“It’s so beautiful,” replied Aisa, looking at the crest in awe. It was a magnificent sight, particularly with the five gemstones inserted within it. The gold encrusted shield lay proudly above the door, highlighting to all visitors the influence of Velthomer. Its reputation was incredible, its power immense, though it had not been used in years. For a shield, it did not act like one – the powers the gemstones contained made it far more than a simple shield. Aisa wondered what it would be like to use it.

“The Lifesphere,” said Aelius, pointing to the red gemstone at the bottom-left of the pentagon formed by the five gemstones, “Two years ago, there were a series of words etched on it. It was discovered by servants who were attempting to polish it, and I learned quickly the words. It spoke of our family, Aisa. Our family. Not any other family, but the family to whom the crest belongs. This means something, and you know deep in your heart that it does. Whatever the prophecy says has to happen soon – you have seen how the previous prophecies have proven that.”

Aisa slowly nodded her head. Though she didn’t want to admit it, and had an animosity of the idea, her husband was right. The prophecy did mean something, and it was important to their family. She didn’t want to believe, however, that it had anything to do with her daughter. She decided, at that moment, to change the topic. The conversation had all but died, and the both of them knew it. The two years of arguing, in one simple nod, had finally concluded. Aelius had finally won, for Aisa had finally admitted that, in a way, he was right. There would be no turning back now – they had to tell their daughter of her fate and prepare her for the future. She wanted to talk about something else for a change. She wanted to be done with the pain, once and for all.

“I’m curious. I’ve never paid much attention to the crest before, but, now that I’m looking at it, I have a question. Is the Jugdral version here the true version, and did the Archaneans copy it? Or is it the other way around?”

“If you remember the legends, it was Naga who created two copies of the crest. However, I believe that she gave the first one to Jugdral, and then the other one to Archanea.”

“I see. It is truly beautiful…the crest…the….Fire Emblem.”

======

Thus ends the prologue.  I would like to note that the explanation of the prophecy and that of the Fire Emblem will appear within later chapters, during which both of those objects are going to be of the utmost importance.  Thank you for your support!  I wouldn't have continued this project if it wasn't for your words of encouragement. :D