The Convert Queen: Prophecy Fulfilled

Chapter 14: The Purpose of Prophecy

Tonight

The darkness still has hold of me. Why they want me to relive such pain and heartache, I cannot tell. Why bring me here, if they only wish to torture me with the grief of my loss?

How can this be the purpose of the prophecy which brought me here? How can this be more worthwhile to them than me remaining in Lyknisia where I was happy?

The darkness swirled all around Aleyna now the replay of her last days in Lyknisia had come to an end. She longed for the comfort she felt before the vision faded, of Arner holding her tightly, a protective cocoon shielding her from the world and everything in it. Where was he now? Why couldn't she go to him?

This night had been a nightmare. Would it never end? Monsters had spoken to her, terrified her. The strangers in the sanctuary were not really interested that she was scared. They only wanted to know what the monsters, the three spirits, had said to her, and why.

The darkness began to slow and lessen. Colours, mere dots at first, started to break through, before they formed a picture. A moment later, Aleyna was walking in a forest, alongside a river. The night had fled before the day, and the sun was warm on her shoulders. She closed her eyes and inhaled. She could smell the heady scent of blossom and flowers. Wherever she was, she knew the summer was generous here.

'We are not monsters, Aleyna. And we do not mean to scare you.'

The voice came from beside her, yet surprisingly, it didn't startle her. Although she could have sworn she had been walking along the river alone only a matter of heartbeats before, the presence on her right did not make her jump. Perhaps she had been accompanied all along?

'Aleyna, you might only now be able to recognise us, but we have been with you since you came into this world. We knew how special you were the day you were born.'

It was only then that Aleyna turned to see her companion. It was the Bird Woman. Up close, Aleyna could see her black wings were iridescent. She had a kind face, and although she looked no older than Aleyna, her eyes were ancient and all-knowing.

'Why did you make me see these memories? They are painful to me.'

'They are part of you.'

'Please, I don't want to see any more.'

'Your past is important to you. That is why it hurts. Your past is important to us also.'

'Why?'

Instead of receiving an answer, the air about Aleyna became misty for a moment. When the mist cleared the Bird Woman was gone, and it was the Bear Man walking beside her.

He wasn't as tall as she had feared in the cavernous space of the sanctuary, when she had first seen him. In fact, he was as tall and as broad as Arner, and the other Mynythian warriors she had met. The only difference was he was not bearded, nor had long hair. Instead he had dense sideburns running down his cheeks, and the hair on his head was of the same length and colour, a dark black-brown. This same hair covered his back, as if he was wearing a skin-tight fur covering. Again Aleyna got the impression that this Spirit was old, older than the ground beneath her feet, and possessing knowledge she could only guess at.

'Why? You are part of the prophecy. For now that answer must be enough.'

'Little of my life makes sense to me now. Is there nothing you can tell me?'

'You must trust that it makes sense to us.'

'But I can't. My mind doesn't work like that.'

'Your mind can work in any way you want it to, Aleyna. Stop fighting this. Stop fighting us. Things will work out for the better if you can.'

'Yet you give me nothing to hold on to. There is nothing on which I can build my trust. Instead, you take away everything I have known for certain, and leave behind a wasteland in which I'm lost.'

'Hmm...is that so? Have we given you nothing in return?'

Aleyna pondered this, but before anything came to mind, the mist descended once more, obscuring everything where the Bear Man had been. Aleyna knew when it lifted standing beside her would be the Horse Man. And he was.

He stood as high as one of the horses that had carried Aleyna from Lyknisia to Mynythia. With the upper body of a warrior and the back and legs of a horse, he exuded ancient strength and power, yet the face he turned to Aleyna was compassionate and wise.

[*]'We understand your confusion. We understand you are scared. Yet wherever did you get the idea that you needed to stop being Aleyna Rianenska and become someone else? Your story started in Lyknisia and continues on here, in Mynythia. You are of Lyknisia, Aleyna, and you will be of Mynythia too. Your past is integral to who you are. It should not be forgotten. Yet the past fades with time, as it should. Do not be quick to forget who you are and where you've come from, but allow yourself to grow. Do not shut out the light of the world, and the love you can find in it. There is so much still before you. You can still have the life you want.'

'But what of the prophecy? What is it I must do – or not do? What is my purpose in being here?'

'The purpose of prophecy is that there is no purpose in it that you can understand, until it is over, Aleyna. The world is big and you are small, like a puzzle piece in a puzzle that is put together through time and space. There is so much that you cannot see. But like a puzzle, things will be revealed to you. But not tonight. Tonight you have endured enough.'

In a blink of an eye, not only was she walking with the Horse Man, but the Bird Woman and Bear Man too.

'Know that we are proud of you, Aleyna,' the Bird Woman said.

'You have shown great courage in leaving everything you've ever known behind, to answer our call,' said the Bear Man.

'And now that you are here, you have the power to change the world,' the Horse Man said.

'Think on what we have spoken here this night,' said the Bird Woman. 'Although the words were not the answers you sought, we told you a great deal.'

'And Aleyna, if those within the sanctuary ask what transpired here, tell them nothing but this,' the Bear Man cautioned. 'A prophecy is awakening, and Aleyna Rienenska is the one.'

'Your heart will tell you who to trust,' smiled the Horse Man, encouragingly.

'Your heart will also tell you who not to trust,' added the Bird Woman.

The last words Aleyna heard as the darkness returned was the Bear Man saying, 'You are not alone.'

* * * * *

[Word count for chapter: 1145, Word count for whole story: 20,342]

Thank you so much for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please consider voting for it and / or leaving me a comment to let me know what you think.

I don't think Aleyna was thinking these three spirits, who had terrified her, could be so kind and nurturing, and even approachable. Did you expect them to be like this? Or are they not really like this? What do you think?

And what do you think about what they had to tell her? Was any of it useful? Why wouldn't they answer her questions? What do you think they want from her? I would love to hear your thoughts on this story, and where you think it might go from here.

One more chapter to go!

Have a great day!