Ordinary

Chapter 8

Everything that happened after that seemed like a dream, a really bad dream. It was like I was watching from someone else's view. After Arlo, the seer, had made his announcement, everyone gasped and started talking wildly. Everyone was ushered out of the room, and Marcus and I were taken into a room with a long, wooden table. On the table laid a feast that no one paid any attention to. I was sat beside the king and across from Arlo. The only people in the room were the king, Valeria and her brother, the queen, the seer, and Marcus and me. Still in a blur when Marcus snapped his fingers in front of me, finally bringing me out of my trance.

"Sam." He demanded

I blinked a few times. "Yes?" looking around a confused and skeptical faces.

The king cleared his throat, and everyone was silent. Facing Arlo, who was already reaching for the wine, he said, "Arlo, could you please explain what you meant when you said that Sam is not the girl from the prophecy?"

After taking a chug from the wine bottle, he said "Easy. She's not the girl from the prophecy that's supposed to save us." It hurt just as badly the second time he said it.

Marcus looked confused. "That's impossible. I studied those books with you for years. I knew exactly where to find her and when."

Arlo shrugged and burped. "Kid, you messed up—"

Marcus cut him off, his tone almost angry. "No, I found the right location in our realm to switch over. I got to her realm the instant the eclipse hit its peak." I did remember vaguely my dad mentioning something about an eclipse that day, but I paid no attention to it. "She's the right age! She was in the right place."

The king's expression did not change while he watched Marcus and Arlo banter. Valeria's brother said, "Arlo, perhaps you're mistaken," he suggested, giving me an apologetic look.

Arlo shook his head, and what he said next was by far more devastating than me not being the girl from the prophecy.

"She doesn't even have magic," he stated as casually as commenting on the weather. There was no way I heard him correctly.

"What?" I croaked out after a moment of absolute silence. Marcus put his hand over mine in a reassuring way.

"Sweetheart, you don't have magic." He turned to look at Valeria's brother. "Right, Amund?"

Amund looked at me again, with an almost guilty expression on his face. "I'm sorry, but I don't sense it either."

I stood up furiously from my chair pulling the rose from my pocket that I had created the night before. "But I do! I made this with my magic!" I showed them. Amund took it from me and inspected it before giving it back.

"This rose is magic, but it's not your magic," he told me. Marcus seemed to scoot away from me, going from a defensive stance in front of me to a look of sadness and distance.

"I saw you were struggling with it, and I wanted to make you happy, so I made the rose." I sat down painfully. I though Arlo's words were just drunken gibberish, but Marcus's confession proved him right. I let the rose fall from my hand onto the floor. "I thought you just needed a confidence boost!"

I was devastated. Not being the girl from a dangerous prophecy was fine, but to not even have magic? I blinked back tears, my eyes stinging.

Marcus looked as if he had a realization. "That's why you couldn't see the creatures attacking us, and why you couldn't summon battle magic." With each word, I could see him hardening himself to me. Then he looked around the table. "But she has the ring!"