Prophet of the Gods

Chapter 5: Princess Cora

Gen felt utterly happy throughout the entire day. At lunch she dined with Queen Valeria, Princess Cora, and Councilor Ulysses again which was uneventful, but afterwards she headed to her first lesson with Doctor Lona. She would be giving lessons to Gen until the king and the prince returned and she'd officially start her duties as Royal Prophet. She felt nervous at the thought, but chose to ignore that and focus instead on her lessons. 

The first one was already great. 

Doctor Lona gave her books to read and learn more about her gift's history and mechanics. They practiced meditation (staying peaceful and serene during readings is vital according to Doctor Lona). Gen learned how to balance her abilities so she didn't overexert herself and get headaches like she usually did. She's still working on it but once she finally masters it, it'll be a saving grace for performing readings. 

After her first lesson, she was beaming. She stopped by the kitchens where she found Dell and Nina and they played cards with a few other kitchen hands. Dell let her taste the desserts for an upcoming tea party social for the princess and her friends. They were all delectable and Dell promised Gen that he'd bake her some more. 

Gen was on cloud 9. She was Royal Prophet! She had a giant room with her own bathroom and walk-in closet. She was getting lessons! And most surprisingly, she had friends. 

Dell, and even Nina, were fantastic and the thought of them ever finding out about the truth about her and her curse was terrifying. She was technically lying to them which made her feel rotten, but they couldn't find out. They'd shun her. 

She was a terrible person for making friends when she might end up killing them on her seventeenth birthday. 

But she was also completely happy for the first time in her sixteen years of living. The only thing that could make life better was seeing Mother, Father, and especially Mira. 

She bid goodbye to Dell and Nina and the others and decided to take a self-tour of the gardens. She'd seen glimpses of the magnificent place from her bedroom window (which she spent ages staring out of at everything that morning) and the desire to see all the gorgeous flowers had grown throughout the day. 

The gardens were located behind the palace, a short walk away on the sandy paths. It was a pleasant walk, and one Gen went through undisturbed. There was no one around, which was surprising considering the spectacular views. Maybe they were just all so used to that many flowers, they didn't have the same effect on them as it did her. The thought seemed ridiculous though. How could anyone tire of flowers?

Gen loved flowers. Her mother had a small garden of roses and daisies back at home which Gen helped tend when she was busy. 

The garden entrance was a gold arch with vines that intertwined in and out of the holes. Little pink blossoms grew from the vines. Inside she sighed contentedly. 

There were all types of flowers- roses, daffodils (one of her favorites), sunflowers in a patch nearby, tulips, begonias, stargazer lilies, wisteria, poppies, hyacinths, peonies, dahlias, irises, Olumian lilies (a deep burgundy red with tints of yellow and purple), and more flowers that even Gen didn't know the name of. The bright colors blessed her eyes. She grinned like an idiot, and wandered around. 

The garden went on forever. There were benches and paths to help navigate the colorful flora. After a few minutes, she caught sight of an old-fashioned gazebo ahead. It looked like a scene out of a fairytale so of course she wanted to see it. 

The door was open when she reached. It was the perfect place to rest and relax. She stepped inside.

She froze when she saw she wasn't alone. Princess Cora was in there already.