Mira flicked her free hand as people approached the blade and it disappeared. They leapt back from the disappearing weapon and looked at her. She let the healer meticulously dig around in her healing hand for any other metal he could find. Encante held back healing the wounds to not alarm the healer but reminded Mira to wince a few times so the man wouldn’t suspect anything. Ravenna got the attention of another healer and her face quickly cleared of all bruises and blemishes.
“Ah, better,” She pushed her glasses back up her nose.
“Can we have our qualifying finalists please return to the field?” Skymara called from the dais, “We would like to formally introduce them to the crowd.”
Mira waited for the healer to stop before she pulled her hand back. She knew that any foreign material left would be repelled within the day. She adjusted her muddy tunic as she stood in the middle of the colosseum and waited for the others to join her. Bobabano trotted up to her happily. He wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her with a loud laugh.
“My mermiana! What a display!” He kissed her, “Now they know to fear you, my love.”
“Please place me back down,” She said flatly, “This is supposed to be serious.”
Jonen soon joined them but gave the pair some distance. Another Travel Knight limped up and patted Jonen on the back. He recognized the older dwarf as some distant nephew of one of the commanders at the Knight’s Hall. He was a tanned dwarf with black oily black hair and deep wrinkles.
“Congrats, Brother,” The dwarf laughed, “We made it! Reiner will be proud. He might actually smile.”
Jonen laughed and shook the man’s hand, “I doubt that.”
Amethyst walked up and leaned an elbow on her nephew’s shoulder. Bo shook her hand and pounded his chest with pride. Mira rolled her eyes at them.
Another woman in a cloak walked up to join them. She stood between Mira and Jonen. Her chocolatey skin was well hidden under her hooded cloak and leather armor. She met Jonen’s glances with her hazel eyes and winked at him. The green tear drop tattooed under her eye let him know where exactly she got the experience.
“Nice to see you again,” She winked, “Or, for you to see me.”
Two more dwarves walked up together. The son and father combo, Grandy and Tegan, happily waved their tattooed hands to the cheering crowd. A few more mercenary types joined the group as they waited for the introductions. They chatted with each other until Skymara walked onto the field from one of the large wooden doors. She held the young prophetess’s hand as they walked towards the group in the center.
The crowd stiffened as the odd pair approached the warriors. Skymara adjusted her maroon suit and dusted off the girl’s pristine white dress before they got to the group.
“Hi!” Talia beamed proudly,” I’m happy to meet all of you! Thank you for waiting for me to come down.”
“Prophetess Talia –” Skymara cleared her throat.
“Can you introduce yourselves to me? Everyone will be able to hear you, I promise!” The girl reached out to grab the first hand, “I cannot see, though. Would you mind if I connected us for a moment?”
Amethyst knelt to the prophetess and bowed her head, “It would be an honor, young Prophetess. I am Amethyst.”
Talia placed her hand on Amethyst’s forehead and a bright golden light shined behind the bandages.
“You are much different than I imagined,” She tapped her chin, “She is safe. You do not need to worry. She does miss you, though. You should send a present with the next letter. She might be less mad at you that way.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Amethyst’s mossy green face stretched into a tired smile, “Of course, Prophetess. Thank you for looking for her.”
She greeted Bobabano next. He followed his aunt’s lead and Talia wrapped her small hand around two of his fingers.
“I am Bobabano of the Cauldronbone tribe. First and only child of the late Queen Quillia.”
“I cannot say on one of the matters,” The golden light flashed again, and she smiled, “But, your mother and father have safely rejoined the cycle. They will meet again.”
“That is a gift I could’ve never asked for,” He blinked, “Thank you.”
“Mira! You haven’t visited me yet,” Prophetess Talia frown and walked to her, “It makes me sad. Come visit soon, okay?”
“I’m sorry, Goddess-Soul Talia,” Mira bowed, “I will make the time.”
Talia placed her hands on either side of her own. As she looked at the golden flash of light, she felt something tug at her. As the light fingered its way into her mind, Encante growled. Talia gasped at the noise.
“Oh, sorry!” She pulled her hands back quickly, “I didn’t mean to. Can I try again?”
All eyes fell on Mira. She didn’t know what had happened. Skymara stepped behind the girl and Mira felt an appalling amount of power radiate from the elf. Mira looked up into her snowy white eyes and the elf searched her face for any intention of harming the girl.
“She’s trying to find something you’re scared of,” Encante scoffed in her mind, “Pathetic attempt at gaining our favor by making herself a youngling. As if I would never –”
“Of course,” She cleared her throat, “I am interested to see what you find, Goddess-Soul.”
The prophetess placed her hands on Mira’s face. She felt the light speed through her memories and emotions quickly. Then, it ripped away from her just as fast. The whiplash caused her to blink the stars away.
“I am so sorry,” The bandages over Talia’s eyes dampened, “I am so, so sorry. Please forgive me.”
Mira looked at her in confusion, “What is it?”
The young girl threw her arms around Mira’s waist and squeezed her in a hug. The once loud crowd silenced to a dull murmur. Mira hated the feeling of thousands of eyes staring directly at her. She was unsure what to do with her hands as the elf stared at them in disbelief. She wrapped her arms around the small goddess until the girl pulled away.
“It is okay, Opal,” Mira nodded, “I would not harm her.”
Skymara blinked and reexamined Mira. Her eyes grew wide, and she moved to say something before Amethyst coughed to get her attention. The orc shook her head.
“Most curious,” Skymara hummed as they moved down the line.
“Please visit me, okay?” The girl looked up at Mira with a sniffle, “I promise we will be nice. I just wanna talk.”
“I will,” Mira patted the girl on the head, “Please, Goddess-Soul, continue. I will not share the secret.”
“Promise?” She held out her pinky.
Mira laughed. She remembered how Tella did this. She wrapped her own pinky around the girl’s and smiled.
“If you do not share mine.”
The girl moved onto the next competitor and Mira felt every eye in the stadium linger on her still. The sensation made her skin crawl. She hated this attention. Bo put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her in confusion. She simple shook her head. She looked at the dirt floor.
Nothing would make her happier than turning into a shadow.
When she was enthralled, nobody would give her the time of day. She could blend into the shadows and disappear into a crowd. Now, the entire city whispered about her and would now her name from either Bobabano’s escapades, this fight, or the prophetess’s words. Mira wanted the entire ordeal to be over. She didn’t want to be known. She wanted to be her own.
“When you are discovered, you will always be known, Little One,” Encante tried to sooth her thoughts, “With our power, you can let the shadows consume you and hide then. For now, we must remain in the light.”
Jonen worried about Mira as the prophetess approached. He cleared his head and looked at the girl in front of him.
“Hi! I’m Talia,” She waved, “Do you remember me?”
“Hello, yes,” Jonen couldn’t help but smile at the cheerful child, “I’m Jonen Lafayette de Sfagroth. Second rank knight in Travel Knight. Part of the Defense Brigade.”
She reached out and gripped his fingers. The golden light flashed longer than it had for anyone else. He felt the warmth travel through his body until she let go of his hand.
“Your mother misses you,” Talia nodded, “But she is okay.”
“Thank you, young goddess,” He sighed, “I worried about her.”
“The other thing you do not need to worry about as much as you think,” The girl pressed a finger against his nose, “Just be patient, okay? You will understand soon enough.”
His face heated as he thought he realized what she meant. The first round of competition was finally over. There was a dinner to attend, but Mira would finally meet with him. He didn’t know if it would be before or after the dinner, but he would finally know. As his mind drifted off into fantasies, the prophetess finished interviewing each contestant.
“Thank you all,” Skymara bowed elegantly, “We will see you at dusk for the evening meal. Please, feel free to bring a guest. We will have enough food for everyone.”
As the pair walked back to the giant oak door, all the tournament participants were ushered out the other one. Ravenna grabbed Mira’s hand and grinned happily.
“Have you got a dress for tonight, or should we go shopping?”
“We can, if you’d like,” She said emotionlessly, “I will let you decide what is appropriate for me.”