Lylena stared at me with questioning eyes "a war is coming?"
My long slender fingers wrapped around the cold silver pendant as I yanked it off with more force than I had intended. The tiny metal crushed into a million pieces in my palm. Lylena gasped as she quickly reached out and grabbed the broken pieces from my hands.
"I'm so sorry lylena" I muttered as I realized what I had done. but my mind was absent. I didn't mean to break it, but a war was coming. I was freaking out.
"This was the last one" her voice was low, almost like a whisper.
My eyes found hers and I gulped with guilt. A knot twisted in my stomach and my eyes softened as I realized that it must have meant so much to her. "I am so sorry. I..I.. didn't mean to break it"
I just keep making things worse.
"Is there no way to fix it?" I asked with a bit of hope
Her head moved slowly from side to side "it was crafted with god magic." She stared down at the pendant "it can't be fixed"
I sucked in a breath "um....what if we...uh...get a new one?"
Her eyes snapped to mine "it's the last one" her tongue rolled over each word like it tasted like bile
I inched back, my fingers fumbling with the edge of the bed " I'm sorry lylena"
She stared at me for a while, her eyes searching and boring into my soul that I had to resist the urge to look away.
I glanced sideways and then at her in discomfort "What"
"You owe me" she Paused, then bowed her head "great xaaji"
My brows furrowed together as I stared at her. I wanted to say no, but guilt took over and I couldn't resist the temptation of pleasing the woman I had hurt "I owe you"
It was just three words. Three mundane words.
Yet a part of me felt something queasy, something funny and tingly that I couldn't quite place. I couldn't tell if it was good or bad, but it was there.
She smiled, the corners of her mouth crinkled and her cheeks puffed together to reveal two identical dimples on each side.
"You'll need to master your powers again great one." Her eyes darkened "if a war is truly coming then we must be ready"
"We?"
She arched a brow "yes. We."
My brows creased together "you don't even know me. What if I am a bad person, what if I am the bad guy. What if I'm the one who caused it all and created this mess in the first place and now we're all doomed because of me. What if I'm...."
"Xaaji" her fingers held my shoulders in place. Only then did I realize that I was shaking.
I sucked in a shaky breath and my eyelids lowered. I was fighting back the tears that was ready to fall "my family didn't want me. There was no WE with them and there certainly will never be." I looked up "how can you stand by me when even I have never done it for myself"
"Oh sweetheart" she cooed, her eyes softening as she gently ran her fingers through my hair. She pulled me in closer and wrapped her arms around me.
I stiffened, unable to breath as her fingers continued their stroll through my hair. A single tear slipped down my cheek. 'damn traitor!'. And then another slipped, and another, and another. Until I was sure that my eyes had turned to the angel waterfall.
"There there great one. Let it all out"
Never before in my life have I had anything to call my own. Never before In my life has anything been owned by me. I was always a loner, an outcast, the one everyone was either too embarrassed to be friends with or too scared that I would rub my dirty outcast scent on them.
I was always alone.
I was always in isolation, away from everyone.
There has never been a WE in my vocabulary
For the first time, I was a part of something. I was part of WE.
I am scared of the war that's coming, but I'm excited for the journey up ahead.
Lylena held me for what felt like eternity before letting me go. My eyes were heavy and puffy by the time I stopped crying.
"Wash your face great one, you'll need to meet the others"
I got up from the bed and washed my face in a bowl that had clear blue water. How the water became blue was beyond my comprehension, but at this point, the world could suddenly loose colour and I wouldn't even question why. Magic was everywhere.
"They're excited to meet you great one. They've heard stories about your return and they're a little bit crazy about the news" she smiled sheepishly
She said a little bit, but that smile said otherwise.
"They're happy to see me" I muttered with a smile on my face.
She handed me a white flowy dress "Go and get dressed great one" she tilted her chin towards a red door which I hadn't even noticed before.
Like I said, magic was everywhere.
I walked in and it was a massive bathroom with a sort of medieval bathtub in the middle. The water was blue. Not like the sea is blue kind of blue, but more like the sky is blue kind of blue. It was beautiful and magical.
I sighed as my feet hit the water. Within a few minutes i was out, feeling refreshed as ever.
********
The villagers had gathered in a grass field. Each of them had flowers in their hair and held a basket filled with things that I could barely recognize. They all had identical white hair, the only difference was that some where darker than some, while others where turning grey.
Lylena stood in front of the people, her face stern and her lips pressed tightly together. "We have passed our tradition from one generation to the other. We have grown from what our ancestors had started, but one thing has always remained thesame" she turned to stare at me "we serve the great xaaji, our creator" her eyes turned back to the crowd "we mark a great day in history for our people. THE GREAT ONE HAS RETURNED!!" She yelled in a booming voice and the crowd cheered in joy. There was jubilation in the air as everyone cheered and clapped in excitement.
I could feel the rumble beneath my feet and I couldn't help a smile that graced my lips.
"Let the celebration begin!" Lylena yelled and more cheers erupted.