Prophecy

Barthus had known his position for as long as he could remember. He had vague recollections of the time before he was delivered to the castle, as hard as he tried to forget. His life before servant hood had not been a sad one wrought with turmoil. In fact, the memories he did have were of his mother's voice. She sang him to sleep every night. Her musical voice would call him inside for dinner. He remembered walking into the small cottage and being filled with the sweet and wonderful smells of fresh bread and stew. He didn't recall his father. Barthus would concentrate as hard as he could but his father was never in the pictures. Some days he wondered if he even had a father at all. Of course, as young as he was, he knew that it took a man and a woman to make a child, but he couldn't help but think that there must be something missing from his childhood.

Barthus never had the chance to ask about his father before he was sent to the castle as the servant to the Crown Prince. His first days were filled with sadness and confusion. At six years of age understanding would not enter into his mind. He resented his mother, hated her for giving him up. She had told him that it was meant to be. She had said that everything happened for a reason and one day he would know himself. Even looking back on this now he had no idea what she was talking about. In the years that followed he learned that pushing her out of his mind was always the best thing to do. The disappointment and betrayal that boiled in his blood when he though of her couldn't be healthy for anyone. Eventually he found his groove and surprisingly Oothus had been a kind man to serve. Together they did almost everything. He was present when Oothus awoke and followed him throughout the day whatever he may be doing. The exception was when Oothus left the castle. During those time Barthus had the opportunity to find his own pass times. These occasions didn't come along very often recently since Oothus had been training exceptionally hard these days. So when Oothus decided to go for a ride after a particularly troubling training exercised, Barthus prepared the horse as fast as his fingers would allow.

Recently he had been noticing changes. Muscles were forming on his arms where he didn't have them before. Hair began to spackle his underarms. Every now and then he would have the nerve to talk to a young girl in the market and undoubtedly this would be the exact moment that the voice he new so well all these years would betray him and cause her to giggle at his expense. Not to mention the activities that seemed to be happening below the belt. Even a stiff wind caused a tightness in his pants causing him to have to veer off into an alley way for a few minutes. Some of these unexpected detours had been rewarded however. One such time he came across a galley of laughter as he entered the back corridor between two of the nicer homes in the village. Curiosity got the best of him and he walked cautiously toward the laughter. As he neared he discerned that the laughter was coming from at least four females. Sure enough, as he approached and peered through a crack in the stone fence surrounding the yard he was rewarded. Barthus soon began to appreciate bathing day.

Today however, he was anxious to explore some of the other changes that had been happening to him of late. He had not shared these changes with anyone for fear that he may be thrown in the dungeon. One particularly regular day Barthus had been polishing a sword in the armory. He had become frustrated when he realized the cloth he was using had been left on the other side of the room. As it was bathing day he had been rushing to get his chores done as fast as he could. Upon yelling some unmemorable curse at himself he went to set down the sword only to find the cloth he had been frustrated about only moments before suddenly appear next to him on a chair. Barthus blinked and furrowed his brow in confusion. He had shaken his head, continued with his chores, and thought nothing of it until similar things began to happen. He noticed in his moments of frustration, sadness, and extreme happiness objects would move on their own accord. Today he was going to try and will it to happen on his own.

Oothus rode out of the castle gates and Barthus turned on his heals. He grabbed a sack and filled it with some bread and cheese and set out to find his own way into the forest. He had been concentrating so hard at the task before him he didn't notice the woman crossing the path in front of him. He smashed head long into her and he noticed her stiffen at his touch. He looked up at her and saw that her eyes were rolled back into her head. As quickly as a humming bird in flight she snapped her head downward to look at him. Her fingers gripped around his arm like talons and the face that he had first thought was relatively handsome now looked old and weathered. Her eyes burned into his soul and teeth clenched.

"Fire, Air, Water, Land the fate of the world is in your hand. Two shall meet and one shall spawn. Divisions comes and peace is gone." The woman spoke through clenched teeth. Her voice was low and nobody around her appeared to be noticing the strange encounter. As quickly as it had started it was finished. The woman snapped upright and loosened her grip. He looked up and her in shock and noticed she was looking down at him in confusion. Her appearance returned to the handsomeness he had noticed just minutes before. She looked down at him in confusion.

"Well what is it boy? Run along." she shooed.

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Roane floated into the room and gazed around to find it empty. It was unusual for no one to be around even as early as it was. The great tree had been her home since birth and was the center of the kingdom of Faere. The hundreds of rooms inside the tree where not cut into the tree but rather grown in the tree as needed. The great tree of Ysondra was said to have been planted by the creator himself. The three seemed to have a life of it's own. When a home was needed a room would magically grow over night. When someone passed on the life force was absorbed into the tree and what was no longer needed would simply transform into what was needed. For this reason Ysondra was the hub of all activity in Faere. People lived, worked, loved, and created within the great tree. Not all creatures of Faere lived within the great tree. Some preferred solitude to the buzz of activity that was always present within the great city within thus they moved to outer villages. Some creatures of Faere.

In the very heart of the tree was the throne room. Each time a new king or queen was chosen the thrown room would reconfigure itself over night. The branches forming an new thrown fit especially for the leader of the time. The pillars, fireplaces, and chairs all designed to the liking of the new leader with seemingly no communication at all with the tree itself. Of course the people of Faere knew the tree as a mother. Living within the being their whole lives they became one with the great tree and the tree learned to anticipate, care for, and love each member of the kingdom that it house.

Each spindly branch held winding stair cases within reaching upward to the sky. Each gnarled knot in the tree formed a new dwelling for the residents there in. This symbiotic relationship was one that needed no explanation to anyone who knew it.

Roane plucked a piece of fruit of a vine that was growing just outside the door to her quarters. The bright red and orange fruit shimmered with a velvet peach skin.

"Where have you been young lady!" bellowed a deep and angry voice from the corridor behind her.

"Oh father, there you are I was just wondering…." Roane was cut off

"I don’t want to hear another word from you. You had us worried sick. The entire kingdom is in a uproar. Since when do you think you can decide to not come in at night. Do you have no regard for your people. Do you have no idea what might happen to a young girl, let alone a young princess!"

"But father…"

"Don't you but father me! You're mother and I have had enough of this nonsense. I fear we have been much to lenient with you. From now on you will learn what it means to be a princess. You will start to prepare yourself to take the throne one day."

Roane stood dumbfounded by this sudden outburst. Never had she heard her father with such anger in his voice. She had had disputes before, but those were different. Nothing that sounded this serious. There had been many nights when she decided to stay out at her grandmother's cottage over night and there had been no problem. She was in Faere for goodness sakes. What could go wrong. It's not like every eye in the kingdom didn't watch her every move. If there was trouble it was sure to be reported. The stars had been so beautiful in the Fields last night she had spent the whole night looking up at them and imagining what may lay beyond her own world.

"I was only at Shin'Tara. I'm fine father." Roane rolled her eyes.

"You will return to your room at once and prepare yourself for this evenings meal. Lord Alberich will be joining us this evening and you will begin to show him the respect he deserves. He will be your future husband."

"But…" Roane didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before her father turned on his heals and left the room. Tears began to sting her eyes as she turned toward her quarters. As she approached the landing, what appeared to be a solid wall of wood and knots began to untie itself. Each line in the grain of wood began to curl backward and knots turned into branches and vines. Slowly an opening formed large enough for her to walk through, revealing the staircase which lead to her room. As she stepped through the newly formed portal the vines and branches magically began their work again in reverse, essentially closing the door behind her as she ascended the stairs.

Lord Alberich, she thought to herself, is a complete and utter dolt. If my parents think I'll marry a man like that just to make everyone happy they will be sadly mistaken. He's old and musty. He couldn't crack a smile if his life depended on it. I've never seen a man as uptight as he is. There is no way I'm spending the next six hundred years with a man like that.

As she entered the room at the top of the stairs everything came alive. The dark faded away as a large window opened up on the far end of the room. Her bed was as she left it, unmade from the day before. She had a small vanity on one wall and a the rest of the room was covered with books. Every time she brought home a new book that didn't fit in her bookshelves, a new bookshelf would form itself in the wall next to it. It would then be her mission to fill up the new shelf since she hated to see wasted space when it came to books. Roane grabbed the book she was currently working on and sat on the window seat beside the large window. She opened it up and decided to lose herself for a few hours. As her eyes moved over the first few sentences of the book she began to recall the day before

Such a curious man he had been. Oothus is a strong name. She smiled remembering how hard he came down on his rump after the wind had picked him up. I wonder if he'll come. I am rather curious to find out more about him.

**********************************

"Tell me my son, what makes you think that you are above consequence? Why do you think you can wander off all day long, shirking your duties, and not be held responsible."

"You noticed I was gone?" Oothus replied to his father in an obstinate tone.

"You would do well to remember who you are talking to." The king glared down at him.

"And who might that be?" Oothus retorted, "Am I talking to the king or my father? As you wish sire." Oothus bowed before his father exaggeratedly, stood, glared back and walked out of the room.

Walking into the corridor he met Barthus who had been waiting for him just outside the doors. "Come along." he ordered more forcefully than he intended. "We have things to prepare."

"Prepare?" asked Barthus, "Is there to be a feast or festival sire?"

"No." Oothus paused in his stride and looked out the window in the corridor he was standing in. "we're leaving."

Alas we come to the end of this installment! You now have another choice to make. All you need to do is comment or email me (librarygoddess2@gmail.com) your choice. Your choices are again listed below.

1. Oothus meets Roane in the field the following week.

2. Oothus forgets about Roane and doesn’t return to Shin’tara

Though a simple choice, both choices will lead to vastly different and exciting outcomes. The next segment will come next Sunday. You will have until Friday to submit your votes to me.