Outcaste

Chapter 1

Cries.

Cries everywhere, of panic, of joy... of pain.

Then silence as the world shook and rattled on its axis like a precariously placed vase; as  distant cries reached the stars. The babe had been born.

Fate looked down upon the glass like lake that sat before her, faded at the edges as the babe's countenance came into view. Barely a few seconds old, and yet its tiny pink hands grasped at the air as if hungry for more of it. Fate's fingertips kissed the edge of the lake and little eddies of ripples formed, causing the image to dance along with them.

Fate sighed forlornly.

"Soon, destiny will find out about you, and by the gods, does he have something planned for you... but now... now is my time to bless you child."

Fate got down on her knees, hands upon the luscious grass surrounding her and whispered.

"May fate always guide you upon the right path, whether you yourself know not where it lays. May fate never be a burden to you, and may fate always make sure you have enough courage for whatever destiny has in store for you."

Fate closed her eyes as she concentrated, and her lips pursed slightly as she blew across the surface of the lake. She could tell her magic had done its job when gold sparks shone behind her eyelids and her fingertips were numb.

".... it's a girl"

Fate sighed again. Destiny had already been cruel. Fate stood slowly, and turned her back on the shimmering image of the babe, but remembered the gentle whisper of the name that would change the world.

Ophelia.
Her name is Ophelia

The wide double doors swung open in a blast of air as Destiny stepped inside the floral atrium. Fate stepped to one side and hid behind the massive wall of ivy hanging there before Destiny could see her. Although Destiny was her brother, she often despised him and the way he saw the world through a pessimistic lense. Always distrustful of others and willing to cross a line if it meant he got what he wanted.

Fate watched as Destiny stood at the lake and looked down, just as the last ripple vanished.

"I see Fate has already been here." Destiny shrugged his rugged shoulders and took off the thick woollen cape that hung there.

"Oh well, it's my turn now."

Fate took a shallow breath as she saw Destiny dip to one knee through the gaps in the ivy and watched spell bound as he dipped a hand into the lake and took a sip of the water that stayed there. He brought it to his mouth, and swilled it around for a moment as if tasting a fine wine, then swallowed. Destiny's eyes closed in ecstasy for a brief moment, then jumped open with a jolt as he stood.

"Ah, the taste of a legend."

Fate turned away from the gap in the ivy and hung her head.

Just as I had feared

"Destiny will be a hard road for you, young one. Filled with many twists and turns. Destiny will either gift you with tremendous gain, or tremendous pain. Free will dictates that will be your choice. But Destiny dictates that either way; you will change the world."

Fate heard the swish of the cape before the purposeful stride of her brother, and she stepped out of the ivy just in time to touch his shoulder.

"You know Free will isn't as strong as us and Time. Why did you place such leniency on the mortal?"

Destiny shrugged.

"I guess I'm a romantic at heart?" He chuckled roughly.

"Try again," Fate frowned.
"There must be some reason. In the limitless years I've known you, you've never left the outcome to Time or Free will. What do you know that the others do not, hmmm."

Destiny shrugged again, a quirk of his that often left Fate with the taste of disdain upon her lips.

"Nothing, dear sister; that any of us can control." Destiny turned and walked out of the atrium on a gust of cedar wood scented whirlwind. A scent that was particularly Destiny's own.

Fate was left standing there, transfixed as her mind raced.

"... wait!"

Destiny popped his head back round the door.

"Yes?" He raised his firmly set brow.

"You consulted with the heart Oracle?" Fate gasped.

"No. That is forbidden, why do you think I would ever do such a thing."

"You have done more for far less, give me one reason why I should believe you." Fate sputtered wearily.

Destiny stepped through the doors fully, and embraced his sister. His mouth a hairs breadth away from her ear.

"Because the gods and the weaver have already decided Ophelia's design. It was made five hundred years ago..." Destiny paused.

"All we can do is equip the child with the best gifts we can."

Fate stepped back out of Destiny's arms and looked long and hard at the face of her brother. It was aged, yet youthful, maybe even a touch eerie.  His eyes held fathomless depths of knowledge, and burdens that were not his. His hair fell well past his shoulders in a low ponytail that was not fully black, nor fully silver. It was a mix of both.

A curse placed upon all the immortals of this realm. They were guardians, forced to witness the great achievements of man, and the many pitfalls; all while only being spectators.  Save for being allowed to bless the occasional myths and legends that some mortals would become.

Fate's hand drifted loose from Destiny's and she turned to gaze at the lake that now turned black and was still.

"The weaver really wove her tapestry five hundred years ago?" Fate asked quietly.

Fate could hear Destiny's intake of breath before he replied.

"Yes."

"Then we should consult with Time, and find a way to make sure Ophelia gets the best of the best. If anything is capable of counteracting a tapestry that long awaited and strong, its gifts given born from Time."

"I know. Time has a price. It will not be like the other times. Are you ready for what Time might ask of us?"

Fate held her brother close as her head alighted on his strong shoulders.
"We will have to be. For her sake."

"Then let us go and see what Time has in store."

Destiny gently pushed Fate away, but gently laid her hand in the crook of his elbow as they walked out of the atrium and the lights dimmed to natural dusk.