Prophecy Betrayed

Chapter 1

"Thank you...thank you so much..."

The poor man was practically weeping as he grasped my hand tightly in his, gratitude pouring off him in waves. His hands were rough, weathered by hardships I couldn't even begin to imagine. He used to be a king, I thought, though this war on humanity had turned him into a frail old man with thinning grey hair, sullen pale skin, and eyes that had lost their luster long ago. His burdens had turned him into a hunchback and a skeleton as well. He was but a shadow of what he once was.

I gave him a soft smile and covered his hands with mine. "There's no need to thank me."

"There's every need!" He paused to have a coughing fit, waving away his one attendant that strode forward with a concerned expression. My heart ached for his failing health.

He finally looked back up at me, having aged another five years in the span of twenty seconds. "I can never repay you for what you've done."

"Repayment isn't necessary, Your Majesty. As long as I can protect you, that is all the reward I want." I squeezed his hands, and his smile grew. It used to be charming once, I could see it. Now it was only sad, and framed by wrinkles.

"On that note, I'd like to protect you further, Your Majesty."

He tilted his head. "However do you mean?"

I raised my hand. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course," he replied immediately. I stroked his cheek with gentle fingers.

"Then you must close your eyes."

For a moment his eyes sparked with curiosity, then they slowly slid shut. I placed my hand over his eyes and began to murmur the spell I had murmured so many times before. It was the only spell I knew, and the only one I needed. I felt the familiar heat travel from my chest up into my face and into my eyes then down my arm and into my hand. I felt it go into the old king, like roots connecting two plants together, intertwining our beings. His mouth dropped open and he began to tremble. I felt then his energy being pulled into my body, traveling back through my arm and sitting in my chest. He let out a strangled groan and I felt wetness beneath my palm. I continued to draw from him until our energy became mine and he grew cold. His legs buckled and he fell to the ground. His eyes were staring upward, blue and empty, cheeks wet with tears. Tears of Bliss I called them. I sighed, putting a hand to my chest. Sometimes I could feel the souls struggling inside me right afterward. It always took them a few minutes to calm down. Only then would I release them.

There was the sound of short trembling breaths, and I turned to the king's attendant. He was staring with wild eyes filled with terror. "Y-You...what did you...?!"

"It's alright, I didn't harm him," I said with a smile, knowing full well that I looked terrifying to him. I could still feel the heat behind my eyes. "I just collected his soul so it could be taken somewhere safe."

He tried to speak but only stuttering came out. I went over to him and put a hand on his head, tousling the thick brown locks. He was young, maybe fifteen years old. He still had baby fat on his cheeks.

He flinched when I slid my hand over his eyes. "Now I must do the same with you."

He tried to pull away but couldn't when I grabbed his arm. "P-Please don't," he whimpered. "I don't want you to take my soul!"

"There won't be any pain," I told him. "Only relief. It is the best way to protect all of you from the demons."

He was shaking, but he stayed put. I could feel his uncertainty. I closed my eyes and began the spell, but after the incantation I began to sing to him, a song about spring winds and purple flowers and a boy with brown hair and freckles on his cheeks who found happiness in a white world of peace. His body relaxed for a few moments, then just as the king's had it started to shake again and I felt the Tears of Bliss soak my palm. He let out a gasp and a soft whine, then he grew cold and fell to the ground. My glowing silver eyes reflected in his browns as I stood over him. His soul was like a tornado inside me, like a bird battering its head into the bars of its cage over and over again.

I stood there for a moment until it calmed down enough for me to walk, then started making my way around the castle. There wasn't much left of it now, and not many people left in it, but I did manage to find a few more servants and a cousin of the king and his wife, and their infant son. The baby's soul was the most peaceful of the bunch, accepting me as though he knew Fate had been coming for him.

I stayed in the town come nightfall. When the moon was high in the starless sky I made a fire in the square and stepped into it, turning the flames from a burning red to a caressing silver. I chanted the incantation again and one by one the souls I had been harboring in my body left me, bursting from my chest and floating upwards into the sky. They could have been stars. It was beautiful the way they floated. My eyes welled up at the sight, and at the weight that was being taken off me. I waved goodbye to the king, to his attendant, to the infant son, to all the townspeople I had found still living in the ruins. I waved, and prayed for their safe journey to the heavens.

The fire slowly went out until everything in me was gone. I was left with silver ashes and the weightlessness I'd grown used to feeling every few days, and yet hadn't grown used to at all in the many, many years I'd been alive. I retreated into one of the empty shops nearby and settled down for the night, dreaming of white clouds and sunshine and smiling faces, while deep down, my heart cried.