Destiny Written

Chapter 3

As the day continued with its usual mundaneness, night soon befell the kingdom. Eyes gave in to darkness as Alba lay in her bed.

She began to dream again.

Then something peculiar happened.
Within the darkness, Alba thought she saw a piece of light. But how would she have known that?

It pierced the endless night.

Strange.

She felt herself moving towards it. The motion felt like walking, falling forward and catching herself with each step.

"This way," a voice whispered. It was as wind between the flower petals. Like life breathing between everything.

Hurriedly, Alba chased the light. A piercing white glare burned like a star. Is this what stars are like?

She could feel her hand stretching, yearning for it. When she reached it, fingers burning with the sensation of something much stronger than the warmth of the sun.

"See."

Explosions, stronger than anything she had ever felt before in her life suddenly burst into the world. Something other than darkness sparked in front of her, baffling her. The vividness of it all scared her. Nothing in her life had ever been like this. It was only darkness and nothing more than that, and suddenly there was a world beyond that. A world of light.

"The blind see more than what those with sight can." The voice returned, strong, full, with the strength of the entire sun that basked the world.

Alba stopped breathing for a moment as her soul reached a level of intensity she had never known.

Before her, something more than darkness lay.

A girl - no, a woman, stood against a sky of rose, gold, purple, and night. The world was between the birth of day and the death of night. Her hair was unlike anything Alba had ever seen - and she had never seen anything before either.

Shades of blue that melded into one another, ever changing like tides of time, were twisted into braids across the crown of her head, the rest cascaded into waterfalls of waves behind her. A tiara with the jewels of the sun lay embedded into those locks. Down her body, armor of glistening deep blue and gold shielded her, conforming to her body. In her hands, as long as her waist to the ground, she gripped onto two swords.

One double-edged sword was made seemingly of light and dark. Half was as deep as night, glittering with studs of stars within, the other was bright as day, shimmering with the white golden glow. The other was made of metal Alba had never even seen. It was seemingly made of glass with deep navy and royal blue fire within it. It was unlike anything Alba could believe.

Alba stood there, not knowing what to do. Then, suddenly, she realized that she and this woman were not alone.

Turning, rows and rows of armies lay before her in masses. Armor clad of colors she had never seen before, but the differences were enough for her to know that they were not from the same kingdom. They stood behind her, weapons ready, anticipating the call to attack. She held her breath as shadows moved across her face and above were creatures she could not believe.

So that's what birds look like. They were bigger than anything she had seen with wings spanning across the sky, colors contrasted the dark she knew. They were breathtaking, hovering with the power of their wings to stay suspended in the air. It was as if they were light beams from the sun.

Scanning the people, the vividness of it all struck her. It inundated her. Is this what seeing is like? Everything all at once? So many things to look at, so many things to study, to see.