Strife | Fated Four: Book 5

Prologue

Four women, a blonde, a redhead, and two brunettes, sat and watched a little girl play with her dolls. Their beloved husbands were fulfilling their duties and so the women decided to spend some time together.

"I can't get over how much she looks like your other half," the redhead told the blonde.

The blonde smiled as she looked at her daughter.

"Mommy?" the little girl called out.

"Yes, moonbeam?" the blonde asked.

"Will you tell me a story?" the girl asked.

"Of course, which one would you like?" the blonde asked.

"The one about the four brothers," the girl replied.

The blonde smiled. That story was near and dear to all of their hearts for so many reasons, and it warmed her heart that her daughter enjoyed hearing it.

"Of course," the blonde replied, "Who told it to you last?"

"Uncle Calix," she replied.

"And where did he leave off?" her Mother asked.

"He told me about the fourth's brother's journey to the Underworld and the potion, but he sort of stopped there," the girl replied.

"Okay well, the fourth brother and his soulmate fell in love and they returned to the human world with the potion," the blonde woman told her, "And together the four brothers and their soulmates made a plan to strike a massive blow against the evil sister."

"What did they do?" the girl asked eagerly, wanting to know more.

"They made a plan to defeat the angry god that had sided with her," the blonde replied.

"Did they defeat him?" the girl asked.

"They did," her Mother replied, "But it came with a cost. The soulmates and brothers discovered that the evil sister had been getting power from another sister, let's call her the traitor sister. Anyway, the traitor sister had been giving the evil sister more power, making her stronger and harder to beat. The brothers and their soulmates were still so exhausted from their battle with the angry God that they weren't sure how they were going to get through this next battle. But thankfully, the brothers and their soulmates didn't have to fight them both."

"Why not?" the girl asked.

"Because they both ran once some Goddesses arrived to help the brothers," the redhead replied.

"Then what happened?" the girl asked.

"Well the fourth brother and his soulmate bound themselves together," one of the brunettes replied.

"She broke his curse, Aunt Davina?" the girl asked.

"She did, but there was another problem," Davina replied.

"What?" the girl asked.

"Remember the curse that the evil sister put on the soulmates?" Davina asked. The girl nodded. "Well it came into effect. The soulmates lost the brothers."

"No!" the girl protested. She had been hoping that the curse wouldn't affect the brothers and their soulmates. She wanted them to stay together. "Then what happened?"

"Well after they lost the brothers, the soulmates got together and vowed to defeat both the evil sister and the traitor sister," her Mother replied, "But I think that's enough for now, you need to go to sleep. Say goodnight to everyone."

"Goodnight Aunties," the girl told the three other women.

They smiled at the girl as her Mother took her upstairs. The blonde haired woman tucked her daughter in and kissed her goodnight before returning to her three companions.

"I still can't believe how much she loves that story," the redhead stated.

"I know," the blonde agreed, "But it's nice that she likes it. Especially since it's the story of her family."

"Still, I'm pretty sure it was way more complicated than you made it seem," the redhead stated with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I'm not going to tell my daughter the entire story," the blonde replied, "At least not until she's older. She looks at the brothers and their soulmates with so much sparkle in her eyes. I don't want to take that away from her. She doesn't deserve that. After all, our journey wasn't as easy as we make it seem in the story."

Davina poured some red wine into four glasses and passed them around. They were all still waiting for their husbands to return from their work.

"How long do you think the boys will be?" she asked.

"Probably a while yet," the blonde replied, "Soren was saying they needed to catch up on their work, so it could be a few more hours until they're finished."

"In that case we have time," the redhead stated.

"Time for what?" the blonde asked.

"Time to tell the story as it should be told," the redhead clarified.

"I didn't know you were so sentimental, Avalon," Davina noted. Avalon shrugged.

"Spending so much time with the Fates has changed me, I guess," she replied before turning to the blonde, "Shall we?"

"I suppose," the blonde agreed, "But we're all telling this story. After all, we all went through our own trials during that time."

The other three women nodded and Davina turned to the blonde.

"You should start," she stated.

"Why me?" the blonde asked.

"Because you're the first of us," Davina replied.

The blonde sighed and took a sip of her wine. She hated talking about what happened during their past journey. Of the four of them, she probably had the worst time. But she also knew that in order to fully move past it, the four of them needed to discuss it. She quickly glanced at the staircase, making sure that no one was listening to their conversation. When she was satisfied that they were alone, she turned back to Davina. She took a deep breath, knowing that this wasn't going to be easy.

"Okay," she relented, "I guess I'll start..."

AN: Thanks for reading! Be sure to drop some comments and vote!