The Fifth Guardian

Chapter 38

ARISTIA'S POV

My heart pounding in my chest, I opened the scroll. As I was reading it, I felt numb, my legs went limp, making me fall on the floor. My hands were shaking, I couldn't breathe, and tears started falling from my face. I felt something inside me break, it hurts. I grabbed my chest trying to make it go away, I couldn't breathe.

"A maiden with bejeweled hair will wreak havoc or Prosperity.

Bloodshed is on the horizon between the lion and the lamb.

Her core is the crucial element.

The Maiden's rose is more tyrannical than the Lion's claw.

Darkness shall come and the crows shall feast.

The bejeweled Maiden may bring catastrophe to us all or triumph of tranquility".

That is not the prophecy I was told, there was even writing at the bottom of the scroll that deciphered the real meaning.

Whoever her heart will belong to will have a taste of her power.

"Why?" I screamed but no voice came out. "Please no, please not this" I said praying this was a dream, a nightmare! Anything but this. I gasped for air, my chest was getting tighter.
"Please make it stop" I was begging to make the pain stop, I cried on the floor for how long I didn't know. I tried standing up but only to fall to the floor again, I was still shaking, my legs were giving out, my hair sprawled around me. I tried again, this time I could steady myself, my head was foggy. Was everything a lie? All the care and friendship? The love I was feeling. Was everything an act? Did all of them know? 

My brother? did he know? Is this the reason why he watched me closely as a child to make sure his friend will have my heart and not someone else? Is this real? Please gods, please if this is a nightmare it's time to wake me up. The tears wouldn't stop, I tried to walk out of the room, I wanted to get away from as far as possible, I walked to my room, and I was thankful he left. I sat on the bed and started sobbing, the way he made me feel? was a lie? did he force himself to do it to be powerful? Maybe I read the scroll wrong? Or was the oracle wrong? Did they mis-deciphered the prophecy?

My head was pounding with so many questions, suddenly everything clicked together. They were so nice, so I won't suspect a thing, Val was watching us to make sure their plan has progress. Brother? My beloved brother, all those growing up with him meant nothing to him. They were the first people I got close with, and it made sense, because it wasn't real. Val and Lael, was it all a lie? Who would want to be involved with me? Everywhere I go monsters follow, mystical creatures want to take me. Hades wants me to be his queen.

Not only I'm a danger to myself but also to others. They made way for me and Raynar, they made us stay together for the plan to work. All this time, I was happy, and I was foolish not to see that it wasn't real. I started to sob again, it hurts, everything hurts. I need to know if it's true, I finally found the strength to get up. I kept walking until I saw Val, I really didn't want to talk to anyone else. I was about to walk away.

"Did you tell her the truth?" Val asked, his voice was dead serious.

"She doesn't need to know" that was Raynar's voice. I hid behind the wall.

"You father wanted you to have her power, to be the one to control her. She loves you man, she deserves to know the truth" Val said. No, no, no. This is not real. This can't be real.

"Like I said, I have to plan on telling her anything. We will go as planned and train, we need her to be naïve and happy or she can't even fight a lion without collapsing from sadness" Raynar's tone was different. I stepped away from them, I ran back to the room. I couldn't hear anything anymore, they all betrayed me. All of them, at least my father, had the decency to say it to my face. All those moments we had were just for his plan, all of them were in on it.