Categories > Original > Fantasy > Twins of Rosebush Manor
Chapter 3
At first, no one moved. Then, with a heartbreaking wail Ariyalla through herself upon the two bodies and laid her head upon the breast of one, before switching to the other, to see if they were breathing. Even when it was obvious they were not, she did not give up trying to make them live. Harshly, she whirled upon her partner, "Josena! Help me save them! You are the one with the Healing gifts; I cannot save them on my own. We are nothing without them. You must save them. Why aren't you doing anything?!"
Josena merely covered her mouth with her hands and began to shake her head violently, backing up until she was against the wall and unable to move anywhere else. Tears ran down her face as they ran down Ariyalla's. When her partner would do nothing, Ariyalla let out a careen that roused the Goddess' forces lying unconscious on the field. Not knowing what was going on, they looked wildly about them, seeking the answer.
Jhonat fell to his knees where he had stood, staring straight at the twins. He had never said anything, but he had loved the two of them more than was proper. They had been more to him than sisters. He was years younger than the twins; he hadn't come to the school until they were already priestesses. However, he took one look at them and knew that his heart was lost forever. This was why he never took a lover. But he kept his feelings hidden, he became very good at pretending at being a mere brother. He could not believe that the two women he had loved the most were lost to the world forever, dying to save their people.
Mayara could not believe what she was seeing. She kept hoping that she would wake up and this would all have been a bad dream. She had respected Rofa and Iewa. However, as a military leader, she understood the reason behind necessary consequences. As she played back their last living moments in her head, everything began to fall into place. "They knew this was going to happen..." she mumbled.
Ariyalla lifted her tear-streaked face to look at Mayara. "What did you say?" she asked. However, before the weapons mistress could respond, the two bodies began to glow an ethereal pink. The glow coalesced into one ball and shot off into the air.
A rasping sound came from behind where Mayara stood. She turned to find Jhonat's eyes rolled back into his head, yet his mouth was moving. He was speaking:
"An evil shall be exiled
To a time not known
To save the future and our own
Twins of light and rosy sight
Will make the ultimate sacrifice
To be reborn in times of peril
To defeat this evil
For all time
And to bring back a power long forgotten."
They were all silent as he shook his head and looked up at the other three. "What did I say?" he demanded.
Eventually, after much persuasion and pressure, Mayara repeated his words back to him. The others had no clue what the meaning was, but Jhonat had been trained from childhood to interpret prophecies and visions of the future. In fact, he was the current expert in that field. Where others would fail, he would be able to decipher the meaning behind his words. He began to mumble to himself as he rocked on his knees. Back and forward. Back and forward.
Ariyalla, Josena, and Mayara lost track of all time as he tried to work his way through the meaning. They had no clue that the soldiers below had all arisen and were milling about, trying to figure out what had happened. All they cared about was what Jhonat could tell them. His words had to have importance. The prophecy would not have been made otherwise.
After an interminable amount of time, the lone priest finally stood and brushed his knees off. "I am not quite sure about all of it, but I was able to figure out the main gist of it," he began, slowly. When the others nodded for him to continue, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before going on, "The evil that was exiled is Drixel. Don't ask me how, but the twins somehow managed to send him forward in time. Perhaps they didn't mean to or perhaps they thought they could buy us time. We might never know the real reason. The twins mentioned have to be Rofa and Iewa. Their magical signature was rosy, we know that. The ultimate sacrifice is their giving up their lives. They knew what would happen when they did that, and, yet, they willingly went through with it. However, they will be reincarnated in the time to which Drixel was sent forward. They will defeat him and bring back this power. I have no clue what that could be, though."
Wiping her eyes, Ariyalla practically wailed, "But what do we do now?"
"Exactly what they told us to," Mayara snapped. "They told us to take care of the school should anything happen to them, and that is exactly what we will do."
Josena finally stirred from her horror-filled reverie, "One of us will have to monitor Rosebush Manor. That is...was their home; it is the most likely place for their rebirth."
"I will do it," volunteered the armsmistress. "My daughter is ready to take my place. In fact, in our newly gained peace, I believe she will strive to separate the pure soldiers and form a school for knights. I have had too much of war, it is time for me to have some peace. I will watch over the manor. I will take my youngest and we will leave as soon as possible. If they are not born by the time I die, I will pass the legacy on to my daughter. And she to her daughter if necessary. We will watch for them until the end of time."
"The three of us will stay and rebuild the school, just as the High Priestesses asked us. They did not have time to pass on their positions, but the school will remain open, and we can continue to worship the Lady," Jhonat said. "Once the school is rebuilt, however, I think I will take the boys and men into the mountains. I will start a new school where we will begin to work on a way to defeat Drixel. The twins will need all the help they can get when they return. We will return when they come to the school to learn."
Ariyalla finally added her own part, "Should anything happen to us, we will tell our successors all that we know. The prophecy will be copied, and we will each carry a copy along with an explanation. We will only show it to our successors, never anyone else. Were a force of evil catch wind of this, they would do anything to prevent its fulfillment. If necessary, we will die before letting this fall into the wrong hands. The notes will also serve as identification for our descendants."
The four nod their heads in agreement. In silent accord, Ariyalla points a finger at the bodies and they all watch as the bodies of their beloved leaders burn and as the wind scatters their ashes over the battlefield. They stand and watch the sun set before, one-by-one, turning and walking inside to go their separate ways.
This was the last time they were all together.
At first, no one moved. Then, with a heartbreaking wail Ariyalla through herself upon the two bodies and laid her head upon the breast of one, before switching to the other, to see if they were breathing. Even when it was obvious they were not, she did not give up trying to make them live. Harshly, she whirled upon her partner, "Josena! Help me save them! You are the one with the Healing gifts; I cannot save them on my own. We are nothing without them. You must save them. Why aren't you doing anything?!"
Josena merely covered her mouth with her hands and began to shake her head violently, backing up until she was against the wall and unable to move anywhere else. Tears ran down her face as they ran down Ariyalla's. When her partner would do nothing, Ariyalla let out a careen that roused the Goddess' forces lying unconscious on the field. Not knowing what was going on, they looked wildly about them, seeking the answer.
Jhonat fell to his knees where he had stood, staring straight at the twins. He had never said anything, but he had loved the two of them more than was proper. They had been more to him than sisters. He was years younger than the twins; he hadn't come to the school until they were already priestesses. However, he took one look at them and knew that his heart was lost forever. This was why he never took a lover. But he kept his feelings hidden, he became very good at pretending at being a mere brother. He could not believe that the two women he had loved the most were lost to the world forever, dying to save their people.
Mayara could not believe what she was seeing. She kept hoping that she would wake up and this would all have been a bad dream. She had respected Rofa and Iewa. However, as a military leader, she understood the reason behind necessary consequences. As she played back their last living moments in her head, everything began to fall into place. "They knew this was going to happen..." she mumbled.
Ariyalla lifted her tear-streaked face to look at Mayara. "What did you say?" she asked. However, before the weapons mistress could respond, the two bodies began to glow an ethereal pink. The glow coalesced into one ball and shot off into the air.
A rasping sound came from behind where Mayara stood. She turned to find Jhonat's eyes rolled back into his head, yet his mouth was moving. He was speaking:
"An evil shall be exiled
To a time not known
To save the future and our own
Twins of light and rosy sight
Will make the ultimate sacrifice
To be reborn in times of peril
To defeat this evil
For all time
And to bring back a power long forgotten."
They were all silent as he shook his head and looked up at the other three. "What did I say?" he demanded.
Eventually, after much persuasion and pressure, Mayara repeated his words back to him. The others had no clue what the meaning was, but Jhonat had been trained from childhood to interpret prophecies and visions of the future. In fact, he was the current expert in that field. Where others would fail, he would be able to decipher the meaning behind his words. He began to mumble to himself as he rocked on his knees. Back and forward. Back and forward.
Ariyalla, Josena, and Mayara lost track of all time as he tried to work his way through the meaning. They had no clue that the soldiers below had all arisen and were milling about, trying to figure out what had happened. All they cared about was what Jhonat could tell them. His words had to have importance. The prophecy would not have been made otherwise.
After an interminable amount of time, the lone priest finally stood and brushed his knees off. "I am not quite sure about all of it, but I was able to figure out the main gist of it," he began, slowly. When the others nodded for him to continue, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before going on, "The evil that was exiled is Drixel. Don't ask me how, but the twins somehow managed to send him forward in time. Perhaps they didn't mean to or perhaps they thought they could buy us time. We might never know the real reason. The twins mentioned have to be Rofa and Iewa. Their magical signature was rosy, we know that. The ultimate sacrifice is their giving up their lives. They knew what would happen when they did that, and, yet, they willingly went through with it. However, they will be reincarnated in the time to which Drixel was sent forward. They will defeat him and bring back this power. I have no clue what that could be, though."
Wiping her eyes, Ariyalla practically wailed, "But what do we do now?"
"Exactly what they told us to," Mayara snapped. "They told us to take care of the school should anything happen to them, and that is exactly what we will do."
Josena finally stirred from her horror-filled reverie, "One of us will have to monitor Rosebush Manor. That is...was their home; it is the most likely place for their rebirth."
"I will do it," volunteered the armsmistress. "My daughter is ready to take my place. In fact, in our newly gained peace, I believe she will strive to separate the pure soldiers and form a school for knights. I have had too much of war, it is time for me to have some peace. I will watch over the manor. I will take my youngest and we will leave as soon as possible. If they are not born by the time I die, I will pass the legacy on to my daughter. And she to her daughter if necessary. We will watch for them until the end of time."
"The three of us will stay and rebuild the school, just as the High Priestesses asked us. They did not have time to pass on their positions, but the school will remain open, and we can continue to worship the Lady," Jhonat said. "Once the school is rebuilt, however, I think I will take the boys and men into the mountains. I will start a new school where we will begin to work on a way to defeat Drixel. The twins will need all the help they can get when they return. We will return when they come to the school to learn."
Ariyalla finally added her own part, "Should anything happen to us, we will tell our successors all that we know. The prophecy will be copied, and we will each carry a copy along with an explanation. We will only show it to our successors, never anyone else. Were a force of evil catch wind of this, they would do anything to prevent its fulfillment. If necessary, we will die before letting this fall into the wrong hands. The notes will also serve as identification for our descendants."
The four nod their heads in agreement. In silent accord, Ariyalla points a finger at the bodies and they all watch as the bodies of their beloved leaders burn and as the wind scatters their ashes over the battlefield. They stand and watch the sun set before, one-by-one, turning and walking inside to go their separate ways.
This was the last time they were all together.
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