by Megg Jensen
A false prophecy put my people through centuries of hoping with no real work towards overturning the Malborn, a mistake they’d exploited against the Serenians. Another false prophecy would have to reverse the first one’s mistake.
“Do you accept me as your Princess?” Krissin boomed. The crowd’s volume rose as they cheered and stomped. They obviously loved Krissin. What would they do when she told them the truth about her parentage?
“I have an announcement to make. It should not change how you feel about me, for you have seen over the years how kindly I have ruled The Southern Kingdom. You know my love for all of you and my love for this land.”
The crowd hushed as she raised her hands again.
“I am your Princess because I am the daughter of the last queen. But I am not the daughter of the tyrant who ruled you before. My true father is a gifted Serenian and I too am gifted.”
If a mouse scurried through the crowd I would hear it. No one spoke a word.
“I know it is a shock, but I am a part of all of you and I love each of you as if you were my family. I will continue to rule this land as I have since the last ruler died. I will continue to show you love. But there is to be one change.”
The voices raised again. A man shouted, “How dare you? Malborn and Serenian are not allowed to procreate. It is against everything we stand for. You are not my Princess!”
Krissin smiled, her tiny teeth looking sharp, in the glinting sunlight, as if she was closing in for the kill.
“Oh, I am your Princess,” Krissin assured him. “And if you don’t agree with that, you will be charged with treason. You are under my rule, a rule which you know has been kinder than the last ruler. But be aware that although I am not his daughter, I did learn much from him.”
The man looked from side to side, but no one was willing to support him. He hung his head, defeated.
“I know you’ve noticed the woman to my right.” Krissin pointed at me. “Reychel is a gifted friend, and the heir to Kandek’s Northern throne, with great news to share. It’s an announcement many of you have waited your whole lives to hear. Show her your appreciation and welcome … your Prophet!”
The noise from the crowd was deafening. The guards at the base of the dais clanked their spears together forming a sharp barrier around us. No one could get through and it was obvious that they expected trouble. Why not? A myth, a legend children learned on their mother’s lap, was standing on a dais ready to deliver salvation.
A lump formed in my throat. I was out of time, but my decision was made. My heart pounded in my chest as I walked to Krissin’s side. Could they see my fear? Did my trembling hands give me away or were they too focused on my face to notice?
Krissin held her arms out to me, her smile taking over her face. It softened as I approached her. She knew how I felt. She saw the fear, the indecision. Then her eyebrows narrowed as she leaned in to embrace me.
“We have a lot in common, Reychel, but don’t hesitate for one second to think I wouldn’t have you arrested if you don’t do what you’re asked to do. I don’t care about the verity of the damn prophecy. I am starting a war and you are my biggest weapon. I’m tired of pussy-footing around you, waiting for you to make a decision. Do the right thing, Reychel. Do it now.”
I pulled out of her embrace, my hands sweating. I turned to the crowd and took a deep breath.
I saw their innocent faces. Some of them gazed on me in horror. Women wept, I hoped for joy. They’d either hoped for me or dreaded my arrival their whole lives.
“How do we know she’s the Prophet?” someone yelled from the left.
“Yeah,” another spoke up, “prove yourself.”
They began chanting in unison, “Prove yourself.”
Krissin’s eyes narrowed. She hadn’t expected this reaction. Neither had I. I’d been so worried they wouldn’t believe what I had to say that I hadn’t even considered they wouldn’t believe me from the start, before I’d even had a chance to speak.
I looked to Krissin, not sure what to do or how to prove myself. The crowd’s chanting grew louder, my heart pounding in unison with the accusing words.
A rumble of thunder roared from the sky and all eyes looked upward. Then I felt it, the unmistakable spinning sensation. A vision was overcoming me. I could only hope it was something helpful as I felt my body give way to the vision and I fell to the floor.
They stood to my right and left, Krissin and Mark. I was home, at Kandek’s manor, the castle I grew up in. Sitting upon his throne, I held my hand out to the couple in front of me, blessing their marriage. They had come to me, The Prophet, to be the first sanctioned marriage between a Serenian and a Malborn. They held hands, gazing into each other’s eyes. The love was apparent and we were all pleased to witness this momentous occasion.
I looked to the people gathered around us. Ella served me, by choice, not as a slave. I saw her hair was growing out and the nape of her neck still smooth without the brand of a slave.
But noise outside the window distracted me. I rose from my throne and peered through the glass. Men fought outside, running each other through with swords. Blood ran along the ground, pooling at the feet of dead men. I shrieked, pulling on my long, dark hair.
“No, Eloh,” I screamed. “Why does this need to happen? Why can’t people be allowed to live their lives?”
“Because this is the nature of men and women,” a melodic voice toned behind me. I spun around and saw her standing in front of me. Eloh, my goddess, the One we all served, chose to bathe me in her light. We were suspended in time, neither here nor there.
“I can’t stand the fighting,” I cried.
“You cannot, Reychel, but others cannot stand to live without it. Violence is not in your nature, but it is in the nature of others. You must free your people, but you will have to crash through the wall of violence first. Those people must be purged from our land. You are the only one to save us. You must know the violence is their choice to make, not yours. Tell them the truth and let them make their own decisions.”
“But it wasn’t real,” I whispered. “The prophecies, all fake. He made them to torture me because he felt I had tortured him.”
“There is always a grain of truth, even in madness. The prophecies he saw were true, but his tortured mind twisted them. Reychel, my girl, you are the one. You are the Prophet. You must not let his madness reach you. For it will, eventually. It is a side effect of your uncontrollable gift.”
I gasped.
“I tried to help him by sending him a vision of you, to give him hope, but his madness twisted it. He dreamed about you and obsessed about you. Most of what he claims were visions was his own imagination driving him further from sanity. In the end, all that mattered was that he proclaimed you. Trust me, you are the savior everyone has been waiting for.”
Soft rain pattered on my back. Lifting my head up, slowly, the nausea of my vision was beginning to overwhelm me, I saw nothing but steel in front of me. I heard nothing but the drops of rain on the dais. Rolling on to my back, I looked up at the faces peering at me over the guard’s swords. Krissin, Mark, both looked at me with their eyes wide and mouths agape.
“I had a vision,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “Are the crowds still there?” I glanced quickly with my eyes, but could see nothing past the men who guarded me. I pushed myself up to sitting, but was still unable to see past the guards’ legs.
“What’s going on?” I asked Mark. I sat up slowly, feeling something gently lap against my back. Hair. My hair. I reached up to my head, but the scalp I’d had shaved just days before was now full with long, dark hair. A gift from Eloh.
I held out my hand to his and he held his out to meet mine, but hesitantly, as if he were afraid to touch me. As he helped me to a standing position, I felt light raindrops running over my hair. The sensation was so new, so unexpected.
“You don’t remember what happened?” Mark asked, his voice trembling.
“I had a vision,” I said wit
h a smile. “I know exactly what to say now.”
“For Eloh’s sake, Reychel,” Krissin interjected, “you didn’t just have a vision, you floated up to the sky and hung suspended in the air surrounded by a ball of light.”
I laughed until I saw their faces. No one else was laughing, they were still staring at me.
“I did what?” I asked, stunned.
“Turn around,” Mark whispered.
I turned slowly, not wanting to lose my balance or the contents of my stomach. The guards parted allowing me to see the crowd. But I only saw their heads as every single person in attendance was down on the ground, their arms outstretched in front of them, palms turned up.
“Stand,” I said. No one moved.
I took a deep breath, “Stand up!” This time people began to move. Curious eyes looked up at me as their hands came down from the air. Slowly they stood, all eyes on me.
After the last person stood, I addressed the silent crowd.
“I guess you were all just treated to quite a sight.” I laughed, moving my hair off my shoulder with my hand as the nausea faded. “I didn’t quite expect that either.”
A laugh tinkled over the crowd and my eyes settled on a child near the front. When he realized I was looking at him, he backed up into his mother’s dress.
“I’m sorry, Prophet,” she stuttered. “He didn’t mean to laugh out of turn.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Come here,” I motioned to the little boy.
His mother gave him a little push and he ran up to the dais. A guard plucked him from the crowd and set him down next to me. I picked him up and held him in my arms.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Neel,” he said.
“Are you Malborn or Serenian?”
“I’m Malborn,” he said proudly. “I’m a strong boy and someday I’ll grow up to be a strong warrior.”
I heard his mother gasp again, but I ignored her.
“What did you see up here, Neel?” I asked.
“Oh,” he said. “I saw you fly up into the sky. You had the brightest light coming out from every part of your body. You are beautiful with all that hair,” he said. “I laughed when your wig fell off. Is that okay?”
“Of course it is. Did you know that I’m Serenian and Malborn?” I asked him.
“Nope, didn’t know,” he said.
“Do you care?”
He paused for a moment, tapping his finger against his mouth. “My momma says that as long as I’m nice to people then it doesn’t matter if our neighbor is Serenian or not.”
“Did everyone hear that?” I yelled. I had no need for the gifted slave to carry my voice. Everyone could hear me over the silence.
People nodded, some nudged each other with elbows. I only saw a few who looked angry, but they knew they were in the minority and kept quiet.
“No one needs to suffer. We can all live in peace, but the key to that is respecting each other. Here in The Southern Kingdom, you have been enlightened. You have seen the proof you asked for. I am your Prophet! And I have a message for you!”
I took a deep breath. This was the moment, my moment. I finally knew what to say. I knew what had to be done.
“You witnessed my communion with Eloh. Now I have her message to share with you. It is the right of every person on this island nation to be free. I choose to be free and I would like to do so without violence. Does anyone here feel like dying today? Raise your hand if you do.”
I scanned the crowd, no hands to be seen. I smiled.
“Good. But I can tell you that there is a secret Malborn army amassing not two days march from here. I don’t know how far their reach extends, but they have death and war on their minds. They want to obliterate every gifted person with the spark. Every gifted person, even those of you who are Malborn and born with the gift.”
The murmurs in the crowd rose to a fevered pitch. I motioned to the gifted man who could magnify my voice.
“Listen to me!” I waved my arm in the air, trying to get their attention. Within moments, all eyes were on me. “It’s true. There are Malborn out there who are gifted. I am one of them! My father is the Malborn noble, Kandek in the Northern Kingdom. My mother was a simple Serenian woman, like many of you. But in the preceding centuries an underground movement of Malborn gifted bred children until the spark disappeared and they were no longer recognizable to another gifted person! These are the people marching against us!
“I will give them two options. Let the Serenians slaves be free or face our army.” I pointed to the north behind the crowd where the Sons slowly advanced. They had been waiting for Krissin’s signal, a blast of fire, but instead they must have seen the glow emanating from me as I received my vision and my instructions from Eloh.
I’d seen them coming, but no one else had paid attention to what was behind them. They’d all been focused on me. Their heads turned and murmurs echoed through the crowd. I saw fear in their eyes as mothers gathered their children into their arms and men’s hands clenched on imaginary swords. I heard the words “Sons” and “dangerous” flitter through the crowd.
“Don’t be afraid,” I called out. “They aren’t here to hurt anyone. They are here to help us take back our land and end the slavery of our fellow Serenians.”
“But where does that leave us?” A man shouted.
“Are you Malborn?” I asked. He nodded. “Do you have a problem with the end of Serenian slavery?”
“No, I don’t,” he said.
“Then don’t stand against us,” I said. I looked over the crowd. “You don’t have to stand with us either. You have a choice in this war. You can choose to fight us and face death or you can choose to step back and let us be free.”
I heard Krissin gasp behind me. Part of her plan had been to force the Malborn citizens into service until our war was won. I wouldn’t have it.
“Stay home, keep The Southern Kingdom running smoothly while we fight this gifted Malborn army and then head north to free our brothers and sisters. We will be home soon and we need our land to run as it did before we left.”
I heard Krissin’s gown crinkling behind me and quickly enough she was whispering in my ear.
“This isn’t what we discussed. We need all the men we can get. If they think they can stay home, then who will help us?”
I turned and looked at her. “It will be okay.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Trust me. Trust Eloh.”
Krissin nodded and moved backwards to her previous spot. I was stunned she listened to me so easily. I expected an argument. What had I looked like when I floated up in the sky, to command this kind of respect from her? I wish I knew, but it was apparently one more thing about me that everyone else knew that I didn’t.
“Now,” I called out, “Who will fight with us?”
I set Neel down in the crowd and he ran to his mother who waited with opened arms. She nuzzled his hair and kissed him.
A cheer rose from the crowd and my heart swelled with joy.
I glanced over at Mark and basked in his glowing smile. We’d done it. We’d rallied people to our side using the truth. I knew that bloodshed might lie ahead, but I also knew I couldn’t control their resistance. It was up to them to choose their own fate.
-end-
Severed
Megg Jensen
Chapter One
Clouds rolled in, dark and menacing, in the morning sky. I rose from my bed and closed the curtains. The headaches were becoming a predictable part of my life. Zelor warned me of them, probably the only useful tidbit of information he left behind for me. My status as a so-called apocalyptic prophet was a lie, but he hadn’t exaggerated about the headaches. Every day they got worse.
More excruciating.
Unbearable.
I couldn’t stay in bed like I wanted. I had to ignore the headaches. We were leaving the Southern Kingdom soon, bringing the freedom we’d offered them to the rest of Serenia. It had been three days s
ince my spectacle. I’d fallen into a vision, floated up in the air, and glowed for everyone in the Southern Kingdom to see. Since then, I couldn’t be outside for longer than a few minutes without collapsing.
Mark urged me multiple times a day to stay in the Southern Kingdom, away from the impending war. Krissin told me I had to go with them. I’d never wanted to be a figurehead; in fact I’d fought it for the last year. But after the vision, and everyone witnessed it, I couldn’t back down. I couldn’t hide anymore.
A slave pushed the door open and stuck her head in the room, her head bowed in deference to me. I couldn’t help but smile at the stubble growing on her scalp. All the slaves looked this way now. Since our intention to free our people was finally in the open, Krissin encouraged all the slaves to grow their hair out.
They were also allowed to leave their posts at the castle, but every single one of them stayed on. Then they fought over who would serve me. To settle the dispute, I let them air their grievances and qualifications. Then I chose the quiet girl in the corner who didn’t raise her hand once. I had expected anger, but instead the other slaves cheered for their friend.
“Come on in, Manda.” I motioned to her with my hand.
She shuffled into the room, balancing a tray on both hands while a jug of water hung from her pinky finger.
“Here, let me help you.” I scrambled over to her side, grabbing the tray out of her hands. A little water sloshed from the jug and landed on the floor in tiny droplets.
A hunk of bread, oranges, and some sort of warm oatmeal were arranged artfully on the tray. I still couldn’t believe anyone who lived in this hot, arid kingdom could stand to eat warm oatmeal. In the Northern Kingdom, my old home, we ate it every morning for breakfast to keep our bellies and spirits warm. I could barely stomach it here.
