What Does That Mean?
POV: Alexandra
I let her words sit with me for a few minutes before I spoke, “Bringer of doom? What does that mean exactly? I mean, I know that you can disclose everything about my destiny but breadcrumbs would be nice.” She chewed her lip for a little while then spoke, “Brigit, I think I need you.” Brigit’s white orb floated into the room and she appeared next to Seraphia, “We need to discuss your filter later but for now, you can tell her just enough like we discussed yesterday.” She nodded then turned back at me, “I’m going to try to be really careful about what I reveal here. I will say that your path is laid into two forks. You have the path of comfort where you will take the easiest path. You will live your life out the way you see fit, regardless of what the future holds. Be aware that this path gives great pain to a lot of other people, I cannot tell you who because that would be revealing too much. The second path is the path of being uncomfortable, the hardest path. You will live your life for others for a time, this will be shaped by the future. Be aware that this path gives great pain to yourself and maybe a few more. Your choice will be laid before you at the ball. That is why I felt it urgent to speak with you today.” She looked at my brother, “Regardless of the path your sister takes, you will be needed to keep the peace here in Vellum. You will be the great protector of the realm, much like your uncle before you. Take heed though, you might find yourself to a similar fate if you aren’t aware of what is around the corner.”
She looked up at Brigit, “How was that?” She looked down and smiled at her, “Perfectly done, Seraphia.” Ashton looked up confused, “Seraphia?” I sighed, “It’s Grand Pretre’s name.” Brigit shook her head, “Not exactly, just like you are Solamor, she is Seraphia. She has a name in this realm but she is not permitted to reveal it.” I didn’t mean to have the next part slip out of my mouth, “Why?” I gasped and clapped my hands over my mouth, “Oh I’m sorry Brigit, I didn’t mean to question you. It’s just-” Brigit held up her hand to stop me, “It’s quite alright. I know you are curious, you always have been. She cannot tell you her real name because that is the vow she took when she became Grand Pretre. It is a heavily guarded secret that, if revealed, would cause chaos. I ask that you don’t ask anything further or you will indeed be a bringer of doom.” I made a gesture that indicated my lips were sealed. Brigit nodded, “I thank you for your understanding, Alexandra. It isn’t that we don’t want to tell you. It’s just that we don’t think you’d quite comprehend what it means to know. That is all.” I shook my head, “I don’t need an explanation, Brigit. I think if this were some cosmic secret that would throw the world into a bad spin, I probably shouldn’t delve further into it. I’m not Pandora or anything.” She smiled, “I know that reference, I think. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to pull Seraphia aside to speak with her alone. You can stay here, I’m going to pull her into the Library.” I understood that the Library was much like Eden, it was the place Brigit resided in the Heavenly realm. Seraphia looked over at me, “Stick around, will ya? I want to talk a little more.” With that, the two disappeared from the room.
Ashton was oddly quiet at that point and I felt something in him shift from the attitude that he came in with. I looked over at him and he seemed to be in quiet contemplation. I leaned over to him and asked, “Penny for your thoughts?” He looked over at me, “Huh?” I sighed, “Right, Terre terminology, I always forget. It means that I’d pay to know what you are thinking.” He shrugged, “I’m just thinking about how she said I would follow the same path as Uncle Talon. Does that mean I will need to sacrifice my life to save others? Do I have that in me? Will I know my moment?” I shook my head, “If you remember, he didn’t exactly die. He was taken. Perhaps, she means you will be taken from us for a time. You never know with prophecy how these things will play out. Sacrifice means many things, brother. You have the heart for it. You’ve already sacrificed the life you knew to be with me, Mom, Dad, and the others. You’ll know your moment, the brave ones always do. Just remember that no matter what happens, we are always together even if I’m not around, I think we’re forming a connection as twins should.” He nodded, “I think so too. When you got sick, I felt it deep in my heart. I could feel your fear.” I looked him in the eyes, “You didn’t happen to call out for help, did you?” He shook his head, “No. Why?” I sighed, “Toby rescued me from purgatory but he said someone called out to him to help me. He doesn’t know who. The General thought it would be a good idea to gather all the men in my life for tea so Toby can match the voice. I didn’t figure it was you since he said the guy had a low sexy voice.” He shot me a disapproving glance, “Hey, I think my voice is sexy.” I sighed, “Please don’t ever say that in my presence again. He also said he didn’t know the voice. I would think you were close enough to Toby that he would know your voice.” Ashton nodded, “Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m curious to see who it is though.”
The white orb appeared in the room again and only Seraphia showed up this time. She smiled at me, “Well that wasn’t so bad. She leaned forward, she’s just only slightly annoyed that I have a loud mouth.” We both giggled along with her and I said, “So did you need to discuss something else with us?” She nodded, “I want to talk to you both about the ball. I understand you will need to wear the color of your house. From what I understand, your house’s colors are teal and navy?” I nodded, “Yes, I suppose we will both have to wear either color to represent House Batiste.” She shook her head, “I have something for the both of you. Think of it as a gift. We will have to go downstairs though. The gifts are in the main hall closet.” She rose from her seat and guided us down to the chapel and opened up the closet. She took out two garment bags and handed them to us, “These are for you to wear to the ball. Think of it as a gift from someone who very much appreciates you and how you have treated them.” We took them and I looked at her, “Are these from you then?” She shrugged, “Who knows? These were in the closet one day with your name on them. They were placed there with a note that stated that the person gifting you these garments was thankful for the role both of you have played in their life. I can tell you that whoever gifted it to you, they mean no ill will towards either of you. So you can take them without skepticism.” Ashton looked at his garment bag with narrowed eyes, “That doesn’t inspire confidence, Your Eminence.” She giggled, “Ashton, ever the type six.” We both looked at her confused, “Type six?” She smiled, “I never gave you the test. Have I? I thought I had. This should be interesting to see what the twin stars are. I suspect Ashton is a six though.”
She turned to walk up the stairs but stopped in her tracks, “Oh let’s leave those here. Shall we? I have one more thing I want to do with you both before you leave. This can show so much about you. Think of it as a fun distraction from your destinies.” We placed the garment bags back in the closet then Seraphia came over and locked the closet back up. She nodded at it and grabbed my hand to pull me up the stairs back into her tower. Once there, we all took our seats where we had been before. She turned to her bookshelf and pulled out a brown book with a golden spine. The book was titled personality types and I finally understood what she was thinking of doing. It was one of those tests to see what personality we were. I was interested to see what Ashton was and honestly what I was. I had wondered if we could gain insight into each other since we had only known of each other’s existence for a month or two. I was quietly thanking Seraphia for this opportunity in my head but I would thank her out loud later. She opened the book and looked at Ashton, “I’m curious to see if I was right about you so you will go first.” She asked him a bunch of situational questions and he answered them as truthfully as he possibly could. I knew that because I could feel that from him. She finished his questions and looked through the answers she had written down. She analyzed that with whatever was in the book. She smirked and nodded, “As I thought, you’re a skeptical six. You like to protect others but you question everything because around every corner you feel like there is a threat. Just like downstairs you were skeptical about the gift given to you. I’m probably not wrong about you being more skeptical since there was a gift to your sister. You want to protect her more than yourself?” He nodded, “I just think about everyone after my sister, I don’t want her to be hurt. It’s only natural for me to be skeptical.”
She looked over at me, “Now I think we should work through your questions. I have a feeling that you are a two.” She proceeded to ask the same questions and I answered her questions honestly. I didn’t think there was a benefit to being dishonest. Considering how this seemingly nailed my brother, I was curious to see what she said about my personality. She stared at her analysis for a while and sighed, “So I was a little off. You’re a combination of a two and a three. Essentially, you need to be needed. To become needed, you bring people in with your charm. This is why you are seen as the caregiver.” She smiled, “That sounds exactly like you.” She patted the book, “Never wrong. It shouldn’t be since Brigit wrote it. This isn’t her idea originally though, she saw something in Terre. Humans know so much about personality and psychology. It’s brilliant how they like to get in tune with themselves. Is it valuable to you both to know this about yourselves and each other?” I nodded, “Yeah I think that was a fun distraction but also enlightening.” She rose, “Well, you should probably get back to Lucien. He’s going to need you today.” She sent us on our way with our garments. When we got to the castle, Jynx took the garment bags and brought them back to House of Dark so we wouldn’t have to lug them around. We entered the office and Malinus rose, “Oh good, just in time. We need to gather in His Majesty’s office. We have things we need to go over.”
