Sixteen

“Nothing.” Orel said confused.

“You must have done something, since I am sure that you are the only one in the camp who can make her cry.

“I didn’t do anything.” Orel said again as he moved away from his friend looked close to punching him, he approached me slowly and reached out to me as if I was a frightened little lamb. When I didn’t shy away from his touch. He gathered me into his laps as he petted me while more tears fell from my eyes.

“What happened?” Orel asked my with his voice the gentlest I have ever heard it.

“Nothing.” I replied as I made efforts to stop the tears from still flowing.

“Then why are you crying.” Elison asked as Orel aimed a glare at him.

“Because I am scared that I will lose Orel.” I sobbed as I wrapped my hands tightly, around Orel felling that this will be the last time that I will be able to touch him this way.

“Why will you be scared of something that ridiculous?” Orel asked with a laugh as the worried look left his eyes. “I was really scared that something had happened to you while I was gone.”

“I will lose you when I tell you the reason why my intuition is always spot on.” I clarifies as Orel shook his head.

“There is little you can tell me right now that will make you lose me. Even if you do tell me that your womb cannot have children, I don’t think I will leave you for that.”

“You don’t understand” I argues.

“Then tell us everything so that we will understand.” Elison said as Orel sent him another scathing look.

“Why are you even here?” Orel asked Elison who shrugged and replied. “I want to hear about it”

I would have laughed if I wasn’t so worried.

“Whenever you want to start.” Orel said as I nodded still worried but I started from the very beginning, the exact way my mother and her mother before told her the story, the same way I will tell my daughter the story if I am fortunate enough to be alive long enough to even give birth to my daughter.

“A long time ago, around maybe six centuries back, a woman begged the goddess Themis, to help strengthen her child and give her child an added advantage over other children, this was because children during that period were dying and she had lost all her children remaining the one she was about to give birth to. She begged the goddess to make the child her handmaiden and when she gave birth to a girl, her hair was as white as snow.

The girl grew up before her mother started to notice some strange things about her daughter. Her daughter could see things out of the ordinary, her opinions were not to be covered. She was very headstrong and protective of the truth. She followed the order of the village then and shun those who twisted the laws to suit their own benefits. She could not bear the sight of injustice and very soon, the mother realized what has happened. The goddess indeed answered her prayers and made her child one of her handmaidens. The woman quickly took her daughter to the temple to serve the gods but the daughter had stepped on to many toes.”

“On her first outing as a priestess of the gods, she was beaten and raped by a few men. That was how she conceived a child. After the child was born, another girl with white hair but now tempered not to be as white as her mother own, she lived with the gift of prophesy that was so strong that the village she grew up in feared her. And that was how the gift moved from daughter to daughter until the time of the great divide. I still don’t know what made my ancestors then to follow the exiled tribes or chose Sagedge but I know that the power over time had reduced as the color of our hair also shone less brightly. My mother hair was the brightest in five generations before her according to my grandmother and my hair is brighter than that of my mother, I don’t know why or if the gifts is coming back again in full force but I do know that the shade of brightness of our hair is linked to how strong our gift of prophesy is.”

“So your hair is the brightest in six generations.” Elison asked as I nodded.

“So your gift is also the strongest in six generation.” Elison asked again as I nodded.

“What do your gift entails?” Orel asked as I looked at his face but his eyes were shaded and I could not read his expression through his eyes.

“I get visions of the future through my dreams, sometimes I feel restless and I don’t even know what it means until the moment has started. I can make the right decisions between options with not too much thoughts or details. That is pretty much what I can do.” I said as I lower my head waiting for Orel to make his sentence.

“Did you dream anything about this?” He asked me.

“No I didn’t, it is not always I dream of everything that will happen. Most of my visions always happen even if it take a long time. Also I didn’t dream about the warriors hunting, it was just a feeling for me and they can swing either way.” I rambled when I saw that his expression was not giving anything away even with my explanation, I was trying to convince him that I didn’t allow his warriors to die on purpose.

“Okay so basically, there is nothing new that you do that we don’t know about or didn’t suspect.” Elison asked as I stopped staring at Orel to look at him.

“Wait, you knew.” I asked shocked as he nodded.

“Of course we knew, we just wanted to know everything, your husband is such a control freak that he was not contented with just the guessing we took at your abilities he wanted confirmation.”

“Really?” I asked with my eyes round with surprise, my body was slowly relaxing when I realized that I am not going to have to leave Orel, he already knew.

“No.” Orel said the same time that Elison replied with “Yes”

“Okay, story time is over, get out.” Orel ordered and when Elison grinned at him Orel added. “I am serious.”

“Okay fine but do remember that you have duties to attend to, you cannot spend the day with your wife in bed.” Elison said as he stood up to leave.

“I will repay you for this when you get married.” Orel said as Elison laughs as he ducked out of the tent.

“So I will not lose you?” I asked timidly as Orel smiled.

“No you would not. I already knew what you could do but I wanted to know everything about it.”

“And now that you know?” I asked again.

Orel smiled as he kissed me. “Now that I know and I don’t think you are keeping anything from me again, we can move to the next part of our relationship.” Orel said when I eventually opened my eyes after his kiss

“What?” I asked dazed as he smiled again.

“Nothing you should worry, yourself with.” He said as he let out a groan. “I have to leave soon no matter how much I want to stay with you, I have duties to do.” Orel said as I nodded.

“Will you add your input to the planning of the war? It might save us from stress and danger.” Orel asked me as he moved me away from his laps so he could stand.

“No, I don’t know the first thing about war or meeting such as this, I cannot be responsible for thousands of lives.” I panicked as Orel shook his head.

“You are already responsible for thousands of lives, you are my wife, the war lady.” Orel pointed out.

“I try not to think about it, the thought is frightening.” I shivered.

“Why?” Orel asked.

“I cannot give orders to people well trained more than me, I don’t even know how to fight well.” I cried out as Orel laughs.

“Your lessons will begin soon, if I am too busy to teach you, someone who I trust will take over the teaching when you are not in the council with me.”

“Orel.” I complained.

“Just give it a try first okay?” he added

“Okay.” I agreed grudgingly as he kissed me again before the leaving the tent. It was that moment that my stomach grumbled and I remembered that I haven’t eaten since morning, I was famished.