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The Other Future Queen: Seyenna's Request
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“Come
closer child,” the ragged voice echoed.
I
hesitated. I had never been so close to the Temple. What if I should catch a
glimpse of the Master Seer? It was forbidden, and I did not dare displease him.
Not when I needed his graces so desperately.
“Do
not fear me,” the old man’s voice came again from the dark, carried on the
whipping wind. “I wish to see your face.”
“I
do not fear you, Master Seer. I wish only to respect the holy laws and sacred
traditions. Should I see you…”
“You
fear displeasing me.” The raspy voice chuckled.
“I
do not fear anything, Master Seer. Omnipotent as you are, this you must know.”
A
sigh floated from the dark temple. “Very well. Keep your faith in your
barriers. But do come closer.” I stepped forward; one, two, three steps, and
then knelt on both my knees before the entrance of the crumbling seplecure. “You
have grown into a powerful leader, Future Queen Seyenna. I see your strength,
and your determination.”
“Master
Seer, you must know why I have come.”
“I
do.”
Silence
followed. The mountain winds ripped my fur cloak around me, provding little
protection from the chill. The cold granite was absorbing the heat from my bare
knees. But as my discomfort increased, my determination did as well. Did he expect me to tell him what he
already knew? No. I would continue to wait. I heard him sigh again inside the
darkness.
“You
are stubborn, Princess Seyenna. Your stubbornness is both your strength and
your weakness. You fail to see anything but right and wrong.”
My
heart pounded with anger and frustration. I was not Princess Seyenna. I never
had been, and to be called such took me by surprise. “Thank you, Master Seer,
for your enlightenment.” I tried to mask the hollowness behind the chant.
“You
believe you see the fight before you. You believe you know the answers. Why
then have you come to me?”
“You
know why I have come, Master Seer!” I said desperately, and then quickly bowed
my head in embarrassment. Future Queen or Lowly Peasant, the Master Seer was not to be spoken to with
anything but respect. “Forgive me, Master Seer. You know the weight that is on
me.”
“Yes, child.”
I pulled out my sword and held it out ceremoniously.
My hands gripped the hilt as I held it up, the tip resting on the stone before
my knees. “Then please, Master Seer, give me your blessing before we go into
battle. Pronouce your blessing on my army that we may defeat the traitors who
are now preparing to invade my city.”
“You choose your foes hastily.”
“They are coming! They are at my gates as I
kneel here before you, pleading for your holy blessing on my people! Will you
not protect those who look to you so devotedly?”
“If you fear nothing, why is my blessing
desireable?”
I bowed my head, fighting tears of anger. The
Master Seer was one of them, then. “My people fear. And your blessing will
bring them much peace.” I practically spat the words with fury. The silence
that followed was torturous to me. I waited for a time. And then a moment longer.
Finally, I rose to me feet. I could hardly find thr strength to speak the
words. “Your blessing goes with the ‘Other Future Queen?’”
“Your fear and stubbornness blinds you,
Princess Seyenna. When you fight your foe, my blessing will be upon you and
your people. That is not this battle. The City of St. Diem will fall if you
choose to listen to your own counsel.”
“I am the Future Queen. I am! And you, Master
Seer, will address me as such. My people and my city and threatened to be
overthrown by The Young Princess. Who else would be my foe?!?
“Who, indeed. Farewell, Princess Seyenna.”
The old man was gone. I fell to the ground
and cried out in frustration. How could I face my military without a blessing
from the Master Seer? What faith would my people have in me if our oracle did
not?
I looked out over my city. Whisps of my
blonde hair had escaped my tight braid and danced around my face. The sun was
beginning to lower, and far, in the distance, I could see a dark mass coming
closer to the walls of my beloved city.
Who else would be my foe but he that
threatens my people? And The Young Princess Vivienne was decending on us. By
nightfall, they would be outside the walls of St. Diem. And blessing or none, I
would defend my city. I would defend my crown.
Despite the old’s man’s words, I did not
choose my foe. She chose me.
I am the Future Queen. Even if proving so
meant burying my little sister.
I turned back again to the Temple. ““Thank you, Master Seer, for
your enlightenment.” I said bitterly, and then began my trek back down the
mountain.
