Title: The Destruction of Atlantis
Chapter: The New Priestess
***Atlantis***
I was always alone.
From the moment that I was born I knew that I was destined to never have the comfort of any living creature. Mother never held me longer than it took for her to breast feed me but after her duty as a mother was complete she would leave me in my crib to simply stare at her as she welcomed dinner guests or combed her long, vibrant brown hair so like my own. Oh, how I hated my mother. I even cropped my hair short to stop reminding myself of her beauty and charm. The other women would watch me with poorly concealed suspicion and whisper that I was far too quiet for a child and that my eyes haunted them. Most of mother's friends preferred to keep me in my own room and speak of things that didn't frighten them so much. My mother feared me quite a bit and made sure to keep me away from the room when father was home. I only remember his deep green eyes, identical to my own. He knew what I would become one day and so he never saw me again.
I suppose he never wanted to grow attached to me.
Soon my wishes began to come true in a way forbidden to the people of Atlantis. If I were to grow hungry, my mother would be forced into the room from whatever she had been doing. Either she would do it unintentionally or she would suddenly appear in my room after a beam of transportation light took her to me. She gladly thrusted me into the King's company and he, in turn, sent me to the Priest. I saw the little Prince peeking from behind his mother's skirts, watching me with quiet curiosity.
The Priest of Atlantis was a stooped old man with a vacant expression in his blue eyes. I barely remember anything but his wizened old face with that toothless smile and knowing expression. The moment that he stared into my own eyes, he died. Right there in front of me, he suddenly collapsed to the floor. I can still remember those eyes passing on the secrets of Atlantis, filling me with the responsibilities of this country. Every Priest or Priestess dies at the sight of the person destined to take their predecessor's place. Priests and Priestesses are like water: used without thought and discarded with no thought of the person's dignity. We are tools. We are nothing but a means to channeling the awesome power of Atlantis.
I had become the new Priestess of Atlantis; and the last.
Author's Note: ah, well, I've been needing to begin an Escaflowne fic for quite a while. Enjoy.
Chapter: The New Priestess
***Atlantis***
I was always alone.
From the moment that I was born I knew that I was destined to never have the comfort of any living creature. Mother never held me longer than it took for her to breast feed me but after her duty as a mother was complete she would leave me in my crib to simply stare at her as she welcomed dinner guests or combed her long, vibrant brown hair so like my own. Oh, how I hated my mother. I even cropped my hair short to stop reminding myself of her beauty and charm. The other women would watch me with poorly concealed suspicion and whisper that I was far too quiet for a child and that my eyes haunted them. Most of mother's friends preferred to keep me in my own room and speak of things that didn't frighten them so much. My mother feared me quite a bit and made sure to keep me away from the room when father was home. I only remember his deep green eyes, identical to my own. He knew what I would become one day and so he never saw me again.
I suppose he never wanted to grow attached to me.
Soon my wishes began to come true in a way forbidden to the people of Atlantis. If I were to grow hungry, my mother would be forced into the room from whatever she had been doing. Either she would do it unintentionally or she would suddenly appear in my room after a beam of transportation light took her to me. She gladly thrusted me into the King's company and he, in turn, sent me to the Priest. I saw the little Prince peeking from behind his mother's skirts, watching me with quiet curiosity.
The Priest of Atlantis was a stooped old man with a vacant expression in his blue eyes. I barely remember anything but his wizened old face with that toothless smile and knowing expression. The moment that he stared into my own eyes, he died. Right there in front of me, he suddenly collapsed to the floor. I can still remember those eyes passing on the secrets of Atlantis, filling me with the responsibilities of this country. Every Priest or Priestess dies at the sight of the person destined to take their predecessor's place. Priests and Priestesses are like water: used without thought and discarded with no thought of the person's dignity. We are tools. We are nothing but a means to channeling the awesome power of Atlantis.
I had become the new Priestess of Atlantis; and the last.
Author's Note: ah, well, I've been needing to begin an Escaflowne fic for quite a while. Enjoy.