Disclaimer: I own nothing, all the characters in this story belong to Tamora Pierce.
Summary: "The end is near, when the lioness is tamed." Alanna has been at the convent for six years, and has finally arrived in Corus, a much different person. Her dreams have been shattered, and by force, she has been turned into a lady. When Thom died she lost the will to live. She expects to find nothing at the palace, except maybe death, which she'd gladly accept. Love was not in the plan, and neither was the goddess begging her for help.
A woman who was of once indescribable beauty knelt before the small pool of water forming at her feet. Her once beautiful raven black hair was streaked with gray, and the strands hung limply at the small of her back. Her once emerald green eyes held the despair and sadness of one who was very wise, one who had experienced pain first hand. Tears streamed freely over her white face, over her full red lips, finally dissolving into the pool in front of her. Her emerald dress was stained with blood, and torn in numerous places.
The woman was a mess, barely sane. She chanted the same line over and over again, in that powerful voice that used to strike respect and fear in the mortals, was a weak whimper now. "The end is near, when the lioness is tamed. The end is near when the lioness is tamed."
For in that pool of shed tears, a picture was forming. The streets of Corus were blazing with fire, and a man looking over the scene from a window in the palace. His booming laugh brought more tears from the woman's eyes as she watched the picture over and over again.
"The end is near when the lioness is tamed."
The mother goddess had given up on her chosen as the tears once again consumed her, the sobs shaking from within her fragile body.
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