THE CHILDREN OF DESTINY
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I dedicate this story to all the little sisters in the world!
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On a fine sunny day, Alanna the lioness had a feeling to go out riding. She had just got a new horse from George for her 21st birthday. It was a beautiful golden mare. It could almost stand any conditions; Alanna rode her to the ruins that Myles had showed her years before when she was still a squire. She got off the horse and stared walking towards the place where she found lightening. She wanted to see if she could still lift up the heavy stone. Alanna walked down and heaved, the stone gave away, she found herself looking down again at the dark space underneath. The wind whirled around but it finally stopped and there was a little light, Alanna could just make out something on the ground. She bent down to pick it up. Alanna was shocked, it was a baby. A baby girl. What kind of a mother would leave their child behind. Alanna took it outside and quickly slid back on her horse. Amazingly it didn't cry but it seemed to like Alanna. Alanna smiled down at it and the child smiled back. They rode back to Corus.
"Alanna," Jonathon greeted as Alanna rode to the stables.
"What's that?" Jonathon was amazed to find a baby in Alanna's arms.
"I found it in the ruins," Alanna explained.
"That's the second baby today," Jonathon whispered.
"What do you mean the second baby?" Alanna demanded as she held the baby closer.
"Well, while Thayet was out in the garden she heard crying and saw a baby girl, she's looking after it now," Jonathon explained as he led her to Thayet's room, there she was cradling a baby but it kept crying. Alanna leaned over to take the other baby in her arms and it hushed up and smiled. Thayet looked amazed, when did Alanna the lady knight become so good with babies?
The babies turned out to like Alanna the most, they were twin girls and Alanna had noticed that they had purple eyes as well and resembled herself in many ways. They were called Trissa (the one that Alanna found) and Jacqueline (the one that Thayet found). Jacqueline was more demanding than Trissa; whenever Trissa tried to get close to Alanna Jacqueline always came in between them. Alanna sighed at the thought.
They were growing up to be fine ladies, it was on their sixteenth birthday that Alanna had decided to go to a fortune teller and find out who their mother is. The nearest true fortuneteller was near the mountains and it would have to take many days to ride out.
"Thayet, are you sure you don't want to come, you're like family to the girls," Alanna insisted when Thayet told her of her not being able to go with them.
"Don't worry, I think one family member would be enough," Thayet replied looking at Alanna with coldness.
"Thayet, did I say anything that's upsetting you?" Alanna asked apologetically.
"Oh nothing, it's just that I was always better with children and it hurts to see them hate me," Thayet replied.
"They don't hate you, they just don't understand you," Alanna assured, Thayet just gave a fake smile and walked off back to the palace. Alanna knew that Thayet was jealous but she didn't say so.
Alanna got on her horse hesitantly and finally rode away with the girls on their own horses. The trip was long and hard, there were heavy winds from the north pushing then back but Alanna surged on. They finally made it at the crack of dawn and were exhausted; they went to a lodge and spent the night.
The morning finally arrived bringing new hopes to Alanna towards finding the girls' mother. She quickly woke then up and gave sharp orders for them to get dressed, they wearily agreed. They had a quick breakfast and took off in the marketplace in search of the great fortuneteller but they had a few distractions on their way (delicious fruits, sweet-smelling oils). They finally found themselves in an alleyway, there was a door at the end and on it was a label saying, Madam Abigail. They knocked on the door but it creaked open and on the other side was a young woman kneeling over a crystal ball.
"Madam Abigail?" Alanna asked cautiously.
"Mama Alanna be careful," warned Trissa but Jacqueline made a face. Alanna smiled thankfully at Trissa as she continued to walk towards Madam Abigail.
"These pretty girls, are they related to you," said the fortuneteller as she tried to make a conversation.
"You tell me," Alanna joked as she signaled for the girls to follow her.
"Are you really Madam Abigail, I expected her to be…" Alanna tried to find the words.
"Older, call me Abigail," finished Abigail as she took Trissa's and Jacqueline's hand, her face turned white as she fainted onto the floor. Alanna and the girls rushed over to help her; she was whispering words of prayer and making a circle on her chest.
"The girls, they're the children of destiny, one is of hope and the other of destruction," she mumbled as she tried to move away.
"What do you mean?" Alanna asked as she tried hopelessly to take the information in. Abigail sat up and took a deep breath.
"Can you excuse us girls," Alanna said as she figured out that something had to kept secret. When they were out of the room Abigail started talking again.
"It's in the ancient times when there were nothing in the mortal realms. The gods started making the world, when they finished they decided to make people. They made a couple, father destiny and mother destiny. They had three girls and a boy, two sets of twins. They are ones that you call Trissa and Jacqueline were younger out of the four but the other two were lost throughout time and space, they were to coming in to the world at another time," Abigail said as Alanna cut her off.
"How did you know their names?" Alanna asked suspiciously.
"Don't you remember, I see all. Well as I was saying the two girls that were left were first named Hope and Destruction and as you can see they didn't have any meanings for those words before. Hope was a very gentle soul but Destruction caused chaos wherever she went. At last the gods couldn't take her anymore so they banished her and sent her somewhere in the mortal realms and hoped that they would never find her again. Hope was distressed by her missing sister and pleaded with the gods to send her somewhere as well. There was a curse on then that is unless if they are found they will remain babies forever lost and helpless. That was the story of the children of destiny," Abigail finished off as tears slid from her eyes.
"Do you know which is Hope and which is Destruction?" Alanna asked sadly.
"No but you we wouldn't want to, Destruction might create enough chaos to destroy the world," Abigail cautioned.
"I think Trissa might be destruction, she was found where babies were unlikely to be found," Alanna replied, she was getting very close to Trissa, she was almost like a sister or daughter. She knew that she had to get rid of Destruction but something in her heart was tugging for her to leave the two girls.
"You have to be sure because if you kill Hope all things are lost," Abigail warned as she walked towards the door to call the girls in, they had kept themselves busy with the colourful clothes that hung on the other side.
"Come on girls, we have to go back before midday or we will never make it to Corus before dawn," Alanna said quickly as she practically ran out of the room. The two girls just stared helplessly at her but said nothing and followed her. The trip was not was back breaking as the first trip was but it still made then tired and irritable when they got home.
It was another horrible day since she found out about the horrible news. She walked wearily to find Jonathon, she never found herself as cheerful as was before she found out that she had to kill one of the girls. She found Jonathon in his study sitting at his old beautifully carved table.
"Your majesty, I have found horrible news," Alanna explained dully as she moved towards Jonathon.
"Alanna relax, there's nobody here, there's no need to be so formal," Jonathon smiled but then realized Alanna's gloom.
"What's wrong Alanna?" Jonathon asked sympathetically.
"We have to kill her, we have to kill Trissa. She's the Child of Destruction, the fortuneteller said that one of them is the Child of Destruction and one is the Child of Hope. The Child of Destruction just has to be Trissa but I don't want to kill her, oh what do I do?" Alanna blurted out as Jonathon tried to make sense of her words.
"Just slow down, are you sure that it's Trissa?" Jonathon replied. Alanna nodded as she paced around the room.
"Okay we have to do what we have to do, go and get your sword," Jonathon ordered.
"No, I can't do it, it's just so barbaric to kill an innocent child for what she did in her other life," Alanna screamed as she felt her heart tear in two.
"I order you, I like her too but we can't risk it," Jonathon soothed. He walked across the room to get his sword; he had always kept his sword near. Alanna fingered her own, which was on her belt. They made their way slowly to the girls' room; it was lit and there was arguing coming through it.
"You did it didn't you? You stole my skirt again, just because that stupid Queen Thayet gave it to me doesn't mean you can just borrow it!" demanded Jacqueline.
"But…but I didn't do it, I'm sure it's just in the laundry, please Jacqueline I didn't do it," whimpered Trissa as she pleaded to her sister. Jacqueline face screwed up in anger as a few vases hit the ground.
"Jacqueline stop it, she's your sister and she didn't do it. It's in the laundry, your skirt was dirty," screamed Alanna.
"It's not Trissa, it's Jacqueline," Jonathon whispered to Alanna, he slowly put his hand to his sword and nodded to Alanna, she just stood there looking at the two girls.
"No, no we can't do it, they're innocent, we can't kill them, they don't have to know their past," Alanna mumbled but Jonathon didn't seem to listen, he released his sword and swung for Jacqueline. Alanna jumped in front of her just before the sword came down, she waited for it to pierce through her skin but it didn't, a light covered her and the sword dropped from Jonathon's hands, he stared amazed at her.
"Who did that?" he demanded.
"It was me," admitted a voice from behind him, standing there was Trissa.
"I remember, I'm hope," She admitted and stepped towards Alanna. Jacqueline suddenly turned around and turned pale.
"I remember as well, I'm Destruction," she said as two tears slid down her pale cheeks. Hope went over to comfort her but she shook her off. Alanna went over and put her arms around her. Destruction swung around and buried herself in Alanna's shirt.
"Why do you prefer me to Thayet, she's much better at looking after you than I ever could," Alanna exclaimed.
"Because, you're our sister, you're prudence, we lost you but we're not going to lose you again," Hope replied as she hurried over to embrace Alanna.
"Where's our brother, Thoughtful?" asked Destruction as she stopped her sobs.
"He's dead," Alanna tried to get the staggered words out without dread of not being able to help Thom.
"We have to go," Hope interrupted. She nodded to Destruction and she nodded back.
"Why?" Alanna demanded.
"We can't stay, we have to go back to the divine realm to do jobs for the gods for what we did to them before," Destruction said. Alanna grasped the girls' hands; she didn't want her sisters to go away.
"Don't worry, it wont be so hard forgetting us, when this is all over you'll remember nothing as if we never existed," Hope said as if sensing Alanna's thoughts. Alanna let go but gave pleading eyes; they shook their heads and walked away from Alanna.
Alanna reluctantly waved goodbye and turned to see Jonathon, he was still stunned. The girls reached up into the air and two keys appeared in their hands, they whispered words and a door with two locks appeared. Alanna felt like jumping out to them to stop the girls from leaving but she didn't. Hope and Destruction whispered their last good byes and they put the keys into the locks. The door swung open and the two girls waved before disappearing into the blinding light, the door closed and disappeared. In a flash everything was back to normal, Alanna was in the training grounds practicing her new move on her sword and Jonathon was in his study examining his new bit of land.
THE END
I hope you enjoyed that, I'm going to write more stories about Alanna the lioness, please stay tuned for my next story, "The Truth about Alanna"! If you have any ideas about it please email me at
small__lady@hotmail.com