A/N First one! I don't own Oracle Prophecies!
Manto had once been beautiful. She was famous in and around the Port and had men begging for her hand. But, in all her pride, she turned all of them down after a few weeks of playing with their feelings. Despite this, the admirers never lost hope.
One of them once compared Manto's beauty to the Rain Queen's. He hoped to flatter the girl of his dreams by comparing her long, wavy hair to the streams of water the Queen wore as a crown, her voice to the tinkling sound of droplets She produced and her step to the most beautiful river on earth. But Manto was not flattered.
'How dare you insult me to that Water Witch?' she exclaimed, and the admirer cowered in fear as the streams of her hair seemed to change into dangerous, threatening depths, as did her eyes, and her voice became a heavy thunderstorm. 'How dare you? Are not my eyes like a summer's sky? Like the ocean? And Her eyes, are they not like a sea so salt it is void of any life? Is not my hair as beautiful as the silk spun by the caterpillars in Her Garden?'
The admirer ran, but the young woman hadn't finished just yet. 'Do you hear me, you Water Witch? Why do people honour you, and not me? I should be sacrificed to! I should have temples and statues all over the Port, not you! I know you can hear me. Speak to me!'
No answer came for a while, and Manto started fuming, and screaming that she was better than the Queen and that She shouldn't ignore her just because She thought Manto's words would have no effect. The woman was about to step outside to convince the people of the Two Lands to give their sacrifices up to her when she heard a sound behind her, soft as water.
Manto whirled around. 'You,' she hissed, not at all impressed by the grand appearance of the Rain Queen - because of course it was Her. Everything about Her seemed to be moving, to be alive, except for Her eyes. Those were deadly calm. Every other mortal would've been petrified by Her gaze, but Manto remained unfazed. 'You,' she repeated. 'How dare you come here?'
The Rain Queen didn't respond. Manto took this as a sign and said: 'You are afraid to answer, aren't you? You are afraid that I am better than you, afraid the people will worship me. Say something!'
The Rain Queen lifted Her hand. 'Manto of the Port,' She spoke, and it sounded like a waterfall, 'I hereby take all your beauty, your youth, your very being, for thinking you are better than me, the Queen of Life. Your hair shall be grey and never grow again. Your body shall be old and disgusting, your voice shall raspy and unpleasant.' She lowered Her hand.
Manto's appearance began to change. Her hair looked like it was being sucked back into her skull, her hand, her face and her legs got fat and wrinkly. She shrieked in anger, but her voice had little strength. The woman fell.
'But,' the Rain Queen continued, 'because I am not heartless, like many of you futile mortals think, I shall give you a gift also.'
Manto scowled. 'I don't want a gift from you.'
'You have no choice.'
'I'd rather die!'
'Oh no,' She shook her head, 'I shan't give you that pleasure. That is to say, you shall never die. Never. I shall now grant you the gift of magic. What that means is up to you. Learn from your mistakes. The god would have taken your life.' And with that, she faded, leaving a disoriented, ugly, short-haired old woman sitting on the floor.
A disoriented, ugly, short-haired, but above all very angry and vengeful old woman. She stood up with difficulty and brushed off her skirt. 'Oh just you wait,' she yelled at the sky, 'I will have revenge, one way or another!'
A/N So there you have Manto's story. If the facts throughout all the short stories differ from the books slightly, then beg my pardon, because I didn't have them with me when I wrote them. :C In either way, one down, eight to go!