This message brought Estella new hope, new faith and she suddenly had the courage to face the Fates.
She left her dark cove and began to search once again for the Fates' abode. She found it without difficulty, and this time she refused to turn away.
"Excuse me?" she called to them, her voice betraying only the slightest amount of uncertainty.
"Come in my dear." Clotho answered her, "We don't bite."
'No,' thought Estella, 'You just kill people.' But she entered nonetheless.
"Now then, your father mentioned you would be coming to see us." Lachesis spoke up.
"And the matter of your power of premonition has been resolved." Said Atropos. "A power surrendered by a god is much more valuable than a power taken from a half-goddess." She continued, muttering under her breath.
Estella caught the words but took no notice of them, for at that moment Atropos waved her hand in Estella's direction and a bright, green light flashed. As it had before, it seemed to flash behind Estella's eyes rather than before them. She saw flashes of her premonitions, old and recent, and finally her latest premonition in real time. She saw the assassination of the king and suddenly understood why Apollo was so insistent that she recover her gift.
"And what of the king?" asked Estella, still reeling from the visions.
"That too has been settled." Replied Clotho.
"If someone were to die in his place, he may continue to live." This time Lachesis spoke. Estella was finding it hard to keep track.
"This is usually a choice left up to us, but after what your father has given to us, we feel it acceptable to let you choose." Atropos cut in.
"Choose what?" Estella was sooo confused.
"Who will die in the king's place." Clotho spoke again.
Estella was rather taken aback. Who was she to decide who lived and who died? How could she steal the most precious gift of all? The gift of life. She thought long and hard about it. For nearly an hour she stood there, unmoving, thinking. At last she had it. There was only one type of person who was undeserving of life, and that was those tried to tried to take it from others.
"The man who tried to kill the king in my premonition. He shall die." Estella finally said.
The Fates nodded and began to work. Clotho began to spin out thread, humming a cheerful tune as she did so. Lachesis measured the thread and placed a finger on it to indicate where Atropos should cut it, which she did, catching Clotho's tune. When they were finished they looked up at Estella with bright smiles.
"Done." They said.
"Thank you. I shall be going now." Estë replied.
"Wait a moment!" Lachesis called out.
"Tell your father we are grateful for his gift." Said Atropos.
"And that it will be very useful!" finished Clotho.
Estella nodded he understanding and walked out of the cave. She found the winged-sandals she had left earlier, put them on, and began her journey home. She rested only briefly, as she was anxious to get home now that her task was completed. But all the way home she pondered the message the Fates had given her. What gift had Apollo bestowed upon them? All at once, Atropos' words echoed in her head; "A power surrendered by a god is much more valuable than a power taken from a half-goddess."
Estella stopped dead in her tracks and actually sank a few feet in the air. She finally understood. Apollo had used his power as a bargaining tool for Estella's power and the king's life. It must have been a very valuable power for the Fates to have accepted it. Probably Apollo's most unique and most potent power.
Estella gasped and froze again. According to her own reasoning, Apollo had given the Fates his power of prophecy.
"A god gave up his power for you." She told herself.
"No," another voice spoke up. "Your father sacrificed for you." Put that way, it didn't seem as astounding.
'In fact,' she thought, slipping into bed after an uneventful trip home, 'it feels right.'
She sighed peacefully and closed her eyes, feeling that, at last, everything was just right.
