Chapter 15: A Choice

A week had passed, with the constant grueling training Illyan had put her through, Maaike had caught up with his average students. To him it wasn't good enough, but it was a great difference from when she first started, she was no longer a passive fighter and could use her powers a bit.

She was currently sitting in the archive, studying the history of supernaturals, a courtesy of Illyan's love for history. His collection was extensive, and he insisted that she read at least a couple of centuries worth in order to 'enhance her mental capabilities'.

"Illyan, can I ask you something?" He was absentminded, looking at a scroll in front of him.

"Mentor?"

"Hm.. What's up?" He said, still engrossed in his reading.

"Why do the gods have control of our world?"

"Balance…" he looked up at her, "It might not be that way here, but if there were no gods the humans would be mostly wiped out."

Her brows went up, "What do you mean?"

"Supernaturals constantly get involved in battles for dominance, the gods prefer humans as their followers, so they forced us to make treaties."

Her brows furrowed at his reply, "That sounds like a fake reason." He smirked at that response.

"If you want to know the real one, finish learning the history of the wolves first."

Pouting, Mya returned to her reading, it was annoying to her to have to read things she thought she knew. Howecer, as she read more, from the perspective of other races, she had come to realize that the werewolves were a far more complicated race than she had thought.

"Why did the vampires and werewolves fight?"

"Because they were told to…Actually, the vampire queen's mate was a werewolf, so you can imagine the issue with who's dominant."

"My parents didn't have an issue, I think." He shrugged, keeping quiet.

She sighed and closed the book, getting up, "I'm done for today."

"You're not, but you can go." She bit the inside of her cheek before skipping out of the room. He glanced at her as she closed the door, his lips curled up as he turned away.

Mya walked back to the reastaurant, the sun was setting, she admired the colors as she walked. When she got close to the restaurant, she saw Alyssa waiting for her in front of the building, waving at her.

"You're finally done."

"Yep! Illyan decided to let me go early."

Alyssa's eyes widened, "Illyan let you skip out on extra training?" pouting she glared in the direction of his place.

"Isn't he always bragging about being always fair?"

"You're talking like he doesn't let you get away with skipping training."

"True, I'm still surprised about that."

"It's probably because you're his best." Said Horace as he left the building to head to Illyan's place.

They both watched him leave silently, "When did he get here?" Alyssa asked bewildered.

"You tell me." They stood still watching, then Mya turned back to Alyssa.

"By the way, did you want to tell me something?"

Alyssa gestured for her to follow, and they walked silently together towards an obscure part of the city. "There's someone that wants to meet you."

"What do you mean?" Mya tilted her head, curious over the mysteriousness of the situation. Noticing that she wouldn't answer, Mya shrugged and continued to follow her through the maze of buildings.

They soon arrived at a quaint Victorian home, with wood details painted verdant green and creamy white walls. Alyssa gently tapped on the door, gesturing for her to wait outside, she went inside.

Mya stood silently at the door, twiddling her thumbs, swaying from side to side she tried to peer in through the window. The blinds were not closed, but she could see nothing, as though the windows were fogged.

The door soon creaked open, but there was no one there, "Come in" came a weak voice.

Nervously glancing around, Mya clenched her fists and with a burst of courage, took a step over the ledge and into the house.

"But is it really okay to do this? I thought you said you can't reveal anything." A voice rang out through the halls toward the main entrance.

"It's okay, I owe it to their family after all. It also depends on what she wants to know."

Mya stopped, listening to the conversation between Alyssa and the weak voice. Walking slowly,she approached the voices, and soon came upon an old frail lady, sitting in a wheelchair with Alyssa kneeling at her side.

They both turned to look at her as she walked into the dark room, only brightened by old lamps and candles.

"You are…" Mya started, only to be cut off by the old lady whose eyes widened at the sight of her.

"Your eyes…they're truly the same type of eyes." Her hands shook as she beckoned to her. Throwing a glance of worry at Alyssa, Mya walked carefully to the old lady, crouching down in front of her.

Slowly lifting her hand, she reached out to touch Maaike's face. Mya flinched back instinctively, causing her to stop and pull her hand back.

"Who are you?" she whispered, lowering her head to avoid the woman's focused gaze.

Alyssa got up from where she was, and walked toward the door, "I'll leave you two to talk."

Mya's head shot up as she turned to Alyssa with a pleading gaze. "Stay." The old lady commanded before turning her attention back to Mya.

"I'm a friend of the Heorte family, a seer." Mya's nose wrinkled up at the answer.

"How do you know our family; mom has never told me anything about a seer. What do you want?" her gaze was firm as she looked up at the lady, avoiding meeting her eyes.

She knew that the easiest way to be mentally attacked was through eye contact, after all 'the eye is the window to the soul', a courtesy of Illyan's lessons.

"Of course you wouldn't know about me." She chuckled, "I knew your ancestors, the first children of the Heorte family."

Mya pressed her forefinger to her temple, gently massaging it as she tried to think through her reply.

"I don't know anything about the Heorte family…Besides, the clan has already been replaced, I'm just Maaike now."

"Don't be in such a hurry to throw off your heritage, as long as that blood flows in your veins, nothing would be easy. With or without your name, you would always be known as a Heorte."

Pausing to study Maaike, the old lady smiled, causing the corners of her eyes to crinkle up.

"Pick one, past, present or the future. You only have one of these three choices to know about, you have to hurry though, this is the only time that is safe enough to talk about this." She continued, wheeling her chair over to a desk covered in old dusty paper and small jars filled with various types of soil.

Picking up a jar filled with golden-red soil, she turned to Maaike waiting for her answer.

Mya closed her eyes, she couldn't choose the present, after all anything that happened was related to her decisions. The future was an option but there was no guarantee, after all many past empires knew the future but couldn't change it, they had only sped up its approach.

Crossing her fingers, she opened her eyes and gave a firm answer, "The past." Her eyes full of confidence in her decision.