The Oath

Constantine and Liam were in shock. Hildegarde held Felicia's hand and gently stroked it with her thumb. 

"Why would the Pope attack you?" Prince Constantine asked.

"Because he is corrupt. The church has long since fallen out of faith with the Goddess and now there is a highly sinister and power hungry man in charge. The Pope acquired his magic from a Demon Lord and he granted a fraction of it to Helena before propping her up as a Saintess. He's using her to further bolster his authority and sway over the public consensus."

Alex rubbed at his wrist when his pulse beneath the infinity symbol began to throb.

"But Alex, how do you know all this?" Liam's voice was grave. He didn't believe his friend was lying, but he still couldn't comprehend where Alex got all this information from. He was speaking out quite heavy accusations!

"There is no proof that Helena is a Saintess apart from the Pope saying she is. Her so called magic is pitiful. She's had if for years and it still remains weak. I've seen her using it before and it's...the feel of it is tainted. It's not holy power. Furthermore, the birth of each Saintess is marked by the statue of Goddess Kartara shedding tears. There is no record or even mention of that happening 18 years ago. That already makes Helena's divine claim questionable." 

"The current Pope is an imposter and so is the Saintess he shamefully proclaimed. Felicia is the only one and I being her brother am her Guardian. The Goddess granted me access to her sword so I could better protect her Saintess."

Alex summoned the Holy Sword and the entire room was immediately engulfed by a blinding flash of light. Kartara's blade appeared in his hand and he held it flat against his palm for everybody to see.

Liam and Constantine lower their hands and blink repeatedly to adjust their eyes after the harsh intrusion. Their jaws drop in shock. 

"Goddess Kartara's sword..."

Hildegarde smiles, feeling like a proud mama.

Liam sucked in deep breath. "The earth shake, the heavy wind....it was you, wasn't it? It happened when you pulled the Holy Sword."

"Yes," Alex admitted with a smile. He really appreciated how smart his two best friends were. "That's when the Pope ordered for the Garden of Promise to be sealed off. The gossip would be rampant if the public learned that the sword has been pulled by a new holy figure whom nobody knows. Felicia and I could challenge Helena's position right now if we wanted to, it would put us in danger. The Pope is a threat we have to dismantle cautiously."

Constantine nodded. "Of course....if the Pope is so thorough as to declare a false Saintess, then that means he has other tricks up his sleeve and could easily accuse you two of being heretics if you challenged him."

"But if you and Lady Felicia are both holy beings, then why didn't the Goddess shed tears on the years you were born? Shouldn't she have wept twice?" Liam pressed, completely intrigued. 

"We only discovered our powers a month ago. And I believe the Goddess wished to keep our arrival hidden from the demonic Pope." Alex shook his head in frustration. "Unfortunately, he's already figured it out. During the last Day of Prayer, he was glaring at us during the entire sermon and Felicia's accidentally dropped some incriminating information before we fled with the Holy Sword."

"Why would the Pope even practice demonic magic to begin with?" Hildegarde asked.

Liam knew the answer to that. Greedy people were not difficult to decipher. "Probably because he failed to acquire holy power. Each of the previous Popes, prior to taking their position would retreat to the Scared Fountain up in the mountains and pray to the Goddess for blessings. I'm guessing his evil heart did not get the results he wished for. The Goddess did not bless him and so he decided to fulfill his ambition another way."

"All the while masquerading as a holy man. The position of Pope garners immense respect and influence. It would be blasphemous for anyone to imply he's engaging in demonic practices." Constantine concluded. "That's very clever."

He looked back at Alex. "But how did Helena even get involved with him? Of all the women he could have chosen to be his puppet, why her?"

Alex rubbed his chin. "That's what I'd like to know as well."

Alex's vision suddenly clouds as she sees himself kneeling on the ground staring up at Felicia who is crying bloody tears. Both of them are surrounded by mists. He glances around.

"What is this place? Felicia, where are we?"

He gets no response. She continues to cry while glaring at him disdainfully.

"Alex?"

"Alex!"

Taking in a sharp breath, he lowers his hand on the armrest. His eyes take in the bedroom. "What?"

Both men and nanny exchange glances. "What happened? We've been calling your name, you didn't respond. You looked like you were in a trance."

"Sorry, my mind drifted away." Alexander rubbed his eyes. "I had another vision."

"Vision? Is that a gift from the Goddess?"

"Yes. Felicia experiences the same. The Goddess gives us many clues when we're dreaming. It's how I knew I could retrieve the sword."

Constantine bit his lip. "What other powers do you have, Alex?"

"That's it. I have the sword, the dreams and I can sense black magic." He looked at Felicia's sleeping face. "She has more magic than me. So far she can only heal, but we both shared a vision where she was able to throw light from her hands at her attackers."

"Is that a warning of what's to come?" Liam asked.

Alex shrugged. "Either that, or it has already come to pass in another lifetime and Felicia and I don't remember it."

Liam's eyes widened in shock. Another lifetime?

"How come none of the previous Saintesses could retrieve the sword or receive visions from the Goddess?"

"Well, I'm a special case so I don't know about the sword part. But as for being unable to communicate with the Goddess, it's because they were frauds." Alex stated. "The last true Saintess was Joan of Arc. And she lived 400 years ago. Those other two women who were introduced as Saintesses in the past 300 years were imposters."

Another stunned silence filled the air.

"So how many true Saintesses have there been?" Constantine was overwhelmed.

Alex closed his eyes. "My Guardian intuition tells me that there have only been seven. Eight including Felicia." 

"But there have been 20 Saintesses recorded!"

"Yes, like I said the corruption is really bad. Saintesses have long since strayed away from being simple servants of the Goddess, they are now nothing more than tools for priests to engage in power play."

Constantine buried his face in his hands. This spells trouble. The church already has too much power, but if they're spreading bald faced lies like this, than what else are they up to?"

Alex did not like the gloomy atmosphere. Both men looked defeated by the information. "This is what the Goddess sent me and Felicia to tackle. We are here to restore balance and cleanse the continent, not just Elysium. The Pope will spread his tentacles outwards in due time if he is not stopped. He is a follower of a Demon Lord and we can't defeat him as just the two of us."

Constantine stood up. "Of course we will help you. Countless lives are on the line. Defeat is not an option."

Alex stood up and held out the Holy Sword. "Then both of you, place a hand on the blade and swear in the name of the Goddess."

Liam and Constantine did so. Both flinched when they felt a spark under their fingertips. The sword's power was apparent. 

Hildegarde stepped up and did the same. When the young men all looked at her in confusion, she shrugged and smiled. "What? I am here to help as well. I should also be part of this oath."

Alex chuckled. Liam and Constantine smiled.

"All right. Very good." Dismissing the sword caused another flash of light. "But we have to operate as discreetly as possible. The Pope can plant spies everywhere. Someone told him we were visiting Hildegarde. Which means there is a mole in this manor."