The Priestess

Somewhere in the Eastern Forest

A smell of garlic and crabs made her nose tickle. It was warm and a blanket covered her body.

Alya opened her eyes.

"Mm… mmm… what… where am I?" her throat was soaring.

After coughing a few times, she sat down on what appeared to be a bed on the floor.

"what is… this place?"

"Ooh! You woke up!", an old woman entered the dark room, "how are you feeling? Has the headache come down? I bet you are hungry as…"

"Who are you?" Alya's breath started to speed up, "w-why am I here? Where are my parents? Adam? Where is Adam?"

"Okay, calm down young lady", the woman gave her a cup of tea that was next to the bed, "here, have some t…"

"NO!" Alya hit the old woman's hand, shattering the cup of clay on the rocky ground, "where… is everyone? They��� they are in danger! I must go and see Adam! I must…"

"None of them survived," she picked up the pieces of clay.

"W-what?"

"Well… as far as I could see when I saved you, pretty much everybody was dead; the king, the queen and… this Adam whom you keep talking about, it wouldn't surprise me if he was dead too."

"N-no… no…" she cringed on the bed, "no…no, no… this has to… be a nightmare!"

"Unfortunately, it is not. You are the only survivor," the old woman stood up with the pieces on both hands and placed them on a blanket, "It was a blessing from the gods that I could save you."

"Blessing?" Alya's voice was breaking, "DO YOU CALL THIS A BLESSING!?"

"Oh young lady, believe me. It is a blessing that you made it here."

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! EVERYONE IS DEAD! I… I… I DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!"

"Young lady, all of them gave their lives so you could live. You have special powers that, if they fall under the wrong hands, we… no, the world would be in great trouble."

"I don't want this… I don't want these powers…"

"Oh young lady, I know it can be hard to…", she approached her thin arm towards Alya.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

The old woman sighed and turned to the entrance.

"You can come out and have some crab soup when you feel hungry. I'll be waiting for you and then we can have a small chat."

The old woman walked out and closed the curtain.

Alya was shaking in the corner of the room while pressing her head with both hands.

"Why is this happening? Because of this gift, everyone is… dead."

Her chest was burning, and her head was aching.

"This just happened too fast… I'm scared… what else could I do?"

Silence invaded the room.

"Why… Why… Why… Why…"

The memories of her father, talking about this gift came to her mind ―it was as if he was talking to her from the other side of the veil.

"My daughter, the gift that you inherited from me is one of the most precious gifts humanity has. Your gift is like the tree of this garden, it provides shadow and shelter to birds, insects and the other plants that surround it; but this tree wasn't always as big and strong as now it is, it grew from a small seed, then by being nourished and protected, it became a bigger plant and although it needed protection, its roots could hold storms and the heat of the sun. Now it is strong with a firm foundation. You must grow like this tree, no matter what."

Her stomach growled. The image of her father disappeared from her empty eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Alya pressed her chest with her fist and looked up.

"Thank you, father."

Alya stood up. Her feet felt swollen and itchy, but she took a few steps towards the curtain of the rocky room; maybe the sharp and spicy smell of the soup was the one that made her come out of the bed.

"Is this… a cave?"

Passing the curtain, rocks were in the place of the ceiling, the floor, and walls. There were scrolls all over the place, a small chair, a few wooden tables, a few ropes, cooking tools, and many, many containers with liquids of all kinds of colors.

"Oh you came out faster than what I expected!" the old woman was sitting in the middle of the spacious room as if she had been meditating. "Let me give you some delicious soup! You know what? there is a lagoon close by, in which you can catch all kinds of fish and crabs! So you will be a witness of my famous…"

"Who are you?"

"Ah… well young lady, you got to stop interrupting people when they speak, you know? Especially if there are older then you."

Alya sighed.

"I… I just want to know more about these powers and why those thieves killed everyone and tried to kidnap me."

"You can call me Adi. Some call me priestess and others, witch, but for you, young lady; I am your guardian."

"Guardian?"

Adi, The Priestess, placed a bowl full of food on a small table.

"Come here, have a sit."

"A-ah thank you", Alya sat down, and reluctantly took the first bite.

Her eyes opened widely. She ate as fast as she could without taking her eyes off the food.

"Ha, ha, ha! I knew you'd like it!" Adi sat down at the other end of the table. "what was your other question? Oh yeah, your powers."

Alya would stop every now and then to drink the sweet coconut water. She would eat all kinds of food in the palace but this time, it had a quite different touch to it.

"While you eat, I will answer the questions but first, I need to teach you the origin of your powers. Although you have been calling them 'gift', their proper name is 'The Water Force'."

"Fu Wuvu fuf?"

"He, he. Yeah… so, in the beginning, existed three elements that governed our world: Fire, Earth and… Water. The 'Fire Force' represented by 'Power', 'Earth Force' by 'Knowledge' and the 'Water Force' by 'Life'"

"Does that mean the 'Water Force' can give life?" Alya swallowed.

"Yes and no but let me go back to where I was. These forces are the elements and the foundation of every living creature, including this world. These three powers keep the balance of all things, but to maintain it, the gods had to give these powers to three individuals."

"Am I… one of them?"

"So… when the world was created, the gods needed these elements to exist in a harmonious way and after placing them in the soul of these three individuals, they had the ability to control them if they learned the secrets of these powers, but if an…"

"Am I going to learn the secrets of my powers?"

"Stop interrupting me, young lady!"

"Oh… sorry."

"Ahem. If an individual gathers these three forces then, the elements of all life will be under his or her command, making him or her the most powerful individual of all time! Eh… are you listening young lady?"

A strong noise was coming from Alya's lips as she was sucking a crab's pincers.

"What?"

"Are you going to stop making those noises?"

"Just a second...… okay I'm done."

Adi sighed.

"So! as I was saying. These powers would function properly together if the individual's heart is pure, but if it's full of evil then… it…"

"We would be in big trouble."

"And not only that 'Miss Interruption', but a complete reset of our world will also take place. In other words, it will be the end of the world as we see it."

"So, if these men were to catch me, they would use me to end this world and make a new one?"

"In part. It would be a world where the strongest feelings of that individual dictated its future."

"Then the person who created this world might have been very sad…"

"Hm? You really go quite far with your comments, young lady. But anyways, these powers can only pass on to another person only by two means, inheriting it by descent…"

"Like I did?"

"Yes, my dear. Like you did, but the other way is to absorb the soul of one who bears this power."

"You mean…"

"Yes, eating your soul through a ritual."

"S-so… these men… where trying to eat… my soul?"

Adi the priestess nodded.

The spoon that Alya was holding, fell in the almost empty bowl.

"That is why, young lady, everybody was trying to protect you; so this power would not fall under the wrong hands. You must understand that they are so important for humanity that, even they sacrificed their lives."

Alya would not blink or even move a finger, only her breath was heard.

"There is a prophecy that comes along with the Three Forces. It will come a time, in the far future, when the elements of the world will lose their balance, caused by the neglect of mankind. When this time comes, a chosen bearer will be born and all we know is that this bearer will unite humanity and bring about a new world."

"If this bearer is evil then…"

"Yes, mankind will be doomed."

"And if this bearer is righteous…"

"Then, there will be hope for humanity."

"I see…"

"Now young lady…"

"Oh, you can call me Alya."

"Good. Now young Alya, I am the guardian of the Water Force, and I have been its guardian for hundreds of years…"

"Really?"

"Yes, my dear Alya, and I am stronger than many soldiers."

"Wow."

"I've been protecting your ancestors for a long time, including your father."

"Then why I never heard of you before?"

"We were going to meet at some point, my dear; but now that your parents are no longer with us, I will take care of you and train you until you reach control of your powers."

"Wait… am I going to live here with you? Why don't we go to the palace?"

"Right now, this is the safest place for you to stay."

"But the palace…!"

"The attack that caused the death of your parents and many nobles of the kingdom, was planned by evil men that hide in the palace. It will be a big mistake if you go back."

Alya pressed her fists and nodded.

"We will start your training tomorrow morning! So, take a good rest and prepare your mind for what is awaiting!"