Amadea and the Divinity Blade - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

     True to her word, Amadea soon knelt on a cushion before the shrine to the Gods in the Palace Temple. She took several long minutes to calm down and clear her mind. Then she stared at the statue of the Goddess she had always loved the most.
     She didn't realize that her companions had ultimately decided to follow her and now sat in benches just far enough back that they shouldn't disturb her. They had agreed that if she did receive any revelations from the Gods, they should be on hand to support her and help her come up with a plan.
     “Oh wise Goddess, please help me to understand my fate. I'm scared!” Her concentration wavered only slightly as a tiny sob escaped her with this confession.
     The statue that she stared at started glowing. A moment later, it transformed into a woman. However, unlike a real woman, she was clearly a ghost or other transparent being. She walked over to Amadea and knelt in from of her, stroking her cheek lovingly.
Amadea tilted her head in confusion. This woman looked remarkably like the painting hanging in her room.
     “Mama?” She whispered so softly that even she didn't hear it.
     “My darling daughter,” the woman murmured, trying to hug Amadea even though that was impossible. “It grieved me to no end to have to die while you were still so young!”
     Amadea tried to lean back so that she could look the ghost in the eyes. “I'm confused! Why are you here?!”
     Even though she was transparent, she tried to wipe a tear from her cheek. “I came in response to your summons. I want so badly to comfort you and answer all your questions, but I can't.”
     Amadea grunted in protest. “Why not?!”
     “Because...” She shook her head and spread her hands wide. “Even though I am a Goddess, I must not interfere in mortal lives.”
     Amadea gasped in sheer astonishment. She suddenly felt woozy and faint. Her body swayed, prompting the transparent Goddess to try to reach out and hold her.
     “What do you mean?!” Amadea cried out, practically leaping to her feet and taking a few steps back.
     “Amadea, please try to calm down,” her mother suggested in a soothing tone of voice.
     “Forget that!” Amadea roared as she paced the area before the statues of the Gods. “How can you expect me to be calm at a time like this?”
     “Amadea...” her mother hummed soothingly. “Your companions can see me, but they cannot hear me. However, they can hear you and they are very concerned. If you don't calm down, they may well interrupt our chat and drag you away.”
     “I don't care about them at the moment!” Amadea cried out, pointing in the direction she figured that her companions must be if they were watching her. “How dare you say all of that and then just expect me to act as if nothing happened?!”
     The Goddess sighed. “I'm so sorry, my beloved daughter... I don't really know what to do either. I just don't want to see you in so much pain.”
     “Then tell me what to do!” Amadea shouted emphatically. “Tell me what is going to happen and what I need to do to stop it!”
      “I already told you, I can't,” her mother stated, sounding grumpy.
     Amadea felt like all the energy in her body left her. She half collapsed as she dropped to her knees once more. She was silent for a full minute, but then she looked up at her mother with icy eyes.
     “You're lying... You said that you can't interfere in mortal affairs, but you and the other Gods interfere all the time. You give powers to certain people when they are born. You choose the Imperial Rulers. You talk to people like me and tell me to fight for justice. That's all I want to do! I want to fight, win, and then settle down and be a wife and mother. Why can't you just tell me what I need to do so that I don't die?!”
     The Goddess held out her hand so that a barrier formed between Amadea and her husband – who was rushing to pull her into his arms and comfort her.
     “I promise you that if I could tell you what was going to happen, I would,” she stated with a sigh. “But since I can't maybe this might bring you some small comfort... I was still a Goddess when I briefly took on a human form and married your father so that I could conceive you.”
     “See? More interference!” Amadea interrupted her with a grumble.
     Her mother sighed again, sounding like she was close to losing her patience. “I had to die not too long after you were born because my mortal body simply could not withstand my divine power for very much longer. Even so, when I married your father, it was binding for all of eternity, and so now he is here with me. We are both watching over you and will continue to do so.”
     Amadea sighed in relief. She had always trusted that the Gods took care of departed souls, but to have it confirmed felt like a great weight off her shoulders.
     “Father...” she whispered.
     “Neither of us wish to see you die, and for that very reason, I have given you all the gifts I can. Rather than mope and worry about what is to come, return to your husband's arms. Enjoy the clam while you can for the storm will be here soon enough.”
With that bit of advice, the Goddess vanished – the statue in its proper place once more.
     Amadea exhaled in disappointment and bent forward until her forehead was resting on the floor. Zephyr cautiously approached her, looking around at their companions as he did so. With a gentle touch, he placed a hand on her back.
     “Amadea?” He whispered, not sure whether he should leave her alone with her thoughts for a while or if he should gather her in his arms and carry her to their room to rest.
     “And this is exactly why I trust Abydos,” Amadea muttered in a whisper.
     “What?” Zephyr questioned, certain that he couldn't have heard that right.
     Amadea sat up to look at him with tears in her eyes – which was an event so rare that Zephyr couldn't recall ever seeing it before. “The Gods won't tell me anything about my fate that I don't already know. Her best advice was to just enjoy the quiet while I can!”
     Zira harrumphed. “Then that is exactly what you should do!”
     Both Amadea and Zephyr look at her in surprise for a moment. Slowly, a smile stretched Zephyr's lips.
     “I agree. Let's forget about the future for a while and just be here in the moment,” he suggested. Gathering his wife up, he carried her out of the temple.
     Amadea was too emotionally exhausted to protest and simply lay her head on his shoulder. As he walked, sleep and a sense of peace descended upon her.
*****

     That night, Amadea woke up while it was still dark out. She looked over to her husband, but he was asleep. Happy for the moment, she stroked his face, kissed his lips, and then fiddled with his hair – which always managed to fascinate her. He still wouldn't let her help him trim his hair, but the metal wire-like hairs always stuck out from his head in crazy patterns that she just adored.
     “Don't do that, you'll wake him...” a voice stated so softly that it was almost a whisper. Neither noticed Zephyr open his eyes since he was facing away from them and Amadea now faced their visitor.
     “Abydos,” Amadea greeted him softly. She smiled because she was genuinely glad to see him. “Will you tell me anything more about what is going to happen?”
     “I'm not sure I should,” he replied with a frown. “If I do, you'll just worry when there's nothing you can do about it.”
     “But you know?” Amadea asked.
     “Some,” Abydos stated with a shrug.
     Amadea slipped from her bed and slowly wrapped her arms around him. She hugged him for a little less than half a minute before she pulled back and looked him in his nearly closed eyes.
     “Please?” She begged with a becoming pout. “I need to know.”
     Abydos sighed reluctantly. “Amadea...”
     “Both Zephyr and Zira tell me not to trust you, but I know that you are going to do everything in your power to help me because you want me alive. You need me alive!” Amadea grinned at him, certain that she was right.
     “That is true,” Abydos admitted, happy that she was still half hugging him. “I tell you what, I'll tell you some of what you need to know if you –”
     He didn't get a chance to finish because Amadea just knew that he was going to ask for another kiss. She decided to just get that over with right away. Once again, a flash of light told her that he had done something.
     He chuckled. “I see that I've become too predictable. In any case, a deal is a deal. Perhaps we should sit down for this. Would it be too much to ask you to sit on my lap?”
     Amadea sighed heavily. “If you promise not to molest me.”
     He chuckled again. “Killjoy! But fine, all I really want is to bask in your soothing energy.”
     They got comfortable in an over-sized armchair, Amadea sitting on his lap as he wanted. She snuggled into him, grateful that she was finally about to get some answers.
     “The lesser doorways were all a distraction – of a sort. Oh they also served another purpose, which was to feed the great doorway, but ultimately, they aren't important at all. The thing that you need to risk your life to stop is...”
     Amadea gasped in understanding.