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A long time ago, in a distant kingdom. A strict King ruled. And he had a daughter who was the most beautiful in the whole world. She was the favorite of the whole court, and the Princess knew neither grief nor fear. But one day, the Princess was passing by her father's chambers when she heard the voices of two people. They were arguing, but they were quiet so as not to wake anyone up. The Princess overheard their conversation.
The young Priestess bowed before the King and said,
"Your Majesty... I had a vision," her voice trembled. “I saw everything collapsing! And screams, lots of screams."
"I'm afraid that everything might soon be in ruins," a dead silence seemed to hang after these words.
Couldn't the Priestess of the Temple have waited until morning? But the prediction seemed too serious to postpone it. With a sinking heart, the Princess listened to her father's answer.
"What are you talking about?! This Kingdom is incredibly prosperous, it cannot fall!"
"The gods are rarely wrong, Your Majesty."
"I do not listen to the gods. What can they know if they don't live on earth and don't see history the way we do?"
"Perhaps, if you wish, you can look at your history with different eyes. Perhaps that would help you understand that what happened will happen no matter how much you try to change it."
"How dare you speak to me like that!" The King screamed in anger.
"Do you want me to execute you?! Do you think that will make you feel better?! You have no right to judge me!"
The Priestess bowed her head. He was right, she couldn't say anything to make him listen. All she could do now was wait for his decision, but she had faith that the gods wouldn't allow such injustice to pass unpunished.
The Princess shrank and covered her ears with her hands. Closing her eyes, she did not immediately realize that the Priestess had come out into the corridor and was looking directly at her.
The Princess could barely say "Mistress", but the Priestess had already turned away and slowly wandered down the corridor to the exit.
The King was displeased with this conversation. How could she, just a Priestess, contradict the King? Was it a prophecy or did she want to cast a curse on the Kingdom?
As the King thought about the girl's words, he ordered to call one of the Knights.
The Knight walked to the King's chambers. As usual, she didn't ask any questions, but rather kneeled before His Majesty.
"My Lord, what should I do?"
"Did you see the girl who came out of my chambers? You have to kill her."
"But my Lord..." the Knight started protesting. "She isn't a criminal."
"If you are foolish enough to question my decisions, I won't hesitate to put an end to you myself."
The Knight bowed her head again.
"As you wish,"
Her voice was quiet, and yet these words were heard by the Princess, who was still standing in the shadow of the corridor. Fear quickly gripped her heart like a vice. The girl ran as fast as possible, trying to catch up with the Priestess.
Running after her, she ended up in the temple she had never seen before. A bouquet of white flowers grew in the center of the temple. Though Princess found them beautiful, she didn't dare touch them.
Princess called the Priestess quietly. When the Priestess looked at her, she asked: "Why are you here?"
"To save you from death."
Without saying another word, the girl grabbed the Priestess's wrist.
"They're planning to kill you! I do not know why, but please promise me to be careful."
The Priestess did not look surprised anymore. Maybe she had always known that this was coming. Nevertheless, she did not pull back her hand. Instead, she held it firmly in her grasp.
"It is impossible. Not everything is set in stone."
"That doesn't give them the right to hurt you!"
At this point, the Princess felt tears filling her eyes and a lump forming in her throat. The pain inside her chest grew.
"Please!" Tears fell from her chin. The Priestess reached up to wipe the drops off her face. Then, softly, she said: "You can take care of yourself. Now leave."
And turning around, she entered one of the many rooms inside the temple.
With heavy steps, the girl left the temple as well.
The next night, the Knight came to the temple. She didn't say anything, she only stood behind the Priestess and watched as she prayed. When the Priestess finished praying, the Knight spoke:
"Our Majesty is displeased with this conversation we had last evening. I believe you have offended His Majesty very deeply, and there is nothing you can do to make up for the situation."
The Priestess nodded and turned toward the Knight.
"We both know the consequences of my actions, and my life does not mean more than his."
"I am sure he knows, but nonetheless, he has ordered me to bring you to the execution place tomorrow."
"He must be mad."
"Yes, he might be. However..." she paused for a moment. The Knight was silent, waiting for her to continue. "He trusts you. Therefore, I must trust you." The Priestess could hear a sigh escape the Knight's lips. Her body tensed. "Don't worry," continued the Priestess, "I know what to expect. No harm will come from this. This foolish King can't harm the servant of Goddess herself"
The Priestess looked into the Knight's eyes.
"Make a promise, my love - that you'll be by my side through this ordeal," the Knight nodded.
"Promise," she replied. The Priestess smiled and closed her eyes. The Knight stepped forward and kissed her forehead before leaving.
The knight returned to the castle and knelt in front of the King, and said, trying to hide her sadness
“King, don't you think that harming a Priestess might attract the wrath of the gods?”
“Wrath of the gods? Do not make me laugh, only I choose what happens in my Kingdom, not some gods!”
“But, Your Majesty!” the Knight tried to reason, “this poor maiden has done nothing wrong,”
“Why do you care about her so much?”
He said as he noticed that a petal from Priestess's temple fell from Knight’s arm
Expression of the King changed
“You know what? I'm changing my mind, but promise that next night she will be in the temple”.
“... I promise” the Knight said and run out the castle.
Next evening King called his royal mage
Mage bowed to a King
The King said to the Mage “This evening, you need to kill the Priestess, she is a threat to our Kingdom”
Mage looked with confusion at the King, “But Majesty, what has she done to deserve such punishment?”
King said with gravelly voice “She said she will bring our Kingdom to ruins, that there will be destruction everywhere, you need to destroy her before she can destroy all of us”
Mage still didn't know what to feel, so King pushed further “Knight knows about her danger, when you will come to the Temple, she also will be there, she will act like she doesn't know, but it's all part of the plan, after you attack the Priestess, take the Knight and go away from temple as fast as you can”
"Of course, My Lord," the Mage said with a small nod.
The Mage left the throne room, her mind racing with the King's orders. She couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off, that the King's words didn't quite add up. But, as a loyal servant of the crown, she had a duty to carry out the King's commands.
As she made her way to the Temple, she couldn't help but think about the Priestess. She had always been a kind and gentle soul, loved by the people of the Kingdom. It seemed strange that she would suddenly become a threat to the Kingdom. But duty is duty, so she couldn't break orders, not without putting herself in danger.
The Mage arrived at the Temple and saw the Priestess, who was indeed accompanied by the Knight. They were deep in conversation, and the Mage could tell that the Knight had a genuine affection for the Priestess.
The Priestess didn't seem to suspect anything and continued her duties as if nothing was amiss. The Mage felt a pang of guilt as she prepared herself for the task at hand.
As the Priestess knelt in prayer, the Mage conjured a powerful spell, and sent a wave of energy hurtling towards the Priestess. The Knight, caught off guard, didn't have time to react before the spell struck the Priestess, sending her crashing to the ground.
The Mage quickly grabbed the shocked Knight and made them dissapear from the Temple.
Inside the temple, the air was thick with tension as the Priestess lay on the floor, her breathing shallow and labored.
As she tried to stand, the Priestess prayed to the goddess, but her prayer was not of mercy but of rage
"Is this how you repay those you owe your loyalty to? This is how you repay me?"
And the goddess was quiet.
The Priestess, still weak from the mage's attack, looked up at the goddess's statue.
As the Priestess gazed upon the statue of the goddess, she felt a surge of anger and betrayal. She had dedicated her life to serving the goddess and protecting the Kingdom, yet now she found herself on the brink of death, her trust shattered.
She thought in fury, “If you can't save me, then at least give me enough power to make them all PAY!”
As the Priestess's anger and desperation reached a breaking point, the goddess, sensing her follower's intense emotions, granted her a final gift. The statue of the goddess began to glow, flowers started to levitate and a burst of magic engulfed the Priestess, transforming her into a being made entirely of magical energy.
The Priestess woke up in a dark room. Slowly, she started to regain consciousness. Her whole body ached, she felt power enter her body. Hatred began to grow in the heart of the Priestess, replacing all thoughts that crossed her mind.
Slowly, she got up from the ground. She was still barefoot, and unsteady on her feet. With her eyes focused on the direction where the door was, she made her way towards the exit.
Her pace was fast, but clumsy. Soon the Priestess reached for the door handle, and pulled it down forcefully, hard enough to break the wood and the latch holding it closed.
She could feel the magic filling her body, pushing against her ribs, spreading through every part of her body, forcing her to move faster.
The Priestess rushed out of the temple, ignoring the fact that she might fall again. She was blinded by rage, her only focus was to get her revenge.
As she stepped out into the courtyard, she saw knights coming and going around their posts, but none paid attention to her or her movements.
The overwhelming power made her want to scream, to tear everything around her apart.
And while she walked slowly, a beautiful ball was taking place in the castle. Everyone was dressed in the most splendid garments - the courtiers wore colorful cloaks lined with white fur, the ladies dressed in gowns of silk and lace adorned with flowers, jewels and pearls, the Knights wore long coats, decorated with silver buttons.
The whole castle seemed to be bathed in a beautiful glow. And the sound of music floated throughout the halls, everyone's laughter echoed everywhere.
The King sat upon his throne, surrounded by noblemen.
The Princess stood next to him, wearing a blue velvet gown trimmed with lace, with golden embroidery and a veil. All of them were enjoying themselves greatly, dancing gracefully in the ballroom.
The King laughed happily as he watched his daughter being swept around the dance floor by one of her friends. The Knight stood behind them, watching quietly, a with tears in her eyes, as Mage hugged her and apologized, she knew she made a mistake, but it was too late to fix it.
A young girl run closer to the Knight and the Mage.
“Why you aren't dancing?” She asked,
The Knight looked down at the young girl, her eyes filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry, little one," she said softly. "I'm not in the mood to dance tonight."
The girl tilted her head, confused. "But why? Everyone else is having fun!”
The Knight looked at the young girl. "Sometimes, even when everyone else is happy, we can't be," she explained. "I'm sorry, little one. I hope you enjoy the dance."
“Can you at least dance with me?” Girl said,
The Knight looked at the young girl and saw the eagerness in her eyes. She knew that the girl didn't understand the gravity of the situation, but she also didn't want to disappoint her. With a sigh, she nodded and took the girl's hand. "Alright, let's dance.”
Musicians played music that sounded like chimes, and the dancers twirled and spun around.
But then, the doors slammed open, causing the party to stop all movement. The sound startled people and caused the guards to jump in surprise. They turned to see who had interrupted them.
The enraged Priestess stood in the doorway, staring angrily at everyone.
"Who are you to interrupt our celebration?" yelled the King angrily, rising from his throne.
"Too bad you didn't believe my prediction, Your Majesty," the Priestess whispered softly and looked up. Cold blue lights flickered in her eyes.
Ice hands began to rise from beneath the ground.
Knight quickly pulled the horrified young girl behind her.
The girl didn't want to run away, she knew who is a Priestess is, but seeing what she became, she understood she couldn't do anything with it.
The Priestess looked at everyone at the ball. She lingered on the Knight, smiling coldly. She gave an order in her head.
"Kill them."
Before anyone realized what was happening, ice started to cover everything, surrounding the entire castle.
Everyone was screaming, crying, praying. Some ran outside to look for help, some stayed, afraid to leave the safety of their rooms and try to help.
The Priestess raised her arms to the sky, and spoke
"Since you betrayed the wishes of the Goddess by trying to kill her main servant, I am now returning the favor. I will take everything you hold dear."
Her voice reverberated through the hall, making all the guests tremble with fear.
The Knight held her sword tightly, ready for battle.
Priestess raised her hands high into the air, chanting
Ice became more and more intense, it thickened, and it seemed that there was no end to it. Mage was creating a shield to protect people at the castle. The Priestess looked indifferently at how the Knight screamed and how tears boiled in the eyes of the eternally happy Princess.
The silence in the throne room was interrupted only by soft sobs and her own heavy breathing. Her arms seemed to cramp, and her legs felt heavy, but still she felt pleasantly light and free, floating through the air like a feather.
The ice spread across the whole Kingdom, until the entire land was plunged into cold darkness.
This seemed to be the picture the Priestess had seen in the prophecy. May it be fulfilled to the end.
When the Priestess fell to the ground, she knew nothing more. Everything faded away, leaving only an echo of her screams.
The Knight hurried to her beloved, but could barely call her. Startled, the Priestess turned around by force, and what she saw horrified Knight.
Her eyes are completely black. A dark aura radiated from her body. The flowers were growing rapidly from underneath her skin.
A soundless scream froze on her lips. For long moments, the Knight and the Priestess looked at each other, exhausted and lost. And then her body became covered in petals and she disappeared.
After that, people never heard about the Priestess or the Kingdom again, as it fell into ruins