"Woman, stop at once!" The man in front shouted. "I order you to turn around or I will remove that head from that grotesque body of yours. I will cut out that demon spawn you are carrying from your belly and dismember it."
"No!" the woman shouted. "I will never yield."
"As you wish woman. Archers, fire!"
Arrows flew at the woman from hidden places in the woods. Arrows tipped with the same poison that leeched out of the thorns. The woman flattened herself on the Steed's back as the arrows flew over her body.
Some came close to hitting her and the Steed. The woman urged the Steed on.
Around the next curve, the familiar shimmering of a Portal appeared. Next thing Anya knew, the woman and the Steed vanished into the Portal.
The men rode on, unaware that she had gone.
The scene then shifted to the frozen world full of snow and ice. Down below the frozen wasteland, laid a great underground city. The homes and shops had been carved within the existing rock. In the city's exact center sprawled a park with all forms of greenery. Stone benches had been strategically placed, blending and not obscuring the park's beauty.
Anya heard groans and cries emitting from one of the homes on the second level. The currents led her to a room in which the same woman that had been chased, now bore down with each contraction.
A part of the prophetic puzzle became clear. The men clearly had wanted the woman and her unborn child dead. She had fled to a Realm she knew would provide safety.
"Bear down with each contraction Alanis," the midwife told her. Her eyes, the color of white crystal, sparkled in the lamplight. Her skin, likewise. "It is almost over."
A final push and the newborn babe's cries were heard. The midwife separated the infant from it's mother, washed the wee baby and wrapped it a warm blanket. "She is beautiful your highness."
"I wish Jodmus had thought so."
"A shame her father is so cruel. A product of his upbringing for sure."
"He believes our daughter will bring about much death and destruction. How could such a tiny baby do all that?"
"Prophecies are vague at best. Not all of them are clear."
"But this prophecy foretells of a girl born with the Mark whom will destroy all the Realms." Alanis lifted the blanket from her daughter's face. "See? She has the Mark, just as I do. Jarvis believes in this prophecy. He is determined to hold onto his Rule. Should he let his daughter live, he would be facing certain death."
"He may believe in what he wants to believe. His determination to eradicate it will not alter it. This prophecy will be fulfilled just as all the others throughout recorded history."
"I cannot risk him finding her."
"Then stay here with us. He will not find you here."
"I cannot stay for long. I will nurse my daughter until she is able to take nourishment from a bottle. But I cannot stay."
"Why not your highness?"
"I have a duty to the Realms. I must ensure Jodmus' cruelty is held in check. He will forgive me. It is the child he wants dead more than I."
"What will you tell him?"
"I will inform him that the chase he so ardently pursued caused our child to dislodge from me prematurely. He will think her dead. Perhaps regret and remorse will change his cruel ways. We have three sons already. He will be content will that."
"He may kill you upon your return."
"He may. Or he may bestow mercy upon me when he sees me. Either way, I must go back."
"As you wish, your highness."
"Moira, I trust you take care of my little girl. I know Valosians have the ability to change one's appearance. You must do so with Rynn. You must make her appear Valosian."
"That is my husband's skill. I will inform him."
Moira left the room. Alanis suckled little Rynn. The baby, content on her mother's breast, closed her eyes, unaware her fate had been decided.
Moira soon returned with her husband in tow. "Qyora, I will need your services once again," Alanis said. "When Rynn is three months old, you must change her appearance. She must by all accounts appear as Valosian. Her hair, eyes and skin must make anyone here think she is Valosian without question. I expect you to teach her your ways."
"Yes, your highness."
"Is there any way you can cover the Mark?" Alanis asked.
"For certain. None will be aware of it."
"Good. Then it is settled."
"I do wish you would reconsider your highness," Moira said. She twisted her hands, worry evident in her movements.
"I know. But Jodmus will not cease his hunt for me and our daughter until he finds us. He will lay waste every Realm in the process. I cannot allow that. You must also affect changes to my body as well. Make it appear as if I miscarried."
"I will do so. But it will be a delicate process. Take many weeks. You will need more than one surgery. The King will no doubt want to have you tested."
"Of course. Whatever is necessary to make him believe our daughter is dead."
"Yes, your highness. After three months."
"Promise me, you will both take good care of her."
"We will," Moira promised, speaking for both of them. Qyora was more at home with his books and artifacts than with people. "You have chosen the name, Rynn?"
"My Great fore mother's name. You may of course, choose a name befitting a Valosian but I will always think of her as Rynn."
Moira opened her mouth but Alanis held up her hand. "Do not tell me. I do not wish to know. For her safety and mine."
"Of course. Shall we dress the little darling?"
"By all means."
With Alia dressed in warm garments, she slept on, content in her mother's arms.
The scene faded and Anya found herself once again in the Portal. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Please let me go, I cannot bear it."
Her plaintive cry reached Nesh. Gryndl responded with a keening cry of his own. Swift were wings. He soared toward her, arriving within seconds of hearing Anya in his mind.
Without no thought of danger, he entered the Portal. Slashing the tendrils with his claws, he carried Anya out of the Portal. She hung limply in his claws, unconscious.
Setting her down on the grass, he breathed life back into her lungs. Coughing, she woke to find him staring down at her.
She smiled. "I knew you would come for me Gryndl."
{9} Rynn's Prophecy
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