We're long overdue for one of our talks. . .
The Great Mother Goddess stood in front of Alanna, blinding her with her with her ethereal beauty. Two logs appeared before them, and the Goddess gestured for Alanna to sit. Alanna obeyed, and She did the same.
They sat across from each other, the Goddess studying Alanna's face. -You have changed, my child, since I last spoke with you. You now know what it is like to live a peasant life, to be in constant fear.- the Goddess spoke, looking at Alanna with understanding eyes.
Alanna glared at the Goddess. "You knew! You knew this would happen and you didn't tell me! If you had told me, we would have had time to prepare ourselves, or at least arrest them all. Now they're all dead—and the rest of us are on the run!" Realization dawned on her face, and quickly vanished as Alanna's face contorted with anger as she remembered the Goddess's other words.
"You told me that Jonathan would be king! You lied to me! I knew something bad was going to happen, so instead of giving me a warning, you wanted to 'console' me? Is that what you wanted? For me to be 'happier?'"
The Goddess's face betrayed no emotions after Alanna's outburst, just that of blank placidness. –My dear, tell me again what I told you at our last visit.-
Alanna slowly talked. "You said that Jonathan. . . would be king."
The Goddess smiled at Alanna. Slowly she stood up, and fire enveloped her body. As Alanna stared, images appeared in the fire. Alanna saw a hungry family, the children crying out for food from lying on the floor, a dog begging for food where there was none. She then saw a child, crying over the bloody and mangled bodies of others. A new image appeared.
There was Roger, on his throne. He wore a crown of black opals, set in gold. Alanna could almost feel the power around it, emitting an aura of strength. As she watched, another figure appeared in the vision. Delia of Eldorne, decked out from head to foot in silk and swathed in enough jewels for all of the court, sashayed over to Roger, a devious look in her green eyes. To Alanna's utter disgust, Roger stood up and kissed her, and she kissed him back. Alanna heard footsteps coming from the image, and the couple jumped apart. A man appeared, escorted by two burly men-at-arms. The man looked to be a commoner from his clothing. "Please, your Majesty, would you extend the courtesy to send out some of your knights? Bandits have attacked my village, and I fear that my family is dead. Please, sir, help us!"
Roger sneered at the man. "What, and pay the knights extra for their services? Your family is already dead, go home and bury them."
The man gasped, and broke out into wild chatter. "Please, please, please, your Majesty, they'll all die, they'll all—" Roger cut the man off.
"Guards, take this man to the execution block. We wouldn't want him to be separated from his family, now would we?" A cold sneer emerged on Roger's face as he watched the guards drag the screaming man away. "Now, where were we?" He spoke to Delia, who promptly placed her lips back upon his.
The image disappeared again as Alanna stared into the flames, where she saw a new image materialize. This time she saw a room, with Roger seated on a plush chair beside a roaring fire. Alanna stared, confused, around the room she saw, and something caught her eye. The image zoomed in, and Alanna could clearly see the Dominion Jewel, placed over the mantle of Roger's fire. The Goddess spoke again. -You already know your quest, but I shall be adding to it. Before you replace Roger on the throne with the rightful heir, you must retrieve the Dominion Jewel. You now know where it is, and why you must do this. Your friends would be willing to help you, and I have one piece of advice for you: Use all of the help you can get. You cannot complete this task alone, and others are more resourceful than you. Use their talents, as well as your own, to achieve this goal.-
Alanna blinked, and the Goddess was gone. The only thing that gave evidence that She had ever been there at all was the logs that She and Alanna had sat upon.
A/N: I apologize profusely for the long delay, and the short chapter. You see, I lost my copy of LR, and I needed to know what exactly the Goddess said to Alanna to complete this chapter. I never did find it, but I went to the bookstore today and reread that small scene. There will be more soon, it is just that I wanted the conversation to be only one chapter long. Sorry!