Amaryllis should have left the cottage sooner. She should have cut ties with Evan the instant she realized that the relationship between them had crossed from platonic friends to something more intimate. Why was she so foolish? Where did her decisiveness go?

As soon as she was far away from the cottage, Amaryllis dismounted for a brief moment to deal with her turbulent emotions.

She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against the side of the horse as she wallowed in regrets. No, not regrets. She doesn’t regret a single moment in that cottage. Maybe she regretted never telling him her true identity. Now he will never be able to find her again. Unless…

She glanced down at the dagger he had given her. The last link connecting the two. Against her better judgement, Amaryllis tucked the dagger away into her satchel, despite it clearly belonging to an enemy soldier.

“It’s weird.” Amaryllis muttered to herself. “We’re clearly from two warring kingdoms, yet not once did we hate each other or tried to kill each other.”

No, not once did she feel any hint of hostility from him. In fact, the mood in the cottage was so warm and cozy that it felt like home. For someone who can read the emotions of others, it took her far too long to realize that they were starting to fall for one another. 

“I will never diss another fictional heroine for failing to realize she was in love ever again.” Amaryllis avowed.

Perhaps, it was a good thing Livia’s letter came when it did. It certainly helped shatter the illusion of paradise and reminded her to break things off before it got too far.

Glancing down at the letter in her hand again, Amaryllis came to a quick decision. She decided to head to the Temple of Elysara instead of returning to the royal palace of Etheria. Since her parents were expecting to meet her there, then it makes more sense for her to go there instead of heading home. 

Also, it wouldn’t be a true lie if she did go there in the end. Her vacation would only be a white lie, which will lessen both her and Livia’s guilt. After donning a veil, she sent Livia a reply through her messenger bird, then she got on her borrowed horse and rode toward Elysara.

She had been to the temple of Elysara before, as a child. She had been born as the only child to the queen and king consort of Etheria after years of infertility, so, as a potential heir, her parents took her to the oracle when she was about six.

She would never forget the day she stepped before the oracle, eager to hear if she would divulge anything about her future. She remembered the oracle was an older woman with graying hair and wrinkles on her face, but her eyes were still bright and jeweled. She remembered the white robes the oracle wore, and she remembered how bright it looked in the sun.

And most of all, she remembered what the oracle said to them, and how the message was not anything they’d ever expected.

“You are not destined to become the queen of Etheria nor the queen of any other kingdom in the mortal realm.”

Her parents were shocked, to say the least. What does it mean that their precious daughter would never inherit the throne? In the worst case scenario, it might mean that she would die young or suffer some kind of tragedy. 

Unwillingly to tempt fate, her parents decided to bring their nephew from a side branch of the royal family to the royal palace to be their heir instead. Thus, despite having the highest claim to the throne, Amaryllis had been sidelined for her own good.

“That’s ridiculous.” Amaryllis scoffed to herself. “What if that was a self-fulfilling prophecy? Does that mean that if we never heard it, it would have never come true?”

She hadn’t seen the oracle since.

Because she was traveling light and traveling alone, her journey took less time than her parents’ journey, who were traveling by carriage with a healthy number of guards. She was able to beat them there with a short margin. She arrived in Elysara after only a few weeks of riding. It was a good thing Elysara was in the center of Mythina and not halfway across the continent. It made the trip shorter as a result.

Elysara was the only peaceful and neutral territory left in Mythina, and even foes from warring kingdoms had to respect the peace when they entered. Perhaps it was because it was the only one not ruled by a king? Instead of a single authoritative ruler, Elysara is governed by a panel of high priests guided by the oracle. Maybe Elysara remained peaceful and neutral all this time because of the wisdom of the oracle, the mouthpiece of the gods.

As soon as she arrived and was settled in the capital of Elysara, where its biggest and most sacred temple was located, she entered the Temple of Elysara. The Temple of Elysara was one of the oldest but grandest buildings in all of Mythina. Its stones were carved out of pure white stones that hadn’t faded nor dull throughout all these centuries. The material also catches the sunlight during the day, giving off a strong glow. No wonder people fall to their knees before it. No one would ever doubt that this place was blessed by the gods.

The Temple had a large area designated to be public, including the prayer hall, which is open to anyone and everyone who wished to pray to the gods. It was believed that the more sacred the location of worship is, the more likely it was that the gods will hear them. Others say that it is based on the sincerity of the prayers more than anything, but everyone agrees that praying together in a group makes praying more meaningful, the way all communal activities are. 

Inside the temple, in the prayer hall, there are seventeen huge pedestals, one for each of the seventeen gods there are currently. Fourteen of the pedestals had a statue on top. Three of them were empty, as those gods hadn’t claimed a name nor domain for themselves yet.

At first, Amaryllis only planned to say some prayers, then maybe stall for time by admiring Elysara’s legendary gardens until her parents came to pick her up, bringing an end to her vacation. However, when she entered the Temple with the other commoners who also went there to pray that day, a high priest came to her and pulled her aside.

“Your Highness, we have been expecting you.”

Amaryllis was startled to be recognized. She had covered her face with a veil again, out of habit. On top of that, her clothes were ordinary clothes. They were clean and tidier than the worn out rags that most of the refugees around her wore, but nothing about them gave away her identity. In fact, she wouldn’t even mistake herself for a noble.

She was slightly alarmed at first, despite the fact that Elysara strictly forbids any sort of violence in the Temple. In fact, because Elysara was neutral, it was also strictly forbidden for someone from one side of the war to attack anyone from another side of the war while in Elysara. Everyone here is forced to get along somehow.

Yet, Amaryllis couldn’t help but be wary until she sensed that the high priest did not have any bad intentions. His heart was overflowing with compassion and serenity, as one would usually expect from a high priest. “How did you recognize me?”

“The oracle told me to expect a princess wearing a veil today, and you are the only one wearing a veil here. She told me that when I find you, I need to bring you to her.”

This was unexpected. Despite the fact that Amaryllis did have a burning curiosity to speak to the oracle, only high nobles can see the oracle easily and Amaryllis didn’t feel like going through the hassle of proving her identity today.

It was a good thing the oracle reached out to her first, then.

“All right, I will come with you.” Amaryllis rose from her kneeling position where she had been prostrating herself before the statues of thirteen gods. 

She followed the high priest deeper into the temple, the area that was not open to the public. The high priest led her to a large chamber where the oracle was already waiting. She was sitting at a table with steaming tea already prepared for them. Amaryllis was impressed that the oracle knew when she was going to appear to the very minute and even got a pot of tea ready at the perfect time.

As soon as she entered the room, the high priest left to give the two some privacy. It was an unspoken rule that one must not eavesdrop on the oracle’s words unless it was meant for the public.

“Greetings, Your Highness Princess Amaryllis Euphemia.” The oracle spoke first. She was older than the last time Amaryllis saw her, her hair completely gray now and her face sported more wrinkles than before. However, her eyes hadn’t changed one bit. 

Amaryllis could feel a heavy cloud of exhaustion hanging over the oracle. Not physical exhaustion, but mental exhaustion, like someone who bore the weight of the world’s fate on their shoulders for decades.

Amaryllis removed her veil and bowed her head in response. “It is an honor to meet the divine oracle of Elysara again.”

“You must be curious as to why I called you here today.” The oracle poured a cup of tea for each of them.

“Yes.” Amaryllis admitted as she took the teacup. “I don’t suppose your preordination from last time changed?”

“Not quite,” the oracle replied. “But I believe you are now ready to hear the last part of your destined future.”

Amaryllis started in surprise. “Last part? You mean, you weren’t saying the full part before?” 

“No, you were too young to understand the weight of your future back then, and I didn’t feel that your parents should be privy to the last part, so I withheld them until the day you seek me out again.”