“Is this what you mean by something far greater than a queen?” Amaryllis couldn’t restrain herself and blurted out the instant she saw the oracle again the following day after her parents notified her of the peace meetings’ conclusion. “Am I to be given to Terravale as a peace trophy?”

A formal offer of marriage had also come in that morning, throwing Amaryllis into a loop of panicking, then thinking hard, then panicking again. Her parents weren’t joking or lying the previous night. This was real.

She went to the Temple again under the guise of taking Sybil to her, but her real intention was to talk to the oracle again and find out why she did what she did. Just as Sybil had predicted, it was drizzling that morning.

The first thing she did when she arrived at the Temple was to request a private audience with the oracle. To no one’s surprise, the oracle was already prepared to receive her, as if she was expecting Amaryllis’s visit.

“Is that such a terrible fate?” The oracle did not take any offense to Amaryllis’s outburst. “I’ve met the boy, and I think he’s quite splendid.”

Amaryllis gave her a hard look, despite the action being quite disrespectful to an oracle. “Did the gods ask you to do this or was this your own idea?”

The oracle merely smiled in response. “As I get older and wiser, I find it harder to separate my own intentions from the gods’. Our minds are becoming more and more alike.”

What a clever way to avoid answering the question, Amaryllis noted.

“I suppose that if I were to ask you for guidance on this, you would tell me to go on with the marriage, won’t you?”

“Indeed. This is, after all, my idea.”

“I never asked you to play matchmaker for me.” Amaryllis retorted.

The oracle’s demeanor finally changed, growing from unbothered to serious as she seized Amaryllis’s wrist and drew in close.

“Something great is coming,” the oracle whispered, her voice growing softer as if she was afraid of being overheard. “I can foresee the end of this nightmare finally coming soon. But you must be brave enough to take the chance, do you understand? The peace of the world is in your hands.”

Amaryllis’s heart pounded loudly in her chest as she took in the oracle’s words. She knew at once that this was another premonition of the future, something shown to her by the gods. This was not just the oracle speaking her opinion.

Indeed, this was for the peace of Mythina. For the peace of the mortal realm. But there was another concern that Amaryllis had to address. 

“Tell me, is Tristan Ethanova destined to become king of Terravale or any other kingdom? Even if he doesn’t marry me?”

“No.” the oracle answered solemnly.

“Then, I guess it’ll be fine if I accept his marriage proposal since our fates are compatible, right? I didn’t accept his proposal right away at first because I know I am not destined to become a queen, and I don’t want to be the cause of his failure to ascend to his throne.”

What would the Terravalens think if they knew of her destiny foretold by the oracle? Would they call her a curse? Would they break off this unofficial engagement because they would be worried about her preventing her husband from ascending to the throne?

She knew Tristan had an older sister named Rowena Ethanova who was the official heir, but there was still a small chance that Tristan might end up becoming the one to ascend to the throne since he was second in line. What would be the outcome if he did end up becoming heir? How would the gods punish her for trying to challenge her fate? Would they kill her off young? Or would they kill off her husband instead, making her a widow? Or would they bring about a tragedy that will remove her husband as a candidate for the throne entirely?

“Don’t worry, you won’t. Your fate isn’t a curse, child,” the oracle reassured her.

“But it could be used as one toward my future husband.” Amaryllis pointed out.

“Don’t think that way. Besides, remember when I said that you are destined for something far greater? Your future husband should consider himself lucky to marry you.”

“Do you think… I’ll be happy in this marriage?”

“Does the princess dream of love?”

“I know it’s an absurd thing to wish for as a princess, but… My parents once promised that I can marry someone of my choosing as long as I am happy.”

“Love is not absurd. We are all worthy and deserving of it.”

Amaryllis closed her eyes. “Indeed, we are.”

“I heard that you found and saved my successor yesterday.”

“Right,” Amaryllis snapped her eyes open again. “Her name is Sybil. Surely you must know the identity of the person who wants to capture her, right? The person who hired those mercenaries?”

“Unfortunately, no.” The oracle admitted with a look of true concern. “Although I can hear the voices of the gods and see premonitions of the future, this truth behind what happened is veiled to me for some reason. We are not omniscient and have no control over what we see or hear. Regardless, the Temple has enough resources to search for the truth on its own without me. I cannot thank you enough for saving Sybil. Only the gods know what would have happened if an oracle were to fall into the wrong hands and end up exploited.”

Amaryllis hesitated for a moment, then added, “I was also aided by a group of Terravalen soldiers.”

“Ah, Prince Tristan’s entourage.”

“They were his?”

“Yes, they were his closest comrades back during war.”

This is going to be very awkward if she had to explain to her future husband that she saved one of his captains and that they sort of developed hidden feelings for each other before they had to leave abruptly.

Come to think of it, didn’t the oracle say they would meet again? The oracle was a wicked jokester, Amaryllis decided.

“I will take my leave now. We might not see each other again for a long time.”

“Oh, I highly doubt that,” the oracle chuckled. “We’ll see each other again quite soon.”

As soon as Amaryllis said goodbye to a sad Sybil and returned back to her parents, she told them to accept the marriage offer. They cried, then they hugged, then they tried to celebrate her upcoming marriage on their trip back to Etheria. 

Then, once they arrived home, they tried to pack as many things as possible for their daughter’s move to Terravale so she’ll feel at home as much as possible. They even arranged for Livia to become Amaryllis’s personal maid so she could follow Amaryllis to Terravale.

Amaryllis was already starting to miss her home kingdom, despite not having even left yet. 

Etheria’s patron gods were Aurora, the goddess of light, and Lyrica, the goddess of arts. With such high dedication to artistic expression and creative pursuits, Etheria was one of the most culturally rich kingdoms in Mythina. 

Terravale, on the other hand, worshipped the earth goddess, Maona. In return, the kingdom was blessed with verdant forests to the south and an abundance of fertile valleys. To the north, where it shared borders with Cartia, were mountainous terrains. She heard that it was a bit colder than Etheria, especially in the winter time, but it wasn’t as cold as Cartia.

Between the hecticness of preparing for a wedding, Amaryllis managed to find a moment alone with Livia. The night before Amaryllis was set to leave for Terravale, the two of them were drinking some wine together late into the night, and Amaryllis finally decided to confront Livia about something.

“Can I ask you a question, Livia?” Amaryllis turned to look Livia in the eye.

“Sure,” Livia answered nonchalantly, unworried about whatever Amaryllis planned to ask. She must have expected Amaryllis to ask about her upcoming marriage. Maybe something scandalous like, ‘What happens during the wedding night?’ or ‘What is it like to kiss a man?’. Alcohol has the tendency to loosen one’s tongue, after all.

“What kind of secret business do you have with my parents behind my back?”

Livia froze, caught off guard by the question. For a moment, her eyes flickered between looking her friend in the eye and avoiding her friend’s gaze.

“I- I-” she stammered. She took a deep breath. “First of all, please believe me when I say that I truly love you and consider you my closest friend. Please don’t get angry at me or abandon me, all right?”

“I wasn’t planning on that.” Amaryllis reassured her. “I know your feelings are sincere. But I’ve been suspecting that you’ve been hiding something for some time. You were the first person to approach me back in the nursing program, and you were also the most skilled at hand to hand combat. My parents even brought you to Elysara with them. Now you’re going to Terravale as my maid. It’s too much of a coincidence. Did my parents arrange for you to follow me or are you doing it of your own free will?”

She could have chalked it off to her parents being so protective that they investigated everyone close to her. Maybe they chose Livia to be her personal maid because they knew about the close bond between the two. Or maybe Livia chose that position herself out of loyalty to Amaryllis. But either way, it was too much of a coincidence.

Livia sighed. “You’re right. Your parents hired me to be your bodyguard and watch over you in any shape or forms, even before we first met. I’ve been secretly protecting you on their orders all this time. But, believe me when I say that even though I started off treating this as a business transaction, I’ve gotten really attached to you and I would lay my life down for you for free—”

“That’s enough,” Amaryllis suppressed a laugh of amusement as she cut off Livia’s rambling. “I just wanted to know for sure. You know, you didn’t have to hide this from me. I would have been fine knowing everything.”

Livia pouted. “I was afraid that you would start treating me as an employee and not a friend.”

“I forgive you for hiding this from me. No more secrets, all right? We’re going to a new place and making a new home for ourselves in a whole different kingdom. We need to trust each other as much as we can.”

“Yes, Amaryllis. I meant Your Highness! I need to get used to it now that I’ll be your personal maid from now on.”

Amaryllis smiled, grateful that Livia was still calling her by her name instead of her title, although that might change soon, depending on how strict the etiquette in Terravale is. She couldn’t help but wonder how hard it must be for Livia to give up on her home and everything she knew to go to Terravale with her. She was deeply touched by Livia’s loyalty and the sacrifices she made.

“Isn’t your brother coming home from the war soon?”

“He’ll be fine,” Livia replied dryly. “He can have the cottage all to himself now that I’m leaving for Terravale. I’ll just go see him once before I leave so I can say goodbye.”

“Well, here’s a toast to the end of our old life.” Amaryllis filled both of their glasses to the brim again and they toasted together with a mixture of excitement and dread.

“And a toast to the start of our new life,” Livia smiled back.