Amelia walked into the room, looking at the bed, ready to impart knowledge. "Hello, my Dearie? How are you feeling?" Amelia asked, her voice warm and gentle.
Selena thought for a moment before responding. "I'm not sure, Grandmother. I don't feel much different, except...I'm really hungry. And I keep feeling this urge to touch the surrounding servants."
Amelia's eyes sparkled with understanding. "Ah, you're curious and hungry. That's to be expected. You will be eating a lot and learning over the next few days with Grand Mama. There's so much for you to learn about your gift."
Selena's curiosity was piqued. "What do you mean about my gift?" she asked, her eyes locked on Amelia's. Suddenly, the visions she had came back to her. The golden being, Dônn.
Amelia smiled. "The first thing you're curious about is the urge to touch. That's because you can only see the changeable through touch. You won't see it independently until the second gift is unbound."
Selena's brow furrowed in confusion. "The changeable? What do you mean?"
Amelia's expression turned serious. "The changeable refers to the threads of fate that surround every person. As a Prophet, you can see and manipulate these threads. But for now, you can only access this information through physical touch." Amelia sat down and put another plate in front of Selena.
Selena couldn't help eating it. It was very calorie-laden food. A.A kept alerting her to eat. She relayed to have it tell her when to stop.
Amelia's eyes seemed to gaze into the past as she began to explain the goddess myth. "You see, Selena, in the beginning, there was Dônn, the deity of creation. Dônn was everything and is often referred to as the Mother. In the early days, humans were like other animals, evolving to coexist with the earth and other species under the Great Mother's guidance."
Amelia's voice took on a note of sadness. "But as time passed, humans began to take more resources than they needed, killing each other and the planet. The Mother grew upset, and disasters began to happen. Humans persevered, but the Mother realized that she couldn't simply smite them off like other life forms, like the dinosaurs."
Amelia's expression turned thoughtful. "So, the Mother decided to send envoys to teach humans and prevent further damage. These envoys were sent to every group of humans, and some were successful, becoming guardians of the earth and its inhabitants. Others died, or were forgotten, but their legacy lived on."
As Amelia continued, her voice grew more animated. "As the world settled, the old ways were forgotten, and the prophets began to awaken. At first, it was just for short periods, but over the last thousand years, the prophets have started awakening for longer and longer periods. The need grew as humans began again, doing as any being would do. Eat and be merry."
Amelia paused, " That was until they started killing her body. Finally, my line awoke even more aware. Females were born and sent to advise the powerful to stop the end. But they didn't listen, and we were killed one by one. One thing that never stopped was the planning. What you see now is the result of that planning."
Amelia's eyes locked onto Selena's, her gaze intense. "And now, Selena, it's your turn. You are a special female prophet, the heir of lives. You have the power to communicate with the Mother, to heal the earth and its inhabitants. You are the key to restoring balance to the world."
Amelia clapped twice, and a maid, April Stewart, entered the room with a trolley of food. Selena felt a surge of nervousness as April approached the bed. April, a loyal servant to the Kinsman Family and a vassal family member of the Stewarts, curtsied deeply, her traditional skirt flaring out and her house tartan tied to it.
"Great Seer, it's an honor," April said, her voice filled with reverence. Selena could sense the weight of April's words, knowing that being "seen" by the young heiress was a great honor, a feather in her cap.
Amelia nodded to Selena, encouraging her to touch April. "Go on, it is alright. Touch her and follow the threads of fate. Don't be afraid, it will seem as natural as breathing. Choose the correct path."
Selena reached out, her hand trembling slightly, and touched April's head. Suddenly, visions flooded her mind. She saw one out of threads sparking a path: in which April was involved in an accident on the weekend, and another where she received a cancer diagnosis. Her mind thread was knotted to it. The last was her soul thread, which seemed to pulse with promise and hung free.
As Selena navigated the golden threads that showed the visions, she noticed that they were marked by a swirling mist. There were no other divergences in fate, only these two paths. Selena's mind racing, she made her choices. "Leave at 2 o'clock on Tuesday instead of 1:30. Get a mammogram in March of 2012. Operate immediately."
As the mist dispelled, Selena gasped, feeling a sense of wonder and awe. The threads continued to weave, showing her that April's fate had been altered. The threads knotted in 2045, and Selena knew what happened then. She felt a sense of pride and purpose, knowing that she had helped change April's fate.
"Very good, Selena. Remember that well," Amelia said, nodding in approval. "April, you may leave and call in a guard from House Gregory. This one will be difficult."
April curtsied and exited the room, returning with Matthew Gregory, a tall, imposing figure with a stern expression. "Great Seer, the honor is all mine," he said, bowing deeply.
Selena touched his head, and visions flooded her mind once more. But this time, she saw something that made her blood run cold - a murder plot to assassinate herself and the family. House Gregory had placed bombs on their jet, and it was clear that Matthew was involved.
Selena's brow furrowed in concentration as she navigated the threads of fate. She saw that it was changeable, that the course of events could be altered. She focused on finding a solution and intuitively did not blurt out her findings; she searched for other information, a positive one, to protect herself and the family.
A minor investment tip came to her as she viewed the man's fate. She told Matthew to sell his shares in a particular company to prevent financial losses and to not end things with Dônn.
Matthew's expression changed, and he looked at Selena with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. Amelia dismissed him, and Selena turned to her family, telling them about the vision she had seen.
Amelia's expression turned grave, and she rang the bell twice. Shortly afterward, Selena heard a struggle outside the door, and she wondered what was happening. A loud pop was heard. Followed by a second and third. Selena winced even though she knew the result.
Amelia's warm smile and reassuring words helped to calm Selena's nerves. "That was a lesson in protecting yourself. You did very, very well," she said, her voice filled with pride.
The other family members stood silently, their faces reflecting a mix of emotions. Jonah's eyes were narrowed as if deep in thought, while Jonathan's expression was one of quiet contemplation. Eun Ho's face, however, showed a hint of concern, his brow furrowed in worry for her daughter.
They had all grown up with the stories of the goddess's gifts, passed down through generations. They each received and had used them to various degrees. They knew that her guidance was often seen in nature, where plants and animals would behave strangely to warn of imminent danger. But witnessing Selena's gift firsthand was a different experience altogether. It differed from Amelia.
Amelia, however, seemed unaware of their reactions, her attention focused solely on Selena. She was guiding Selena through this new world, helping her to understand and control her gift. The men stood by, watching and waiting, as they tried to come to terms with the implications of Selena's abilities.
Amelia's eyes seemed to bore into Selena's soul. "You must see the fibers of fate; they make up the threads that weave our fates," she said, her voice filled with a pearl of otherworldly wisdom.
Selena's mind was racing, trying to comprehend the complexity of the threads and fibers. "So that's what the sparks are," she said, finally understanding. "But what is the mist? All the mist and fire," she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Amelia's smile was enigmatic. "That, you must learn through Saju; that is her gift," she said, her voice filled with a hint of mystery.