Chapter Twenty Two

Barely two hours after the soldiers left, a loud rumble accompanied with thunder and lightning rang in the entire kingdom and we rushed out of our rooms to see what was going on. The clearing skies had turned so much darker with thunder and lightning and they rumbled so loudly that it sent chills down my spine. The entire kingdom was covered in dark clouds and it looked as though it was past 9pm in the evening except that these clouds were accompanied with an eerie chill that was unmistakable.

“What is going on?” I whispered as a loud streak of thunder rang in the skies again and everyone had to cover their ears in fear.

“This is not good at all,” Serena said, keeping her eyes on the clouds that were getting even darker than before.

“It’s not even the rainy season” Lillian bellowed, “Why are the clouds so dark? What is going on?” she asked and we looked around seeing the palace guards themselves wearing worried expressions.

“Those clouds are too dark for my liking,” Serena admitted, frowning a little. I stared at the cloud a little more as a bad premonition formed in the pit of my stomach.

“I don’t like those clouds at all” I finally opened my mouth to speak, “Not one bit” I continued as I swallowed and licked my lips.

“These kind of clouds are not rainy clouds” I added and Lillian turned to me, “Not rainy clouds?” she asked looking puzzled,”What are you talking about?” she asked as I turned anc exchanged glances with Serena.

“There’s something wrong with the war” I blurted out without thinking and Lillian’s eyes widened.

“Dark clouds like these are ominous signs” I added quietly and I had barely finished my words when we noticed the guards running around.

“What’s going on?” Serena stopped one of the guards.

“The Mawe wants to do an urgent processional round the shrine” the guard replied, “Everyone except the holy maidens and Priestess are  expected to stay indoors. Please go back to your rooms” he instructed before hurrying away.

I turned to Lillian and Serena in horror at his words, “Let's go back inside” Serena finally spoke and the three of us rushed inside the room and I closed the door staring into space.

“Does that mean that there’s a possibility that we would lose this war?” Lillian asked.

“Don’t say a word Lillian” Serena snapped at her, “The Mawe has said he will be victorious and that’s what he’s going to be. She’s offering sacrifices now. Let’s all pray to the moon goddess with her” she added as I walked slowly to my bed.

“I’ll pretend that the dark clouds are because there’s just going to be a huge downpour. The war is fine, our people are fine and the king is fine” Lillian whispered to herself but it was loud enough for all of us to hear.

“Pretend? I doubt if you can pretend that long” Serena replied to her while I laid my back against the wall not saying anything.

Ominous signs to look out for during important events and occasions were something my parents had taught me since I was little and it took me a while to realize that the fact that my stomach had been churning since I woke up was the first ominous signs but because I hadn’t been actively looking out for them, I hadn’t noticed.

“Why aren’t you saying anything Amira?” Lillian asked and I turned to her, “Don’t tell me you are happy right now” she added and I scoffed at her.

“What if I’m happy?” I asked and Lillian stared at me and opened her mouth to say something but at the end of the day she didn’t say anything.

“I’m not happy” I responded as Lillian took her seat on the bed, “I’m just worried what that could mean. Whether it’s a really bad thing or a bad thing but considering those clouds, It must be very bad” I replied and Serena and Lillian delved into their thoughts.

“But seeing those clouds, it’s not a really bad thing, something terrible is going to happen. People are going to die” I said firmly and they both turned to me sharply.

“Aren’t you jumping to conclusions too quickly?” Lillian asked but with her shaky voice, I knew that she understood as well.

“ Let’s ask the moon goddess to protect them,” Serena said slowly while I remained unmoving on my bed. 

There was no prayer to pray to the moon goddess, she wouldn’t answer any of my prayers. It was useless trying to pray to her, she never answered any of my prayers, no matter how hard I prayed.

“You aren’t going to join us to pray?” Serena asked and I shrugged, “It’s useless praying to her, she had never answered any of my prayers before. I’ll rather not waste my time” I replied and Serena sighed softly as she sat back on her bed.

I stared at my arms and at my feet as I closed my eyes. I knew that those dark clouds were scarier than I had thought and I was so sure that people were going to die. Whether it was the Berg soldiers or the Ragan soldiers, I had no idea but since the clouds formed over our own kingdom, I was so sure that we were going to carry greater losses.

I sucked in my breadth and turned to see Serena who was staring at me, “Are you alright?” she asked and I chuckled, “I should be the one asking you that question, it’s your people that’s in the war” I replied and Serena looked taken aback at my reply before nodding her head slowly.

“I forgot, that this is not your home” Serena replied slowly and I found myself laughing loudly.

“My home? No, this isn’t my home and will never be my home” I replied firmly and Serena nodded.

“I’ll keep that in mind” she replied and I nodded laying on my bed and staring into space.

The soldiers of the Berg kingdom could go to hell and I wouldn’t care. A few hours later, I realized how wrong I was.