The Dragon’s Throne 1

“Your parents conceived you just hours before my mother nearly drowned.  And the baby she carried was me.  When your father saved my mother, it sealed our fate and fulfilled a prophecy that no one ever thought would come true.”

“So, Fate decided right then that we would be together?”

“You sound skeptical.”

“I am, but I believe you.”

“You do?”

“Don’t sound so surprised.  How else would you know my real name, and why would you paint pictures of me on my birthday?  There are too many coincidences for it not to be real.”

“I’m glad that you’re able to accept that much, at least.”

She squeezed his hands, looking into his eyes that were so dark that they were almost black. 

“So, what now?”

“Right now, the only thing to do is to get to know each other better.”

“That’s it?”

“It’s more complicated than that, but Fate prepared me for a life with you.  It’s been clear to me since the beginning that you have to make the choice to stay.  Until that moment of clarity, nothing is decided.  I brought you here so we could get to know each other without the distractions and the potential for interference.  The rest is up to you.”

“That sounds…cryptic.”

“I hope you’ll trust me when I say that I can’t reveal everything to you right now without risk.”

“Because there’s a chance that knowing what you know will make me change my mind or I might make a different choice than I would have before?”

“You understand more than you think,” he said with a smile.

“So, for now, it’s you and me in this Sky Castle, and what happens here will prepare us for what’s next?”

“Yes.”

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and letting her head fall onto their clasped hands.  She felt his hand in her hair, stroking gently as she wrestled with how her life had changed in just two short days. 

“This sounds like a lot more than I’ve ever had to handle,” she said, her voice muffled from behind their hands and her hair, which hung down over their fingers.  “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“You will be surprised to see how much you can handle and still shine.”

“I’m glad you have faith in me,” she teased.

“Why shouldn’t I?  Fate hand-picked you for me.  If I can’t trust Fate, who can I trust?”

“I think Fate put too much trust in me.”

“Listen, Anna.  All you have to do is your best.  That’s it.  Just be you and things will work themselves out.  If something is happening and you think you should go left when everyone else is going right, then go left.  Don’t second guess your natural thoughts and actions.  Fate chose you because who you are is exactly what the world needs.”

She laughed, head still buried in her hands.

“No pressure there,” she said, sitting up and pushing her hair out of her face.  “Fine, I’ll give this a shot.  I mean, what else can I lose beyond what has already been taken from me, right?”

“Right,” he said, still kneeling so that they were face to face where she sat.  “We are here right now to get to know each other, and build trust so that when the time comes, we’re ready.”

“And that’s it?”

“That’s enough for today.  Tomorrow, your training begins.”