Prologue
Queen Helena lay on her bed in her royal quarters of her Castle. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months, while she and Penelope researched for any other alternative. Still, this was the only way. She was tremendously terrified for the process, but knew it had to be done. She took a few more deep breaths, but to no avail.
After a wait that felt much too long, but in reality wasn’t, the door of her chambers opened. Penelope stepped inside. She was a beautiful, but attractive woman with smooth long black wavy hair, a roman shaped nose, brown eyes, a tawny skin, and was in her late forties. She held the Mystical Sword as its blade pointed down. Its hilt looked like it was carved from pure solid gold, and a shiny white silver blade that glistened in the candlelit chandelier in her room. She closed the door again, “I cast a concealment spell on the door so no-one will hear,” Sword in hand she approached Queen Helena, “Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Queen Helena breathed fast, and her heart raced.
Penelope brought the Sword to Queen Helena’s chest and drew four straight lines with the point of the blade. One vertical, one horizontal and two diagonals that all crossed over in the middle. It looked like a blooded lined eight-point crimson star. Penelope carefully placed the Sword on the bedside table. Next, she moved both of her hands above the mark, and stretched her fingers out.
After a short while it’s as if the sun rose from the mark. A shining sphere of energy began to reveal itself. The higher the globe went, the more of it could be seen. This was when the pain started too. Queen Helena tightly squeezed her eyes shut, clutched her duvet into her fists and tensed her face.
Soon the entire sphere was out. It emitted eight beams. Each one attached to a part of the blooded line. It looked like the sun and its rays. This ball of energy was an extraordinarily shiny bright white light. It drifted in the air, and seemed if the beams kept it in place, “Queen Helena, this part would hurt a lot. I know it will be very hard but try not to fight the pain. Bear with it,” Penelope sounded very calm, and completely unfazed. Queen Helena gave one quick nod as a response.
Penelope picked up the Sword again. She bought it to the bottom of the closest beam. The flat side of the blade rested against her chest. It felt cold to the touch. With the sword in that position, she began to severe through the rays. She did it as carefully as she could. After every cut, the rays retracted into the sphere, and the size increased.
As for Queen Helena, she lay on her bed gasping and squirming. She is the Queen after all, so she tried her best to keep her composure by not making too much noise. Still some sounds escaped her mouth that became louder. Very soon the pain became far too great to bear. She gave in. Lost her pose and began to scream.
Penelope positioned her left hand below the orb, when there was one beam remaining that kept it in place. It wasn’t heavy or warm but still felt strange. As if she touched a tornado or hurricane. Like there’s an excessive wind blowing against one’s hand. It vibrated and buzzed too, “Queen Helena, this part will hurt the most,” It seemed if Queen Helena didn’t register what Penelope said.
Penelope moved the Sword towards the ball of energy and began to sever straight through it. Queen Helena screamed at the top of her voice. This was pure utter torture. Now she had only one desperate wish in mind. For the pain to end. She is immortal, stopped aging, lived for many years, and still this was by far the greatest pain she ever encountered. She regretted this choice. She was incredibly afraid for the process, but she never anticipated for the pain to be that great.
Penelope remained calm, collective, and unfazed. As slowly and carefully as she could, she sliced the orb into two unequal parts. The bigger part was attached to the last ray. The smaller part rested on top of Penelope’s left hand. Finally, the entire blade revealed itself at the bottom, and the two severed parts changed into two separate spheres. She put the Mystical Sword back on the bedside table, then gently pushed the bigger globe with the remaining ray back into Queen Helena’s chest. As the sun that set. Next, she softly traced over the blooded lined star with her index finger. As she did so the marks disappeared. She healed it.
“The procedure is complete. Now all that’s left is to transfer the powers into the destined person and deliver the message to him or her,” Penelope walked to the window of Queen Helena’s royal chamber as the smaller sphere still rested in her left hand.
Queen Helena looked incredibly pale and felt very weak, “I don’t want to do something like that ever again,” She slowly got up, and joined Penelope by the window, “I desperately hope that the sacrifice would be worth it,”
“We all do,” Penelope opened the window and carefully handed the glowing globe of energy to Queen Helena.
Queen Helena held her arm out of the window as the shiny sphere now rested in the palm of her hand. She closed her eyes and quietly mouthed an incantation. She instructed the powers to search for the destined person. Next, she gave the orb a slight push with her other hand. It rolled off. As soon as it lost contact with her skin it vanished.
Queen Helena turned back to Penelope, “Now I will deliver the message to the destined person. As weak as I now am, it might cost a lot of my powers or possibly render me unconscious. If this happens, you are to rule during my absence,” Queen Helena spoke with the regal confidence and strength of the Queen she is, even though she underwent such a painful procedure and felt so very weak.
Penelope lifted her head a little higher, “I will rule during the duration you are unable to,” She sounded as if she was more than ready for this.
Queen Helena walked back to her bed and sat on it, “Penelope, you have my utmost thanks,” Queen Helena said gratefully before she laid down again. She closed her eyes, and began to track the powers she sacrificed so she could deliver the message to the destined person.
