Chapter 17

Lord Parafon gave the Oracle some herbs to help her recover. The herbs awoke her almost immediately, bringing her to the present in a flash. When she regained consciousness and saw Revina, she held her hand and pressed it, whistling gently into her ears. She motioned for Pell closer to her and after thanking her, asked her what she was doing in Dalawa empire. Before Pell could answer, Lord Parafon intervened and explained everything to the Oracle who responded by laughing and mourning, whistling and humming.

"Does he know?" the Oracle finally asked.

"Does who know?" Parafon asked in response.

"Prince Mamadu, does he know Malin is a prince, a true descendant of the throne?"

"No, he doesn't know," Parafon replied.

"Are you sure about that High Priest?" she asked, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Lord Parafon in the eye.

"One hundred percent sure. I myself explained to Malin that if his identity is revealed to Prince Mamadu then protecting himself from the Prince would be difficult. It's better that way because if Prince Mamadu were to find out who Malin really is then he would fight Malin like a prince and Malin won't win. Prince Mamadu may not be able to kill him but he won't be able to kill Mamadu either. So don't worry, he doesn't know."

Pell cleared her throat as if to speak and then decided against it and started walking towards the door. "Pell?" The Oracle called after her. She glanced back sheepishly at the Oracle who was still lying on the bed where she had been lain from the moment she had been brought into the cottage. "Is there something you would like to tell us?" the Oracle asked Pell knowingly. Despite being a goddess, the Oracle could still read Pell's mind though she couldn't tell exactly what was in her mind. Pell kept quiet, her eyes directed at the floor and her legs shaking.

"Pell," Lord Parafon called, "is there something you want to share with us." Pell remained quiet, her eyes still trained on the floor. Lord Parafon walked to her and raised her head up using her chin to lock her eyes to his. "Tell me, is there something you know about this case that we don't?" Pell began to weep and she ran out of the room to the balcony. Revina ran after her to try and calm her down and get her to talk.

"I didn't know," Pell said between sobs, "please forgive me, I didn't know."

"So you told Mamadu about Malin?" Lord Parafon asked from the door, surprising Pell who hadn't seen him standing there. "Is that it Pell?"

"I'm sorry father, I didn't know about..."

Parafon slapped her on her left cheek so hard she couldn't finish her sentence that she almost fell over into the valley had Revina not held her back.

"How could you? How could you have told him something like that? Is that why you are here? Is that why you returned to Dalawa, to take your final revenge on me and my people? And to think that I let you get near Malin, that I allowed you to touch him." He grabbed Pell by her throat and squeezed her as if to strangle her. "What's your plan, huh? Tell me what your plan is traitor," he shouted at her as he threw her to the ground.

Still lying on the ground, her eyes filled with tears, Pell spoke though, inaudibly but pleadingly. "Please father, I beg you to forgive me. It wasn't my intention. Please forgive me. I'm truly sorry. I will..."

"You will what Pell? What will you do again this time? Do you know what hurts me the most? The fact that there is nothing I can do about my blood that flows in your veins. It could have been easier if such betrayals were coming from a complete stranger and not from my flesh. I never imagined I could say this but I curse the day you were born Pell," Parafon said in a trembling voice as he became overwhelmed by emotional pain. He quickly dried his tears with his left arm and walked closer to Pell who was sobbing where she sat on the floor. "Get up," he ordered her and when she did, he commanded her to get out of the cottage, never to return. He never wanted to see her ever again. She ceased to exist for him, she ceased to be his daughter from then until forever. The next time they would have the misfortune of meeting, they'll have to treat each other as arch enemies.

Pell stood up, wiped her tears and looked pleadingly at her father. His punishment was too harsh especially this time when the mistake was an innocent one. She looked at him, searching for any signs that he could change his mind or at least soften his stance but her father's mind was made up. She looked at Revina, secretly begging her to intercede for her and make the High Priest change his mind. But Revina was too preoccupied and consumed in her own sorrow to consider her silent request. The consequences of her actions, though innocently done, were far too great for Revina to bare. It was his Malin who was in danger. And Malin had completely no idea.

realizing that nobody cared, Pell walked slowly to the edge of the valley, hoping to attract their attention with her last attempt. But her father just turned and walked into the cottage, his hand behind his back, his face looking down like a soldier who had just lost a battle. Revina just stared into the blankness of the sky, her thoughts collided over each other. Pell was overwhelmed.she couldn't take the pain and with one final glance at the cottage and with one final failure to stir sympathy, she jumped into the darkness of the valley, screaming her sorrow away, leaving Dalawa behind.