The Other Five did eventually get tired of me.
It must have struck them that they could not get close to me, and when they did decide that, then they left. I felt it when they left, felt the peace that took over me, but still did not move from where I lay.
The slightest move I made was a glance at the big church clock.
My eyes watched the big seconds hand tick for so long that even when I eventually shut my eyes, I continued to hear it tick, the tick-tock clicking in my head, keeping me aware of the time that passed until midnight.
I did not know why, but I did wake up a few minutes to the time, and I then jumped to my feet, picked up the book, and then began searching about the church. There had to be a mirror around somewhere, I thought, and I knew I was right when with the aid of the necklace, I found one in one of the backrooms of the church.
Quickly, I sought the page that had the curse I wanted, and read it.
"Through minutes, and hours, and days, and years,
Through time of wars, and joys and tears
As the hourglass turns in dancing spheres
I will turn time back a thousand years."
And immediately, everything went dark.
When I opened my eyes again, I found the now-familiar faces watching over me as I lay on the floor of their cave, and panic seized me, with how much suffering I had endured over the past few hours. My muscles twitched, and I reached to seize Marlin the Young, pulling him close with a force of strength that even I did not know that I possessed.
"Sedlin… my family… they killed them," I roared on top of my voice, my entire body quivering. "They killed them. THEY ARE DEAD."
He gave no reaction, nothing to show that any of what I had said had just affected him. There was only an expression of calm in his face, and I would never know if this was what affected me, but I felt my muscles relax, so that I fell back with an intense feeling of exhaustion taking over my body. Yet, the tears continued to fall, as I tried to catch my breath.
None of them said a single word, nothing at all, and all of the quiet intensified the pain I felt. I looked up at them, the tears coming down my eyes, and shook my head. I had a fairly good idea why this had happened to me, and I could tell that they knew it too. There was only one reason.
"I do not want to be the One." I said, sitting up with my head sinking low into my chest.
Again, there was silence, and I raised my head to look at them. As I did, I did not understand why I did not see it before now, but I saw the tears rushing down their faces. All four of them looked at me, their eyes carrying volumes of sadness inside.
Then it struck me. I had lost my family, and they had lost one of their own. They were to be five, a balance that would make them equal to the Other Five, but now, four of them stood here with me. I was embarrassed with how I acted, and looked away, trying not to let them see me.
"You are all that remains." Their voices said in unison. "The Other Five have taken over all of the people of your age, and now, they seek you. We, too, must do our duty to protect you, for you are the prophecy, the One."
"What prophecy?"
"The One promised to us, the one who brings balance."
I had become quite used to their riddles by now, and was too unbothered to ask. Yet, they continued, rambling words I knew could only be the Prophecy:
There shall be one, the One who brings balance,
Whose sword shall wield all power,
Who shall unite all things
And put them back in order
He shall tread the path of life
And walk from close to further
He shall become nothing
For this is the way of power
He shall wield the Hourglass
And touch the sands and yonder
And when all of this is done
He shall live forever.
Yet the way he must walk
Is filled with pain and hunger
And with a single miss
All shall fall asunder
All is time and chance
And it is left to wonder
If he shall walk the way
Or if he shall break while under
If he shall win the war
Or if he shall lose and fail to conquer
When he walks the way
Then you shall know the answer.
I listened to every word they said, looking at all their faces before letting my head fall again.
"I cannot do what you want me to. I have lost so much already. I am not the One you seek. Go find somebody else."
They did not speak once again, and I threw myself backwards to lie on the floor, where I silently continued to cry. Once again, I could not tell what was happening, or how I had even gotten here in the first place. I had only been a young one seeking excitement, and did not know what had happened. My thoughts continued in this manner until sleep took over me.
It was a long, sweet sleep that took the grief from me, that was so good I thought that I had slept for forever. It was one of the best sleep sessions I had ever slept, one that I did not want to wake up from, until it started to hurt. It was so beautiful, so intoxicating, so good that it began to hurt.
I twitched, and struggled to wake up. Clarity came slowly too, yet, I sat up and looked around me. Though I could not tell immediately, at the same time, I thought that something had changed.
Not just something, but a lot, and so much of it as well.