Almost 18 hours after the party in Meadowreach had abruptly broken up, and Juniper hadn't gone home yet, had made little effort to return to the Greatwood, hadn't even left the Barrows. Instead she sat at the top of the stairway that rose from the Barrows and ended so abruptly, so high. She'd walked up here instead of flying because she feared that its supposed ability to grant wishes might not work if she cheated. Did she truly believe that speaking her wish here, into open air, would make it come true? Not really. But it was worth a try, wasn't it? Because everything else she'd tried seemed to have failed; because her world was coming crashing down, and she could only watch in slow motion as it crushed the scaffolding she'd tried to shore it up with.
There would be war.
It shouldn't have come as such a shock. Juniper had seen the signs, had watched the tensions climb. But she'd been so determined to stop it, so devoted to her futile plans -- she had really thought she could make a difference. She had refused to believe in the inevitable.
And then the voice of prophecy had told her otherwise.
What was Juniper to do now? Should she disregard the voice and continue her efforts for peace, despite the nagging certainty in the back of her mind that war would come? Would it be worth it to stave off conflict for even a few seasons if she could?
Or should she give up? Accept the oracle's words and turn her attention to preparing for the inevitable battles? Turn her attention inwards, to the preservation of the Greatwood, rather than to the fate of all Caido -- put her people first, stop caring about the fates of strangers?
Juniper couldn't accept either of those paths. Not yet. So she'd come here, in this last-ditch attempt to make a wish that she knew no real god would take seriously.
"Please," she whispered into the wind. "Please save us -- all of us -- from war.
There would be war.
It shouldn't have come as such a shock. Juniper had seen the signs, had watched the tensions climb. But she'd been so determined to stop it, so devoted to her futile plans -- she had really thought she could make a difference. She had refused to believe in the inevitable.
And then the voice of prophecy had told her otherwise.
What was Juniper to do now? Should she disregard the voice and continue her efforts for peace, despite the nagging certainty in the back of her mind that war would come? Would it be worth it to stave off conflict for even a few seasons if she could?
Or should she give up? Accept the oracle's words and turn her attention to preparing for the inevitable battles? Turn her attention inwards, to the preservation of the Greatwood, rather than to the fate of all Caido -- put her people first, stop caring about the fates of strangers?
Juniper couldn't accept either of those paths. Not yet. So she'd come here, in this last-ditch attempt to make a wish that she knew no real god would take seriously.
"Please," she whispered into the wind. "Please save us -- all of us -- from war.
Juniper
"art nouveau winged fairy" by e³°°° is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit here
