Alexia
I looked at her uncomprehendingly and turned to Raila.
"Cousin?"
"Yes, your father Thiago was my uncle. He died after an attack on the village where we lived, your mother Aline managed to escape and thanks to her influence she got a job at Torrem Castle where, months later, you were born."
I looked at her in shock, it was the first time I'd heard about my father and I didn't know exactly how I felt, my chest seemed to explode with hundreds of feelings all at once.
"My father was a witch?"
She nodded.
"Not just your father, but your mother too. He was house Alencar and Aline was house Nirvas. Do you know what that means?" Raila looked at me, waiting for me to say something. I shook my head, saying no. "That you're a half-breed between two witch lineages, something that hasn't happened for hundreds of years because the houses don't mix, the wars that took place between our people caused this separation and the Nirva lineage was practically extinguished."
"Present and future" I said and she nodded.
"You are a promise of new times to come"
"That's crazy" I said, turning and walking away "Everything you said about my parents, that's crazy!"
"Tell me, Alexia, do you have any memories of Aline healing your wounds?"
"I don't know, it's been a long time..."
"Tell the truth, Alexia, be honest with yourself!"
I looked into her serious eyes, there were few memories in my mind, but without a doubt I would never forget the times when I scraped my knees or cut myself, when I hurt myself in some way and my mother rubbed her hand, looked at me, smiled and said it had passed.
When I looked at the wound, it had healed.
"Your mother was the last survivor of the Nirvas house, when she arrived in our village she healed so many times that she was unconscious for days, at that time I was only five years old, she didn't seem like a threat so they let her live, that's when my uncle Thiago fell in love with her"
"And why wouldn't she tell me that?"
"Witches have been hunted for hundreds of years, she was the last of House Nirvas when they attacked our village, I think she just wanted me to have a normal life."
I nodded.
"I always wanted to meet my father, I always thought he was just ordinary, now I'm afraid of what I might do." I looked down at my hands and she held them.
I looked at her face.
"Don't be afraid of who you are, we're not monsters and what you possess, healing... seeing the future... you can change the world!"
I held her hands tightly and she looked into my eyes.
"Don't let them destroy you"
I frowned and then saw a large table where the nobles were gathered, just as a flash, an image that was enough for me to know that they were at that very moment plotting against me.
I left the room with great strides and walked through the corridors with a confidence and certainty that I didn't know existed inside me, ready to defend tooth and nail a throne that I didn't even want, but it was Estevan's and I would keep it for when he returned, I wouldn't let everything they had built pass into hands other than those of the child I was carrying inside me.
Thousands of thoughts came into my mind, I just had to keep the throne, even if force would bend those nobles to my will.
"Open up," I asked and saw that the guards didn't move. "I'm still the authority here and if you don't want your heads cut off at the end of this damn meeting, I expect you to obey me and open the doors now!"
Perhaps it was my harsh voice, but the doors opened quickly and I entered the place, causing the men at the table to fall silent.
I walked slowly in and looked at the faces I hated so much.
"It's not twenty-four hours since the kings were buried and they already want to dethrone the Montemor family by plotting behind my back!" I said in a harsh tone of voice.
"We need a king," said a man in the corner, "Olimper is in ashes and dust, vulnerable to other kingdoms. We need to raise a king quickly, we can't be ruled by women."
"You want a king? Here it is" I touched my belly "I'm giving birth to the future of Olimper whether you like it or not"
"You don't even know if this child will be a man one day and if it will be pregnant by a woman? We can't cling to a false certainty"
"Are you afraid that a woman will rule better than all of you put together?" "Acacius was a great king, but everyone knows that he chose a wise woman to be by his side, almost all the decisions were made together in the silence of their bedroom without hearing you who only served as background noise, do you really think it matters?"
"Bend your words princess or you'll regret it!"
"I doubt very much that I will regret it" I looked him up and down as I spat out the words, he looked indignant and I looked around "You, all of you men are men who have done no good, I hear you complaining day and night and you think you know what's good for the crown, your noses are up to no good to help the people and I'm not going to let you take the throne!"
"We need a king now, today!" One of them said harshly, approaching me.
I raised my arms debauchedly.
"Here I am! I'll stay on the throne until Estevan comes back to take over what is rightfully his."
"Estevan is dead"
"No, he's not!" I said harshly, "He'll be back."
"Of course you think that, you're just a woman, women are emotional, they don't think logically"
"Men are old-fashioned, they're outdated and won't meet people's needs" I said, certain that everyone in the room was exactly as I was describing.
My words seemed to cause a stir.
"You can't, you're just a woman"
"You can't, you're just a man!" I said, pointing my finger at him, causing quite an uproar. I knew that the kingdom was old-fashioned and that they wouldn't accept me willingly, but I raised my voice and banged my fist against the table, lifting papers and knocking over pens without understanding the impact, It was enough to get everyone's attention "Listen carefully to what I'm going to say because I'm not going to repeat it, Acácio fought his whole life for peace, Soraya was a great woman and they both built a strong and prosperous kingdom I'm not going to let you fix it by thinking about your own navel, you're not capable of providing for the people, you're not capable of meeting their needs, you're snobbish, you're selfish, unlike the late kings and Estevan, so I'm going to take over from here and I suggest that for the first time you shut up or the castle doors will be open for you to leave, but I, a woman, am going to take over and I'm going to change a lot around here whether you like it or not and I'm going to protect this kingdom from any and all attacks with my life, just as I'm going to beget the future successor to the throne or the successor! "
I looked at their faces.
"This whole damn meeting is an ego struggle and should be considered a betrayal of the heir to the throne, Estevan. An attack on the crown. You can look at me any way you like because I was born a servant, because I'm a witch, because I'm a woman, but none of you are strong enough to remove me from this position after all I've been through. I didn't even want to be here, but I'm not going to leave Olimper alone with men like you to rule over!"
Murmurs grew and the biggest shock seemed to be the revelation that yes, I was a witch and I wouldn't hide it any more than I would change many things in Olimper, nothing scared me anymore as I faced death so many times and came face to face with the nobles and their hateful faces on a daily basis I would be strong until Estevan came home to me and I would face everything, endure everything and in no way let his crown be taken.