future leader. All leaders must have a support system. If they didn’t have that, they would flounder and fail. So don’t ever forget - don’t ever look down on anyone unless you’re helping them up.”
“They’re pretty wonderful,” I smiled happily.
“And Finn?” he asked, notably uncomfortable. “His adoration for you is most obvious…” He frowned and raised an eyebrow as something dawned on him, “Do I need to have a talk with him?
Prime or not, he is courting my daughter.”
I couldn’t help but giggle at his use of the word ‘court’ as well as his attempt at being overprotective. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. He almost ripped Zara a new one this morning when our training session ran over.”
“Well…” he sat up straighter and narrowed his eyes. “I may not be a spring chicken anymore, but I’m not above defending my daughter’s honor.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I laughed and hugged him again.
Before everyone returned to the cottage, I regurgitated the Cliff notes version of my last seventeen years on Earth, along with the last six months - which happened to be where my story took a sharp curve around a precarious mountain teeming with magical experiences and evil princesses. He hung on my every word; laughing with me, crying with me, and becoming angry with me. I was still trying to come to terms with the fact that my father was sitting next to me when the cottage door opened and my entourage filed in one by one; their faces changing from worried to relieved the moment they saw us sitting together with smiling faces.
Finn was last to enter; giving instruction to the Sons standing guard outside. Dad stood and approached him valiantly. I fought to suppress the amused smile that was creeping its way onto my face.
“I’m Anastasia’s father, Peleus.” Dad lifted his chin, making Finn’s eyes brighten. I could tell he instantly liked him for the simple fact that he hadn’t treated him like the Prime, but more so like any other teenager whom he was suspicious of.
“My mother, Natasha, has spoken very fondly of you over the years. She mentioned that you and Thetis helped watch after me,” Finn shook his hand and nodded respectfully. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir.”
My heart glowed at the two of them having a conversation and the very non-threatening sparkle in my father’s eyes. I walked up to Finn and wrapped an arm around him, prompting him to grin down at me.
“Did you see Finn as a baby?” I asked Dad, for the sole purpose of embarrassing Finn. My dad rose to the challenge nicely.
“I sure did, in fact…” he smirked at Finn wickedly, “I even changed your diaper.” I clasped my hands together happily and peeked up at Finn, whose face was actually reddening.
“Is that…?” I pulled the hand down from Finn’s face with effort and teased him, “Are you blushing?”
“If the love of your life’s Dad had wiped your butt as a baby, you’d be blushing too,” he admitted with chagrin, making us laugh.
“Probably, but luckily you’re the one whose butt was wiped.” I pinched his side and he swiftly picked me up and threw me over his shoulder.
“I think I heard Zara say that it’s time for Stasia’s next lesson,” he told Dad calmly, and I felt him nod his head respectfully once more; completely ignoring the squirming future goddess draped over his shoulder.
“I heard nothing of the sort!” I argued into his back as the blood rushed to my head. As we walked away, I heard Dad chuckle and I waved to him. Finn lowered me onto the couch beside Zara.
“She’s all yours,” he told her as he cut his eyes at me playfully. I tried to trip him as he walked away, but he predicted my move and stepped over my leg easily.
Dad elected to stay for my next lesson, as did Natasha. Willow insisted on preparing dinner up at the main house while we practiced. Carmen took the place of Phoebe, who had announced that she had a date with Ian, and everyone else settled in to watch the show. Zara kicked it off with a dissertation that left my head reeling.
“As we discuss visions of the future, or foresight, you need to keep in mind that the future is always shifting. What you see in a vision today, is based on the events as they would happen should no extenuating circumstances occur. That same vision would recalculate itself after you’d seen it, because your knowledge of the events to come could shift the paradigm - simply on the theory that your decisions could be affected by the new knowledge that you didn’t possess ten minutes before the vision occurred.”
“Do you think we could hear that again…possibly in English?” Dad furrowed his brow from the other couch. Zara laughed, but strove to hide it under a cough…unsuccessfully. Dad gave her an odd look before she continued.
“The future is a lot like the wind; constantly shifting and highly unpredictable,” she explained with an amused twinkle in her eye. I noticed that she continued to glance at my Dad, much like she had looked at Olivia the day before. She appeared to be soaking in his presence, putting every detail to memory. “According to Natasha, you’ve had several visions; however, were they all unprompted?”
“That’s right,” I confirmed.
“Unprompted visions can be pretty vivid, but they’re also unsettling. The fact that you don’t know you’re in a vision is a huge part of that,” she interpreted, and reached into the valise to produce the vintage compass. I observed the cautious way she handled it while Finn nodded his head in agreement. “This little guy is going to help with that.”
She handed me the compass and I stared blankly at its face when the needle failed to move a millimeter. “I think it’s broken.”
“I’m going to have you practice inducing a vision while holding the compass, and you’ll see real fast how it works,” she answered, while pulling the bronze key from the valise. “The bronze key represents the Future Plane. It is the oldest of the keys.”
I held the unwieldy key in my palm and admired the intricate metal work. I was dying to know what they were for. They gave off a very powerful, ominous vibe that intrigued to me. It was as if they had their own presence.
“You said that every tri-goddess has keys like these, but where do they come from?” I queried.
“Each key is cut from the same piece of metal - whether that be gold, silver, or bronze.
They’re all interconnected and they’re all identical,” she provided, and then promptly changed the subject. “The compass is also made of metal, but it will only work during a vision. It will follow you into the vision and you will be able to use it.”
“So I can decide what I want to have a vision about?”
“You can guide the vision in the right direction…what you see may or may not be exactly what you were looking for, however,” she explained cryptically. “Now what I want you to do is lay back and close your eyes.”
“Is this dangerous in any way?” Dad asked Zara, his anxiety showing on his pinched features.
“Not at all,” she comforted him, and then diverted her attention back to me. “Certain events have more… energy than others, making them easier to access. For example, it would be extremely difficult for you to prompt a vision about your dinner a week from now. But it’d be much easier to prompt a vision about your Epiphany ceremony. Make sense?”
“I think so,” I cracked open one eye. “Is it anything like prompting a reverie? I’m good at that.” I heard Finn snicker and Zara smiled as well.
“Oddly enough, reveries are much more difficult,” she confirmed for me. “Visions are more like…falling asleep. You just have to remember which way is up.”
I dug up some of the times I’d had unprompted visions, and realized that most of the time the world would tilt and I would just black out. Is that what she meant? Is that what the compass was going to do? Help me find ‘up’?
“I feel like Alice in Wonderland,” I muttered, eliciting laughter from Carmen and Willow.
“For this lesson, I want you to choose a specific event that you’d like to see in your vision.
You’ll need to envision yourself there; concentrate on the smells, sounds, and people. You’ll know it’s working when you feel yourself start to spin.”
I closed my eyes and became lost in what I envisioned my Epiphany ceremony would be like.
Since I had no idea where it was held or who would attend, I tried to think about the traditional white dress I would have to wear - the lavish feel of its many layers, and the way it made me feel like I was a part of something bigger. I thought about my friends all sitting nearby, along with Finn, my Dad, and Zara. I pictured the
