"Fire was the most difficult one to grasp, the rest comes as easy as they come especially with your character" Mai bobbed her head as she made known some facts to Lady after her victorious feat of summoning fire.
"My character?" Lady questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, your character" Mai replied and started pacing " The ability to control water needs a very calm facade, it needs someone who is naturally calm and smooth just like water, air requires agility and adaptation because it can shift it's course at any moment; earth contrary to what you might know that it required an aggressive mentality rather requires a soft hardness;stern but warm and comfortable just like the earth, it's both soft and hard at the same time"
"Ah, I see" Lady bobbed her head in understanding "But I still don't get that part about everything relating to my character" she tilted her head.
Mai groaned and glared a little at Lady " Are you really daft or you just pretend to be to annoy me?"
Erzhi laughed form where he had been sitting all the while in perfect silence "Mai, the fact that you are able to understand situations more perfectly doesn't mean everyone is the same" he stood and went to stand by Mai, placing a hand on her shoulder "You know, she has been confined to her house all these while so basically she is little bit immature in understanding some realistic issues"
"I know, I know it's just that all these things are driving me insane" Mai sighed "But anyways" she turned to Lady "About your character, you are naturally calm, long to anger, easily adapts without complaints, knows when to step up your game and when to stop; that makes you a perfect candidate and thus you don't need training because you have already trained yourself through all these years enduring all hardships in your family"
Lady smiled and exhaled " At least, all those endurance didn't come to waste"
"Yes, dear Lady" Erzhi began "Everything happens for a reason, yours was to prepare you for this day"
"Yes, it's actually very surprising" Lady agreed.
"Now let's continue" Mai chimed in.
****
Back in Amira's hut, she was laying on her head and massaging her temples. Thinking and strategizing for long moments was really having a great toll on her delicate old body. The plan she had was definitely going to work but it came with great sacrifices, sacrifices she was not sure she could give before Lady became out of hand.
Sighing, she stood up from her bed slowly and wrapped herself in some clothes and stepped outside. The day was already coming to an end but it was so hard to even distinguish the time and the moments of the day. Since morning, the sun had appeared behind dark clouds, it seemed the skies were warning of an impending doom.
Amira sighed and shook her body a little, starting on her way to Takoa's hut. Soon enough, after walking and greeting countless people, some she deemed so annoying, she arrived at her destination. Takoa was sitting with her granddaughter, laughing and probably telling a story to the little one.
"Greetings, my sister" Amira called out in greeting with a cheery tone.
"See who comes here now!" Takoa exclaimed in an equal cheery tone "I miss you sister"
Amira laughed and drew near to Takoa, sitting beside her on the ground mat she was sitting on with her granddaughter.
"So how is our little one faring?" Amira asked.
"She is doing great, in fact she lost her first tooth today" Takoa answered with a chuckled.
"Bless you my dear" Amira ruffled the little girl's hair "Sometimes I envy your grandmother very much"
"Amira, there you go again" Takoa slapped Amira's shoulder playfully "The gods blessed you with three children whiles I only had one so they gave me this little one maybe as a way of compensating me, isn't that right?"
"Look at you chastising me with a tongue dipped in honey" Amira laughed "Anyways, let the little one leave, I have adult matters to discuss with you"
"My dear, can you go and play with your friends for a while?, Granny wants to talk with her sister, okay?" Takoa turned to her granddaughter.
"Okay, Goodbye Grandma and Goodbye Grandma Amira!" the little shouted behind her as she hopped off to play with her friends.
Takoa told Amira to stand as she folded the ground mat and went into her room to bring two stools instead. She sat on one and gave the other to Amira.
"So now tell me what really is the matter?" Takoa turned to Amira in a serious tone the moment her granddaughter disappeared.
Amira exhaled and looked up into the sky "It's about the plan I told you about"
"And what about it?" Takoa questioned.
"I'm about to start preparing and I might need your help"
"I don't even know the kind of plan that you have, how am I supposed to even help you?" Takoa complained.
"Yes my sister, that is why I'm here" Amira smiled at Takoa but it was no doubt a sad smile "Draw closer and lend me your ears"
Takoa drew closer to Amira and turned her left ear to Amira. Amira whispered for a few seconds into Takoa's ear about her plan which she thought was bound to succeed. Right after she was done, Takoa shrieked and jumped back, falling off her stool in the process as she looked at Amira with wide eyes.
"Amira, are you mad?" she screamed at Amira.
"No, I'm not!" Amira retorted and stood off her stool turning her back to Takoa "I'm just doing what's good for my family"
"Amira, I know you love your family so much and would do anything for them but aren't you taking it a little too far this time?" Takoa asked in soft sad tone, her sister was already losing herself in her quest to fight against the Makri and the goddess.
"No, Takoa. I'm not doing anything beyond reasonable levels" Amira answered firmly.
Takoa stood up immediately from.the floor in a sloppy movement as her joints cracked a little, "Amira, you call doing an illusion spell something not beyond reasonable levels?"
"Yes, it's no doubt reasonable. Besides that's the only way to counterattack perfectly" Amira replied.
"Amira, this is madness!" Takoa went and stood in front of Amira and held her shoulders "An illusion spell demands great sacrifice putting the amount of power it even drains. I know you are the head pillar and so you might be able to but what if you fail and what about the sacrifice it demands?"
"I know, sister" Amira removed Takoa's hands from her shoulders and sat down again " That's why I need your help, lend me your power and as for the sacrifice of the spell, I'm willing to give it anything it demands"
"Amira, Amira" Takoa grew frustrated " You forgot that I'm no longer a pillar and the amount of power that I have now is like threads, it is unable to do anything except the simple tasks."
"Then let's find another source of power to drain" Amira said.
Takoa shook her head and tears already started to stream down her face " Amira, I'm sorry I can't help you to your doom. This is sheer madness, my sister. Snap out of it and do you also forget that Lady is also part of your family, your only daughter?"
"No, the moment the goddess refused to rescind her decision about Lady that was when she got ripped from my family" she inhaled sharply and continued "My husband is in his room when he should have been in the forest, my second son is fighting for his life, who knows what might happen to my other son?. Lady is one person and it's better to lose one than to lose all and if you can't be of any help, don't try to change my mind. I'm already set about this. Farewell" Amira said, standing up to leave. She started taking her steps to leave her sister's compound.
She heard Takoa calling after her, to come back and so they think things over but there was nothing to think over. She had already made her decision and nothing was going to change that. She felt a single tear falling from her left eye; Lady was after all her family, her daughter no matter how hard she tried to remove that from her mind. She hurried up her pace and cleaned her face, straightened her back and put on a neutral expression
She went into her second son's hut the moment she reached her family compound. Her son was laying on his bed with medicine smeared all over her body, it wouldn't take a doctor to see that his breath was shallow and his life was in a very dangerous place. Her resolve strengthened and she took a deep breath, she was doing the right thing for her family. She smeared more medicine on her son's body and left his hut to her own. She didn't realise how something stirred in her and how someone woke up in her.
She felt a splitting headache as soon as she entered her hut. Amira groaned and sat on her bed, rubbing some mint on her forehead. She laid down on her bed and she fell into a deep slumber.