"Nothing like the fate of the world to help a person make a decision." Misty thought about what Melcar and Astara said. In a way, it did make sense. If you build the rules of existence on something, then that has to be an absolute truth for existence to continue.
"You didn't just bring me here to answer questions, did you?" Misty sighed to herself and sat down.
"I'm sorry, but yes. We need you to make the initial decision." Melcar sounded apologetic, and he waved his staff. A tray of snacks and tea appeared in front of her.
"I have till the assessment is over, right?"
"Well," Astara began, "you actually have as long as you want, but it will only seem as long as the assessment." She sidled over to the tray and picked up one of the little snacks. Laying down, she licked the food before devouring it.
"So, yes. Feel free to have a quick bite." Misty munched on the cookies and cheese. As she sipped the tea, she thought about what it meant to be someone's partner. She was really looking forward to taking her relationship with Jay to the next step, but she came from a world that was monogamous for the most part. This world was completely accepting of polyandry and polygamy, so for Jay, the fact that she has more mates out there wouldn't be a problem. Probably...
She could always talk to Jay and find out how he felt when she met her other potential partners. Relationships were all about communication. As long as she listened and worked with Jay and anyone else who showed up, it would probably be fine. She knew that there were bound to be some issues, but that was to be expected in a relationship.
"I have a question for you."
"Go ahead." Melcar said.
"Was there someone from my original world that would have been my soulmate?" Misty thought back to her lonely life. She had spent so much time working and studying. She had always thought that she would have time to find someone later, but now that she was in another world, she had to know.
"You mean someone you were fated to be with?" Melcar asked. He looked at Astara.
"Your world worked differently," Astara began, "but Tamult said that another reason that you were brought here is because your fate in that world had ended. If you hadn't found someone by that time, you were destined to remain alone." Misty grimaced. Some people were happy being alone, but she had never wanted that kind of life. She always wanted children and had been looking forward to growing old with someone. The fact that she had been fated to be alone in her previous world kind of sucked.
Misty thought to her time with Jay and his family and smiled. At first, she was kind of upset that she had been brought over, but now it seemed like Tamult had taken pity on her. She would have another chance to live the kind of life she had always wanted.
With that thought, she looked over to Melcar and Astara. They had stepped off to talk while she made her decision. She was glad she had been able to meet with them again. Coming to the temple had been a smart decision, though she felt that they could have talked to her at any time.
"Melcar... Astara?" Misty called. They rushed over to her as she stood up.
" You know what you want to do?"
"I'll find them. My other mates. I'm not sure what will happen when we meet, but they will all have a chance." Her voice was resolute and determined. Melcar nodded.
"That's all we needed. We will help you on the way as we are able."
"This should be fun! I'll have to thank Tamult next time." Astara said gleefully.
Misty could feel the white space fall away. She closed her eyes and felt the world shift again.
--------
When she came to her senses, Misty saw a crystal on the wall had turned a brilliant shade of crimson, and the orb was no longer glowing. The door opened, and she turned to face her family. The priestess had a shocked look on her face. Jay and his mothers had mutual looks of pride.
She walked out of the assessment room. The orbs to the left and right of the doors were blazing in multicolored shades. They looked as if a rainbow had been caught in them and was trying to get out.
"What does this mean?" Misty asked. The priestess still seemed a bit shocked, and Haphor reached over to touch her shoulder. The priestess looked over to Haphor.
"I will need to get the High Priest. We have never seen the orbs glow like this. Can you please wait here for a moment?" She pointed to the waiting area and rushed off before they could even sit down. Haphor and Qiya settled into the chairs while Jay pulled her to the couch.
"Was my assessment that weird?" Misty looked at Jay with worry.
"Not exactly. We had a feeling your talent was really good. But usually, only one or two colors are in the orbs. Or if a person has lots of color, they don't shine as bright."
"They don't know what to do because I may be really powerful?" Jay nodded. "I have to give it to Tamult. They weren't playing around when they brought me here." She thought back to the little emergency bag that had been with her on the life jacket. At the time, she felt lucky to have them. Turns out that if she had taken a moment and tried magic, she may have reached civilization a lot more quickly. She wondered if she could even fly like the superheroes she had seen in the movies.
"I guess we will just have to figure things out, then." Misty looked at Jay, remembering the conversation she had with Melcar and Astara. She touched the mate mark on Jay's chest. "There are a lot of places on this mark." Jay glanced down at his chest. He was still uncertain how he felt about being one of many.
"I am your first. There is no way to know what the future will bring." Misty grasped his hands and waited until Jay met her gaze.
"I had a vision during the assessment." Misty looked down at their joined hands and sighed. "Meeting with the others is part of our fate." Jay looked at the top of her head. He could feel the tension in her as she tried to explain. Visions were rare and never to be ignored. He thought back to when he was young.
Leon and Sheena had been together for six years before he had met Qiya. He remembered the turmoil and changes that had brought to the family. And then, when Haphor had also joined hands with Leon, more change had come about. Jay thought about his family today and knew that there were times when his father and mothers still struggled, but he also knew the amount of love that came with it.
Jay took a deep breath and imagined what their family might look like. There were four other people out there who might become family. Misty looked up at him, and he could feel himself falling into her eyes.
"I will leave the decision to you." Jay whispered. "I can't say it will be easy. I might get jealous. But if you need to meet them, then that is what you will do. We'll take things from there." Misty's heart thumped loudly in her chest. She leaned in to kiss Jay.
"That is what we will do then." Misty smiled, pressing her forehead to Jay's. She could feel some of the burden come off her shoulders. She had been worried that Jay would be angry.