Jabria lay naked beside Edgar in bed as she twiddled the sprig of sky-colored forget-me-not between her brown fingers. 

"You really have seen the whole world. I've never even left Vistile."

Edgar kissed her knuckles. The Empress smelled of sex and petals. Jabria couldn't help but notice how Edgar's eyes matched the flower she held. 

"I wish I could take you adventuring with me."

"Where was your favorite place to visit?"

"Every place on Earth is special in its own way. The mountains in Adraea reach higher than the clouds, and the tops are white with a cold powder that falls from the sky. There is a trading city in Musila called Timbu, and there's a whole section of it that has houses exclusively made in tall pyramid shapes. Zahran is split in half by a great river, and there are hundreds of bridges that lay between the north and south that are overgrown with vines of flowers in the spring. It's impossible to have favorites."

"I heard that the Musilans are a superstitious people. Is that true?"

"They certainly are firm believers in magic, but they are far more advanced than Vistile in many things. Everything there is clean, even in city slums. Their grasp of astronomy and mathematics is far beyond what I have seen anywhere else. Not to mention their immense wealth. Anyway, not enough people realize how superstitious the Zahranese are, too."

"What do you mean?"

"They're obsessed with these four so-called 'Gifts of the Gods', but they only have two. It all ties into the founding prophecy of their entire culture."

"Oh! I've heard of this. It's nearly as well-known a fairytale as the princess with the fur slipper. I thought it was just a story."

"Well, in Zahran, they believe it to be true."

"There will come a time when one leader shall unite kingdoms four and create an age of prosperity unbroken for one thousand years," Jabria recited dramatically, deep voice and all. "The leader shall be a Wielder of Godly Gifts, cross a bridge for love, and turn an ocean to sand!"

Edgar laughed. "That's what they say the first King of Zahran said on his deathbed, but I seriously doubt it. It makes for a good story, though."

"Does the subject of the prophecy have to be Zahranese? Because I feel like it's a necessity that I  wield a Gift of the Gods."

"Well, most of the Zahranese I spoke to were fairly insistent that it would be someone from Zahran, obviously. But all the prophecy says is 'one leader,' so I wouldn't count you out just yet."

Jabria laughed, and was surprised when she realized what a foreign sound it was. She couldn't remember the last time she had been truly happy. She snuggled up to Edgar, ember eyes bright in the dawning sunbeams that were starting to search their way through the curtains. Edgar put his arm around her waist.

"If you could wield any of the Gifts, which one would it be?" Jabria asked.

"The Blade of Jade for certain," Edgar replied. "You know, every Lieutenant General of Zahran has possessed it since before anyone can remember. I've seen it with my own eyes."

"Did you see the Sea Stone?" 

"Yes. Queen Yerisa wears it as a brooch on everything. Whatever is inside, it is completely captivating. It looks as if she really is wearing a piece of the sea on her breast."

"It's a shame that the Crown and the Sash don't really exist."

"Perhaps they do. Who knows what gets lost to time?"

"True enough."

"Which Gift would you want?"

Jabria rolled over so that she could look up at the ornate ceiling above her.

"Hmmm. I think I'd want the Spun Gold Sash."

Edgar looked at her in surprise. "Not the Crown of Victory?"

Jabria rolled her eyes. "I've had enough of crowns."

Edgar fell silent. "Yes. I can imagine so."

The man watched his new lover as the whites of her eyes glossed over and her stare fixed at the ceiling.

"I'm just so lonely," she choked out. 

He felt his fingers wipe the wetness from her cheeks. He kissed her lightly on the temple, and then gently stroked the curls from her face. 

"You don't have to feel that way anymore."