Page 45 of Hunters and Prey

He sighed and shook his head. "It was all very real, Alice. I'd love to ease you into this, especially since you haven't been formally integrated into this side of the world, but I don't think we have the luxury," Rome admitted.

I frowned, feeling nervous about this conversation, especially with the knowledge that my mom wasn't home when she should have been. She wouldn't leave me with four strange guys and Aaron, especially if I was unwell.

"Alright. Lay it all out," I encouraged, sitting a little straighter. He smiled and nodded, his gorgeous ocean eyes growing serious.

"I'm sure you've heard about the prophecy so I won't spend time on it. All you need to know is all that was real, and as of now, the six of us are the reincarnations of the same people in the legend," he began.

When I didn't react negatively, he continued. "The first witch who had the powers of all the elements was named Alice. She was once a normal girl like you and knew nothing about the magic world. See, fairy tales and books stated that witches were the ones who cast spells and were later crucified by those who didn't know anything about it. Those stories are false."

"You mean witches weren't hunted for their magic?" I asked.

"No, they were, but that was after Alice's time. See, they left out a lot of stuff. One important point about there being no female witches."

"Come again?" I questioned in confusion. "You mean to say there were only male wizards?" I asked. He nodded.

"Correct. At first, there were only men who could use magic. It was kept a secret and generally, they had little problems in the beginning. That's when Alice was born. Her powers didn't show until a few months before her eighteenth birthday. Weird things started to happen and alarmed the men that she could potentially be a witch. She was the first female welcomed into the magic community, and the one that really started the revolution of it all."

"Revolution," I repeated. He nodded. "Being the first, she realized that it wouldn't be long till more magical women were born. She wanted to pave a path so both men and woman could embrace their elements and enjoy the gifts Mother Nature had blessed us with. She didn't see herself as different from humans with no magic and respected every living creature. No one saw her as a threat until she began to grow stronger. It also didn't catch people’s attention until she started dating five strong wizards."

"All five?" I questioned.

"Yup. All five. Alice was beautiful, looking pretty much the same as you." He gave me a wink when I blushed, carrying on. "Because of her beauty, she was the talk of the magic world, with many men wanting her hand in marriage. They didn't necessarily love her but saw the gain in power and rank. The only ones who didn't care about her power were those five men. Each of them came from a different wizard house, all of them reflecting a different element. Having them agree to date one woman was unheard of back then. It's not like now where it's not as frowned upon to date more than one guy or one girl. The other wizards began to worry, thinking Alice was planning an uprising to overthrow the magical world with her five male lovers. She was already looked up to by many men and even woman who knew of the existence of magic. Nothing was done immediately, but when more female witches began to be born, the men in power worried she'd take all the glory and attention."

"So they decided to kill her," I whispered.

"Eliminate the threat," he whispered. "They thought of some lie, but nothing added up, leaving Alice innocent when faced with the charges. She and her men thought it was over, but one night when she was returning to her home, she was kidnapped and taken to the woods. There she was beaten, raped, and tortured. They told her to break up with her men and marry the man in highest power at the time. She refused. They tied her to the ground after placing a magic circle in the soil to bind her. They pinned her there with an arrow of each element, and her soul wouldn't be released to ascend to heaven unless six elements came together and released her."

"That's..." I whispered, unable to find the right words.

Rome gave me a sad smile, lifting his hands up to my cheeks to brush away my tears. "Cruel. Inhuman. Utterly disgusting," he whispered. "The five men arrived far too late and were speechless. They all loved Alice dearly and didn't want to live in a world without her. Together, they decided to offer their souls up to Mother Nature herself. They each offered all their power to remove the arrows that pinned her soul to the earth but asked for her to be given a second chance at life with them there to protect her if evil struck again. Mother Nature felt pity for Alice, soaking up the blood from her lifeless body to initiate the reincarnation process. She took the men's plea and with their bodies, magic, and souls, freed Alice and kept her promise to reincarnate them all together when the time was right."

"How did they know for sure?" I asked.

"The men who did that deed returned the next day to clear the body. They say her body was gone and all that remained were six swords standing at the same spots as the arrows. No one could touch or remove them and it was soon discovered that Alice had been murdered by the leader of the Council. He was eventually crucified with those involved, but the witch hunt had already begun. It took a long time before humans made an agreement with the Witch Council. They had no choice but to agree to their terms after all that had happened and the bloodshed. The prophecy is passed down to all wizards and witches so that everyone remembers Alice's sacrifice and the sacrifices of the men who loved her unconditionally."

"When you say it like that, it's a wonderful sacred tale," I whispered, feeling bad that I'd mocked and never paid attention to it.

"It's hard when you don't know all the facts," Rome whispered.

"Does that mean I'm the reincarnation?" I asked. "And you guys are her lovers?"

He slowly nodded. "We won't know for sure until you turn eighteen. That's when we'll know because all your powers will unlock. Right now, you’re only getting little burst of it."

"Hold on. Didn't you say there were six arrows?" I questioned.

"Yes."

"But there were five of you...well, uh..the past men," I noted.

He nodded. "Yup."

"Who's the sixth? There had to be a sixth if there were six swords."

The conversation was jogging my memory, but it was on the tip of my tongue as to what I had tried to remember when I was sick.

"We don't know," he admitted. "Nothing was said about Alice having a sixth lover. We also don't really recall all of our memories. Only Roxas has most of his memories back, but he's..." Rome looked as though he was trying to find the right word.

"Complicated," I concluded. He gave me a sheepish smile.

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