I had not walked twenty feet away from the garden when my path got blocked.

The Village Chief, Ladislas, stood in front of me.

His wife must've told him, that I now knew their long-guarded secret. 'Cause the truth was, there was no way that they would have lived this safely, close to the Capital for years, if they had not (as an entire village), worked together to hide the secret from Randall. Anyway, what was that saying, the most dangerous place, could also be the safest.

I took in a deep breath. He is scared, I told myself. I said to him, "I'm already a powerful Gifted. And as for Regalis, you know, that even in lands and kingdoms, where he has never set foot on, the reputation of his Gift has already reached there. So, we don't need your wife’s Gift. And neither would we ever stop her, from blessing anyone who has shown her..."

"What's going on here?" I heard from behind me. Regalis.

I turned. Regalis, stood with Alistair. As he stared at the huge, broad-shouldered Village Chief, I noticed his right hand go across Alistair's shoulders, as though to protect him from the Village Chief.

Regalis looked at me, "what's going on?" His voice on edge. As though ready to fight Ladislas, if I said he'd threatened me.

"Father. Fa-ther" Alistair lifted the stick of roasted snake in his hand.

Father? Ladislas was his father? Then, his mother must be...Aurora? No wonder she'd been watching Regalis interact with Alistair. Could I heal his condition? I wondered.

Ladislas smiled at Alistair. Moved closer to him, after Regalis reluctantly let him get close, when he'd been certain Alistair was truly comfortable with Ladislas's presence.

With a handkerchief in his hand, Ladislas wiped Alistair's drooping spit, as he stammered away, "the s-nake was in the pond. Ke-wa-lis caught it and roasted it. Can I eat -it?"

"Ke-wa-" Ladislas paused. As he clearly realised who Alistair referred to, that way. "My apo..."

"I do not mind" Regalis said, "friends give one another nicknames".

Alistair nodded, his eyes also not on his father, as it stared around, "friends" he repeated, "Kewa-lis is my first fri-end".

"Your Highness" Ladislas bowed "I came here to ask you both to please come in. My wife, the Village Chief, invites you to come in".

Village Chief.  A woman, was a Village Chief in Armalith. So, Ladislas was just a cover. In case,  we didn't approve. Well, if we ended up removing Randall, then, the whole of Armalith, would realise that they had a lot to learn about their new king.

Women too, could lead.

Nadia had led troops in battle.

Minutes later, Regalis and I, were led into a room, by Ladislas. And then, the door closed behind him.

Standing in the room, was Aurora. Now the truth was out. She no longer covered her skin, from head to toe. She was in a dress with short sleeves.

Then my eyes went to the portraits on the wall of the room. I stepped back in shock. The Walter brothers, from the military camp. The brothers who helped with drawing the plants' diagrams and pasting it round the camp. I said, "you're the Walters' mother?"

She smiled, nodded "yes".

What a coincidence. To leave the North, and then, end up running into the family of the man I saved, while he was almost choking to death.

And to add to the surprise, his mother was no ordinary Gifted. A bestower!

I looked at Regalis, who didn't understand what was going on. A secret they had hidden for years, was coincidentally discovered by a stranger, just after a few hours of staying here.

And so, I kept quiet. Aurora would have to be the one to say what she truly was.

To Regalis, she said, "what do you think of Alistair?"

"Great kid" Regalis smiled, "has a good heart. You raised him well".

Aurora smiled back, " not many would say that. He's my son" she said, "my first child".

Really? Her first child? Alistair who looked like sixteen, was older than the Walter brothers, and Beatrice who already has a baby?

As if Aurora could read my face, she answered, "sorcery".

"While I was pregnant with him" she said, "I was captured. But before my blood could be completely used for the sorcerer's dark magic, I was rescued. The sorcerer, killed. But the child in my womb, was already marked with the claws of sorcery".

Hence, Alistair was born this way. Impaired both mentally and physically. And could never be healed by Gifted healing. It must hurt her so much.

She could bless tens of Gifted with the Gift of healing, but none would ever be able to cure her child.

"Even the servants who have served us for long, avoid him" she said, "everyone whispers that he makes them uncomfor..."

"And is that why, despite the celebrations going on in the village, he was sitting alone at the garden, hidden away, like some dirty little secret?" Regalis fumed.

Aurora's eyes closed. A tear at the corner of her eye, "I've waited for this day" she said, "when someone outside our family would fiercely defend Alistair" she looked at Regalis, "thank ..."

"No need for thanks. Alistair is a wonderful man. Physically and mentally impaired, but like I said earlier, he has a good heart and that makes me enjoy his ..."

She didn't wait for Regalis to finish, she grasped his hand. Firmly. And now, without even a trace of sunlight entering this room, she glowed! Like gold. Like bright liquid gold. The brightness, almost seeming to make her appear, as though she was not of this world. As though, she'd not been born through a womb, but instead, dropped from the sky.

"A bestower" Regalis said, in shock. Obviously, like me, Aurora, was the first bestower, he was encountering. And now, she glowed, while holding his hand.

She was blessing him.

Impacting him with a Gift. Or Gifts.

She might not even know, what Gift Regalis would've, after this. But he'd definitely end up with an extra Gift, besides his lightning now.

People said, the Gift, one received from a bestower, was a Gift the receiver's heart desperately hoped for, the most. And some said, the Gift the receiver received, depended on the heart and power of the Bestower.

On how deeply the receiver touched the Bestower's heart. And if whether or not, the Bestower glowed.

Those who glowed, were considered among the most powerful Bestowers.

Aurora said, "in thirty-five years, I've blessed no one. The day Alistair was born, to keep him safe, to keep my family safe, I vowed not to show my Gift again, until the day, I meet the person who shows Alistair true kindness".

My heart melted. For years, she watched everyone treat her son, as nothing. If this village kept Aurora's secret, then it meant that they were tight-knit, but somehow, the closeness and friendship, didn't extend to Alistair.

Regalis tried to pull his hand away, "I don't need this" he said, "if you're doing this to reward..."

"This is a mother’s Gift" she said as her glow slowly started to dim. “You'll make a great king".

And the last trace of light on her, completely dimmed.

And Regalis said, "I hope so too".

"Kings have coveted my kind for centuries. But to you, I give freely" she said, sealing the Gifting.

Regalis stared into her eyes. And though, he didn't say it. But, I knew, he felt uncomfortable. Being 'rewarded', because he made friends with Alistair. It made him feel cunning. It was almost like, he was tolerating Alistair’s company, to see what he could get from his mother.

"Thank you" he said.

She released his hand, and walked to me, "little I have left. But, I must give it away" and took my hands too. And the force of her blessing entering me, was so great.

How did Regalis not fall, once he felt her blessing sinking into him?

She released me, "silver and gold, I most certainly do not have enough of it, to repay for saving my son, but this little I give, I hope the Gifts it bring you, will be what your future needs most".

And I smiled. We had just won, not only a Bestower's blessing, but also, the blessing of a mother. It came, from the core of her being.

And Regalis, may not be too happy about this. But, I was. He got the bulk of her blessing. For if anything, I knew one thing, the battle ahead of us was definitely going to be cruel, and Regalis needed all the extra safety tool and Gifts, he could possibly ever need, to protect himself from a powerful force like Randall.