*This is all I'm posting, just thought you might like to see my future evil plan. Constructive crit. is very welcome!
 
 
Prologue
 
 
            “The Fortuna is coming! Silera, the Fortuna is coming!” a man’s voice rang through the downstairs basement.
            A young woman had been sitting in a rocking chair, delicately nursing a baby, who was gently wrapped in a pink fleece blanket, with a loving look in her eyes, but now the green eyes had turned to fear.
            She knew what the Fortuna last week had prophesied for Nella Keffen’s baby Athter. Athter meant unfortunate. The woman stood as quickly as she could without dropping the baby.
            She knew that one of the five Fortunas would come—it was a custom in Elmanaha—but as Silera gazed around, she realized quickly that she would need to neaten up.
            “Eamon!” Silera yelled. She couldn’t clean and hold the baby at the same time.
            Her husband came running down the dim staircase, a rather mad expression on his face. He looked around wildly before realizing that the Fortuna hadn’t arrived yet. He breathed a sigh of relief.
            “Yes, Sil?” he asked.
            “Help me clean!” cried Silera hysterically as the baby began to cry.
            Eamon got straight to work—making the crib, putting away new gifts and toys and so on, while Silera tried nervously to comfort the baby girl.
            Then, the room filled with smoke. Silera coughed and waved, as did Eamon, and the baby’s crying grew louder.
            The Fortuna had arrived.
            Slowly, the smoke began to fade, and a small old woman wrapped in a black cloak stood eerily in the midst of it.
            “Eamon and Silera,” she said in a croak. The smoke was gone, and her beady black eyes were fixed upon the little blond girl Silera held in her arms.
            Silera saw Eamon gulp. “Please, Fortuna Entvah, give our girl good fortune,” Silera said, after a moment of battling with her vocal cords.
            “Ah, child, Entvah does not have choice of fortune, fortune has choice of girl-child,” said Fortuna Entvah with a smile, stepping forward. She looked into Silera’s face.
            “Entvah remembers you, Silera. Entvah named you Silera for sad beauty. Entvah named you sad beauty for a reason, child,” said Fortuna Entvah. She looked at Eamon now. “Ah, sister Zekelle named you, Eamon. Eamon for strong man. That you will be, child.”
            Silera looked to her husband, and saw beads of sweat forming above his upper lip. She extended her free hand and touched his forearm to comfort him, despite the fact that she felt just as much fear as he did.
            Entvah proceeded to reach for the baby, but her raven-black eyes questioned her politely before. Reluctantly, Silera handed over her crying baby.
            Entvah let the baby see her, and immediately the child stopped crying, and stared up at her with interest.
            Entvah gently touched the baby’s forehead, and Silera could have sworn that she saw something electrify through the seemingly old woman’s fingers. She wanted to cry out, go and snatch her baby out of the Fortuna’s hands, but Eamon put his strong hand on her shoulder.
            The Fortuna slowly removed her hand from the baby’s forehead, and looked up at the pair sadly. “Your baby’s name is Iraella,” she said calmly.
            Silera stared at her. “Fortuna Entvah, what does it mean?” she thought it was a pretty name, but she didn’t know what it meant.
            “Death,” said Entvah.
            “No, I meant what does Iraella mean? What does the name mean?” it couldn’t be true! No, it couldn’t mean death!
            “Silera, Entvah named the baby for death. Iraella is destined to die,” said Entvah solemnly. 
            Silera looked to Eamon for assistance, but his face looked at if it had turned to stone. The idiot! The Fortuna didn’t understand!
            “But it can’t be!” Silera cried, lunging for her baby. Entvah willingly gave Iraella to her.
            “It is, Silera,” said Eamon in an oddly high voice.
            Tears were pouring down her cheeks now. “No!” she wailed. Eamon stepped over and placed a hand on her back as she cried over the also crying baby.
            “There is a way for Iraella to live, sad beauty,” said Entvah calmly. Silera looked up, wiping away her tears.
            “There is? Tell me, Fortuna Entvah, please tell me!” Silera breathed.
            “The only way Iraella will escape from her fate will be to find the mermaid’s comb deep in the middle of the sea, two eves after her fifteenth birthday. She must be back in a year, two eves after her sixteenth. If she doesn’t fulfill this task, she will die,” Entvah explained.
            Silera stared at her, dumbfounded. “But, that’s impossible. No one has seen mermaids for a hundred years,” she whispered.
            The Fortuna nodded. “Let her try, sad beauty. You too, strong man. Entvah must leave now. Enjoy the child, don’t let your anguish get in the way of her joy.”
            And Entvah left.