Miya had woken up when she always did, early in the morning sometime around when the sun came up. Even though she was now a high priestess for the Goddess Jenna there were still chores to do around the house and village. In particular Miya helped with feeding the chickens and taking down drying laundry from the days before.

At the moment Miya was actually outside the back of the house taking down the laundry. It was mostly bed sheets and smallclothes. At least in these last days of summer it was still dry for the most part at night and the morning dew didn't soak clothing much. In winter drying clothing became much more difficult.

"I'm just thankful I don't have to wash the clothing anymore" Miya said to herself.

It was then there came a rumbling boom, the very earth below Miya's feet trembling and shaking as if the world was falling apart. She stumbled forward a step and managed to maintain her balance enough to avoid falling over completely. Her grip on the sheet on the line actually helped her prevent a fall. This boom could only mean one thing of course: the goddess was up!

Miya spun around in excitement and looked to where the goddess had last fallen asleep. There was Goddess Jenna, standing above the trees on the outskirts of the village like a towering monolith of hope. Miya gasped and held her hand to her heart. Not only was the goddess powerful and wise, she was beautiful and cute as well. Miya sometimes wondered what the child goddess would look like all grown up into a woman, that is assuming she could age at all.

Miya watched as Jenna began walking towards the river, her footsteps booming onto the ground and shaking the world in her wake. Once you knew the earthquakes were coming it was a lot easier to brace yourself for them, so Miya didn't stumble anymore. The goddess was probably off to wash her face from the mud clearly seen all over her face and arms.

"Ah goddess" Miya sighed to herself. "I knew you would be alright."

Miya had to admit that she had been worried when she had heard that Jenna had ran up to the village at nightfall and collapsed onto the ground with no explanation. Well whatever had happened to her she was fine now. She wouldn't have fallen asleep if there was danger to the village so perhaps she had just seen something exciting.

The only thing on Miya's mind was getting to speak to the goddess again. She said a silent prayer as she hurried to finish bringing in the laundry. As she bundled up the sheets and walked them into the house she thought that Jenna would probably head to the village center and it would be best to meet her there.

"I'm coming goddess" she said to herself wistfully.

Miya placed the sheets on the table in the kitchen, quickly folding them up so she could leave immediately. The fold job was sloppy but bed sheets were the last thing on her mind at the moment. She spun around once it was done and rushed out of the house and began running towards the village center.

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It took several minutes for Miya to make it all the way to the village center. She didn't run the whole way of course as she didn't want to tire herself out for her service to the goddess. She did walk quickly of course. Several villagers greeted her as she went and the reception to her status as high priestess seemed to be received positively as of late.

Goddess Jenna had made it to the village center before Miya. As expected it was the first place she had gone after washing off in the river. Of course with the size of her strides no human could ever hope to outpace her, even a courier's horse likely stood no chance. Miya had never seen Jenna run, but she knew that she could run the length of the entire kingdom in a day if she wanted without a doubt.

Miya of course heard as Jenna explained the situation to the other villagers up ahead. The voice of a goddess traveled far and conversations with her were never private. Not unless they took place deep in the wilderness that is. Miya felt extremely blessed to be able to travel into the mountains with the goddess and have private conversations with her.

Miya decided to run the last of the way, dashing through the small group of people that had gathered at the feet of the goddess. Jenna had asked about the celebration and must be being told about it by the villagers. Miya arrived near Jenna only a minute after that.

Miya ran up dodging through the gathered people, finally coming to a stop in front of where Jenna was crouched down. She fell to her knees and panted, catching her breath and bowing to respect at the same time.

"Ah here she is" came the thunderous voice of Jenna above.

Miya kept panting to catch her breath. "Goddess... I'm sorry it took me so long... To get here."

"Its alright Miya" Jenna said kindly. "Its not like you can get anywhere nearly as fast as I can."

Miya took a few moments to steady her breathing and collect herself. This reaction from the goddess wasn't unexpected. For an all powerful deity beyond human understand she was always so surprisingly kind and forgiving. Miya was starting to wonder if all the old stories had gotten goddesses all wrong, or perhaps that one cruel goddess had ruined the perception of them for the entire world.

Jenna's huge finger lowered from the sky and gently touched Miya on the head as the goddess spoke. "So this celebration thing. I'm sure you'll be able to tell me more about it right?"

Miya reached up and held the fingertip with both hands, blushing in embarrassment as there were many people watching.

"Well yes" she replied. "We had been planning a big meal to celebrate you when you saved the village from the bandit attack. But due to how much you've needed to rest a time was never set."

Miya looked down at the ground and took a deep breath before continuing.. "Well since you've been staying awake longer now we decided that this evening would be the time! The preparations have already been going on and I was going to help out as well. All you have to do is wait and enjoy goddess. I'm sorry you had to wait this long for a celebration."

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Miya and all the villagers had been quite nervous about Jenna's reaction. It was worried that it would be negative due to all the waiting that had to be done for recognition of her godly power and good deeds. Thankfully everyone was able to give a sigh of relief, Miya not least among them.

"Oh I was never worried about having a feast in my name or whatever" Jenna said with a bright smile. "Its not like someone of my size can really be fed at a feast anyway." She slowly stood up and put her hands on her waist. "Its lucky I don't need to eat or drink. I don't think feeding me would be sustainable at all! Could you imagine how much I would eat?"

The laughter of the goddess came out clear and bright, like the crystal waters of a mountain stream pattering over stones. It was if joy itself had permeated the air and Miya felt her heart swell with happiness with no explanation. She started laughing herself and the other villagers did as well. All Miya could think about is how gracious their goddess was and how thankful she was to be able to serve her.

After the laughter had faded Jenna crouched down again and looked down at Miya. "Well I'll leave you to help finish up the celebration and stuff. I'm going to go into the forest for an hour or two. I've got something to do and I want to finish planning the village walls." She raised her hand. "Don't worry everyone. I wont be gone long and I'll be here for the celebrating in the evening."

"Yes goddess" Miya said looking up.

The other villagers also said their goodbyes to the goddess and those gathered dispersed. Jenna then stood up and gave one final smile and wave to Miya before turning and walking off into the forest. Her footsteps thundering across the land as she disappeared into the trees.

Miya figured that Jenna didn't want to be in the village in order to let them finish preparing the celebration without the added pressure of the very goddess they were celebrating watching over them all. Truly the goddess Jenna was thoughtful and kind beyond compare.

With the village as small as it was there wasn't much to prepare. There had been extra game hunted so there would be plenty of roast meat, bread and simple cakes baked, and plenty of ale brought out as well as fresh mountain spring water. There wasn't much room for fancy food at a feast when the village was so poor. It was a simple life they lived here and simple food. The lords and kings Miya heard had all manner of fanciful foods and decadent deserts at their celebrations. Goddess Jenna wouldn't mind though, that was obvious now to everyone in the village. Miya was sure everyone was much less stressed now as well.

Miya turned and walked towards the main village square to help with the preparation as much as she could. If all went well it would all be done before evening. As she approached she saw that there were already many tables being setup with chairs all around. There were big fire pits being dug to cook meat over and various poles setup around the area. Though they didn't have many decorations there were still colored flags and streamers that the village hung for festivals. Miya figured that she would be able to help most with cooking and walked over to the many stoves that had been setup at the edge of the village square.

A tall woman was standing by a collection of large cauldrons, each placed over a fire pit with a raging fire beneath it. If there was thing the village never was in lack of it was firewood. These cauldrons were certainly full of some manner of delicious stew as Miya could smell it wafting through the air. There were a couple other women going about checking on other pots and doing things with the ingredients left on the nearby tables. A man was bringing some more firewood over and adding it below the cauldrons.

"Hello there" Miya said politely as she walked up to the cooks. "Do you need any help with these? I'm trying to find someplace to be useful."

The taller blonde woman smiled as Miya walked up. "Oh its you Miya dear. No we'll be fine with the stews. They've all been pretty much handled and now just need to be watched until its mealtime to ensure they don't burn." She then pointed over to one of the buildings at the edge of the square. "They're preparing some vegetables in that house over there. I'm sure they could use an extra hand with the potatoes." The woman turned back to the cauldron and stirred it with her oversized ladle. "You know those can be a pain to peel."

"Alright I'll go do just that" Miya replied.

Miya walked over towards the building that had been pointed out to her. She could already see many sacks and barrels around its entrance that seemed to have vegetables in them. On the walk over she was suddenly stopped by a pair of little girls who ran up to her waving and calling her name. They had to be less than seven years old.

"Heeeey! Heeeey!" said one with black hair.

The other one who had dark brown hair that reached her lower back ran up beside her friend. "Priestess lady!"

Miya smiled and crouched down to speak to them as they looked up at her with gleaming eyes. "And what can I help you two with today?"

"We wanna get a wish from the goddess!" the brown haired one said.

"The goddess doesn't just grant wishes to people little lady" Miya said gently. The children looked down disappointed and Miya let out a small sigh. "What are you two's names and I'll try to put in a word with her next time I see her."

"I'm Yen!" said the black haired one crossing her arms.

The brown haired put her hands on her hips. "I'm Harley!"

"Alright Yen and Harley" Miya said standing up again. "I'll try to mention you two to the goddess next time I speak with her. Don't forget to pray to her every night alright?"

"Yes maam!" they both said in unison.

Miya smiled as she watched them both run off into the village square, hopefully not to cause trouble. She remembered that she herself at that age caused a fair bit of trouble for her parents. She was thankful at how much she had matured under the guidance of her father and mother as well. Without having a upbringing by caring parents she never would have been able to become the high priestess of a goddess like she was today.

Miya continued to the house to help with the vegetables and looked inside the door. There were several people inside cutting on the tables setup inside. There were also baskets to collect the scraps and skins of various vegetables.

"Hello" Miya said. "Do you need an extra hand in here?"

A rather thin man with a short white beard turned around and smiled. "Ah of course young woman. We could use all the extra help we can get." He motioned to the table nearby where there was a pile of potatoes to peel. "Come on over and join Ms Islen on potatoes."

Miya walked over to the table and the woman standing there. She seemed to be a twenty-three year old woman. Her hair was reddish and her skin pale. Her eyes were a bright green and she looked at Miya kindly.

"Hello there" Ms Islen said. "I would think someone as important as you would be off doing something else at this time. Thank you for coming to help us Miya."

"Oh the goddess is off in the forest at the moment." Miya replied taking up a knife and potato. "I'm sure she's trying to give us space so we don't worry as much. She truly is an amazing goddess."

Ms Islen nodded. "She is. You're position I'm sure is a blessing and a curse."

"Its been nothing but a blessing" Miya replied. She paused. "Though I worry if I'll be able to live up to what's expected of me."

"I'm sure you will" Ms Islen said with a smile.

As Miya began to peel the potato she thought about what Ms Islen had said. She never thought about being a priestess as a curse. Perhaps there were ways that it could be seen as such, but she hoped to never have to find those out herself. To take her mind off this way of thought she focused on her peeling and changed the subject.

As long as this celebration went well she was sure the goddess would be pleased. It would also be a huge moral boost for the village itself as well. Miya just prayed nothing went wrong.