The morning sun was shining in through the glass windowpanes inside The Grand Temple of the Sisterhood. Now that it was spring the once chilly halls of the temple were now warm at all times except for the night. Of course the nice weather brought more visitors to the museum as people wanted to go interesting places after being so constrained all winter.

There were more visitors than ever before this year however, as there was now an actual goddess living among them. People wanted to learn as much as they possibly could about goddesses to better equip them for dealing with this one. The volunteers turned clergy of the temple knew that there was no preparing for interaction with this particular goddess though.

Goddess Jenna was as unpredictable and vibrant as the spring weather. At one moment she was sunny and full of happiness, the next her anger rolling in dark storm clouds. She was truly more human than anyone would ever expect of a goddess. Most attributing it to her young age, the youngest of any known goddess after all.

The high priest Timothy was living his normal life today, working at the temple as a now prominent member of its operations. His goddess sometimes came to visit him and other times snatched him away to who knows what kind of crazy experience. He was getting to know her better with each passing day and it was clear she liked him for some unknown reason.

At the moment he was walking through the temple in search of his goddess. She had visited the temple today to visit him and "watch him work" according to her, though of course she also was visiting her worshipers. He was alright not being her top focus at the moment as her undivided attention could be rather scary.

To aid in his search he had asked another of the clergy and been told the goddess was near the entrance of the temple. She wouldn't be difficult to spot as there would be many people gathered around her. As he was walking to find her he was thinking about how strange it was that she hadn't made many changes in the kingdom when she showed up.

One of the things she had changed however was today she instituted a set of rules called "The Ten Commandments" which she claimed her father had at one point where she came from. They were all pretty basic and good rules like no stealing or murder. She did admit the first one was changed slightly as she wasn't sure how to handle it exactly.

After a minute more walking he came to the entrance of the temple and saw there was surprisingly few people gathered around the area. He had expected a massive crowd and though there were lots of people here it wasn't jam packed. It was still enough that it would take some effort to get to Jenna though. She was sitting at a small table near the back wall of the entrance and passing out some kind of small papers.

While waiting for his chance to walk up and speak to the goddess Timothy took out a small cake his father had made for him. It was made from ingredients that were very expensive and hard to come by for their family so it was a special spring treat his father did for his only son.

A few bites later Timothy saw a break in the gathered people and walked over to where Jenna was sitting behind the table. It was here he got a better look at the small papers as well. They were simple squares the size of someone's palm with an ink drawing of what looked like a loaf of bread with a cat head and tail.

Jenna looked up at him as he approached. She was holding out one of the papers and handed it to a middle aged woman who thanked her for it.

"Hey Timtim. What's up?"

Timothy was studying the pile of papers on the table.

"Oh um... Nothing much goddess. What's the meaning of these bread cats?"

This made a wide grin appear on Jenna's face and she turned to face him. She then reached up and tugged his shirt so he lowered his head. Then she whispered in his ear while trying not to giggle.

"These are just a little meme I thought up and wanted to try. It means absolutely nothing! Its just a dumb picture! And now that you're in on it you can giggle at it too!"

After whispering that she snickered and even snorted once. Then without missing a beat she turned around and handed another of the slips of paper to a man who had come up to the table.

"Here you go sir! Peace, love, and breadcats!"

The man bowed and thanked her before turning around and leaving, his face full of joy for receiving what he thought was a divine message.

Timothy was shocked and somewhat insulted at the very idea. To think a goddess herself would act so flippantly with her worshipers. All for a joke?"

He cleared his throat.

"Ahem- Isn't this all a bit cruel goddess?"

Jenna continued passing out the papers with only a side glance over to him standing over her.

"Not really. Its funny actually. By the way, what ya got there?"

Still taken aback he looked down at the cake in his hands.

"Oh... Its just a special cake for the springtime."

Without pausing Jenna gave the cake a quick glance and then back at her paper task.

"Can I have it?"

Timothy was actually angry that she would even ask that. For some reason this whole mockery of her worshipers combined with her wanting his special cake had made him upset enough he wanted to push back. She had always allowed him to express himself and though he knew she was a goddess that shouldn't allow her to do whatever she wanted with her worshipers.

"N-No" he said shakily. "You can't."

As soon as the words left his mouth Jenna paused what she was doing. She then turned slowly and looked up at him with an expression of indignation. The feared anger was nowhere to be found but she gave him a demanding look. He would stand firm on his choice however and at this point he was already committed.

"I said no."

Jenna's face quickly switched between indignation, to anger, then to frustration, and finally calm. She then got up from the chair she was sitting at and put her arms to her side like a petulant child. Then she glared up at him and shouted angrily.

"Well fine then!"

After this outburst she turned away and stomped down the closest hallway. The gathered people were left in utter shock at what had just happened and looked to the high priest for an answer. None of them had fully heard the discussion the two had and so were completely baffled.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

None were as baffled as Timothy himself of course. He had never expected such an outcome and had no idea what he did wrong. It was his full expectation that she would have demanded or taken the cake from him. Not only had she done neither, but now she had left all these people with him to deal with.

He turned to the crowed and put up his hands.

"Don't worry everyone the goddess is fine! I'll go get her back!"

Quickly he ran off after her and called her name.

"Goddess Jenna! Wait!"

Unfortunately she had quite the head start on him due to his initial shock. She also walked much faster than a human child of her height and had already reached a corner in the hallway. By the time he had reached same corner the goddess was nowhere to be found. It was like she had vanished into thin air.

There was no one else in this hallway except for a random civilian who looked surprised to see him standing there at the corner. It was normal for Jenna to disappear but this time felt different. There was nothing for him to do except pray to her and apologize. He hoped she wouldn't be mad at him for long.

-------------------

Timothy had spent the rest of his day normally: just walking around the temple and educating people on the topic of goddesses and Jenna. It was midday now and the incident in the morning had been forgotten by everyone it seemed. Even he had mostly forgotten about it and passed it off as one of the quirky moments of his goddess. She never appeared again either which could be seen as normal.

After explaining some information about domains to a visiting family Timothy was left alone for a time. He decided to go take a break in the temple garden and started walking in that direction. Today had been very abnormal so far and some fresh air would help him re-collect himself.

It was on this walk that he ran into Maisy. She was looking around almost frantically at the end of the hallway where a door led into one of the larger rooms. Once she saw Timothy she immediately rushed down the hall to him.

"Timothy! There you are!"

Her voice sounded panicked and she was clearly frazzled about something. It was rare to see her so worked up.

Timothy smiled and waved weakly.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

As she finished walking up to him Maisy was swinging her arm around in the air in an exasperated gesture. Her eyes were wide and her face was red.

"Did something happen?" She shouted. "What the hell happened to the goddess?"

She pointed her other arm down the hallways in frustration and glared at him.

"I just saw her attack someone! She was just walking down the hallway, looking in a foul mood mind you, when some random person approached her and asked her something!"

Maisy dropped her arm and took a deep breath.

"And do you know what she did?"

At this point Timothy was sweating nervously and gulped looking at his friend.

"I-I don't know..."

"She leapt up into the air and grabbed his head" she replied using her hands to gesture the motion. "Looked into his eyes. And he completely freaked out!"

Maisy then threw her hands down to her sides and looked Timothy in the eye.

"Then she just dropped to the floor and stomped away! I'd even describe her as depressed after that! How can a goddess get depressed?"

Timothy didn't know what to think. He just stood there staring at her stunned. The goddess had been walking around the temple still? Was she avoiding him or something? He'd never heard of a goddess being depressed either, though he had an idea why she would be angry. He looked down at the floor embarrassed.

Maisy crossed her arms. "So you do know something!"

"Well I um..." he said shyly. "There was this cake my father made for me. She saw me with it and wanted it. And I said no. Then she got mad and stomped off."

At first his friend's expression was one of shock and disbelief. Once the explanation had sunk in however her face turned to one of understanding and then to one of disappointment. Maisy then lowered her head and put her right hand on her forehead.

"I... I can't believe you." she sighed.

It was Timothy's turn to be frustrated and he waved his hands around as he made his case.

"What was I supposed to do? She was passing out that stupid picture and making mockery of everyone with it! This was a special cake my father made for the spring! She can make her own cakes with magic at will!"

Maisy simply sighed and shook her head again. She then dropped her hand and lifted her face to look at him.

"It's not about the cake Timothy. Obviously you're too oblivious to female behavior to notice."

"Notice what?" he asked exasperated.

"That she likes you!" she replied punching his chest. "The goddess obviously likes you for some reason dumbass! She wanted that cake because it was your cake, it belonged to you. When a girl asks for something like that and she's denied it... Well it can really mess her up inside."

Maisy then lifted her hand again, pinched her nose, and closed her eyes.

"The fact she's a goddess makes this so much more horrifically worse. She could go off on anyone at any time for any reason. The next time it might not just be scaring them either. Let's go get another cake from your father."

The realization of what was going on finally dawned on Timothy and he gasped in fear. If someone was hurt or worse died it would be his fault! But what could they do about it?

"Maisy we can't!" he replied desperately. "It was made with very expensive ingredients!"

Maisy dropped her hand again and grabbed him by the arm.

"We're going to Arlon. He'll know what to do."

Timothy had no choice but to go along with her. He certainly had no better ideas and having the wisdom of an older adult would only be a benefit. So he half ran and was half dragged through the temple as they both made a mad dash for the central area of the temple. It was there that Arlon's office was with his attached bedroom. He was certain to be there this time of day.

They made it there in record time and burst through their boss's door gasping for breath. Maisy had also let go of Timothy's arm at this point. They both stood there hunched over supporting themselves with their hands on their legs as they recovered.

The middle aged chief advisor whirled around with a start as his door was smashed open. Once Arlon saw both of them standing there panting he quickly rushed over to them, his arms outreached to steady them.

"Timothy! Maisy! What are you two doing here? And what in the world has happened to get you both in such a tizzy?"

Once they had finally recovered they both stood up straight, their faces still covered in shock and worry. It was clear they were on the verge of a panic attack. Timothy was the first to speak however.

"Sir! I think I've really screwed the pooch sir." he said hanging his head.

"He's an absolute moron sir!" Maisy chimed in. "The goddess wanted some cake he had and he refused her! Now she's depressed and running around terrorizing anyone that crosses her path!"

Timothy lifted his head and nodded his head and gulped nervously. There was sweat on his forehead.

"The cake was made with very expensive ingredients by my father. I don't have a second one to offer her. What do we do?"

Arlon's initial reaction was also one of panic, though it only lasted briefly. He then put his hand to his chin and turned to walk to where his desk was. It was clear his mind was rapidly processing the information and looking for a solution, his two juniors waiting patiently on baited breath. As the father of two this sort of situation was something he had dealt with before.

After almost a minute he stopped and turned to face the two young adults.

"Coincidentally I've had plenty of experience with this sort of thing before." He said tucking his hands into his robe. "Although I admit the thought of applying this to a goddess is highly unprecedented."

Maisy walked into the room and closer to him, Timothy following behind her.

"What are you talking about sir?"

Arlon sighed and walked behind his desk. He then bent over began writing something down on a piece of paper. Once he was finished he folded it up before putting it in an envelope.

"I'm the father of two, thus I have plenty of experience with young children. As much as Goddess Jenna is a goddess she's clearly a very young one as well, though I know she acts well above her age most of the time. However its clear she still can fall victim to the trappings of her age, even if she isn't aware or willing of it."

He then walked back around the desk and handed the letter to Timothy.

"Run this letter to Bren as quickly as possible and tell him to ride to the castle with great haste. Have him take the fastest horse we have. The elf mage Illiad is our only hope to resolve this quickly as if anyone can get this cake made its him. Getting one of those cakes is the only solution to this problem."

Timothy took the letter and looked at it confused.

"B-But why sir? Surely its just a cake?"

Arlon crossed his arms over his chest and exchanged looks with Maisy.

"There's something different about the goddess. She's not like a normal child and I don't just mean that she's a goddess. I suspect she'd be seen as different even compared to other goddesses her age. For whatever reason she's fixated on that cake to the degree of mood alteration. We need that cake!"

He slapped his hand on Timothy's shoulder.

"Now run boy! Get that letter to the stables!"

Timothy nodded. "Yes sir!"

With his mission accepted Timothy turned around and ran from the room. It was both frightening and baffling that a simple cake could have such an effect on the goddess, and while he didn't fully understand it he was dedicated to making it right. He ran towards the stables with all the strength he could muster.