Timothy continued running through the temple hallways with as much swiftness as he could muster. His imagination was running wild with the possibilities of what could happen next, what an angry goddess would look like. Even though Goddess Jenna was so loving he knew that even someone benevolent could get upset, and the power she wielded could create devastation.
As he ran it was like he was afraid of running into her, a possible scare around every corner he rounded. Thankfully the entire path to the stables was empty of angry goddesses. He never thought he'd be happy to not see her. Down in his heart he knew that her being upset wasn't entirely his fault even though his actions were the cause. He genuinely did love his goddess and wanted desperately to make her happy again even besides the avoiding disaster part.
It only a few minutes for Timothy to make it to the stables near the temple. He came to a stop just outside and hunched over gasping for breath. It took a little while for him to recover at which point he stood back up and quickly walked inside the small building.
There was only enough room for a half dozen horses in this relatively small stable, though that was all the temple really needed. Inside was the typical stable setup with the horse stalls separated by wooden walls and rolling gates. There were plenty of hooks for hanging saddles and ropes.
This is where Bren worked at the temple. He was around thirty years old with short red hair, pale skin, and green eyes. Everyone knew him as a laid back man who loved animals, thus he good around horses. He was generally kind to everyone which made it a shame he only worked at the stables.
Timothy saw Bren standing near one of the horse stalls and speed walked over to him holding up the letter.
"Bren! You have to take me to the castle right away! Its an emergency!"
Bren looked up at the young man and smiled warmly. He wasn't the least bit alarmed.
"Oh Timothy! I don't see round here much. You say its an emergency? What kind of situation is it and why does it involve the castle? You in with the king now that you're a high priest huh!"
"Its Goddess Jenna" Timothy replied with a huff. "She's angry and I got this letter to give to the head mage Illiad. We need to get there as fast as possible! She could wipe out the city!"
"Well that actually sounds pretty serious!. I have Jessle in a saddle already. Wait just a moment while I get her out."
Bren then left his guest standing there while he quickly walked over to one of the stalls and opened it up. Inside was a pretty mare with a solid brown coat split up with white spots. She looked very healthy and was currently saddled up like Bren had said.
After the horse was out of the stall Bren climbed up and reached down to Timothy.
"Alright get on and hang on. We'll get there fast enough don't worry!"
Timothy nodded and climbed up onto the horses back with the help of Bren. He settled down and put his arms around Bren's back, feeling sort of awkward to ride double like this. It was necessary however so he was able to get over it. He didn't like riding horses that much as they were big and scary animals, though he knew they weren't evil or anything.
The horse took off with a sudden start, beginning its trot out of the stable and into the courtyard of the temple. After it was out in the open Bren kicked its sides and sent it into a full gallop. He was well used to riding and directing horses which made him the perfect fit for navigating a city on horseback.
Through the city the pair rode, the galloping horse deftly avoiding other people in its dash along the streets. Such a sight as a galloping horse in the capital city was far from normal, though everyone that lived here had seen it happen now and again. As such there was no issue getting people out of the way as the horse galloped over the cobblestone streets.
They arrived at the castle in less than ten minutes and Bren brought the horse to a stop in front of the gates. The mare let out a whinny as she skidded to a halt and settled down, her head whipping back and forth.
One of the guards who was at the gate walked over to them holding his spear upright.
"Hold it there you two! What's the meaning of this?"
Timothy slid down from the horse and lifted up the letter with urgency in his voice.
"I've come here to talk to the head mage Illiad! Its an emergency! The goddess is angry and we need his help to get her calmed down!"
The guard looked at the young man in front of him and then behind him to the castle. For some reason this news didn't surprise or shock him that much, as if he had first hand experience with the goddess's unique personality. He also seemed to recognize Timothy as well.
"Very well. You're that high priest of hers right? Come with me."
Bren also dismounted and began petting the horse.
"I'll wait here and get some water for Jessle."
Timothy nodded to him and then turned back to the waiting guard. This whole thing was very nerve wracking but he had to do it. With a sigh he gathered his courage and began following the guard into the castle courtyard.
As they quickly walked through Timothy looked up and saw the towering walls looming above their heads. He felt so small next to this immense building. Of course he gulped knowing how even such a place was barely as tall as Goddess Jenna even to its highest tower. There were even some of her footprints still in the middle of the courtyard, the massive indents in the stone street still not completely repaired.
Once they had made it across the courtyard and into the main doors of the castle the guard called out to another man standing near the entrance.
"Hey! We need to summon the head mage. Its an emergency involving that new goddess."
The man nodded and quickly disappeared into a nearby door.
"What's the summoning bell?" Timothy asked.
The guard turned to face him with a serious look on his face.
"Its a small magical bell that we've set aside to alert Sir Illiad when grave danger threatens the city or castle. Of course this would qualify. What's the issue with that goddess anyway? I don't see her stomping through the city."
Timothy let out another sigh and tried not to blush from embarrassment.
"Well she's pretty angry about something. The head mage is our best bet to get the situation fixed so I came here to find him."
"I see" the guard said thinking. "Well at least she's not doing anything drastic yet. I'm sure Sir Illiad can help you resolve this. He's as reliable and powerful as they come."
After the mage had been contacted both Timothy and the guard had no other option but to wait patiently in the main foyer of the castle for him to arrive. They waited in mostly awkward silence as well, neither quite sure what to talk about considering the looming circumstance. For Timothy just being in the castle was nerve wracking as it was a world foreign to him. For the guard it was strange and scary to stand near the head priest of the very goddess who could go on a rampage at any moment.
Thankfully for both of their mental health the mage eventually appeared. The tall elf came at a brisk walk into the foyer, his fancy pinkish robes billowing behind him as he came. On the elf's face was an expression of both extreme annoyance and slight nervousness. Though of course there was not much else to expect besides those.
Illiad came to a stop in front of Timothy and glared at him.
"So boy. You're goddess out of control again is she? Explain!"
Timothy gulped nervously and looked up at the elf. He was trying to stand up tall and seem important like the mage so effortlessly did.
"Yes sir mage! I mean no she's not out of control yet! She's just very angry about not getting this certain cake my father makes and we need another one made to give to her."
He stopped to see the reaction of the elf but the look on the elf's face was unchanging. With no other choice he then mustered his courage and continued while holding out the letter.
"Well here is a letter from the head of the temple about it. We figured since you're an important figure you could help us get the expensive ingredients and um, help us in case things went wrong with her."
Illiad snatched the letter out of Timothy's hand and ripped it open. He then quickly read through the letter while his face remained almost expressionless. After he was finished reading he then let out a long sigh and lowered his arms to his sides.
"Tell me high priest: what is your father's address?"
"In the apartment homes DX on the southern east side of the city" Timothy answered quickly. "We live on the second floor in the fifth room."
The elf nodded and turned around.
"I'll take care of getting this cake. You go back to that temple and keep your goddess under control until then. It'll take at least a couple hours even with my powers. I hope your father's cake will be good enough. There will be a great deal of trouble if it isn't. You've already imagined what the fury of a goddess looks like though."
Timothy felt beads of sweat on his forehead. It was like the elf had read his mind. Now he was second guessing this whole thing himself, not like any of them had any other choice really.
"Yes sir" he replied. "I'll see you there."
Illiad then swiftly walked away into the castle and left Timothy standing with the guard again. With no other option Timothy went with the guard back to the courtyard where Bren was waiting with the horse.
Bren smiled as his companion walked over.
"So how'd it go with the head mage?"
Timothy's head was hanging low and he was already feeling drained from the whole ordeal.
"It went fine Bren. He'll be getting one of the cakes from my father and meeting us back at the temple. We'll need to go back there, though I don't think we'll need to rush on the return trip."
"Sounds good to me!" Bren replied climbing back into the saddle. "She's got water and we're ready to go. Come on now."
Once again Timothy was helped back onto the back of the mare and they started off back to the temple.
---------------------
Timothy had been waiting for several hours for the head mage to arrive at the temple. He and Maisy were waiting at the entrance in mostly nervous silence. It was the afternoon now and neither of them knew where the goddess was for sure. The last they had heard she was around the main office of Arlon's but they hadn't been there to confirm it. They both took the lack of concrete sightings as a good thing however as at least it meant she wasn't doing anything horrible. Well that they knew about anyway.
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Just as they were reaching the point they couldn't take it anymore there was rush of wind through the temple doors. Then suddenly before them appeared the head mage Illiad and another mage landing from the sky in a small whirlwind. The other mage was dressed in crème robes which correlated with his wind magic. In Illiad's hand was a small paper package about the size of a cake.
Timothy and Maisy stood up quickly as they appeared in surprise. The latter of them doing her best to adjust her clothing and hair to make herself more presentable.
Illiad walked over to them with great annoyance.
"Timothy was it? I have your cake. Your father was cooperative enough and we had to resort to magic to get the cake baked in a quick enough time. I hope you understand that the resources the capital had to waste to get this stupid confection are only acceptable because of the nature of the situation. This goddess of yours is getting more irritating by the passing day."
As the mage held out the cake Timothy reached for it nervously.
"Th-Thank you sir. And I'm sorry."
Without more than a passing glance at Maisy the elf looked over Timothy again.
"Now do you know where the goddess is?
Timothy nodded and pointed in the direction of Arlon's office.
"The last we'd heard she was in the main office of the temple. I'll lead the way sir!"
All three of them immediately started walking through the temple at a brisk pace, the other mage staying at the entrance of the temple with a nervous look on his face. Thankfully it didn't take more than a few minutes to get to their destination and Timothy really was praying that Jenna was there.
Once they got to the doors of Arlon's office the three of them walked in without knocking. The head of the temple was thankfully there and looking quite disturbed himself. Though he was controlling his emotions quite well it was clear that the middle aged man was quite nervous about something.
"Arlon!" Timothy said with relief as he saw the man. "Thank the stars you're here!"
Maisy followed after her friend.
"Did you hear where the goddess is? We've got the cake!"
Arlon looked at the two of them with a nervous smile and then past them to the stoic elf.
"Oh yes about that! Yes I happen to know where she is. By the by is that the head mage I've heard so much about? He's quite intimidating in person."
Illiad ignored the comment and walked into the room with a flair of his robe.
"You said you know where the goddess is? Tell us immediately."
With a nervous chuckle Arlon nodded and motioned across the room. On the far side of his office was the door to his personal bedroom which was currently closed.
"Sh-She's in my office you see. You'll forgive me for not wanting to go in there at the moment. She just showed up about two hours ago and went in there and shut herself in."
With a disappointed sigh Illiad walked past them to the door of the bedroom. He reached out for the door handle and then paused, his expression suddenly changing to one of fear. Then in a manner that seemed out of character for one of his status and power he stumbled back away from the door.
Arlon smiled weakly. "That's what I did as well when I tried to open the door. I'd rather not go in there personally."
Maisy grabbed Timothy by the arm and marched him over to the door, the elf stepping away to allow them to pass.
"Well this is your fault" she said firmly. "So you're the one that's fixing it!"
Once both of them were standing in front of the door they instantly understood what the two adults were talking about. There was an ominous aura radiating from beyond the door, as if terror itself lived inside that bedroom. The oppressive atmosphere leaking under the door was enough to make their bodies freeze up in reflex.
Illiad walked across the room and motioned to Arlon.
"We'll leave the room for now. I'm told her high priest is the human closest to her. If this girl is as well the sight of us will likely be negative for the resolution of this. I'll be close by in case of the worst however."
Arlon looked at the mage with an angry look. It was true of course but it didn't mean he liked abandoning his two stewards to this terrible task.
"I believe in you two. I'll be waiting as well. Remember the goddess ultimately likes you Timothy and she's only upset because of her care for you."
He sighed deeply in disappointment and followed the mage out of the room to wait in the hallway just outside the door.
After the two men had left the room Timothy and Maisy looked at each other. Despite the overwhelming aura coming from the room it was Maisy who worked up the courage to open the door. She reached out nervously and turned the knob, pulling the door open enough for the both of them to see inside.
What awaited them on the other side of the door was nothing like they could have expected. It was a basic bedroom of course with a large bed and several pieces of wooden furniture, the stone floor covered in a large rug. The entire room however was completely dark, the very light in the room seeming being sucked away into nothingness, even the light coming from the main office through the open door.
There were large thick vines growing all over the walls and twisting around the furnishings, their entire lengths covered in large sharp spikes. This vicious tangle of green was only able to be seen at all because of the dim glow coming from the bed. There sitting in the middle of the bed was Jenna herself: all curled up in a sitting position with her arms around her legs. Her hair and eyes were aglow with a strangely dim light, this being the only illumination able to reveal anything about the room at all.
Great fear struck the two young people's hearts just seeing the room, though there was a pang of sympathy as well. Something about the way the goddess looked was pitiful, something neither of them would ever expect to use to describe a goddess. The oppressive aura was one of great sadness as well as anger and it threatened to blaze into rage with the wrong stimuli.
With Timothy still to stunned in fear to move Maisy decided to take action. She stepped into the room slowly, as if walking across thin ice, and with visible fear approached the bed.
"Goddess Jenna?" her asked in a quiet voice. "Are you alright?"
Jenna had been looking forward at her knees unblinking, not even reacting when the door was opened. Upon hearing a voice however her brightly glowing eyes immediately snapped up onto the approaching girl.
"No!" she shouted. "Go away!"
Maisy stopped walking and gulped nervously. She felt bad seeing the goddess in such a state and she had to do something.
"Well goddess... Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"
Jenna looked back at her knees and her face was a mess of emotions. There was no anger yet though, in fact it seemed like she was trying to hold back tears.
"Timothy wouldn't give me some of that cake! Its not fair... I may as well die."
This didn't throw Maisy off balance, instead actually helping her focus and come into some confidence. While seeing the goddess acting like she looked was bizarre it was something the young woman could handle. She had siblings that had tantrums, though even they didn't act quite like this.
"We got another cake for you goddess" Maisy said gently. "It was even made by Timothy's father like the last one. Do you want it?"
Jenna clutched her legs tighter and the vines around her writhed around causing the humans to jump in surprise. They stopped moving just as quickly and the goddess sniffled.
"Its not the same! Its not Timothy's cake its just one you made that's not special!"
Maisy let out a small sigh as she could relate to wanting something special from the person you liked. She never had quite this reaction of course and she'd never seen anyone get quite so depressed about such a thing.
"It is actually Timothy's cake" she replied. "Timothy's father made it for him and he wanted to share it with you!"
Quickly she turned around and stepped back over to the door. She reached out and grabbed Timothy roughly by the arms and dragged him into the room.
Timothy had been standing there and watching in disbelief. He had no idea why someone as boring as him could cause such emotional turmoil in a goddess. This wasn't something he wanted and there was guilt and sadness filling him. Seeing his goddess like this was horrible and he desperately wished for her to be happy again.
When Maisy grabbed hold of him and pulled him into the bedroom he was too confused to put up any resistance. There was of course still some fear inside him though that had been mostly been replaced by sadness from the state of his goddess.
Maisy whispered in his ear. "Go on. Give it to her."
Timothy gulped as his friend let go of his arms. He was outside of his comfort zone and about to do something he never dreamed of. There was no choice however and he gathered his courage.
As he approached Jenna's eyes snapped up at looked at him directly. The vines all around the room twisted and curled in dangerous looking ways, the spines on them growing longer until they were vicious daggers. There was a cold looking fire rising up from around her on the bed. Her eyes were wide and her face expressionless as she stared at him.
"G-Goddess!" Timothy stammered, the terror welling up within him. "I-I have a-another cake!"
Jenna kept staring. "It's too late. It's not the same. You hate me."
That last one took him by surprise and actually shocked him so much his terror vanished. It hurt his feelings that she could think that about him. His own sadness making him realize how terrible she must be feeling if she thought that about him.
"No goddess!" he replied. "Look its the same kind of cake. I had two of them I just didn't carry them both around with me. Please take it!"
Timothy had lifted up the parcel and opened it up revealing the cake. He then walked up to the bed not even caring what happened to him at this point. All he wished for was to see a smile on Jenna's face again. Even if she struck him down he was fine with that if only it cheered her up from this state.
To his surprise and relief when he approached the unnatural vines retreated slightly instead of attacking him. The spikes on them actually shorted a little bit and some of the light in the room returned. It was still quite dark in the room but it was a reflection of Jenna's face. She was looking at the cake in Timothy's hands with eyes that had a sparkle of hope in them instead of complete despair.
Taking this as a good sign Timothy finished his approach to the bed and sat down on the end. He then lifted out the cake towards the goddess.
Jenna looked at him and then at the cake in his hands. The vines were slowly twisting around on the walls, their spines getting shorter. She didn't say anything and simply lowered her knees and opened her mouth while looking across the bed at him.
Timothy looked over his shoulder at Maisy who was still standing near the doorway. She nodded with a warm smile. He then turned around and broke off a small piece of the cake in his right hand. Then he leaned forward towards Jenna and reached out, gently putting the piece into her open mouth.
Jenna closed her mouth and chewed on the cake before swallowing it and opening her mouth again. There were small tears coming from her eyes and sliding down the sides of her face. The vines were stating to wither away now and the light was returning to the room.
With a smile Timothy fed Jenna another piece of the cake, his own emotions a mess as well. This whole thing was so strange to him. He never had siblings but he remembered his father doing this sort of thing with him when he was much younger. As crazy as the situation was here he was happy that it seemed to be working.
There wasn't a need for a third bite as after swallowing the second Jenna looked down at the bed and avoided eye contact. There were still tears on her face but her cheeks were red as she seemed to be embarrassed. The light had completely returned to normal in the room by now and her eyes and hair had stopped glowing. All of the vines had similarly all vanished leaving nothing behind.
"Can I have some water...?" she asked shyly.
Maisy spoke up now. "I'll get some!"
She turned around and ran out of the room. There had been a small pitcher of water on Arlon's desk and a small pair of simple cups as well. She grabbed one and filled it with water before returning to the room. There was a big smile on her face as she handed it off to Timothy and then stepped back again.
Timothy took the cup and handed it to Jenna.
"Here you are goddess."
After drinking the entire cup of water Jenna put her hands on the bed by her sides and looked down in embarrassment. She was still avoiding eye contact with either of them.
"Are you mad at me?"
Her question was clearly aimed at Timothy.
"No goddess!" he quickly responded. "I'm sorry I was such a disappointment to you."
Jenna was still looking down and was struggling internally with something. She finally sighed.
"I'm sorry I was like this."
"Don't worry goddess I forgive you!" Timothy said smiling. "Again I'm sorry I didn't give you any of my special cake."
"I forgive you" Jenna said with a weak smile. "Um I know this is weird but I need to rest some if its alright."
He stood up from the bed and nodded.
"It's perfectly alright. I'll be here at the temple for whenever you need me ok?"
Jenna nodded.
Timothy walked over to where Maisy was standing and followed her out of the room. While they left the goddess lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. Once they were both outside Maisy closed the door quietly and they let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Thank heaven that's over with!" Maisy said slumping to the floor.
Timothy was shaking still himself and nodded.
"Y-Yeah! I don't ever want to have to go through that again! We should go tell our elders its over huh?"
Maisy nodded and reached up for him to help her up. He pulled her to her feet and they both walked out of the office into the hallway. The bedroom and the goddess within finally at peace.
Both Arlon and Illiad were waiting just outside the doorways in the hallway. Both the men looked nervous still. Arlon was clearly relieved to see them both unharmed.
"Goodness! You're both alright! How did things go in there?"
Maisy leaned on Timothy using him as support.
"The goddess is fine now thank the stars. Everything worked out in the end."
Then then pulled on her friend's ear making him cry out in pain.
"You need to take better care of the goddess's emotional needs dumbass! I don't ever want to go through something that terrifying ever again!"
Timothy winced as his ear was released.
"Ow ow ow! I get it ok? I'll do better!"
While the two messed around Arlon smiled happily and laughed. He was so thankful it all worked out in the end and his two stewards were unhurt.
Illiad on the other hand was standing there with his arms crossed across his chest. The expression on his face was far from joyous, in fact it was one of annoyance and disdain.
"How good of you common folk to enjoy the situation now that's its concluded. May I remind you just how close to disaster we came. This goddess seems more trouble than she's worth with each passing day. You boy are clearly important to her and I expect you to get a better handle on working her onto out side. She would be a powerful ally for the kingdom if we can bring her emotions under control."
Without another word or allowing them to get one in edgewise the elf turned around and began walking away. He then suddenly put on a burst of speed and rushed off in a blur, his magic clearly coming into effect. In an instant he was gone leaving the three standing there.
Arlon turned to the two with a more serious expression.
"Well I suppose now that's over we need to all sit down and have a talk. Timothy since you've never had siblings its important you hear this."
Timothy nodded and followed his elder as they all began walking down the hallway. He wanted to be able to be a better high priest and friend to his goddess. His boss's wisdom was always something he could trust and he stayed close to Maisy as they headed somewhere the goddess wouldn't hear them.