A heavy knock on the door resounded through the large office, echoing off of the polished marble walls and sculpted visages of saints long forgotten. In the center of the room a man dressed in soft white cotton robes with a gold sash sat at an ancient oak desk that seemed to dominate the room. His wrinkled skin looked like old paper and a chaplet of thin white hair covered the sides and back of his head, but his green eyes were still young and alert as he looked up from the parchments in front of him before speaking, “Enter.” The voice wasn’t loud, sounding like the air escaping from an old crypt as it carried through the room, the pressure rolling into every corner.
A auburn haired man dressed in a crimson robe with a face as pale as new parchment entered, “Your Grace, the nuns have reported the presence of a Divine in the church.”
Setting the quill he was writing with back into its holder the older man looked at the younger man with a small smile on his face, “Do we know which one?”
“Not yet your Grace. We believe it was a girl who was here this morning for about an hour. She left with a Ghost Cat that appeared on the altar after making a contract with it.”
“And her name?”
“Emaliana, the eighth child of the Wrightson house.”
“Ah yes, the Touched child of that minor Baron’s house,” his fingers steepled as he began to think about the situation. “Now, it’s possible that a Touched can carry a spark of Divinity on them from their encounters with a Divine,” his voice trailed off for a moment as he fell deeper into thought before continuing, “Yes, we can’t assume she’s carrying a Divine in her body just yet. To seize a noble, even a cripple like that Touched in the capital would be too bold at this point. We need to make sure she’s actually carrying a Divine in her first. Keep an eye on her and use a larger device to do so. If she really is carrying a Divine in her body it’ll become a lot more apparent than just setting off those small ones the nuns have.”
“Yes your Grace.” The man bowed slightly and turned to leave before the man’s voice stopped him.
“One more thing before you leave Cardinal: good work today. Go to the treasury and take some gold leaves out for you and the nuns who brought this to your attention.” The man’s voice was suddenly as gentle as a fresh breeze through a crypt, and just as out of place, catching the Cardinal off guard but his smile only grew larger as he bowed once more.
“Thank you for your kindness your Grace.”
As the man left the older man leaned back in his chair with his fingers folded together, almost as if in prayer. It was always good to reward others for their hard work.
“So which Divine might you be? Argent perhaps? Certainly one of you can’t be so vain to just walk into your own church can you? Dalia then? She did leave with one of those damnable Ghost Cats.” Slowly he fell into thought as he considered which Divine it was that graced his church.
While the Archbishop was contemplating the natures of the Divine, Frederick was doing the same. Only his question regarding them was much more basic: “Which god was it that made the Prince kiss my worthless sister!?”
It’d happened only moments before as he was returning from the fighting pits where he’d won a sweet sum of twenty gold leaves after a day of rather successful betting on fighters, dogs and even beasts. He’d turned the corner from a smaller side street to the main street leading up to his family’s manor when he say the three of them standing outside of the gate: Prince Charles, his cripple of a sister, and the cripple’s maid.
It seemed like the cripple was carrying something wrapped in a heavy cloth and talking to the second prince about something when the white clad boy leaned in and apparently kissed his sister on the cheek.
Where the gods toying with him for his gambling? How could such a worthless girl ever catch the eyes of a prince? Granted the second prince was hardly known for upholding normal royal conventions with his living in a small manor away from the palace with only a couple of servants and his insistence of dressing so plainly as if he was a peasant or a priest. And there was the way he managed to shun every eligible noble lady in the country that had many wondering if he was celibate, while less generous people accused him of fancying men, but to kiss his worthless little sister?
Surely there must be an explanation for this. Something that could explain how the world could turn itself over and defy all common sense. Stumbling through the gate he made his way towards the training grounds. Maybe Julianna could explain the madness he saw away for his tortured mind.
Amelia couldn’t shake off her shock either as she asked for at least the seventh or eighth time, “Miss, why did you let him kiss you?”
Emma’s face and ears burned with an intensity of the noonday sun as she struggled to deny the act of the flirtatious boy’s teasing. “He didn’t kiss me! He was just asking, well, he wanted to know, that is he said he’d help with my training once I open my first gate,” her stammering was not because of an inability to lie, but more a wave of confusion that had overthrown her usual senses and left her confused. She leaned the cloth wrapped halberd in the corner of the room, causing the small building to creak slightly from the shift in weight against the walls.
What in the world was that boy thinking taking such liberties? Surely he was just jesting with his advances, right?
Spook’s lack of trust in his own contractor’s ability to preserve her innocence would have been insulting if he wasn’t so aware of the fact that his contractor was a goddess who knew as much about romantic relationships as she did the airspeed velocity of a sparrow carrying a coconut. That is, nothing at all.
She shot the cat a glare as it sat on her bed with a smug look on its face, but didn’t refute it. She’d been warned that he was trying to take advantage of her and she hadn’t listened. This was clearly her fault, even if that brat was the one who did the kissing, not her.
She took a couple of deep breaths before looking at the still gawking maid, “If you tell Father about any of your wild ideas of what just happened I’ll gladly send you packing to another country. I don’t mind you reporting on me, but I don’t need you filling him with romantic fantasies that never happened.”
“Yes Miss.”
Silence fell in the room as all present knew that the girl wasn’t being honest but no one could convince her to admit to what really happened only a short time ago. Finally Emma broke it as she took her purse out and tossed it to her maid, “Tomorrow morning take the money that’s left and get a couple of wooden training halberds and a second set of padded clothes. Anything that’s left is yours to keep.”
“Miss, I can’t keep your money!”
“It’s just money. Besides, it’s a gift for staying with me despite all the changes I've been putting you through lately. I know adjusting to my lost memories hasn't been easy and I want to show you a little appreciation for the effort you've shown despite how stressful it's been." She slipped passed the confused and petrified maid who couldn't adjust fast enough to her young miss' newest side, "Now if you excuse me I’m going to Father’s library to try and ease your burden a little. Please let me know when dinner is served.”
“Yes Miss.” Her feet slowly staggered across the small room to collapse on the stool that sat near the small fireplace. How many times would the miss keep shocking her before her hair turned white? She was afraid that the surprises where going to make her an old woman before her time at this rate!
While Emma made her way to the library to try and gain some understanding of the mortal realm Frederick had finished recounting things to Julianna who was standing in the family’s private training ring with her longsword over her shoulder.
“You’re mocking me, aren’t you,” the girl’s tone was flat as if convinced that her brother was trying to play some trick on her.
“No, never! You know I would never try and play any tricks on you!” His forehead began to sweat as fear filled his voice. It was no lie that he’d never lie to the girl, mostly because she was the most frightening thing when mad that he would rather go anger his father. At least the beating would stop when he’d had enough then.
“So that little succubus breaks off her marriage without permission and is trying to woo the second prince? Is she trying to ruin our family name or is this just a plot to try and get in with the royal family?” The flat of her blade gently bounced on her shoulder as she pondered over what her useless sister could be plotting. Not once did the idea that her sister was a victim of a flirtatious prince cross her mind as all the blame solely lay on the girl’s shoulders.
After a moment the blade finally paused as she glanced over at her brother, “Look into where she went today. I’m curious on what that large object is and why she was with the prince.”
“Yes,” he spoke with a small nod before pausing as a thought crossed his mind, “And if she is really trying to seduce the prince?”
Julianna’s face grew cold as a grin broke out onto her lips, “Then I’ll just have another reason to punish the little slut.”
With a shudder the boy left quickly, off to catch the gossip from his favorite bars to see if anyone knew how two equally famous, though in different respects of the word, people managed to end up in front of his home.
As one Wrightson heir continued his pub crawl for information downing drink after drink as the stories of what had happened that day grew more and more outrageous, and one trained late into the night as she pushed her body to the limits to hone her abilities while refining her Blood Force to become even purer, the last one was resting in her simple bed, as she digested the books she’d been reading for the last few hours, her gold eyes shut as the misty outline of a gray cat could be seen resting on her chest as she slept.
“Argent.” The voice broke through her resting mind like a stone tossed into a pond, and caused the girl to bolt upright. Slowly her mind caught up to the differences that surrounded her as it began to wake up. She was no longer a short, mostly plain looking girl who had a simple bed and a contracted Ghost Cat, but she was the Goddess of Healing with her silver hair, porcelain white skin and a bed that was cloud soft. Sitting next to her on the bed was Monica whose curly hair was as the color of the night sky and her skin the red of the setting sun. With a hug the woman pulled her sister close as tears fell on the girl’s shoulder. “You’re alright. You’re alright,” was all that the woman managed to choke out between the sounds of sniffling as the tears fell, soaking Argent’s shoulder.
Stolen novel; please report.
Gently the younger woman rubbed the sobbing woman’s back, unsure how she’d been able to come back so soon. Had someone broken her seal and allowed her to return?
Almost as if she sensed her sister’s question the older woman forced herself to stop crying as she pulled back to look the silver haired woman with her puffy, red eyes. “Sister, I’m so glad to see that you’re well. When I found out you were sent to the Mortal Realm I couldn’t spare a moment for anything else before I found you to make sure you were alright.”
Excitement blossomed on the younger goddess’ face as she spoke, “So I’m back now, right?”
The curls shook gently as the the woman looked away from her sister’s hope filled eyes, as a trace of guilt flashed past her face, “I couldn’t break the seal. The Heavenly Punishment Seal that was used is too complex for me to unravel to bring you back. I was only able to penetrate the first layer just enough to bring you into the dream realm and talk to you here. I don’t even think Sol could create such a complex seal. Whomever did this is making sure you stay in the mortal realm.”
Color drained from Argent’s face, causing her to lose the gentle glow in her cheeks, making her pale skin look more akin to that of a phantom than a goddess. “So I’m stuck living some brat’s miserable life for her?” Her forehead thumped down onto her sister’s shoulder as her voice became bitter, “It’s bad enough to be forced to lose all my Divine Force, but to live some dead girl’s life is too much. I mean this child can’t even get a decent meal on her own! I had to go and threaten her servants with a knife to get a decent meal my first night there.”
“Sister,” Monica’s voice was as soft as the night air as she spoke, “the girl isn’t dead. I’m not sure what they did but it looks like you’ve been sealed in her body but instead of lying dormant like you should the girl’s soul has somehow given you control of her body.”
The head snapped up with a force almost loud enough to crack the air, “So the girl is so uselessly timid she can’t even protect her own body from a foreign soul? By creation I almost want to slap her myself! No good can come from being so passive to give up even your own body!” Her voice was just as bitter, and had begun to bite even harder as the idea of some child she’d helped before growing up to be such a waste that she wouldn’t even protect herself when her own life was at risk.
The older goddess gently shook her head as she patted her sister’s head gently with one coiled arm, “I doubt it’s that simple sister. I’d assume that you hold such a high place in her heart that she was willing to let you have control because she feels she owes you that much for helping her.”
The creases in the other woman’s face slowly softened as the idea rolled around her mind. “It’s possible. Still, if she’s so willing to help me the least she could have done is talk to me. Do you know how frustrating the last few days have been? I had no chance of blending into her old life much less even knowing half the people who’ve I’ve met. I’ll claim responsibility for not knowing anything about her realm, but the least the little brat could do is keep me from looking like a mentally damaged idiot in front of her own family!”
“Now I really do know you’re okay. Only you could take the gift of freedom and complain.” The sadness in her still red and puffy eyes had faded slowly as she listened to her sister complain until it was replaced by a loving tenderness, “I can’t keep you here much longer sister, but I need you to promise me to be careful. When you disappeared so did Arthur and Tilly.”
Argent’s face twisted into a sour look at the names. Arthur, the god of commerce, and Tilly, the goddess of farming were not her favorite siblings. That isn’t to say she hated them, but she had long grown tired of her younger siblings trying to get her to monetize her knowledge of medicine or to expand it to farm animals. She was a personification of medical knowledge, not some deity that was driven by a need for money. And the insistence that she help with the treatment of animals was a slap in her face! She wasn’t born to worry about livestock. Leave that to some other god! She was bothered enough with the constant needs of those seeking healing or inspiration on curing disease.
All she ever wanted to do was relax as she watched the stars pass by while enjoying some of Ferric’s finest wines. She had no desire to push to be rich or to stoop to the treatment of animals. Of course that didn’t mean she didn’t have any pride in her role, it was that she handled it like most gods did: subconsciously. Only when a prayer was able to break into her conscious mind did she bother to actually handle it personally. There were other gods who handled each and everyone prayer constantly and individually but such a constant need to answer them didn’t fit her personality.
“Any word on where they are?”
A small shake of the head was all she got in return, “I’ve been using the same method of trying to meet them by tapping into their dreams and feeling for their souls but unlike you I can’t feel them. I don’t know if this means they’ve been trapped in a host body that doesn’t allow them to be in control or if there is something greater going on. Just be careful sister. Dalia is going to keep an eye on you through that cat she sent but even so you know we can’t directly interfere with anything outside of our respective realms. She can only observe and nothing more, so be cautious.”
The feeling of concern that her sister was giving her kept Argent from arguing back and she gently bit her lower lip while nodding. “I’ll do my best. I can’t sit idle though. This brat’s body has the ability of training both her Blood and Magic which means it has a way for me to come home eventually if no other way exists. As soon as I’ve recovered enough strength to create enough Divine Force I’ll be back, even if I have to bring this child’s body with me to do it.”
Monica smiled gently before she leaned in to gently kiss her sister’s forehead, “Just be careful. I don’t know if I’ll be able to talk like this with you again so please stay safe. I’d rather have a mortal little sister than one whose soul has been passed onto the Underworld to reincarnate with no memory that she was once the proudest little goddess to ever grace the heavens.”
“Someone who is more than a head shorter than me should not be calling me ‘little’.”
“You’re younger than me by countless eons. You’ll always be little to me, even if you don’t want to admit it.” A soft sigh left her lips, “I remember when you were only as tall as my knee. You were so adorable and obedient then. The way you called me ‘big sis’ made me just want to squeeze you to death.” Nostalgia was taking over the older goddess’ face now as her mind drifted back to when her little sister was still a young child of a goddess. A new concept that hadn’t yet matured enough to even think of being as mouthy as she was now.
“And your spine cracking hugs is why I don’t call you that anymore,” a teasing smile was on the younger one’s lips. “Stay safe for me big sis. I can’t be the only one to be so careful.”
The force of the hug she got in response snapped her wide awake, jolting the goddess from the imagined realm of her palace bedroom and to the small shack that she was currently forced to call home. As her gold eyes looked about the room she noticed that Amelia had gone, likely to talk to her father about the events of the day. Hopefully without the rubbish of claiming that she let some smelly brat kiss her. What kind of a goddess would just let some mortal kid not even a fraction of her age take liberties with her on purpose? The idea was so insulting it almost seemed to be some sort of a joke!
Unable to drift back to sleep her mind instead turned inward as she tried to find and talk to the girl who was hiding in the body that they shared.
“Are you there brat?”
As the city guard called the hours it wasn’t only a noble’s daughter that was unable to sleep, but the very same stinky brat she’d cursed about earlier was stuck pacing about his room, trying to calm down. He didn’t actually need to sleep. As his Mage Force had grown stronger it began to keep his mind and body in excellent condition for days on end, but even his nightly meditation on the elements was impossible as the sight of a certain girl’s calm and emotionless face suddenly turning a bright crimson as his lips accidentally brushed her cheek kept causing his heart to race.
He was truly innocent, at least in his own mind, as all he intended was to tease her a little but bending in close to whisper in her ear with an offer to help train her Mage Gates if she could heal them enough to open them, but he just turned slightly towards her cheek when she moved a little and his lips had accidently brushed against the girl’s soft cheek. Strangely he didn’t hate the accident though as the way she’d turned the a brilliant shade of red driven an arrow into his heart, causing him to feel a sensation he’d never noticed before. The way the girl was almost glowing red as her ears twitched when she was embarrassed was a sight that made him not regret the small accident and instead desire to tease her more. He wanted to see more of the girl’s reactions to things. Her red cheeks, a trembling and pouting lip, a smile that could cause the most beautiful flower to look withered in comparison...he wanted to see it all and more.
With one of his many countless sighs that night he once again crossed the large bedroom slowly, as an unfamiliar desire burned in his chest. It wasn’t a desire that he understood in his young age, but he didn’t shun it either. No other woman had ever prompted such a feeling in him before, and to find such an interesting girl who did wasn’t a loss in his mind, even if it did throw his thoughts into chaos and make his training that much harder.
A gentle smile slipped onto his lips once more as the sight of her blushing face slipped across his mind as his pacing feet slowly whiled the night away.