“Goddess,” Ilac said as he stepped before Maria to introduce the man, who had stood up as she entered. “May I present to you, His Majesty, King Valas of Beulah.”

“Goddess,” the man said, his voice polite but devoid of warmth. “Welcome to Beulah. We trust your journey here was pleasant?”

Maria had to stop herself from staring, but the king had the deepest indigo eyes she had ever seen. They looked like jewels against his pale skin and long snow-white hair. He wore a tailored black suit with a long black sheer coat on top of it. And though his voice had little emotion, there was a hint of kindness in the depths of his eyes. Maria clumsily did a curtsy. “After the initial shock of falling from the sky, everything else was pleasant, thank you for asking, King Valas.” She smiled at him and belatedly thought that she should have called him ‘Your Majesty,’ as Ilac had.

The King remained unsmiling, though he didn't seem offended. The only reaction she got was a slight tilting of his head. Like he had expected her to answer differently.

“I am sorry to have arrived at such a time,” Maria continued, sobering. “I am sorry about your father.”

“We thank you for your condolences. There are things outside of our control that we must accept.” He stretched out an open palm to her, similar to what Ilac had done.

Maria stretched out her hand, expecting the same action from him as Ilac. But the young king took her hand and flipped it such that her palm was facing up. Then he kissed her open palm. The action jolted Maria. Not only had she not expected it, but she also didn't expect how electricity just seemed to flow from where his lips touched her skin and throughout her whole body. She felt herself blush.

“We accept what you give us,” he said without looking up at her. “A lot or a little, a punishment or a blessing, we accept what you give.” Unlike Ilac, though, the King said it with little conviction, more like just a ritual, really. He released her hand and looked at her. “We trust you will be staying with us for a while.”

Maria studied the monarch before her. He had ordered for her to be taken from the farmers. Was he the type who wanted a goddess’ power all to himself? “If I tell you that I need to leave,” she began tentatively. “Will you stop me?”

“Certainly not,” the king answered, unperturbed. “We were merely under the assumption that you were going to stay in our world for a while. And as the king of this domain, it is our duty to make your stay comfortable. But the goddess is free to come and go as she pleases.”

“Even if I don’t bless you?”

“Even so.” For the most part, King Valas’ expression remained as unmoved as before. However, Maria could detect a tiny smile with an edge to it. “Like we said earlier, we accept what you give us. That is all. If what you give us is nothing, then we will accept that as well. The people of Beulah are hardworking people. While we celebrate the arrival of the goddess, we do not rely on divine powers for our salvation.”

“Your Highness!” Ilac blurted out before he could stop himself. Maria saw him quickly cough and look down, clearly regretting his outburst. “I… I mean, your Majesty.” But he was clearly affronted at the king’s lack of devotion to the goddess.

“Do you disagree, adviser Ilac?” The king asked, slowly turning to look at him.

“N-no, your Majesty.” Ilac had a very conflicted expression on his face, his voice soft and subdued. “It is as your Majesty says.”

Maria couldn’t help but laugh, though. The two men looked at her, Ilac with a panicked expression and the king with slightly narrowed eyes. “Oh, forgive me,” she said quickly. “I was just relieved.” She turned to the king with her full attention. “If what you say is true, then you have good people. Self-reliance is an admirable thing.”

The king remained silent, like he was waiting for her to say something more. But she didn’t have anything else in particular she wanted to say, so she remained silent.

“You must be tired from your journey,” the king said after a while. “Ilac can show you to the room we have prepared for you, if you wish to stay. Or a carriage can be prepared for you if you wish to leave.”

Maria hesitated, unsure if she should impose more. But she really needed help if she was to find Rita. "When I uh... fell into this world, someone disappeared with me. My sister."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“A second goddess?" Ilac asked with wide eyes. “But there was only one light in the sky that appeared yesterday.”

“I don't know if she fell into this world, too,” Maria continued. “But is there a way to find out if she's here?" She looked imploringly at the king.

King Valas studied her. “Does she look like you?”

“Yes. She’s younger. She’s seventeen. But we look quite similar.”

“We could send out a search party,” Ilac suggested, looking at the king. “We could start around the area where the goddess first appeared.”

King Valas nodded. Then he turned to Maria. “Please rest here in the castle while we conduct a search.”

“May I go with them?” Maria asked.

“It may be faster if you don’t.”

She suddenly remembered the crowd that had gathered in Barna’s house when they heard of her arrival. “Ah, I think your Majesty is right.”

His expression seemed to soften ever so slightly. “Don’t worry,” he assured her. “Our knights are the best in the continent. If she is in Beulah, they will find her.”

“Forgive me for imposing.”

“Not at all,” the king replied. “Ilac will guide you.” He was still as calm as ever, but Maria thought maybe his voice had just a tiny little bit more emotion.

"Thank you," Maria replied.

Bowing before Valas, Ilac led Maria out of the room.

*****

Valas watched as the black-haired woman left the room. She was different from what he had expected. He had assumed she would be imposing. Authoritative. While she certainly wielded control over the atmosphere of the room, she did not demand. And the unflinching dark eyes that looked upon him were surprisingly warm.

Still, he wasn't ready to simply put his faith in some unknown force. And he certainly wasn't about to make his prophecy of the goddess come true just because she was unexpectedly refreshing.

*****

Ilac led Maria down the tower and into a residential wing on the ground floor. It was one of the three-story half-stone half-wooden structures she had seen from afar. There was a grand stone staircase that led from the open grounds before it to the second floor, where double doors opened into a spacious foyer. Like the king's study, the decor used metal like brass with wood and dark leather, then accented with paintings or other intricate art pieces. If she were to describe the style of it, she would say it looked like 19th century peninsular architecture combined with art deco. It was quite stunning.

From there, Ilac led her into a spacious room with a four-poster bed and large stained glass windows.

“This is such a beautiful room,” Maria breathed as she studied the colored glass panels of the grid-like floor-to-ceiling windows.

Ilac smiled proudly. “It gets even better. It's dark now, but in the morning, you'll see that those windows give you direct access to the private gardens.”

“The gardens? Aren't we on the second floor?”

“The private gardens are on higher ground. So it's closer to the second level in terms of elevation. I thought the goddess might enjoy it.”

“That sounds wonderful! Thank you for choosing a room like this for me.”

Ilac smiled and looked a bit shy. “You honor me, goddess.”

Maria couldn’t help but smile. Despite a slightly arrogant side to him, Ilac had an innocence and earnestness to him that Maria found endearing.

He looked a bit uncomfortable, like he was debating to say something or not. In the end, he turned to Maria and bowed his head. “I apologize for our king if he has offended you. I assure you, he meant no disrespect. He is as devoted to you as all of us are.”

“He isn’t, though.”

Ilac’s expression turned panicked.

“And that’s alright,” Maria added before Ilac could say anything. “He is allowed to believe what he wants to believe.”

“You will forsake him?” She could hear the young adviser’s voice tremble. Ilac truly cared for his king.

Maria squeezed his arm to assure him. Then with a kind smile she said, “I am also allowed to help whoever I want to help, regardless of his devotion to me.”

Ilac looked like he was about to cry. “The goddess is generous.”

Maria studied the young adviser. He was very devoted, even if his prophecy hasn't happened yet. She liked him a lot and thought it would be nice to get a little closer to him. “Maybe you can stop calling me goddess. I have a name, you know. It's Maria. Won't you call me that, instead?”

Ilac didn't seem too fond of the idea. “Umm... A-as you wish, goddess.”

“Maria,” Maria insisted.

“Ah, yes.” Ilac looked really flustered. “Well, I think I shall leave you to your peace. Good night, go– umm. Good night.”

She smiled and sighed inwardly. He wasn't going to call her by her name. “Good night, Ilac.”

With a bow, the adviser turned to go.

“Uh, Ilac.”

“Yes, goddess?”

“Thank you,” she said sincerely.

Ilac was caught off-guard. But his surprised expression broke into a warm smile. "It is my pleasure. I will be sure to notify you if we find your sister. Good night."

“Good night, Ilac.”

And with a bow, Ilac left.