Chapter 3 : His holiness, the Pope

The hall was silent as I stood there in my pretty new clothes and jewelry (there's a ring too!) watching the people around.

The priests were pretty much speechless. My mothers are in denial, I think? My beautiful man looks like he's having the time of his life, and everyone else is just bowing.

Soon, there's a flurry of activity as they whisk me away, into a formal drawing room. I proactively collapse on the blindingly white couch, loving the surprising comfort. My mother's followed me into the drawing room. Sheri is sitting across from me on a loveseat and Irene is pacing.

"How can this be..." Irene muttered.

"Pope?! But he's only eight...maybe we should run away. We could move to another country...hide for a few years." She continues.

"Irene," Sheri calls, but Irene is too distressed stop.

"We could fake his death! And hide him in the cellar!" She screams and grabs Sheri's shoulder. I think she's lost it.

At that moment, a throat was cleared and we all stared awkwardly at the old man who resembled an old west highland white terrier. He's short. And wearing robes with a single flower on the hems. And he's wearing a weird hat, it's shaped like a arrow with a cross in the middle. "I'm never wearing that..." I muttered and he smiled at me.

"Allow me to introduce myself, Goddess Chosen. I am the soon to be, previous high Pope, Argunid De Arphiria. I believe you know my granddaughters." He prompts.

I did know them. The twins, Lady Annabellis De Arphiria and Dame Renuda De Arphiria. We see each other often at the palace. So I nodded.

He smile widened and the drooping bushy eyebrows that covered his eyes were raised and I could make out the crease of his eye lids. Argunid was pale with shaggy white hair and bushy eyebrows. He even had some gray hair on his chin he's not too bothered by. He looked like the human version of a west highland white terrier. He was a nice man, who's eyes expressed his real and true emotions.

"Hello," he said, crouching in front of me.

"I know Anna and Ren ." I told him.

"Like you, Annabellis and Renuda touched the diamond. They're going to be apprentice priestess' but you however... is it alright if we talk?"

He smiled and looked at my mom. I saw Irene nod out of the corner of my eye. He then asked Irene and Sheri to sit down next to me and sat where Sheri was previously sitting.

"Now then, I shall explain what happened and what this means." He said and grabbed a old thick book from out of thin air.

He placed the book on the table in front of me and I felt the urge to touch it. So I did. It shined and opened up to a random page in the book. The book was covered in lines and felt like soft silk I ran my finger across the binder and read the words on the page aloud:

"Welcome, Goddess Chosen!

If you are reading this, it's means you have reached the age of eight, and have gone through the ceremony of light.

I'm sure you've realized by now that I have chosen you as my pope, effective immediately..."

I stopped and look at the old man.

"Gramps, is this true?" I ask him and Irene chokes.

"Antonio! You can't call the Pope Gramps!"

Argunid De Arphiria raised his hand gently to calm her. "It's quite alright, madam. I am after all, no longer the Pope." He tells her.

"You, young Antonio, are now the only one who can read the white book. The proof is that it didn't shine when I touched it, but when you did. You are now the pope of the goddess Aphrite."