5 Meal

Looking at the vast number of people entering her palace, Selene stared at them all from her balcony, playing with the clouds that fiddled around her.

"Is everything ready, Areal?" She asked, turning to the translucent man standing behind her while she continued to fiddle with the piece of cloth in her hands. "I need everything to be perfect, tonight."

"Everything is ready, goddess." The man said, bowing to her. "The guests are coming and I will go to greet them soon."

"Wonderful. I shall join you shortly." She turned to the man nodding as he disappeared. Looking at the fading cloth in her hands, Selene sighed, while smoothing out the tiny wrinkles that appeared on the cloth.

"I cannot have even a piece of you with me, it seems." She mumbled, staring at the cloth in her hands continuing to fade slowly. "But this just tells me that time is slowly running out."

Eclipse is a mortal, or something like that, anyway. What he is, is not something most people know and most do not question because the boy is so fond and loved amongst the Deities that they do not care about trivial matters.

All they know is that the boy is the child of Selene and that is good enough for them. Again, the boy is well-loved and accepted by the other Deities. But he is with the humans below and has been with them for quite some time.

That is a tale, however, that is for another time. The present has questions that require answering before we can divulge into the past.

Now, in the Celestial Realm exists the several, several Deities. But, today, there are five that need to be focused on as they will be the ones to ensure the pathway for Eclipse to be allowed to continue his existence in the world as he wishes.

Teralyn, also known as the one that commands the skies and everything in it. He is a proud Deity that enjoys being the centre of attention more than anything else. He has the skies in his hair and beard, tiny planets constantly encircle him as a way for him to show everyone just how great he is.

Chava is the Deity of the Earth, or, more properly known as the Deity of the ground. As the embodiment of the ground underneath us, she has a hard exterior and is only soft and gentle to those she deems worthy of her affections. Her head remains barren, unless her true emotions sprout out in the form of luscious mountains or flourishing plains.

Next is Yonah, who is also known as the Bringer of Peace and he is the reason for the existence of all creatures that fly in the skies. Any creature that belongs to the skies is his, not to mention, he can bring new creatures to life with just a flick of his hands. His snow-white hair and gentle disposition make him a companion most like to be around.

After him are the twin Sola and Solveig, they are considered as one Deity because they are two sides of the same coin, though their abilities seem to be quite contradictory. One embodies the heat of the mornings and the other embodies the coolness of the night. Sola is the brother, with a warm glow about him that does not match his cool nature and Solveig is his hot-tempered sister that governs the night skies.

And, last, but certainly not least is the Lord of the underworld and anything relating to the dead. Her name is Mica and with her is her wife, Willow, or Mother Nature as some others wish to call her. Be warned, Willow is ten times scarier than Mica is and a hundred times more brutal when it comes to punishments. She would not be Mother Nature otherwise.

There are other Deities like the Deity of Love, the Deity of Anger, the Deity of Alcohol and many more. But the most important ones are the five.

Selene placed a hand on her chest, breathing in and out as she tried to calm her nerves. Waving her hands in front of her, the same red-headed boy appeared, still donning the tattered uniform he wore before, slowly opening his eyes.

"Mother." He greeted with a kind smile as the two embraced. "I am so glad to see you once again."

"As am I." The woman said, burying her face in his chest as he smelt the cool air coming from her. Pulling away, she looked him in the eyes and asked, "Now, let me ask you again, is this what you truly want?"

"Yes." He said, nodding his head, the smile on his face never faltering.

"I do not understand why you wish to go back there." She mumbled before her eyes lit up. "Could it be … you fell in love? At last?"

"It is nothing of that sort, mother." Eclipse said, eyes turning soft. "You know that is not something possible of me. Not after what came to be."

"Never say that. You do not know it yet." She scolded him before taking a look at the man and then snapped her fingers as the boy's horrible outfit was changed with a clean, elegant robe with silver embellishments and detailing all over. His long hair falls over his shoulder, tied in a neat little bow. "There, you look better."

Eclipse looked at the silver jewellery all over his body, neck, arms, ankles, hair and ears. Feeling it might be a bit much, he turned to the woman, seeing how proud she looked like she is of him, he just decided to leave it be.

A frown came on his face as he stared at his slightly fading hands, "Mother. I do not wish to rush you, but it appears as though I do not have as long as I wish I did."

"Right, the waiting period is about to be over." She said, taking his hands in hers and sighing. "We need to make our decision before the end of today."

When a soul dies, sometimes the Deities are busy, so they are given this waiting period to decide what to do with this person's soul, something like being in Limbo but with a time limit.

If a decision is not made within a week, the person's soul is to disappear with no chance at reincarnation or the afterlife. They just … disappear.

So, today is their last chance at making a proper decision and Selene has made sure everything is perfect. They need to collect enough blessings from the other Deities, which Eclipse will be doing, while Selene tries to get the blessings from the five most important ones.

There is no room for error, this HAS to go accordingly.

"Are you nervous, Mother?" Eclipse asked, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"If we fail tonight, I could lose you forever." She mumbled, taking his calloused hands in hers and patting it, more so to comfort herself than him. "I just … worry."

"I am sure you will do wonderfully." The boy said, winking at her. "After all, you are my mother. Isn't that what you always told me growing up? That I cannot fail because I am your son?"

Selene looked at the boy fondly before breaking into a bright smile, "I suppose you are not wrong. How did I get so lucky so as to have a wonderful child like you?"

"I am the lucky one here, mother." He said affectionately as they heard trumpets blaring again. "I suppose that is our cue."

"I suppose so."

"Well mother," Eclipse held his hand out to the woman, bowing to her, "will you accept this child's unworthy hand to escort you down?"

"Child?" Selene gasped, pretending to be surprised as she took his hand in hers. "You are nearly ten times taller than me and you call yourself a child?"

"Well, mother looks the same even after aeons have passed, while I only look slightly older." He said, the two walking out of the room, arms linked together while talking about years passed and, hopefully, years to come.

_______________________________

The moment they walked down the stairs of the main banquet hall, Areal introduced the arrival of the two as everyone seated in the incredibly long banquet tables, four in total, each reaching the end of the room, filled with all kinds of delicacies, turned to them and clapped.

They nodded at their guests as Selene took her seat at the head of the table in the centre, the table where the five as well as some of the other Deities that she deems important sat.

Eclipse helped her to her seat before taking the empty one to her left, right beside Yonah who gave him a gentle smile that he returned.

The moment Eclipse turned away from the boy, he narrowed his eyes at the woman at the front table as she quickly turned her eyes from him, like a child caught doing something they were not supposed to.

Mother is certainly playing with the Fates right now, I just hope she is careful not to provoke them.

But … now, it is time for business.