39 2nd Lifetime: The Prayer

Mai was directed by the old lady to follow behind Cornelia, the girl that had previously shown her to the balcony. She nervously looked down to the thousands that stood watching her from below.

The other girls- who all looked around the ages of twelve to eighteen- were kneeling upright on the ground, their hands clasped before them. They were in a circle with three spots left open. Two were for Cornelia and Mai.

Mai watched and discreetly mimicked Cornelia, placing her simple sandals behind her and kneeling first with her right leg and then her left.

However, while the other girls closed their eyes, Mai kept hers barely open, hoping that her eyelashes would be long enough to trick them into thinking she had her eyes closed.

The older lady walked to the middle of the circle of girls and raised her arms. Cheers resounded below and the ground rumbled from their strength.

The old lady placed her left hand back down, and the screams trickled to a stop. After the silence stretched for a few seconds, her voice drifted down from the balcony to those below.

"It is the first prayer for our Goddess, Vestia." Another round of cheers. "The priestesses have come together to pray once more and alight the hearth!"

They began to chant, starting off with a whisper before screaming, "Vest-i-a. Vest-i-a."

The girls around Mai then joined in the chant, their voices being drowned out by their screams.

Once again, the lady raised her arm and silence fell down below. The priestesses were the ones to continue the chant.

"Vestia!" The lady's voice boomed, "We call upon you to bestow a stable nation!"

The priestess' chant changed to 'stable nation'.

"We call upon you to bestow a bountiful harvest!"

"""Bountiful harvest. Bountiful harvest."""

"We call upon you to bestow us the power to protect our peace!"

"""Peace. Peace."""

After her final word fell, the priestesses slowly quietened before silence surrounded all.

The lady closed her eyes and twirled, keeping her finger pointed out. She stopped after three turns. Her finger pointed towards...

Mai.

"Priestess," her voice was an octave higher and seemed as if she were singing, "Sing for Vestia."

While opening her supposedly closed eyes, Mai thought the fastest that she could in her life.

She could either stand or stay on her knees. However- she swept a quick glance around the circle of young girls- it seemed to be a matriarchy where the old priestess is the ruler. Therefore, since the priestess remained standing, she should continue to kneel.

She looked up at the old lady and another calculation flashed through her mind. The Goddess was Vestia. Singing. Priestesses. Peace. Bountiful harvest. Stable nation.

Mai opened her mouth and sang.

..............

Staring at the brick ceiling, Mai sighed in relief.

Her guess was spot-on; young priestesses were required to stay kneeling during the entire prayer. One misdirect and she would have been killed.

Songs, however, differed for each priestess. They would be required to write one for each prayer. Mai's prayer was generic, yet it was accepted by the 'Goddess Vestia'.

However, Mai didn't understand. The voice was a god. Why did the Goddess Vestia communicate with flames?

Unless there was no Goddess in the first place.

......................

A few days had passed, and Mai learned about Municia.

She was 13 the year she was chosen to be a priestess and only two months had passed from that fateful day.

She was also the second daughter of an influential family, which brought Mai to the most important piece of information that she gleamed- there was a power struggle.

The daughters of Vestia's priestesses were chosen based on their status. After being trained for two years and acting as servants for the more senior priestesses, they take on teaching tasks, teaching the next generation of priestesses.

After two more years of teaching, they transition to become a part of the Vestigal court where, along with the emperor and the Pontiff, they are able to vote on laws, jurisdiction, and other matters of the nation.

This lasts two more years before the priestesses are sent back to their families where it is expected for them to get married.

However, if they are selected to be the head priestess, they stay until their deaths, forever praying to the Goddess.

The power struggle does not lay in that position- if enough of a certain faction has Vestia's priestesses in the Vestigal court, then they can cast their vote for jurisdiction that assists them.

For Vestigal priestesses in the Vestigal court can even overturn the emperor's decision.

Rolling around on her bed, Mai stood up to change her priestess robes when a glint of sliver caught her eye.

Walking towards the crudely-made vanity, a hairpin laid quietly on its surface. A lilac hairpin.

Mai's eyes widened as she gently picked up the hairpin.

"What is this doing here," she whispered, tears prickling her eyes. She missed Teacher Claire.

She placed the hairpin back on the vanity to change her clothes, but she brought it with her to her bed. Hiding it underneath her pillow, Mai felt that she could rest easier now.

But she didn't know why that hairpin was there. She would have noticed it earlier if so.

.....................

The Vestigal priestesses prayed every morning right before daybreak. They all wore simple brown robes over their bodies and covered their hair with a similarly brown scarf. The head priestess did not guide these prayers, instead one of the trainees did.

For this prayer, it was coincidentally Mai's turn.

The head priestess glanced at Mai and raised her arm. It was the gesture for Mai to begin the prayer.

Since none of the priestesses were allowed to look at the head priestess directly, Mai kept her eyes down as she nodded her head. She started with the same words that every prayer had begun with, "Vestia, Goddess of the Hearth and All-Merciful, please hear our humble prayers..."

Wishing for good health and other standard prayers, Mai quickly finished and returned her attention to the head priestess.

She seemed pleased. She swiveled and pointed her finger to Cornelia's direction. "You've done well, Cornelia. Municia seems to have improved."

"Of course, head priestess," Cornelia's words contained deep respect. She dipped her head lower in an act of deferment. "It was all thanks to your teachings."

The head priestess threw her head back and laughed. Casting one last glance at Cornelia, she left us alone in the stone chamber.

After watching the head priestess leave, the other priestesses followed suit except for Cornelia.

"Don't think you're out of the clear, yet, Municia," She glared daggers at Mai.

"Of course not," Mai dipped her head in acknowledgement.

Scoffing, Cornelia jabbed a finger to Municia, "Oh, you think you're so smart!"

"Of course not."

"Hah! If not for your brother I'd-" She raised a clenched hand before returning it to her side. "Nevermind. Trash like you isn't worth getting angry over." She turned around, her steps quick as she left Mai in the hall.

Mai watched her leave. When she was out of sight, a smile graced Mai's lips.

Cornelia was a funny individual. The way she treated Mai reminded her of the way Victoria treated Ivan.

In the end, Ivan married Victoria. Mai expects for them to end up as friends. She couldn't think of marrying anyone- the image of a long-haired man flashed through her mind.

Ignoring it, Mai returned to her room. She didn't know if he was the voice or not.

Besides, who knew when she would be able to talk to the voice again?

"I miss him," she murmured. Walking over to her bed, she placed a hand over her pillow, feeling as if she could feel the hairpin and, in turn, Teacher Claire's support.

One last sweep of her room and Mai walked to the kitchen where she was to cook for the Vestigal priestesses.

..................................

It was when the sun touched the horizon that Mai was allowed to join the other servant priestesses for dinner.

The head priestess had already been served, so the priestess were able to serve themselves. It was during this time that many of the machinations and plots between the girls came into fruition.

Most plots failed, however those who succeed usually ended in the death of a priestess due to a loss of their chastity, a failure to keep Vestia's hearth continuously lit, or- even worse- worshiping another God in their heart.

Municia had replaced the place of a priestess that had "lost" her chastity.

"I've heard that you prayed in the garden, Cornelia?" The 18-year-old scraped her porcelain plate with her metal spoon.

Cornelia placed her fork down, plastering a fake smile. "Of course, Ophelia. I also prayed with the head priestess today." She placed her hands together. "I didn't see you in the gardens, though. Where were you?"

"She was with me," Andrea spoke out from her curtain of long, black hair. She was also a servant.

"Huh," Cornelia teasingly tapped her cheek. "So you prayed with a mere servant."

Slamming her fork onto the wooden table, Ophelia leaned back on her chair. "Don't test my patience, trash."