Chapter 2

18 years later....

"Katherine we are going to be late!" The blonde haired young woman hastily put on her dress, and ran down the stairs as fast as she could. The dark skinned man standing at the the bottom of the stairs was staring at her skeptically,"I will never understand what causes you to take so long putting clothes on. Do you lose track of time staring at yourself in the mirror?" Katherine took a moment to regain her breath. She sighed,"I'm sorry, I promise I won't make you wait next time Ezekiel." Ezekiel rolled his eyes,"You said that the last time too. Katherine, as your friend and fellow follower of the goddess, I must stress the importance of us being on time for gatherings! Do you want to be reprimanded by Archbishop Miriam again?" Katherine spoke,"Zeke, you worry too much. Besides, last time we were only reprimanded because we were an hour late. You know she never cares when we are 5 or 10 minutes late usually." Ezekiel sighed in disbelief,"You are so irresponsible and lazy, I wonder how you can even function being that way." Katherine smiled mischievously and gave Ezekiel a playful nudge,"Haha, if I had a coin for every time I heard THAT one I would be as rich as the Empress herself!"

The two then walked towards the great hall where everyone had been already gathered. Ezekiel and Katherine entered the room as quietly as they could, sitting in the closest seats from the door they came in from. Archbishop Miriam began,"Greetings all. It is time for our daily prayer." Miriam then walked towards the huge statue of the sea goddess, herself. The statue was also a fountain that had water flowing forth from it slowly. Miriam stopped when she arrived at the statue and knelt gently. She raised her arms up towards the goddess and spoke," Blessed goddess, that sleeps in the seas below, we are ever grateful that you protect our sailors as they come and go. We ask with the utmost respect that you continue to guide and protect us now as you so kindly have once more and til the end of time." Miriam then bowed her head down for a couple minutes, in complete silence. She then rose up and turned herself towards the many priestesses and priests watching her intently. Miriam enunciated,"Good morning my dear priestesses and priests. As you do your daily duties today, never forget the gifts of our goddess. She has given us this wondrous freedom, so that we may strive to follow her example as priests of the Shrine. I trust you all have become well acquainted with the locations of your specific tasks, if not never be afraid to ask myself or any of the high priests. That is all for today. May the goddess always be besides you."

Everyone then started to walk collectively out of the great hall, except for Katherine. Ezekiel raised a brow at Katherine's hesitation," Kath? Are you coming?" She replied,"In a bit, I want to send a prayer, for my family." Ezekiel's eyes were full of sympathy for her,"I'm so sorry, I should have never aske-" Katherine gave a weak smile towards him,"It's alright Zeke, it wasn't your fault anyways." Ezekiel frowned,"I know, but I still feel guilty regardless. They had such good hearts." Katherine felt tears well up in here eyes, but she held them back with all of the strength she could muster. She didn't want Ezekiel to see her emotional like that. Ezekiel spoke comfortingly,"If you need me, I'll be at the Bakery." Katherine nodded and watched Ezekiel walk out of the great hall briskly.

Katherine then turned her head towards the statue, and stared. She walked to the statue and knelt. She glanced around to see if anyone else was nearby. When she saw that there was not a soul in sight, she spoke out loud,"I don't know if you can hear me, or if you're even there. I don't know if you would listen to a prayer from a impoverished priestess like myself..." She glanced up towards the goddess's face and looked at her with hope in her eyes,"...yet I look at your face and wonder...have you ever lost your family too?" Katherine then breathed slowly as she saw the hand of the statue that was held out towards her. She then grasped it gently and softly sang,"Come with me, to the land of dreams....where the moon rules the day and the sun rules the night, where love is as endless as an oak tree....that is where you'll find me...."

A bright teal light then suddenly appeared right above the water. A stream of water then started to rise up and shape into a human figure. The water then dissipated, revealing a thin, beautiful woman with white skin. She had long, wavy, aquamarine hair and eyes as dark blue as the deep sea below. Katherine's eyes widened as she was completely entranced by the goddess's beauty. The goddess smiled warmly at her.