The Goddess' Blessings

Days became weeks and weeks became months. It was now just a month before Elaine would turn six years old. The Duke and Elaine were having tea in the garden and all the plants have sprouted back to life. The sun kept them warm while the breeze kept them refreshed. There was something the Duke had been meaning to tell her, but he kept missing the chance to do so. It was a good time to tell her about it, yet he was feeling nervous.

"How are your studies going, Elaine?" He asked and took a sip from his teacup.

"It's going well, hehe," she replied. She held her cup in her hands. "I'm almost catching up to Jared."

"That's great news," He said as he nodded with approval. "I'm proud of you."

Elaine was gleaming with joy and she waddled her legs. It was nice to have tea time with the Duke and she enjoyed it since he was often busy.

"Elaine," He said after he had finally gathered enough courage. He cleared his throat and put down his cup. "I have something important to inform you about."

Elaine looked at him and waited patiently for him to continue. She copied the Duke and put down her cup. She fixed her position and sat upright.

"When children of noble houses turn six years old, there is something they have to do."

He looked at Elaine, who listened carefully to what he had to say. He wavered and thought that she perhaps didn't have to go through with it. But he shook his head.

"They are gifted a middle name that was chosen by the Goddess herself. However, one has to go to the church for the procession."

Elaine's face, which was filled with excitement turned to a face filled with fear. She clasped her hands together. She had heard from Sophie about this beforehand and knew that it was something she had to do. She hoped she wouldn't have to do it since she wasn't really a noble anyway. But since the Duke was requesting her to do it, she wouldn't say no to it.

"It's alright, grandpa," she said with a smile. "I can do it."

The Duke was surprised and was speechless for a moment. He was certain she wouldn't want to go through with it. He leaned forward.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked with worry on his face. "If you aren't ready for it, I can try to push it back."

Elaine shook her head and smiled at the Duke. She was grateful that he was being considerate of her and that was already enough.

"I'm fine, grandpa. I'm a big girl already."

The Duke began with the preparations. He had invited a seamstress to tailor her a white dress especially for her. He even hired an instructor to teach her how the procession goes and what she had to do. During her lessons, the instructor asked her questions.

"Do you know how the church was founded?" He looked at her and she shook her head. She only knew a bit how the Goddess gave life to the country. "It seems you are still too young to read the holy book. Then I shall start from the beginning."

"The land in which our country resides was once a barren and dry land. There were no signs of life for miles on end. But one day, the Goddess came down from the skies. She saw the state of the land and felt the need to revive it. And with one wave of her hand, a heavy downpour befall the barren land for years, but for her, it only took a day. When the downpour had stopped, life began to sprout out of the ground and animals began to reside in the forest."

Elaine realized he probably meant the Simwal Forest, the forest of beginnings.

"All was well and she was satisfied with her work. The humans from the neighbouring land started to immigrate into the newfound land. The Goddess welcomed them with open arms and they bowed down to her to show their gratitude but also because they couldn't look directly at her, for she was blindingly beautiful. They swore their loyalty to her. These people were the founding fathers of the church."

He looked at Elaine to see if she was still listening since most children would have already been distracted. But he was surprised to see her focused and listening. He continued.

"However, the Goddess had to leave not long after they had settled in. She asked the founding fathers to take care of the land in her absence and granted them special abilities by giving them a drop of her blood. These abilities were to keep order in the land. There are five of them in total and they have been passed down for generations. The first one is to keep dangerous creatures away. That's why most of them never go out of the forest. The second is to heal the wounded. The third is to purify water, but this procedure needs a group of at least two people. The fourth one is bonding with nature, but this ability hasn't shown up in a long time. And finally, the ability to communicate with the Goddess, the messenger. Whereas many people can possess the four abilities at once, only one person per generation can possess this ability."

Elaine has personally never seen a priest with abilities. But she knows her parents have. That was how they got the marks on their bodies. But that ability wasn't mentioned at all by the instructor. She remembered her parents mentioning it once before.

"Uhm, what about the blood contract?" she asked between his explanation. He paused and looked at her and began to wonder how she knew about that. He fixed his glasses.

"The blood contract is not an ability that a priest possesses, but a witch. I was just about to talk about that if you hadn't interrupted me."

"I-I'm sorry," she apologised, but she was confused. She was sure it was a priest that had given her parents the mark.

"After the Goddess had left, witches appeared out of nowhere. No one knew where they came from, but they possessed abilities that were the total opposite of what the priests have. They tried to deceive and persuade the people that they were priestesses. But they controlled the creatures to harm the people. They could also curse people using a blood contract and they often disguise themselves as priests to trick the people. But the priests fought back and drove the witches to near extinction. They created a device that could find out whether a woman was a witch or not."

That was when Elaine realised that witches had disguised themselves as priests to brand her parents with a mark. The baron must have been fooled by the witches. However, that meant that she shouldn't be afraid of priests but the witches instead. She was conflicted.

"This history has led to our culture and traditions and also why we receive a middle name from the Goddess. It is proof that you are not a witch. That's why this procession is most important for girls."

She understood now that it would help the Duke clear the rumours that she may be a witch. This way, the people wouldn't doubt his decisions any longer and wouldn't be able to talk badly about him.

"Do you know why the gems on your brooch have five different colours?" He asked her.

"Because there are five different abilities?" She guessed.

"That is correct," He said as he nodded. "They represent the priests abilities. Amber for healing, emerald for nature, aquamarine for water, amethyst for repelling beasts and lastly diamond for the messenger."

Her classes continued until the day of her birth finally arrived. The procession usually took place once a month, but since her birthday came on the last Sunday of the month, it was scheduled exactly on her birthday. Those children who had their sixth birthday during the month would attend as well.

It took place in the main church in the capital, so they stayed at the duke's mansion that was nearby. The event wouldn't start till the afternoon, so the maids were dressing her up since early morning. They bathed her in purified water provided by the priests. Then they helped her put on her dress and fixed her hair in a half up half down style. Her hair was decorated with white ribbons and pearls that matched her dress very well. Finally, the brooch was attached to the ribbon on her waistline.

Elaine looked at herself in the mirror and couldn't believe that the reflection in front of her was her own. Just a year ago, she was an orphan living in the streets who tried hard to survive every day. But now she looked like a totally different person wearing such expensive garments.

She breathed in and out. She toughened herself up for the day. She had to stay strong in the presence of the priests, but she didn't know whether she would be able to. However, she told herself that she had to for her grandpa.