PaulMichaels
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IGIWS: FIRST DRAFT: Chapter 259
🕑 Added 2024-07-24 18:34:39 +0000 UTCHilda looked up at the at the white statue of Iyomelka, who was towering over her. It felt like she was getting judged by the Goddess for forgetting her prayers. She took a deep breath and tried to recall what she did when practicing back in the palace.
'Um! Um!... I-I remembered the I need to put hands together, but I need to have my right hand slightly higher than my left?'
Hilda proceeded to put her hands together and bowed her head. But that's when she remembered that it was the other way around.
'Ack!... It was the left hand that was supposed to be higher than the right!'
Hilda blushed red as she fixed her hands but followed her left fingers over the top of her right fingers.
Rya noticed the one of the five sets of glowing words lit up bright. It seemed like she was the only one who could see these words or commands.
'Huh? Rub hands together and fold left fingers over the prayer's right fingers...' Rya thought as she read one of the commands that Hilda achieved. 'What hell? Hilda got that by luck... But that is not what I practiced?... I wonder what happens when to get all five?'
Mother Astra and a few of the other Priestesses noticed that Hilda wasn't doing the prayer the correct way. But none of them corrected her, but some of them glared at the panicking Princess.
'Okay, okay. I got it now. I need to do something with my feet... No! I need to kneel on one leg... But which one—Ah! M-Mother Astra is glaring at me!'
Hilda's nervous tick kicked in, which was crossing her legs involuntarily, which lit up another command that Rya read to herself. The Dark Elf was dumbfounded that Hilda had accidentally completed without any clue.
Mother Astra wasn't angry, but she was disappointed. But it's not her duty to interfere in a Ritual for the Goddess's favor. Due to the time Queen Rianna fell on one knee during her praying section that caused the Idol's eyes to light up and show favor to the young princess at the time. Astra will have to wait until after the ritual is finished to talk to the princess about her performance.
Hilda regained some composure before getting back on track.
'Okay... Okay, okay, okay... What's next? That's right! I kneel down on my right leg!'
Hilda quickly uncrossed her legs and remembered the rest of the prayer and then she went down on her right and kneeled like how Rianna did all those years ago that all followers do now.
But Hilda wasn't looking at the floor to notice a very small Pebble that one of the acolytes missed when cleaning up.
Hilda's right kneel landed directly on the pebble. This caused pain to shoot up her right knee.
'Argh!'
Hilda bit her lip as she tried not to make a noise. While standing up again.
'Owie! Huh? Is that a stone? Ack!'
Hilda hurried back down on her right knee when she saw the Priestesses were looking at her. She made sure not to kneel on the pebble again, but the pain still bugged her. She tried to hide her pained face by pretending to pray.
'Ack! Ouch! I wish I didn't have to kneel. No!... I'm stronger than this! I need to finish this prayer without embarrassing myself!... Too much...'
Rya watched as two more requirements were achieved when Hilda kneeled on the pebble.
'Tap your right knee once before fully kneeling... And bite your lower lip for five seconds?... Are these really things you had to do to pray to Iyomelka?... This is the most asinine thing I've ever read. I would be embarrassed to be in charge of this... And there one more command left... Dammit I can't read it with the other four lit up so brightly.'
Hilda recalled the last part to the pray. She slowly looked up at the Idol and prayed.
"Oh, mighty Goddess, please show me balance... For I shall be the balance for the people and for my Kingdom. Grant me your blessing... for I need it."
Rya's brow raised when the fifth command on the base of the Idol glowed red instead of blue like all the rest.
'Huh... She said the wrong thing?... Hopefully that's a good thing for me,' Rya thought to herself as watched the four sets of glowing words absorbing into the idol. 'What the?... Don't tell me—'
As Rya watched the glowing words sink into the Idol. The rest of the congregation stared at Hilda with mixed looks.
Duval was sinking into his giant chair in embarrassment by Hilda's performance.
'Goddess be damned!... You better come through for me Alaric!... Or are fucking agreement is over!' the Marquess thought as his wife look at him like he was a child.
Alaric was too busy formulating new plans to take down Rya and thought this ritual was a lost cause because William dropped the ball. Quinus felt a mix of relief and pity. For one this might kick her out completely to being his future wife, but on the other end, she looked so lost and confused that his heart went out to her. He wouldn't want to be made a fool of in front of everyone.
Lastly, there was Mother Astra's disappointed and annoyed look.
'Goddess help us... She can't even get the simple stuff right.' Astra thought. And when she and her fellow Priestesses were about to usher her off of the circular platform that when it happened.
Everyone's eyes went wide when the Goddess's Idol started to glow blue from her eyes.
"Th-The goddess... She's... Shown her favor!" Mother Astra shouted as the glowing spread through out the whole Idol. "Gather the Priests and Priestesses! We must record everything that Princess Hilda has done, immediately!"
"Y-Yes, Mother Astra!"
Hilda looked around, and her sorry demeanor morphed into a cocky smirk as her eyes started to glow bright purple.
'Haha! Yes! I did it! Now I can save the Prince from that foul creature,' Hilda's mind raced. The platform under Hilda's feet began to glow as well that a wind came from underneath her and blew her long flowing skirt up and around. Showing off her wide hips and pink panties to the crowd.
"Ack! Hey!? Why's it so windy all of a sudden?" Hilda asked as her hands went down in hopes to cover her pink panties and keep her skirt down.
Duval stood up from his seat, and he watched as the Idol glowed brighter than he ever knew. He thought Alaric's plan worked, and they'd have the support of everyone now that they thought Iyomelka favored her.
'You crazy son of a bitch... You pulled it off!... I take back most of the bad things I say about Alaric!... You're still a egotistical piece of filth... But your a honest piece of filth...'
Duval turned around to look at Alaric who couldn't believe his eyes. And when the Duke noticed the Prime Minister staring at him he put of his stoic face and looked at him.
Duval gave him a slight nod before turning back to witness the Goddess's Idol in all of her glory.
Alaric was shocked. He had his doubts about Iyomelka favoring Hilda. But fate seemed to finally smile upon him after so many years of his plans failing.
'Finally... With this, I'll be able to rid myself of that annoying pest!... But she won't go down without a fight... Unfortunately for her... The nobility won't dare go against the will of the Goddess. And now I can question both my brother and his son mental stability for suggesting that we give this Dark Elf a chance to pray to our Goddess. Haha! Victory will be will brother!... You are just too stupid like your son to realize it.'
Alaric was enjoying his victory until William chimed in.
"I told you my inside man was reliable. Hehehe... Do you think I can demand more gold from—oof!" William got the wind knocked out of him when Alaric elbowed him in the stomach.
"A moment ago, you said that he failed us and now you have the gall to take all the credit? You're an idiot," Alaric whispered as William tried his best not to fall over.
Over on the other side of the aisle where the Royal Family was sitting. Quinus was shocked at the sudden appearance of the goddess. He felt a pit forming in his stomach. He was going to be forced to marry Hilda and then the nobility will try to force Rya to leave the kingdom, or worse, try to kill Rya. This was his worst nightmare and he felt powerless for the first time in a while.
Rianna saw the worry look on her son's face and held her hand on his.
"It's alright, son... We'll find out a way to keep Rya here with us," Rianna said in a soothing voice.
Cyndre looked at his son with a bit of pity on his eyes, "Rianna... It's become impossible difficult now to convince the nobility to accept Princess Rya... I'm sorry, son... My plan backfired on us..." He said in a somber tone.
Quinus was about to curse out loud, but then he saw Rya looking back at him with a smile on her face.
'Huh?... Rya?'
The Dark Elf silently mouthed, "Don't worry. I got this."
Quinus' worry quickly shifted to relief and then intrigue.
'What does she know?... Just have faith in her, Quin... She's the smartest person you've ever met, and you love her. Have faith...' Quinus thought to himself.
Quinus smiled and nodded.
Rya smiled back and then turned her head to watch the High Priestess interrogating Hilda, who stood there confidently.
"D-Did you see Goddess Iyomelka!? Did she tell you anything about what her followers should do!? We are tired of making our own decisions!" Astra yelled.
Hilda didn't flinch as she stared down Astra. She was raised to never tell a lie and that's what she will do.
"I didn't see the Goddess... But it's clear that she shows favoritism towards me to be the next Queen," Hilda said confidently.
Mother Astra didn't show it but her heart broke when Hilda said she didn't speak to the goddess. She always towed to the line from her predecessors that Goddess Iyomelka doesn't speak to her faithful because she doesn't want to rule over their lives, but she was always scared that she wasn't serving her goddess properly.
"Are you sure that you didn't hear her voice?" Astra said with a hint of desperation in her tone.
"Yes, Mother," Hilda said.
Astra sighed in disappointment but kept up her holy facade, "Then praise be to the Goddess, who has made herself known."
Mother Astra turned to the congregation, "Hear ye! Our beloved goddess favors Hilda Stoneworthh and has the blessings to lead our people into prosperity."
"Praise be to the goddess!"
Duval had a shit-eating grin as he walked up to the stairs of the altar and turned to the congregation.
"This proves that Princess Hilda should be married to the Crown Prince! And shows us the this Dark Elf shouldn't belong amongst our—"
"Let her pray to the Idol!" Quinus' voice cut off the Prime Minister.
Quinus' voice rang throughout the cathedral, and the crowd was shocked by what he said.
'What is the Prince thinking!? She's a dark elf!' thought most of the Minor Nobles. Tayna noticed the looks on the faces and she whispered to Johan.
"We need to help Rya and the Prince..."
Johan looked around and he swallowed the lump in his throat before standing up, "I second the Prince's proposal! Lady Rya deserves a chance to prove that she has the blessing of the Goddess."
Duval smirk turned to annoyance as he looked at the young noble of a Major House.
"You don't have the authority to second the Prince's proposal, Lord Dule!" Duval sneered.
Earl Nathaniel didn't like how the Marquess was talking down to the two future leaders of the kingdom.
'Haah... This better not backfire on me...' Nathaniel thought as he stood up.
"Then I second that the Dark Elf be allowed to pray to the Idol. What do you say, Prime Minister? Would you deny your own King a chance to find out if she truly has the blessing of the Goddess?"
Murmurs started to arise among the congregation, and Duval was losing his edge.
"But— But she's a Dark Elf!" Duval yelled, and the Minor Nobles flinched at the Prime Minister's words.
Cyndre was surprised that his friend was going out on a limb for him and his son. Usually, it would look bad to challenge someone who got the Goddess' blessing, even with him being a loyal friend to the King. Cyndre looked at his son, who showed a confidence that wasn't there a second ago.
'The things I'll do for my son... Screw it... They probably think I'm crazy for allowing Rya to pray to the Idol... Might as well let her do it,' Cyndre thought as he stood up to speak.
"She maybe a Dark Elf, Prime Minister... But she's saved my boy's life multiple times... It would be a shame not to let her try, right?" Cyndre asked as he looked around the Cathedral.
"But—"
"I third the proposal, so let's get on with the ritual," Baron Eamon said with authority. He didn't want to lose the trade proposal that he had with the Earl and the Dark Elf healed his knee that made his life so much better. And on top of that, he was losing faith in the Prime Minister after he was ignoring him for the last four days. He heard from the grapevine that Duval was actively looking for someone to replace him as Minister of Trade. If he was going to lose his position, he might as well make a good impression with the Crown Prince and his friends. So they might give him the position in the future.
The murmurs got louder when one of Duval's allies was also backing the Prince's proposal. Duval was sweating as he tried to come up with a counterargument, but he didn't have any when someone who was his ally thirded the proposal.
'How did things get so bad? If I let her pray to the Idol, then she might to touch it and like it up like what we did for Hilda... She must have seen what Alaric did... Damn, elves and their ungodly eyes and ears... No wonder why the humans are afraid of them. We are insects compared to them. They could hear and see us coming a mile away, and they would have an advantage if the humans had a mage with them... The elves are a threat to our existence if they ever got united. Thank the goddess that the Dwarves are here and are willing to work with us.'
Duval's mind was racing and Quinus picked up on it.
"Father... I believe in the goddess that she will
be the one. We just need to give her a chance. We need to convince Duval to back off."
Cyndre nodded and looked over at the Dark Elf and saw her smiling. He wondered how she was so sure, but he's willing to help out in whatever why he could.
"Prime Minister... If you allow Princess Rya to do the ritual and the goddess doesn't favor her then I'll marry Princess Hilda Stoneworthh to my son immediately after the ritual," King Cyndre said.
Duval perked up but he was worried that Rya would touch the Idol to make it glow and foil his plans. This when he came up with a simple idea.
"I will allow it on one condition," Duval said.
"Go on."
"I wish to stand next to the Idol so I can watch her and make sure she isn't going to cheat and use some kind of trickery," Duval said.
King Cyndre's brow raised. He didn't know why Duval wanted to do that. But he figured that the Prime Minister had some sort of trick up his sleeve. But he was going to allow the Prime Minister his request.
"I will allow it, if it is allowed by the High Priestess... The altar is sacred and is not to be defiled."
The room fell silent as everyone looked at Mother Astra. It was sacrilege allow anyone near the Idol that wasn't apart of the clergy.
But Mother Astra knew what the Prime Minister was getting at. And if he could spot foul play then it could save the kingdom even though she was an ally of the Royal Family.
"You may stand off to the side but you are not allowed to interfere in the ritual, or you will be excommunicated immediately. Do you understand?" Mother Astra said.
"Of course. I don't wish to interfere in the ritual, and I will not touch the idol... I'll only be an observer. If you have no objections, then I will allow the Dark Elf to do the ritual."
"Very well... Prince Hilda... You may stand or sit where you please. But I ask that you please do not interfere or speak out in the ritual."
"Of course... I wouldn't want to offend your religion," Hilda smirked as she walked off the circular platform and past by Rya. She looked at the Dark Elf triumphantly and whispered to her, "I will give you one chance to leave with your life. And that's if you walk out right now."
Rya couldn't help but smirk at the cocky Princess, "You don't see fail, Hilda?... Come on... It will be even sweeter if you're here when I do succeed."
"Hmph... Keep using that sarcasm of yours... It won't save you when all the knights will be coming for your head... I'll enjoy watching the look of disappointment on your face when you fail."
"Oh, I bet, Princess... I hope you enjoy the show," Rya smiled as she watched the smug Princess walk off and sit next to Crown Prince, who had mixed emotions. For one, he get a good look at her butt when the wind looked at her skirt, and it was hard for him to deny that she's beautiful and she was socially awkward, which made her do adorable embarrassing things that made him want to know a little more about her. But his heart was Rya's, and he wasn't going to betray her, and it annoyed him that Hilda would sit next to him when his lover was in eyesight of each other.
Hilda was oblivious, and she couldn't help but glare at the Dark Elf's back.
The Idol's glow faded as the High Priestess summoned Rya to the platform.
'Alright! It's time to put that Princess in her place... And maybe I'll give her a spanking for sitting next to my man. That'll teach her to steal the Prince of my dreams,' Rya smiled as she stepped forward and looked at the Prime Minister, who was frowning at her.
"Well, I hope you're ready to be amazed," Rya smirked at the Prime Minister.
He didn't answer while Astra approached Rya with three other Priestesses.
"I know this might be unfair, Princess Rya. But can you repeat what Princess Hilda did when praying to the Idol? Mother Dyana and the Sisters wrote down everything that the princess did. It is what the Goddess wants now. I hope you understand."
'Oh please!... I will crush this stupid praying Ritual, no problem! Hell, I'll even get that last requirement that Hilda missed. That should make this stupid statue light up so bright that it might blind people. All I had to do... is... read the five commands?... What the what!?'
Rya's smile faded when she saw four new sets of commands appear on the base of the Idol. The only one that didn't change was the last one on the right that Hilda didn't do. And after reading it, there was no way from anyone, not even a follower of the Goddess, could have guess it.
'What the hell!?... So, it gets replaced by a new command when you get it once?... That's some crazy ass bullshit. It was sheer dumb luck for Hilda to get four of these by accident. And the one she didn't get makes me question why a goddess would make such a thing.'
Rya was lost in thought while reading the new commands, and she was completely unaware of the murmuring that was happening in the crowd.
"Ahem... Princess Rya?... Did you wish to review how to pray?" Astra asked while the other four priestesses stared at the elf.
"Hm? Oh!... No thanks... I think I got it. Just tell me when you wish for me to start."
The four priestesses frowned at her nonchalant attitude.
"Are you sure, Princess Rya?" Astra asked again.
"Positive," Rya smirked.
"Very well... Stand on the holy platform and wait for us to finish the call to the goddess," Astra turned towards the crowd and began her speech.
Rya did as she was told and stood in the middle of the circular platform, reading off the commands she needed to do to light the Idol up.
'Ho boy... I'm going to look ridiculous... But fuck it... I'm going to upstage that bitch... Even if the Priestesses are going to get mad at me... Focus Rya... You got this...'
And with that Rya prepared herself while the Priestesses began the chanting and praying with the new way Hilda that had discovered.
Comments
Athetos
"We are tired of making our own decisions!" - lol, true Priestess of Iyomelka. Also, Hilda panty shot, ftw (pink). TFTC.
Micheal Kennedy
Thanks for today’s chapter!
Marek Gwalt
TFTC
Micheal Kennedy
Look like the next chapter is where the action happens.
PaulMichaels
Not another cliffhanger! Tongue 😛
