From her Rabbit Year Goddess of Finias throne across
the stage, Bella tried not to stare at the Cow Goddess too noticeably. She
didn't seem as happy as she ought to be, it was as if she was forcing a smile.
What was her problem? Was she not proud of her Product being chosen for the Great Medel?
As
the energy in the courtyard rose, so did Zara's fever, she was swinging from
overheating and soaking from sweat to shivering cold from the wintery
chill, worsened by the wet sweaty film coating her body. She tried her best to look happy in her
honored Cow Goddess throne but it was getting harder and harder to maintain a
smile. The black robe was getting itchier and itchier, sticking uncomfortably
to her sweaty skin, the medal was so heavy around her neck, it made her head
throb worse than ever and her thoughts were so bombarded by Orien malfunctions
she could hardly feel honored at all. To make things worse, she
could feel Nolan watching her from the royal stage but she couldn't
look there, not now. She had to fight back a tsunami now, one glance and the
dam would break. Now, here today at this moment in time, she had to face the fact it
was over, forever.
"Hail Medel" Atalon brought
her back to her immediate reality as he silenced the crowd with his hand, the waving flags
lowered. As the drums rolled to a pounding halt, the crowd hushed.
Zara
craned her neck to see… And gasped! Emerging from the crowds was the image
of the most beautiful angel she had ever seen! Was that really Orien? She gasped. He almost glowed with light! He stole the attention of the entire Grand
Courtyard, without so much as a wave or a word!
Now
the dam was breaking all on it’s own, the lump in her throat lodged loose and
she began to whimper, uncontrollably as she beheld her Product for the first
time. Never in her wildest dreams could she have prepared herself for this, she
didn't even see it coming.
She
clenched her face muscles as hard as she could in a desperate attempt to hold
back the tears, but it was impossible, he was the most beautiful thing she had
ever seen!
Bravely, Orien climbed the giant steps and walked down the runway towards the king and knelt down before him. Inside he was trembling with fright. Was he good enough? Would he really go to the Promised Land as promised?
Zara squeezed her bouquet of ivy tightly as her feelings came undone. A sudden panic, an overwhelming urge to run across the stage and whisk him away began to possess her mind, an overwhelming urge to violate the order of the sacrificial celebration! Frightened by these new rebellious urges, she lost control and a hot tear fell down her cheek. She tried to wipe it away discreetly but it was becoming a river, fast.
The
crowd hushed as Orien knelt before King Atalon, so small, so brave, so
beautiful...
Bella found herself questioning things she had never questioned before as she watched the ceremony unfold. Did the Cow Goddess just wipe away a tear? She wondered who she was now, did she realize she was showing emotion on stage like that? Didn't she realize that everyone would be able to see her ungratefulness? It made no sense given how precious her Product was! Why wasn't she happy? She just received a big gold medal and a silver sprig of ivy! From the king!
As
Orien prayed on bended knee, the drums began to roll once again. Crowds hushed
as King Atalon drew his sword, gently touching his shoulders with the blade.
Shaking with nerves, he stood up when commanded and turned to wave to the
crowd, trying his best to smile, just like he had rehearsed with Hedena so many times before. The
cheers were nice but it didn't make it any less scary.
As
Orien faced the crowd, Zara could finally see his whole face, so perfect, so
magical... So scared! It was as if she could feel how he felt
inside...
Orien felt her gaze…
For a moment
their eyes connected. Feelings of longing filled her heart, feelings of joy, he was hers, her flesh and blood...
The
tears were streaming down her cheeks now and she didn't dare raise a hand to
wipe them, soon the image blurred so badly she couldn't even see his beautiful
face anymore.
The crowd roared with cheers, waving their little red flags until the drums rolled to a stop.
"Aribu of the Atlan Empire" Atalon
continued. "I am honored to present
you Orien, the Rabbit Year Sacrifice for our great Creator, Our God Almighty,
MEDEL!"
"No!" Zara gasped out loud,
suddenly everything felt so wrong, surely they had made a huge mistake!
Eden
jabbed her again, hard this time. She tried to wave her flag, but she was losing
consciousness, feeling too weak to wave the flag, she felt her head spinning...
'I never let sad thoughts ruin a good day!'
She repeated whatever affirmations she could think of to herself. 'Orien is going to the Promised Land because
he is so good!' She reminded, forcing optimistic thoughts any way she could. 'If I'm good, then I'll
eventually meet him there!’
"Hail Medel" Atalon roused the
crowd.
"Hail Medel... Hail Medel…" The crowds cheered in return. The drums rolled
louder once again as two stagehands, dressed in black robes brought a golden
altar onto the stage, set it down in front of the podium and helped Orien lay
down upon it.
Bella
craned her neck to see. Orien's face sparkled in the sun as if a tear had
moistened his cheek. She struggled with her thoughts now, she felt scared
for Orien all of a sudden, it was so difficult to feel the enthusiasm spreading
through the crowd. The thought of her own friend being sacrificed was upsetting
when it wasn't supposed to be... Was she malfunctioning?
"I never let sad thoughts ruin a good day"
she recited the affirmation to herself, waving her flag as wildly as she
could.
Zara
wiped her eyes again only to see the sparkle on Orien's cheek as the sunlight
flared through his tear. A shot of adrenaline bolted through her veins, fueling
the urge to bolt across the stage to save him anew but she couldn’t move her
feet… It was as if they were leaded to
the stage…
The
crowd roared with delight as the gods took their place on the sacrificial
stage.
"Hail Medel" Atalon roused the
crowd, accompanied by a drum roll.
"Hail Medel... Hail Medel…" The crowds cheered in return, then with
sensational timing the hollowed eyes on the statue of Medel were lit and blazed to life,
illuminating his presence with flames of fire. On cue, another stagehand
ran up to the podium carrying a golden tray with a large Golden Goblet. He
saluted the gods and offered the tray to Malodon.
The
drum rolls grew into an exciting crescendo as Malodon and Medena walked up to
the altar, then hushed again as Medena pulled out her sword and held it up
high.
"In His honor" she commanded,
"I shall sacrifice our finest seed,
let his blood fuel the engines of His Creation! Let there be Plenty!" Then, with a swift blow, she brought the
heavy sword down, slicing off Orien's head.
Zara opened her eyes as the crowds roared, to a blurry view of the stage, she felt the nausea again as Medena picked up his head by the scalp and held it over the Golden Goblet, turning it around for the crowds to see his blood pouring out. She clenched her eyes tight again, but even closed, she could see exactly what was happening, Zoran’s sacrifice was burned into her mind, Orien was now Zoran, she could even taste the blood herself from biting her lip so hard.
"Hail Medel!" Medena announced as the blood ran out. She raised the goblet to the crowd, placed the head on the tray which Malodon held up to the crowd for a final viewing.
"Hail Medel" The crowds lifted
their heads and roared with cheer.
Bella
choked up when she saw Orien's final expression, frozen in his face, as the
tear on his cheek glistened in the setting sun. Desperate now to hide her malfunction, she felt relieved not to be the main focus on stage.
No comments:
Post a Comment