hapter Ninety Six
Chapter Ninety Six
“Don’t be afraid; you’ve come to confess your sins and plead for mercy from the god of light; you have nothing to fear.” Julia said to me, and I nodded, but my eyes remained on the ground.
High Regent Gregold rose to his feet and walked to my side.
“Together, we are gathered here with the god of light’s Chosen; she has made a mistake and is here to atone for her mistakes.”
“Go on.” Julia encouraged, and I finally looked up.
“I had disgraced myself, this house, and everything sacred. I had brought shame and reproach; all the while I thought I was right; I thought I was missing something, but I was wrong. Everything I had ever needed was in here, but I failed to see it. I had been blinded by my own selfishness. Empress Julia helped me see my mistakes and …” I broke down, sobbing. Crying wasn’t a hard task for me it was easy to let a few tears slide down my cheeks. “I feel so ashamed of myself; I was weak. I do not deserve the god of light’s mercy, but I plead for it. I promise to never slack from the right part, to never covet what isn’t mine…” The lie slipped effortlessly from my lips, which was strange, considering I had always tried to avoid lying–and whenever I did, I was quickly found out. Yet here I was, lying as if it were second nature.
Julia placed a comforting hand on my back. I didn’t think she cared about me, but I do believe she was pleased I mentioned her name in my speech of atonement. “My fate has been sealed since the day I was born, and I accepted it, because it is and would always be an honor to serve the god of light.” I finished and looked up to see a few with smiles on their faces, others void of emotion, but the disgust and curiosity were gone.
High Regent Gregold passed a bowl filled with a dark–colored liquid to Julia. She accepted it and turned to me.” Kneel.” She said, and I fell down to my knees. “The god of light is merciful, but only she can tell the intentions of one’s heart.” She said, and then poured the dark liquid over my hair. It ran down my body, soaking my clothes, and as it flowed, its color faded, turning as clear as water.
I looked up at Julia; she had a smile on her face. “The god of light deems your words true and just, pure as the
liquid,” she said.
It was a lie; it was all a lie, and yet… this god of light deemed my words to be true.
“Rise.” She said, and I rose to my feet. “You have been given another chance; don’t fail.”
“I won’t.” I lied.
One after the other, the empresses and regents rose and walked away; Cynthia was the last to leave. I was left alone with Julia.
“You’ve made me very proud.” She praised,
“I have only done what is right, what I should have done a long time ago.”
“To be honest, I never thought you had it in you. And I will reward you for this. You will get your meals delivered to you daily.”
I waited for her to name the reward, but as the silence stretched on, I finally understood–the daily meals were the reward.
“Thank you, Empress,” I said, hoping my delayed response didn’t betray my slight disappointment.
She led me back into my room and shut the door behind her I wondered if she knew that Trian was no longer down in the dungeons, that he had somehow managed to escape the pit–I doubted it. I didn’t think she knew.
7/2
+25 BONUS
Chapter Ninety Six
“It was important you become committed to your role as the Chosen. You have only three weeks left, and then the great ‘Encounter.‘
I paled. Somehow, I had shoved that to the back of my mind Panic crept in–what if Trian arrived too late? Three weeks was a long time, wasn’t it? He should have made it back before my time ran out. He had to have.
