The Goddesses Throne

by A. Kingsley

  Her eyes flickered to the brown podium behind them. Standing there, was a woman dressed in the bright colors of Oralee, gold and teal. The woman placed her hands on top of the podium and gestured for everyone to sit. “Please be seated.” She turned to Sage and Julius, her heart full of warmth, she radiated kindness. “I was asked to go to the temple and when I was there, Oralee gave me her blessing to go through with this wedding.” She basked in the cheers from the crowd. “The goddess claims that she will visit you two tonight,” she looked directly at Sage who was trying to push away her look of skepticism. “Marriage is a special bond, where two people love each other and join in union. Though this pair of lovers was married for the sake of politics, their love blossomed long before their engagement, as they grew up with one another in their childhood. They shared toys and play fought. This couple has been together through death and pain, yet they are still standing strong. Today they will solidify their love and promise to be loyal to one another for eternity as Oralee rarely approves of a marriage where the two partners will fall out of love. She only endorses unbreakable bonds. Before Sage and Julius can be joined in union, they must tell Oralee why they are so in love. Sage, please go first.”

  Julius’s hand squeezed Sage’s tightly. He inhaled deeply and then exhaled and gestured for her to do the same, to calm the nerves that he knew were surging through her body.

  She took a deep breath and then began to speak, her voice shaky. She tried to block out everyone else, but the nerves didn’t go away. Her and Julius weren’t romantics, they were awkward and clumsy, rash and sometimes harsh, she didn’t often confess such sweet things to him.

  “Julius, I have not met another man or woman who understands me the way that you do. Well, besides Clare,” she joked. “I love that you love every bit about me. You understand and appreciate all of the time that I take training with a sword and you’ve never judged the amount of food that I eat on a daily basis. You’ve never scolded me for being lazy. You understand everything that I do. I love you for that and I love you … because you’re you. You’re awkward and funny, clumsy and sweet. You’ve never made me feel inferior or uncomfortable. You’ve always made me feel at home. I’m not really sure what else to say, so I hope that Oralee is satisfied,” she said nervously.

  The woman nodded because Oralee, was indeed satisfied. Sage had been looking down the entire time that she spoke. When she looked up nervously to meet Julius’s gaze, he was smiling that same crooked and funny smile that he made when he was overwhelmed with joy.

  Julius bounced a few times on his heels. Once the woman gestured for him to begin, he did.

  “I’m not good with words or speeches either, in fact, I’m worse,” he admitted. A reassuring squeeze from her hand kept him going. His short term memory wasn’t great either and he didn’t remember what he was going to say, so he had to make it up on the spot. “My love for you does not die. I could be gone into oblivion and my heart would still love you, it would still find its way back to you. In fact it has and I know that it sounds cheesy, but it’s true. I don’t think there could have been a better match for me. I also don’t think that there could have been a couple out there that is worse than us at this. I’m really glad that I get to start a new chapter with you. You’re a fierce woman who’s taught me a lot of things about courage. I’ve learned from you and I hope to keep learning. I love you Sage,” he said confidently, his cheeks going hot as the crowd awed.

  “I think Oralee will be very pleased with those comments.” The woman began to speak about marriage and the strong ties that it created. After about five minutes of talking, she presented them with the most crucial part of the ceremony. She grabbed a small oak bowl filled with water from Oralee’s temple and stepped closer to them. “Julius, under Oralee, do you accept Sage to be your wife?”

  “I do,” he said confidently, his smile wide.

  “Sage, under Oralee, do you accept Julius to be your husband?”

  “I do,” she said just as confidently. They technically didn’t have a choice, but it felt as if they did.

  The woman poured the water over their intertwined hands and a spark of blue flew up in the air. “Oralee approves,” she said joyously. If no spark arose, then they would have had to try for marriage another day if they wanted to stay on the Goddesses good side, but this hardly happened, most couples did not try for marriage if they did not think that their Goddess would approve. The woman stepped back, “you may seal the marriage with a kiss.”

  Julius and Sage had both agreed that they didn’t feel comfortable putting their full affections on display, so their kiss was short. Julius moved his lips to meet hers and their lips quickly joined before pulling away. Sage gave him a wink, a promise that there would be more to come later.

  They both awkwardly shrugged their shoulders at all of the cheers.

  Italus approached them with a small black box. Julius thanked him as he took the box from his hand. He opened it up and took out their matching silver wedding bands. Plain, just like Sage had requested.

  He placed her ring on her finger and then she placed his ring on his. The ceremony was over.

  “I suppose we have a party to attend now. One day of peace in a time of war,” Sage said.

  Though that was how it felt, that was not reality. Back at Pax et Lux, the guards were doubled and the palace flag was raised to make it seem like the royalty had never left. While they danced and drank, soldiers were sent off to their deaths and innocent children inside of Excidium, were locked away from their families because of their opinions. After the wedding, Clare and Cassius would continue to stay at the royal territory in hiding until the public finally forgot Clare’s accident. Gracielle and the others would return home immediately. In times of war, there was no honeymoon.

  Sage leaned her head against Julius as they walked down the aisle and back into the palace. She was happy to go inside because the wind was picking up, blowing the snow around outside. The sky was also getting cloudy. If she guessed correctly, then a storm would be on its way. Julius pulled her in tight to his body, he wasn’t as warm as a normal human would be, but he did the trick.

  “I’m so lucky and happy to be married to you, but I am also glad we got that over with,” he told her, drowning out everything else around him. He knew that his brother was probably right behind his heels, but Maximus wasn’t the most important person right now, Sage was.

  As soon as they stepped into the warm hall, Julius quickly shut the door behind him. He leaned down to give Sage a more passionate kiss, his hands held onto the sides of her cheeks. She melted into his touch and kissed back, breaking away from him when the door swung open again.

  “I feel the same,” she told him in response to his earlier statement.

  Maximus and Clare were the first pair to enter. Maximus went to hug Julius and Clare hugged Sage. Maximus pulled away from his brother to hug Sage and Clare followed his lead and gave a hug to Julius.

  “Congratulations you two,” Maximus congratulated. “I would love to drink all night at your party, but unfortunately our bastard father died and left me as king, so now I must go be an adult because Mr. Erebus wanted to start a war.” He stomped his foot on the ground for dramatic affect. “Please enjoy your special night and have a drink for me,” he told the three of them. He gave Clare a hug on his way out, “If you need me, write to me. You will be okay, the people will forget about this soon, we are going to release the statement as soon as I get back home and the morning comes.”

  He kissed her cheek and then hurriedly strode towards his carriage. At the news of their departure, Stellan ran quickly though the doors to congratulate the married couple before heading back to the carriage.

  Cassius came next, he was glad to be free of Diana, who was talking his ear off as if he didn’t have a fiancé. He rolled his eyes in exasperation and then fixed his expression at the sight of the newly wed couple.

  “Congratulations,” he told them both. He wasn’t sure if he
should give them a hug or a handshake, so he just stood back. “I’m glad that something good could come out of such hard times,” he added. Julius took his hand and shook it. Sage hesitated, but she caught a glance at her sister who was staring hopefully at her, so she moved forward and gave Cassius a quick side hug before pulling away.

  “I’ll see you two in the reception hall. I’ve got to be there before all of the guests arrive so that I may greet everyone. Weddings sadly require a lot of attention,” Sage said as her and Julius linked arms and headed down the hall.

  The reception would be held in the ballroom. Natalia had not been at the ceremony, but she had been invited to the reception and she had come with Jesse. The two of them matched in emerald green and black attire. Fran had come by herself, but was hanging around her sister and Jesse who seemed relatively happy to be at the wedding. The guest list was relatively small, but there was a woman who came to the ceremony uninvited She was a tall woman with long legs and a chiseled jawline. Her skin was a warm shade of cream and sparkled under the lights. Her eyes were the brightest, crystal diamond blue and her smile was warm. Her blonde hair fell in loose curls just below her shoulder. She wasn’t dressed for a wedding, or the cold, but her outfit was magnificent. A dress that perfectly matched the color of her eyes flowed against her body in magnificent waves as if she had just stepped out of one of the world's clearest oceans. The large puffed sleeves on her dress were sheer and thin, swallowing her toned arms. The neckline of her dress plunged in the outline of a v, revealing the sides of her breasts. The sheer fabric got thicker as it cascaded down, leaving slits for her legs. She walked barefoot against the cold stone and hardly shivered. She had disguised herself during the ceremony, but her act was over, Oralee had attended their wedding.

  The Goddesses were real.

  She met the shocked and bewildered stares with a gentle smile and gracefully moved as if she were floating, down the hall and to the newly married couple.

  “Congratulations you two,” her tone was warm and full, but a bit tired as if she had spent her whole day at the beach.

  While Sage and Julius tried to form the words to talk, she went instead.

  “I would like to talk to Julius,” she stared down at him like she had known him her whole life and he too felt an instant connection.

  “May Sage come? Anything I know will flow back to her and I don’t want to leave her alone on her wedding night.”

  “Of course, where is Maximus? Can you bring his carriage back?” she asked.

  “I’ll send someone for him,” Julius said.

  Oralee, Julius, Sage and Maximus all stood together in one of the guest bedrooms of the palace. At first Maximus was angry that he had been called back, but when he saw the reason, he quieted himself. Home could wait a few more moments. None of the young royals knew what to say in the presence of a Goddess, Europe’s Goddess, so they waited for her to speak.

  “Once again, congratulations. I am aware that I did crash the wedding, my apologies,” she grinned. “But it was time I came forward. It has been long enough and though I was going to hide it from you, I will not do so any longer. Maximus and Julius, I am your mother.”

  She scanned their faces and when she was met with two looks of horrific shock, she quickly continued. “I know, you must be thinking that I look nothing like your mother, one of the powers of any Goddess is that we can change our appearance at will. I could flick my fingers and in an instant I would be in her warm brown hair and soft colored eyes, but I won’t scare you. I chose this form because I think it suits my personality well. The people also love to paint me in this form. But never mind that, let me explain how I am your mother. I slept with Augustus because I knew he was not a good man. He had to become a father, he had to have children next in line to his throne and I knew that kids with my genes would grow up to be great people. I was expecting one child, but then I had two and I am so grateful for the both of you. It was me all those years, just in disguise so you wouldn’t know that I was Oralee. I disappeared the night when Augustus was killed, when you thought I died. I had worked closely with Mallory. Since the Antias family heavily believed in her, I had her send them signs and hints that they should kill Augustus. I knew I had to get rid of him, but I did not know that Julius was going to die as well and if I would have known, I would have not gone through with the plan. I still curse myself for it. After that incident, I knew that I had to return full time to my duties as a Goddess and that Deus would be in good hands. I bargained again with Mallory. She agreed to let one of her followers bring Julius back to life. Ever since then, I have been watching over you, but I have not been present. I couldn’t miss a big day like this and … I had to reveal myself because of the girl, Clare.”

  Oralee could have continued, but she paused, waiting for her sons to absorb the information.

  She set her eyes on Sage, who was comfortingly holding Julius against her waist. Oralee’s eyes melted at the sight of her daughter in law, she was so glad that her son was happy.

  While Julius seemed fearful of what this might mean, Maximus looked rather angry. Though it made sense in his brain, he was having a rather hard time accepting it in his heart, “please just continue,” his voice was heavy. He gestured toward her politely, she was still a Goddess after all.

  “The Goddesses chose Clare when she was born. Evangilene, who can see versions of the future, saw that Clare was destined to do great things. It is currently time for those great things to happen. I didn’t think that Clare would cross paths with you two so heavily, but it seems that she has. If she has ever felt a pull towards you, it is because you have the blood of the Goddesses in you. Of course you could never be a God, there are no male deities and you are only half divine … but you are special. This is why some may have described you as perfect or serene, but it does not look like you have inherited any abilities and if you have, they haven’t surfaced yet.” She looked over towards Sage who was holding her breath, her face red.

  “Shouldn't you help guide my sister?” she asked. “Or will you lie to her too?”

  “Don’t worry Sage, I was planning on talking to her eventually.” Oralee wasn’t surprised by Sage’s attitude, she remembered the girl from Julius’s childhood. She always seemed to have something to say. The Goddess looked back to her sons. “Please tell me that you forgive me.”

  Julius was the first to speak. Though Maximus and Julius had both preferred their mother over their father, Julius had always clung onto her tighter than Maximus had. Julius was sensitive and kind, so when someone asked for forgiveness, he was usually the first to give it. He let go of Sage and walked towards his mother, his eyes watery and his hands outstretched in hopes that she would hug him. She did. When he felt her embrace it was all the confirmation that he needed to know that this was his mother. Hugging her was comforting and made his heart slow into a melodic tune. She smelled like she always had, of fresh salt and coconut.

  She opened the hug and looked to Maximus in hopes that he would join them. Maximus was hesitant, but as he remembered the years of comfort that she had given him when his father was so cruel, he joined their embrace and rested his head on her shoulder.

  “I forgive you,” Maximus whispered as his anger subsided. He looked up at her, his eyes scared. “Do you know about Stellan?”

  “I do, from what I have seen I love him already, but please introduce me before you go.” She ran a hand through her sons ginger hair.

  Her eyes shifted to Sage, who was standing alone in the corner, she seemed a bit awkward, she was looking over the blade of her sword.

  Oralee smiled at her. “Please, you are family now.”

  Sage wasn’t one for hugs from anyone, but this was Julius’s mother, this was Oralee. She joined the embrace and was glad that it was quickly over.

  When the three of them split from the hug, Sage was sure that she had seen tears of joy in Julius’s eyes, but they were gone as quick as they had come. “I’m not going to hold you from you
r guests any longer, please go to your reception! I’m going to walk Max out to his carriage, but I’ll be back,” she promised them.

  While the two of them walked to the ballroom, Oralee took Maximus’s hand and walked with him outside.

  “How are you not cold?” he asked her as they went outside.

  “It’s in my blood, I am protected from the heat and the cold. Let me ask you something, do you really feel cold at the moment?” She smiled at her son’s expression. There was a clap of thunder. It was going to rain soon.

  “I’m a bit chilly, but not as cold as I should be, I have always dressed warmly because that is what I have been told to do, not because I feel like I need to. Good observation,” he said. “Though I’m a bit sad that you don’t look like the woman I once knew, I’m glad that you are her and I am glad that you are alive. You won’t stay around long will you?” He noticed her frown in response to his question.

  “I’ll try to be there for you two whenever I can, but I won’t be a constant presence in your life. The future that is coming is intense. I need to sort things out with the other Goddesses and with Clare, to keep everyone safe.”

  “I am scared for Clare, please tell me that your plan is not to use her as a weapon because if it is you’d be better off using Sage,” Maximus teased.

  Oralee’s frown deepened. “I’m afraid that Clare will be a large part of this new future.”

  “And you’re not going to tell me what that future is are you?”

  “I’m sorry Max, I can’t.”

  Upon reaching the carriage, the two of them were greeted by Stellan. He was smiling goofily, pulling a pair of white silk gloves over his hands.