In the medical room at Ztatzav Orphanage,
In a room, which had been dark, was now illuminated by two candles. The atmosphere in the place became tense, especially since two women had not slept. Rather, they had woken up and had not been able to sleep until now. “Madame Ethnia, did you see what I saw?”
A blonde woman asked in a low voice, even though only two of them were there. Meanwhile, the other person nodded, sighing heavily. She seemed at a loss as to what to say to the assistant because the full-bodied woman actually saw the incident.
“You are a Healer just like me. Why do you have to ask about something that clearly happened?” Madame Ethnia did not want to answer the question bluntly and preferred to ask back to the interlocutor sitting next to her.
“I am sorry. I asked because I was unsure of my own vision.” The virgin looked apologetic, even looking down in guilt at the senior. Ethnia shook her head and could say no more.
Ethnia looked at the closed door, and no one seemed to be there. There was so much silence between the two women that it made the silver-haired woman remember something. “You must have realized that everything has changed when that child comes to the orphanage. Tonight, eight witches have dared to come to the orphanage, whereas before, they never came to Zlatav openly. Do you know what that means, Menka?”
The owner of the name raised her head and looked at Ethnia. The one hundred-and-sixty-seven-centimeter-tall woman was looking at Menka seriously but at the same time stressed as if something had been weighing on her mind. “Yes, Madame. I know that Alexa is the Chosen One, so the ancient prophecy will be fulfilled as soon as possible. The witches went so far as to perform the ritual here. I suspected that it might have something to do with the emperor.”
“That was right. I was thinking the same thing, Menka. But, so far, there has been no word from Madame Magthianth Ormenthaz about the possibility of an emperor’s envoy to inspect all the orphanages in Zlatav.” A woman with a mole on her right cheek and nose thought of the leader of all Healers and did not feel at ease about it.
“If those messengers come here suddenly, what should we do, Madame?” That girl, who was thirty-six years old but still looked like a teenager, began worrying. However, she tried to remain calm, although it was very difficult for her to do so. Madame Ethnia chose to remain silent for a while because the woman who had been working as a healer for seventeen years did not yet have the right answer to Menka’s question, which felt very difficult for her.
“To be honest, I do not know. I prefer to ask an immortal goddess directly because only she can help in all situations. If you or I tell the emperor’s messenger the truth about the child mentioned in the ancient prophecy, they would kill us, but, if we ask Goddess Erie for help, she would save us.” Ethnia felt a glimmer of hope as she suddenly remembered the goddess who protected the healers. Menka frowned, but she didn’t have any other choice either.
“Do we have to ask Goddess Erie now, Madame? If so, I will prepare everything.” The blue-eyed woman was about to get up from the chair but decided against it, as she had not received a positive response from the interlocutor, who had fallen silent again,
“Yes, we must ask our goddess about that. I authorize you to do so.” Madame Ethnia agreed to the assistant’s suggestion and felt that she was in a very difficult position, requiring the protection of the immortal goddess that all Healers had long worshipped. Menka looked happy at the second sentence spoken by the senior. Without further ado, that girl carried out the intention that had been delayed and immediately prepared the prayer needs.
I could not keep quiet, especially after seeing some witches already performing rituals of one kind or another. If Madame Magthianth had come to the orphanage and discovered that the Chosen One was still alive, she would have reported this case to the emperor. At that moment, Menka and I would have been sentenced to death for aiding Madame Aufrodine’s crimes. It is hard being a healer like us under endless pressure. I hope Goddess Erie provides a solution for us. Ethnia hoped in her heart because she felt that all roads seemed to be dead ends and only an immortal goddess could help them from their misfortune.
Time passed so slowly for Ethnia as worry dominated her mind. A woman who had lived in the orphanage for so long could only contemplate death in silence as if she had received a death sentence from the emperor. Meanwhile, a blue-eyed girl was seen setting up a medium-sized table, an image of a beautiful woman with long hair and a white dress.
There was an image of the goddess on the table, two candles to the left and right, and a fruit plate. Once the altar table was in order, Menka picked up a container filled with fresh flowers and placed it next to the plate. The one hundred and sixty-four centimeters tall woman returned to the same object and watched intently, trying to find what was missing.
“What should I add here? There seems to be something missing, but what, huh? I still can’t find it,” muttered Menka, who had yet to take her eyes off the table. Meanwhile, Ethnia had given up on all her bad thoughts and decided to help her assistant.
I am sure that Menka must be having a hard time preparing Goddess Erie’s altar table. She always forgets the incense and misses the little things. Let me help her, thought the woman who had devoted herself to being a Healer from a young age.
When Ethnia arrived at her destination, the senior Healer saw that the assistant was still looking at the altar table but had not moved from there. That woman shook her head, muttering, “I knew this would happen. It is a good thing I did not arrive late. Otherwise, it could have been an hour more of Menka like this.”
“Menka, why are you so quiet? Are you having trouble?” The question had successfully made the owner of the name turn her head. She was stunned to find the senior behind her. Ethnia raised one eyebrow, having expected the interlocutor’s response, who was still making the same mistake.
“I… I am sorry, Madame Ethnia. I think that I have forgotten something, but I could not remember what.” Menka replied with a slight stammer, which made the interlocutor feel sorry for her, especially since the girl looked sleepy.
“Menka, have you prepared the incense? Don’t you know that incense is very important to worship the gods and goddesses in addition to offering?”
The beautiful woman patted her forehead lightly as if she had just woken up from a long sleep while Ethnia held back her annoyance and instead began to yawn, already sleepy. “Thank you, Madame. I prepare it now.”
“Okay. Hurry up. I am sleepy.” The full-figured woman decided not to scold Menka despite being very annoyed with the interlocutor’s attitude. Ethnia yawned again, unable to sleep. Meanwhile, the blonde-haired girl began searching for the exact object the senior had mentioned.
A few minutes later, Menka finally managed to get the object she was looking for. Her face looked happy because it was meaning that she and Ethnia could go directly to Goddess Erie. That girl quickly picked up the incense and lit it with the altar table candle. When she smelled the incense, the woman in charge of the medical room was no longer sleepy.
“Let’s start the ritual.”
Menka placed the incense in a special container. When she was done, the virgin stepped back so that she was now standing behind Ethnia. The longtime Healer began prostrating herself and repeated the same gesture three times, followed by her assistant.
On the fourth move, Ethnia and Menka fell to their knees. “Goddess Erie. My name is Atmasa Meightarta. I am one of the Healers in Zlatav. I beg you to please come here. I need your wisdom and advice as soon as possible because it is urgent.”
Ethnia tried to concentrate as sleepiness returned. The atmosphere in the room slowly became different, and the two women noticed. They remained silent but alert to the situation around them.
“Atmasa Meightarta, one of my Healer servants.” The voice came from the direction of the altar table, and Ethnia spontaneously bowed, as did Menka. They had been waiting for the immortal goddess to arrive, so when she did, they did not want to waste the opportunity.
“Yes, Goddess Erie. Thank you for coming to my aid.” Ethnia said politely.
“What did you want to ask me?” The figure of Goddess Erie did appear in front of the two worshippers, and she was floating in the air, making her clearly not human. She watched the two women who were still prostrating before her. A woman who had worked at the Ztatzav Orphanage for a long time was happy to have the opportunity to ask the immortal goddess a question.
“Goddess, I saw some witches come here earlier.” Ethnia began her story and did not want to rush the issue.
“Did you say ‘some’? Do you know exactly how many witches came there?” Goddess Erie seemed unhappy with the statement, which was ambiguous to her.
“Physically, I see only one witch, but when I look at it, there are eight of them,” Ethnia explained to the immortal goddess so as not to be exposed to her anger.
“Eight witches? That means the time for the ancient prophecy to be fulfilled is near. Eight symbolizes abundance. Do not mess with the Goddess of Witchcraft because this place has been marked.” Goddess Erie was not messing around with what was said so that Ethnia and Menka shuddered in horror.
“In that case, what should we do, Goddess? Please give us some guidance.”
“I order you to-”
***