A Court of Heritance and Destiny

Chapter 9 Freya

Doroteha had invited two priestesses from the group that she had lived with, the same one Freya's mother had lived in. and all Freya could think about was how she hated the dress she had on. Moss green, cut for a full grown female. And Freya's fifteen year old body was not that. She had also just been sick again, this time it had cost her the small amount of curves she had. The dress was too big, she felt like a child dressing up in her mothers clothes.

"The Mother has blessed these lands, High Lord." One of the priestesses said as the food was being served "It is truly one of the finest lands in Prythian." Her skin was dark, her hair short and curly.

"It is all thanks to Dorotheas guidance." Her father said back. "And your sister's sacrifice." Freya looked down on her hands, trying to disappear as they talked. In a different life she would have grown up with the females sitting around this table, in a different life she might have been allowed to walk around and see other parts of the world than what she could from the limited windows in her area of the castle.

"Yes. Yes." She looked back up at the dark skinned priestess, seeing how she was looking at Dorothea. "The news about your connection to The Mother is spreading. We have so many apprentices coming to our temple."

"So I have heard." Dorothea nodded, "Don't forget to remind them that it takes years of devotion to find what I have found."

"We won't." One of the other guests said, she didn't have the same decorations on her robe, signalling her lower ranks "But Freya, the miracle herself." Now all eyes were on her. Freya did her best to straighten her back, hoping that she could make the dress work.

"Yes?" She asked back, holding a formal and passive tone.

"Engaged to Lord Escar. That must be exciting. He is a fine male."

"Tina!" The dark skinned priestess schooled the younger one. "That question can be seen as inappropriate."

"The Mother has asked for that bond to be made. To ensure a good future for the Court, I think it is appropriate to ask the future bride how she feels." Tina bit back. She had a fire in her, one that Freya liked. She was like the characters in her books. The ones that stood up for themself. The one that had a free future and life.

"It is fine." Freya spoke up, trying to mirror Tina's energy. "It feels good, we still have some years left. And a lot of planning to do. But I am praying to The Mother and Fate for strength and guidance." She did, but she also asked for answers. Every night she asked for a sign, a pointer to understand her life. Like she had done for the last two years.

"We are so proud of Freya, she is going to be a strong Lady of Spring one day." Dorothea added. "We are just waiting for her to be of age and everything will be set." Freya looked back down on her hands.

Be of age. Fancy words to describe the fact that she was yet to start her bleedings. That Dorothea so happily had described to her on her fourteenth birthday that once that day came, she was going to stand and walk down that aisle as a bride. She feared that day, for what it meant for her.

"Is that so?" The dark skinned one asked. "And Lord Escar is waiting?"

"He is aware of The Mothers request." Tamlin spoke now, his tone put an end to this conversation. Freya let out a breath of air, feeling how her body relaxed. "Now, I have heard that you are looking for funding for your new temple." Freya started to poke around in her food. Maybe she was crazy, for the others looked to devour the vegetables, fish and rice with no problem. But as always the food tasted bad to her. For some reason it always tastes better when she is sick. And now she longed for that. For when bread was soft and filling, for when soups made her moth water for more. Not this.