The veil of death

The curse

Hello! This is my first time writing a story like this and English isn't my first language so I hope that there isn't any spelling errors. If there are please tell me so I can correct it and I hope you enjoy.
(By the way you can imagine the MC Cecilia as however you want to! I imagine her as blonde hair and brown eyes if you don't know how to imagine her.)

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"A prophecy fell from the great heavens and landed at the very center of our kingdom 989 years ago. And here we are, standing at that exact spot," my mother whispered in my ear as she gently caressed my hair. The warmth of her fingers trailing down my scalp filled me with a deep sense of comfort and joy.

"What did the prophecy say?" I asked, a gleam of curiosity sparkling in my eyes as I looked up at her gentle, loving face.

"Don't interrupt me, Cecilia." She let out a light chuckle as she planted a kiss on my forehead, her blonde hair falling softly onto my face as she did.

She then looked up at the skies. "The prophecy foretold that every 100 years, a girl would be blessed by a specific God and marked with the fate of marrying that God. To this day, every century, we place the chosen bride in front of the God's statue, and she is taken to her new home."

I looked up at my mother, tears beginning to swell in my eyes, and I let out a loud wail. "That doesn't sound like a blessing; it seems more like a curse. Mum, what if I am the next sacrifice?" I cried, my mother looking down at me with a small smile on her gentle face. She wiped the tears from my eyes.

"You don't have to worry, my darling," she reassured me, but I continued to cry. She let out a small sigh as she pulled me from her lap so that I was facing her.

"I will make sure that will never happen! I promise." I looked up at her and slowly nodded as the tears began to subside.

"Pinky promise!" I demanded, holding my pinky out in front of her. My mother gladly intertwined her pinky with mine and gave me a small kiss on the cheek.

"I promise."

...

"Liar!" I screamed, recalling the empty promise my late mother had made to me. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked out the window of the dark cell where I was imprisoned.

It has been 11 years since that warm day, and now it is 1,000 years since the prophecy was given and the sacrificial day established.

I looked down at my ring finger, seeing the swirling black mark that had appeared on the 1,000th day, the day I became a sacrificial lamb.

My wedding dress flowed down, engulfing the stone floor as I knelt. I looked at the moon through my window and began to pray.

"O great heavens, please let my God be kind." I bit my lip at the thought of being married off. My hands slowly drifted to my sides as I continued to face the moon, tears silently pouring down my face once again. "Please," I begged.

Before I knew it, a blindfold was tied over my eyes as I was dragged out of my chamber and placed into a carriage. The corset I was forced into was the only thing keeping me upright. My body was weak with fear, which consumed me from the inside.

I thought about the women before me and wondered if they felt the same way I did. Were they also gripped by fear as they were led to the statues of the Gods, where they were chosen like cattle?

A hand, gentle yet firm, gripped my arm as I was led into the forest.

"Remember, Princess, this is a blessing," an old voice repeated. I suspected he was a priest.

This is not a blessing; it's a curse, I thought as I was led deeper into the forest. When his hand released my arm, I knew I was now standing before the God's statue. I knelt, hearing his footsteps retreating, leaving me utterly alone.

I felt my body start to tremble as I waited for the God I was to marry.

"I am here to be your wife, my God," I said to the statue, as I had been instructed during countless rehearsals.

A small chuckle echoed around me, and I felt a hand harshly grab my chin. Another hand slowly untied the knot that held my blindfold, but I kept my eyes closed, afraid to look at the God standing before me as the blindfold tumbled into the long grass.

"Look at me," a low, masculine voice commanded.

I reluctantly opened my eyes.