Repeat: Year One

Chapter one: Sacrifice

I walked down to the preparation room. I was a honorary sacrifice, I got dressed up. All prettied up for my murder. Oh, sorry sacrifice, being sacrificed to the gods was the greatest honour, I should be proud. No, I was lying to myself, there is no honour in being sacrificed to the gods. But it was necessary, the city had to survive, and the only way to do that is to honour the gods.

Once I had been made up with pink lips and gold eyelids, I was dressed in a thin white dress that covered nothing, I was practically naked. The dress symbolised virginity, pureness, cleanness. I was untouched, whole, pure. My dark brown hair had a thin silver circlet of leaves.

I was taken into a silver carriage with silk seats. I shouldn't have been surprised, this only happens once every fifty years. No expense was spared on the Virgin Sacrifice. It all had to be perfect. The ride to the temple was silent, the nameless bodyguards I had been assigned never spoke a word. They just sat there in linen drapes across from me, angrily staring into the wall of carriage. What had the carriage wall done to them? The stench of the bustling streets faded as we got to the rich district where all the nobles lived. I had never been here before, few people had. The only people who went here were nobles and the slaves that looked after them. I peeked through the silver silk to see the nobles' children come out of their houses in flocks to stare and point at the carriage. Of course. This would be their first viewing of the Virgin Sacrifice and when I am killed they will watch and cheer from their fancy seats eating fresh fruits and fancy meat.

We arrived at the temple of Terra Maxim, goddess of life, death and the earth. It was a grand place filled with huge thirty foot white columns. It's walls decorated with carvings of the gods, Solos- Sun God, Rana- War Goddess opposite to her counter part, Eros- God of Love, Ghina- God of farming and crops, Bani-Goddess of Beauty etc. In the middle there was the altar, six feet long and two feet wide. I stepped out of the carriage and onto the long, purple wool rug laid out for me, palms sweating as I started walking up to the altar. I had to do this. If I didn't then the gods would frown and the city would fall. I couldn't let that happen. I looked at the faces of the rich sitting on velvet sofas. Silver plates of fine food were being carried by smartly dressed waiters. I was halfway up the aisle. I could hardly breathe. I walked slowly. I took one step. Then another. Then another. 1, 2, 3, 4. I saw the King and his wife sitting behind the altar, the Kings harsh, thin face twisted into an ugly smile as he looked at me. He wanted me to die. He enjoyed death. This was the same smile he had when he saw unlucky charioteers fall off their chariots and dash their heads out on the ground. I was disgusted.

                     I reached the altar and was told to lay down on it. My heart was beating ten times faster than usual and the moisture on my hands could fill up one of the pools at the bathhouse. I was about to be sick. I closed my eyes as the priestess chanted. I heard a small metallic scrape against stone. Sharpening the knife. A splash. Cleaning the knife. The chanting got louder as I braced myself for the impact. I heard it coming. The knife whooshing though the air as it came down towards me in slow motion. I opened my eyes to see the knife enter my chest and the King grin wider. It hurt and then it disappeared. I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't see anything. I couldn't hear anything. This was death I suppose. Just complete nothing.

                  Suddenly I heard fragments of voices, 'It wasn't time...' , 'Again?' , 'Are you sure?' , 'What about the butterfly effect?' , 'Yes' , 'But what if...' , 'No'
Then all the voices spoke in unison, 'Yes, it must be done'. The blank white glowed as I was filled with a warmth that steadily grew hotter and hotter as the light got brighter.

                And then it stopped. 

Was that any good? Please correct any thing that you think is wrong.