Sabele woke from the chimes banging furiously against each other and on the cave wall. With a frightening scream, she sat up, rolling out of her covers and out onto the cold floor. Another startled gasp left her as the cold seeped in from the cave's stone. Jumping back up, Sabele took a minute to gather her balance and catch her breath. The sweat that had been rolling off her forehead seemed to freeze there from the sudden cold that hit her.

Wrapping herself in a wool jacket that belonged to her father, the one she had worn that day in the marketplace, she stepped outside but found no sun shining on her. The dark greeted her with its cousin, the cold. Retreating, she made a fire after a few failed attempts, following the old man's instructions. As small as it was, its flames worked wonders on her stiff joints.

After warming up and making the fire bigger, Sabele ate a few fruits and some bread before dressing in the large clothes.

The front part of the top had just a thin layer of dark grey silk, connected by a gold chain in the back. Colorful beads fell down from the chain, down her back, until it reached her hips. Since it was so large, it covered her chest fully and parts of her stomach. Her arms were left to the freezing cold as well as her back.

The skirt had two large strips in the front and back made from the same material and connected by the same kind of gold chain. The chain was able to tighten so it wouldn't fall off but it pooled around her feet to her chagrin. It had two splits on either side of her waist which allowed her feet to move around the material but it was still really large.

Waddling to the entrance, she watched the forest. In her mind, she could see when deer passed the barrier and actually could find where they were inside it.

It felt like a dome, actually, allowing her to monitor every inch of it. She could feel the birds nestled in the trees and even the leaves moving on the wind.

"Incredible." Sabele ogled in wonderment at the forest she still couldn't fully see. Retreating, she waited until what she assumed was noon. Looking out, Sabele could barely see the sun because the mountain blocked it with its peak but the sun continued to shine its rays, causing the clouds to glow beautifully.

The rest of the day went by with just a few fruits and pieces of bread for meals and studying notes and the pictures in the textbooks. Occasionally, Sabele would ball up on her fur bed and cry until her face ached and every joint in her body froze.

With no one visiting and little to do, the day went by slowly. The next couple of days went the same. The next couple of weeks. Then suddenly, a month had passed.

Summer began to disappear as each day grew colder and colder. Her wool jacket kept her warm but that would only work for so long before the cold seeped through that too.

Nightmares kept her awake and even when morning had broke, she couldn't close her eyes. The shadows tried to grab at her and the fire was always too close for comfort. Things felt like they were always tilted especially when she walked to the entrance where the cold air would burn at her skin and make her eyes water.

The dark couldn't help her and the light couldn't either. The food began to run low. Dangerously low. However, Sabele wasn't sure what she could do. Herbs could be found along the path to the old cabin but few berries were edible. Plus, she had been told no hunting by the chief, but the more she thought about it, the more she planned.

He couldn't possibly know because she would just hunt inside the dome. If he decided to visit she'd lie and say she was hunting for berries and herbs. Luckily, her dad had been a hunter and she remembered a few ways to make traps but he never had actually taken her hunting.

They would sit in the kitchen, materials scattered everywhere as he carefully instructed her. Her mother would return from the market, pretending to huff and puff in anger at the mess. Then, Sabele would squeal in laughter at her parents before running out the door, the half made trap in hand.

"I'll just rely on the traps and try to make the best of it." Grabbing her old summer clothes, she strapped on her wool jacket and shoes.

Despite the cold, she pushed through the snow and set her traps appropriately. Upon arriving back at the cave, her dome alerted her of a couple walking up the path. Running to the back, she changed clothes and pretended to be reading one of the textbooks.

"You are the new priestess?"

"Yes," Sabele slowly put the book away. Fear struck her heart but she tried hard not to let it show. As if that was even possible at this point. Her face still felt tight and lips chapped from the crying she had done the night before.

A hand rested on the book in a form of comfort. She felt the need to be armed, even if it was just a book. The couple stood silent for a moment as if telepathically talking before the wife spoke up again.

"We would like to appease the goddess, Amist. I'm finally pregnant and I wish to be a good mother and would love her guidance. Please summon her so we may ask what offering she would like and what advice she may give us," the mother looked hopeful and Sabele burned with jealous anger. Her child would live happily with her and her husband. In that one moment, she thought of her parents and how they were burned before her.

Opening her mouth, she was about to yell at them to leave but she slowly closed it and nodded. Beyond her child mind, she managed to find some sympathy. It echoed in her mind like a tiny voice, a soothing voice like her mother's, just telling her to let go of her anger and to help these people. Her job is to be the new priestess of these people. They came and asked her for help. She will give it to them.

"Thank you," both bowed politely in respect.

"May I require a few things from you?" As soon as the words left her mouth, the woman snapped her head up in anger.

"You are a priestess, young girl. You require things we need, not what you need."

"I'm a ten! I'm starving!" Her voice went almost into hysteria but that soothing voice came back. That tiny voice calmed her down and reminded her to keep her cool. It didn't feel like her conscious. It felt like something else… something she couldn't place.

Her mother always taught her to keep her chin up and to treat people with respect even when they spit on her. She tried again, besides if she wanted anything she would need to make sure she remained calm and gain some sort of pity.

"Miss, I'm a ten-year-old girl. I'm starving. I'm cold," her voice cracked as she spoke, "I have lost my parents. Your child will have you. Never take that for granted." Sabele wasn't sure where the words came from.

It didn't feel like her speaking but yet her mouth moved, her voice rang through her ears.

They nodded and without a word left.

That night, Sabele cried harder than ever before. Her eyes were so puffy she couldn't see and her nose ran so bad that nothing could stop it. Holding the jacket close, she thought about her parents and how they were burned alive. How the heat had burned her despite the distance she had from the fire.

It must have been midnight when she got up and left the cave. With the jacket in her hand, she headed down to the spring, half frozen, and washed her face, ignoring the frostbite, before using her skirt to towel off. She headed back to the cave and searched for anything in her notes to help her summon a goddess.

Other than saying their name, nothing else seemed to provide a proper ritual to perform.

"Um... Miss? Miss Amist? Goddess Amist? Goddess of loving compassion and kindness and motherhood? Um... Crap..."

"Silence!" The room fell silent at the command. All the gods and goddesses gathered in the Great Hall shut their mouths quick, even the two arguing over a small game of Qüinz.

The sudden silence pierced Tatistic's ears. He knew what he heard and could see the next events clearly. Still, nothing could be done about it. He wasn't sure if that made himself feel better or worse.

"What is it? Fliana?" Her husband rubbed her arm comfortably.

"I heard a voice so hush." She placed a hand over Agous's large one while she focused.

"Um... Crap... Miss Amist? I'd like to speak to you." The voice wasn't yelling like the usual priestesses who often summoned them in their ridiculous chants, but at a normal level. Actually, it came out a bit quieter and a bit high pitched. Strangely, it wasn't a chant either. Uncertainty filled the young voice and everyone listened, eyes widened in disbelief.

"Perhaps a priestess in training?" Mia offered.

"No, this is the young priestess I decreed." Tatisic calmly set down his cards from the Acmaž game he had been playing.

"Well, she wasn't yelling at me. She seems like she could use the help. I'll go see and tell you what's up," her words came out carefree and completed unworried. She stood, flipping a strand of hair over her shoulder before kissing her eldest son on his cheek. Then she vanished.

Appearing before a kneeling Sabele, Amist looked around the cave. It was cold and strange to her. She had always been summoned into a warm cabin or the great temples they had built by the previous priestesses but this was not what she had expected.

"You've summoned me?" Amist talked quickly and shifted from foot to foot. She wanted to leave so badly but she didn't want to leave until she heard the child out.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I realize you have things to do but I had been asked by a couple whose future mother wishes to appease you in return of advice to be a good mother." Sabele kept her hand on her heart like she was told and refused to look up.

"You'd do this for people who couldn't care less for you. For a child who gets to have her parents while yours were killed before your eyes. Why?" Amist hadn't meant to hurt the child or to make her cry. She had been only curious and often too blunt according to Haven.

"I did it because if my mother was here she'd be proud that I was doing my job and holding my head high. This isn't about me. This about them. I'm just a messenger. What must they do to appease you and gain your advice?" Sabele bit her lip knowing that her voice came out high pitched and rude. Amist got down on her knees and pulled the child close to her.

"I know I am a goddess and people believe we shouldn't associate with mortals. However, I am a goddess of loving compassion and kindness. I am also the goddess of motherhood and a mother to four sons myself," wrapping her arms tightly around the girl, Amist held her while she cried bitterly. Her tears touched the goddess's heart deeply and she found herself crying with her too.

"I'm sorry. I've ruined your robes now," Sabele pulled back and wiped her tears away. Slight fear gripped her heart at what she had done but it melted away when the goddess lovingly wiped her cheeks for her.

"It is nothing to worry about, dear. Tell this future mother that her child's happiness comes before all but one may not be able to always get what they want. Giving a child everything will spoil them, but teaching them how to get what they want will allow them to grow. Make sure they give you a Zenêne fur. I will come to see if they have it and only then may you give them my advice." She patted Sabele's head comfortingly before disappearing from sight.

The minute she returned to the large hall where the others waited, she broke into another set of tears. Amist was shocked by the strength of such a young girl but she knew it was tough to be strong. Her husband, Aleanga, and her four sons, Evåinic, Lor, Zan, and Gre, surrounded her with worried faces and supporting arms. Fliana and Mia pushed them away to grab onto her trembling form.

"I am a mother you know," they said nothing, just listened, "and that was the hardest thing for a mother see a child go through. She's only ten. Just a child. Why Tatisic? Why her?" Amist held onto her eldest son's arms, keeping him as close as possible to her.

He had nearly lost him several times. Those moments still haunted her.

"I know. But you will see. The old priestess made her declaration and given her lifeblood for it. Have no fear Amist. I believe no harm will come to her, just great pain and great loss. Can you feel it Aleanga?" Tatisic didn't move from his spot but stared at the god of grief and loss with calculating eyes.

"Yes, I can. It's great and terribly painful."

"I can feel her," everyone looked toward Zan. The son of a goddess of compassionate love and a god of grief and loss, he was a god of mental strength. With his two other brothers, they represented strength as a whole. Lor represented physical strength, Zan mental, and Gre spiritual.

"I can as well. She has a strength that's buried. She is mourning but I believe she will rise again," Gre nodded reassuringly to his mother, giving her hope.

"Wait and watch," Agous's calm voice splintered the silence that had taken up. His cool demeanor set off warning bells in everyone's mind. He knew something or was up to something but nobody knew what it was, never has anybody guessed before. "Amist, please take your seat and rest. I know you feel the need to help and do your motherly duty but you must wait and watch with the rest of us." With that, he relaxed back into his chair and Fliana flounced back over to his side.