Author's Note: I've had an idea for a Goddess AU floating around in my head for quite a while. I'm really excited to start this, and I hope you'll enjoy it. :)
Warnings: Violence, abduction, homelessness, mentions of death.
EDIT 11/26/2015: I've gone through and edited chapter 1 and am currently working on the second chapter. I won't publish without checking my work again!
Julchen struggled against their hold, fighting to free herself. "Let go of me!" she cried. If her hands had been free, she would have clawed them. If her legs had been free, she would have kicked them. If they hadn't been so careful to keep their hands away from her face, she'd have bitten them-one man's thumb still bled, testifying to that.
"Just shut up, will ya!" One of the men snarled. He tightened his grip on her, squeezing her stomach so hard she had to struggle for breath. If the blindfold were gone, she'd have given him a death glare; but no, they were too afraid of her eyes to leave them uncovered.
She didn't know where the men were carrying her, or why they'd grabbed her, specifically. She was a poor, low-class vagrant, her red eyes and white hair warning people away from her. No one would touch a girl like her; they were all too afraid of catching the bad luck she carried with her.
And yet, these four men had come in the middle of the night and stolen her from her hidden home in the alley, grabbed her and trussed her up like a bird bound for some rich man's table. She struggled again, feeling the rope at her ankle slip a bit. If she could just wriggle it down a little more, she could free her leg, and maybe kick one of them in the face.
One man groaned. "Finally," he muttered, and Julchen felt them lift her higher for a moment, before she was dropped onto a hard, cold slab of stone. The impact knocked the breath out of her again, and she gasped, trying to get it back. She still had no idea where she was, or what they wanted with her.
"Tie 'er to the posts," said another man. "We got t' do this right."
"But she'll fight if we untie her!" The second man protested. Julchen allowed herself a smirk as her breathing fell back into its usual pattern. Hell yeah, she'd fight.
"Then you two, grab 'er legs, an' you, untie 'er an' tie 'er to the poles! It ain't that hard!"
Two pair of arms wrapped themselves around each of her legs, and she felt the knots loosening. She grit her teeth, fighting to kick, but their grip was too tight. They tugged on her legs, spreading them, and cold stone bit into her ankles as they tied them tightly to posts. Was she on a table, then? A stone table?
Her blood ran cold. It wasn't a table. It was an altar. A marble altar, the one in the Cold Temple.
She was a sacrifice. They were going to kill her.
She fought harder, stone and rope biting and tearing at her skin. "Let me go, let me go!" she cried, as they fastened her wrists to posts above her head. One of the men laughed.
"As if we'd give up a chance like this!"
Julchen tore at the ropes, arching her back as she pulled, but the knots were too tight. She couldn't escape. Her heart was beating faster, filling her with adrenaline, but even that wasnt enough.
She was going to die.
"It's th' Winter Solstice, girl. A full moon, on th' Winter Solstice. We ain't gettin' a chance like this'n again in our lifetime," said one of the men. His voice carried a smug tone.
"Can we start now, then? I've waited long enough for this." This man sounded impatient, and as Julchen slumped against the altar, she heard the sound of metal sliding against leather-the sound of a blade being drawn from its sheath.
"Why are you doing this? Just let me go, you bastards!" They were going to kill her with a knife, slit her throat, maybe, or her stomach, or cut out her heart-she didn't know what they would do, but she didn't want to die.
"Shut up, you. Come on, someone put a gag on 'er." There was the sound of fabric ripping, and then there were hands on her face, roughly pushing a dirty, stinking rag into her mouth and tying it tightly around her head. She tried to scream, shout at him, something, but all that came out was a muffled grunt. The man who'd tied it laughed.
"Shoulda done that soon's we grabbed her."
"Shut it. Let's just do it."
There was a moment of silence, and Julchen started fighting against the bonds again, determined to release at least one limb so she could break someone's jaw before she died. Gods, she really didn't want to die. Help me, she silently prayed, hoping that her tears wouldn't leak through the blindfold where her murderers could see them, Gods, goddesses, please-help me! I know I'm not much, I know I've got the bad luck on me, I know I've never done anything worthwhile-but I promise, if you save me, I'll do something-anything! I'll dedicate my life to you, someone. I'll do it. Just-Death! Please, don't take me! Her joints screamed as she pulled harder, but the knots held firm.
One of her abductors began to speak again. "Oh great Goddess of Moonlight, Goddess of Winter, Goddess of Death. We offer you this sacrifice of a young girl to do with as you please. In exchange, we ask that you grant us eternal life."
Julchen stiffened, too shocked to struggle now. They were sacrificing her to the Goddess of Death, so that they would never die. She felt the heat of a body press closer to her, felt the cold bite of metal against the side of her face. She tried to scream, but the reeking gag prevented it.
The knife opened the skin of her cheek, and pain flared, a hot, burning pain. She tried to cry out again, arching away, but there was a sudden explosion of sound, and a flash of light that she could see even through her blindfold. Julchen froze again, barely registering that the knife had clattered to the stone beside her head.
"Enough!" This voice was a woman's, higher and softer, yet filled with anger, and an unearthly resonance that Julchen could feel in her bones.
"What good did you think this would do? I have never tolerated human sacrifice! You believe I would grant you immortality, at the price of an innocent life? Leave here at once, and take this gift with you, to remember our meeting!"
Four screams filled the air, and Julchen felt a chill greater than the winter air outside. There was another flash of light, and then all was silent, save the labored sobs that Julchen hadn't realized were her own.
A gentle hand was laid on her forehead, and the same voice said, "You're hurt...!" The binds around her limbs and face vanished, freeing her, and she sucked in a gasp of clean, cool air before focusing on the face hovering over hers.
She was the most beautiful woman Julchen had ever seen. She had a round face and a small, straight nose, with blonde hair flowing over her shoulders in soft waves and eyebrows knitted together in concern above large, purple eyes. Julchen was surprised by the details she could make out in just the half-light of the full moon, until she realized that the woman's skin was actually glowing faintly from within.
"Healing isn't my specialty," the woman continued, worry coating her soft words, "so there's very little I can do to help you. Are you badly hurt? You're bleeding in several places. Ohhh, when I get my hands on that man..."
Julchen blinked at her. "You...you're a goddess." That was obvious. "You saved me."
The woman-goddess-nodded. "I am Madeline. And when my head priestess arrives, she will tend to your wounds."
"...You're the Goddess of Death."
"Yes. And with luck, you won't be needing my services again for a long while. Oh, if only I could heal," she muttered. The goddess looked Julchen over, and Julchen felt herself relaxing, feeling sleepy. "Oh, no, don't sleep there." Madeline picked the girl up from the altar with ease, cradling her against her chest. Julchen felt warm then, and pleasantly so. When was the last time she'd been held so tenderly?
"You've been through too much tonight," said the goddess, carrying her away from the altar. "Sleep, now, and when you awaken, you will feel much better."
xxxxxx
When Julchen did awaken, she was in an unfamiliar bed, covered in and surrounded by blankets and pillows. She sat up with a wince, feeling her back crack and the wounds on her wrists and ankles chafe against fabric. She looked around, her mind hazy. Where was this place? Glancing down at herself, she noted that she was also wearing different clothing. Gone were the torn, filthy dress and leggings she'd worn for years; they'd been replaced by a loose, white robe.
"Ah, good, you are awake!" That was a cheerful voice, carrying a lilting accent of some sort. A woman stepped into view-not, Julchen thought with some disappointment, the woman he'd seen last night, in her dream-and smiled warmly at her. "How are you feeling, dear?"
Julchen blinked at her. "...Ow," she said in reply, voice rough. The woman laughed lightly.
"I put some healing balms on your wounds, but they might have rubbed off by now." She moved closer, gently taking one of Julchen's wrists in her hands. "Ah, but they don't seem too bad. They will heal." She gently laid Julchen's wrist back down and then peered closely at Julchen's face. Her eyes were a shade of deep blue, and her hair was a dark blonde, pinned up on her head and covered partially with a white veil trailing down her back. "The cut on your face, though, will scar. Such a pity. You have such a lovely complexion, too." She sighed.
Julchen lifted her hand to touch her cheek, feeling the raised skin and flushed heat surrounding it. "...Who are you?" she asked, dropping her hand into her lap and wincing as the abraded skin of her wrist brushed against the blanket. And why aren't you afraid of me? she neglected to add.
The woman smiled at her. "My name is Marianne. I'm the head priestess of the Cold Temple. ...I should have bandaged those wounds of yours last night," she sighed, and turned away to open a nearby wooden box.
"The head...? Oh." Julchen blinked. "Then, last night-the men, the, the goddess. She was real?" She'd thought she'd dreamed up the appearance of the beautiful goddess. But how else could she be alive, if not for divine intervention?
Marianne chuckled, turning back toward her with a roll of bandages and a jar of something, and carefully lifting her wrist again. "Of course she was. Madeline was very concerned for you. Then again, it was her temple they tried to kill you in." She opened the jar and scooped out an oily substance with her fingers, carefully smearing it over Julchen's wounds.
Wincing at the sensation on her rubbed-raw wrists, Julchen focused all of her attention on Marianne. "They wanted to kill me for immortality. The goddess saved me.
Marianne nodded, wrapping her wrist in bandages. "I heard. The goddess certainly gave them a fitting punishment, though." She chuckled, moving onto Julchen's other wrist.
"She did? What did she do?"
"She froze parts of their bodies. The ice will spread slowly from where it began, and will eventually kill them. One doesn't anger the Goddess of Winter easily, does she?"
Julchen blinked again. Madeline, Goddess of Winter, Moonlight, and Death, had saved her life. Julchen didn't actually know much about the gods and goddesses of the land; only the most common things. Wasn't Madeline supposed to be a cold, uncaring goddess? It was her twin brother who was the kind, cheerful one. Why would she care if Julchen lived or died? She was the Goddess of Death. Shouldn't she have been glad to take Julchen's soul away with her?
But Julchen had prayed to be spared, hadn't she? In desperation, she had prayed to Death to spare her. She had promised to dedicate her life to her. That was why the goddess had saved her. It must have been.
She may not know much about the gods, but she knew that people faced eternal punishment for not honoring a promise made to one. She swallowed thickly, watching as Marianne tended to her ankles. "You said you're the head priestess?" At Marianne's nod, she continued, "...I want...to join the temple. As a dedicate to the Goddess of Death."
AN: Thank you for reading the first chapter. I welcome critique and reviews of all kinds, so please don't hesitate to tell me what you think.
I've planned out a pretty good universe surrounding this fic, and I hope my writing skills will be able to portray it well. This WILL be a romantic Nyo!PruCan fic, but I'm not sure of any other pairings just yet.
The characters who have appeared so far are Nyo!Canada (Madeline, the Goddess of Winter, Moonlight, and Death), Nyo!Prussia (Julchen, a homeless girl), and Nyo!France (Marianne, head priestess of the Cold Temple). Madeline's twin brother is Alfred, or America. There will be more info on him in the next chapter. The four abductors are nameless OCs, and I don't know if they'll appear again or not.
The Cold Temple is the temple dedicated to Madeline.
If you have any other questions, please let me know! :)