Daria: Winter Is Coming. Temple and Kaddish

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the property rights to either Daria or to A Game of Thrones. Characters, plot, background, and details belong to their respective owners. This work of fiction is written for recreation and for ego gratification, and the author neither expects nor deserves any sort of financial compensation for this work (Although reviews would be nice).Readers interested in finding more about Daria or A Game of Thrones should seek out their creators' official books and videos.

Daria: Winter Is Coming*Daria: Winter Is Coming*Daria: Winter Is Coming

Rikka Morgendorffer came home from school and knocked on the front door. Her Dad opened it; Rikka saw that he was wearing a dress shirt, grey trousers, and necktie. Uh-oh, she thought.

Rikka, we'll be going to Temple after school. You'll have to change," said Dad.

"Do I have to?" Rikka said plaintively.

"Yes, you have to," Ben replied. "You know the drill."

"Oh, all right," said Rikka. She was going to have to go to Temple. She went upstairs to Daria's bedroom and knocked on the door. She and Daria were still sharing space. It was now two weeks since she moved in. Daria was pretty cool but Rikka wasn't so sure with her older cousin that she could take things for granted.

"Come in," said Daria.

Rikka opened the door and walked in. Daria was seated at her desk doing something with her computer. Unlike her new classmates and her old friends back in Las Vegas, Daria didn't do much playing around on her computer. She used it more the way grown-ups did—to write stuff, look things up on-line, and occasionally to write people.

"I've got to change clothes," said Rikka. "Dad's taking me to Temple." She put down her book satchel down and opened one of the two lower drawers of the dresser that Daria had ceded to her. Daria still occupied the upper three.

"Changing clothes?" Daria said teasingly. "Can't you do Casual Monday?"

"It doesn't work that way," said Rikka. "It's more—dressy."

"Whatever," said Daria.

"You know, you ought to come along," said Rikka.

"I think I'll stay put," Daria replied, "but thanks for the invite anyway."

Then Rikka said something that Daria would remember for the rest of her life. "I think you ought to come this time. For all you know, this might be the last time we can all go to Temple together."

Daria watched as Rikka changed from her school clothes into a dress with Mary Jane shoes and white socks. She then combed her hair.

"So how do I look?" she said.

"Pretty good for a kid," said Daria. "You know, I ought to take pictures and then blackmail you later on when you become a Doyenne of Fashion the way Quinn wants to be."

Rikka stuck her tongue out and blew Daria a raspberry.

"Have fun," said Daria.

Rikka gave her a look that looked like the ones she gave other people mixed with something she might have picked up from Breeze, then went downstairs to link up with Uncle Ben.

-(((O-O)))—

"I'm ready," she said.

"You look nice," said Dad. "Let's go."

They went out and got into Dad's car. Rikka got into the front passenger seat. She remembered Jill, a classmate who lived a block or two away, asking her how she could tell if her Dad was home.

"Easy," said Rikka. "It's the only car in the driveway with Nevada plates."

The local synagogue was a relatively short drive away. Despite the fact that there were services Monday night, there was plenty of parking. Most people who went to Temple went to services on the Sabbath.

Rikka opened the door and went in. Rikka thought he looked a little strained. Shouldn't they fix the door or something, she thought.

There were a couple of people standing out in the foyer greeting people before services actually started. Rikka had met a couple of them the previous week, then got some unwanted attention when word made it through the grapevine that her birth-father was King Robert. Now she had a difficult time not getting noticed and, unlike Cousin Quinn, she didn't like it that much.

Mrs. Levine, the wife of one of the Temple's elders, saw her with her Dad. "Don't you look nice," she said.

"Thanks," said Rikka. She'd learned that she attracted attention. A part of her made her think about Earth's royals. She knew they got a lot more attention than she and the King's other bastards did. She wondered how they dealt with it. She told herself that she'd ask them—if she ever did, which she didn't think would ever happen.

The services started, first with the Sh'ma prayer, then with the Shemonch Isrei, the 18 blessings prayer. The Cantor first read it in Hebrew, then in English. Hebrew was wayyy different both from English and from the Andal that she and her Mom had spoken before they were brought to Earth from Planetos. Rikka didn't plan on converting, but it was nice to understand what was going on.

There was also a reading from the Torah, which Rikka found interesting. Not so much because of what was in the readings, but because the people here made such a production of bringing the Torah out of the cabinet, parading it around the congregation, and only then letting the Cantor read from it. Back in Westeros, the Book of the Seven stayed with the Septon, which he might or might not choose to read from it.

Listening to the service made Rikka wonder about God and religion. Were Earth and Planetos in the same universe. Did the One God of the Jews create both worlds or was it the Seven? Was the One God of the Jews the same as the One God of the Seven? If so, how was He supposed to be worshipped? Rikka didn't know; about the only thing she did know was that if someone tried to bully her into accepting one view or the other, they were going to be in for a fight.

After the Cantor read from the Torah, the Cantor and the Rabbi led the congregation through the Kaddish. Despite the fact that she didn't really believe in the One God of the Jews, Rikka had asked the Rabbi and the Gebbai if the mourning Kaddish could include King Robert and her mother. The Rabbi told her that traditionally the Kaddish was reserved for departed souls of the Jewish faith and that reciting the prayers for her Mom and for her birth-father might not do any good but agreed with her that they might not hurt either. Hearing the prayers for her birth-father and for her mother made Rikka smile and tear up at the same time. Still, despite the Rabbi's opinion, she was convinced that saying prayers for Mom and for King Robert would help. Mom had once told her that he was nice. Maybe the Hebrew God could tell the Seven to look after them.

The final prayer was the Aleina. Rikka looked over and saw that Dad had fallen asleep. Well, maybe he was tired, she told herself.

The service ended and people began to get up. Her Dad still looked like he was napping. Rikka gave him a nudge. "Dad," she said, "the service is over." She gave him another nudge, the sort of nudge that usually woke him up. Her Dad didn't respond. Rikka started to worry, then gave him a shove. Her Dad didn't respond; instead, he slumped over to the side of the pew.

Oh, my Gods, he's unconscious, thought Rikka, fighting down panic. Her Dad had been the one thing that had been consistent in her life since she'd come over from Westeros, her rock. She and her Dad were in trouble and she knew it. Keep cool, Rikka, she told herself. These are good people here.

There were still a couple of people in the sanctuary, so at least she wasn't alone. She took a deep breath.

"HELP!" she yelled.

-(((O-O)))—

Author's notes: As I think I've said before, I'm not Jewish and I used the Internet to research a Temple service with the Torah. The spelling mistakes are all mine.