Seraphina softly sighed as her hair was tied up, looking down at the ground. She was dressed in an elegant dress and her hair was being done up into an intricate bun, makeup already painted her face. It was the annual choosing of the gods and she was one of the offerings.

"Isn't this a bit old fashioned?" Her sister, Alice asked as she closed her eyes as her own hair was tugged into place.

"Well, yeah, but we've been chosen and no one denies it. Worst thing that happens is we get denied and go on with our lives." Seraphina tilted her head, looking in the mirror. "You were chosen by the wind god right?"

Alice nodded, tugging her enchanted necklace up, the feather pendant dangling from the simple silver chain. "Yup. I really wouldn't mind being picked, ya know?"

Seraphina smiled slightly, her bracelet cool against her wrist. The small grenade pendant shined in the light. "We would be separated. I don't know how well these two get along. Isn't Lenalee also chosen?"

Alice hummed in agreement, leaning forward in the mirror to examine her makeup. "Yup. Fire and ice, two charms on an anklet. I only know one god with two charms. Rare for him to pick anyone though."

Seraphina nodded, standing up to slide on her heels. It was an old ritual to appease the gods. Several people were chosen, from only a couple to a dozen depending on the god, and gifted a piece of jewelry representing them to be worn. When the day arrived, the chosen mortals would sit and speak with the god that chose them personally until they were dismissed.

Some unlucky ones had been turned away swiftly, bringing only shame upon themselves. The ones that sat longer with the god, but weren't chosen were allowed to keep their jewelry, but were given a bronze chain to symbolize their status as a follower. The silver chains were a symbol of being chosen.

Gold chains were the most rare. They were the ones who were loved by the gods themselves, chosen to be theirs. Some gods had many close ones, while others had very few or none. Some of these lucky people were allowed to freely travel between realms, while others were kept for the gods personal uses.

The ritual itself had been slowly dying off, the gods either too lazy to choose llike they once did or allowing themselves to become human. A few chose to live mortal lives, letting their history become mere history and myth.

Seraphina glanced down at her bracelet. She wasn't sure if she would still be a follower if she were denied. The explosive god was notorious for his temper and his pickyness. According to sources, she was only one of three that was chosen. However, Lenalee, her other sister, had been the only one chosen by the dual-element god. Alice had no less than a dozen others to win over the wind god; if she wanted to, that is.

Seraphina took a deep breath at a knock. "We're ready."

Seraphina stood tall between her sisters as they walked, arm in arm. Lenalee was the shortest, with soft round cheeks and long black hair. She was the calmest and quietest. Surely she'd be chosen. If anything, for her cooking skills alone.

Alice was only slightly taller than Lenalee with short, bouncy blond curls and narrow eyes. She was the most rambunctious, always ready to cause trouble or listen to the latest gossip. Seraphina knew how much she longed to be wanted, to be chosen and loved by anyone. Hopefully, she would be.

Seraphina thought herself nothing beyond ordinary. Sure, she was quite smart and taller than the average woman by a few inches. She had long, blond hair and was a bit on the chubby side, but didn't stand out. Hopefully whatever the god chose her for wasn't for her 'child-birthing hips' as had been pointed out by others.

She softly sighed, glancing at her sisters. "I hope you two have better luck than I will."

Alice smiled widely, giving her a thumbs up. "You two should have a blast! You, quite literally, have a blast."

Seraphina softly groaned when Alice busted out laughing as Lenalee sighed. At least one of them was in high spirits. Though, Seraphina could see the lurking worry and unease in her eyes.

They walked into the building and Lenalee let go of her arm, pointing at a sign. "I've gotta go that way. See you two later."

Alice let go to hug her tightly, squeezing her as she groaned audibly. "I love you. Hope everything goes well!"

Lenalee nodded and hugged Seraphina, taking a deep breath. "I'll be alright. Good luck you two."

Lenalee waved as she walked off, showing her anklet to the guard to be let into the room. Alice took a deep breath and rubbed her arms, looking around. "I think I see someone heading that way with their own necklace. I'll see ya later."

Seraphina squeezed her as red start blossoming across the backs of her hands. "Deep breaths. The wind god's a nice one, he has a lot of chosen followers."

Alice nodded and squeezed her hands together. "Good luck with 'Lord Explosion Murder'."

Seraphina groaned as Alice giggled. "I swear, off with you."

Alice giggled and waved, heading down to join the group chatting together. Seraphina smiled slightly and continued walking, spotting two other women standing beside each other. A red-headed guard stood by the door, grinning as he flexed in front of them.

Seraphina softly sighed, hearing a loud yell from inside the room to 'hurry up and send one in'. She raised an eyebrow as the guard smiled sheepishly, opening the door to let the first woman in. Seraphina muffled a cough at the thick cloud of perfume, turning her head away.

The second woman looked ready to hurl, her face turning more and more green as yelling continued. Seraphina raised a hand to place on her back, asking, "Are you going to be okay?"

The woman clamped a hand over her mouth and shook her head quickly, running off down the hall. Her bracelet fell off, the chain and charm both crumbling into dust. Seems like the god didn't want her either, Seraphina silently wondered.

The guard softly sighed, glancing back at the door. "Too bad, she was pretty."

Seraphina resisted the urge to roll her eyes as a shriek escaped from the room, the first woman storming out yelling curses. Her makeup was smeared, tears streaking down her face. The guard visibly winced and held up a finger before slipping inside the room.

Seraphina sighed, shaking her head slightly. Poor lady, must've came on too strong. She rubbed her nose, softly huffing at the heavy perfume.

The guard slipped out and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that, but he's ready for you. Please excuse the temper, his mom kinda forced him to pick some potential lovers."

She nodded and smoothed her skirt down, walking up to the door. "Thank you."

He held the door open for her and she walked inside, preparing herself for the worst.