A/N: I want to thank you for your kind reviews, it means a lot to me, really. :) I also want to thank persian for being an awesome beta and friend, and also because you are the one who helps me keep going with my crazy idea :)
I don't own anything...although I wish I could.
Enjoy!
Divinity
Chapter three
In a very hidden part in the Northern side of Earth was Goddess Gaia's amazing shrine, a sacred place where people from all around the world came to say their prayers.
The entrance to the Palace was by a small door from which a corridor connects to the Court of the Blessing. In the centre was a large pond set in the marble pavement, full of goldfish, and with myrtles growing along its sides.
There were galleries on the north and south sides, supported by a marble colonnade. Underneath it, to the right, was the principal entrance, and over it were three windows with arches and miniature pillars. From this court, the walls of the Prayer room are seen rising over the roof to the north and reflected in the pond.
The Shrine is the largest room in the Palace, it was a square room with a very high dome ceiling. This was the grand reception room, were people left flowers, lit candles and took their time to pray to the Goddess.
The room was full of tiles, and its colours varied at intervals. Over them was a series of oval medallions with inscriptions, interwoven with flowers and leaves. There were nine windows, three on each facade, and the ceiling was decorated with inlaid-work of white, blue and gold, in the shape of circles, crowns and stars.
The walls were covered with varied stucco works, surrounding many ancient escutcheons. And in the center of the large room was a golden throne.
Gaia wondered all over the planet, but because she was a sacred being, she didn't have any human contact.
When she finally come back home, a young priest was sitting in one of the benches of the court. He felt the presence of his princess and stood up giving her a low bow.
"Princess" said the priest. "You are finally home"
"Good day, Obelix. Yes I'm finally home." she responded with a soft smile.
"People from all over came once again today, Highness." Obelix said
"I can imagine. I haven't been here as much as I wanted to, you know how the King and Queen feel about it." Gaia said sitting on her golden chair in the shrine, looking at the flowers brought by the people in her honour with a smile on her face she takes a white rose.
Gaia sighed.
"Obelix, you don't need to be on your knees all the time while I'm here." she laughed softly.
Obelix lifts his view to meet her smile and responded the same way.
"Thank you, Princess." he said and stood up. "Is there anything I can do for you?
"No, thank you."
The priest bowed started to leave.
"But I do have a question, my dear Priest" she said.
"Yes, Princess?" the young priest asked
"Do you think I'll ever find love?"
"Love, Princess?" the priest asked, amazed.
He had never heard her talk about love before. He always knew she was a strong kind of Princess.
"Yes, love. Do you think I'll find it someday?" she asked again, this time with melancholy on her voice.
"Yes" the priest said in a warm tone.
"Do you really think so?" she asked again, with some hope showing in her eyes.
"I don't think so, I am sure of it." he gave his princess a warm smile.
"Thank you, Obelix. What would I do without you?" she laughed softly
"Why do you ask, Princess?" asked Obelix curious, now wanting to know the reason.
"I don't feel like sitting on this throne today. Have a walk with me, please?" she asked him, standing up and straightening her dark green dress.
They walked in silence through the gardens until the priest couldn't wait any longer for her answer. He was too curious to let that topic go.
"Princess, why did you ask me that about love?" he said, clasping his hands looked down at the grass.
The question took Gaia by surprise. Hugging herself before sitting down on a stone bench near fountain. The priest stood in front of her.
"There was a ball at the Moon Palace, and I saw my best friend, Princess Serenity dancing and laughing with a prince. The next morning she told me they were very in love." she said, running her hand through her raven curls.
"You felt jealous, Princess?" he asked in a serious tone.
"No, not jealous. I felt sad." she finally managed to say.
The priest took his seat next to his princess still looking at his hands intertwined.
"Maybe it was because you thought you were going to stay just the way you are now. Highness, with all due respect, I think it was just a matter of time. Princess Serenity has always been the dreamy princess, the one who always wished for her prince charming, the one who always dreamed about her wedding since she was a child. And you, Highness, are the total opposite. Not in a bad way but, you trained with weapons, you had to learn how to use the strong power you possess. You had to grow in a very short amount of time. That stone you carry everywhere with you, you know it's not just a pretty jewel. You know it holds all the energy your grandfather, Sun, gave you. The strength of Earth your father gave you, and the wisdom of the skies you mother gave you. You always thought about the good things you could do here with your people, thinking of your planet before thinking about love, about yourself."
The priest's eyes now focused on his princess.
Gaia took off the pendant she was wearing minutes ago, and look how it caught the sunlight. Smiling she turned to face the priest.
"You are a treasure to me. I love spending time here with you, just talking. Thank you so much for your kind words." she hugged him.
"Princess, I'm not saying that you are not a lady like Princess Serenity." The priest said, waving his hands defending his words.
Gaia laughed.
"Of course not, Obelix. Sometimes I need to hear a different opinion about myself once in a while." she patted his shoulder before standing up.
"You will find love and a good one, you'll see." he finished before standing up as well and heading back to the prayer room.
Gaia turned to see the fountain in front of her and thought about the man she met a couple of days ago once again, whispering to the wind
"...Eros..."
"Who called my name?"
The prince's eyes opened when he heard a soft whisper calling his name, with his sleep gone and without knowing what to do, he walked to his window and stared at the night sky, he remembered the girl he met a few days ago.
"Am I going to see her again?" he asked to the skies. "I want to know her name...I want to see her again"
He closed his eyes trying to remember her unique eyes, her smile, her ebony hair... he opened his eyes again. "You can easily be a goddess with that beauty of yours...so enigmatic...I wish I knew where are you." he thought.
Prince Eros of The Northern Kingdom was a very competitive person, confident, smart and, of course, was popular with the ladies because of his handsome face and perfect body. His hair always fell on his dark blue eyes and he had a smile that make ladies go crazy. Young, strong, noble and single.
His parents wanted him to find a consort, the future queen of The Northern Kingdom, but he didn't seem to believe there was a woman that could capture his heart, until he met her.
Realizing he wasn't going to find her just thinking of her, he went back to his bed and went back to sleep.
The next morning the birds could be heard chirping, singing melodies composed by themselves and Prince Eros woke up by the sound of a annoying trumpet, then by one of his generals knocking loudly on his door, before he called to him in a very loud way.
"Your Highness! Are you there!" the general called out.
"What time is it?" the prince grumbled.
Standing up he went to look for his robe before he went to the door. The general kept insisting knocking loudly and calling him.
"Your Highness!" he kept calling.
When he didn't get an answer he started pounding the door. When he was about to open his mouth to call louder Eros opened the door.
"What?" he snapped.
"Your Highness, I'm so sorry, but I thought you were asleep." the general said nervously.
"I was." he said in a stern voice.
The leader of his generals came in, after his prince headed to his bed once again.
"Um...Your Highness...what are you doing?" he asked, puzzled.
"What does it look I'm doing? I'm going back to sleep, of course. I didn't have a good night's sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking someone was calling my name." he said.
"Oh, it wasn't me." the general said.
"Oh, I am sure it wasn't." Eros laughed, thinking of the general's loud voice.
"Prince, you need to get ready. The king and queen want to have a word with you." the general said
"Argh! Now? I do not wish to go." the prince grumbled.
"Why not?" The general sat on a chair near the bed.
"Because I know what they want to tell me." he said, trying to cover himself with the red covers.
"Eros, you have to go." the general said seriously.
Leonidas was the only one who was his best friend, besides a high ranked general of his army, and because of that he was the only who could call him only by his name without his title.
"I know, Leonidas, I know." he gave a sigh. "Let me take a quick shower and change. Please, tell them I'll be with them in 15 minutes." he said, knowing that it was impossible to avoid his parents.
"Very well." with that the general stood up and left the room while Eros went directly to his bathroom.
The king and queen were sitting in the dinning room, waiting for their son so they could have breakfast together.
The room had high walls in white, with red curtains falling from the entrance, large windows at the right side of the room. Two chandeliers were hanging from the high ceiling and gave light to the elegant dark wood dining table, with red accents.
"Where is he?" King Odell asked annoyed.
His rough fingers tapped the delicate wooden table.
"He won't take too long, dear. Let's wait for him." Queen Narella told her husband, taking another sip of tea.
Leonidas came into the room, giving their majesties a low bow before he spoke.
"Your Majesties."
"Did you tell him we were waiting for him?" the king asked.
"Yes, my King." the general answered. "He said that he'll be here in 15 minutes."
"Well then, we should wait for him." said the queen. "Odell, calm down dear. Please don't act so grumpy"
"But I'm hungry!" the king hissed.
"Well, you will have to wait. It's been a while since we had breakfast together as family." she said sadly.
Right after, Eros walks into the room fully dressed in a dark green military uniform with a red sash, his golden medal indicating his high rank and a matching cape covering his back.
"Good morning, Mother." Eros goes and kisses his mother on her cheek.
"Father." he just nods at him, having the same response from his father.
"You are excused, Leonidas." said the queen, he bowed once again and left the large room.
"Leonidas told me you wanted to have a word with me, am I right?" he asks already knowing the answer.
"Besides that, your mother wanted to have breakfast together." the king said.
Eros raised his right eyebrow. "Besides what?"
"Your future, son." King Odell said.
"Here we go again." Prince Eros sighed.
"Eros, dear" it was the queen's who spoke.
"You turned 25 in Mercurian time last month. You need to be serious and think about the future." The king said once again.
"Exactly. I'm only 25. Why would I have to think about that? I've been of great help in the army protecting our land. Why would I have to slave myself to a girl?" Eros said, getting upset.
"Son, you have to think that we are not going to be here forever. We need an heir for the throne of this land." the king said, trying to calm his son
"I'm your heir!" Prince Eros said, raising his hands in the air.
"You are not going to last forever, either." said the king once more.
"If you do not act fast, the other kingdoms will try conquer our lands, and we can't let that happen." A sad tone was invading King Odell's voice.
"Would you like some eggs, Your Majesty?" one of the maids asked the prince interrupting the dispute.
"No, just fruit, thank you." he said nicely to her.
She nodded, and left the room.
"As I was saying, you need to move. Quickly. Find a girl, marry her, and bring a new heir to this land!" the king said, before he continued eating his eggs and ham.
"Do you think that's easy?" Prince Eros said upset rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Is that how you found Mother?"
"Eros!" his mother said, her eyes getting moist by her tears.
He sighed.
"I-I'm sorry mother." he said, defeated.
The maid brought his fruit. She gives a small bow, and excused herself out of the room.
They ate the rest of their breakfast in silence and in silence the three royals got up and went to do their own duties.
Eros was quite upset by this whole bride search situation. He knew he could choose any girl of his kingdom bed her and bring an heir to his people, but he wanted more in his life, more than just a woman in his bed, a phantom in his life. He wanted love. He wanted passion.
He wasn't aware his general and friend, was behind him so he got scared when he hears his raspy voice.
"Are you alright, You Highness?" Leonidas asks worried.
Eros turns to see his friend standing next to him.
"What am I going to do, Leonidas? I'm really not interested in getting married right now." he said, tired of the situation.
Every day was the same thing, the same discussions.
"Give them some time, Your Highness. But it's true you know. They are not going to live forever." he said in a serious tone.
"You too, Leonidas?" Eros said, annoyed.
"Fine, let's talk about something else." Leonidas said, patting his friend's shoulder.
"We have to keep thinking how to maintain our kingdom safe." the general said, trying to change the subject into more important issues.
"You know, I think I need some time on my own. Please don't take it personally." the prince said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"As you wish, Your Highness. I will be with the rest of the army until your return, so we can talk about new strategies." the general said.
"Of course. I won't take long. I just need some fresh air. I'll be back shortly." the prince said walking down the hall.
Eros walked by the gardens of his castle, but he still felt trapped inside the tall walls, he went outside the Palace and walked straight to the forest.
Gaia was bored in her chambers, lying on her big golden and ivory bed, caressing the soft curtains around it. Thinking of everything, and at the same time thinking of nothing. Closing her eyes, she gave a deep sigh.
"Why am I like this?" she asked, out loud.
She then stood up, and went to her dresser, combing her hair and putting some lilly perfumed powder looked herself in the mirror.
"I need to go for a walk. I am thinking way too much about this love issue." she said out loud.
"Are you leaving, Your Highness?" asked the priest
"No, I'm just going for a long walk, and maybe I might take a little nap under a tree." she smiled, and waved at the priest.
Obelix smiled and nodded.
Gaia went deep into the forest, smelling every flower she saw, until she got to the lake, and saw a man standing there, throwing pebbles at the calm crystal water. Trying to not interrupt the man, she hid behind a tree and turned to leave. She accidentally stepped on a branch making a noise, the man turned immediately to see who was there.
The Earth Princess regretted being there at that moment.
"Oh, god, don't let him find me." she thought.
"Who's there?" Eros called out loud.
When he didn't got an answer, he went to where he heard the sound, in order to find who was spying on him.
Gaia was feeling anxious, and nervous at the same time. Biting her lower lip, she came out from behind the large oak tree.
Eros's eyes widened when he saw who the person was her. He came closer and stopped a few feet away from her.
"You!" he exclaimed, surprised.
"Um...hello?" Gaia said nervously, her heart beating faster.
"It's you again! Were you spying on me?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
She lets out a short laugh
"No, I wasn't."
"What are you doing here?" he asked again.
"Can't two people just be at the same place at the same time?" she answered, placing her hands on her hips.
"I-I'm sorry. I just thought I was alone." he said.
"I better go." she said and turned to leave
"No!" Eros said quickly and took her arm. "Please don't go."
"Are you okay?" she asked worried.
She wasn't expecting this kind of reaction from him. Her eyes focused on his hand, grasping her arm.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to tear your arm apart." he smiled.
"It's not my arm what worries me, it's you, but it would be better if you just let it go." she said, seriously.
"Oh, sorry." he let go of her arm, and she placed her hand where he had his.
"You apologize too much." she said while walking towards the lake.
"You think so? Maybe it's because you complain too much." he joked.
Gaia turns at him.
"I complain too much?" she asked in wonder.
Eros was about to say sorry again when she lifted one hand to stop him
"Don't say 'sorry'. It's okay." she smiled.
"Can I ask why you're here?" she said, sitting at the shore of the lake taking her satin blue slippers off.
"I just needed sometime alone." he said, sadly.
"Again? You need alone time as much as you ask for forgiveness." she joked.
"Touché, my Lady." he smiled, and came to stand next to her and asked "May I sit?"
"Sure, come, sit. Tell me what's wrong." she said, patted the grass next to her.
He sat down and crossed his legs while he watched how she dipped her small feet into the clear water.
"Don't you want to know who I am?" he asked, puzzled.
"Is it necessary?" she asked him, her eyes watching the little waves she made with her right foot.
"Well, no, but if you are asking me to tell you my problems, the least I can do is introduce myself to you." he said, looking at her
"If you need to do it in order to tell me what's wrong with you, then do it, but I already know you're Eros." she said, still not looking at him but the water.
"Right, but you never told me your name." he said, not taking his eyes off her.
"Gaia." she said softly.
"Excuse me?" he asked.
"My name is Gaia." she repeated.
"You have a beautiful name. Gaia, like our Goddess of Earth." he said, smiling.
"Ah, yes like her." she said trying not to blush
Why did I tell him my real name? I could have invented another one. she thought.
"You could easily be her." he said.
This time she couldn't hide her blush anymore.
"Thank you." she said shyly.
Recovering from her intense blush, she asked again.
"Now that you know my name, you can tell me what's worrying you"
"My parents." he said dryly, looking at her deep blue summer dress.
He smiled at the sight of her small hands trying to keep her skirt out of the water.
"Is there something wrong with your parents?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"They want me to marry someone I don't love." he finally managed to say.
"Oh." she pressed her lips at his honest comment. "Well then, don't get married." she said, her foot making little ripples in the water.
"It's not that easy." he said, throwing a pebble into the lake.
"Why not? If you don't love the girl, don't marry her. You don't look that old, after all." she said, smiling
Beautiful smile he thought before answering.
"Gee, thanks. I feel relieved." he laughed.
"Hey, at least I made you laugh!" she laughed back.
"If it were that simple, trust me, I wouldn't be here throwing pebbles at the lake"
"Oh, by the way, water doesn't like to be molested by pebbles." she said.
"Is that so? How do you know that?" he asked, amused.
"Because I just know." she said.
Eros wondered what she meant by that.
Gaia felt he was taking too much time to speak. She changed the subject, interrupting his thoughts again.
"You were saying you don't want to get married."
"No. But it's not that easy. When you are royalty, you have to have at least one heir. Well that's what my parents say, anyway." he said sadly, looking down at the grass.
Gaia was surprised by his response, and turned towards him.
"Did you just say royalty?" she asked, wide eyed. "Are you royalty?"
"Yes." he said. "I'm Prince Eros of the Northern Kingdom." he said looking at her eyes.
Gaia was too shocked, turning to the other side to get her slippers and standing up she started to leave.
Eros didn't understand what was going on and standing up he asked with a confused look.
"Is something wrong?"
"I must go" she said, trying to put on her shoes her trembling hands were not helping her. She stepped on a pebble which made her fall hard to the ground. "Ow!" she said out loud.
"Gaia, are you okay?" Eros ran to where she was, a worried expression on his face. "Let me give you a hand" he offered his hand which she took.
"I'm fine." she said, brushing her dress
"Are you sure?" he asked, worried.
"Yes, I'll be fine." she said, and saw his worried face and then she dared to ask "Why are you being so nice to me?"
Surprised by her question, Eros let go of her hand once she was fully recovered from her fall.
"Why do you ask me that?" he asked, not understanding what she just said.
"Royals tend to be spoiled and..." Gaia scratches her arm trying to avoid eye contact with him.
"And...?" he continued and raised an eyebrow
"Selfish" she finished.
Her comment made Eros laugh.
"Why are you laughing?" she asked, annoyed looking at him.
She wasn't expecting him to laugh.
"Is that what you think of us?" he asked, still laughing
"Yes." she said
"Is that what you think of me?" he asked again, his laugh gone.
"I don't know you that well, but you humans want everything, not realizing this planet doesn't belong to all of you in the first place!"
When she realized what she had just said she covered her mouth quickly.
"You...humans? What is wrong with you?" he asked, annoyed.
"Nothing." she said still covering her mouth.
"So this planet has an owner? Is that what you're trying to tell me? Oh please!" he said, turning and giving his back to her.
"And what you are trying to tell me is that you are the owner of it?" she asked, raising her voice
Eros walked back to the shore of the lake, Gaia followed.
"We own what we reign." he said, dryly.
"No, you don't." she said, upset.
"No?" he asked, turning to see her "Then to whom this planet belongs?"
"To its protector." she said, crossing her arms.
He was about to say something when he noticed her eyes were dead serious.
"That is just a myth, there is no protector" he said, getting close.
"You can't be serious!" she said, looking up at him and shook her head.
She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"I am. I've never seen this 'protector', nobody has. People just leave flowers and pray to the skies. If there were a protector there would no longer be hunger or war anywhere." he said, raising his voice.
"You did that to yourselves." she said, her eyes changing to a darker shade of green.
He noticed that and remained quiet not sure of what to do or say, suddenly feeling dizzy.
"The protector nourishes this planet, brings life to the plants where you find your food, feeds the ground where you stand, cleans the waters you drink, brings the fresh air you breathe." she said, getting angry.
"How can you be so sure?" was the only thing he could ask feeling more and more dizzy.
"Because I am that protector." she said as a golden aura started to surround her, the water in the lake started to create little waves.
The sun hid by the clouds in the sky, the wind suddenly started to blow harder and colder. Her voice very serious.
The prince couldn't take this strange and strong force anymore and fell to the ground, his dizziness taking control. When he tried to look at her and say something else, his strength was gone.
"You..." was the only thing he could say before he fainted.