Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. This also depicts a consensual incestuous relationship. Feel free to back out if need be.

Author's Note: There comes a time for every writer who participates in competitions & challenges when they must recognize that they write some weird things in the name of said competitions & challenges.

Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Ministry (Winter Year 1); MC4A (Winter Year 5); RAVEN (2023); Zee Monthly (Feb)
Individual Challenges: Red Wave; Lovebirds; Gryffindor MC; Ravenclaw MC; Magical MC (Y); Magical MC; Rian-Russo Inversion; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ethnic & Present; Ethnic & Present; The 3rd Rule; Booger Breath; Ship Sails; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); In a Flash; Bucket Listing (Y); Green Ribbon
Ministry Challenges: RRD [Day 04] (Parvati/Padma)
RAVEN Challenges: Settings [117](Ritual Space); Items [08](Basket); Colors [33](Cobalt)
Other Challenges: Zee Monthly [Day 04](Forgive)
Other MC4A Challenges: WiB [4C](In an Orchard); Vocab [3C](Herd); Ship (n/a)[FaMic2 (Brown); WiBig (Forest/Woods; River/Stream); WiMed2 (Knife/Dagger; Loss)]; Chim [Rick]("Louder than Words" – Tick, Tick, Boom; Life/Death; Race Bend);Fire [x3](Sibling Pressure); Garden [The Zoo (Phoenix); Pot Garden (Forest/Woods); Nails (Sapphic Ship); Eat Your Heart (Queer); Mixed Bag Senary (Gold)]; Hang [Phrase 3] (n/a); Soup [S](Sibling); Swap [Shoes (Leather Flip Flops)]; Shop [E&C (Roma/Romani)]
Representation(s): Parvati Patil/Padma Patil; Romani Punjab Patils; Ancient Rituals
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Fruit Fly; Misshapen Pods; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Nontraditional; Unwanted Advice; Clio's Conclusion; Casper's House; Esbat; Easy Zephyr; Over the Hills); Chorus (Pear-Shaped; Delicious Lie; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Larger than Life; Creature Feature; In the Trench; Surprise!; Some Beach; Jack's Jollies)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: SS (Schooner; Shadow); SHoE (Terse; Sorority); AC (Sacrosanct; Orchard); AD (Amphibian); Share (Ameliorate); DP (Terse)
Word Count: 656 words

(^^)
Blessed Sin
(^^)

Parvati took off her leather flip flops before she entered the orchard. She left them at the edge. Then she continued on towards the center where there was an ancient tree, huge but gnarled with age. It was said to be older than Hogwarts yet despite that, it still produced fruit, even in the middle of winter.

Under the red light of the Snow Moon, Parvati carried a basket woven from willow branches intertwined with river reeds. In the basket was a bottle of mead mixed with yew and some of Parvati's own blood. There was also a loaf of bread that Parvati had baked herself. A cobalt cloth covered with flying phoenixes embroidered with bronze and gold threads.

For the last year, she had been in love with her twin. More importantly, Padma had been in love with her as well. They had to sneak around to be together, because they were both girls, because they were sisters. But neither of them could deny that they were drawn together. The very essence of their magic bound them together as much as their love for each other. It would be easier to fight an entire herd of centaurs than the urge to be with her sister, even if it was something that their family and society would never forgive.

And then Parvati had seen in the cards that the world was coming for their love. The stones had agreed, and the stars made three. So now she was seeking to change their fate. The old apple tree was said to be the earthly anchor for a god so old that no one could remember its name. What better being to intercede for their protection?

Sure enough, the tree was there in the center of the wild orchard. Despite the cold air and frosted ground, the tree was in perfect bloom, as if it were spring. It held beauty in its branches just like the sky did stars at night. Without speaking a word, Parvati knelt before the tree and unpacked her offerings. One of the fragile blossoms fell from the tree. Parvati held out her hands to catch it in her hands. It was snowy white against the brown skin of her palms for a moment before transforming into a beautiful golden apple. Warmth filled her. Everything was going to be okay. The god had chosen to bestow a blessing.

Ecstatic, Parvati ran back towards the castle with the apple now wrapped in the cloth and tucked away in the basket. She snatched up her sandals as she passed where she had left them. The red moon lit the way. She splashed through a stream made sluggish from the icy grip of winter.

As she neared the edge of the forest that surrounded the orchard, she ran into Padma who was carrying a messenger bag.

"Pitā showed up at the castle," Padma said. Fear cut through Parvati like a knife. "He plans to take us out and make us marry men of his choosing. We have to go. It's our only chance to stay together!"

Parvati and Padma ran through the night, weighed down by their luggage, feeling the weight of their forbidden love. Each glance behind them carried the fear of being followed, by family or faculty or worse. But despite the darkness, the night had a sense of hope, of possibility—as if something better was out there, waiting for them.

The two of them held hands as they exited the forest safely on the other side. It was just the start of their journey, walking through the night with a new sense of hope, knowing that they were not alone and that their union had been blessed. They had found a home in each other and, somehow, even when all hope seem too far to reach, they had been given something tangible to hold onto. It gave them the strength to carry on.