The King's Mistress

Chapter 42: Water

"Congratulations, Princess Myra. You’ve gained the favor of Nysa the Jelligent."

This revelation caught many by surprise. The Jelligent was a mythical sea beast that resembled a humongous jellyfish. Its movements were graceful and it is said to only recognize those who have kind hearts.

Those favored by Nysa were often gifted with special healing abilities that were transmitted through a touch of their hands or through the water.

Sierra was over the moon for Myra. The blessings of Nysa seemed very fitting for her. As she was ushered to the side after making her offerings, she quickly mouthed ’good luck’ to Sierra to cheer her on.

"Princess Sierra, please step forward."

Sierra took in a deep breath as she walked up the altar, leaving Ida behind. The pressure was on. She was the last of the princesses to go through the Resonance. The knots were twisting in her stomach.

Sierra gulped nervously as her palms began to sweat. She carefully picked up the ceremonial knife just as she had seen the other princesses done before her. She did not know what could happen next, all she could do was wait in anticipation.

She slit her left palm and placed the dagger down. Hovering her hand over the bowl of fire, blood dripped from the fresh wound. It sizzled as it hit the fire and pieces of stone below.

As the hymn singing of the priests and priestesses intensified, Sierra looked all around her. The first ring carving around the altar was lit. Underneath her sleeve, she could feel Opal lightly tightening her coil on her arm, as if she was was nervous for Sierra too.

Unknown to her or anyone in the Hall, Opal’s eyes flickered gold for a fraction of a second. The little snake was looking straight at one of the Patron statues; Marin the Sea Serpent.

For quite some time, nothing seemed to happen. Though the circle was lit, no red light moved in any direction of any of the Patron statues. Sierra gulped nervously as she looked around, worried she might have missed it.

Everyone was beginning to whisper amongst themselves. Cassandra and Agnes were already gloating at Sierra’s failure. She could already imagine what was going through their minds. Sierra bit her lip. Perhaps she had been too hopeful of the outcome.

Alistair’s prediction that night had filled her with hope, hope that she never thought she would have. After all, Sierra was just an orphan girl who was adopted by a general. She did not have any royal blood flowing through her veins. She glanced over to Alistair.

She was certain she felt his gaze on her the entire time. But the moment she looked over, he was looking elsewhere. There was a messenger whispering in his ear. She could not help but wonder what it might be about.

A soft hiss caught Sierra’s attention. She recognized that hiss anywhere, it was Opal. She took her eyes off Alistair, missing the expression of surprise on Alistair and Roxine’s faces.

"Congratulations, Princess Sierra. You’ve gained the favor of Marin the Sea Serpent!"

Caught completely off guard by the announcement, she almost could not believe it. It was not until she saw the lit-up carving on the ground for herself did she truly believe the news was real.

Sierra heaved a sigh of relief, finally smiling from the whole ordeal. Ida congratulated her as she came down the steps. frёewebηovel.cѳm

The hall erupted with applause as she made her way over to the Patron’s statue to complete her Resonance.

Sierra knelt down before the statue of the sea serpent, lowering her head with respect. Moments later, the spirit form of a large coiling sea serpent materialized before everyone. Its ferocious yet graceful form mesmerized everyone in the audience.

As it entered Sierra’s body, she could feel it passing through her and not into her. Instead, the powers of the sea serpent seemed to have concentrated on her wrist where Opal was coiled.

As the Resonance came to an end, everyone gathered together, chatting and conversing. The princesses were communicating amongst themselves, talking about the new energy that coursed through their veins. It would take time and training for them to use it well, but they were excited nonetheless.

Sierra, on the other hand, did not share any of the excitement. As Myra spoke quickly with excitement filling her voice, Sierra listened absentmindedly. It did not take long for her to sense something was amiss.

"What’s wrong, Sierra?" she asked as she placed a hand on her arm.

Sierra jolted where she stood. Lucky for her, Myra did not grab on the arm that Opal had coiled on.

"What? Sorry did you say something?"

"Is everything alright, Sierra? Are you feeling under the weather?" Myra lifted her hand to touch her on the forehead but she did not sense anything was amiss.

Ida sensed the change in Sierra too, though she did not dare speak openly in the Patron Hall. If they were in private, she would be able to speak freely. As she glanced around the hall, she noticed someone coming up towards them.

"Princess Sierra, I think someone is looking for you," she whispered to the princess while glancing over.

Sierra and Myra turned to see a messenger walking up towards them. The messenger came from the direction of the King and Queen who had just left their seats, walking towards the inner sanctum of the Patron Hall.

Sierra turned her attention back to the messenger who stopped in front of her.

"Princess Sierra?"

"Yes, I am."

"The King and Queen request your presence at once,"

All of them glanced at each other, wondering what this might be about. Sierra gulped as her palms began to sweat once more. Had they sensed something was wrong? Sierra was certain it was not her who gained the favor of Nysa. It was Opal, her pet snake,

What a cruel joke that the Patrons had played on her. She never expected to gain any fancy powers, but if even her pet snake could be favored, why not her?

"Princess? Please follow me," the messenger called out to her while taking a side step and holding out his hand to guide her.

Sierra cleared her throat, "Yes."

Ida was about to follow behind but the messenger stopped her from taking another step forward.

"Only the princess’s presence has been requested, Miss Ida."

With that, Sierra was escorted away. The other princesses who were speaking amongst themselves all turned to look at her. Cassandra and Agnes both had devil-like grins on their faces. Sierra knew exactly what was going through their minds.

They must have assumed Sierra was about to be punished. After all, why would the King and Queen want to speak to her in private and not them? It had to be something ominous, something bad.

Sierra felt a pit drop in her stomach as she let out an audible sigh. She had come this far, knowing full well her life was on the line at any given point in time. But was this really going to be the end?

"Ah, there she is," Alistair’s voice drew her out of her thoughts.