Chapter 10: Betrayal

The music stopped.

Elise stood still amidst the silence, the final note lingering like a held breath. Slowly, she raised her hands upward toward the pale heavens, palms open as though receiving something divine—a blessing. A judgment. Her face remained lifted, serene before the crowd, but inside her chest, her heart thundered, her eyes still fixed on the creature who had inadvertently asked her for help.

From the side, Lady Ymir approached with solemn grace, each step heavy with ritual. She reached for Elise's veil, delicate and shimmering like woven mist. Elise hesitated and stepped back, but couldn't allow herself to move any further.

Lady Ymir's brows creased faintly. "Why do you pause?" she asked in a low voice meant only for Eden. "Now is the time. The blessing cannot be received while veiled."

Elise couldn't speak. She knew what would happen the moment the veil was lifted. She couldn't let it fall—not yet. Maybe not ever.

Lady Ymir leaned in, her sharp eyes narrowing. Then came the tiniest sound—like a dry crack forming in brittle stone—from her throat. "Elise?" she whispered.

Elise forced another step back. Just one. Her feet felt nailed to the earth.

The world around them didn't realize it yet. Not until Lady Ymir's voice rose, louder now, slicing through the confusion.

"This isn't Eden."

Gasps rippled through the crowd like wind across tall grass. Whispers flared, names were murmured, and questions sparked in every corner of the square.

"What's going on?"

"Where's Eden?"

"Elise—why is she here?"

Lady Ymir turned toward Elise again, her expression pale and thunderous. "Where is she? Where is Eden?"

Elise didn't answer. She couldn't. Her silence said everything.

Just then, the Mayor came bursting through the crowd, his breath ragged. "Simon is gone!" he shouted. "He's vanished!"

The realization hit Lady Ymir with the force of a stone dropped into still water. Her eyes widened, flashing with fury and fear.

"What happened?" she asked Elise, her usual calm now sharpened by urgency, grasping Elise's wrist, her eyes brimming with anger, confusion, and betrayal.

"Eden can't do this," Elise uttered, tears running down her cheeks. "You know she can't."

Becoming the Priestess, living by the means of the people and their expectations—yes, Eden could do all of this. But taking the life of another being, another worlder, even—she could never. Of all people, Lady Ymir should know, Elise thought. Eden and Elise had been raised by her, shaped by her hands, molded from their fears to their very likeness. Lady Ymir knew—and yet.

Elise still couldn't understand why Lady Ymir was so adamant about killing the creature. What had it done?

Lady Ymir dragged Elise back toward their hut, the villagers following behind. Elise's heart pounded with each step toward the place she had once held so dear. Walking back there now was utter torment.

Pushing the door open, they found the hut empty. Eden was gone. Quietness filled the space; every trace of Eden had disappeared.

"How can this happen? What were you three thinking?" Lady Ymir demanded.

Head lowered, Elise could not say a word. What could she say, she thought. That she and Simon were in love? That she had never wanted the title of Priestess? That the killing of the other worlder was the last straw?

Behind them, she could hear the villagers, guests, vendors—everyone who had looked forward to the festival finale—uttering words of concern. Concern for the festival, concern for the repercussions upon the village, concern for their world.

Elise running away signified the betrayal of the Priestess' duties; allowing Eden to run away signified the betrayal of everyone in the village to the world. Elise, who had helped Eden run away, had betrayed Lady Ymir herself.

The Mayor walked up and, in a somber voice, said, "This is the fault of my son. I will take full responsibility." His usual frail demeanor had changed. The old man who was always kind, always smiling and joking with the villagers, had become someone with a voice of authority, stern and stoic. Something Elise rarely saw. It was as though he were using all his strength to remain focused, strong, and in control. It was his duty to protect the village, to ensure their people remained steadfast in their responsibilities.

"My men and I will search for them and bring them back no matter the cost," he finally added.

Lady Ymir nodded and answered the old man, "They shouldn't have gone too far. I will look to the spirits for clues to where they went." With that, the mayor and his men urged the rest of the villagers to head back home; no one was to leave the village. The news of the runaway Priestess could not be leaked to the rest of the world. Even though this was a small village that followed the old ways, even if most of the world couldn't care less, believing these stories to be mere myths, there were still many out there who believed.

The main concerns were other worlders. Capturing the creature in the village center had been proof enough that they were real. If they knew the protector of the void had disappeared, what would they do?

As the last of the people trickled back to their respective homes, Lady Ymir turned to Elise. Her face was unreadable. After a long pause, she sighed.

"What you've done will bring this world to ruin."

"I-I'm sorry," was all Elise could utter.

"You must remain here," Lady Ymir said. "You're not to leave this hut until we find Eden. Then you will receive your due punishment." Elise nodded. Lady Ymir gathered some of her things and left toward the edge of the forest, seeking the spirits' help for guidance.

Elise truly deserved whatever Lady Ymir would do to her, she told herself. She had known what she was doing when she allowed Simon and Eden to leave. She knew it would cause utter chaos. She knew all of this—and yet she did it anyway. She knew how it felt to have nothing to look forward to, how it felt to be locked up. And because of that, she understood how it would feel for someone like Eden to free herself from it all finally.

She would take responsibility for everything.

Elise plopped herself onto the bed, hoping it was all a dream. That Eden had completed her ritual. That Simon would be waiting at the river like always. The villagers would laugh and talk about the night before, about how beautiful everything had been.

But reality did not allow her to live in such hope.

Then her mind went back to the dance. She questioned how she was able to hear the creature talk. Was it just her imagination? What would happen to the creature now that Eden is gone? Her heart felt as though it was being dragged down by heavy weights. Why was she feeling this way towards another worlder? She doesn't even know if it was good or evil. 

Was it good or evil, she asked herself again. 

She remembered how the creature did not harm the child, but it was as though it was treating the boy's wounds, how the village men all came back unharmed, the only one with cuts and bruises was the creature itself. 

If it wasn't evil, then why did it need to be killed? That question remained in Elise's mind for hours. 

She gazed out the window, no one had paid her any attention. They were all preoccupied with finding the runaway priestess. Elise put on a set of darker clothing and, with a great sigh, she sneaked out of the hut towards the plaza. 

A thought deep in her heart, would this be yet again a betrayal to Lady Ymir?