The Maiden of Air

Chapter 7

Even though am sure that most, if not all, of us have heard this story before, no one could deny that their performance was stunning. Many faces around the room still gawked at the stage. I turned my head as I heard sniffling.

One of my fellow Maidens of the Stars was trying to hide her emotion. But it was clear by her slightly swollen eyes and red nose that the story had made her cry. She had short pixie cut brown hair and hazel eyes. Although it was hard to tell by the puffiness of her eyelids. And going off the fact that she was wearing a green dress and the order she was in line from me, I could tell she was the Maiden of Nature.

My attention was drawn back to the stage as Olivia and the Maiden of Darkness stepped back in line with the other senior Maidens. Elisabeth stood front and center once again as she began to speak.

"Many think that this story is just a myth, as there are no official records from that time. But it holds some truth. The proof is inside each of us Maidens."

Elisabeth raised her hands to the ceiling and just as she did that, the Maiden of Earth stepped forward. She too raised her hands and the ceiling split open, letting the dazzling moonlight shine all around the room. With her hands still raised, Elisabeth began to speak again.

"With the Goddess of the Moon as our witness, we bestow the official titles of the Maiden of the Star upon the chosen twelve!"

She let her arms fall back to her side, as she and the other Maidens filed off the stage. Each of them had one of their Guardians follow close behind, holding a wooden box. The Guardians that followed behind were each Maiden's "First Guardian".

First Guardians were normally the Maiden's chosen love. Maidens from generations before could not figure out why it was that each Maiden was drawn to one of their Guardians. They came to believe that this is the way the Goddess intended it to be. That one Guardian was to love, protect and be adviser to their Maiden, while the other was still a protector, he would also be commander of a small security force that was only loyal to that one Maiden.

There were the rare cases where the Maiden chose another man over either of her Guardians as her lover. There were even the cases where the Maiden preferred women over men.

This all was just another reason I didn't want to be a part of the Maidens. I didn't want some mysterious being choosing my "lover" for me. Because if that were the case, I may even end up with Michael.

Elisabeth finally made her way to stand in front of me and as we awkwardly stood in front of each other, the Maiden of Air, the first Maiden, finally spoke.

"With the Moon Goddess as my witness, I bestow the title of Maiden of the Stars upon the First Maiden, Lisa Bloom. May your light never be clouded by the darkness." As she said this, she took a necklace from the box her Guardian was holding and placed it around the girl’s neck. symbolizing that she was an official Maiden of the Stars.

The other Maidens repeated the same thing down the line, till it came to me.

I held my breath. My mind was spinning. As soon as she says those words and places that necklace around my neck, there is no going back.

That necklace was not only a symbol for a title, but it was also a chain. When a Maiden is marked on the morning of her sixteenth birthday, her powers just awakens. Her powers are raw, and she has no way of controlling them. They are weak and not very useful for saving the world if it were ever in peril. they would just randomly show up from time to time, like they did for me in the ally. The necklace acts as a talisman to help its Maiden use her element. It connects with the Maidens mana and gives it a boost for her two years of training. Because it connects with her mana, it cannot easily be a removed without it damaging the young Maidens body. After the two years her mana will grow, and she will be able to control her element without the necklace. Thus, rendering it ineffective, so it can be removed.

The necklace also makes the Maiden a target. If a Maiden of the Stars were to wonder too far away from the Moon Palace, the Darkness will take over and use her for evil. The Darkness doesn't see use of a Maiden who can't use her powers. But sees great potential in using one who does.

So, the question was; do I try to run, or do I give in to the destiny that someone else wrote out for me?

"Erin?" Elizabeth's voice drew me out of my inner dilemma. "Are you alright?" She asked.

I stared at her for a moment. Still hesitant. Till a hand lightly squeezed my arm. I turned to see Luke smiling at me.

"You'll be alright. We'll be here for you." He said as he nodded towards Michael, who bowed his head slightly in agreement.

I let out a heavy sigh and turned my head back to Elisabeth. I stared straight into her eyes and gave her a firm nod.

She smiled warmly. "With the Moon Goddess as my witness." She said as she turned to her Guardian to retrieve the necklace from the box. "I bestow the title of Maiden of the Stars upon the Twelfth Maiden, Erin Holt. May your light never be clouded by darkness."

She placed the necklace around my neck, and there was a bright light that flashed from all of our necklaces. I felt a surge of burning energy throughout my body so strong that I almost fell over. I looked at the other young Maidens and saw that I was not the only one who felt it. Most of the others had stumbled a little bit. The Maiden of Fire was being helped up from the floor by her Guardians.

Elisabeth returned to the stage to address everyone on the room. "You all just bore witness to the beginning of the twelfth cycle of Maidens. They all have a long journey ahead of them. But for the time being, I believe it is time to eat."

***

I wanted to disappear. Just, fade into nothing.

The banquette hall was set up in a way that it looked like we were at a wedding reception, and the other young Maidens and I were the wedding party. We were sitting at a long table on a short stage on one side of the room. The senior Maidens and all the other guests were spread out at round tables around the room.

My social battery was already running low to begin with, the last of it was being quickly depleted as person after person came up to meet the famed "Maiden of All". They all were congratulating me and wishing me well, but I could tell by the look in their eyes and the tone of their voices, that a great many of them were skeptical about me. And I don't blame them. I was pretty sure I wasn't cut out for this.

I have been shut in my entire life. I have no idea how the world really works, much less how to keep it safe. The only real interaction I have had with the outside world was when I was on the run for a month. And honestly, some of the times that I was out there, you start to wonder if some people are worth saving. The guys in the alley sure weren't worth it.

As I was shaking the hand of one of the other Maiden's mother, the servers finally came out with steaming plates of food. The smell immediately attacked my nose, and my mouth watered. It was then that I realized that this will be the first decent meal I have had in a while. My stomach rumbling drew me out of my food trance.

Under the air of awkwardness, the lady giggled and said, "I will leave you to it then." As she nodded towards the approaching plates of food.

I was not expecting what they put in front of me. I was expecting super fancy snobbish food. Like lobster or something. Instead, there was a side of seasoned roasted veggies, a basil pasta salad, and a juicy grilled chicken breast that was placed over seasoned rise. It looked delicious. It smelled even better.

While I was ever so gracefully devouring this meal, another guest decided it was the prime time to come and speak to me. He suddenly placed a hand on my shoulder and started to say something along the line of "congratulations", startling the ever-living s**t out of me. He just happened to pick the very moment I had stuck a bite of chicken and rice in my mouth to approach me, causing me to inhale and choke on a piece of rice.

Luke, who was standing behind me along with Michael, came to my aid. He gently patted my back as he brought my water glass to my hand to drink. Michael stepped between me and the man and gave him a bone chilling glare. The man hurried back to his table with his table between his legs. A woman, who I assumed was his wife, promptly smacked him on the arm and scolded him like a child.

I felt a little bad for him. But only a little. He did almost kill me after all.

When I convinced Luke that I was fine, I continued to eat. A little slower this time though.

"Are you alright, Erin?"

Again, I was startled. Causing me to drop my fork. Luckily it landed on the tablecloth, so it didn't make an echoing clanging sound.

I turned to see Elisabeth. "Is this some kind of game?" I asked with hand to my chest.

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Is this a game? First one to give me a heart attack wins. Is that it?"

She chuckled when She caught on to what I was saying. "I certainly hope that is not the case. May sit with you?" She gestured to the empty spot next to me.

"You technically outrank me. You shouldn't have to ask." I said before eating another bite of pasta.

"It's still the polite thing to do." She motioned to William. He retrieved a chair from a vacant spot at one of the tables. She sat down and began to speak again. "There are just a few things I wanted to address with you. Seeing as you start your training tomorrow. "

Damn.

I was hoping for a little more time to rest.

"First thing I wanted to address; I do not intend to ask you a thousand question of why you would run away. I hope that within the two years of me mentoring you, that you will open up to me about these things. I also understand that this is a major responsibility that is basically being forced upon you." She continued.

"You got that right..." I mumbled.

She gave me a sad tight-lipped smile. "But I do hope you come to like the job as much as I have. Because, unfortunately, you can't run away from destiny."

I laughed. "I think destiny is stupid. The Moon Goddess gives us free will but plans out life out for us? Sounds a bit hypocritical to me."

"The Moon Goddess sets the end goal. We make the choices of how we get there." She stared straight into my eyes as she said this.

I was confused as to what she was trying to explain to me. She broke the eye contact and looked at the floor. Her eyes grew dark.

"Speaking of the Goddess, there is one more thing I had to discuss with you."

"What is that?" I asked, with a little disinterest laced in my voice.

"Just a week ago, the Goddess sent me an omen. This Twelfth Cycle, darkness will come. In the form of an ally." She said in a low voice.

I stared dumbfounded. "Who?" I asked, genuinely curious this time.

She looked up and passed me. I followed her gaze, until my eyes landed on who she was looking at.

The Maiden of Death.

She had long silky straight black hair, and eyes that were such a dark brown they were almost black. Her skin was very pale and didn't seem to have a single blemish. Her gaze was blank as she just played with her half-eaten plate of food. There was something odd about her, but was she evil?

"What is she going to do?" I asked, but my words didn't reach Elisabeth, as she was already walking away with her Guardians right behind her.