CH 40: Anka’s reply

“What’s going on?” Jasmine said cautiously, her dagger readied in her left sleeve as she eyed the woman.

“Jaz, this is Alice,” Lily said, pointing to the woman. She nodded. “And this is Toni… He’s a Revered.”

Jasmine’s shoulders untensed as she cautiously sat beside Lily. She was thankful no one had caused a scene. She’d never met a god’s revered people before, but she knew of them. “Toni, Alice, nice to meet you. Sorry for the hostility, I have some… rowdy party members that I assumed caused trouble.”

Toni shook his head. His eyes beamed while he studied Jasmine. “Are you both adventurers? I would love to hear about your tales! I love making them into songs. I have so many from the adventurers back home, but none from this area.”

His enthusiasm caught Jasmine off guard, but she quickly regained her composure.

“Yes, I am. And I’m afraid the tales I tell would be far too depressing to be made into a song.” Jasmine replied. She watched the smile slowly fade.

“Aw, no matter. It’s always a delight to meet adventurers. You women are so interesting to learn about, and the tales you tell are so romantic, so daring, and sometimes, so tragic. I hope I didn’t dredge up any bad memories. I have a tendency to get excited easily.”

Jasmine nodded before replying. “No worries, I can tell you meant well. And I could hear your performance from the bar. It was quite good.” Toni smiled brightly as Jasmine turned to Lily. “You needed my help for something?”

“Ahh, yes! Toni was blessed by Anka… and he’s going to try to communicate with her… I… need help asking questions.” Lily said through pauses, her eyes kept wandering to the singer as she tried to speak. She pried her eyes off Toni’s smile to face Jasmine. She was curious as to why Jasmine wasn’t affected, but that could wait.

Jasmine took a moment to sort herself and narrow down her questions. Who was their Goddess? What was Her name? Why did She suddenly appear? All important questions, but if Toni could only ask one, she’d have to narrow it down. She took a brief moment to think as Alice helped Toni prepare. She had a handheld mirror up to his face to check his reflection. He patted away the sweat from his performance before the two fixed his makeup and attire.

Jasmine could hear Alice whisper to him. “Are you sure? You still have a performance and Anka’s-”

“Yes, they seem to need her guidance. I think we should help them.” Toni replied as he fixed himself. “We’ll figure something out later for the cooldown.”

“But what if-” Alice tried to get out.

Toni cut her off with a quick reply, ”If we can help, why wouldn’t we?”

She was pulled out of their conversation by Lily’s whisper, ”I think we should ask for guidance rather than answers. We need help with the religious side, right? Isn’t that what the Goddess needs to gain her form? We should ask about how best to gain more followers.”

Jasmine pinched the bridge of her nose. She hated how technically Lily was right. They had a mission to grow Her strength and all. “Yes, but we need more information. What if She has malicious intentions? Or what if She’s stepping on another God’s toes? Or what does Anka think of her? Does She know of our Goddess?” Jasmine rattled off so many questions that had been annoying her.

Lily grasped her hand under the table. She could tell Jasmine was getting heated. “I understand. But I trust Claire… We need to have faith in her. We can verify her intentions later. We just need to take a leap of faith.”

Jasmine took a deep breath, holding her breath for a moment before she released. She hated it, but she needed facts. She worked on facts, not theories or faith. But Lily hit her weakness. She could put her faith in Claire.

“Fine, but why call me here if you already had a question in mind?”

“I-I… can’t think straight right now.” She said, her voice lowering so the duo couldn’t hear her. “Toni, his blessing… It’s affecting me. I’m surprised it’s not affecting you.”

Jasmine could see her face redden as she spoke. She took a glance below and noticed the bulge. Lily did well hiding it, but Jasmine’s trained eyes could see. She stole a quick glance at Toni while he fixed his eyeliner. She studied his face, his curves, and anything she could find. Nothing jumped out about him. He was pretty, but not her type. Maybe that was it?

“Okaaay, so you just needed me to talk for you?”

Lily nodded meekly, her eyes wandered to the singer as he adjusted his top. She gasped when he bent to fix his skirt. Jasmine shook her head; she’d need to be the professional again.

“Well, I hate to admit it, but I think you’re correct. We should figure out how best to start her religion and gain followers. It will probably answer the questions I have eventually.” Jasmine said, before letting out a sigh.

“Are you two ready?” Alice said, just in time. The two nodded as Toni held his mirror up to himself. He looked to his reflection before he whispered a chant. Neither Jasmine nor Lily could hear him. The mirror started to glow with a pinkish hue as Toni’s eyes rolled back. Alice caught him when he went limp. The mirror he was holding was now suspended in the air.

Jasmine glanced around. A wall hid the display from most of the room, but she didn’t notice any eyes on them.

“Ahhh… Toni! My dear boy, it’s such a pleasure.” A voice rang out from the mirror. Her silky smooth voice dulled Jasmine’s senses as Lily collapsed onto her shoulder. Her voice alone nearly sent the two women into a frenzy. “Alice as well! And it looks like you have guests.”

Alice seemed unaffected by the goddess’s presence. She nodded before speaking, “They have questions, do you mind?”

“Not at all, but we must hurry. Toni can’t hold the connection for very long. Poor thing is struggling already.” Her voice brought attention to Toni’s scrunched face. His eyes were closed now as his whole body seemingly tensed. He glowed slightly, the same pinkish hue as the mirror.

“Ahh, right! We need help.” Jasmine said she felt so awkward when she looked in the mirror. She was hoping to see this goddess of beauty. Her intrigue led her to lean forward. She felt sweat build up in her palms as she anticipated the image.

It wasn’t the Goddess, however. It was Toni’s reflection. Its eyes were different, though. They were replaced with a glowing pink light. Her shoulders untensed. She could think a bit better, but her voice still caused her to react.

“Ara ara… you’re marked by that Goddess. How interesting.”

She could feel her knees weaken at those words. Her voice alone was far too attractive. It was hard to explain, the tone, the pitch, everything sent her body into a frenzy. She focused on her breath as her fingernails dug into her skin.

“Yes… the new one. One we need to start worship for,” she was able to get out.

“Ah, yes, the new girl. I cannot wait-” She said before stopping. Jasmine felt her stomach drop as she thought the goddess was cut off. She looked to Toni, but he still glowed. Finally, she spoke up again. “Never mind that. You should have all you need. It’s now about followers. Find people like you and grace them with her virtues.”

As she finished, Toni let out a gasp before he shot up. He panted heavily as the mirror dropped. Jasmine caught it without thinking, thanking her reflexes as she looked in the mirror. She felt rage bubble up. She was mad. That was such a bad answer that she was willing to piss the Goddess off to let out her frustrations. Why did she listen to Lily? She should have just asked about the goddess’s intentions.

She felt Lily’s hand snake up her arm as it grasped her free hand. She squeezed Jasmine tightly before whispering. “It’s okay. Anka… she seemed to know of our Goddess. That’s a good sign. And her answer… I guess we should have expected a simple answer from the Goddess of beauty.”

Jasmine eased herself for a moment, thinking about the advice further. Lily was right, a Goddess of beauty had a much different experience than others. She could just show her face and get supporters. Just her voice nearly caused the two women to break. Given her perspective, it made sense.

“Well… I bet that was unhelpful.” Alice said, her voice filled with annoyance. She made sure Toni was okay before turning to the two. “I should have warned you about Anka. She… lives in a different world than us.”

“Go figure. Who would have thought that gaining more followers was the advice we’d need to get more followers?” Jasmine said dryly. Alice let out a snort at the remark. She could see that Alice felt similarly to her when it came to the gods they dealt with.

“She believes her blessing to bring its bearer prosperity. Who would turn down eternal beauty or the favor of all?” Alice said, her voice growing more and more annoyed. “But she doesn’t live the reality.”

Lily’s hand tightened in Jasmine’s as the two listened to Alice. They made their own guesses as to what hardships the two had to endure. Jasmine had seen firsthand what beautiful men had to endure, especially from noblewomen. “I see… I’m glad Toni has a… sister? To protect him.”

Alice paused before bursting out laughing, a full-on belly laugh. She nearly fell to the floor as she laughed. Eyes turned to the hidden table when Toni joined her. Jasmine and Lily tilted their heads at the reaction as they waited for the two to come out.

“I’m not… his sister… I’m his… mother.”

That shocked the two. They had heard of aging gracefully, but this lady did not look a day over 20. There were no signs of wrinkles, no age to be found, no scars or anything to identify her. The two scoured her figure looking for any signs as the mother and son recovered from their laughter.

“Ahh, sorry. It truly never gets old.” Alice said, wiping a tear from her eye. “Believe it or not, I’m 43 years old. I had Toni in my 20s, and his blessing extended to me. It’s quite jarring, but I’ve gotten used to it. It’s also weird for him to call me mom, so we decided my name would be better.”

Toni nodded eagerly before hugging his mother. “We got the most side eyes when I called her mommy, so Alice it is in public.”