The Duke's Unwanted Wife

“I didn’t think there was anything wrong with that. Does your infinite wisdom find something wrong with this?”    

“I can detect sarcasm, you know. I understand wanting to do a god’s trial but why are you coming to me? You couldn’t possibly be asking me to do it, could you? No, no, no, no! I refuse!”    

“Quene, you’re the god of wisdom. Who else is more qualified than you?”    

“I stopped doing god trials thousands of years ago. Even if gods came to me themselves, they always complained about how harsh my trials were. I lost a lot of worshippers because of that. I’m sorry Madaline but I can’t help you.”    

“Quene, you might not be an original god but you’re the oldest elder god. The very first to ascend. Why is it that you behave like the least of the gods?”    

“Isn’t it because I’m the god of wisdom?    

"Don't wisecrack with me. You need to do this trial. You're the only God I trust in the heavenly court."    

".....fine. Give me a few days. Once it is ready, I will send for you."    

"Alright."    

Few days later, a small brown chest was being handed to Madaline. Quene eyed it with care as the smaller goddess took it from his hands.    

"Are you sure this won't backfire? I mean, god trials are very hard. Which human do you favour this much to have something like this created?"    

"Human, huh?" Madaline remarked with amusement, disappearing from right in front of him. He sighed and shook his head, going back into his palace. Madaline appeared a while later where Natalia was already waiting.    

{Have you put your business in order? It's going to be one long month}    

"I told them it was an important journey. You would be watching over us so I'm not worried."    

{Who puts that much faith in a new god? Anyway, are you ready?}    

"As ready as I would ever be," she sighed. Madaline set the chest down and opened it. A blue orb levitated in front of them, emitting a strange aura. Madaline started mumbling a spell and as she did, green circles appeared all over the orb. When she stopped, they seemed to melt into the orb, turning green. She snapped her fingers and Natalia disappeared.    

Natalia found herself in front of a pair of golden gate. Behind her was a vast scenery of grass and white clouds with no apparent light source. Beyond the golden gate, there was only whie clouds and a green glow.    

As she stood there, the projection of a man appeared in front of the gate and stared at her. He wore white robes like a monk but had long light blue hair and clear white eyes. He held a long black staff that looked like a weapon. Natalia had a faint feeling that she was familiar with this man.    

"Welcome to the Wisdom Gates. I am Quene, the god of Wisdom. You would be going through five trials even though it looks like one trial. Once you pass all five trials, then you will have to answer one question from me which would give you my blessings as well as the Fairy Mother's blessings. I wish you good luck on your trial."    

The gates opened and a green light shine through, blinding her. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a familiar scene of a white ceiling. She could hear a child crying and her heart lurched every time she heard those cries. Looking down at her hands and legs, they were tied to the bed and her body experienced fatigue. She felt a gaze pierce her skin and she turned around to see Fredrich looking at her. The clothes he wore, the look on his face, she could recognize it all.    

It was the day she had just given birth to Erich. She was in labor for ten long hours, fighting for her life as she pushed the increasingly fragile baby from her body. She barely had any strength to feed him so a wet nurse was brought.    

In the past, when she saw him, she gave him a smile and told him, "Your grace, your heir is born" since she gave birth to a son. However, instead of sharing in her happiness, his face was a mix of disgust and dread. It crushed the soul of the new mother. This time, instead of telling him anything like that, she straightened her back and sighed.    

"He is your property, your grace. Do with him as you will. I have done my part in giving birth to him."    

"Your grace, how could you say that?!" The midwife exclaimed. She didn't say anything, falling to the bed and closing her eyes. She heard his footsteps and opened her eyes to see him leering over her.    

"What are you plotting this time, Natalia?"    

"Does one plot anything while they are recovering from labor? No, I have to wait a few days for that, if you don't mind, your grace."    

"Don't think that a child will….."    

"He has your blood. By law, he is your child. If we both don't want anything to do with him, you may go ahead and kill him. I'm sure you won't want anything to tamper with the Space her highness occupies in your heart. It's okay, I understand. I too…knows how it feels to be taken from someone you love," she smiled sadly.    

BAM! The headboard was crushed through with his hand. There was red hot rage in his eyes as he stared down at her.    

"What did you just say?"    

"Make no mistake, the child is yours. There is only one man that has pushed me down like an animal and treated me like a slave the entire time. I wish I got the chance to be with the man I love instead. I relied stupidly on tradition and gave up what really mattered. If I was given a choice again, I would never come here or be treated like that again. You know what, it's not too late. I can just leave. You'll have your heir and I would have my freedom. You can bring in the woman you love then. How about that, your grace?"    

"NATALIA!" He roared, punching the wall beside her head.    

"Your patience is really so little for a man of your stature. I've never really understood your anger any time I asked to leave. It's not like you love me. Why do you want to control me and humiliate me when I did nothing wrong to you? I have NEVER once in my life done that to you. My father helped you when you almost lost your position and even though he did something to you, you could always kill him. Why me? No, I think I understand. You're an insufferable bastard with insecurity so deep you cannot see beyond your shadow. You won't ever be satisfied with anything. I harbor no feelings for you, neither love nor hate. Even if I meet you in real life, that wouldn't change."    

His hand reached for her neck. Everything suddenly slowed. A green light shone from nowhere and the scenery changed. This time, she was smaller. She blinked her eyes and saw herself standing alone in a meadow clothed in rags. There were broken chains on her arms and legs, dried blood on the cuffs. Her legs stung with all the little cuts she incurred from running away.    

"Come to think of it, I've been confined my entire life. Am I a caged bird?" She mumbled to herself, chuckling. Soon, she heard a soothing hum that seemed to calm the turbulence of her soul. It came from above the giant tree she stood under. She looked up to see who was singing and didn't see anyone.    

"Who's there?"    

{Natalia}    

The voice called. The voice invoked strange feelings in her, like it was the most familiar thing in the world. She was almost certain she had never heard that voice before but it was too familiar to disregard.    

{I'm sorry for interrupting your trial but I really had to bring you back here. Your magic is still insufficient for you to see me yet but this will do}    

"Who are you?"    

{I am the one at the beginning who knows the end. A product and creator of life. I once was called…..}    

"Nataroth, the goddess of destiny. This isn't the first time we've met, is it?"    

{You managed to gain access to me years ago when you were first able to use magic. Our time was short and the memory faded as time went by. You even forgot the real reason why you wanted to be the most powerful woman in the kingdom}    

"Now that you say it, it's true. I always knew there was a gap in my memory but I never realized that it was something this important. Is this part of the reason I was able to get a new life after I killed myself?"    

{Your life is the key to changing destiny. You've been using the key passively the entire time. When you decided to end your life, the key preserved itself and sent you back to the first point of salvation so you could change your own destiny. Wasn't it the time you decided not to live this life like the last?}    

"..... you're right. But how could I be born with a gift so powerful and nobody knows anything about it?"    

{The answer to that is a tale as old as time, a tale I'm about to tell you}