The Saintess was always mentioned in the ancient texts or the Temple writings. Tales whispered at night from a grandparent to a grandchild. Or sometimes as lessons in school. Not once or twice but repeated again and again. Carved in tablets or written in books. Some bold, some faint.
A few dismissed it as a myth. But when luck ran out, or life stretched thin. They yearned for its veritability.
It started with the marketplace opposite the shrine. A few merchants heard from the priest and priestesses. Then some adventurers claimed to have seen a woman with unusual clothing peeking out from the Shrine's window. By noon, the story reached the royal court.
Inside the council chamber, ministers were shouting.
"Is it true?"
"The Shrine's priests and priestesses have confirmed the rumor is true"
"After centuries"
"This could change the balance of the entire Kingdom"
"The news should be suppressed, it should not go out of this kingdom"
"Other countries might try to take her away"
"Any other news from the Shrine?"
"No, they have stopped answering!"
A gasp escaped an Elder Counselor. " I told you we should have funded the temple renovations!"
Each and every other person at the chamber was seen panicking. They were restless. A state of absolute bedlam. Voices escalated higher than necessary, as they spoke one after another, even banging the table to prove a point, that made rational debate impossible.
Far from restless, the King Cirius Renaldin sat at the long table's end. His head throbbing with pain. He sighed at the lawless behaviour of his council men. He pressed his hand gently to his forehead and closed his eyes. His fingers moved in small circles on both sides of his head.
"Silence!!!" He shouted.
A hush slipped in as silence took hold.
The king looked at the figure who came from the Shrine.
"Did you go to the Shrine?" He asked
"Yes, Your Majesty," the man replied.
" And is the rumor feasible? Did the priest confirm she is the Saintess?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. The news is credible. A tablet appeared at the altar in Priest Hill's and Priestess Agatha's presence, then a figure appeared inside the shrine. No one had seen her enter, it's like she appeared out of thin air"
The King thought for a moment. Then tilted his head slightly behind him.
"Well then" He sighed again. Then he looked at the person sitting by his right side. His Son, the crown Prince"
" Go and greet our Divine Guest"
Crown Prince Caelum Renaldin let out a breath he was holding. Why him?. Is it necessary for the Crown Prince to go greet someone, who had vanished long ago. But he couldn't defy his father.
"Alright, I will go," he said with a polite smile.
He stood up, and walked out. His figure was tall and broad shouldered. With stormy grey eyes and light blond hair. People across the kingdom saw him as one of the finest looking men anyone had ever laid eyes on.
And he was unaware of the person who drools when good looks walk in, as a gourmet. He was about to receive the greatest shock of his life.
Back at the Shrine, in her room Garima sat cross-legged on the floor. The priest and priestesses were shocked when they saw her sitting on the floor. But Garima's butt was not used to wooden chairs without cushions. She asked for a cushion which was as stiff as the wooden chair. So she had moved to the tiled floor. Which was shockingly more comfortable than the chair.
She was currently whispering to the communication artifact.
"Cosmo"
"Yes"
"One Important Question?"
"What is it?"
"Why are the priests so handsome, even the old ones? And the Priestesses look like the main characters of their own books."
The woman remained silent.
"You wrote the world," she answered after some time.
"Oh, right," Garima sighed. So it was her fault.
"How are you settling in?" The woman asked.
"Good, they are kind, but I should probably tell them something, but I am not sure what to tell," Garima sighed. That's the reason she feigned sleepiness and ran to her room from the counsel hall. They will ask questions. Demand answers and Garima didn't know what to say.
"What should I say Cosmo? Should I let them know of the Devils?" Garima asked.
"Do as you wish, It's inevitable," the woman replied, her voice heavy.
"Won't it trigger any butterfly effect, or change any trajectory?" She asked, a little alarmed. She did want anyone dying because of a changed plot. Her story was a happy ending novel. Nobody died. And she after meeting these people here never wanted something wrong to happen.
"It won't change much, you should not worry, it's just small gaps. It won't cause you much trouble" the woman answered.
"Okay then, but if I say I know about the future won't I become more revered?" Garima asked, grinning.
" As the story goes, the Saintess was known for her Prophetic powers. Did you forget what you wrote?" the woman asked.
" I remember, I remember," Garima grimaced. She had forgotten about it. She had written about the vanished Priestess and her lost tablets with prophetic clues, which were a great help to the main characters. But those tablets were not meant to be clues. It was just a greedy person hogging all the knowledge and hiding them.
"She was greedy, I remember writing her persona like how she liked being revered, she had more influence than the king," Garima laughed.
" She had more influence than the Goddess too," the woman replied.
"I just wrote about the Saintess who followed some unnamed Goddess at heart. And people followed her, and by extension prayed to the Goddess too. Is this a plothole?"
" No, there is no storyline involving goddess in the story, and the past scenes of the Saintess you wrote about will remain unchanged" the woman replied.
"What I don't need to repair? Won't it cause trouble for the world?" Garima asked, confused.
"No, as the world stabilizes it can balance its history, that happened almost centuries ago. Even as a creator you won't be able to travel back in time" the woman answered
"Uufff, so confusing, whatever just keep guiding me" Garima whined then she grinned "Say cosmo, do you want to be revered?" She asked.
"Creator, you will be revered. It's inevitable, they will pray after they see for themselves. So you don't have to be so smug" the woman answered
"We will see Cosma, they won't, if i raise your banner and spread your religion" Garima laughed.
" Creator, it's not a matter of laughing," the woman sighed. Her voice was distressed.
Garima just laughed. Hearing the calm and composed Cosmo Spiral was the best feeling ever. It reminded of her cute brother. She used to irritate him a lot when they were young and things got reversed when they were older. She missed him. Thinking about him reminded her of home.
And unbeknownst to her outside the Shrine, soldiers lined the street.
The Shrine's door opened and Prince Caelum walked in. The moment he entered every priest and priestesses bowed deeply "Your Highness"