Our Goddess’s Blood

The darkness that has grown familiar to my tired eyes is pierced by a blinding light, leading to the game. The game, an honored tradition where one couple must be sacrificed to our goddess to keep peace. I cannot and never will understand why we were picked. I look at Genevieve, she’s been asleep for days now. I wake her gently, sadly I tell her it’s time to go, I wish I could let her sleep. Her blue eyes flutter open, causing a quick pain to go through my heart. Large wise men come and begin leading us by shackles binding our wrists to our necks. They lead us to the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea where our goddess often appears. We stand before the abyss waiting for our fate. I’m scared, but not terrified, because I know how it all ends. I’ve known from the very beginning. I guess what scares me is the fact that this is the last time I get to see her. She doesn’t. I can feel her shaking and she doesn’t now. I think about telling her, I think about telling her all that I know, about how she’s going to die, about how I’m going to live. But I don’t think it’ll make her feel any better, I think it’ll make her angry, and more scared. So I keep my mouth shut, I want this moment to be better sweet. I turned to her, taking in every ounce of her. Her wild untamable hair curling just over her shoulders. Her bright blue eyes, skies hidden behind thin wire framed glasses. Her sun kissed skin, riddled with freckles and moles. I want to kiss each one of them. Our goddess materializes out of the timid tides, I can feel her eyes lingering on me. She stairs for a moment and then begins to laugh. She knows. She knows and she’s still going to follow through with it. Our shackles evaporate into thin air.

Genevieve quickly turns to me, her lips part gently, “Are you okay?” She stutters and I break. I clench my chest, it feels as if she’s shot me straight through my heart. Tears begin pouring from my eyes, I pull her into my arms and hold her as we both cry. Why does she have to care for me? It would be so much easier to hate her. Or if she were a stranger. I hate that it’s her. The woman I’ve been so infatuated by for so long. The girl who walked barefoot along the stream to meet me in the dead of night. My best friend who stayed by my side while I was sick in bed. 

Trumpets sound before us, hesitantly I pull away and face the music. Our goddess stands before us on her throne. She holds out her hand, a wicked smile praying on her lips. 

“Genevieve Winters, Marie Lang, you have been chosen for this year's game. I am very curious about how this will turn out.” She bellows, giving me an intense stare. She knows full well what she’s doing. It was her who cursed me with this power in the first place. 

With a wave of her hand, a massive thorny maze appears before us. She gestures to the sunset, “You have until the Harvest Moon sets to make it through the maze. The first one to claim the chalice of my blood and take a drink will live. The other will be destroyed by the maze. Good luck,” she says to Genevieve. “You will need it.” 

Genevieve turns to me again, shakily reaching out her hand. “Together?” 

I take it sadly, “together.” 

“Let the games begin!” Our goddess bellows as the moon rises over the horizon. The maze parts granting us entrance. We enter, the maze is dark, it’s thorns tear at our sleeves as we walk through. I remain unharmed however. By a cruel fate, our goddess blessed me with an ounce of her power to save my life at birth. I am connected to her, and her to me. I can not be harmed physically. I can also smell her blood in the chalice, it guides me through the maze. No matter what I do, I will live and my love will die. I curse god in my mind.

“This way,” I say to her, she clings to my back, wincing as she stumbles over large roots that tear at her skin. “Are you okay?”

“No, how could I be, one of us will die, does that not wound you?”

I stop and turn to her. Her eyes are puffy and red from crying. Fear is turning to anger. I take her hands and plant a kiss on her forehead. “It hurts me more than you will ever know, but we need to focus, it’ll take all our strength to get to the chalice.” 

“But what happens if we get there?”

“When. When we get there, we will have to leave that be for now.”

“I don’t want to die.” 

My heart drops, shattering into a million pieces. “You won’t.” I lie.

“Promise?”

“I promise. Come, it’s this way.” I lead her through a sharp tunnel. “Be careful!” I yell as a thorn comes out of the wall aiming for her, I throw out my arm as it latches onto my wrist. I sigh, thank goddess. “Are you hurt?” 

“No, but your arm!”

I pull it from the walls grasp, and try and hide it from her. “I’ll be fine.” 

“No, if it hit your artery you could be seriously hurt, you could bleed out!”

“No!” I try and protest as she grabs my arm away from my chest.

She’s silent for a moment, confused, shocked, but then it turns to horror. “What the hell? What the hell! How?” She looks down at her own wounds, blood trickling from thorns piercing her skin. “No, it’s not possible.”

“Okay, come on, let’s get somewhere safe and I’ll explain.” My mind is spiraling. How much do I say? My goddess, I want to say it all, every detail about the past and the future. Abolish ut our fate. We find a small clearing, I gather dry dead thorn branches and start a small fire. Genevieve huddles over it, shivering. She hasn’t said anything since she saw my arm. 

“When I was born,” I began, gaining her attention. “I had no life, my mother was in such despair over losing me that she ran to our goddess. Our goddess in her mercifulness granted me life. And with it, I can not be harmed.” 

Genevieve takes this in, sitting silently.

“I’m sorry I never told you. I didn’t want you to think differently of me.” I get on my knees by her side and take her arm. I press my head into her and begin to cry. “Please love, don’t hate me.”

“I couldn’t ever hate you. No matter what. I love you but allow me to be scared.” She breathes out, running a shaky hand through her hair. “So what does this mean, for the game?” 

I can’t look her in the eye, all I can do is cry.

“Oh goddess,” she cries. 

“I’m so sorry.”

We hold each other for a long moment. 

“I have an idea.” She says. “Let’s not finish, let’s both be consumed by the maze. I’m going to die either way. Say that you’ll stay by my side.”

“Okay, I promise.”

I lay in the dirt, she lays next to me, resting her head on my chest. 

“I love you.” 

“I love you too.”

We lay there and slowly drift to sleep. I awaken to a loud crunching sound, the walls begin to cave in on us as the sky greets the sun. The earth below us swallows us whole. Genevieve is still in my arms. We cannot move, the earth enclosed around our bodies weighs heavy down on us. I can feel her shaking, gasping for air, she’s dying. She’s dying, and I’m fine. She’s suffocating against me and I don’t have to breathe. Suddenly she stops, tears pour from my eyes as I feel her go limp against me. I don’t know how long it’s been. Hours? Days? Years? I am trapped in hell as my lover rots against my flesh. I curse my goddess. I curse her blood in my veins.