Behind the scenes

As the children played and bonded, the adults watched with a mix of smiles and frowns.

“She’s fitting in quite nicely, isn’t she.” Agapi remarked with a smile as she watched Mina entertain Panos with her powers.

“Indeed she is, though someone of Uraina was always destined to draw everyone in.” Athan replied.

“Yes, someone chosen by our goddess directly would, but we all know Mina isn’t quite exactly that.” Dory remarked.

“We are allowed to assume that given the circumstances, but we don’t actually know.” Lefteris countered. “As ashamed as I am to admit it, the mechanics of the summoning circle are far beyond my ability to understand, especially given how much foreign magic is involved. The summoning could just pick someone random, could have some criteria that the circle itself utilizes to chose, or it could function directly through our goddess herself and chose someone based on her will. I personally believe it to be the later.”

“As long as she’s got Uraina’s power, I don’t care how it works. She’s going to be the key in helping us fix this broken kingdom.” Elias cut in.

“Now now Elias, calm down a touch.” Sofos said. “Yes, she will help us, there is no doubt in my mind that she will play her role perfectly, but that’s going to happen later down the line. She’s still a child, she needs to grow a bit more before she can truly take up her role, so have a bit of patience.”

“Hey, what’s everyone talking about?” Natalia asked as she and Vasilis approached the group, and everyone turned to face the pair.

“We were simply sharing our thoughts on Mina.” Lefteris explained. Natalia frowned at that, and turned to look at Mina herself.

“I see. Listen, are we sure about all this? I know the kingdom really needs fixing and all, what with this new king making a mess of things, but what we’re going to be doing with her… is it really necessary?” Natalia asked. “I mean, she’s not even-”

“She is, she is our destined savior.” Athan said firmly, cutting Natalia off. “Regardless of the mechanics of the summoning circle, Lefteris, Elias and I all poured all our hopes and desires into it. If nothing else, the power of our will has ensured that we have brought the perfect goddess blessed person to aid us in our trials.”

“I don’t know. I trust you guys, and I do like Mina, but is that really enough?” Natalia questioned. “Can’t we just, I don’t know, summon someone else, someone hopefully more ready for this kind of thing?”

“I agree with Natalia.” Dory said. “Mina is not fit for the trials we must face.”

“Thank you, Dory.” Natalia said.

“Training someone like her would truly be a waste of my time, even with this goddess blessed power she has.” Dory continued, drawing a glare from Natalia.

“Wait, you don’t like her just because you don’t think it’s worth training her?” Natalia asked. “But you’ve been training Nik since he was 6!”

“Ah, but.” Dory stumbled, abruptly turning from grumpy and stern to chided. “Nik is our son, he’s different.”

“While yes, he is different, the fact that you have been training him for so long means you are well aware of how to suit your training to someone’s level. Meaning training Mina should be no issue for you.” Natalia countered. “… You are going to start training Mina next week, understood.”

“Yes dear.” Dory relented, and everyone chuckled at the interaction. Lefteris then loudly cleared his throat and drew everyone’s attention himself.

“To answer your question from earlier though, we could summon someone else, but it could cause problems.” Lefteris explained. “First and foremost, we would need to purchase more of the material used in the summoning to perform another one, and it isn’t cheap. Beyond that, the circle will need to recharge for at least a week before we can even attempt to use it again. Then, if we actually do use it again, there is no guarantee that this new person would be a better fit. Also, having two of ‘Uraina’s chosen’ running around could cause them to compete for her blessing, which would most likely cause a lot of problems. Regardless on our feeling towards her, our safest option is to simply train her up to becoming the person we need, rather than try to replace her.”

The explanation made everyone go quiet as they all processed his words. Would it be better to summon a new person and risk things going bad, or should they just roll with what they have? Before anyone who hadn’t come to a conclusion could come close to one, the door to the main hall opened up, and Foteini popped her head out.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt whatever you’re talking about, but I’m ready for you guys in here.” She said.

“Ah, yes, good. Thank you for doing this Foteini.” Athan said

“You can thank me by not making me do most of the work on my own next time we do something like this.” Foteini replied with a flat glare, making Athan chuckle awkwardly.

“Ah, yes, of course. Sorry about that.” He said. He then turned to the others. “Alright everyone, lets get ready for Mina.”

“Actually, I’ve got a bit more work to do over in the farm area. You mind if I come in with the kids?” Natalia asked, and Athan nodded.

“Of course, you go do what you need to do. We’ll see you when things start.” He said as he walked into the hall, with everyone following him till Natalia and Vasilis were alone outside. Natalia then let out a sigh and made her way back to the farm area, with Vasilis following close behind.

“You’re really bothered by all this, aren’t you. By what you know we’re going to be pushing Mina into.” Vasilis remarked, and Natalia let out a humorless chuckle.

“You can tell?” she asked.

“I’d be a terrible twin if I couldn’t.” Vasilis replied.

“True enough I suppose. And what about you? You didn’t say anything back there, you normally have something to say about everything?” She asked.

“Eh, I don’t really have a stake in any of this, unlike the rest of you. I figured I’d just let you all talk things out yourselves and just hang around for moral support.” Vasilis replied, his answer making Natalia raise an eyebrow at him.

“You don’t have any stake in this? Didn’t you lose your job in the palace because of the new king?” Natalia asked, and Vasilis scoffed.

“Please, that’s little more than a speed bump.” He told her. “With my skills and resume, I could get a job as a tailor basically anywhere in the kingdom if I wanted. Heck, even in another kingdom probably. No, to be honest, I really only joined this thing because you were here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. We haven’t really spent as much time together as we used to lately, and I’ve got a small fortune saved up, so I figured why not. Take advantage of my sudden lack of a job to have a vacation and spend some more time with you.” He replied. Natalia looked at him with a soft smile for a moment, and then the smile turned teasing.

“That, and you missed working on a farm, didn’t you.” She said, and Vasilis chuckled.

“I can’t deny that. Garment making may be my passion, but farming still brings me its own special kind of joy.” He admitted.

He then changed to a more serious look and looked his sister directly in the eyes.

“Still, you’re not wrong for not liking this, I don’t really like it either.” Vasilis then said. “I know you, so I know that you were expecting someone a bit older. But I also know that even if they were older, you’d still have your doubts. You’ve always had good instincts, so don’t try to ignore this.”

“*Sigh* yeah, you’re right, I’m just not sure what I can do.” Natalia admitted, and Vasilis shrugged.

“You can do something, and so long as that something is in line with your instincts, I doubt you could make the wrong choice.” He said. He then turned to the farm. “Now come on, lets go finish cleaning up so we can join the celebration.”