The Promise between us

The joyous chime of the church bell echoed through the air as a flock of white doves took flight, soaring freely into the expanse of the clear blue sky. Petals of flowers were scattered everywhere to welcome the happy newlyweds. It was a moment of happiness, yet somehow, a little girl stood alone in the church garden, separating herself from the moment. Together with a wolf three times her size, the little girl played there.

"Kai, stop it, it tickles," I chuckled as the white wolf licked my face joyfully.

I found Kai when I got lost in the forest. Separated from his pack, he was weeping beneath the shelter of a shady tree. Feeling sorry for him, I shared my lunch with him before the Village Watchman found me. Perhaps mistaking me for his mother, Kai immediately clung to me. Yet for some reason, I couldn't keep him at home. That was why, time and time again, the two of us would meet in this forest. In exchange for his protection, while I gathered some herbs, I gave him food I took from the kitchen.

"Kai, what did you eat in the forest to grow this big?" I asked while stroking Kai's chin. I also noticed a red crystal growing on his head. Huh, weird.

I rested on Kai's belly, looking at the blue sky. Shimmering with magic, I could trace the magic lines on the sky, forming an invisible barrier that Papa created with his life. That barrier protected us from the war outside, creating a peace that last for years. Yet that peace was just an illusion, every day The Savage God's army kept attacking the barrier. I wonder how many years are left before this shield shattered?

"Celliii, where are you?" I heard a girl's voice calling out for me.

Oh no, that voice, it was Cleo! If she found out that I had been secretly taking care of Kai, she might tell Mama!

As the light footsteps drew nearer, the scent of sunflowers wafted along with my sister's cheerfulness. Panic set in as I realize there was no way to explain Kai's presence, so I hastily instructed him to retreat into the forest as I awkwardly hid. Peering through the dense foliage, I scanned the garden for my sister, but she had vanished into thin air.

"Hey!" suddenly a loud voice was heard from behind me.

Startled, I jumped out of the bushes and made my sister, Cleo, laugh out loud. Cleo jumped down from the branches and shook her hips.

"Surprise!! How is it, Celli? Did I scare you?"

"H-How? Y-You were supposed to be there," I asked, confused.

"With magic, of course, how else would I do it, lil' sis?" Cleo replied with a sly grin, her nimble fingers conjuring a radiant light that transformed into a stunning dove in the palm of her hand. She released the bird into the sky, where it burst into a glittering array of lights that shimmered like the first snowfall of my favorite season.

"Whoa, amazing, Cleo! I want to do it too! Teach me, teach me!" I begged.

My sister laughed and asked for my hand, "Okay! Hmm, if I'm not mistaken, Master Noctis opened my magic circuit like this...uh, umm, Hahaha."

"What's wrong?"

"U-Uh, I forgot how to do it," said Cleo, laughing foolishly.

Feeling annoyed, I pinched my sister's arm and pouted, "Ugh, you really! Always giving false hope to Celli."

"S-Sorry. I'll try asking Lord Noctis again later, I promise," she said, linking her pinky with mine. "But, if Celli can use magic too, we could become the greatest goddess twins in the world! Isn't that amazing?" she continued with an innocent smile.

I brushed her off awkwardly, "No way. I'm happy to support you from the background. After all, the strongest goddess won't last without a healer, right?"

A slight disappointment still appeared in her eyes, but she let it go with a bright smile, "You bet!

I really admire Cleo. She is gentle and kind-hearted, attentive and reliable, beautiful and enchanting, like a princess from a fairy tale. Her hair is like a river of gold flowing through her soft and smooth fair skin. Her smile radiates with an unwavering hope capable of melting even the coldest heart.

In contrast, I am just a weak goddess, slow and unremarkable in my talents. Even our "cousins" often jested that I was just the leftover product of Mama's womb when she carried us. All the goodness had been taken by Cleo.

While Cleo had been busy training and cultivating her talent for the past years, here I was, playing in the forest without a care. Even I knew that the alchemy I studied was practically useless compared to healing and battle prowess. Perhaps, I was just a good-for-nothing deity in this domain. Perhaps Mama too, had lost her hope in me.

Suddenly, Kai burst from the forest, growling ferociously at Cleo.

"Kai, no! She's my sister," I yelled desperately to calm him down. Curious, Kai took a quick sniff of Cleo. Before long, Kai's growling transformed into a silly doggy grin, and his tail started wagging as if he had just found a new playmate.

Cleo's expression turned ghostly pale as she tried to drag me away, trembling with fear, "C-Celli, Run! That's an Anima!"

"Anima? What? Kai is just a big, friendly husky," I asked confused.

If I wasn't mistaken, Anima was The Savage God's loyal minion. They prey on humans and gods in the shadow, and some could even use magic after consuming their victims. I recalled that summoning Anima was considered an ancient forbidden magic, used to wipe out the past civilization before being sealed. Yet, somehow, The Savage God managed to break the seal and use them in battle.

"Does Husky look like that, dummy?" Cleo said, pinching my ear, "Look at his head, it's a Magicore, the Heart of an Anima. That thing is a Bloodwalker!" she continued.

"O-Ouch! A Bloodwalker? Do you mean the Anima that recently attacked people outside the barrier?" I said in disbelief, then after being released, I quickly petted Kai until the doggy showed me his belly.

"This fluff ball?" I asked incredulously, pointing to Kai's cuteness to my sister.

Cleo bit her finger, "I guess you're right... Uhhh, I guess theory and reality are always different," she murmured.

I could see Cleo's jealousy. Unexpectedly, the girl who was previously grumbling about Anima jumped and buried herself in Kai's soft fur. With delight, Cleo rubbed her head against the soft and warm fur.

"Oooh, it's so soft, softer than my bed at home. And warm too! I could lie here forever!" said Cleo, leaning against Kai.

"Celli, you're always full of surprises! Who would've thought that you escaped Mama's wedding to play with an Anima?" she added.

"Well, you escaped too, didn't you?" I asked.

Cleo laughed awkwardly, "Ssssh, who's escaping? No one! I'm just doing my duty as a good big sis, looking for my lost little sister."

I squinted my eyes, "Yeah, right."

Four years after Papa passed away, Mama was proposed to by a rich god, Alexander Adagio Noctis. He was Mama's distant cousin and her patient when she worked as a doctor in the castle. He was also Papa's subordinate when Papa was still alive. The warmth and sincere love of the nobleman melted Mama's heart, especially when he happily welcomed us into his palace.

Cleo shook her head at the fur, "I have never seen Mama so beautiful and happy as today. It's a shame you don't see it."

I smiled while sorting the herbs I gathered today, "If you try to get into topic between me and Mama, please keep quiet. Or else, I'll feed you with a potent laxative root," I warned her.

"G-Geez, so scary. I never thought my sister would grow into a terrifying girl."

A moment of silence emphasized how serious I was. Even though I appreciated how Cleo was trying to mend the rift between me and Mama, there was just something that couldn't be fixed. And that something was within me.

I was a coward who betrayed her mother. I couldn't keep up with her expectation. The cold between us had gotten worse when she found out that I had been secretly selling my medicine in the town. She even found out that I registered in the Merchant Guild, which gave me a visa and passport to visit another country. Perhaps Mama was disappointed with me again, trying to run away from my destiny as a god and planning to live as a simple human. Of course, Cleo was too thickheaded to realize it.

"How far are you running away, Celli?" Cleo asked.

I chuckled, what a weird question. But as my eyes were captivated by the beauty of the chrysanthemum flowers in my hand, I simply replied, "To the world that wasn't here. To a place that wasn't here. To the end that no one knows."

Suddenly, Cleo pushed me to the ground. Captivating me with her bright blue eyes, she never let her eyes off from me. "I won't let you, sister. I want to be with you forever."

"That's not realistic. Soon, you'll go to the academy and meet many wondrous people. You'll fall in love with a young god or perhaps start a forbidden love with a charismatic human. You will forget about me like a flicker of fireworks," I replied.

…!

Tears fell to my cheeks my eyes widened to see Cleo crying. "Stupid! Stupid! You're the one who said you're scared, but why did you choose to leave? Was it because I trained so hard that it made you feel that you lost your place in the castle? Did I make life harder for you because Mama placed too much attention on me? Did I hurt you, Celli?"

We both sat down on the ground, Cleo was still weeping. Gently I wiped her tears and patted her head, "Geez. when did I say I'm going to leave, stupid? Celli is a coward and a stupid girl that couldn't recognize Anima. The world is scary! Society is scary! Human is scary! Where else could I live but not our domain, Hilfheim?" I scolded her and then I grab her face with my hands, looking at my sister's eyes deeply,

"Don't worry. Even if I moved out of the castle, I'm still close to you. Whatever happens, Celli will always be by Cleo's side."

"R-Really?"

"Yes. When I bought my house, come visit me. We can have a tea party together!"

Cleo's eyes widened for a second before her usual cheerfulness swiped away with her sadness. She giggled and flicked my forehead, "Cheeky little sister. That's a line from a harem novel, right? Geez!"

I laughed, "Well, I wanted to say it at least once. Ehem, to practice for the first meeting with my prince charming."

Cleo's burst out a laugh, "It should be the opposite, you big dummy!"

After that we lean on Kai's belly, looking at the bright sky.

Suddenly, Cleo whispered among the cloud, "Me too, I promise you. We'll always be together, Celli. That's why, I, Cleopatra Inanis, will train hard to become the strongest deity. That way, I could protect you!"

I giggled, "That's more like it, Big Sis!"

Promises are like lanterns in the darkness; they guide us to persevere in uncertain times. But life always has another plan. Like innocent fools, we clung to promises, never realizing that it was just an illusion to blind ourselves from the ugly truth.

As it's easy to make promises, it's equally easy to break them.