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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2926336" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter 141, “Service in the Desert”, Wednesday, March 22nd , 1882:It is a clear spring night. The previous day has marked the vernal equinox, it is a time of balance, a time of renewal, and a time of new beginnings. It has been an exceptionally good year for rain and the gods have been kind, providing a profusion of desert blooms. Their sweet perfume and muted, evening colors add to the surreal scene, as the light of Sol turns soft and gray. Three women ride silently into the desert. They are identical in their attire, and can only be distinguished by the contrasting colors of their cascading hair and their varying height. The leader, although similar in height to the one that follows, has rich dark locks as black as a moonless night while the other has a mass of flaming red tresses that flicker and dance as they catch the light of the setting sun. The third also has rich black hair but is quite petite and could easily be mistaken for a child as she silently dismounts and stands shivering in nervous anticipation. They walk in a single line, toward the sun god Sol, but he slides over the horizon without bidding them good luck or farewell, leaving them to wait in shadow for the coming of Diana. They are a haunting sight, as they continue to move, bare footed, and silent as wraiths, through the warm sand. Upon each of their brow sits the familiar olive leaf laurel that Minerva wears as part of her Sunday Service attire. Simple white robes cinched at the waist with gold cords enhance their eerie ghost-like appearance as the moon goddess rises up in the sky to greet them. The Priestess Minerva turns to the other two and gently but firmly admonishes them; “Know this. Just as every god demands tribute so does every gift bring a penalty. This is how the Fates weave destiny. Whatever comes of this night, you must remember that you chose your path freely and without reservation. Do either of you wish to recant your choice?” "No, for once my destiny is clear," Ruby smiles while pulling her unbound hair off her shoulders, confident in her answer.   Katherine speaks with quiet resolve "I cannot recant. I have already received and accepted my gift. I have realized what some of the penalties will be in the days since. The value of the gift far outweighs them.” She unconsciously places a hand on her stomach. “I cannot imagine a penalty it would not outweigh.""Very well, let us begin," the Priestess says with resolve. She retrieves a large silver bowl from her saddlebag, returns to the two women and places it on the desert floor between them. The three women form a circle around it as the moon goddess Diana smiles down in approval. The Young Priestess raises her hands in supplication and prays silently over the bowl. It miraculously fills with water causing the luminescent light of the moon goddess to reflect in the bowl and cast her light back upon the women, bathing them in her unearthly aura. In unspoken readiness all three women simultaneously drop their robes to the desert floor, revealing their innocent feminine beauty to the gods above. All semblance of modesty vanishes as they firmly clasp one another’s hands and, as one, raise their arms and faces skyward toward Olympus. There is no sense of shame in their posture as they stand proudly and powerfully feminine, legs slightly apart and stretch up on their toes to offer thanks and acknowledge that they are created in the image of the three goddesses whom they have come to pay tribute to. Minerva’s sweet voice rings out in the still desert air. “Through the will of the gods and the Three Fates, the lives of Ruby, Katherine and Minerva are intertwined. We have come here this night, as one, to pay tribute and to accept the gifts of the goddesses. Let the bonds of friendship and trust that are forged here under the sight of the three goddesses hold true. Let the circle that we form bring us together and hold fast against our enemies, for this is the will of the gods." "Venus, goddess of love and beauty, we acknowledge you and pay you tribute. We accept that the greater the gift, the greater the price that must be paid and so it is that with great love comes great heartache. This is the will of the gods. Grant us your favor and guide our hearts that we may remain open and unafraid of your power, which is love. As we acknowledge your gifts of love so are we able to recognize the love of others." Ruby steps forward and places the bloodied rose from her dream in the bowl gently. "Diana, goddess of the moon who shines her light upon us in our darkest hours, goddess of fertility, nurturer of life, we acknowledge you and pay you tribute. Grant us the ability to nurture one another without the need for understanding, as does a mother to her child. Shine your light upon our path. Guide and protect the love which grows within each of us.” Minerva looks into Katherine’s eyes and with warm affection, glances at her belly and smiles knowingly. Katherine places her wedding band, the mortal symbol of the eternal circle of love, life and wisdom into the bowl. "Minerva, warrior goddess, goddess of wisdom and strategy we acknowledge you and pay you tribute. In your boundless wisdom, grant us the gift of compassion for one another. For compassion is the best part of wisdom. But grant us also, your courage to stand and fight when we must and the wisdom to know when to walk away. Guide our steps so that we may love and live wisely thus completing the circle of life." Minerva takes an olive leaf from each woman’s crown and places it in the bowl. The three women reform the circle and once again join hands. “Let us celebrate Love, Life and Wisdom, as we give thanks to you, Venus, Diana and Minerva. We acknowledge and pay tribute to these three for without one the circle is broken and the rest will cease to be.”  She then recites poetry: For from Love springs Life From Life grows Wisdom And from Wisdom, Love is renewed. May this circle remain eternal. It is the will of the gods."When the ceremony is complete the three women lower their arms and Ruby walks over to the silver bowl. Her eye is caught by a bright gleam in the bottom of the bowl. She lets out a cry of astonished delight as she reaches into the bowl and pulls out the rose, and then the three olive branches, and Katherine’s wedding band, which are now perfectly preserved in hard ice like material.Kate hurried over and pulled out her ring. "What is it?" she asked, turning the glittering ring in the moonlight. With a sudden panic she tried to put the ring back on, to make sure it would still fit her finger with this coating on it.Minerva rushes over when she hears the commotion. " By the goddesses it is another miracle!" She holds up the olive pendants. "They are so beautiful. It is as though the moon goddess has wrapped herself around them!" She gives one to Ruby and one to Katherine. "Let us each keep one as a reminder of this night and what has transpired between us." She hugs them both close.Katherine allowed herself to be embraced, but her mind was in a fog and her own arms stayed in front of her, touching the wedding band that thankfully still fit her finger. The olive leaf was clutched in the other hand. "I um... I'm cold," she said once the Priestess had released them and she went back to get her robe.Minerva picks the bowl and her robe up off the ground. She places her arms through the sleeves of her robe and walks over to her horse to put the bowl back into her saddlebag. As she nears Katherine she stops and places her hand on her shoulder and softly asks "Are you alright, Senora? Do not be afraid I shall keep your secret safe for as long as you wish it to remain so.""I'm alright, just.... it was not what I expected. Services in Boston were never anything like that." Minerva laughs "No, I am certain that they do not have services like this in Boston.”  Kate reached into the pocket of the robe and pulled out the other ring and slipped it back on. "I don't want it to be a secret, well maybe from the boys," she said with a little smile. "But how can anyone believe me? I tried to tell Ruby, but even the idea that I had been with my husband... she thought I was mad, I'm certain. I didn't even get around to him," she said, glancing down. Minerva replies, “You may be surprised to find out who will believe you. And as for those who do not, the ones who truly love you will continue to do so despite what they believe. Trust in your friends to stand by you. That is my advice to you. It may take them a while to accept the truth but they will come around.” Kate replies, "It is a secret from most, for now. Especially the boys, they'll lock me up and throw away the key. I'll bear the penalties, but sometimes it will be hard.”   Minerva answers, “Yes it will be hard but trust in the gods Katherine. They will show you the way... And if they are too slow than we shall figure it our ourselves.   Kate says, “There's someone it's going to hurt very much, in more ways than one, that is the worst of them," she said with eyes full of tears. “   Minerva says, “You are speaking of Senor Booth. He seems to be a man of honor and he cares about you. Perhaps he will surprise you.” Kate shook her head and found a smile. "I think the time to tell Ruby is now, while she's still receptive to the idea."   Minerva replies, “I am not certain that tonight is the right time, we are all weary and she has much to think over herself right now. Perhaps tomorrow would be a better time but I will leave that up to you." She says and leaves Katherine to her own thoughts.Katherine nodded. The Priestess was probably right, they were all a little dazed and Ruby would have her own thoughts right now, just as she did herself. Kate wandered slightly away from the others and sat on the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest. She still felt naked to the moonlight, as if her skin no longer hid her soul and the hard knot of distrust she carried within her was clearly visible. It had been there so long she had stopped noticing its weight, and yet it didn't feel quite as tight in her chest as it had.  Kate wiped her eyes and sat for a moment longer before going back to find Ruby. Ruby accepts Minerva's embrace but she is really in a daze. After Minerva lets her go and walks away, Ruby stares at the rose in her hand, twirling it around, watching it shimmer and shine in the moonlight. It was captivating and mesmerizing, and Ruby felt she couldn't break her stare on it. Finally a cool breeze surrounds her and she shivers slightly. She grabs at her robe with one hand and mindlessly slips back into it. She keeps staring at her rose, completely lost in her own thoughts and a small smile comes to her face. Ruby couldn't wait to return to Jake.Kate notes that there was a new light in her friends eyes, a kind of peace, perhaps, that hadn't been there before. Kate approached Ruby, who still held the perfect rose in her hand, and gently hugged her. "I'm glad you're home. I missed you," she said simply.   Ruby snaps out of her trance hearing Katherine's voice. She smiles and returns her friends embrace, hugging her tightly. "I missed you too. I'm glad to be home." She glances around the moonlit desert, it's beauty looking somehow different than it had before. "I'm surprised to see you here," she comments. "Then again I'm surprised to see me here," she says while suddenly looking Katherine right in the eyes, "But things are different now, Kate." She looks down at the rose in her hands, "In a good way though." She looks up and declares, "I'm hungry! I haven't eaten since this morning. And Jake will want to know we're ok. If we're done here for now let's go back. We'll have plenty of time to talk later, I have a lot to tell you."   Ruby is lost in thought for a moment before her hazel eyes suddenly become alive again as the final bit of her haze falls away. "Yes, let's go back." She takes her olive leaf and gently places it in her robes and keeping the rose in her hand she hops up on her horse and waits for the others.    The three ladies ride silently through the cool desert, all engrossed in their thoughts over what they just experienced.   Two hours earlier, Jake arrived at the El Parador and shortly thereafter the halfling named Chumbley comes bounding into the saloon with a stack of newspapers in hand. He is almost always in a cheerful mood, but tonight seems to be especially excited. He loudly proclaims, “Promise City Mirror! Volume One, Issue One! Get one before they’re gone! Only a nickel!”Jake waves the Halfling over. "I'll take one shorty," and gives him a nickel. "I take it from the new name and number that you accepted the position with the new paper."  Chumbley replies "That I did. I’m hoping that the name change will help to keep advertisers from both papers. I'm told you wouldn't allow the Herald to even be sold at your place of business, I hope you don't feel that way about The Mirror. The Herald’s main advertiser was the Palace, and I’d hate to lose a patron who buys the entire back page. But he hates the Lucky Lady. I want to advertise for you guys too! You’re my friends! Anyway, I didn’t have time to solicit advertisers for this issue so I ran a bunch of free ads. I didn’t do one for the Lucky Lady since Adair paid for his ad this time out and I didn’t want to upset him, but I did run one for Hoover’s Liquors, so that should still help your business some.""I understand Chumbley." Jake nods and hopes he can get on with his business soon before the short man starts talking endlessly. "Adair is a dead end, but not a nice guy to cross either. We'd be happy to advertise in your new paper. Come back and talk to Ruby about it, between the Lucky Lady and all the other businesses that we are friends with it will more than make up for Adair." Jake waves goodbye and searches for Pedro. When he finds him Jake greets him warmly, "Hola Amigo! Listen, I have been meaning to ask you something. The night that Ruby and that Eastman guy got really drunk and made spectacles of themselves here what was it that Ruby said? Somebody told me she climbed up on a chair or table or something."He laughs and says "I don't remember the exact words but basically she climbed on the table and screamed to that Eastman guy that she wouldn't marry him, she was in love with Jake Cook."  "Gracias, Pedro mi amigo, gracias," Jake replies suddenly seeming distracted. He rubs his chin and then refocuses on Pedro. "Have you seen Senor Gonzalez? I need to speak to him."Pedro replies, "He went out of town with a couple of folks from Arcade's Gang. Should be back later tonight. As for Miss Ruby, I'm not sure if I should congratulate you or feel sorry for you. Probably a little of both."   "Heh." Jake laughs as Pedro's comment gets his attention. "This from the man who married Dorita." Jake pats his shoulder in a friendly way and says, "Could you let Senor Gonzalez know I would very much like to speak with him in private? Gracias amigo, buenos noches."</blockquote>

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