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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3104187" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter 176, “Sonoma’s Lament”, Sunday, March 26th, 1882, 2:30 PM When they were almost home Kate said, "I have a little errand I need to run, do mind a short detour?"   Sonoma replies, “Where do you need to go? the meat really shouldn't be left too long without cooking it will spoil quickly in the heat.”   Kate says, "Oh, it will only take a moment. Certainly not long enough to spoil the meat. A couple friends did me favors this morning, I need to return them. Mr. Garcia for the Lucky Lady is one." Kate turned Meribel toward Garcia's house, keeping her real destination secret until they are dismounting in front of Garcia's house.  "I'm so glad you came with me Sonoma," she said loudly toward Mother Jaminez's door. "We miss having you here."Sonoma seems to be agitated and avoids looking in the direction of her mentor's home   “I am feeling badly about leaving Flint with the chores at the ranch could you possibly deliver the packages to Dorita I really feel that I must return to the animals that were left in my charge it is not fair to Flint or them to have someone who does not understand them left in charge.”  With that she begins to transfer the packages quickly to Kate's horse.  “Tell My mother I'm fine.”"Flint is fine. In fact, I'll go back tonight and help him if you are so worried about it. Estaban and Grant have been very generous, escorting me where I need to go." Kate stopped Sonoma's hands. "Tell your Mother yourself," Kate said, slipping her arm in Sonoma's and gently leading her toward her Mentor's door.Kate feels every muscle in Sonoma’s body stiffen as she touches her arm.  “I really feel that I need to go back I don't belong in town and my mentor will think I am derelict in my duty if I am not caring for the animals I am responsible for.”  With that she attempts to shrug her way out of Kate's hold and mount her horse.Kate didn't want to resort to a spell to bring Sonoma to her mentor's door. "Sonoma, your mentor will not think the less of you for spending one night away. She is wise, and knows that we all need a little break now and then." She casually took the reins of Sonoma's horse. "Come, the sooner we are done here, the sooner we can go to the El Parador."   She looked at the ground and noticed a fair sized stone. She tried to take a step with Sonoma in tow and kicked the stone over to Mother Jaminez's door, hoping the old woman would take it for a knock.Sonoma replies, “I really have nothing that I should do here and a lot that needs to be done at the ranch. It was a mistake for me to think I should come into town. I need to go back to the ranch Nanuet will come for me when he is ready and I'll wait at the ranch for him that way he knows where I am. I really shouldn't be in town. Please release my horse so that I can go back away from this town to where I belong.”"Not until I understand. I have never seen you so stubborn in my life, Sonoma Figueres. The ranch is perfectly fine. You have devoted every moment to it for weeks. One night will do no harm."  Kate looked around the street and saw no one. She was shielded between Sonoma's body and the horse. She quickly cast a cantrip to open the door to Mother Jaminez's house and said loudly, "We'll just say hello Sonoma. After that you can go back to the ranch if you want. You'll get back quicker if you quit arguing with me about it."Sonoma replies, “I am who I am and stubborn is something that has been bred into my family for generations if you don't believe me go try to change your mentor's mind once he has made it up.  I don't belong in this town I belong out on the ranch I shouldn't be here and there is nothing for me here I can practice the skills I have much better in the open air away from this city with it's people. There is no reason for me to be here I don't belong here anymore I belong on the ranch away from this town and that is where I'm going to go.”Kate's cantrip does not work against Mother Jaminez's door. The shutters over the windows are shut and latched.  Kate was at a loss. She had gotten Sonoma to within a few feet of the door, and yet couldn't get her inside. She knew she wasn't strong enough to drag her physically, and it was the height of rudeness to use magic against a fellow apprentice. If it worked, Sonoma would forgive her. If it didn't..... Kate kept firm hold on the reins of Sonoma's horse. Kat exclaims, "Will you at least wait here while I talk to her? She has been helping Conrad and I just need to speak to her about it."    Sonoma exclaims, “Fine I'll stay here long enough to load the packages onto your horse then I'm going back to where I belong out of this town where I can breathe to wait for Nanuet in our home.”  Kate hurried over to the door and knocked, calling out, "Mother Jimenez? It's Mrs. Kale." She kept her eye on Sonoma, ready to cast a grease spell to keep her from leaving if it looked like she was going to flee.   As Kate watches Sonoma unpacks and repacks the horses with record speed nearly overloading the bags to ensure that everything she had packed is on Kate's horse.As soon as she has repacked the horse Sonoma mounts her horse she waves to Kate as she heads the animal in the direction of the ranch. "Tell my great grandfather I am fine and let my mother know I am eating well the house is finished if they wish to visit me, goodbye Kate I will see you when you return to the ranch" With that she speaks to her horse and begins to head back to the ranch.   She yells back, "Let Nanuet know I'll be waiting for him at home""Sonoma, wait." Kate ran over and jumped on her own horse, easily keeping pace with the other woman. "At least come see Ginnie at the El Parador. She'll be so disappointed if you don't stop."  Sonoma replies, “You can bring Ginnie out to the ranch, it's much nicer there than in town anyway lots of places for her to roam. Lots of open space and places to breathe. I don't really want to go into the town any further than I have already it isn't somewhere I should be. I really can't go into town.  Tell Ginnie I said hello and I'll help her put up some of the vegetables I have planted when they are ready to can.”Kate exclaims, "Sonoma, listen to yourself. You lived in town for a long time, you sound as if you're afraid of it. And Ginnie prefers town, from what I can tell.  Alright, I give up. But I'm riding back with you, it's not safe to go alone. Which means we still need to stop at the El Parador to drop off the lamb. We'll get Estaban to ride with us so I can come back."Sonoma states, “Kate I can't help it. I really feel that the town is the last place on earth I want to be. I can ride invisible back to the ranch but I will go with you long enough to make sure that you are safe, drop off the meat and see if there is anything Dorita or my great grandfather need from me but I'm not staying any longer than I absolutely need to.”Kate says, "That's fine, Sonoma. They'll be glad to see you, and then we'll get you back out to the ranch. We can worry about why you don't want to stay later. I'll go with you to see your great-grandfather." When they arrived at the El Parador, Kate and Sonoma tied their horses out front and went inside with the packages.Sonoma grabs the first batch of packages from Kate's horse and heads into the kitchen where she dumps them on the kitchen table she then quickly sorts through them for the meat packages and heads to the cooling cellar with the other packs of cheeses and butter. As she opens the door when she comes up the stairs Dorita is standing there arms crossed. A tirade of Spanish comes out of Dorita's mouth at a speed that Kate's not sure anyone can fully understand.  Twice Sonoma tries to speak and fails near the end of the yelling Dorita switches to English. "You no come home! You no send message! You bring lamb and run! NO you upstairs now and see your great grandfather!"Kate had seen Dorita tirade often enough that this one only left her standing with mouth wide open for a moment.   "Of course she should. That was part of the plan all along." Kate slipped her arm in Sonoma's. "Come along, we'll go upstairs for a few minutes and check in with your great grandfather." She threw a smile over her shoulder at Dorita as she led Sonoma out of the room and up the stairs to her teacher's rooms.Sonoma follows Kate upstairs and through Gonzales's normal room in the El Parador and through the dimensional door. As soon as they enter the other room Kate immediately feels any pent up sexual tension evaporate and a wave of calm washes over her. The change in Sonoma is even more distinct and she almost collapses from the change. Kate grabs her for support and Sonoma says "What...what is happening?""Let's both sit down before we fall over. I've had quite the busy day trying to get you somewhere that would clear your head." Kate breathed out a heavy sigh, glad to be rid of the last vestiges of her earlier encounter. Kate led Sonoma over to the long table and they both took a seat. "I visited Mother Jimenez this morning. I had some concerns about something and sought her council, which is why I was trying to get you into her home. These rooms are calm because they are not really in Promise City. Mother Jaminez's home is calm because she had warded it against the power influencing the city." Kate called for her teacher to join them, and the began explaining what the old woman had told her that morning, getting much more specific than she had with Jake. She also filled Sonoma in on the ritual she, Ruby, and Minerva had performed in thanks, touching only briefly on why she needed to thank Diana. "The business with Jake out at the ranch...I was feeling Aphrodite's influence again. For some reason he seemed very appealing this afternoon. I'm sure Jake wasn't himself either. I'm just glad a kiss was all there was, I don't want to have to deal with Ruby! For most people her influence seems fairly small, and mostly benign. Those who hadn't thought of love for a long time have woken up a bit, people are feeling a little more intently. It's not really a bad thing. But she is interfering with the other gods, keeping their priests away. You were a target of that, Sonoma."Gonzales ponders that "I am surprised that I have not noticed any difference, then again, it is not at all unusual for me to have thoughts of love on my mind. It does explain my recent desire to return to Mexico to visit my....friend."   Kate adds, "You also have these rooms that guard you from the constant influence." He then says, "Aphrodite, or Venus as she is also known, is said to be a good god and I have no reason to doubt it. Please take into account that Jimenez takes a more neutral approach to life, as nature itself tends towards neutrality rather than good or evil. She would view things that upset the balance as bad, while I on the other hand would view good as, well, good. And given all of the violence and despair that has plagued this region her influence could be a very positive thing for this town."Kate says, "In most of what is happening, I agree with you. Especially how happy Ruby has been. But for those she is seeking to distract... it is not good. The pendant I gave up, I was wearing it when I spoke to Conrad last and I was afraid of his jealousy. Just now at the ranch with Jake I could hardly contain myself. She is playing with Sonoma, Nanuet, and Minerva, and with the other local priests to get her way. I don't wish to eliminate her influence, even if there was a remote chance I could. But if hers is the only influence? There is a darker side to love, Professuer aime. We must still be able to think with our heads."Gonzales asks, "Tell me again about these pendants, how exactly did you three come by them?"  She replies, "I asked Miss Florencia to help me thank Diana. When the day came and we rode out into the desert, Ruby came with us. She was just back from Tombstone. We performed a ritual of thanks to Diana, Minerva, and Aphrodite. It was not what I had expected, and I wasn't quite comfortable with paying tribute to the other goddesses. I... Well, let's just say that I have reasons to distrust the gods. But there was a great feeling of connection. As part of the ritual we each placed something in a bowl of water. Ruby placed a rose, I placed my wedding band, and the Priestess placed the olive leaves. We were all wearing crowns of them, and one was from each of us. After the ritual they were encased somehow, and I believe we all later began wearing them around our necks. I'm afraid that I will have offended Aphrodite by having the pendant and my wedding band stripped of her influence, but I must be able to think clearly, and so must those around me. But I think I may go to the ranch tonight and try, in my own stumbling way, to honor her. As Jake has said, it is unwise to ignore the gods."  Gonzales looks at Sonoma and her current confusion and says "I am not sure that the ranch is safe, look how my Great Granddaughter has been effected when she was there.”  Kate says, "I thought of the ranch because, well... we were not dressed during the ceremony and it wouldn't do to do such a thing near town where I might be seen. He replies, “Help me to better understand this. What prayers to Venus were stated at this ceremony that you participated in?" Kate doesn't remember the exact words. Gonzales goes into his work room and finds an elixir. He tells her "Drink this, it will allow you to pull a specific memory from deep in your subconscious into the forefront of your mind." She does so and then recalls the ceremony again as though it had just occurred. Kate says, "The Priestess' prayer was "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." Gonzales pauses and says "Grant us your favor....and she provided pendants to do just that. And the priestess asked to "Remain open and unafraid" of her power and now you fear it, or you did when you gave up the pendant that the Goddess had given you. Katherine, for the immediate future I would suggest that you remain here in these rooms. I need to go speak to Minerva about this."She states, "I just seem to stumble from one mistake to another, don't I? I can stay here and talk with Sonoma and study with Ginnie. But Miss Florencia is also being affected, she may not be very reasonable. Or she may overreact to everything. Be careful."Gonzales has been gone from his rooms for around an hour when he returns. He tells Sonoma and Kate "Minerva is gone, she left town with Nanuet and may not be returning anytime soon. I guess I'll need to find another Greek or Roman Priest to talk to about this. Let me think."  He sits down at his desk, pours himself a glass of wine and just sits back. He then sits up and exclaims "I've got it! Aristotle Theopolis! Sonoma and Katherine, are you up to making a trip to Athens!"Kate exclaims, "Athens? As in Athens, Greece? If that's what we have to do. I have never been concerned about the gods before, but they seem to have noticed us now. And I do feel regret about acting so quickly. I could have just put the token away, not worn it but kept it. I want to make things right.  I will need to put on some appropriate clothes," she said, gesturing to the leathers she currently wore. "At least Miss Florencia and Nanuet made it out of town. Kajika should be able to clear their minds."He replies, "Personally, I would prefer for both of you to stay in these rooms until we get this underlying magic issue straightened out. But yes, appropriate clothing will be essential, the man I hope to see is now very high ranking in the church so we should all be wearing our best. Ask Ginnie to get whatever the two of you may need." He looks at his pocket watch and says, "They are nine hours time different so it would now be well into the night, he's probably asleep by now. Let's plan on leaving some time between 8:00 and 9:00 PM our time, which will put our arrival at early morning in Greece. That'll give us all a few hours to rest, clean up and change."Kate says, "I feel I should be doing something with the time, but I suppose a rest would be good. Ginnie, would you bring me my cream-colored dress with the violet piping? And my jewelry-box, please. We'll need something to eat as well. Stop down and ask Dorita for a tray for all of us? There's no need to be in a hurry about it, you've been cooped up in here too long. I could use a bath, but I suppose that isn't possible."Gonzales says, "Sorry, I can't do that. Water creation is a clerical skill not a wizard one." But I've already taught you a few cantrips that you can use to make yourself clean. I'll give you all the privacy you want, I'm off to my rooms to take a nap."Kate chatted with Sonoma for a while, sharing the meal that Ginnie brought back for them and filling her friend in on the developments with the Cowboy Gang. After a while she went into the library to cast the spells that would freshen her up. She knew she was clean afterward, but there was just something about the refreshed feeling of a bath the spell couldn't capture. It was a relief to stay in these rooms for a while where her emotions could calm and she could be herself again. But she was still afraid. She had not realized the importance of the pendant, and now she had likely angered a goddess. Not only that, her natural distrust was roiling full-force. In her mind a scene replayed over and over. That horrible woman holding her baby brother as he cried, Maman in the doorway shouting, herself as a little girl hiding behind Henry as he tried to keep them from taking his sister away. She shivered. You're a grown woman now, Katherine. No one can hurt you like that again. Kate got down to the business of getting ready to go, putting on the fine dress and carefully brushing and pinning her hair.  In the main room Ginnie had another meal for her, and she sat down to eat it and wait for her teacher. "Ma'am Kate, Dorita gave me this note for you," Ginnie said as she sat down to the loaded plate. Kate thought Dorita was really overdoing it a bit. She didn't need to eat this much.  She unfolded the paper and read Ruby's note. Her hand shook slightly as she folded it back up and put it away. She must make things right before tomorrow.Sonoma looks toward Kate after her meal and hands her a basin of clear warm water she herself looks much better not only cleaner but somehow less stressed and relaxed   “My great grandfather may not be able to provide you with water for bathing but I can.”   "Thank you, Sonoma," Kate said with a smile. "I'll feel much better this way." The young elf asks, “Who is this priestess that you have spoken of? it seems that she is causing you much trouble in the guise of helping you. And why is she out of town with Nanuet?  Have the gods so clouded her mind that Nanuet's mentor is needed to help her?”   Kate replies, "She was out at the ranch with us the other day, I thought you had met her. Her name if Minerva Florencia, originally from Spain, I believe. She hasn't meant to cause any trouble, and I don't think this current trouble is any fault of hers. I asked her to help me thank Diana for bringing Tom to me, and apparently Ruby asked her to help her thank Aphrodite, so she combined the rituals. I haven't seen her today, but I would guess her mind is as clouded as yours was, perhaps more with the pendant around her neck. Aphrodite wants the priests of others to be distracted so she can act freely. She is with Nanuet because," Kate paused and looked down for a moment. "Well, they have been keeping time together. I don't know how much of that is Aphrodite distracting two priests, or how much might be genuine. Nanuet has wanted to see Kajika for some time, and with this Cowboy Gang problem we hoped Kajika might have some insight."Sonoma replies, “I see... that would explain some of his reaction to me when he was at the ranch. I believed that he just needed space and time to see what his feelings were after the troubles he had been through and stayed at the ranch to allow him that space. It seems that this goddess of "love" is a selfish person who seeks to use people and their emotions as play toys. I was kept at the ranch to allow Nanuet to dally with this priestess and cause all of this emotional turmoil.”Kate says, "I imagine she is somewhat selfish. Goddesses don't hear the word no too often. I think Aphrodite is mostly good, but fallible. Her dealing with Ruby I have no quarrel with. She asked Ruby for her acceptance, and in exchange Ruby can see the love that has always surrounded her but she never trusted."   Sonoma asks, “Did you not say that part of the ceremony included great gifts as well as great heartbreak? I think that part of your prayers I will fulfill for you if he wishes to be with the priestess I wish him well. If it is this goddesses' doing I will welcome his return to me.”Kate states, "You have more patience than I would, Sonoma. Or perhaps it's the Elvan way of looking at things. What do you mean 'part of your prayers I will fulfill for you?'"  Sonoma states, “Ss not heartbreak part of what you spoke in the prayers?  It seems that there is a very good chance that I will receive that portion if Nanuet is truly in love with this Priestess and as you have already had the heartbreak of loosing the one you love I will take that measure for you in stead.”Kate wrapped her arms around her friend. "I wish it could work that way. And I hope you will not have more heartbreak than you can bear. It comes to us all. And my gift from Diana," Kate let go and held Sonoma's hand with the one that bore the ring. "I will bear what I must for this gift. We will help one another bear what we must."</blockquote>

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