Prized Possession [BxB|18+]

4

Please feel free to correct my writings and relay your frustration in the comment! :)

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The sky has visibly darkened as the closed prayer room is enlighted by ceremonial candles. At the centre of the vast space, is a symbol of Goddess Houtu being circled with ancient written mantras, drawn with green puree made out of leaves and roots. And in the middle of it, is Eri, dancing with a sword in his right hand.

Despite all the windows and doors being tightly closed, voices of people screaming from the outside can still faintly bleed in. The musicians try to muffle it with the sound of their loud drums and bells, playing it louder in hopes the people inside the room wouldn't be able to hear those horrifying voices.

Jade Empress sits at the upper outer side of the Houtu symbol as the leader of the blessing ceremony. Priestess and servants are filling both of her sides, cross-sitting on the ground and surrounding the circle of Goddess Houtu's symbol. They push themselves to continue to pray wholeheartedly while enchanting the mantra melodically, making sure to not stutter nor tremble even though their hearts are now being filled with fear.

.....

"Hail to the prosperity of the Great Houtu. Mother of our nature, lover of our humble people, and The Lord of our nation.

Hail to the prosperity of the Great Houtu. The colours of sunrise and sunset caress your creation, appreciating the kindness that you've bestowed on this land.

Hail to the prosperity of the Great Houtu. We worship You with the fullness of our small and feeble hearts. We ask your kindness to bestow us the blessing of protection."

.....

With enchantments and drums as his music, The Crown Prince continues to dance and swing the sword in accordance with his movement. And even though his bare feet hurt from being scraped by the wood floor and dirtied from the paint of Houtu's protection symbol, Eri continues to dance with the heavy anklets loudly jingling around his ankles. Despite feeling tired from dancing for a very long time, Eri forces himself to continue and not mind the cold sweats that have coated the entirety of his slim body.

'I always said he will bring calamity to us but you all never listen.'

The thought suddenly invade his mind. Eri quickly tries to ward off those heart-aching words away but instead of leaving, another comes to fill in-between.

'You all never believe me. But see... it's now here.'

And another one soon follows,

'...Your fate has been written from the start, our beloved Crown Prince. Your existence... has always been the sign of the end of us...'

'And because of people's love for you... Because of you... we all will perish.'

As those words continue to ring inside his head, Eri's vision starts to blur and eventually, the pool of tears cascades and wettening his cheeks.

With the guilt keep on bugging his mind and tears now blurring his gaze, Eri is aware that he had been not dancing in the correct sequence or as gracefully as usual. If he continues to be this poorly, Goddess Houtu might not receive their prayer. 

It's hard and almost impossible to stay graceful in the middle of this chaotic situation. Being blindly aware that their Kingdom is losing, it is justifiable for him to not be able to perform impeccably. And aside from Eri's panic feeling that now can be seen and felt, musicians, priestesses, and servants in the prayer circle all begin to be consumed by their own fear and starts to tremble.