Romanowski and Rosemary

20. Dunkin' Donuts

Dunkin could be a great actor when he wanted to.

So much that the guards of the underground cellar of Romanos were scared to even look his way for the past four days.

Eyes closed and sitting in a meditative position, Remun Ra chanted a hymn titled 'Curse of Aphrodite'.

"Mate... when will His Honour return?" The guardsman nervously asked his companion, who stood equally frightened, as they looked at the apparently powerful priest locked up in the cellar from afar.

"O Aphrodite of the fair smile, and the beloved mother to us, your child has been held prisoner in the mortal realms of this Earth, with no fault of his." Dunkin sang in Greek, his voice on the verge of tears. "O Mother!" he wailed, his voice now a wave of anger.

"Curse all these mortal men! Rob them of their fertility because they have wronged this son of yours!" he declared, deep in his meditation.

The guardsmen gulped. Apparently believing they'll lose their fertility soon.

"Mate, I- I- don't want to become... childless," One of them quivered, "He- He's been meditating for three days, chanting this curse..."

"Y- Yes, I just got married. I don't want to be childless e- either." Another teetered.

Trembling, the guards did their routine.

The great priest, Remun Ra, finally opened his eyes, finding a bowl full of fruits and water beside him. In his periphery, he could figure out a guard standing with his head bowed, and ahead of him in the next prison, found the usual prisoners helping themselves to hard bread.

Dunkin smirked discreetly.

"Aphrodite blesses you, mortal," he growled, and the guard bowed further, his head touching the ground.

Coretta's AI book came in handy, wherein she'd mentioned the importance of Aphrodite in the kingdom of Romanos. Their king was apparently a great devotee of the goddess.

Like the authentic priest he was (Well, poor Dunkin wasn't a fake priest anymore, thanks to his strict priestly regime ever since he landed in this world), Remun Ra ate the best food offered to a prisoner, his thoughts wandering off occasionally.

It had been four days since he last saw Julian in this cellar, looking all ready to feed him to his pythons.

But an emergency meeting of some sort had sent him away to God knows where. That's when he decided to mentally torture the guards in their own prison.

Luck seemed to be in his favour too, when he declared like some seer that a Baboon God would safely deliver the court writer's book. Which became true because the next day itself, news broke out that a mysterious baboon had dropped the precious book on the palace's rooftop.

Oh, Aphrodite, you really are like a mother. Thank you for keeping this child of yours safe. Dunkin heaved. Unexpected tears clouded his eyes, and he shook his head, heaving.

Always remember holy men, whenever tears overflow your eyes at the remembrance of Aphrodite or any god you believe in, just know that ‌she is standing right next to you. Moved by your devotion and faith in her, she fills your heart with such joy that the human heart can't contain. So they come out as unexpected tears of happiness...

Even though Dunkin was mad about the choice of priestly profession, the words of the senior priest had struck a sense of awe within him.

Because they were unbelievably true.

This world taught him that gods were mythology only for the modern humans. Not for that God-realised priest who felt Aphrodite's presence like a breeze of fresh myrtle flowers flowing past, even in a dingy cellar like this.