Mir took the dagger and began to cut his hand.
“No need for that from you, just tell me, why you needed to be physically in the room with her dead body,” the High Priestess spoke impatiently.
“After Babette returned from the Afterlife revealing that she was Sif, she told me that she had spoken to the goddess of humanity and that she wanted to return. She referenced the myth of Loi and Lee. I assumed that the goddess of humanity had the blessing of the gods but didn’t know the way back, so I went to her.”
“I see, so you knew that you would be bringing Jane Johnson back,” the High Priestess said but it wasn’t really a question. “Did you tell anyone else?”
“I told Admiral Jei that it may be a possibility. I wanted him to have some clothing and the marriage bracelets on hand in case I was successful,” Mir lied.
“Why wouldn’t you have been successful? The myth is clear, their devotion to one another was able to overcome their mortal bodies.”
“Neither Lee nor Loi was a god or goddess. I knew that there was a chance that some of the gods might not look kindly on the arrangement no matter what the goddess of humanity wanted and what the goddess of home had granted. I wanted to help. I also knew that Doctor James, my wife and many others would be pleased to see the goddess of humanity return to this world,” Mir explained.
“And why would the gods listen to you with your wife having recently performed such an outlandish ritual on Alliance Planet Four?”
“I did not perform the ritual. Am I to be judged for my wife’s actions? I did everything I could to stop her, including bringing a human healer, Jesse formerly of House Vo, now an Outcast, to Alliance Planet Four, to help me try and convince her not to perform the ritual,” Mir defended himself.
The High Priestess looked at Jane.
Jane was released from her confining chair, moved to stand in front of the High Priestess and put her hand out for the dagger.
“No don’t bother, it doesn’t work on gods even in mortal form. Now, what was the price you had to pay for returning from the Afterlife?”
“Seven lifetimes of reincarnation,” Jane replied honestly.
“And these seven lifetimes will be a reprieve for Mir and Sif?” the High Priestess asked.
Jane looked at Mir.
“Don’t look at him,” the High Priestess scolded, “look at me and answer my question.”
“Yes,” Jane lied.
“Fine,” the High Priestess said. Then the High Priestess turned back to Jei, “Had you been praying for Jane to be returned to you?”
“I might have selfishly mentioned it in my grieve in my prayers a few times,” Jei admitted.
“Were you thinking about Lee and Loi when you made these prayers?” the High Priestess asked.
“Yes, of course. It was difficult not to. I think all those who have violently lost their true other halves think about the myth of Lee and Loi.”
The High Priestess then looked at Jesse.
Jesse stood and moved to take the dagger.
The High Priested sighed, and waved her hand dismissing the disciple with the dagger, “Jesse, when you were with Babette, did she tell you she had seen the goddess of humanity?”
Jesse knew that everyone in the Empire and beyond had watched the ritual and specifically her and Babette. No one could make out their words clearly though as lip reading English still wasn’t an exact science in for the Imperial gossip columns. “She told me she had seen the goddess of humanity and that she wanted to return.”
“Did you know what that meant or if it was possible?” the High Priestess asked eyeing Jesse intently.
Jesse could feel Ket’s cool influence reaching her like a soft autumn breeze, “I didn’t know it was possible. I’m from Earth. Humans have no such technology or abilities.”
“Are you sure of this?” the High Priestess asked not believing Jesse.
“Yes, High Priestess,” Jesse replied, and with Ket’s telepathic insistence from behind her, she also conveyed images of her home in East. She included the feelings of simple living from the land, raw images of life and death in the Exterior.
After a few minutes of the High Priestess thinking about what Jesse had just shared she looked at Jane and said, “Stand alone, goddess of humanity and hear my judgement.”
Everyone else sat and Jane stood before the High Priestess, who walked down the few stone steps from her pedestal. “Just as Loi received mortal punishment so will you. As the goddess of humanity, in your mortal form, your hair will remain shoulder-length. You will not hold any class rank. You will not hold any position in a House or in the High Council and you will be forbidden claim any of your children from before you became a goddess. Do you accept these mortal punishments?”
“Yes,” Jane said and bowed.
“Does everyone in attendance agree with these punishments as they are equal to the crime?”
Everyone said agreed in unison.
“May you continue to walk in the gods’ light in this life and the Afterlife,” said the High Priestess dismissing them all.
No one could get out of the High Priestess’s trial chambers fast enough. They opened the doors quickly, allowing light and fresh air to hit their senses and then the gossip drones were coming towards them as they swiftly exited. The High Priestess and her disciples were on their heels to reveal what her judgment had been. None of the witnesses paused to address the drones or the crowds.
It had been decided that if everything went well after the trial that Jane would go directly to House Human to see Mara afterward. Jane thought she owed it to her to apologize in person for the mess she made before and after her death.
Mara readied everything for Jane’s visit in her formal reception room at the Main House in the House Human compound and then she waited. She had just received the news that the trial had ended, and that Jane had left the Grand City Temple. Mara didn’t bother to wait for the High Priestess’s statement through the Capital City Gossip Columns as Jane would be here before she began.
In just a few minutes, Mara heard the slaves opening the door and escorting Jane in. Mara had not decided yet if she was going to be angry at being made a mother or grateful Jane was back. She told herself it would be a game time decision when she saw Jane in the flesh.
Jane was impressed by the House Human Main House and the entire compound. It was a considerable step up from the former House Human building in Ring Four. She was charmed by the mixture of Alliance and human décor as she was shown to the formal reception room. However, she had to hide her smile when she saw a gigantic painting of a cow in the forest in the House Human formal reception room. She reminded herself that Mara was Swiss, of course, she would have a picture of a cow in the forest to represent Earth.
“Bless the gods for this meeting,” Mara said when seeing Jane enter.
“May we walk in their light,” Jane replied. Then she sat on one of the yellow sofas and looked around the room, however, her eyes always went back to the massive oil painting of the cow. “I’m impressed with what you have managed to do with House Human. The new compound, the way you have integrated Alliance and human values and bettered life in general for all the humans living here, well done Mara.”
Mara sat down across from Jane, “Thank you. I’ve done my best, but I am relieved that you have returned.”