The morning air was heavy with anticipation and hope. On either side of Isaac, a line of young boys, all in similar age to himself, were awaiting judgment. Most were acting as children who couldn't understand serious situations typically would act—fidgeting, looking around, trying to talk to their parents or each other. Perhaps he would feel sympathy for the parents as they tried to control their children, but they forced these kids out here in the early morning fog. The obvious desires and desperation of the parents were blatantly weighing down on the children.
The 6-year-old Isaac gave little mind to the struggles of either group as he faced forward and stared blankly ahead, vaguely listening to his surroundings. It was clear to him that this event was a waste of time, given its purpose and the likelihood that any village child might meet the criteria. It was worse once the judge of this selection showed herself after hours of standing at the tree line of the massive neighboring forest.
The so-called "Goddess of Purity" and her retinue of Elven priestesses. Though honestly, it wasn't the waking up early and waiting for some religious figure that awoke a rare feeling of annoyance in Isaac. It was the fact that the "Goddess" herself clearly wasn't interested, and her attendants were outright hostile to the young boys who had been dragged out here.
If that wasn't enough, the entire point of this gathering was for this "Goddess" to select a young boy to be betrothed to herself.
Isaac would have found the whole thing absolutely disgusting and likely the work of some kind of pervert if the "Goddess" that appeared out of the massive forest hadn't been, well, for lack of a better term, a talking unicorn.
The "Goddess" was certainly not some average horse with a horn stuck to her forehead. Looking at the mythical being, even one so detached as Isaac, felt a strange sense of awe mixed with discomfort. She stood at what looked around 15 hands tall, though from a child's perspective; it was hard to tell. Her coat was white and not some off-white or cream color. Despite having just walked out of an untamed forest, the purity and brilliance of the white was such that the rest of the world looked stained in comparison. Her mane and tail were equally ethereal, giving an impression that a part of the night sky had been grafted onto her, a void black with glimmering stars scattered throughout.
Her hooves and horn seemed made of Mother-of-Pearl and glowed softly, an effect in stark comparison to the wicked point of her horn. Her eyes were a strange mix of being horse-like but with an unmistakable glimmer of intelligence and purpose that one would never see in the common horse.
Having rarely seen a human move in a way that one could describe as graceful, much less an animal, Isaac had to admit that he would be reevaluating all other lifeforms from this moment on in comparison against this "Goddess". In general, he felt strange when looking at her, more aware than usual. He spent a long time pondering this sensation.
Isaac eventually noticed the boy next to him began sniffling. He realized that enough time had passed, and the "Goddesses" group had arrived beside him after judging the children individually. He caught the end of what one of the Elven followers was saying to the child's parents.
"...A pathetic and undisciplined child like this has no right to even look upon her divine form! In two human lifetimes, he may be worthy of kissing the ground she walks upon, but as he is, your failure as followers of the Goddess and your disrespect at even showing this boy here is an insult!"
Glancing over, he saw the parents apologizing and begging for forgiveness from the "Goddess" and her Elven followers as tears formed in the child's eyes. The twinge of annoyance he had been feeling all morning flickered into a momentary spark that began burning away the lifelong fog of apathy over his mind, and his disinterested observation finally changed to something more active.
Why the hell are you even here if you're just going to complain?!?
***
Solania had lived for a long time. Under the great canopy of her glade, she had very little sense of time passing, but even the long-lived Elven attendants she had were replaced due to the cycle of life and death many times.
Yet…yet now…Me…ME of all beings in this world! I have to choose a husband!
It wasn't as though she had been singled out; at this point, most of the gods had a chosen mortal…but still. As the Goddess of Purity, the inherent rules around what kind of person could even be selected in the first place created a limitation that she was sure no one else had to deal with.
I'm sure that Dragon wasn't forced to select among children! What kind of Divine being is betrothed to a mortal child?
In the end, though she felt indignant at the demand, its source was not something she could ignore.
And so this conflict went on and on in Solania's mind. She dragged herself from her precious glade and examined the children from the villages erected on the borders of her forest after the great plague.
Due to her internal struggle with the very notion of all this, she was mostly mentally absent from the selection process, which had the unfortunate effect of making her loyal attendants assume she was dissatisfied with all the boys on offer.
The harsh put-downs of the Elven priestesses would likely cause many confidence problems for this generation of young men.
With this, over half a year had passed since the process began, and Solania had found herself on the verge of another attempt.
I'm tired of this, and my body grows weary without the comfort of my grove…
She resolved herself just to choose one this time. But as she approached the line of children, she despaired. Thus, the cycle began again.
However, this time, she realized her mistake before the selection was over and returned to reality, the sharp reprimand of her Chief High Priestess ringing in the air. Solania saw a line of depressed parents and upset boys, including the set she was in front of.
Sigh…this can't be very good for my image amongst the people…
She was considering how to calm her most zealous attendant when she was struck by something. Standing out among the standard gazes of awe, fear, hope, and sadness, the very next boy in line was glaring at her.
The weight behind the child's silent reprimand almost made Solania step back. That look had no place on the dull child, but worst of all, she felt he was blaming her for something!
Does this boy think this is unfair? He has only been taken from his home to stand here once, while I have been doing this for months! The nerve! The disrespect!
Having never experienced such disrespect, Solania could only respond in kind. Her divine self glared intensely at the young boy, knowing that while it may stir fear in his heart, it would be an essential lesson about respect for the future. She could only praise herself for this act of kindness.
However, that thought was shattered as the pressure of their silent conflict grew.
This child, his gaze hasn't even flinched! Such shamelessness!
***
What is this horse doing?
Isaac could only feel baffled at this behavior. He was trying to get this "Goddess" to understand that she needed to put her Elves on a leash if they were going to be like this.
Yet her response to that was to glare back? Is she the child here?
Thus far, no one had noticed the standoff between the "Goddess" and himself. Everyone seemed focused on the priestesses, who openly discussed the disappointment of this batch of boys. Isaac tried to signal to the "Goddess" with his eyes.
Giving her retinue a pointed look, the content of the message was 'Deal with your rowdy followers'.
She glanced at them and seemed conflicted, like she had just remembered something. She looked down the line of children and back to Isaac. He could see the gears turning as her glare evolved into something sinister. A glint in her eyes that seemed to be smiling brightly at him.
He could almost hear her saying, 'Ah, worry not. This can be solved easily. I'll just choose you since you're so concerned about this.'
Isaac felt a cold lump form in his stomach, and his glare faltered. This further encouraged the "Goddess", and she spoke for the first time.
"Ahem, I have made my selection."
All noise in the area ceased as the melodic voice drifted through the air. It increased the tension tenfold. She looked directly at Isaac and, with a gentle voice that didn't match the look in her eyes, said, "This one, he is most suitable. It is my divine will that he be made my husband."
The sparks of anger in his mind were wholly snuffed out as Isaac suddenly remembered a lesson from another life.
The nail that stands out gets hammered. Clearly, that hammer had just fallen.
It was at this moment that Isaac snapped fully into reality. No longer lost in his foggy mind, he had woken up at the worst possible moment.
He was filled with the sensation of having just woken up from a long dream, one where he had made a horrific mistake to be looked back upon with the relief that it had all been a dream. Unfortunately, this was no dream.
Isaac desperately resisted the urge to run away while the entire group, including the Elven priestesses, stared at the dull-looking boy. The question was clear on the face of every person there.
This one?