Mortal

"Come on! We're going to be late!"

"Yes, my lady," I say.

"Fix your hair," says Verda. We are inside Verda's house, in her bathroom.

I am a mortal. This means that I am basically a servant to Verda, the goddess who made me. Mortals do many things for their deity owners. We basically do anything they ask, really.

Not every deity can make mortals, though. Only deities who are members of the Union are allowed to own planets, where mortals are made. The Union is the deity government. It was put into place to prevent any deities from starting another war. There are seven nations, which are basically big chunks of land that float in space. There's Sky Haven, where I live, Olympus, the capitol of the Union, Mikroa, Adara, Aurelia, Marinsula, and Silvania. Every nation has a leader, the Overgod, or Overgoddess. They basically act as the monarch until his or her death. Each Overgod or Overgoddess meets with the other seven Overdeities of every nation to ensure peace.

I am what's called a conciliator. Conciliators are special mortals that are given as gifts to help sort matters between two deities. In short, I am a peace offering.

I've lived with Verda since I was really young. All conciliators are selected from birth, but aren't usually raised by deities. I was an exception, though. Since I was put into foster care, Verda thought it would be too expensive to continuously track me down every time I went to live with new foster parents, so she took me.

The thing about conciliators, is that they are very rare, and have special powers. The powers develop over time, but they can be anything. With the right environment, a conciliator could develop the power to destroy a planet. conciliators develop powers based on what they need. That is why conciliators are so sought after. Since I am now eleven years old, I can legally become a conciliator.

I brush my long brown hair, and put on my glasses. Verda gives me a look of disappointment, and sighs. She does this all the time.

"You really want to present yourself like that to two gods? You're the size of a shrimp. You could at least try to look nice."

I'm wearing a white hooded silk robe, long white gloves, and brown leather boots. It's an outfit that mortals wear whenever they are to be in the presence of a deity.

Verda is wearing a white dress with a gray jacket, and white flats. She has long dark green hair, and her skin glows a lime green. If she were in a dark room, she would be bright enough to dimly illuminate it.

My cheeks turn red. I'm only five feet tall, and Verda is twelve feet tall. I really am small compared to her.

"So, these gods are going to share me, right?" I ask.

Verda turns to look at me. She looks very annoyed. She never likes it when I ask a lot of questions.

"Yes," She says. "They are twins, and they share a planet. My brother caused them a few issues when he was still alive. That's what you're here for, to help us make peace."

"What are they going to do with me?"

Verda groans. My muscles tense up. I'm sure she'd love to slap me right now.

"Whatever they want. You're going to belong to them. You'll probably be a servant, dealing with matters on their planet or whatever."

I shutter. How long will I be forced to work as a servant? Can they force me to do it forever?

"For the rest of my life?"

"What did you think?" Asks Verda, her tone turning deadly. She looks at me with a glare. I look away.

"Well, let's go," she continues. "I wouldn't want to keep your new gods waiting. The last thing we want is to make them mad."

She picks up a metal box from a chair, and carries it with one hand by a handle. I follow her out the door of her house.

Verda leads us to a small white car. She pushes me into the backseat. She gets into the driver's seat.

I try not to make any noise as she drives. I've learned that doing anything Verda doesn't like will either get me a slap, or locked in a closet for a few hours until she remembers I exist.

Finally, we pull up at a park. We get out of the car. I follow Verda over to a picnic table. Sitting there are two gods. One of them looks like a shadow. His skin is pitch black, and his hair is a shiny jet black. His eyes gleam silver, and his hair is trimmed neatly, and is being held in place with gel. He is wearing a white tuxedo.

The other god is the opposite. He has darkish golden hair that is shaved at his temples, and long at the top of his head, and it droops in front of his forehead in one golden curl. His skin is light yellow, and his eyes are pearl white. He is wearing a black tuxedo. It doesn't look right on him, though. He seems like he would rather be wearing something more casual.

If I hadn't been told they were twins, I would have doubted they were even brothers. They look nothing alike.

"Here they are. Well, are you going to introduce yourself? Honestly, have some manners, mortal," says Verda. She hands the dark god the metal box. I blush, nervously. The golden god stands up.

"Thank you, Verda, I'll take it from here. That's enough," he says, in a slightly annoyed voice.

It almost sounds like he's trying to defend me against her harsh words. Why would he do that?

I feel like I know these two gods. I find myself eagerly walking toward them like I've known them my whole life. When I realize what I'm doing, I stop myself and blush nervously.

"Alright, then. I'll be off," says Verda. She starts to walk away.

I will likely never see her again. I don't know how to feel about that.

As for my new masters, I feel slightly nervous. What are they like? Are they nice? Cruel? ...abusive? I turn around, and watch them, silently. I wait for them to act first.

The god with the golden hair smiles at me. He is ten feet tall, much too tall for me, so he kneels down, and extends his hand for me to shake.

"Hello, there. I'm Tsareth, and that's my twin brother, Phareth. Nice to meet you," says the man, gesturing to the dark god behind him.

I hesitate before slowly taking his hand. His hand is big enough to completely engulf mine, which he does. He shakes hands, and smiles at me.

"H...hi," I say. He smiles.

"You are adorable, you know that?" Asks Tsareth. I blush. What do I say?

Phareth walks next to Tsareth, and looks down at me. Both of them tower over me, even Tsareth, who is still kneeling down.

"C'mon, little girl. Let's go home!" says Tsareth. He seems excited.

"Wait, I'm going to live with you?" I ask.

Most conciliators don't live with their deity. They usually live on the planet that their deity owns.

"Yes. I can't wait to show you your room," says Tsareth. I blink.

"I have a room?" I expected them to make me sleep on the floor. It isn't uncommon for a deity to do something like that to a mortal.

"We argued so much over what wallpaper to use," says Tsareth, laughing.

"We settled on a light blue star design. We hope you don't mind," says Phareth. He scratches his head.

"Do I mind? What- wha-...," I stutter. I pause for a moment. "I half expected you to make me sleep outside."

"Who does that? I wouldn't even make our dog sleep outside," says Tsareth.

"What do you take us for? Cruel?" Asks Phareth. He jokingly does a fake dramatic sad face.

"Let's go home," says Tsareth.

I follow them to a black truck. It looks new.

They open the back seat door, and help me in. I sit behind the passenger seat. Tsareth gets into the passenger seat, and Phareth gets into the driver's seat. He starts the car, and turns on the radio. Tsareth reaches over the seat and gently buckles my seatbelt for me. He gives me a warm smile.

As we start to drive, I feel sad. What is going to happen to me now? I'm completely uncertain of the future. Now, two people that I barely know are in total control of my care. They are now in charge of me.

Will it be any better than what Verda did to me? What if they lock me in closets, too? What if they slap me? It's pretty normal for gods to do such things to mortals. I'm used to it.

What if they're nice? Could they be? They seem alright so far. Maybe their kindness is a trick. Why wouldn't it be? Why would they need to be nice to a mortal like me?

I can't think of a single reason why they'd want to be nice to me. It serves no benefit to them; If they wanted to be nice, they could have just as easily adopted a pet and it would have served the same purpose. They have no reason to care about me.

Eventually, we pull up to a big house. It's nothing like Verda's mansion; This house is just a normal house.

Phareth stops the truck, and we get out. They lead me inside of the house.

I look around. I'm in what appears to be a living room. It's huge, and has a wooden floor. There's a long sofa in the center of the room, in front of a flat-screen TV. There is a bookshelf in the left back corner of the room, and a small table in the right corner. There is a picture frame on it. It's a picture of Phareth and Tsareth together. They each have one arm around each other, and appear happy.

In other words, it's just like any other house. I even see a kitchen. I look down the hallway, and see a staircase going up, and then another staircase going down. There are three doors. I wonder where they lead.

It's just like any other house. I suddenly feel stupid for expecting a mansion, like Verda had owned.

"Well, make yourself at home. Your room is upstairs. Let me know if you need anything," says Phareth.

"Did Verda tell you my name?" I ask.

"Yes, but we aren't going to call you that. That would be way too dangerous. Conciliators are so rare, that people might hunt your family if they knew your real name. It's common to give them code names, to protect their identity," says Tsareth.

"So... What is my code name?" I ask.

"We've thought long and hard about what it should be. We like the name 'Shadow'. How is that?" Asks Tsareth.

"That's... fine, I guess."

Of all the names I could have had, I wonder why they settled on 'Shadow'. Does it have a special meaning? It could have been 'Tiger's Eye', or 'Cheetah'. I decide not to think about it too much.

"Let me show you your room," says Phareth. He takes my duffel bag, and swings it over his shoulder. He guides me up the stairs.

Up the stairs, there is just a hallway. There are two doors on each side of the hallway. At the end of the hallway, there is a pair of double doors.

"The second room to your left is your bedroom," says Tsareth.

I walk over to it. I look up at the door handle. The door is designed for someone who is ten feet tall. I'm five feet tall. I can't reach the doorknob.

Tsareth laughs. Then, he holds out his hands, and seems to create something out of thin air. It's a stepping stool.

He puts it on the floor in front of the door.

"Try that," says Tsareth. He steps back and watches.

I stand on the stool, and open the door. Then, I walk inside.

The room is simple. For a deity, it would probably be small, but for me, it's huge. The carpet is dark blue. There is a bed in the back left corner. It's also big, but there is a ladder at the foot of the bed.

Aside from the bed, there is a tiny dresser in my other corner. Well, for a deity it is tiny. There is a window in the wall in between my bed and my dresser. The curtains are dark blue, matching the light light blue wallpaper with a white star design.

I'm extremely confused. Why are they being so nice? Is this a trick? Verda forced me to sleep on the floor. Phareth and Tsareth are going out of their way to give me a place to sleep. Why? Why is this so important to them?

"Um... thanks," I say.

"Awww, she likes it!" says Tsareth, enthusiastically. He looks so excited he could cry.

"We should also show you the bathroom," says Phareth. He kneels down to me. "We had it modified so that you would be able to use it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, deities don't need to use toilets, but mortals-" I interrupt Phareth. My face instantly turns red.

"Okay, I get it!"

They start laughing their heads off. I sigh. This is going to be interesting.

Phareth suddenly starts walking downstairs.

"C'mon, Shadow! Do you want to help me set the table?" He Asks.

I follow him, but I don't speak. It's difficult to walk down deity-sized stairs, but it's easier to go down than it is to go up. I end up jumping down each step.

Why would they want me to be anywhere near their food? Most deities view it the same as a rat touching their food. Mortals aren't exactly valued in the god world.

In the kitchen, Phareth turns on the stove. He hums while he stirs something in a bowl. He now has an apron on, over his tuxedo. It looks strange, but I don't say anything. By now, after living with Verda for almost my whole life, I've learned to keep my mouth shut.

"Shadow, taste this!" says Phareth.

He scoops some of whatever is in the bowl onto a small spoon. He gives it to me. "Well? Go on!"

The substance looks like chocolate cake batter. I reluctantly taste the substance. It's delicious.

"Pretty good," I say. I give the spoon back to him.

Phareth pours the batter into a cake mold. Then, he puts it in the oven.

"We're having that for desert. I'm about to make steak for dinner. Here, put these on the table,"

He gives me three forks, and three knives. One of the forks and one of the knives are tiny, for my hands. The rest of the silverware is so big, it's almost bigger than my hand.

The table is above my head. There is one chair in the center. It's more of a stool, and has a ladder built into it. I climb the ladder. I put the small silverware in front of the stool with the ladder. I put the rest of the silverware in front of the two chairs at the end, by climbing the other chairs. There is another chair across from mine. Who sits there?

When I am done, I hop down, and walk over to Phareth.

"Thank you, Shadow! We'll be eating soon, so go do whatever you want. I'll call you when it's ready," He says.

I don't know how he can be so cheerful. Why is he treating me the same way he would treat a deity child?

I decide to look around the house on my own. I have to literally climb up the steps, because they are designed for someone who is ten feet tall, so I don't go upstairs yet. I heard there are deities of all different sizes. Some of them are up to fifty feet tall, and others are my height. How do they accommodate for everyone? It seems almost impossible.

I wonder if deities have the same social issues that mortals have. Do they still deal with poverty? Discrimination?

I find it hard to imagine. Deities are supposed to be perfect.

There aren't very many places for me to go, except into the bathroom, and Phareth and Tsareth's room. I already saw the bathroom, and I would never be allowed in their room. I already saw the kitchen and living room, So I finally decide to go upstairs.

I struggle to make it to the top of the stairs, but when I do, I feel relief. I take a minute to catch my breath. There are three doors beside my own bedroom door. I wonder what's inside each of them.

I walk in front of the first right door. I suddenly get a really bad feeling.

I hear someone run up the steps.

"Shadow, no! Don't open that door!" shouts Tsareth, suddenly.

I freeze, but it's not like I'm tall enough to open it anyway.

Tsareth walks in front of the door.

"Sorry, but our dog is in there. We put him in there because we don't want him to hurt you. He's very protective. He's a hellhound."

I raise an eyebrow. "A hellhound?"

"We can let you see him, if you want, but don't make sudden movements. He's not aggressive, but he chased our last conciliator down the steps playfully. She fell and broke her collarbone."

He slowly opens the door.

"Moon! Here boy!" says Tsareth.

I peek inside. There is a giant dog inside. It sort of looks like a black German Shepard with the face of a bat. He is so big, I could ride him.

Moon walks out, and sniffs me.

"Moon, sit," commands Tsareth. Moon sits down, and locks his eyes onto me. "Good boy." Tsareth turns to me. "You can try to pet him now. He doesn't bite. He's just playful."

My whole body feels shaky. This dog is big enough to bite my hand off. I cautiously, slowly walk over to him. I feel so scared.

Finally, when I am close enough, I slowly extend my hand to Moon's face. At first, I barely touch him. Then, I stroke his soft fur. He wags his tail.

"See? Not such a ferocious beast. He's friendly."

Tsareth turns toward the stairs.

"C'mon, I'm sure dinner is ready now. Let's go eat," says Tsareth.

"Yes, my lord," I say.

Tsareth stops. He looks at me with almost a sad look. He doesn't look like he knows how to respond.

"You don't need to call me that, Shadow. I don't want to be your master. I want to be family."

I simply nod. I don't know what to say, either.

We walk down the steps, me following behind. Well, I jump. The steps are too high for me to get down easily.

When I finally get downstairs, I walk into the kitchen.

Phareth is putting a roast chicken in the table, and a bowl of vegetables. They sit down at either side of the rectangular table.

"C'mon, kid! Come eat with us," says Phareth, happily.

I walk over. I climb onto my chair, in the middle of the table, in between Phareth and Tsareth.

Phareth puts a slice of chicken, and a spoonful of vegetables on my plate. Then, he pours me a glass of iced tea.

I feel extremely uncomfortable. I'm sitting at a table with not one, but two gods. When I was Verda's servant, she would feed me the leftovers of her own meal. Sometimes, I only got stale bread, or nothing at all. I was treated like a dog. I'm not used to being treated as an equal. I'm not an equal. They are deities, and I am a mortal.

Tsareth looks at me. "So tell me about yourself, Shadow," He says. He eats a bite of his chicken.

I want to talk, but I nervously blush.

"I'm... a mortal, my master," I say.

"What do you like to do, little muffin?" Tsareth Asks.

"Well... I like to... I keep a journal," I say.

Back when I was with Verda, she taught me how to read and write. She told me it was solely because she knew my future masters would get mad if she didn't. She gave me a journal to practice writing in, but she never knew, or even cared to know how much I would enjoy it.

"Really? Awesome! Do you like to read?" Phareth asks.

"Yes, Master Phareth. Verda used to give me big textbooks to read."

Phareth frowns.

"Text...books? What about storybooks? I love fantasy books," Phareth says.

"I've read those too. I used to take books down from Verda's living room bookshelf when she left, or late at night."

"What books have you read? You know, we have a library upstairs if you want to read anything. You can go there any time you like."

After we finish eating dinner, I decide to just head to my room. I climb up the steps, (quite literally), and walk inside, shutting the door. I'm alone.

After all that has happened today, I don't know how to feel. What is going to happen to me now? Am I going to be living with Phareth and Tsareth for the rest of my life?

I walk to the bed, running my fingers over the soft blanket. It's extremely luxurious compared to the hard carpet I had to sleep on in Verda's house. How could this bed possibly belong to me?

After hesitating, I climb onto the bed, and lay my head on the pillow. It's so comfortable that I feel myself becoming emotional.

I feel pressure in my chest. I also feel pain. The pain and the pressure fills my eyes, and I feel tears start to stream down my face.

I don't know why I'm crying; Maybe I'm just filled with emotion. Today was a very wild day. I feel sad that Verda just gave me away like I was nothing. She treated me so badly and now she just got rid of me. Should I feel sad, or relieved?

My own goddess never wanted me in the first place. She never wanted me. How can I be worth anything, if the person who made me doesn't even want to look at me?

And yet, Phareth and Tsareth are the opposite. They seem nicer than Verda was. Is this a trick? Are they just trying to get me to trust them so that they can use that against me? Why should I trust them? I can't; I won't.

I can't trust them. They are way too nice. Deities shouldn't treat mortals like this. I'm not special. I'm just a mortal that couldn't even be liked by my own goddess.

I probably sob into my pillow for a while. I don't know what I'm going to do. I wish I could be anywhere but here.

I just wish Verda could love me. If I'm not worth her love, how could I be worth anyone else's?

I roll over into my back. It's not nearly dark outside yet, I see, as I look out the window. The sun is going down. I don't want to go downstairs to see Phareth and Tsareth, my new gods.

I realize what this feeling is: Loneliness. I've never trusted anyone, but being alone is unbearable right now. I'm so very lonely.

I remember all those nights I was forced to sleep on Verda's hard floor in the living room. I cried myself to sleep sometimes. I was always lonely then; I'm much more lonely now. Nobody here knows me.

Finally, after sobbing for a few more minutes, I cry myself to sleep.