The Goddess by the Lime Tree
Written for Into the Rainbow: Vrains Shipping Week
Turn 3 #VSWLime
Ship: Crystalheartshipping | Aqua/Earth
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains
Title: The Goddess by the Lime Tree
Word Count: 1,376
Rating: T
Warnings: No Warnings Apply
Tags: Alternate Universe - Inspired by Baltic Mythology, Marriage Proposals
The Goddess Aqua lived in a sublime oasis in the crescent-shaped crater of a mountainside. There grew trees belonging to beaches, trees like the linden or the lime, coconuts and hibiscus bushes. The sorts of plantation that ought to be found by the riptides of the ocean, not high in the clouds in the cusp of rocky outcrops of a tall mountain. It was said that it was a beautiful place, or so it was rumoured.
However, entering her haven was not for the faint of heart, the trek was long but the reprieve at the end of it could be life altering. Aqua was the Goddess of Fate: she oversaw many things, from the lifespans of the most miniscule insect to the lifespans of kings and queens and every peasant and aristocrat and even creature of agriculture in between. She arranged lovers, conceptions, and pregnancies. She arranged weddings down to the last minute detail and organised every part of the day, from the length of the sunlight to the very last hour of the moon.
Time and fate were her domain and with kind words, it could be peeked into. Her whims were alien, she knew best, she perceived the truths of the world and that was very daunting. To ask her advice, one might find themselves already at the end of their thread or maybe their weaving had just begun. It was difficult to know until those questions were asked and answered.
Earth, a woodcutter from the realm below, desired to know his fate. He had come of age and many of his friends had paired off in one way or another. However, he feared himself an unworthy match for many of the eligible ladies that he knew, being mocked as socially awkward and the like. Burly and bearish, bad with his hands but he had a gentle soul, one he knew would be appreciated by the right woman, if only he could be shown the way.
So, he decided to take to that way by force, rather than bumbling forward without so much a subtle hint, and ascended up the mountain so he could find the summery wellspring that belonged to the Goddess Aqua. Being a woodcutter, Earth was quite adept the scaling the rocks and ravines that guarded Aqua’s oasis and after several long days and nights of journeying, Earth made it to the quaint summit that Aqua called her home and he was ecstatic.
Every drop of sweat, every ache in his muscles, every inch of his exhaustion was worth it to see the clouds part and to be with an unnatural-seeming scenery. The oasis was everything he was promised. He saw a small lake encapsulated by a circle of pale yellow sand, he saw trees of citrus, limes mostly but also lemons and oranges, he saw palm trees and he saw a palanquin which was fit for a beautiful goddess.
Earth felt his heart pound with excitement and so, he approached that palanquin. He stumbled towards it, kicking up sand, feeling a unique summer sun on the back of his neck through the bare skies and he smiled grandly at those windows draped in veils.
The palanquin had a mystique to it, it was painted pale blue and decorated with white lime blossom flowers. Yet he couldn’t see a person inside it. Not even a silhouette through the curtained window. Earth found that odd but with a little bit of courage worked up, he had come so far, after all, he couldn’t just abandon his quest for love at the steps of the Goddess who could give it to him, and so. He knocked on the wooden frame of the palanquin.
“Hello?” he asked. “Hello, my name is Earth, I have come to seek an audience with the Goddess Aqua!”
He paused to be polite, to give Aqua time to reply but there was none. Not after a minute, not after several minutes. Earth swallowed. He began to frown and blame himself. Maybe he had been rude, maybe Aqua was busy, maybe-
As Earth had those dour thoughts, he caught a sight of movement, inside the palanquin. It was a bird. It fluttered about wildly inside the palanquin, as though it were trapped. Earth was taken aback by the bird but it had begun to slam itself against the window of the palanquin, he couldn’t let it hurt itself like that so he grabbed the handle of the palanquin. He yanked open the palanquin and allowed the bird to free itself.
What a pretty, dainty, little thing it was. A little cuckoo bird. It flew out of the palanquin, darting past Earth’s face and he felt very inappropriate staring dumbfounded into the Goddess’s quarters. He caught glimpses of pillows and silken bedding inside the palanquin before he looked away, trying to see the cuckoo bird again.
The cuckoo calmed down mid-flight and reared back. Earth smiled gladly to himself and he offered his finger to the bird, a perch. It flapped its wings curiously and landed down upon his thick finger with caution. With his other hand, Earth picked a finger and pet the bird.
“There, there,” he said, soothingly, “you’re free now, you silly duffer.”
The bird chirped at him, as though annoyed it had been called a silly duffer but Earth just chuckled.
“Its good to see your lively, I would have been very worried if you had hurt yourself.” Earth said. “Go now, little one, be free.”
The bird launched itself off Earth’s finger and he watched how it sailed up into the air. Being a man of the ground, he had never wanted to fly nor did he envy the bird but there was still a grand splendour to how its wings unfurled in front of the sun, how it flew with such grace, how it revealed itself to be the very same Goddess he had come to visit.
Earth thought his eyes were playing tricks on him but no, he was not being deceived nor fooled. He was dazzled and blinded by the sunlight but he saw that silhouette true as anything. The bird transformed into a young woman, with pointed ears and flowing raiments, her hair down like waterfalls and she stood politely before him, bowing.
“Thank you for that.” Aqua said.
“Y-You… You’re-” Earth sputtered, eyes going wide.
“Yes, I am Aqua,” she said, “the Goddess of Fate.”
“What happened to you?” Earth asked, dumbstruck.
“Well,” Aqua began, she looked downcast, “one of my visitors was dissatisfied with the reading I gave him, out of rage, he locked me in my palanquin and in my form as a bird. I appreciate you freeing me, I was worried no one would ever come.”
“Oh, oh dear…” Earth murmured.
Yet Aqua looked up at him brightly, “And let me guess, you're here for a reading as well.” She smiled serenely.
“Yes, I am.” Earth said, he began to quake his mud-caked boots. “I hope you don’t mind but I am looking for a woman to marry, one who will tolerate my socially awkward nature and doesn’t mind living in solitude as I am a woodcutter, I live deep in the forest.”
“I see…” Aqua murmured and she took Earth’s hand flirtatiously, when she looked up at him, her eyes glowed. She traced the wrinkles of Earth’s calloused palms. “I declare that you will have a very long life, we need more kind and gentle men like you, who rescue birds from their cages…”
Earth began to blush. Aqua’s hands were soft and immaculate. Her voice was low, reminding him of a brook as she read the future she deemed for him from his hand.
“Perhaps the woman you are looking for,” Aqua suggested, “is right here.”
“I - I would like that very much.” Earth stammered.
Earth felt his heart thud in his chest. He could hardly believe his ears but he supposed one good deed deserves another, or so he had been told time and time again. He smiled a crinkly, wonky smile through his disbelief. He was positively thrilled to accept Aqua’s proposal and looked forward to what that may bring given that she was a Goddess who oversaw marriage and the bearing children.