Chapter
3 – Temptations of False Grace
Finally, after a long journey, Rina
finds herself at a lake where the light of the moon shines on it. She cautiously
approaches it until a woman appears out of it. A red light radiates from her that
appears to clothe her in what can be called grace and looks like Our Lady of
Sorrows that Rina has seen in so many paintings, statues, and stained glass art
in churches.
Rina falls to the ground to venerate
the woman and says, “I’ve come so far to meet you, My Lady. Command me whatever
you wish so that I may serve Your Son perfectly.”
“Receive my blessing, my daughter.
You deserve it after having come so far,” the woman says while holding out her
arms towards Rina.
The light from the moon and woman expands
itself to shine on Rina who begins to feel strange. This feeling fills Rina
with warmth to the point where she begins to feel lightheaded.
“You did well to come to me and abandon
your kingdom and family for I will give you a new crown,” the woman says.
Because of the woman’s power, the
black and rotten parts of Rina’s body move to her crown on her head until her
body appears immaculately white with little trace of red in it. Rina is about
to express her thanks until her black crown digs into her head and clouds her
thoughts.
“You will be my servant and I will
be your queen, my daughter,” the woman says in a somewhat distorted voice.
“Who-who are you? You’re not…” Rina
asks as she does her best to resist the woman’s imposed will on her.
“I am the Lady you have been
searching for. I’ve been collecting and gathering people like you to overthrow
this kingdom and your kingdom to make them my own.”
“N-no, please. Let me go.”
An arrow of light hits the shoulder
of the woman and her true appearance is revealed. Her eyes are black and the
area around it is rotten along with her arms and stomach.
“Get the princess out of here and
kill that witch!” a knight says as they take Rina anyway.
“Kill them and get me back the
princess no matter the cost!”
A small troop of rotten sinners
comes out of the trees and ground to meet the knights in battle. The armor that’s
formed from their blood identifies them as knights of Albinia. Some of them can form crossbows that materialize arrows of light made from the grace in
their souls to defeat the growing horde in front of them while the others have
strengthened armor with sharp shields and others beside them conjure multiple weapons
that float around them.
After having gotten a good distance
away, the knight lays Rina behind some trees a bush then says to her, “Stay
here while we fight for you, princess. We promise that we’ll win!”
“Wait…”
The knight heads out before they
hear what Rina said. Soon after, the witch forms a broken cross with her magic
that tempts the minds of the knights and Rina and dulls their senses.
“We-we will not fall for your magic,
witch! We are strengthened by God’s grace and will cut you down in His name!” a
knight says before the rest of them cheer and fight on.
“I-I have to fight this!” Rina says
as she struggles to fight the witch’s influence, “There’s still time to redeem
myself. I can still…”
Rina struggles to fight the witch’s
power over her until it fades away. This is when she is able to manifest her
weapons and joins the fight but finds that it’s already over with both sides
having killed each other.
She falls to her knees and says, “Why?
Why?! I’ve come so far for nothing and lost more because of it. These loyal
soldiers didn’t deserve to die for someone like me. I came all the way here abandoning
all that I had to serve you, God, and you too, My Lady, but no matter how many
times I prayed and submitted my soul to your holy will, I still fell to sin. I
still made mistakes and I still did things that I know you wouldn’t approve of
and considered evil. Why? I asked for guidance and received only some of the
time. I asked for clarity and received silence. Can you answer this at least
or do you hate me? Do you like seeing me suffer and fall to evil? Are you giving
me the hopes of salvation only to take them away? Tell me the answer. I beg of you.”
In her despair, Rina waits and
waits until another group of knights from her kingdom comes to get her, and
with no answer received, her body begins to blacken. Seeing this, the knights
try to cheer her up and remind her about God’s love for her, but she doesn’t
listen.
“Your family and kingdom need you.
We’ve been forced out of our home and came to this land for help and to find
you,” a knight says.
This doesn’t help Rina at all. In
fact, she despairs more so they quickly get her to her parents and family’s priest.
“Tell me what troubles you? What did
the witch do to you?” her mother asks.
“She didn’t do anything other than
take advantage of my want to be a better person. I don’t deserve any pity for
my mistakes. I don’t even deserve to be called your daughter for what I’ve done
to you and our people.”
Rina’s mother embraces her and
says, “You’re always going to be my daughter no matter what you do. It doesn’t
matter how many sins you commit over and over again. I will always be here to
help you and there’s always a chance to make things right.”
“But…”
Her father then embraces her as
well then says, “Even I sin occasionally, we all do, but God didn’t sacrifice
Himself for nothing. If we were all perfect, we would act like we wouldn’t need
Him. Indeed, God sometimes lets us fall to our weaknesses even though we
always ask for His help. We don’t always know why this is, but what we do know
for sure is that He always gives us a way to get back up and that He does love
us.”
In her mother’s and father’s words,
Rina can hear a silent voice speak. She can’t hear what it’s saying, but it’s
as if a voice only familiar to her soul can understand. She now remembers God’s
infinite mercy for her with the most obvious proof being her still being alive
and being in the arms of her parents with the reminder that she is loved though
she is weak. She is loved though can be sinful, she is loved though she falls
again and again, and she is loved and will be loved forevermore. Again, she
confesses her faults to her parents with tears in her eyes before confessing to
the family’s priest.
The family isn’t given long to rest
as their enemies that forced them out of their homes have found them after a
long chase. Restored to grace, Rina joins the front lines of the fight as she
manifests all her weapons.
Wings form on her back along with a
multitude of curved blades. A barrage of iron and wooden arrows rains down on
them, but her blades cut the arrows while the wings expand and shield those who
cannot shield themselves. In battle, it is as she is in a lethal dance as her blades
flow through the air and cut down whoever they touch. Her wings protect her and
her allies when they are about to be struck. It’s almost as if they were possessed
and had a mind of their own and it can be said that they are. Rina has given
herself again to the protection of Our Lady and her Son. Their Holy Grace flows
through her and grants her kingdom victory in this battle.
Now filled with confidence and
renewed trust, Rina retakes her place as princess of her kingdom and leads them
alongside her family. Even though it is evident that she isn’t perfected by
grace since her body isn’t completely light red, she is more comfortable in
her imperfection than before.
She prays aloud, “I promise that I will
not only do my best to serve you, My Lady and Lord, but also to never despair
again, trust myself to your mercy, pick myself up when I fall, and to never
take for granted what I have. Thank you for your many blessings, my family, and
your love.”
The End
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