Le Sacre du printemps [FB]

[ONESHOT]

Her heart was beating loudly in her chest. Ezra fearfully looked at the Cave, afraid that something might emerge from the dark entrance any moment, while her father - the Priest - led a meditation and prayer. The other children next to her were shuffling nervously as well. Eventually, Egon's prayer ended and she bowed her head, closing her eyes. The young girl watched as her father picked some berries from the shrubs near the entrance before scraping some of the Cave's stone into the bowl as well. She knew he would now be mixing it, so he could mark the children with a 'U' in their chest. It would turn the children into Children, followers of Utarr. 

Ezra and the other children sat around, a few hundred meters away from the cave entrance. They tried to keep themselves occupied, waiting their turn to meet with the Priest at the entrance to receive their mark. "How many do you think will survive?" she asked one of the other girls. The blonde bit her lip and shrugged. "I don't know. I'd rather not think about it." Ezra nodded, but didn't respond. She didn't want to think about it either. It would be weird, to have to leave people behind that were too sick. The excursion to the Cave was known for the deaths of many children. The unlucky ones were deemed unworthy of Utarr's power. And as if traveling with the burning sensation of a fresh wound on one's chest wasn't enough, they would have to wait near the river for hours. The raft couldn't possibly take everyone across the river at once. 

"Petal, it's your turn", Egon said, abruptly bringing Ezra back to the here and now. How long had she been daydreaming for? Without saying anything, she rose from the stone she had been sitting on and followed her father to the entrance of the Cave. 

He smiled at her and offered her his hands. The dark-haired girl tried to smile back, but the fear of being so close to the Cave made it impossible. Her father started humming and praying, and Ezra did what she had been taught to, what was expected of her during this ceremony. She untied the strings on her shirt's neckline and held them to the sides, so her father had a clear view of her chest. The mark wasn't carved low enough for girls to have to bare their breasts. No, it was just below collarbone height, in the middle of the chest. 

Ezra bit down, accidentally biting her tongue, to try and stifle the scream that rose up when the knife, covered in the berry and stone mix, sliced through her skin. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she allowed them to flow, but she didn't make a sound. Egon put the knife aside and gave Ezra a piece of cloth to press onto the wound, to stop the bleeding. He leaned forward, taking her head in his hands and kissed her forehead. "Please make it back home."

[  ]

The blonde girl she had talked to earlier, had collapsed while they were waiting for the raft. Ezra had crouched down, shaking the girl by the shoulders to get a reaction out of her, but she was gone. Her father was on the raft with the first group, and she had never felt so alone in her life. But while she was looking down at the deceased girl, she noticed the dried up blood on her own shirt, and smiled. She wasn't alone. If she made it home, she would be a Child. And she could feel Utarr on her side.