The soldiers guarding the gate to enter Tuscania, the moment they saw Menrva, bowed before her immediately.
“We believed you would no longer return, Lady Melania,” answered one soldier in Vulgar Latin. “Your father has been waiting for your return for more than two years.”
“It is good to see that your face remains as beautiful and radiant as ever,” replied the other soldier, also in Vulgar Latin.
Menrva waved her hand to indicate that it was of no importance.
“I simply went hunting a little longer than I expected,” the goddess replied. “Is my father inside?” she asked.
“Lord Garibaldo and Lady Rodelinda are in their castle,” the soldier answered. “We beg you to go see them immediately.”
Menrva then signaled for the members of Orniskem to come closer. They all agreed and stood behind the Etruscan goddess.
“I made some friends in Spain and the northern territories. May they enter as well?” the goddess asked.
“Of course, Lady Melania,” the man said, and then ordered the rest of the soldiers to open the gate.
The gate opened slowly, and a small bridge lowered so they could cross the artificial moat that had been built in front of the fief’s walls. The gods then entered the small town while being escorted by two soldiers.
Tul looked in awe at the Italian architecture, with its brick houses and red rooftops, especially when they reached the main square and she saw the city’s cathedral. It was a cultural shock unlike anything she had ever seen before. Tania looked on with great joy as Tul finally began to fulfill her dream of seeing the world.
Walking through the smoky streets of Tuscania, they could hear bustle and singing in the nearby taverns, where diners drank happily. However, neither Ana nor Epona was thinking about drinking at that moment. They all needed a safe place where they could teleport without being seen by humans or agents of Lel. The feudal lord’s castle seemed like a fairly safe option.
Finally, they went up to the castle, where news had spread that Melania, the daughter of the feudal lords, had returned.
At the castle gate, a man over fifty years old, dressed in a linen tunic and red cloak, was waiting for the Etruscan goddess. The man was accompanied by his wife, who dressed in a similar way to Menrva. Both were blond with green eyes, since they were descendants of Lombards, the ancient lords of northern Italy.
When Menrva reached the stairs, the two of them ran to embrace her.
“Mother, Father, forgive me for being absent for more than two years,” the Etruscan goddess said.
“Do not worry, daughter. This castle will always be your home,” the feudal lord replied.
The feudal lady quickly approached to look at her daughter’s face and cleaned it with a handkerchief.
“I know you will have much to talk about, but for now, rest in your chamber,” the woman replied.
Menrva nodded.
Menrva turned to look at her friends and introduced them to her human parents. They bowed before the feudal lords and kissed the father’s hand, as tradition demanded. However, when it was Tul’s turn, Menrva indicated that her friend had health problems at the moment and that it would be better if she did not kiss the feudal lord’s hand. She did this precisely so he would not feel the rabbit goddess’s mouth and become suspicious of her appearance.
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Inside the castle, the members of Orniskem were given access to an exclusive guest room, while Menrva went to the room where she lived. However, the goddess simply teleported to where her friends were staying.
The room had several beds with feather mattresses, covered with linen sheets and red blankets. In addition, the starry sky could be seen through the triangular windows in the wall. The floor was likewise adorned with an elegant red rug.
However, Tul could not help noticing that the place did not smell like a place of royalty, since there was a strong stench of excrement and urine. Then she looked toward a corner and saw some buckets from which those smells came, and she could not help making a disgusted expression.
“What do you think about using this room as our center of operations for the time being?” Menrva asked. “Turan, the grigori of Italy, knows nothing about this double life of mine. In fact, they do not even know that I occasionally live in this castle.”
All the other members of Orniskem nodded.
“I’m cool with that too,” Loki said as he lay down very comfortably on one of the beds.
“Nothing like European beds! Way better than those mats from the New World,” he said boastfully.
Then Tul nervously interrupted the conversation. The goddess was still wearing the enormous veil that covered her head.
“I’m really sorry… I forgot I could turn into a bunny, and then I could’ve saved you all these problems,” she said, embarrassed, while keeping her head lowered.
Ana shook her head.
“Nope. Lots of us can take other forms too, but I think it’s important for us to live with humans as humans,” the goddess said.
“Besides, as a rabbit, you would not have been able to see this place’s architecture in detail, the way you saw it now with the human eyes you have,” Tania added.
Tul nodded and smiled again.
“But take that veil off already, ’cause even it’s givin’ me the creeps,” Freyja said, while loosening her dress, making her bust show as cleavage.
The goddess then sighed as though a weight had been lifted from her.
After a moment of silence, Menrva stood and immediately wore her totema.
“Very well. I will go alone to Pallas and return right away to learn the whereabouts of my teacher’s planet,” the Etruscan goddess said.
“Wait, Menrva. I wanna go too,” Ana objected as she stood.
“It would be better if I went alone in case it is a trap,” Menrva added. “If I do not return right away, assume I have been captured… and you will have to give some excuse to my human parents.”
“I’ll go so nothing bad happens to you,” Ana said.
Menrva then saw that Ana was also anxious to learn Athena’s whereabouts. After all, she too had a very close bond with her.
The Etruscan goddess then smiled and nodded while taking the Irish goddess’s hand.
“We wish you good fortune,” Anpiel said, and everyone nodded.
At that moment, Ana wore her totema and took Menrva’s hand. Both goddesses immediately disappeared.
The two goddesses immediately appeared where Pallas should have been, but nothing remained there, only a cluster of asteroids floating silently in space. The gigantic planet where Athena had created a small civilization had been lost forever.
Menrva fell silent in that moment. She had prepared herself for that moment, but when she saw it, she did not know how to react and began screaming and crying, filled with pain.
Ana immediately embraced her and covered her mouth with her hand.
“Calm down, Menrva,” she said. “We’re gonna save her.”
Ana was also resisting the urge to cry, but she knew their presence could be detected if this was a possible trap.
Menrva closed her eyes and moved Ana’s hand away. The Etruscan goddess wiped away her tears and told Ana that she was fine now.
Then the goddesses swept around the asteroids, but there was nothing there. Ana suspected that dimensional entrances might have remained open to access Athena’s palace, but they had been erased as well.
“It would be better to return,” Menrva said. “Fortunately, my fears were unfounded, since there is no one from Lel guarding this area.”
Ana nodded, and both goddesses took each other’s hands to return to Tuscania.
Menrva invoked her teleportation, and both goddesses disappeared. However, neither of them realized that there was the figure of a woman with a crown sitting upon one of the asteroids.
“There is no doubt that I always have very good luck, since they were unable to sense my presence,” the mysterious woman said.
Then she smiled malevolently.