Twenty-three years ago.
Miriam POV
Mother Liora made up a tale about me needing to go on a mission of self-enlightenment, citing that I was the youngest person ever to be appointed as the next High priestess and as such, I needed to.
But I was tucked away in a little cottage on the outskirts of Golden Gate Pack, in the house of a middle-aged midwife and her husband. They would take care of me and, in turn, give my baby to couples who needed it when the time came.
Months passed, and my belly grew with the life inside me. Mother Liora seldom came to visit me. She would send either Terra or any of the younger priestesses but never came herself. I couldn't tell if she was still disappointed in me, but I didn't have many options either.
Worse still, I tried to keep my distance, from the child growing within me, praying every night for the strength to follow through with my vow, but as the life within me stirred and grew stronger, so did my love for the child.
