The Twin Who Got The Ring And The One Who Got The Altar Chapter 07
The ceremony started again.
The drums rolled, deeper this time, steadier, like the mountain’s own heartbeat.
I stood before Elder Granger again. More people
had gathered than before–news had spread about the disruption, and everyone wanted to see what would happen.
Elder Granger looked at me. “Ready?”
“Yes,” I said. “But you haven’t answered my condition yet.”
His eyes narrowed. “You asked about the penalty for taking the Keeper.”
“Yes.”
“And I gave you the answer,” he said.
“Banishment. Family blacklist.”
“What if,” I said, “the Keeper leaves on her own?”
Another hush fell over the hall.
Elder Granger stared at me. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying,” my voice even, “if no one takes her if she walks out herself–what’s the penalty?”
He was silent.
Around us, people started whispering, the noise growing.
Elder Granger raised his hand for quiet. He studied me a long while before he spoke, “The old ways only cover a Keeper being taken. There’s no precedent for a Keeper walking out on her own.”
“Because,” he paused, “no Keeper ever has.”
“So that means,” I said, “there’s nothing in the rules about it.”
He didn’t deny it.
I took a breath. “Elder, I’m not here to be sworn in today.”
The hall erupted. Voices crashed from every direction like a flood.
Mom and Dad pushed through the crowd. Mom’s face was white. “Willa!”
I didn’t look at her. My eyes were on Elder Granger,
He was looking only at me.
“Spell it out,” he said, his voice low. “What are you doing?”
“I’m asking you to reconsider the rule,” I said.
“The Keeper protects the hollow. She guards the
people. But Sera can’t do it—you said so yourself.”
“So the position should just stay empty?”
Elder Granger didn’t answer.
“I can protect the hollow,” I said. “But I won’t do it by being locked in.”
“If I take that oath, I’m stuck here forever. But
think about what the hollow actually needs–someone to talk to buyers, haul goods to town, get our young people connected outside. That’s not a job you do from
inside these walls.”
pin drop.
The hall was dead quiet. You could’ve heard a
Elder Granger’s fingers tapped his pipe. He said nothing.
I kept going, “I studied agricultural economics. I know how to get our goods to market. I know how to deal with people outside.”
“The Rite is one way, but it’s not the only way.”
“Elder.” I said. “Will you give me a chance to try another?”