After three days of sleeping in shifts around their makeshift camp in the dense forest, the group finally emerged from the treeline. Saanvi stretched her aching back, grateful to see open sky again after the oppressive canopy of branches. Vihaan walked beside her, looking surprisingly well-rested despite taking the longest watch shifts, while the others trudged behind with varying degrees of forest-induced irritation.
"Finally," Wei Zhan muttered, brushing pine needles from his robes. "I was beginning to think we'd be eating dried rations forever."
Tianlan yawned. "At least now we can find a proper inn and sleep on actual beds instead of tree roots."
"The village looks peaceful enough," Xie Lian observed, scanning the settlement ahead with his usual caution.
Devran stretched his arms above his head. "Let's just get some food and leave quickly. I don't want any complications."
Famous last words.
The moment they stepped into the village proper, a wave of excitement rushed through the crowd. Villagers dropped their baskets, abandoned their chores, and some even stumbled over their own feet in their haste to gather around.
A little girl with crooked pigtails tugged frantically at her mother's sleeve, her eyes wide with wonder as she pointed at Saanvi.
"Mama! Mama! The Goddess has returned! Just like in the stories!"
Saanvi's blood turned to ice. Devran, Tianlan, Wei Zhan, and Xie Lian slowly turned to stare at her, their expressions ranging from confusion to barely contained amusement. Vihaan, however, looked like he'd just discovered buried treasure.
An elderly man with a wispy white beard that reached his chest hobbled forward, his walking stick trembling in his grip. Tears gathered in his rheumy eyes. "Great one! You have returned to save us again! The spirits told us you would come back!"
Saanvi felt her soul attempting to flee her body. *Again?!* When exactly had she saved them the first time?! She wracked her brain desperately, coming up empty.
She forced out a laugh that sounded more like a dying animal. "Ahaha... I think there's been some kind of mistake... I've never been here before in my life!"
"Oh, this is rich," Devran muttered under his breath, crossing his arms with a smirk. "A goddess who doesn't remember her own miracles."
The old man shook his head so vigorously his beard swayed like a pendulum. "No, no, blessed one! You were here many moons ago! You saved our village from certain doom!"
Saanvi blinked rapidly. "I... did?"
Vihaan leaned closer, his breath warm against her ear as he whispered with barely restrained glee, "Care to explain, my dear 'Goddess'? This is fascinating."
She kicked his shin under cover of her robes and turned back to the villagers, her smile so strained it hurt. "Um... could you remind me exactly how I... saved you?"
A middle-aged woman with flour-dusted hands clasped them together reverently. "A year ago, the great disaster struck! Little Kavi was drowning in the raging river currents, and you appeared like a vision from the heavens! You pulled him from the waters before vanishing into the sacred mist!"
Saanvi's brain short-circuited completely.
*A child? A river? Sacred mist?*
She thought desperately, then a vague memory surfaced. One year ago, she had been traveling through this area when she'd noticed a boy who had slipped into a shallow stream. She'd helped him out, used her abilities to dry his clothes quickly, and continued on her way.
That was literally it. The entire "miracle."
But somehow, over the course of a year, the villagers had transformed her simple act of kindness into an epic tale of divine intervention!
"We knew you would return in our darkest hour!" another villager proclaimed, raising his hands to the sky. "The crops wither, our livestock fall ill, and strange shadows creep closer each night! Only your divine blessing can save us!"
Tianlan snorted softly. "Strange shadows? This keeps getting better."
Wei Zhan shook his head, muttering, "Why do we always end up in situations like this?"
Vihaan's grin widened dangerously as he threw a protective arm around Saanvi's shoulders. "Of course our gracious goddess will help! She has such a kind, generous heart. She simply cannot bear to see others suffer."
Saanvi stepped down hard on his foot with all her weight.
Vihaan's smile never wavered, though his eye twitched slightly. "She's... so passionate about helping others."
"You mean she's panicking," Devran observed dryly. "Look at her face."
"I am not panicking!" Saanvi protested, her voice climbing an octave. "I'm just... assessing the situation!"
"Is that what we're calling it?" Tianlan murmured, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
The elderly man beamed at their group. "Ah, the goddess travels with such devoted companions! Surely they too are blessed beings!"
Wei Zhan looked mortified. "Please don't—"
"The handsome one with the caring eyes must be your divine consort!" a village woman declared, pointing at Vihaan. "See how protectively he stands beside her!"
Another villager nodded enthusiastically. "And look how he watches over her with such devotion! Truly a blessed union!"
Vihaan's grin became absolutely radiant. "Well, if you insist—"
"NO!" Saanvi practically shrieked, her face burning crimson. "He's not my— We're not— He's just—"
But Vihaan smoothly stepped closer, wrapping his arm around her waist with practiced ease. "My beloved is always so modest about our bond," he said with convincing tenderness, his voice carrying just the right note of fond exasperation. "She never wants to make a fuss."
The villagers sighed collectively at the romantic display.
Saanvi stared at him in horror. He was actually playing along! And worse, he was good at it!
"Look how she gazes at him!" an old woman cooed. "Such pure love!"
"I'm not gazing!" Saanvi protested, but her face was now the color of a ripe tomato. "I'm glaring!"
"Ah, the fire of divine passion!" the woman continued, completely misinterpreting everything.
Devran was doubled over with laughter. "Oh, this is priceless! Vihaan, you're really committing to this act."
"What act?" Vihaan asked innocently, his thumb tracing gentle circles on Saanvi's waist. "I'm simply being myself."
Tianlan snickered. "Right. And I suppose you always hold 'just friends' like that?"
"A devoted husband must always protect his wife," Vihaan replied smoothly, tightening his hold when Saanvi tried to squirm away. "Especially one as precious as my dear Saanvi."
Wei Zhan shook his head, fighting back a smile. "You two are going to give the villagers entirely the wrong idea."
"Too late for that," Xie Lian murmured, watching the crowd's increasingly romantic interpretations of every interaction.
A young man in the crowd called out, "Divine sir, how did you win the goddess's heart?"
Vihaan's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Patience, dedication, and perhaps a little divine intervention of my own."
"That's not—" Saanvi started, but then caught sight of the villagers' expectant faces. If she denied it now, she'd have to explain why she was traveling with him, which would lead to more questions she couldn't answer without revealing their actual mission.
She was trapped.
Forcing a strained smile, she leaned into Vihaan's embrace with all the enthusiasm of someone accepting poison. "Yes... he's very... persistent."
The crowd erupted in delighted cheers.
"She shows her affection in such unique ways," Vihaan said warmly, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head that made the villagers swoon and made Saanvi's knees go weak for reasons she refused to examine.
Xie Lian cleared his throat diplomatically. "Your Highness, perhaps we should address the villagers' actual problems?"
"Right," Saanvi gulped, trying to regain some composure. "About the crop blessing... technically speaking, I can't actually—"
"She's being modest again!" Vihaan announced to the crowd. "Of course she can help! How hard could it be for someone of her... divine abilities?"
Saanvi shot him a look that could have melted steel. "Vihaan..."
"The goddess knows my name!" a young woman gasped. "Truly, her powers are beyond mortal comprehension!"
"That's not—" Saanvi started, then gave up. "Why is my life like this?"
As the villagers cheered and began preparing elaborate offerings for their "returned goddess," Saanvi found herself trapped between Vihaan's protective embrace and the weight of everyone's expectations.
She sighed deeply, resignation settling over her like a heavy cloak. There was no escape now..