A few days had passed since Beatrice had first taken us to the remote house that gave sermons on the Ivory Lady.

  Both her and Jeanne had gone there once since then, but they again didn’t remark on anything being overly suspicious or problematic

  We were once again doing our respective jobs in the market. With the weather now warmer and the sky no longer overcast, business had improved significantly. The air was warm enough that many people had already started to wear more revealing clothing, thanks to the bite of the chilling winds being no longer present.

  We didn’t have any incredible wares this time like Vastitian steel blades and neither had anyone, as far as I knew, no one had come to collect the contents of the black box, so we had been mostly selling jewelry, religious iconography, elaborate frames for paintings, some funny looking tableware and some working tools.

  Beatrice, with now more people in the mood to try out new garments, had been making unmatched profits. She could just as easily convince a mildly interested housewife to purchase four times the amount of dresses than they initially desired and would often pick out random, seemingly uninterested men from the crowd, get their attention and get them to ultimately purchase a coat or a new vest. Sometimes she would even send some of those same men our way and they would purchase various knives and pendants from me and Madam Sophia.

  “All right, that is enough of that!”

  “Aaaahhhh!!!”

  Madam Sophia proclaimed as she slammed both of her hands on the table, rattling all our remaining inventory and causing me to jump sideways and welp out of reflex.

  Then she started laughing at me.

  “Hahahahaha!”

  “Why did you have to do that?!”

  “Because my back hurts and the sun is starting to set! And don’t be so wrapped up with the inventory. I still need you do be on the lookout.”

  “You think that someone would still try to rob anything at this hour? With so little a crowd?”, I ask, my agitation having now subsided. “I was just concluding taking stock of our wares”, I say, as I hold a leatherbound book that would make someone think of an expensive personal journal.

  “Oh!”, I exclamate, as I realized that the feather that I had been using to write had fallen to the ground due to my earlier outburst. I quickly scramble to pick it up.

  “Anyway, let’s pack it up! Tell me which things you have finished noting down and I will start putting those things in the cart. We got places to be.”

  “I am sure you do.”, I say.

  We worked in silence for a while longer getting everything ready until suddenly Beatrice came up to us.

  She was currently wearing a dress of a light shade of green.

  Bowing slightly and gently lifting the edges of her skirt, she greeted my employer.

  “Greetings once more, Madam Sophia. Have you decided to go forward with my proposal?”

  The Madam seemed to feel like repaying the courtesy in kind and bowed much the same way.

  “Good afternoon, Beatrice. Yes, everything is set to go forward as you proposed, on my end.”

  “Wonderful!” she exclaimed, as she put both of her hands together in a sign of delight.

  A moment later, a woman that looked like an older version of Beatrice, but still with plenty of youthful charm, approached us as well. Her dress was dark blue and she had small frills on her shoulders.

  “Hello sister.”, her greeting was much more casual, with no changes in posture or even raising her hand.

  “Hello again, Phoebe”.

  “Dinner at your house then? As Beatrice suggested?”, Madam Phoebe asks.

  “Yes, of course.”

  They kept talking for a while longer, while I took the chance to finish up the work that needed to get done. I didn’t want to intrude on their conversation in any way.

  They kept talking and talking about several mundane things, but I found myself looking at the sun going down more and more. I felt that I didn’t want to risk being reprimanded for failing to turn up at the temple at the required curfew.

  Eventually, with noticeable hesitation, I found myself finally speaking up.

  “Hu... Ma’am...?”, I said, catching Madam Phoebe’s attention, who then asked Madam Sophia to look back at me.

  “If it is all right by you, then everything is already in the cart and the book with inventory, as well as the feather and the ink, have all been put in their respective compartments. If you don’t mind, I will ask the closest guard to help pull it once you are ready to go and I shall be on my way. I don’t wish for the priestess and...”

  “You are coming with.”, the Madam said, as she cut me off.

  I looked at her, puzzled.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Before these two came up to us I said “We got places to be” as in “You and me have to go somewhere together””, she said as she made a mocking facial expression to describe her frustration at my lack of attention.

  “We are all going to have dinner together, Aporia, sweetie.”, said Beatrice as she beamed at me.

  “Ok, but why? We don’t usually do this. Do you do this often yourself Bea?”

  “Yeah, I invite her to come over from time to time, but it is normally for snacks before dinner, just so that I don’t have to push the temple’s patience too much”, Madam Phoebe explained, while nonchalantly gesticulating with her right hand.

  “Don’t worry yourself with any other details, Aporia. The Madams have already guaranteed me that they have talked everything over with the temple and have gotten their permission from them to hold custody over us tonight”, declared Beatrice.

  Feeling all their gazes and attention on me was giving me a lot of complicated feelings. It was quite uncomfortable. It made it difficult for me to express everything that I was wanting to say at once.

  “Well…”, I stammered, “I am thankful that you would do this for me, but you really didn’t…”

  “Oh, shut up!”, Madam Sophia reprimanded. “You have got to seriously let other people be kind to you. And honestly, stop being so selfish, Aporia!”, she paused for a moment “Don’t selfishly deprive the people that love you of your company just because you feel more comfortable being closed off somewhere!”

  “I...I...”

  “Just say “Thank you”, sweetie”, cautioned Madam Phoebe, as she gave me a warm smile.

  Unable to resist their kind pressuring, I quickly gave in.

  Performing the same greeting that Beatrice had done so when she approached us, I raised up the edges of my white linen skirt with both hands and gave the bow.

  “Thank you very much for this invitation!”

  Sometime later, we were walking up the slight slope towards the neighbourhood where both of the Madams lived. The cobblestones were in a noticeably better condition than the average street in town and the white walls of the houses seemed cleaner and more pristine than in other areas as well. Even the distance between each house started to become larger, a clear sign that the area was built with the idea of additional privacy in mind.

  The carts were being pulled in front of us by two different guards, as usual. Beatrice had decided to walk alongside Madam Sophia and they were happily conversing, while Madam Phoebe decided to walk beside me and used this opportunity to “get to know me better” according to her, since all she usually heard was whatever Beatrice or the Madam would tell her.

  “So tell me, Aporia...”, she started, “...has Beatrice been doing anything that you feel she shouldn’t? Do any of the boys under the care of the temple try to come unto her?”

  “Well... there are those that seem to keep looking at her. I can tell that much and I know she can too. Most of those she outright ignores, especially when those are mostly during our meals when everyone is together, but I have seen her turn down a few confessions in more private and secluded places...I just happened to stumble upon these occasions when looking for her.”

  “That is good to know. I do value her. Both as an employer and as an older woman in her life. I want her to make good choices...just in case you were wondering why I would be meddling in her affairs.”

  “Ah no, no problem. I don’t think she would mind the question much.”

  “And I don’t want her to get worse at her job or have to stop altogether because someone put a kid in her belly.”

  Well, that one was short and to the point.

  “She learns quickly, but in this business, reliability is key. I wouldn’t mind rehiring her after she gets it over and done with, but she would ultimately lose a lot of standing with both me and our customer base. Half of our clientele wouldn’t care for an already taken woman.”

  She was definitely a lot more blunt than Madam Sophia, that is for sure.

  “Is that why you have aimed to be as close to her as you are? You know, the things you said about wanting to chat with her over snacks before dinner? You mentioned that it happens rather often.”

  “In part. For one I genuinely like her company, but she has been feeling increasingly more “free-spirited”, you could say. I can tell that she has been getting harder to get through, when it comes to letting her know of her responsibilities in life. Teenagers, am I right?”

  “I wouldn’t know Madam. I am a teenager myself so I can’t see her actions as inherently rash.”

  Except maybe that whole Ivory Lady business and asking Jeanne not to report it. How did she even know about it to begin with? For how long did she know about it and who told her about it?

  These were the thoughts that once more came flooding into my mind.

  “That is true, haha!”, she laughed, in a jovial fashion that definitely reminded me of someone far younger than she appeared.

  “You two sleep in the same room?”, she asked me.

  “No, but I do sleep in Jeanne’s room.”

  “So she is alone by herself during the nights?”

  “Well, the other three girls in her room are with her.”, I replied.

  “Hmmm...that could spell trouble. I have asked some people I know from the temple to keep an eye on her for this very issue, but even they can’t do this full time. Kids sneaking in to each other’s rooms or out of their own rooms is something common, for the most part. See that guard to our left? I can tell that he keeps throwing glances her way. In fact, he often is the one that pulls our cart. I recognize his face by now. Stuff like that worries me. Even when I ask a guard to escort her back to the temple, sometimes he is the one that answers the request. What a powder keg just waiting to happen...”, she sighed.

  I felt like commenting, but I could see her point. I could also see that she was perhaps being too meddlesome, but it was seemingly in both of their best interests to follow Madam Phoebe’s logic.

  “Can I ask for a favour? You are a Vermillion. At your age, you should be able to overpower most grown men, or you will be able to shortly. Can I ask you to protect her if anyone tries to be rough with her or if she tries to fly off the handle too much?”

  “Well, you see… I am not that strong for some reason. I know I should be, but for some reason I am no stronger than I look.”, I meekly respond

  She turns her head, looking at me with apprehension.

  “Are you sure that you are getting that right? I had some Vermillion friends that looked just like you when I was your age. They were plenty strong. Even dated some men with crimson hair as well and yet again, they were very able-bodied. They even remarked at times how much they had to hold back so as to not hurt me or break anything…ah…those were some wild nights.”

  I kind of just started blushing and feeling uncomfortable for a few minutes while Madam Phoebe kept being lost in thought, apparently remembering her past, until we finally came to the entrance of Madam Sophia’s home.

  It was a relatively normal looking house, with white walls and orange tiles on top, as well as iron spikes all around the property. The only thing of note is that the lock on the iron gate seemed to be noticeably thicker than the ones in the entrances of the houses that we had passed by.

  Madam Sophia unlocked the front gate, seemingly using three different keys and we made our way inside the premises. Both of the carts were taken inside the property and Madam Sophia decided to leave hers out in the open while she insisted that her sister’s was put inside this smaller house within the property, to make sure that the cloths wouldn’t be exposed to the elements.

  After that was finished, we were shown inside by the Madam’s maid. Just like how I remembered it, the inside was cozy and well decorated, but not ostentatious. The interior was well lit with light that came from various fireplaces and reflected off mirrors at the edge of each corridor, as was customary. The interior was decorated with several pieces of wooden furniture, with various levels of intricacy in their decorations and there were a few statues as well.

  Madam Sophia said that she and the maid, a middle aged woman of about the same age as her but with blonde hair, were going to finish overseeing the cooking, so we were left to our own devises and all three of us ended up moving to the living room, where a warm burning fireplace was surrounded by a baby blue carpet, though, far enough away that it wouldn’t risk catching fire. A slight smell of smoke and burning wood could be felt in the air.

  The walls were a well-kept white, the colour of pretty much every house in this town. A single timepiece, a relic produced almost exclusively in Caligo, hung above the fire. The sofas were also pearly white but embroidered with deep blue string into various flowery patterns. Behind the sofas there was the dining table. It was a solid yet delicate thing. It was close to being a regular rectangular table but both heads were smoothed into having a more circular outline. Laid on top of the table was an intricately knitted white cloth, with holes in various places, put there in a clearly organized fashion.

  “May I sit?”, Beatriced asked.

  “Sure, she won’t mind”, her employer replied.

  Spending a moment to look closely at the sofa, she then gave a slight bow and carefully sat herself in the pristine sofa.

  Madam Phoebe seemingly made herself at home and opened a door of a large cabinet that was leaning against a wall. It had several drawers, holding many pieces of cutlery and glasses, as well as other decorative items like small carved out statues made of night black rock or of deep red brick. However, the door that the house mistress’ sister went into didn’t seem to have any of those things. Instead, she produced a white bottle from within. The flask seemed to be made of something like white sand, pressed together until it became as solid as stone.

  She put it on the table and proceeded to go into another door to pull out two glasses. They were rather ornate things, seemingly folded like laces to make lines on the outside stick out, to provide a better grip.

  Madam Phoebe gave me a questioning look and I declined with a slight shake of my head. Noticing that I didn’t wish for any of the flask’s contents, she poured it into the pair of glasses and took them to the table with the wooden frame and the top made of glass, that was in between the fireplace and the sofas, and she sat down in a sofa to Beatrice’s right.

  Beatrice signalled for me to come sit next to her and I obliged. I didn’t say anything as the two of them chatted for a while discussing the drink, from where it had come, what the flask was made of exactly, etc. I just looked at the flames in the fireplace, taking an interest in their beauty. From there, my eyes went to the mirrors on the various walls, so that the light could be reflected to the mirrors in the two different corridors that connected the living room to the rest of the house. Their reflective surfaces weren’t polished to a sheen, as one might expect, but rather than had this odd non-uniform dark yellow taint, as if someone had smeared some sort of beverage on them and the stain couldn’t be cleaned off. Still, it wasn’t dirty. The Madam wouldn’t have allowed it to be. It was this way by design, and I noticed that the beautiful and ambiance enhancing shade of the light within not just this room but the rest of the house, a glow similar to a darkening setting sun, rather than a bright noon one, made it easier for people to relax and even feel more prone to sleepiness and rest.

  “Hey guys, are you all comfy?”, the Madam’s voice rang out, reaching us several moments before she herself entered the room, now with a different dark blue tunic and a thick padded apron that was white on the inside part and the rims were navy blue.

  “Yeah sister, everyone seems to be good. I hope you don’t mind but I opened the flask that I gave you some time ago. You got to lose the habit.”

  “The habit of saving my presents for the best occasion?”

  “The habit of leaving good drink to spoil because you want to keep it for so long.”, Madam Phoebe said, as she drank yet another gulp.

  “Bah! Whatever. We are both too old to change our habits now, so you will just need to learn to live with your older sister’s flaws.”

  “Speak for yourself. I am basically a decade younger than yourself.”

  “Don’t let her get to you Madam Sophia. I haven’t met anyone that has ever made remarks about your age. If anything, everyone I hear praises how vibrant your personality is. And I do have good ears.”

  “Well, being vibrant isn’t quite the same as being young, but I commend the effort to try and smooth out the bickering between us sisters. Hey Aporia, you still as quiet as usual?”

  “Oh! Me? Yes, I figured that there wasn’t much that I could say. I don’t know much about drinks. Even if I remember what you and some customers have said about the subject, I don’t really feel I am invested enough to be qualified to speak on it.”, I said.

  “Wow. That is a very long way to say “yes”, little redhead, but at least you are giving longer answers now.”, the Madam said.

  I started looking at my lap and could feel my cheeks start to warm up, even more so than they already were from the heat of the fireplace.

  I felt a pinch in my right arm.

  “Hey!”, I squeal.

  Beatrice just gives me a playful smile.

  Both Madams start to laugh, but I can feel no malice or coldness in their voice. I feel my lips curl upwards, my teeth exposed and I start to chuckle a bit as well.

  From the outside, a bell can be heard.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  After a brief pause to process the signal, I look back and the lady of the house.

  “Ah, that must be our final guest. Excuse me, I am going to have to meet them at the door.”

  The other two kept on chatting and this time I actually chimed in.

  “...yes, but you see Madam Phoebe, at the temple, it isn’t that we aren’t allowed to drink. They just say that getting used to it at a young age isn’t a good idea because it will numb our palate, so when we are older we won’t be able to appreciate the more refined liquor. That is what they say anyway, but a lot of the kids there, like Beatrice...”

  I tap her thigh with my hand twice

  “...they think that it is just a deception. That the heads of the temple simply want to have full access to the reserves in the basement and not share any of it with the kids that are already of age.”

  “Well, that is quite the accusation, little Aporia.”, a voice rolled through the air, as waves on water. An echo soft as silk and delicate as a string of spiderweb made its way into my hears.

  I tensed up.

  Oh gosh! Did I really just say this when she was right behind me?

  Beatrice rose herself while I was still too tense to react and gave a bow to the person behind me, as she had done so many times today.

  “Good evening our lady priestess. It is good that we accepted our invitation.”

  I shot her a look that was probably a mix of dumbfounded and hurt.

  “You knew who it was at that she was behind me and you still let me say that?!”, the little voice inside my mind protests.

  Beatrice only replies with a fake smile and I can only feel my cheeks becoming increasingly warm.

  “A fine evening to yourself as well, Beatrice. You will be excused for breaking curfew tonight, in case you were still nervous about the subject”, she replied as she reciprocated the gesture.

  The chestnut-haired, sapphire-eyed priestess glanced over at the small table in front of the fireplace.

  “I see that you are indulging.”, she said, softly and matter-of-factly.

  “My employer’s treat. Do not concern yourself with it, she is making sure that I will stay far away from acting the fool.”, Beatrice retorted.

  “Good evening, lady priestess. You are welcome to remove your cowl if you wish. Such formalities shouldn’t be needed when in private and among friends, I presume”, spoke up Madam Sophia, who was now at the living room’s door.

  The priestess seemed to pause for a moment.

  “If the lady of the house requests it, I will oblige.”

  Her cowl, blue like the noon sky, was removed. However, she did not expose her head. Instead, beneath the cowl, a thin blue veil, thin enough so that is was almost transparent, covered her brown locks still. A symbolic garment, meant to illustrate something, not hide anything.

  “Ah… a mesh of kyanós níma. That is some good quality stuff for such a minor garb.”, remarked Madam Phobe.

  “It is customary, Madam Phoebe, as I am sure you know. It is the temple’s property, not my own.”

  “It doesn’t concern me, since you are free to do as you wish in my home, but why the formality even among long time acquaintances?”, Madam Sophia inquired.

  “I may be among friends, but I am also among the children that I was asked to raise and educate. A certain level of decorum and authoritative formality is still what the situation demands. More so even since this gathering was orchestrated by one such child.”

  “You are as adherent to the creed as ever.”, the lady of the house sighed. “Well, make yourself at home. Be seated, warm yourself by the fire, partake in some beverages, whatever you may fancy. The Bloat Salmon should be close to being finished.”

  With that, Madam Sophia made her way back to the kitchen and the Priestess sat herself in one of the sofas.

  For a while Madam Phoebe and Beatrice kept talking, having now switched the topic from drinks to commerce and the upcoming weather and how one might impact the other. Occasionally, one of them would question the priestess on something related to the topic and she would oblige and respond, but always in a way that she would refrain from engaging in conversation at length.

  After that prior display of rudeness and subsequent reprimand, I was too afraid to say anything to her at first, but as I could feel the mood starting to lighten again and I felt like I needed to apologise, to save myself some troubles afterwards if nothing else.

  “Hu, Lady priestess?”, I stammered.

  She turned her deep blue eyes at me.

  “I apologise for the remarks I made when you first came in. I hope that you will please not take them seriously.”

  After a short pause, the veiled woman replied.

  “Well, I can speak only on my behalf, but I don’t do such things. The truth is that liquor or most spirits are a bit too strong for my palate…As for the other women that help with raising and feeding the children, those that unlike myself aren’t sword to our faith, I cannot say. Perhaps some of what you say rings true. I don’t begrudge you for your remarks while in the privacy of a friend’s home.”

  What a relief.

  “Your vocation seems to have mellowed you out Lyra.”, stated Madam Phoebe.

  After a moment of feeling perplexed, both I and Beatrice, looked back and forth between the Madam and the Priestess.

  This was the first time that either of us had ever heard her name.

  “Yes Phoebe, I can tell. I am able to look myself in the mirror after each sunrise and remember the many times that I have done prior. The march of time and its changes haven’t gone unnoticed by me.”

  “You make it seem like you just got old.”

  “Time brings changes in perspective and maturity as well. But this sort of remark does remind me that I am two years your junior.”

  “Yeah, yeah, laugh it off Ly.”, she said before downing a swing of her glass. “We are both very youthful looking for our age anyway.”

  Priestess Lyra turned her attention back to me.

  “Aporia. I must ask you for a favour. Even if what you said about your caretakers ends up being a mere open secret between you children, even if it is truly correct, I would ask you to please don’t speak of it outside of the temple’s walls and to dissuade other children from doing so. Any damage to the temple’s reputation would just be another problem for me to fix.”

  “Oh, surely priestess. Of course, priestess.”, I replied.

  “Would it not just be best to replace those that would give the temple a bad name?”, Beatrice chimed in.

  “An ideal situation perhaps, but arranging replacements for everyone would be quite difficult, not to mention that I would have to verify if the accusations are true in the first place. Keeping a minor secret is much more feasible than upending an entire temple’s staff.”

  The priestess took a look at the table where Beatrice’s glass currently sat.

  “Are you longing that much for the chance to partake of wine openly within the temple grounds?”, she stole a glance at Madam Phoebe for a moment. “With a retinue of friends and acquaintances perhaps?”

  Ouch, I can tell that that had hit Beatrice hard, since she was forcing a nervous smile and playing with her locks, as she often did when her embarrassment was getting hard to hide.

  “But you don’t seem to be of the same mind, little red. Is it my presence that keeps you from pouring yourself a glass, perhaps?”

  Embarrassingly, I quickly trip over my words to try to diffuse the situation.

  “No! No! No! Nothing of the sort, Lady Priestess. I simply don’t feel qualified to appreciate the drink, so why waste it on me?”

  After a moment passed…

  “Hahahahaha!”

  The azure clad woman sitting in front of me burst into laughter, while simultaneously making overt efforts to stop herself.

  Her mannerisms were vivid and filled with vitality, yet measured and exuding temperance.

  I once again found myself feeling that there was something about her that left me transfixed. A form of beauty that I could feel but that my eyes couldn’t see and a form of kinship that felt wispy like mist yet heavy like the morning dew on the coldest of days.

  “That right there is more the Ly I grew up with. You hyper indulging weirdo”, Madam Phoebe said with a smirk.

  At that moment, we felt the earth shake. It wasn’t enough to bring any furniture crashing to the ground, but Beatrice did hold both glasses and the flask as much as she could, so that they wouldn’t tumble and make a stain on the couch and carpet.

  After a couple of moments to compose herself, the priestess replied.

  “Calling me a weirdo is a tad too much, no?”

  “Well, you do get awfully fixated on certain types of people, Lyra”, chimed in Madam Sophia, as she came in, followed by the blonde maid with a tray that billowed smoke and that gave off an appealing and rich aroma.

  “Well, those people are often treasures”, the priestess countered.

  Soon after, we were all seated at the table, the maid included.

  In front of us there was a now a baby blue tablecloth and ivory plates and similarly coloured tableware alongside it for each of the participants. With the exception of the new glasses that had been taken out already by Madam Phoebe, new ones were extracted from the cabinet that I now had my back turned to. At the two heads of the table were Madam Sophia, the lady of the house and the priestess on the opposite end. To my left was the blonde maid and Madam Phoebe was directly in front of me, with Beatrice being on her left.

  In the middle, along with a flask of water and a flask of wine, there was a bowl with various cooked vegetables, a bowl with various potatoes and a bowl carrying the Bloat Salmon, seasoned with butter.

  A Bloat Salmon typically had an orange-like tone and the thing that set it apart from most other fishes is that immediately upon dying, it would enter a state of accelerated necrosis, causing its natural inflation meant to ward off minor predators and for mating dances, to go out of control, meaning that after death the necrotic gases start expanding its flesh. However for some odd reason, people found that leaving it to marinate for a while actually causes its flavour to become delicious, for some reason.

  That is what I have been told anyway. Must have been something people found out during a famine or something. They probably wouldn’t try to eat rotten fish otherwise.

  We all got our respective servings and the lady priestess asked us to hold for a moment while we all prayed and gave thanks for our God and the Sacred Ancestor.

  “…may this nourishment, born from God’s garden sustain the divine spark in us so that we may execute His will. Gia Kléos.”

  “Gia Kléos.”, we all said in unison after her.

  We started to eat. I delighted at the rich, strong and slightly bitter yet slightly sweet taste of the salmon, mixed with the warm and familiar taste of melted butter making its way through my tongue, down my throat and finally feeling the warmth hit my stomach, followed by the hearty consistency of salt seasoned potatoes and the smooth soft and snake like feeling of the long and soft vegetables being rolled by my tongue.

  Eventually Beatrice was the one to break the silence.

  “Lady priestess, for how long have you three known each other? I admit that I was surprised when you actually accepted my invitation to come eat with us, but in hindsight, I guess I shouldn’t have been.”

  “Ah, I am no good with such tales, perhaps these two other ladies can do a better job than me on this.”, she replied.

  “She kept hanging around us because we would often spend time around a water fountain near her home.”, replied Madam Sophia.

  “Me and a couple of friends bullied some kid that she kept wanting to hang with”, replied Madam Phoebe.

  Both me and Beatrice looked at Madam Phoebe with shocked expressions on our faces.

  “What? Such things happen when you are young. Anyway, she kept saying that she wouldn’t allow us to mess with that guy and she punched me in the face a couple of times. Back then she was really feisty.”, Madam Phoebe continued.

  Now we looked at the blue clad woman again, with an even more shocked expression on our faces.

  She noticed us staring and put down her fork just as she was about to eat another bite, then she ended up chuckling at our reaction as she tried to hide it with a finger across her mouth.

  “Well, I was a lot more passionate back then. I had yet to begin being able to temper the intensity with which I pursued God’s calling.”

  “Surely you mean that this was before you pursued the call of the faith, no? Is violence not directed at beasts against the faith’s teachings?”, remarked Beatrice.

  “Not exactly. I could always feel God’s guidance, His Blessing perhaps even, guiding me to the people who would later be sources of good for the world. Their lives were treasures in their own right. I simply didn’t know at first how to solve things with more tact, so violent was often my resort if requests and pleading didn’t cut it.”

  She turned to Madam Phoebe.

  “Phoebe. That child you mentioned ended up becoming our town’s emissary to the capital, having met our King and vouched for our wellbeing. You should be thankful to him. Among those interested in the position, it was easy to see that he was the only one interested in representing his people earnestly.”

  Her expression and tone hardened.

  “Had he become a less outspoken person because of trauma derived from your group’s hazing, many more of our townsfolk may have gotten needlessly drafted for the war effort and the support from the capital in funds and grain might have been diminished. Be thankful to Theo if you encounter him again.”

  Madam Phoebe rolled her eyes, indicating that she wasn’t interested in pursuing the conversation right now.

  The Priestess’ feature and voice softened once more.

  “Another one that I felt needed to keep an eye on was Jonah. You remember him, do you not Sophia? Maria?”

  The fair-haired maid perked up, having been invited to the conversation.

  “Yes, Jonah. A perky lad. An adventurous lad. He was well liked and had quite a few girls desiring to have their hands taken in marriage. I never saw you around him however, lady priestess.”, she said.

  “I did, though a few years before he started to get a reputation or any enviable good looks. You were often spending time with him as he was training, weren’t you Lyra?”, Madam Sophia replied.

  “That I was. He grew up to be a fine man. Contrary to many of the others that I felt needed my help, his faith was genuine. Well, he was a practical man and a pragmatist, so despite his lack of repeated prayer, he did harbour a deep respect and belief in our faith. The last few letters that we have exchanged tell me that he has joined the Iron Scaled.”

  The room went silent for a moment. Even I could recognize that group’s name.

  “That group of pirates? I can’t tell if they are more of a danger to us or to Sodom! Does Jonah believe those rumours that much?”, Madam Phoebe protested.

  “Former. They are former pirates. Currently privateers, working under the employment of our nation and our king. Captain Drake has done enough to deserve to be called our nation’s shield. That is why Jonah joined that crew. To be beside that man. War waits for no man. It does not forgive and even the mightiest may die amounts its currents.”

  “Say, Lyra, do you think that the war will begin anew in a few months? That is the expectation, isn’t it?”, Madam Sophia inquired.

  “That is the expectation, yes. When the time comes, we may be asked to evacuate, if only as a precaution. We are much closer to the border with Praelia, who is our ally, than we are to Sodom’s border. Furthermore, due to the terrain, it is hard for either us or them to attack each other. Still, I pray every day that the Divine Stars may grant us peace within our lifetimes. The Great Adversary must not step beyond its border.”

  “You often talk of the Divine Stars as if they are actually something present in our world. Isn’t that something to tell young boys to set the flame of adventure in their hearts and the ice of devout reverence to the priesthood?”, Madam Sophia cautiously inquired.

  At that, the blue clad woman replied, now as soft and warm as the afternoon breeze.

  “As a member of the priesthood, I can only say that I believe them. However, in my heart of hearts, I do believe them. The people who kept our traditions alive, who laid the stones for our town and our temple, were not the type to deceive their descendants. They may not reveal themselves to us regularly, they may even not reveal themselves to us for many generations, but the greatest aspects of God’s light, the Divine Stars, reveal themselves when we need them most. I trust that Jonah thinks much the same.”

  We let her words linger in the air for a moment. Not knowing how to follow up such a esoteric conversation of which none of us seemed to know all that much about, we eventually defaulted to continuing our meal in a brief moment of silence.

  It would be good if God would win the war for us. Everything would be so much easier like that.

  Soon enough, the conversation picked back up again. This time heavy subjects like war or ancient myths were left aside, so the topics were far more mundane.

  We spoke of the clothes that Madam Phoebe had in store to receive for the next few months and the difficulties of acquiring some of them. Beatrice boasted about the list of orders that she had already secured due to her skill at persuading and reading people’s mood and Madam Sophia also gloated about how quickly I have been improving as her apprentice and the various deals that she already has lined up for the foreseeable future.

  I found myself looking at my plate with the heat rising to my cheeks once the conversation made its way back to me.

  “You are both making great progress in your apprenticeships. I am glad to hear it. You are a good example of the kind of ladies our temple wishes to cultivate. Your friend Jeanne is…a bit different from you two, but she is also a fine lady in her own right”, the priestess stated in approval.

  “She has more brawn than some of the boys her age. A real force that one. She doesn’t even look that masculine like other stronger women tend to. Was one of her parents a Vermillion or something?”, remarked in Madam Phoebe.

  “She has at times said that she remembers being told that her parents migrated from Praelia, but no mention of any red-haired blood coursing through her. Still, you can tell that fighting is second nature to her, much like the people from that land.”, Beatrice chimed in.

  “Beatrice, please tell me. Is Jeanne a victim of teasing or bullying by the other children at the temple?”, the priestess asked, as she brought a glass of wine to her lips.

  “At times. When a boy mocks her, she deals with it herself, since they can’t back down when confronted because of the shame that goes with it. When one of the girls does it, she tends to back off and do her best to ignore it, but I often step in in those situations. Sufficed to say, those girls often come to regret their actions.”

  “Beatrice…what does that mean”, asked Madam Sophia.

  “Nothing much Madam. Just a few whispers in the right ears and some upfront words taken from the secrets others have not kept and they quickly start asking for forgiveness.”, Beatrice concluded.

  “That sounds…harsh…Still if it is in the name of defending a friend that has been wronged, I will overlook it. A child must be made to feel a pushback against their nastier attitudes.”, the priestess sternly asserted.

  Beatrice placed her hands together on top of the table and spoke up.

  “You know, my fair ladies. I may not say such things often or openly, but I am damn proud of calling that blonde female guard my friend. My closest friend, in fact. Let none even suggest that they can think of harming her as long as I breath!”

  “Damn straight!”, Madam Phoebe passionately agreed as she downed a glass of wine.

  Holding back their amusement, the other two ladies followed suit by raising their glasses and subsequently draining their contents.

  I just stuck to my water.

  “Speaking of blonde guards, what about that Axios boy? What has he been up to, does anyone know? I still owe him a proper thanks after he helped us out the other day.”, inquired Madam Sophia.

  “He seems to have started a fight with some of the Vermillion boys over something, I don’t know what, but it seems that he didn’t instigate it. Still, he seems to have beaten several of them at once. That boy is a physical marvel if nothing else.”, remarked the priestess

  She continued.

  “He also seems to have been involved in capturing and dragging to prison a man that I am currently in talks with. Strange fellow. He seems devout but he is clearly unwell. Unfortunately, he claims that Axios assaulted him while inside his cell. He showed me a bruise on his stomach, but that could have come from anywhere.”

  “He does have a reputation for getting into fights, doesn’t he? “, remarked Madam Phoebe.

  “Shame about his temper. He is quite good looking”, Beatrice salaciously remarked “but a pretty face can’t solve all of the world’s problems”.

  “You are all being too harsh on him!”, I spoke up as I audibly placed my glass down.

  Mustering the strength to raise my eyes and voice, I continued.

  “Lady priestess, Axios has never hurt anyone unless he was defending himself. I have seen that time and time again, he has the misfortune of being approached by people that wish him harm. Yes, his temper doesn’t help in those cases, but I swear that he isn’t the one starting those problems!”

  Everyone at the table stopped, letting their sights linger on me.

  I was so embarrassed.

  Eventually, the priestess herself spoke up.

  “Well, it seems that Beatrice isn’t the only one who stands up for their friends…which reminds me, when he first arrived at the temple’s door, you were with him, weren’t you Aporia, all those five years ago. You have known him for the longest out of everyone at this table…”

  Despite my embarrassment, I looked the veiled woman straight in the eye.

  “…how long were you with him before you arrived here? Do you even know where he is from? Has he always been like this?“

  I hesitated and stayed in silence for a few moments.

  “Lady priestess…how should I say this… I actually don’t recall meeting Axios. The furthest back I can remember actually starts with the two of us being in Caligo, right before we crossed the border to Limani and joined up with other travellers and refugees…”

  The ladies at the table got even more inquisitive.

  As usual, it was Madam Phoebe that broke the awkward silence.

  “Are you his sister or something?”, she questioned.

  After a moment of silence myself, I replied the best I could.

  “I…I have asked him that, but he says that he met me for the first time at the roadside and picked me up and I just followed along. So, no, lady priestess, I can’t say where he might be from. As for how long I spent with him before we got here, I can’t be completely certain, because I don’t recall everything, but probably three months or so. We couldn’t immediately get on a boat to come to this town, so it took a while.”

  “And I take it that his behaviour was much the same back then?”, the veiled woman inquired.

  “Yes, but as I said, I never saw him openly provoke anyone. As far as I can vouch for, Axios has never done anything but defend himself. He just had bad luck in that people often wanted to pick a fight with him. This was one of the reasons why getting here took so long. Sometimes fights broke out on smaller boats or at some docks.”

  “…very well then… If that is his track record, then I shall dismiss any suspicion or accusation thrown at him for now, unless more and more accusations come to light. The man in the jail is probably not in his right frame of mind anyway.”

  “Thank you, lady priestess.”

  “Regardless of his luck, that guy deserves to be acknowledged for his bravery, if nothing else”, Beatrice interjected. “No normal man would stand in front of a Vastitian steel blade during that sort of tumult simply out of a sheer sense of duty.”

  Clack!

  I looked to the side, startled by the sudden startling noise.

  The glass had fallen from the azure clad woman’s hands and hit the table, but fortunately it had been empty, so it neither made a mess nor shattered.

  “…Beatrice…what did you just say?”, she stammered.

  “uhh…, well the thing is, you see…”, Beatrice stumbled, desperately trying to find the words that would cause the least shock.

  “You did say “Vastitian steel blade”, did you not? My ears did not deceive me, did they?”

  “Well, yes, I did but…”, my friend further hesitated.

  The priestess then turned to Madam Phoebe.

  “Phoebs…why has a child under my charge and care somehow find himself standing in front of one of the most deadly weapons known to exist and why do the children know this and not me?”, she inquired, in a low tone, betraying the amount of fury and covert venomous animosity that she was now feeling.

  For the first time in my life, I saw Madam Phoebe balk before a question.

  “You…might want to ask my sister that”, she replied.

  Finally, the angry and judgemental stare fell before Madam Sophia.

  “Lyra… I got some. I sold some. Vastitian blades, I mean. Like I sell swords, knives and spears, I got a good contact and managed to acquire some in exchange for facilitating a future transaction with another piece of merchandise…I sold them, the people saw the rumours turn to truth before their eyes. You know how it is. Things got heated for a while. It was a mad dash and everyone scrambled to bid and state their price. Axios happened to be on duty on that day and kept an eye on the first gentleman that had purchased one, with the blade drawn out. That was the extent it. The man was not unhinged. It was merely a precaution that the boy felt he needed to take as a formality, despite the chaos that ensued. I thank him for his dedication and must further thank him still for later helping me with the cart with my remaining inventory”.

  As more and more of the explanation was given, I could feel the lady priestess slowly calm down and decompress, so that by the end of it, she was holding her chest in relief.

  “I see. So the boy was not actually involved in a fight involving those swords… thank God for this…”

  “S…see? There is nothing to worry about lady priestess”, said Beatrice.

  “Yet again, that child finds himself at the centre of danger…” said the veiled lady.

  After that tenser exchange we kept on eating and what other topics we discussed were relatively more mundane and casual than the previous ones.

  Eventually, our dish came to an end, after each person had, on average, eaten a second serving.

  Madam Phoebe was the one that eventually brought the tenser topics to the forefront.

  “Hey Sophia, just out of curiosity, what was that deal you agreed to help out with in exchange for those blades?”

  “Oh, it is just some relic of either some practical worth or just symbolic value, nothing much. I have seen a few like it before, not sure why this one would be harder to get than the other ones. Maybe it is in short supply somehow? Anyway, it is nothing too special, I feel. I am just waiting for the buyer to come pick it up, but they have been running late.”

  “Surely it can’t be something that mundane Madam Sophia”, Beatrice chimed in “Vastitian blades aren’t easy to come by. They rarely sell them to outsiders. Wont you please give us some extra details on what it is that you hold in your possession?”

  The Madam looked at Beatrice, then to me and then gave Madam Phoebe nasty look for a split second.

  “I suppose…it seems to be one of those…things? I don’t know the name for them, that are said to help you get into the ruins that Caligo is built upon. Not sure if any of it is true, but still, these aren’t so rare that the buyer from Vastitas couldn’t just get one without these round abound methods, I have seen a few within my lifetime already. “

  “Could they perhaps have burned some bridges with someone from Caligo that sells them more often?”, Beatrice inquired.

  “I couldn’t tell you. Still, even if we find them worthless, there is always someone that wants something that we can’t understand.“

  “Sophia, you may run into some problems with that item of yours”, said the priestess, from the opposite side of the table. “The documents needed to get cleared at the gate keep getting more demanding as the time of conflict threatens to draw near. For example, the man I have been seeing in jail in the hopes of facilitating his release was put there for such changes in the demands in documentation. Vastitas has never had the best relationship with everyone else, nor can they pass for Limani or Praelian citizens. You risk not being able to deliver that item for a very long time.”

  “Are you offering to help?”, replied the lady of the house.

  “If you request my assistance and if you notify me that the issue keeps troubling you, I could at least put in a word with the guards to say that we are expecting a visit from someone from that land.”

  “That would be a kindness, Lyra. Thank you for your support.”

  “Don’t concern yourself with it. Well, ladies, our meal seems to have ended, so let us say our prayers to give thanks for our meal”, the veiled lady remarked.

  “…Gia Kléos”, we said in unison, as the priestess wrapped up her final thanksgiving prayer.

  “I thank you all for the invitation. Beatrice, Aporia, you may stay a while longer after I leave.”

  The priestess paused.

  “I have to admit, your devotion to both your friends was quite touching. Please, never allow that part of yourselves be tarnished. In time, as you live out your lives, it will prove more valuable than you would think. Your prayers will shine all the brighter if they come from hearts such as yours.”

  “Thank you for your kind words, lady priestess”, acknowledged Beatrice.

  I hesitated for a moment before replying.

  “Lady priestess…thank you for showing genuine concern for Axios’s wellbeing. I doubt that many do. You…you are even more worthy of respect and admiration than I thought”.

  Oh God, I was so nervous and embarrassed saying this, but somehow the words kept flowing despite my awkwardness.

  “That is why…that is why I want to, with my own coin, to commission a painting of everyone in this room. To make sure that the people I care about will be immortalized in more than just my memory.”

  There!...I said it!

  I could feel everyone’s gazes pointed at me.

  Yet it was Madam Sophia and Madam Phoebe that suddenly broke the silence with their respective laughs.

  “Hahahahahahaha…aaaaaahhh…Aporia, that is so you. Really, a painting of all things? Not a bad idea girl!”, remarked Madam Sophia.

  “Hahahahahahaha…but if it is just the people in this room, you are going to be at least a couple of friends short. Make sure to drag them along to be painted as well.”, remarked Madam Phoebe.

  My face and ears felt like they were being cooked in an oven.

  “Aporia, sweetie, answer me a question”, I could hear the priestess say.

  “When we have our prayer sessions, do you pray for your own fortune?”

  “No, I can’t say I do. I pray that those around me are doing well. If they are well, I am also likely to be well, but their health and fortune are far more important than mine.”

  “I figured as much…my opinion of you seems to have been correct. Your figure as you pray is quite beautiful, young lady. And this is not empty praise, as I have seen many prayers in my lifetime.”

  The azure clad woman knelt, embraced me and kissed me on the forehead.

  “I will surely come to you for that painting, whenever you call for me.”

  “By the way, Beatrice. Your prayers are just about average. Try to follow my advise to reach Aporia’s level, will you?”, the priestess remarked.

  “I will take that advise to heart, lady priestess.”, Beatrice replied.

  “Ooooohhhh!!!!! Beatrice is a tiny bit jealous there, isn’t she?!”, Madam Phoebe hollered.

  “Oh shut up, Ma’am!” , my friend retorted.

  The three friends from the previous generation all laughed merrily and politely at that comeback.

  Less than an hour after the lady priestess had left the house, I started to think that it would be time for me to go back to the temple as well.

  “Beatrice, do you want to come with me back to the temple?”

  “I would, but it seems that my employer wants to talk to me about something. That and to be honest, I want to stay here a little longer myself.”

  Madam Phoebe rose up from her couch and came up to me.

  “Sorry Aporia, I will help you call for a guard to escort you back to the temple. Let’s go outside.”

  I hugged Madam Sophia and Beatrice goodbye and went outside with Madam Phoebe.

  Once we were out of the house and out of earshot, she said to me, as we walked around until we crossed the house gates.

  “I want to make sure the drink hasn’t affected her judgement and if it has, I want to sober her up. To make sure I don’t risk any of the concerns I mentioned before coming to pass because of any inebriation. Might as well try to subtly dissuade her from a few things while I have her here with me as well.”

  The pressed an object into my hand. Looking down, I saw that it was a gold coin whose insignia I did not recognize.

  “A present for a lovely evening, as well as an advanced payment to persuade you to help me with my concerns. There will be more if I continue to see that my fears do not come to pass.”

  Part of me wanted to protest a bit that she was asking me to spy on my friend, but I knew that it was in Beatrice’s best interests as well and I made no commitment with her about it, so my lips remained shut.

  Eventually we glanced upon a guard that was nearby and signalled him to come closer.

  “I recognize him. It is the guard that I mentioned earlier that has a thing for Beatrice. Oddly coincidental that he would hang around here at this hour, isn’t it?”, Madam Phoebe said.

  “Hey Darius! You want to escort Bea’s friend here back to the temple?!”, she said.

  “Bea’s friend? What happened to Bea herself?”, the boy replied?

  “Ah, she will be staying with us for the night. You won’t be seeing her again tonight. Anyway, her friend Aporia here needs to make it back to the temple safe and sound. You up for it?”

  “I suppose that it is within my duties, yes. Come along girl, I will make sure that nothing bothers you until we reach the temple’s grounds.”

  As I waved Madam Phoebe farewell, the two of us started our short journey.

  The streets still had some people hanging around and despite the late hour, there was good visibility, provided by a mix of the torches set up along the walls that outlined the perimeter of the houses, as well as the bright moonlight that was out tonight.

  Eventually we went up the small hill where the temple was situated and we finally made our way into the plaza which had the temple as its only structure, at the centre.

  “This should be far enough, I think. Well, it was a pleasure meeting you Aporia…also, can you do me a favour and tell Bea that I was the one that walked you back?”

  “Will do, thank you for the assistance”, I said, as I gave him a full smile.

  The young man seemed pleased with the result and walked back in the opposite direction from where we had come.

  The plaza was dimly lit, save for the light of the moon. There were no torches providing illumination here.

  As I walked, I spotted someone near the edge of the plaza. It was maybe my eyes not being that great in this darkness, but it was hard to spot the person.

  I decided to walk closer to see if it was one of the kids that lived in the temple with me.

  The closer I got, the more I could understand that my eyes were playing tricks on me. The person almost appeared to not be there. They looked like an ethereal ghost, or perhaps a shape that you would dimly see through a fogged-up glass lens.

  I soon realized that their tunic was not like the normal ones. It was longer than normal and it didn’t show their arms either.

  It was Kenos.

  The moonlight and the darkness of the night were playing tricks on my vision.

  His black hair melded with the darkness and the pure white all encompassing garb was so much like the moonlight shining down on it that it almost seemed to melt into it.

  From this distance I couldn’t see his face clearly still. I was about to call to him, but before I could, I could feel an uncomfortable pressure washing over me.

  He had turned to look at me. My intuition was telling me so.

  I wanted to take this opportunity to talk to him. I had been meaning to for a while now.

  Somehow I felt even more uncomfortable. Like his stare was filled with ill intent.

  I must have just been nervous from walking alone. This feeling was probably just some stress related response.

  “Hey Kenos!”,I called out.

  He walked off, soon to melt into the darkness and moonlight and at this distance, I couldn’t be sure where exactly he was.

  Feeling a bit downcast that someone that I cared for had made such an overt way to avoid me, I walked towards the temple, was ushered in by the doorman, made my way through the stairs and corridors, opened the door to my room, got into my bed and went to sleep.