The next morning, I woke up earlier than usual, to make up for yesterday’s absence at the prayer. Ezra dressed me in my ceremonial sash, hood and circlet. After breakfast, I set out to meet the Queen and accompany her to the Palace Chapel.

The Queen’s chambers were always situated at the eastern side of the Palace, so the High Priestess could welcome the Mother’s dawn each morning. The sun was only beginning to rise from beyond the Eatern Ridge Mountains, and with nothing to do while I waited for my mother to emerge from her chambers, I sat myself on the bench and watched the sun crest the peaks, golden and imperious. It had only just fully lifted into the sky, when a maid opened the door and the Queen stepped into the hall.

I made a move to stand up and bow my head to her politely.

“May the Mother have mercy on you, Allia. You are up and early.”

“May the Mother have mercy.” I returned, and straightened. My mother’s fully blue hood lightly billowed as she approached me. It was made of the softest silks, and with the sapphire encrusted circlet to finish her look, she was the image of beauty and serenity.

“I am making up for yesterday’s absence.”

The Queen nodded approvingly. “Follow me to the Chapel then. You may help me set up.”

We walked in silence. My mother, then me, and two maids in tow. Servants bowed and paused their work to offer prayers and thanks to the High Priestess. The sun rose and rose, but I knew we still had plenty of time before the ceremony.

Once out into the yard behind the Palace, the Chapel was not easy to miss. A large statue of the Goddess and her Angels was carved into its stone walls, so anyone who approached could ask forgiveness for their sins before they entered the holy grounds. I’d read that the face of it was modeled after one of the ancient Queens of Ellister, which was, of course, hubris. No woman’s face could come to look as perfect as the Goddesses. That year, the narcissistic Queen had fallen ill to the swine pox, and her face was ruined by blemishes. The next morning, as she headed in for prayer, she wept before the statue, unable to bear how ugly she had become.

I looked up at it now. It’s expression was hard to read. It was… serene. Was it smiling? Or simply content? Was she secretly enraged? Or perhaps sorrowful? It was as if its image would shift in the eye of the beholder, depending on what sins or virtues they’ve committed.

As I stood behind my mother now, hands clasped and head bowed, I wonder what she thought of me. What fate had she in store for me? What journey? Did she send the Ghoul last night, or are the Ghouls not her creations?

I kept pondering these questions as the door of the Chapel swung open, and I followed the High Priestess within.

The building was dim and cool, like a cellar. Some people had already filled the rows of seats, quietly praying or talking to those around them.

As they caught sight of my mother, servant and highborn alike quietened, bowing their heads in reverence. It felt good to know that when I stood behind her, no one was looking at me. I could blend in, as though I was just my mother’s white shadow.

We finally arrived at the altar at the front, adorned with tapestries of different myths and legends. The Mother watching over an abandoned child in the woods, who would later grow up to be the First King of Ellister. Her again, helping build the Kingdom, and sending rains over its crops in time of famine. These tapestries were newer, and in them, the Goddess was a calm and caring deity, but on some of the older walls of the Chapel, you could see a different side of her, protecting soldiers in battles, and even sending plight over the enemies of Ellister. Mothers are scary when their children are threatened, afterall. The newest piece, however, held the images of Ghouls in them, and the Mother holding her hands protectively above the people, as her angels drove them out.

Will she protect us this time as well?

The altar looked wonderful, highly decorated with silver, the Mother’s favourite metal. Fruits and wheat were laid upon it, offerings and thanks for good harvests, and perhaps pleas for a milder winter. But it was not the centerpiece of the building.

I lifted my eyes upwards. On the wall behind the altar was a wonderful artwork by Laerses, a master painter long dead. A massive mural of the Goddess Mother, and the moment she created the world. Her eyes closed, she held her hands above her head. Between them, was a small hole in the wall of the Chapel.

“Allia, we are about to begin.”

I blinked. My mother was already standing at the altar, kneeling for prayer. I must have fallen behind while admiring the works. People were looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to take my place. I took my skirts in one hand and walked forward, mindful of my pace and careful not to trip in the morning darkness. I knelt slowly on the velvet pillow, mindful to keep my circlet from slipping.

“May the Mother have mercy on us.” the Queen spoke, loud enough for all to hear, but not shouting either. I, and everyone else, echoed her words.

“May we thank her for giving us another day.” my mother continued to speak, and we would all repeat after her our thanks. I kept my head angled downwards, but couldn’t help but take peaks above.

In front of the hole between the Mother’s hands was a beautiful lattice of strings and mirrors. They were arranged to look like petals, or perhaps butterflies, fluttering in the wind. My mother led us through the prayer, and I eagerly watched as she reached the end of it.

Finally she stood up, and lifted her hands up to mirror the Mother’s.

“May the Mother-!”

The doors of the Chapel burst open, interrupting her. A figure entered.

At the very same moment, the beam of light from between the Goddess’ hands, that had been slowly traveling along the floor of the Chapel, finally made its way to the latticework above our heads.

Millions of tiny particles of light erupted from overhead. They fell onto the walls, the people, myself, and illuminated the Chapel from within. People turned to gaze as the light became brighter and brighter, until, even though the Chapel was windowless, it looked as bright as day within.

The light fell on the intruder, and lit up her beautiful, youthful face. I let out a breath of awe.

It is as though the Mother herself has graced us with her presence.

Everyone turned to look at the Priestess who’d stood in the doorway. Her jade eyes shifted from left to right, and as it dawned upon her that she had just interrupted the High Priestess, my mother, at the most important part of the prayer, I saw her face pale.

She bowed her head, covering her face with the side of her hood, which had only a couple of blue stripes on it, and darted into the remote corners of the room.

I turned to watch the Queen. A flash of fury passed her aging eyes, before it was cooled into a light indifference.

She was the only Priestess in the Palace. Until that stranger walked in.

I wonder who she is.

The morning prayer finished, everyone had begun to disperse. I watched my mother step off the dais and take long strides towards the exit, her maids hurrying after her. She wouldn’t be in a good mood for the rest of the day, I reckoned.

Time to find the cause of that.

I raised onto my tiptoes and began searching the crowd of people who began to pile out of the Chapel. Between the rows of robed men and women, I knew exactly what to look for.

There is that hood!

I didn’t wait for the congregation to disperse before I stepped off the dais and weaved between the people to the back of the Chapel. In it’s darker retreats, usually where those who came late positioned themselves, on the small wooden bench sat the hooded figure.

The woman held her head in her hands, and I took care when approaching not to spook her.

“May the Mother have mercy on us, Priestess..” I pushed out gently.

Her face lifted up, and I once again saw her radiant eyes. The colours of the underside of leaves when light pours from above onto them. She looked at me with distress, before smiling weakly.

“Priestess Brienne, and you are Acolyte?” she searched my face, but I saw she had not meant it as a slight.

“Princess Allia.”

Her eyes widened as I said this, and she immediately dropped her head.

“Your Highness-“ she exclaimed.

“Shh, shh! It is alright.” I sat myself beside her, arranging my robe carefully underneath. The bench creaked, but held.

“I am so sorry, Your Highness. I didn’t know! Your- your hood, I thought the High Priestess had finally taken in a student, I am so sorry.”

She shook her head, gluing her eyes to the floor.

Perhaps I should’ve let her think I was just an acolyte afterall…

“Nevermind that, Priestess Brienne. I have taken no offence.” The few people who remained watched the scene unfold. I could not let this poor girl embarrass herself further. It was clear she was not a part of the court. It’s best I’d take her somewhere more private.

“How would you like me to show you around the gardens?”

She lifted her head at the question, looking lost.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I’m afraid I’d been sent to see the Queen urgently. Although…” she winced. “I’m not sure how much she’d want to see me after what happened earlier. Oh, I’d made such a fool of myself!” She covered her face again.

This won’t do.

I clasped her hand and stood up.

“Come, Brienne. Take a walk with me, and tell me what’s been troubling you. I will make sure to relate it to Her Ma- the High Priestess,”

The young Priestess reluctantly obliged, and soon, we were walking out of the cool of the Chapel into the radiant morning sun.

We walked in silence towards the gardens, and I kept eyeing her discreetly. The girl looked even more graceful once she stood in the light. Her hair was of the lightest shades blondes, and her cheeks sat high on her face, as if lovingly carved by the angels.

Her parents must have regretted sending her into priesthood.

We crossed the stone path into the shade of trees and tall rose bushes, and once within the privacy of the shrubs, we continued conversing.

“So, Priestess Brienne, what brings you to the Palace?”

She glanced at me, clearly distressed, and then nearly burst into tears.

“Something attacked our village last night. I am from the western village of Sier, by the Fleir river. I was awoken in the middle of the night. We were all gathered in the Church, and then Priestess Ilana, the Priestess of Sier, walks in and tells us that Freya’s husband has disappeared, and we were all to sit together in the Church, lest anyone else disappeared.”

Disappeared? No one just disappears.

The Priestess continued her tale. “Freya walked in later, with her babe in her hands, and she was shaken to the core. She… she kept saying the same word over and over, while rocking her boy.”

Brienne’s terrified eyes pierced mine. In the mellow morning breeze, surrounded by rose bushes and willow trees, she whispered the most horrid thing.

“Ghoul, she kept saying. Ghoul, Ghoul, it was a Ghoul. And then she shut up and refused to speak again.”

My body froze. I couldn’t see much for a moment. Ezra’s words echoed through my head. ‘Unless the King gives your hand in marriage to his eldest son, the Ghouls would not stop coming.’

“Your Highness?”

“Huh?” I looked up at the source of the voice and saw Brienne again. She looked down at me with concern.

I need to get myself together. This girl has had a terrible night, and here I am, acting like a frightened lamb. Sier is more than a few leagues away. She must have ridden here through the early hours of morning, from before the sun had risen.

I looked at the edges of her white robes. Indeed, there was mud on there, still wet.

“I am so sorry, Priestess Brienne. That sounds awful. I will do all I can to aid you, but… Why have they sent you to deliver the news?”

She shook her head. “They’d sent a runner boy ahead of me, but…” she sighed. “The people looked so scared as they huddled in the sacred grounds. They prayed to the Mother, some even wailed that she had forsaken us by letting this… the beast attack us. Everyone looked so lost, and no matter what Priestess Ilana said, they’re fears did not leave them. I…” she looked at the ground, as if it held some comfort. “I was hoping that perhaps the High Priestess would deign to come to Sier to bless our streets again, and ask the Mother for protection against the Ghouls. I’m afraid no one will come out of their houses today, or the day after, unless their mind’s monsters are quelled, but… well that seems unlikely now.”

The impression of a scared, clumsy girl was suddenly replaced by an image of a brave young woman. I couldn’t help but feel awe at her courage. To ride out, in the middle of the night, knowing that the Ghoul could still be out there, for the small shot at offering her people an ounce of comfort…

I had to find a way to help her.

I took her hand into mine and looked her in the eye.

“Priestess, I will do all I can to make sure your people get all the help they need. I am aware you must be exhausted. Did you get here by carriage?”

Her eyes lit up with hope. She shook her head. “My parents have taught me how to ride a horse when I was a child. The mare is in the stables.”

By the Mother…

“Come, I will arrange for the servants to take care of you. Get all the respite you can, and do not hesitate to ask them for anything you may need. Leave all the rest to me.”

I then grasped her hand and began leading her towards the Palace. The walls of shrub and rose bushes finally fell away from us, and we stepped onto the path leading towards the Palace side entrance.