Chapter 6: The Temple

May looked at her reflection in the large mirror. Nice. The clothes were beautiful, the long hair she now had was pretty, but also very bothersome. She was nearly strangled by it in the night. After she confirmed that she was looking quite presentable, and for the most part unnoticeable she hurried to the castle gates. Surprisingly, she hadn’t gotten lost - perhaps she was slowly learning her way around here. She grimaced at the thought…

 

May spotted a young man looking around nervously waiting by the gates of the palace. Rather a boy than a man. He looked like he was her age. He was dressed in warrior attire, but without a chain mail �" his clothing consisted mostly of leather dyed black. Even though it was spring and the days were warm, he wore a furry coat on his shoulders. He was armed with a sword, which hung from his hip. His face was round, rather boyish, but quite handsome. He had honest brown eyes and his blonde hair hanging loosely and reaching his shoulders. May thought, that he must be that bodyguard, her fake father had told her would meet her at the gates today to accompany her to the temple. The girl was opposed to the idea of dragging some stranger with herself while looking for clues, but at least one boy was better than the whole lot of the Viking-look-a-likes trailing behind her. She decided to say greet the guy, who would have to put up with her for god knows how long.

 

“Hello. Are you my bodyguard?” May asked him politely, trying to sound casual �" talks with the members of the opposite sex were never her strength and were making her feel awkward.

 

The boy blushed and got even more nervous, obviously he was much more nervous than she was.

 

“Lady Maewyn?” he asked unsurely. May nodded.

 

“Yes. It’s me. And you are…”

 

“Levi from the Agnar family,” he answered immediately. “I have been honored with the task of looking after your safety.”

 

May smirked a little at the chivalrous nature of the boy. Somehow Levi’s nervous behavior made May feel more confident, wanting to befriend him. She might as well if she had to take him along with her while she went to the temple daily.

 

“I can call you Levi, right? Come on, don’t fall behind!” May called to him as she already set off down the ramp, eager to continue her library research as soon as possible. Levi trailed behind her like a puppy behind his master. Apparently the boy was both slightly scared and thrilled by being entrusted with the task of protecting the Duke’s daughter.

 

As they walked across the village, May thought that it would be a good idea to ask the young warrior about this world. She knew some things from the books in the castle library, but Levi would surely tell her something from a real person’s point of view. Besides, it would be smart to develop some friendly relations between them if she was to spend at least half of her time in his company. Not that May had much experience when it came to befriending people…

 

“Levi, are there a lot of dangers outside the castle?” she asked, observing the boy’s face as it slowly turned red, when Levi began focusing his gaze on his feet.

 

“Umm, yes. The dukes are warring with each other, so there are the enemy’s armies, robbers in the forests and demons waiting to devour unlucky travelers.” Levi replied, before adding hastily. “Your Ladyship.”

 

“Demons?” May laughed, ignoring the title. Levi’s answer amused her, making her forget about the awkwardness. God, the boy is as superstitious as the old professor Hatchets.

 

“Have you ever seen a demon?” she asked with a mocking tone.

 

“No, but I’ve heard stories about them!” he exclaimed, ready to defend himself. “And their favorite foods are little children and Ladies.”

 

“I don’t believe you,” May stated, laughing slightly, folding her arms and nodding to herself. “Demons exist only in people’s imagination silly.”

 

“Don’t say such things because you will be spirited away by one, Lady,” Levi warned her in a very serious tone. “Those matters are not ones to be joked with.”

 

“Why the heck would a demon want to kidnap me?” May said rolling her eyes.

 

The girl smiled to herself and with a certain dose of surprise and discovered, that she was actually having fun bantering with Levi. She hadn’t had that long of a conversation with a peer since grade school and she didn’t expect to get along with her new bodyguard that easily. She thought, that having to take the young warrior to the temple would be a pain, but Levi turned out to be a good companion He was a little bit too Mr. Nobility for her, when he kept insisting that he would protect her anytime, but overall he was seemed like good friend material.

 

They finally reached the temple, as it was a thirty minute walk from the castle, on the outskirts of the farmers’ settlement beneath the stronghold’s walls. The temple building was small and unkempt, giving off the feelings as if it was about to collapse anytime. In front of the humble wooden construction was a rather ugly-looking statue of a pregnant woman embracing her huge belly, while smiling. May guessed that the smile ought to be gentle and loving, but the meager skill of the sculptor made it look rather gruesome. The peeling golden paint was reflecting the sun’s rays.

 

“Goddess Illiana, the mother of us all. It is believed, that the world is a round egg, which comes from her womb. She is the creator of all life and we worship her in return for guidance and grace,” Levi said quietly, seeing, that May was staring at the statue. He shook his head. “How foolish of me. A Lady must know more about the religion of the goddess more than me.”

 

 May didn’t say anything, but cast one last quizzical look at the statue and entered the temple with Levi following her.

 

“Hello?” May called, looking around the large empty room with the exception of another large wooden statue of Illiana painted golden in the back of the room, where incense had been placed, creating a slightly hazy atmosphere to the whole place, The floor was dusty and rather dirty. The temple desperately needed some cleaning �" it was hard to believe, that a place of cult could be that unkempt. Then May noticed a fat man lying in the corner and snoring quietly. She walked up to him cautiously, Levi right behind her. She leaned over the priest and poked him gently. He snored louder, letting out a noise resembling a thunder. May gently grabbed his shoulders and shook him. The priest’s eyes snapped open and he yelled.

 

“What the hell are you doing, stupid girl?!” he yelled. May opened the mouth to talk back, but Levi was faster. He swiftly drew his sword and pointed the tip of the blade at the monk’s throat.

 

“Be respectful while talking to the royalty. This honorable woman is Lady Maewyn, the daughter of the great Duke… “

 

“Okay, okay,” May answered abashedly and she gave Levi her most threatening look. “put down the sword, Levi, And skip the introduction.”

 

“So you are the Lady?” the priest asked, glancing nervously at the young warrior. “You are different from what I’ve heard about you. I didn’t expect a Lady to well… I expected something different, at least.” He said, wiping some drool away from his mouth, and scratching his head.

 

“I’ll be coming here daily from now on,” May informed the priest.

 

The old man arched an eyebrow, confused by the awkward statement. The girl sighed mentally �" she needed to get information from the priest about the damn cursed mirrors if she ever wanted to see Baltimore again. It would be the best if there were no witnesses to tell her fake father, that she wasn’t going to pray in the temple. She looked at her companion. As friendly and nice as Levi was, she had to get rid of him, so that she could have enough time to do some research. She smiled at him, feeling horrible for taking advantage of her current status and the young warrior’s nervousness. “Levi, could you clean the temple in the meantime?”

 

He looked slightly shocked by the Lady’s request but hesitantly nodded his head. May waited till the surprised young warrior got equipped with a broomstick and the priest shoved him outside so that Levi would sweep the entire courtyard. Once the old man returned, he bowed before the girl.

 

“What could I, your humble servant, do for you, Lady?” he asked.

 

May bit her lower lip, considering whether she should tell him straightforwardly, what she was looking for. Sighing, she decided to take a risk hoping it wasn’t going to end up with a loss of a body part.

 

“Actually, I was hoping you could help me with something. I am looking for some information on mirrors. Magical ones,” May said, feeling like an idiot for saying something that stupid. She quickly devised a fake reason for her research. “I just heard one of the legends recently and have become interested.”

 

However, much to her surprise, the priest didn’t treat her as though she just spurted some nonsense �" he seemed to be startled by the request, but still serious.

 

“Mirrors, you say?” the priest asked, looking baffled. “I expected you to be wanting to pray, Lady. Never mind, I should have some scrolls about magical items, so I think, that I’ll satisfy your curiosity.”

 

The priest led May to the room, which served as a library. She winced, seeing the numerous scrolls drowned in dust, somewhat reminding her of the Professor Hatchets’ basement, causing an uncomfortable swelling in her chest, she missed the old couple. The dark chamber was awfully messy, but the temple’s keeper seemed to know exactly, where everything was. He climbed up a  ladder that was connected to an old book self, tossing the fragile scrolls into the girl’s hands, not caring, that she was supposedly the duke’s daughter and should perhaps show some more respect. May smiled, liking the old man more and more.

 

May was quickly skimming over the yellowing scrolls, coughing because of the dust, that kept getting into her lungs. Most of them had sketches inside, but she saw nothing similiar to the mirror, which was to blame for transporting her to the Callesmere Empire.

 

“Only two left, Lady!” the priest shouted to her and tossed another scroll without even looking what he was doing. The scroll hit May squarely in the forehead. The girl moaned from the pain, clutching the aching spot. She glared at the priest, who just nearly had her knocked down, and bent to get the scroll. She unrolled it and gasped.

 

The sketch inside was depicting a pair of mirrors, that were precisely the same as the cursed mirror, which got her into the trouble, �" the characteristic pentagonal shape, plain wooden frame and the tiny markings. May unrolled the scroll and began to read the text frantically, but she didn’t understand a thing, as it was written in some weird foreign language.

 Anam lanna Scathain”. The girl flinched, when she heard the priest’s voice. She hadn’t noticed, when the man climbed down the ladder and was looking at the scroll over her shoulder. May gazed at the priest.

 

“You know what it says?”

 

The man furrowed his brows and took the scroll out of her hands. He squinted his eyes and began moving his lips soundlessly. Finally he turned his attention to May.

 

“Unfortunately I can understand only tiny bits. Anam lanna Scathain… I think it means something like mirror switch… soul switch… mirror and soul switch… I am not sure. There is a large part, where the word “dhoras” is mentioned. I believe that it means door or rather portal. A door to the other world,” he said slowly May’s eyes brightened at the sound of the words ‘other world’ �" that definitely sounded like something that could get her home.

 

“A portal,” she repeated, not really realizing, that she said it aloud. The priest arched his eyebrow, looking suspiciously at her.

 

“So you are interested in the portal, Lady,” He muttered, smiling slightly. May froze, feeling, that a little slip of the tongue could cause her trouble, but the old man didn’t seem to be a threat. He sighed.

 

“If you are, you found the right scroll, there’s definitely a lot of information of portals in here However, it is written in the  old language of these lands. It’s forbidden to use it, as it’s said to be the language of the evil ones. There are not many, who could read that, but my acquaintance should be able to translate it.”

 

May became intrigued. A forbidden evil language?

 

“Why is the language forbidden?” she asked, curious. The priest cleared his throat.

 

“Most people don’t know it, but we’re not the native inhabitants of this land. The oldest scrolls say, that we came from across the sea in great ships and claimed this land, we now call the Callesmere Empire. Before our ancestors moved here, over a thousand years ago, there were others living here, they still live here actually. They used the language, the scroll is written in, but now even they have begun to forget their native language,” the priest explained to the mesmerized May.

 

“Who are they?” she asked with a curious gleam in her eye. Suddenly the man’s face became solemn.

 

“Don’t ask about them, Lady. It brings bad luck.” He warned. “Pray, that you won’t ever meet any of them.”

 

May felt a shiver go down her spine. Apparently the Callesmere Empire had a darker side as well. She wanted to ask more about the mysterious fog, but she had the impression, the priest wouldn’t answer them anyway. She decided to change the topic.

 

“Could your acquaintance translate the scroll for me?” she asked. The priest nodded.

 

“I’ll send a messenger to him right away. He’ll translate the scroll in no time. I think, that the translation should be back in few days.” He said, making hope return to May’s heart.

 

“Thank you.” She said with a grateful smile on her lips.

 

She really hoped, that the scroll would have some information on how to get back home. If there really existed some other portal or another way to get home … she would be saved. She was about to leave the temple and head back to the castle, but there was one more thing, that was bugging her. She glanced  back at the priest, who had begun to wrap up the scrolls that had been tossed around the room “I’m just curious… how does your acquaintance know the language of those… people?”

           

The priest stiffened, before giving a small smile.

 

“She’s a very knowledgeable scholar,” he said. Before May had the chance to say something, he lifted his finger to his lips. “But it’s a secret between you and me, Lady. If the people from the castle found out, I’d be in trouble, just like you, if they find out, that you’re not praying.”

 

May knitted her eyebrows.

 

Was that a blackmail?

 

The corpulent priest grinned widely.

 

            “Lady,” the fat man addressed her. “You’re welcome to come whenever you want. I would love to have my temple cleaned by your bodyguard and you would use a little freedom, wouldn’t you?”

 

 “Sure,” May replied, making a deal with the priest.

 

Reviews

[Christopher Angel]

Other than several grammatical mistakes, I liked this chapter very much. You moved the story ahead quite effortlessly and I think I'm beginning to see all the dangling threads start connecting. You still tend to over describe certain things but on the whole, May is really coming into her own and Eren is a curious yet welcomed addition to the cast. Levi is still as superfluous as always but I believe that should change. As with your first chapter, I thought I was in for a really long read but I was hooked from the get-go and actually felt sad when it ended. You tease you!

[Gosia]

About the descriptions, I was worried that I tend to include oo much details and it turns out, that male readers agree with that whereas female ones think that the descriptions should be even more thorough. So, I'm a bit confused about that. As for the calm before storm in the Dead Lands, you're dealing with the same situation here ;-)

[Christopher Angel]

That's a strange analysis, that both sexes would vary in their preference so much. Perhaps it's not how long the descriptions are but how you describe the situation. I love the calms before the storms. It makes for good story telling!

[JR Darewood]

The part with the boy was very touching!

[Gosia]

Thanks for reviewing. May I ask you how are your first impressions on the characters? And perhaps predictions for the story? (I love hearing what readers think about the possible future events).

[JR Darewood]

Well the boy seems like someone important in his own dukedom if he's got that pendant. May is pretty straightforward, she acts more than she thinks, the guard strikes me as a potential love interest that will help her escape when she has to flee her arranged mairrage, and the priest is probably friends with the bird people.

[Gosia]

Let's see. You're kind of right about the boy (but not exacly), you're wrong about the priest (but he has conacts with some shady people) and absolutely wrong about the rest. Have fun reading the next chapters and mention your predictions from time to time (I love reading those).