Chapter Twelve: A Woman's Heart

{Excerpt}

The Band of the Six was the decisive spiritual force in the history of Udoris before the advent of the great war. Alone, it was the major religion accepted by all the Twelve kingdoms that existed before the war.

It traces its history several centuries back, witnessing the birth and collapse of numerous kingdoms and empires. Over centuries, it developed a highly sophisticated theology and an elaborate organizational structure headed by the papacy, the oldest continuing absolute monarchy in the ancient world.

These incontestable statistical and historical facts suggest that some understanding of the religion of the Six—its history, its institutional structure, its beliefs and practices, and its place in the world—is an indispensable component of cultural literacy, regardless of how one may individually answer the ultimate questions of life, death and faith. Without a grasp of what the religion of the Six was, it is difficult to make historical sense of Udoris.

How did the Great war result in the schism of the Udorian states? Was the collapse of The Church's absolute Monarchy inevitable? Conversely, such questions are essential to the definition of the faith of the Six itself.

Like any intricate and ancient phenomenon, The Band of the Six can be described and interpreted from a variety of perspectives and by several methodologies. Thus the Band itself is a complex institution, for which the usual diagram of a pyramid, extending from the Grand at the apex to the believers in the Laity, is vastly oversimplified.

As the first true world religion, The Band of the Six encompasses, within the range of its multicoloured life, features of many other world faiths; thus only the methodology of comparative religion can address them all.

Nevertheless, a historical approach is especially appropriate to this task. Not only because almost a millennia of history is represented in the Church, but also because the hypothesis of its continuity with the past, and the divine truth embodied in that continuity, are central to the church's understanding of itself and essential to the justification of its authority.

...

- Excerpt from Jonas Diane fourth book on Udorian powers- 'Religious Fallacies'

{END}

"I desire very little, but the things I do consume me."

-Beau Taplin

The Strega,

Maidenpool territory, Alvia province,

Algrim.

21.13.223. ST

...

"Do we have an agreement?"

"Yes." With a sigh, Aden nodded.

Standing on the deck of a brig tacking its way upwind against the Strega's flow. The duke became lost in thought as he stared at the river's gurgling flux, ebbing every once in a while along the vessel's serpentine path.

"Do not look so depressed," standing by his side, Vaiu giggled softly, "you are making it seem like I am taking advantage of you."

Aden turned to look at her, his left brow crooked in a glare.

"Ok, maybe a little." The woman smirked to herself.

Turning back, Aden shook his head in self-depreciation.

"I will relay your request to the queen as soon as we make landfall at Pyrga. We should arrive shortly before the Strega freezes over. Hopefully."

"Thank you."

A pause.

"I understand your interest in the Orlandos," Aden said. He turned his gaze to the Matriarch, "But, I do not understand the Creed's fixation with my son. Care to explain?"

"It is nothing serious, so do not worry about it."

"I am not worrying," Aden said, turning back to the river. "I know I cannot stop you if you decide to pry. I am just trying to remind you whose blood you are dealing with."

"He will be fine, I promise," Vaiu assured.

Aden fell silent, preferring to contemplatively watch the river bob along.

~~~

At the Quays,

Maidenpool.

...

Sitting on horseback, Lovell gazed blankly ahead.

She watched, seemingly lost in thought, as a handful of ships moored to the piers wobbled rhythmically to the river's subtle flow.

Consumed by her thoughts, Lovell failed to notice a gaze trained on her.

The princess guided her steed beside Lovell's, stopping parallel to the young arch-priestess.

"Hello," she said warmly.

Glancing sideways, Lovell finally noticed Iris. The arch-priestess said nothing, turning back. Promptly ignoring her.

"You know, even if my title no longer holds any real authority, it is still rude to just ignore me like that," Iris sighed.

"What do you want?" Lovell asked blandly.

"Nothing really. I am just bored." Iris replied, her eyelids drooping as she joined Lovell to stare at the river.

"That is just a phase in life, princess. With time you will learn to ignore it."

Iris shook her head, amused.

"You are an intriguing person... Priestess? Why don't you tell me something about yourself,"

Lovell glanced sideways with a raised brow.

"Something else then?"

"I am under no obligation to tell you anything, princess."

Giggling, Iris raised her hands in surrender.

"Ok, Ok. Fine, I would try not to pry. Tsk, you are such a bore."

Silence.

The whistling autumn wind. The warbling cry of a lone bird.

A minute passed solemnly.

"Do you want to hear a story?" Iris asked, suddenly breaking the silence.

"..."

"Years ago, when I was much younger," Iris said, taking Lovell's silence for approval, "my father once told me,

"'The true meaning of freedom and of power is dependent on perspective. The ability to be true to one's fear and beliefs is veristic freedom. The power to subjugate another means the responsibility of liberating them of their freedom and dictating their destinies. The meaning of truth and justice are also relative, a contradiction of their own core interpretations. But they will always prevail as whoever prevails becomes truth and justice. These are the facts of the world, of the old ways and of the kings before me! Do well to remember these words, my child, and remain enlightened.'

"Back then, I did not understand why he said these words to me. Or even what he meant to be honest."

Lovell glanced at Iris and saw a very complex emotion suffusing her gaze.

"He knew," Lovell said, looking away. "He foresaw a day like this would someday come to pass."

Iris nodded faintly.

"He was never free, my father. Despite being the king, he was forced by his identity to hide his fears. He had the power to repress the naysayers who opposed and undermined his ideologies but refused for the sake of maintaining the delicate balance and preserving peace. But the tales of the old remained true; It is in man's nature to remain relentless in the pursuit of strife.

"Now that I think about it," She said with a sigh, "I question it all. The point behind the whole charade that is the crown."

"Do not question your own identity, princess," Lovell replied blandly, "That is an unhealthy thing to do. As I said, these feelings are just phases. With time, you will learn to ignore them."

"You seem well versed on this topic," Iris said with a small smile and a crooked brow. Gradually, the depressed edge in her gaze was temporarily repressed.

A pause.

"Maybe? Who knows..." Iris chuckled suddenly, shaking her head.

Lovell did not respond. Instead, she returned a calm gaze to the pier.

Recalling. Memories resurfacing from the depths of her mind.

{Flashback}

A year ago

Greenfield Duchy, Souville province

...

A busy marketplace.

By the roadside stood a young lady. Her face, possibly a once enthralling visage appeared haggard and was smudged with dirt. Her hair and cotton dress were unwashed and unkempt, with a plant matter clinging to the birds' nest on her head and her clothes bearing all manners of unmended tears. Her sickly pale skin peeked through from underneath.

The girl watched the passing crowd with dead, hollow eyes and sunken cheeks. It was clear she was slowly starving to death, but still, she watched warily with a subtle, almost feral look in her eyes. Many avoided her like a plague due to this.

She walked down the road, her eyes darting around. In unease. Hunger. Suspicion.

In fear.

Then she froze. A smell.

She sniffed. She sniffed again.

She INHALED.

A smell. A warm aroma. An inviting fragrance.

Her gaze swivelled towards the source. A bakery.

She stared with a longing expression, subconsciously reaching into her dress for some coin. She came up empty.

With a despondent sigh, she let her hand fall to her side and turned to leave.

But suddenly, she noticed a shadow looming. A person stood in her path, staring strangely at her.

A young man around her age stood gazing down contemplatively at her. He was somewhat tall, taller than her at least. Handsome, yes. Very handsome. And frail.

You could describe him as delicate in fact.

"You do not look like you are from around here. Are you lost?" the young man asked, cocking his head sideways. His wavy obsidian locks fell aside with the motion. His words snapped her out of her shock-induced trance.

Her gaze turned wary. She backed off, creating distance between them. Subtly, her hand reached into her clothing to grasp a wooden stake sharpened to a point.

The boy stared a bit more before turning to look at the bakery. He looked back at her after a brief moment.

"You are hungry?" he asked.

She levelled him a bland look.

Seeming to arrive at a conclusion, he reached into his coat with a sigh, inadvertently causing her to flinch. Her grip on the stake tightened, her knuckles somehow whitening even more than they already were.

After a brief search, he pulled out a small pouch and started counting out some copper before glancing back at her. His face scrunched for several moments in thought. Then he sighed again, resolutely stuffing it all back in whilst looking over his shoulder as if trying to avoid getting caught.

When he was certain no one was watching, he tossed the little pouch at her with a faint smile. Surprised, she caught the bag somewhat clumsily.

"Do not spend it all at once," he said in a whispering tone. "That is all my money. I do not have any more, and that miserly Robert probably would not give me any more until the month ends."

He paused, his gaze scanning her before tactless adding. "Oh, and try to get a bath at the inn. And probably buy a new dress and a pair of shoes too, those need to be changed."

She was dazed.

"Please stop," She called shakily, noticing he was about to leave.

"Why?" she croaked in a hoarse voice.

"Hmm?" He hummed, seeming genuinely puzzled about her question.

"Why would you help me?" She asked again.

"Why not?" the young man said dismissively. "The money is not so important that I would hoard it when someone else clearly needs it more than I do.

"And I am certain that you need it more than me, given your current condition."

"J-just that?" she stammered. "You do not even know me."

"Oh right! Pardon, that is indeed rude of me," he said apologetically. "What is your name, miss?"

"L-Lovell," she replied, still in a dazed.

"I am Levi. Take care of yourself, miss Lovell. I will be going now."

He bid farewell, hurriedly proceeding towards his original destination, leaving her in her daze.

A few seconds later Lovell finally broke free of her stupor to discover that the young man was gone. Her gaze frantically searched the crowd before she managed by a stroke of luck to see his figure disappear around a bend.

She ran despite her, unstable footing, after his profile but, the distance never ever seemed to shorten in the slightest. She continued until she finally saw him enter a noble residence. A fort actually, one that was still under construction.

She stopped a distance away and just stared. She was under no illusion that she could go in given her current appearance.

Barely hesitating, she turned to a vendor selling walnuts by the side.

"Excuse me, do you know the young sir residing there, the one who just entered?" Lovell asked, removing a single copper Tehs from the pouch given to her just now.

The vendor had begun to shoo her away when he heard her talking to him. Well, that was until he saw the money she was discreetly sliding towards him.

He swallowed what he was about to spout from his mouth before flashing a warm smile. Derision tinted her gaze.

'People,' Lovell thought disgusted.

A Copper Tehs was more than the amount of money he earns in a day. Given his apparent money-grubbing disposition, he was not planning on refusing her money as his attitude suddenly became more amiable.

It was not Lovell's generosity but the fact that there was not any coin of lower denominations in the pouch. She knew that the vendor most probably would not earn more than a few dozen iron Lins in a day but, she had no choice since that young man only left a bunch of copper Tehs with a few silver Thales in the pouch.

A defenceless young lady having so much money was enough to evoke the greed of others, a fact she was well acquainted with. But right at this moment, she could not care less about such 'minor' details and was only interested in finding out about her benefactor.

Slapping his meaty palm on the coin, he exclaimed. "How can one not know of sir Levi! The young man who just entered is the second son of Lord Aden von Griefenburg! The duke of Greenfields and viceroy of Souville province."

"Who does not know of sir Levi? Is she a visitor?" a nosy pumpkin seller asked from the side.

"Sir Levi is so handsome." A young lady about Lovell's age said in a dreamy voice, veering completely off tangent.

"Uhm, the young master is handsome, but if only he was half as talented as sir Sean," another woman mused dragging the conversation even further away.

A few others gave their own inputs and opinion regarding Levi. But Lovell had already stopped paying attention, quietly slinking away from the scene.

"Levi," she muttered absent-mindedly, a soft blush creeping up her smudgy face, 'Levi von Griefenburg."

She turned around one last time to gaze at the gates to the residence before clenching her fist with a determined expression on her face. A fervent light glowed in her eyes.

"I will be back..."

{END}

"Lovell. Lovell Siril Arundel."

"Huh?" Iris made a noise of confusion.

"That is my name," Lovell clarified. "And I am not a priestess, I am an Arch-priestess."

A pause.

"Why?" the princess asked, baffled.

Lovell sighed.

"Someone important to me once said it is a rude thing to forego a proper introduction."

Iris crooked a brow.

"Did I not say something similar earlier?"

Lovell shook her head.

"Your opinion is not relevant to me."

Silence.

"I really should have expected a reply like that," Iris shook her head with an amused smile.

"What do I have to do to get the Creed's help in rescuing my father?"

"Nothing for now," Lovell replied blandly. "The matriarch had already pulled in favours from the Elders to officiate the Creed's involvement in this issue.

"Lord Aden is probably already negotiating a deal with Lady Vaiu in the place of your father. Just be patient, you will be informed when your input would be of significant value."

Silence.

"So," Iris began, once more disrupting the quietude, "who is this person whose opinion is of such great importance to you?"

"You will meet him soon enough."

"Him?" Iris repeated contemplatively.

She paused before asking again. A name appeared in her mind.

"Sir Levi? Lord Aden's son?"

Lovell gave the princess a surprised glance before looking away.

"You are not as clueless as you make yourself seem."

"Of course not!" Iris exclaimed back.

Lovell just shook her head. Her eyes finally displayed another expression aside from apathy.

Amusement.

"It is time to leave, princess," Lovell said, gesturing to a ship sailing down the river towards the harbour.

"Our brig has arrived."

{COS}

The Royal castle,

Riverville, Verum.

...

In an elegantly decorated bedroom, princess Alina sat quietly reading a book while a group of maidservants tidied her hair.

"That is enough," she said. "All of you except Monie should leave. Now."

The maids filed out silently, and with a dull click, the last woman shut the door behind herself.

"Is there anything new I need to know about?" The princess asked, adjusting her braided hair with the aid of a large crystal mirror.

"Yes, your highness," Monie said, pulling out a small papyrus slip. "I managed to steal this from the prince's room. I believe it to be another letter from the Duogile household."

"Good," Nodding, Alina said. "More proof of Brandon's inability to rule autonomously, and the Duogiles influence over him. You did well, Monie. You will be rewarded."

"Thank you, your highness."

"You may leave. You will have my meal sent in while you are out."

"Yes, your highness."

Alina's gaze chilled when she heard the door closed with a click behind her.

She scoffed as she examined the 'stolen' letter containing 'evidence'. With a derisive smirk, she tossed it back on the dressing table.

Sometime later.

A knock on the door.

"Enter," Alina called.

"Your lunch, your highness."

Glancing at the maidservant bringing in her food tray, Alina raised a questioning brow.

"Shells?" She asked.

"Fresh from the salty sea, your highness," the maid replied expressionlessly.

Glancing at the bowl of chicken broth, she smiled softly.

"You may leave. you have done well."

"Yes, your highness," the maid replied with an understanding nod before turning to leave.

Alina raised the bowl to see a neatly folded papyrus slip.

It read.

[My services are available on request, but I need to see more of your sincerity, Blackthorn.]

"Greedy pirates," she sighed wearily, but a smile returned to her face.

With a wet napkin, she smudged the ink on the slip. When she was certain it had lost all legibility, she rolled the wet papyrus slip into a ball, grinding it between her fingers. Satisfied, she tossed it out the open window.

Taking out a fresh slip, she began writing out a list of names from memory. Then she took the 'evidence' Monie brought and wrote behind it.

[Deliver to the Duogiles.]

After she finished writing, she signed under the alias 'princess Alina'. Then she had her meal and placed the neatly folded list and letter underneath the empty bowl.

With a smile, she spoke to herself.

"Just a while longer, Alina. It would all be over soon."