The Distinguished Couple

"Hi, ready for dinner?" He says while the both of them take a seat at our table between Lohikaarmi and Faye.

"Yeah, we ordered meat stew for the two of you," I say.

"Wonderful," the man turns to his wife and says, "Tess, these are the people I was talking about. They are in the room across from ours."

The woman looks at us with a gentle smile.

"Nice to meet you," she says in an elegant voice, "My name is Tessa. I am a high priestess of the Grand Cathedral. I don't mind you calling me Tess outside of church, and this is my husband Connor. Tell them what you do, dear."

Connor puffs out his chest and says, "I, am an inventor."

Tess giggles chicly. "He is very proud of that," she says.

"I can see that," I say with a smile.

I don't know much about the Catholic Church, but a high priestess is between a priestess and a bishop, isn't it?

"A high priestess of the Grand Cathedral, eh? You are one lucky man, Connor," Astra says.

Connor lets out bellowing laughter.

"Aren't you a cheeky one?" He says.

"Connor is no small talk, either. He is very renowned. The seed drill was his invention," Tess says.

"You invented the seed drill? My village just recently bought a couple. They are amazing," Faye says.

"That's right. I am glad to see my work is already helping people," Connor says.

An inventor. Could be very useful.

"My name is Kris. I am a traveler. This is my sister Astra. To your left is Lohikaarmi, and Faye on the other side."

"An elf and a Blessed Beast? You must be more than just a traveler," Connor says.

"Connor," Tess scolds.

"Right, sorry."

"And where are you guys heading?" Tess asks, changing the topic.

"The Holy Capital. We are leaving tomorrow," I say.

"What a coincidence," Connor says, "We are going there, too. Maybe we can share a carriage."

"That'd be nice, but we are going over the mountain ridge."

"I see. Are you in a rush?"

"You could say that."

The waitress comes back with two plates of bowls. She places one in front of each of us.

"Enjoy your meal," she says and leaves.

I can see that the couple is rather acquainted with high-class etiquette, so I suppose I shall retain some in my action, too. I pick up the spoon and blow on it softly.

Astra has completely tossed that out of her mind and is slurping down the piping hot stew.

"If I may ask," Tess says, "you hair, is it natural?"

"Yes."

"Really? How unique."

"It's pretty. You know, at one point, Tess wanted me to dye my hair gold," Connor says and laughs.

"It was for a party, Connor. You make it sound like I am obsessed with Her Holiness."

"But you are, aren't you? You care for her as if you are her mother."

"Yeah, but if I don't do it, who else will? I don't believe His Eminence has what it takes to care for a young woman."

Connor nods

"Fair enough," he says.

"How old is Her Holiness?" I ask, because they make her sound like a little girl.

Connor chuckles and says, "Oh, you must have been traveling for a long time to have missed the last Papal Conclave. Our current Pope is St. Katherine. She awakened her blessing… five years ago, when she was… eleven. So, now she is sixteen."

A sixteen-year-old is running this country? To be honest, it's not that surprising after finding out a ten-year-old is running this world.

"A very young age to succeed the title, if I may add," Tess says with a sigh, "Especially right before the death of Cardinal Vincent. Now we only have His Eminence Cardinal Kenneth, and… you know how he is."

"Right," I say, pretending to know what she is talking about.

Tess clears her throat.

"Excuse my complaining," she says, "but just thinking about the Church nowadays fills me with stress. That's why we went on this trip."

She stops talking and begins eating her stew.

"What are you guys going to the Holy Capital for?" Connor asks.

"Just visiting," I say.

"Do you have family in the Church?"

"No."

Well, not in the way intended by his question at least. Astra is technically in the Church.

"So you really are just travelers," Connor says.

"Yeah."

"A very successful one, I can see."

We continue eating in silence. Astra has finished her bowl and asks for another one. The couple says they are tired and will retire for the night early, so they did, leaving us alone at the table.

"They are lovely people," Faye says.

"Yeah."

There was some slight bigotry in Connor's voice when he was talking about Faye and Lohikaarmi, but I guess that can't be avoided when it has become the norm of society.

"What's a high priestess, Astra?" I ask.

"Hm? Oh, high priestess? They are the heads of churches. They manage priests, priestesses, and nuns."

"Is that a particularly high title?"

"No, not generally, but it depends on which church one works at. Tess said she is the High Priestess of the Grand Cathedral, which is the biggest church in the Holy Capital and where the Pope lives. That puts her up there with Archbishops."

"Someone like that wanted to join us for dinner?" Faye asks.

"I suppose they are just a friendly bunch," Astra says.

What I've learned on Earth in the past two decades is that a friendly bunch doesn't exist, at least not in high society. They must have had ulterior motives, but what could they gain from us?

"Well, it's getting late. We still have to get up early tomorrow for the journey. Shall we go back to our room?" I ask.

"Sure," Faye and Astra say. Lohikaarmi responds with a nod.

I stand up from the seat and head for the stairs.

The dining room is a lot more empty now. Half of the guests have gone, and the waiters are cleaning the tables.

A middle-aged man in an expensive-looking jacket grabs the elf waitress's hand as she walks by.

"How much for an hour, miss?" I overhear him ask with a wide grin.

"I-" the waitress is starting to speak before getting cut off.

"I will leave a generous tip if you make me happy," he says.

A human waiter walks over to intercept.

"She doesn't do that kind of work, sir. Please let her go," he says.

The man doesn't look at all deterred.

"Come on, everyone has got to have a first time. If you are good at it, I will allow you to accompany me in my mahogany carriage, so you can get out of this shit-hole."

"Sir," the waiter pleads.

Faye is watching this situation unfold with nervous eyes. I can't blame her, for this was what she could have become.