Corvina led Anne up through a set of corridors and up a flight of stairs, never letting go of Anne’s hand. Every time they passed a window, Corvina’s face would briefly be lit by full sunlight. Anne had never before thought sunlight was so beautiful.

Finally they came to a halt and Anne realized she had been so distracted watching Corvina that she hadn’t paid any attention to the hallways they’d passed through. Now they’d stopped in the middle of a nondescript corridor and Anne couldn’t retrace their steps if she tried.

“Where are we going?” Anne asked.

Corvina smiled and raised a finger to her lips in a shushing motion. Then she pressed a specific stone on the wall and a hidden door swung open.

Inside was a small room set up like a theater with two rows of cushioned chairs in front of a series of narrow windows that looked out into… the throne room.

“This is incredible!” said Anne, navigating around the chairs towards the windows.

“Best seats in the house,” said Corvina, following behind her. “The windows are narrow and high up to make it difficult for anyone in the throne room to see anyone in here. But if you’re seated at the right angle it’s easy to see out into the throne room from here.”

The secret room was located above the back of the throne room, so Corvina and Anne could see the whole crowd. The nobles had lined up on the right side of the room, while the clerics had lined up on the left. Each group was eying the others suspiciously.

“Oh, there’s Eva and Ulrich!” said Anne, pointing towards a spot in the middle of the crowd. The two stood out since they weren’t really mingling with either faction.

At the front of the throne room, Emperor Wyernwolf sat on his throne, watching the crowd with a sort of bored contempt. Bishop Geist stood just behind his throne to his right, a much more serene expression on her face.

“We should sit down,” said Corvina, placing a gentle hand on Anne’s shoulder. “I believe the announcement is about to start.”

Just as Anne and Corvina took their seats, Emperor Wyernwolf rose from his.

Anne would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous at all. This was the Emperor, the main villain of the original novel, an abusive father, and an all-around evil despot. And he was working together with the Bishop, the only person in the church who (maybe?) outranked Anne herself (Anne wasn’t 100% certain of the exact organizational structure of the church or where the Saintess fell in it but she was pretty sure if the Bishop told her to do something she was supposed to do it.)

But Anne trusted Corvina. Corvina was brilliant. Anything Corvina planned would turn out alright in the end.

But Corvina’s schemes weren’t always necessarily… pleasant. For those involved.

So Anne would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous.

The crowd fell silent as the Emperor began to speak.

“Wise clergy and loyal aristocracy, I welcome you to the imperial palace and thank you for accepting the invitation,” said the Emperor. His tone was solemn, but not unfriendly. “We are aware that there has been widespread confusion and unrest since the recent revelation that the Saintess was not who many assumed her to be. We brought you here today to put your minds at ease.”

The Emperor paused and it felt like everyone in the room leaned forward slightly to hear what he would say next.

“I’m a bit surprised he’s such a polite speaker,” Anne whispered to Corvina. “I thought he’d be more shouty.”

“He can shout when he needs to,” answered Corvina.

“I understand well how shocked everyone was to learn that the Saintess is not human, but an elf,” continued the Emperor. “After all, elves are the enemies of our people. Cold-hearted barbarians who occupy sacred territory that should, by right, belong to us, the true followers of the Goddess. I know that many of you, like me, will not rest easy until the sacred land has been returned to its rightful owners. And I understand how, by extension, you might all view the Saintess as an enemy simply because her ears are a bit pointier than our own.”

Another pause. So far this was… not what Anne had expected. But she didn’t find that reassuring.

“But let me tell you this!” This the Emperor had shouted, sending a jolt through the audience. “Saintess Anne Coris is no enemy of the people. She is no barbarian elf of the Sacred Woods. She was abandoned by those heartless elves as a mere babe and raised in the loving arms of the true church of the Goddess. Whatever the shape of her ears, Saintess Anne Coris is a citizen of the Wyernwolf Empire first and foremost. And she is the chosen of the Goddess. We should not hold the circumstances of her birth against her. We should look at her good works to guide us and inspire us to renew our efforts in the fight against our true enemies! King Theodas and his wicked sons, the brutish Zaos and the sly Elyon. May the Goddess be ever at our sides to lead us to victory. And may she abandon our enemies to their fates!”

The crowd, who had been silent until now, began to cheer raucously. The Emperor waited for them to quiet down before continuing.

“Most of you should be aware that there has been a divide between the Imperial crown and the Church of Coris ever since I first ascended to the throne,” he said. “I hope you understand that this was never because of any personal disregard I felt towards the church. I merely believed it would be in the people’s best interest to keep matters of the state and matters of the spirit… separate. I realize now that this effort, though well-meaning, was somewhat misguided. After all, what hope can there be for the state without the support of the Goddess? From now on the church and the crown will work in close concert to ensure the future glory of the Empire. With that in mind, I would now like to turn things over to her eminence, the Bishop of Coris, who has a few words of her own.”

The Emperor sat back down in his throne and gestured for Bishop Geist to step forward. She did so.

“Thank you, your imperial majesty,” she said with a slight curtsy towards the Emperor. Then she addressed the crowd. “It is true that Saintess Anne Coris was chosen by the Goddess. I know there are rumors circulating about her… erratic behavior since arriving in the capital. Chief among them her inappropriate behavior at parties and among certain high society socialites, and her… ill-considered remarks at the recent miracle. Although the Saintess is the voice and hands of the Goddess here on the mortal plane, she is also still a person, and therefore prone to the same foibles as the rest of us. You may also be aware that Anne was raised in a small church in the small border town of Longren. Unfortunately, she was ill-prepared for additional pressures of city life and has not adjusted well to her new duties here. With that in mind, we are announcing that the Saintess will immediately be returning to the town of Longren, to continue her important work in a more familiar environment. None of her statements made while struggling under the intense pressures of the big city should be considered to reflect the official positions of the church. We are very pleased to be working more closely with the crown from this point forward, and we thank the Emperor for his consideration. May the empire prosper under the guidance of the great Goddess Coris.”

Bishop Geist finished her statement by solemnly bowing her head, as if in prayer. The crowd was full of loud whispers as people reacted to this latest development.

“A full statement regarding this announcement has been printed and distributed to the citizenry as well,” said Bishop Geist. “To make sure everyone is fully aware of the situation, and to hopefully reduce the unrest we have seen in the city. That concludes our remarks for the day. Thank you again for your attendance. Please exit the palace in an orderly fashion and I hope I will see most of you at the Cathedral on the next holy day.”

The whispers in the crowd grew to a deafening noise as the Bishop and the Emperor exited the room through a door behind the throne.

Anne was staring, still trying to process this.

They hadn’t fully denounced Anne, not really. They hadn’t revoked her status as the Saintess or threatened to throw her in a dungeon. But they’d thoroughly undermined her, taking any power she’d had right out from under her. They’d made it so no one would take Anne seriously as an authority anymore, not even over her own life. They’d given everyone the perfect excuse to dismiss her outright. They’d undone everything she’d done since she’d arrived at the city. And they’d… stolen her image, her narrative, her personhood, in order to use her to support their own goals. Goals Anne strongly and specifically disagreed with. They’d just… removed Anne from the picture altogether and left nothing but the concept of the Saintess.

She looked over at Corvina to find Corvina was looking at her with an excited smile. “Well? Isn’t it perfect?”