"But, I don't understand," she persisted, "You're not a priestess yet. The High Priestess still let you out of the Shrine. What made her violate such an important rule for you, Theresa?" When I didn't respond, she sighed and mumbled to herself, "Maybe it's because you're a Royal. I guess there's no rule that couldn't be broken for a Royal,"

I clenched my jaw and kept rowing. Ness would ask more prodding questions if I told her anything. I'm sure that the High Priestess wouldn't be pleased if she finds out that I've breathed a word about this to other priestesses. Getting high on gossip was one of their pastime hobbies. If I said anything to Ness, it would spread like wildfire in the Shrine.

Her eyes lingered on me, waiting for me to say something, but I stayed silent and rowed, dreading the fate awaiting me in the Shrine tonight. My apprehension grew more as we reached closer to the Shrine.

As the last curtain of fog curled away, unveiling the towering, archaic monument cut out of stone, standing prouder than the Lagrifiri volcano behind it, something sunk in my stomach.

I was shuddering, more due to fear than the chilling currents brushing my skin against my damp clothes. I got out of the boat and pushed it to the shore along with Ness.

"You should keep going. I'll do the rest," Ness advised. I nodded hesitantly before turning towards the Shrine. It posed on top of one of the two sacred mountains. They weren't much in height, but they still helped keep the Shrine off the water when the sea swallowed the beach. A hundred rock-cut stairs led to the top of the mountain, where the Shrine stood in all its glory.

Behind the Shrine was the volcano. The volcano was on the other end of the island, disconnected by the dead mountain shrouded by dense woods that nestled the Necropolis of Lagrifiri. The volcano often appeared to merge with the Shrine's silhouette, making the monument appear even more towering.

After climbing a hundred stairs leading up to the Shrine, I was out of breath. I sat on the top stair and caught my breath before entering the Shrine. It was dark inside the Shrine, and the priestesses seemed to have gone to bed but, I knew that a certain someone was still awake, awaiting me.

Like a mouse creeping inside a pantry, I entered the building and went to my room. On my way, I passed a room where a candle was still burning. It happened to be Nuncia's room. She was still awake, sewing clothes.

"What're you doing? I nearly pricked myself!" She hissed when I entered her room unannounced.

"What is this?" I demanded, pointing to the clothes that I was wearing.

"Clothes, why?" The bewilderment on her face irritated me.

"Clothes that make me look like a whore!" I spat. "Why would you make something like this?"

"I'm out of the clothes I sewed last month. Last week, Vittoria demanded all of them, and I didn't have enough fabric. I put this together somehow this morning," she explained.

Why would Vittoria need all the clothes? I wondered. I was about to respond when a familiar voice spoke up, startling us.

"You're back!" The voice exclaimed with a phoney excitement.

Here she was, finally.

I saw a flicker of fear in Nuncia's eyes while apprehension shrouded her features. With the speed of a turtle, I spun around to face the subject of my nightmares.

The High Priestess.

"Yes, your excellency," I replied meekly.

"How long have you been back?" She demanded.

"A few moments ago,"

"Why didn't you come to me right away?" She pressed. I responded with silence, listening to my heart thrashing against my sternum.

"I—" Before I could utter a single word, she grasped my arm and tugged me out into the deserted courtyard enlightened by the stirring moonlight. After making sure we were alone, she demanded, "What did he say?"

Her voice was an infuriating whisper without losing its despotic accent. I gulped. "Answer. Me," She breathed each word separately, digging her fingers bitterly in my arm.

She stood shorter than me by a few inches but, her tyrannical presence and authoritative voice compensated for her petiteness.

"He says he honours your service, but he refuses to accept your presupposition," I echoed my brother's words. The moonlight was bold enough to illuminate the lethal glare on her face. I was more convinced that I should've hurled myself into the sea.

"What did you say?" She drew out the words with dragging velocity. Her voice sounded calm, but her countenance and her fingers digging halfway into my arm's flesh said otherwise.

"Your excellency," my voice trembled, "I tried to convince him, but he wouldn't listen to me and sent me back. Herr—" Before I could say something else, she dropped my arm and grabbed my face painfully. Her nails dug into my cheeks, drawing out a drop of blood and making my eyes sting with tears.

"He sent you back, and you came back? Just like that?" She gritted. She seemed to be on edge to terminate my existence in one of her vile ways. I'm sure that my judas brother. He stopped giving a damn since I came here. "Didn't the Matriarch tell you not to return until your brother understood you properly?" She pressed.

"No, she—" I began, but she cut me. "JUST SHUT UP!" Her voice echoed in those stony Shrine walls. It was clamant enough to awaken some priestesses. I blinked away the tears furiously, clenching my fists and teeth. "YOU HAD ONE JOB, THERESA, AND IF YOU COULDN'T DO THAT, YOU'RE OF NO USE TO US!",

Some priestesses came out of their rooms due to Vittoria's yelling. My skin itched for vengeance. My past resentment threatened to surface in response to this humiliation. The only thing holding me back was her unreturnable favour tying my tongue.

"I shouldn't have expected so much from you," she shook her head, "You're a Royal. You're used to having things handed to you because of your birth. You would never become a proper priestess. I took you in because—" She stopped abruptly. "Never mind. You and that brother of yours are only good at one thing— giving people headaches,"

With that, she left while I still stood in the middle of that courtyard, blinking angry tears and quivering with rage. The waking priestesses stared at me with confusion and curiosity. I ignored their eyes and went to my room before I could break out in tears.

I tossed in my bed for the rest of the night, enraged and restless. This wasn't unusual, but tonight, vengeance had my blood boiling. I managed to fall asleep in the early morning hours when I had tired myself by overthinking and angrily pacing around in the room.

I woke up grumpily the following day and showed up to my duties, looking like a washed-up body on the shore. I didn't miss the second looks directed my way and the whispers that followed me. The whole Shrine had come to know of last night's incident, adding to this sensation was my yesterday's absence.

"Look who do we have here," A familiar voice sneered behind me in the day's first class. I acted oblivious to it, staring at the front of the room.

Arke.

"She's gonna act as if she couldn't hear us now," She mused.

I haven't punched her in a while. I reminded myself.

"Let's see if she is at least good at that," A priestess sitting beside her commented. I dug my nails into my palm, holding myself from turning around and punching her in the face. I wasn't sure how long I could keep myself from punching her. Fortunately, a senior priestess arrived soon and began the day's first lesson. Unfortunately, I dozed off due to my lack of sleep last night.

"THERESA!" A voice snapped, making me sit up to find the senior priestess glaring down at me. "Out!" She spat. I felt everyone's eyes on me as I gathered my things and stepped out of the first lesson. I didn't know where my legs were taking me until I found myself back in my room. Before I knew it, I crashed on my bed and fell asleep.

I woke up from my nine-hour nap, feeling fresher than the morning dew to find the sun setting. Not a single priestess was anywhere near the dorms. The dorms' eerie quietness and deathlike stillness screamed at me only one word—trouble.

Quickly, I washed my face and snuck back to the courtyard, where the evening sermon was halfway over. All the priestesses were seated in rows with their eyes closed. Vittoria was sitting at the front, facing everyone.

To avoid getting caught, I crawled towards the back of the row before taking my place behind a priestess. My eyes locked with Vitorria's when I faced ahead, and my soul almost ditched my body. She gave me a deadly stare while I returned a half apologetic smile and closed my eyes, wishing that she would let it go, but oh, believing that was my most oversized mistake.

I was aware of her murderous eyes on me while I pretended to be oblivious of them. However, it surprised me that she didn't pull me aside after the sermon. I got the same curious and sneering stares from the other priestesses while I pretended as if I hadn't been missing since the first lesson.

It was time for dinner, reminding me that I hadn't had anything since yesterday's breakfast. I took my usual seat beside Nuncia at the dining hall.

"Where've you been all day?" She whispered, sewing a piece of cloth.

"Oh, I was in my room, rehearsing my skills on dream and vision interpretation," I replied casually.

"You must be getting too good at that. I swear we heard you snoring like an old man from the beach," She commented.

"Was I that loud?" I gasped.

"The dead priestesses are still sleeping in their graves, so you mustn't be that loud. Better be careful next time if you don't want to sleep next to them, " She cautioned.

"Oh, I wouldn't mind that if it means I wouldn't have to see Vittoria's face every day," I gritted as a priestess served me food. I ignored her stare before she moved to the next person. Nuncia sighed before she put away the cloth she'd been sewing.

"So you slept all day?" She asked while we ate.

"Yeah, I was exhausted. I couldn't sleep last night," I muttered. She nodded sympathetically.

"But what made her act out like that?" Nuncia wondered.

"I don't know," I grumbled. She stopped and gave me a lingering look but didn't ask any other question— my favoured trait of Nuncia.

After dinner, I headed to my room to catch up on the missed lessons. The final assessment was just a month away, and considering my lousy situation; I was sure that I wouldn't make it. Even if I managed to, Vittoria would tease my life out before endowing me the Priestess title.

Thinking of the devil, I entered my room and immediately, my eyes deadlocked with her's. The air in my room hissed with tension.

"What are you doing here?" I inquired. In response, she tossed me a satchel.

"You're leaving to see your brother," she ordered. "NOW!"

_