The Shrinemaiden (The Maidens) (3 page)

The high priestess turned to face her. Strict and very much a disciplinarian, she rarely displayed much affection for any of them through the years, but now her eyes are a liquid lavender, very soft and compassionate. “There shall be enough time to explain.” To Adelai’s surprise, she patted her cheek fondly. “Perhaps some of the explanations you seek lie beyond this door. You have done me very proud, my dear. Now go, your master for the night awaits.” She pushes the door open.

It was a beautiful room, with soft carpeting and white walls. A four poster bed stood at the center, and the smell of fresh rosemary and rose petals filled the air. Only a few candles were lighted, and Adelai could barely make out a tall, dark shape standing by the bed, facing away from her. She took a deep breath and step in, shutting the door. The figure did not move.

“Your Highness,” She quavered, too overwhelmed to catch the break in her voice. She curtsied low, but shot up quickly again when the figure stepped toward the candlelight, revealing his features to her for the first time.

“Haven’t I told you many times before,” the captain of the guard said, with an amused smile. “That a simple ‘Thornton’ would do?”

CHAPTER TWO

The Temple

The captain was no stranger to Adelai.

She had first met Thornton over a year ago, when she was only turning seventeen. Lessons had been over for the day, and she was taking the opportunity to take a walk in the gardens and tend to some of the vegetables and flowers growing there, a habit she often indulged in whenever she could. At the sound of unfamiliar footsteps, heavy and leaden and so unlike the other sisters and matrons that sailed through the hallways, she had grown wary, and hid behind a large column, unsure of what was heading her way.

The first thing she noticed about him were his blue eyes, so penetratingly bright, and of an azure color she have never seen in anyone else. He had short black hair that fell close to his shoulders, which looked broad and strong even without the armor he wore. None of the other matrons were in attendance. Adelai crouched behind the pillar, not daring herself to breathe, as he walked past her, and stopped.

He didn’t bother to turn his head. “Why are you hiding, little one?” His voice was low and deep but with a roughness to it that, even then, sent little fireworks dancing up her spine. “Come out,” he said, and there was something in his manner, so strong and reassuring and confident, that she found hard to disobey.

Adelai stepped out from her hiding place, but made no move to come closer to him. Those electric blue eyes swept over her petite frame, and she suddenly felt foolish, dressed in her stiff woolen garments and a small riding cape. Her yellow hair was pulled up in a tight bun from a previous calisthenics session, and locks of it escaped to fall in straggles around her face. Certainly she looked nothing like how a shrinemaiden should look! And yet, for some obscure reason, she wanted him to look at her the way she was, and find something to approve of.

“Well, now.” He said after a moment, still studying her, and Adelai couldn’t help but blush. He had a way of watching her even then, like he considered her an appealing woman in her own right despite her age and appearance. “You’re an unexpected little find.”

“I’m not little.” Adelai retorted before she could close her mouth, despite only being a few inches over five feet tall. She was accustomed to being respected in the temple, and somehow this maddening, intriguing man’s insolence irritated her, briefly overriding her initial attraction.

He only laughed, and his laughter was just as sensuous as when he spoke.

She didn’t expect him to close the distance between them so quickly, and he was before her before she could think of moving. He lifted a hand to touch her cheek. His fingers were coarse, but welcoming against her skin - the first time any man had ever touched her.

What Adelai didn’t expect was the sudden spurt of energy, much like a lightning bolt, that seemed to pass between them. He jerked his hand back with a quick curse, and she gasped, retreating several steps back, fearful that she had broached a barrier she had not intended to cross.

“Adelai!”

She jumped guiltily, as the high priestess came into view. The expression on her face was always disapproving, puckered like she had eaten something sour and couldn’t quite wipe the taste out of her mouth. Her scowl deepened when she spotted the man. “What are you two doing here?”

“N-nothing,” Adelai stammered, trying to envision the sanction the priestess would undoubtedly have in store for her. Mopping the lavatories, probably. She was not averse to playing truant sometimes - all the girls had, at some time or other - and she was familiar with the priestess’ forms of punishment.

“Adelai,” the man said, smiling and showing little care at the high priestess’ current mood.

“Back to your rooms,” High Priestess Saleia commanded and Adelai took that as her cue to flee. Adelai didn’t stop until she had ran up the stairs, throwing herself on her small wooden bed with relief, to the puzzlement of the sisters she shared the rooms with.

She would continue to see Thornton accidentally but occasionally, often meeting him along that same corridor, as if knowing she would be there. He would say nothing, but smile and look at her in that same way again, the one that would make her redden. Adelai tried to glare at him to salvage her pride, but she supposed he had seen worse than that, for he was unmoved.

One later incident would forever define their relationship. Adelai was staying out in the gardens again, at her favorite spot near the large marble statue of Inne-Anneah. She was too caught up in her reading to hear him approach, until his mouth was inches from her ear. “And what is the little maiden reading?”

Adelai jumped, the book toppling down to the ground in her haste, and all too quickly found herself caught in his arms, with his hands on her waist. His touch burned at her skin, even through the light material. He held her longer than she knew he should have, blue eyes studying hers before letting go. Speechless at first from both his proximity, and then at his audacity, Adelai finally found her voice.

“How dare you!” She sputtered. His easy familiarity was unnerving.

The captain did not look contrite or apologetic, only amused. “I have dared before, little maiden. Or have you forgotten already?”

“I am not accustomed to being touched so freely this way.”

“Then you miss out on very many pleasures.” He picked the book she’d been reading up from the ground. He raised an eyebrow as he perused the volume. “This appears to be a book on military strategy, by the famed war hero, General Alprius.”

“It pleases me to see that you can read.” Adelai snatched the book from his hand, taking a step back in case he was angry.

“Is it customary for shrinemaidens to be reading such serious materials in their leisure hours?”

“It is customary for
this
shrinemaiden to do so.” Whatever fears and skittishness she’d felt had disappeared at this point. To have someone imply that she should be nothing more than a simpleton is, Adelai had always felt, one of the worst insults to suffer from. “We study history and mathematics, the sciences and languages just as much as we study court etiquette, embroidery, and other pleasures.”

She immediately regretted her choice of words, as the man’s gaze drifted back toward her mouth. She held the book against her chest, hugging it as if this could serve as a shield.

“If you are truly interested in military history, then it would do you well to read the campaigns and exploits of General Narceus in the twelfth century. Have you read that? Or General Lancrye’s memoirs detailing the war between the kingdoms of Maronchaler and Lancre?”

Adelai shook my head reluctantly. She was a voracious reader, and had very nearly read every book in the temple’s extensive library, though it was sadly lacking in books regarding military affairs.

A smile spread across his handsome face. “I shall bring books from my own collection for you to borrow, if you would like.”

“Will you?” Immediately she was delighted, forgetting her earlier vexation. “I would be very grateful. You are very generous.”

“The pleasure,” the captain said, “is all mine.”

This marked the start of Adelai’s odd tutelage, a training that none of her other sisters received. True to his word, the captain returned a few days later with a handful of books, and all the free time she possessed outside of lessons and chores since then were spent in that garden with him. More than the books, he took great pains to instruct her about the politics of the land, his firsthand account of the different myriad of cultures outside the temple, more informative to Adelai than what she could even gather from just reading. Never a week passed without his visiting, and after his business with the high priestess was over he would always seek her out in the garden at what was growing to be her favorite spot by the tall oak tree, to resume the lessons.

He praised her for her quick mind, which Adelai hoped was sincere enough without attempting to flatter, for he was the kind of man who did not give praise freely until it was deserved. Oftentimes she would challenge his authority on topics by drawing out her own meager knowledge, and many an hour would be spent arguing about dissertations and theories. She was surprised to find out that he was intelligent and capable in his own right, and wondered privately what made him take up the sword, when he could have been a sought after scholar. For all the faults she had thought him guilty of, he was an excellent teacher, and she learned many things from him she would never have had she relied solely on the temple’s library, vast as it was.

She had been worried at first, fearful that the High Priestess would soon put an end to these afternoons, for she had long thought these encounters, innocent enough as they were, would be frowned upon. Most of Adelai’s sisters knew nothing about the captain, for they had mutually agreed to keep this secret, using the deepest part of the extensive gardens few people wandered through. Adelai had grown up wandering here, and knew which areas prevented eavesdroppers, where the sounds of people approaching would give them quick warning.

The other novices wondered at her impatience for their classes to end so she could be out in the gardens where he was waiting. Strangely enough, the high priestess knew almost from the first day, but made no word of protest other than to call for the presence of a couple of matrons, who always sat some distance away to ensure respectability, and to ward off oblivious passers-by. The priestess herself would sometimes stop by and watch them from a distance, saying little. Terrified at first that she would be punish, the priestess’ silent approval made Adelai happy - and puzzled. She knew it should have worried her, or made her more suspicious than she was. But, selfishly, Adelai only felt grateful for everyday that the high priestess did not put a stop to these lessons.

Perhaps the presence of the older women did make Adelai feel safer. Oftentimes the captain shot her slow, suggestive looks when he thought she didn’t see - looks (she was ashamed to admit) she wanted him to give her. As instructive as the captain was as a teacher, she was still very much aware of him as a man. There were lapses in the lessons where she would look up from the book she was poring through to find him studying her, with little expression on his face to convey what he was truly thinking - and yet there was a queer silent intensity in his gaze that always made her redden, hurriedly looking back down at her book though she knew her concentration for the rest of the day was broken.

“You think fast on your feet.” They had had this particular arrangement for nearly four months, and Adelai was relaxed, happy, and almost used to his presence. She had brought a large bowl of fruit with her for the day’s lesson, in case either of them grew hungry. They had spent a pleasant afternoon talking about the philosopher Myronicus, and as always she glowed a little at the compliments he gave at her progress. The captain wore a small smile on his face, a rare enough feat. “For a shrinemaiden, that is.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Adelai said, trying to hide her pleasure at his words, used to his teasing. Over the course of these months she had relaxed her guard more with him, and the witty banter they enjoyed with each other perhaps crossed the line between what should be proper. She had learned enough times in class that men prize wit just as much as beauty, and she had enough practice of the first with Captain Thornton. “You may only be a mere captain of the guard, but I’m glad I was able to satisfy you.”

It was the wrong thing to say, certainly more forward than any she had ever uttered, and the words left her mouth before she realized the euphemism. Adelai clapped her hand to her cheek, blushing, heard him inhale sharply.

“You have no idea how much I would like to satisfy you.” The captain’s voice was rough, husky. “Gods, Adelai. Sometimes I forget that you’re a….”

“A shrinemaiden,” Adelai finished, trying desperately to salvage the situation, but only succeeding in digging herself in further. “Shrinemaidens are known throughout all the kingdoms for their seductive arts, after all.”

“And yet in all this time you have never once shown me any indication.”

Had he asked her of this months ago she would have blushed some more, stammered that he had no business asking this sort of thing. “Are you suggesting that I have been remiss in other parts of my education, Captain?” The matrons were nowhere in sight this afternoon. The surveillance on them both had lifted in the last few weeks, and they had spent the last several sessions undisturbed.

He leaned forward, and Adelai nearly forgot what she was saying. In the past he had never done with action what his words implied in jest. He always kept a respectable distance between them, even when the matrons were nowhere in sight. But now his blue eyes looked back at her, and it was easy to get lost in that gaze, to see the unmistakable signs of desire there that he was keeping at bay. Adelai felt her heartbeat quickening. She had little opportunity to practice the seductive arts as her instructors have shown - most of the training in that area began after their bidding at auction, where the absence of a maidenhood enabled one to put more theories into practice before being sent out into the world. Suddenly, she felt bold, with this handsome man in front of her, looking at her like he desired here, and it was then she realized the queer power a woman could wield over a man.