NaNoWriMo 2005: 13499 Words

When Pearl jerked away from Lord Maddeg and ran, Talwyr and Celwyn both moved forward to stop the high priest's pursuit. Belan got to him first. As Maddeg howled with rage he grabbed the hand which still held the club and forced it down, pulling him back. His eyes were cold as he took the club and handed it back to Herel. The lesser priest accepted it wordlessly, dumbfounded. Maddeg struggled, but he was aged and Belan was the stronger of the two.

"Catch her! Stop her!" he shouted into the crowd below, and a few priests pressed through the crowd in an attempt to obey. The rest only stared dumbly.

Half of the priests who had sprung into action at Maddeg's voice froze when suddenly Celwyn's rang out: "Let her go!"

Maddeg turned to her, mouth agape. "Do you dare to contradict me?"

"I am high priestess here, Maddeg." Her blue eyes flashed like steel. "Or had you forgotten that?"

He stared, then pulled himself fiercely from Belan's grip. "Take you hands off of me, you fool! It is sacrilege to touch the high priest unasked! How dare you?"

"You were going to kill that child, Lord," Belan answered. "And you struck the high priestess when she tried to stop you."

"What concern is that of yours, worm? Leave this place. Leave my Temple immediately!" Maddeg's eyes blazed like fire. Belan stepped back as if he had been dealt a physical blow.

"Let him be, Maddeg," Talwyr said soothingly. "He meant no harm. He only wanted to stop you from taking an action you would regret."

"You seem to have trouble understanding, Talwyr, that you have no authority here! Must I remind you again? Be silent, you old fool! It is my word which rules here, not yours! This is my Temple!"

"And mine." Celwyn spoke again. "Our authority is equal here, Lord Maddeg. You seem to have trouble understanding. Must I remind you again?" She turned to Belan. "I say that the boy stays."

In the silence that followed this declaration Lord Maddeg seemed to at last become aware that every eye in the courtyard was trained on him and on Celwyn. The high priest and high priestess publicly arguing-- it was unheard of. And he was vaguely aware that of the two he might be coming off the worse. Taking a moment to deliberately restore the majesty of a high priest's countenance to his face, he turned back to the crowd and addressed them.

"The Gods have been denied their sacrifice," he announced. "They are angry with us, and we will know their vengeance!" Abruptly he turned to stride from balcony, but stopped beside Celwyn and Talwyr and said to them in a lowered voice, "That, my dear, assures that she will be caught by sunrise. Or, if not, the wilds will have her. I care not. You will regret this, I'm afraid. At the slightest hint of anything resembling that prophecy coming to pass you will be forcibly ejected from the Temple, and I will have nothing to do with it. They," he nodded to the crowd, "will see it done." His gave fell on Belan. "In the meantime, I don't want you in my sight, novice. If you should cross my path, it will go hard with you. Understand?"

"Yes, Lord Maddeg." Belan bowed low, and Herel hastily followed suit as the Wise One swept past.

Celwyn raised her arms to silence the onlookers. "Be assured, all of you, Wise Ones and common folk alike, that what Lord Maddeg has spoken to you will not come to pass. Nor do the Gods condone the harm of innocent creatures. Know this, and know, too, that all will be well. The Kingdom will not fall into the dark." Perhaps only Talwyr heard her add, "Not if I have anything to say about it."

The wizard nodded his approval. "I will go forth at once to find Pearl," he said.
"I know," Celwyn said, and though her voice was steady there was sadness in her eyes.

Belan stepped forward, his eyes shining. "Lord, let me help you. Together we could cover more ground. Please. I do not wish to stay in the Temple while Lord Maddeg reigns--" he bowed to Celwyn-- "though you, Lady, I will gladly follow anywhere. It's not safe for me here, anyhow." The young priest's face was completely sincere. "I want to help you find the child."

Talwyr gazed at Belan and Herel thoughtfully. The latter held an expression which made it clear that he thought the former was absolutely insane. He had not Belan's strength in his body or in his eyes. Still... a time was coming when he would have to be strong, or else he would fall. The wizard considered that he was probably doing him a favor by what he was about to command.

"Very well," he said. Belan's face lit up. "Both of you." Herel's face fell.

He looked over both shoulders to make sure there was no one else in his immediate vicinity, then pointed to himself. In a squeaking voice, he asked, "Me?"

"Yes, you indeed. Both of you will depart with me immediately and will accompany me to the edge of the orchards. Meet me at the gate in ten minutes."

With that Talwyr and Celwyn walked hand in hand from the balcony, leaving the two young priests alone again. Herel turned his white face up to the sky and hoped with all his might that this would be a short errand or, if not, that those lights streaking across the sky were shooting stars and not sky dragons.

***
The gardens looked very different at night. What by day were glorious and colorful flowers were now shriveled and curled up, appearing in the dark as shades of either black or white. The air was cold, too, and sharp rocks jutted out of the ground to hurt her feet. But worst of all was that she had no idea where she was going.

The maze of the gardens had four exits, one in each direction, but Pearl did not know how to find any of them, nor any of the quickest ways to make it through. She wandered aimlessly among the grass and hedges, trying to remember the way that Talwyr had led her-- had it really been earlier today? Or was it yesterday, now? A new fear stole into Pearl's life-- with the dawn she would be much easier to find. She must make it into the cover of the forest before first light, and she had nothing more to rely on than guesswork and luck.

Pearl hurried on, choosing paths at random. Sometimes she felt she must be going in circles, sometimes she was forced to turn back at a dead end, but still she had the idea that she must be slowly making some progress. Hadn't she passed that bush with Lord Talwyr? That turn? This rock?

She tried to think of the story that Talwyr had told her about the sacred garden. Whenever the priests and priestesses walked in this garden they would remember their Gods and worship upon the earth and under the open sky, unconfined by the Temple walls, he'd told her. Where the Goddess had walked, trees and flowers grew in a pattern like a maze. To this day, when we walk along these paths in prayer, it is as though the Goddess walks beside us.

Well, Pearl was certainly unconfined by the Temple walls now. As she walked along, she tried her very hardest to pray. She imagined the Goddess walking in this very place, so long ago, on paths marked now by plants that bloomed and grew for the people of the Kingdom to enjoy. The more she thought about it, the more she thought that she almost could feel the Goddess walking along on those paths beside her. It was like an echo of the Goddess remained even now where her feet had fallen. If she had feet.

Did Goddesses walk like normal people, or did they just float everywhere?

Distracted by this tangent of thought, Pearl almost didn't notice the gap under the hedge. It was not an official path through the garden, that was true, only a small space between the ground and the branches of a hedge which formed a maze wall. Just small enough for a little girl to squeeze through. Pearl got down on her hands and knees and crawled though the gap. On the other side where the orderly rows of trees which formed the orchard. Further on, she knew, these gave way to the thickly clustered and overgrown trees of the forest. Choking back a sob of relief, she gave a prayer of thanks to the Mother Goddess for showing her the way. Then she got to her feet, and ran on.


Please do not copy or republish Erin's work without her express written permission. Thank you!