Corruption Surmontant

Today was another sorrowful day for her as the sun settled behind the horizon. It had been 6 years since she had seen her best friend. The only remaining memory she had of him was a silver locket with a small painting of the both of them on one side and the phrase ‘Wait for me’ engraved on the other. Unfortunately, she did not know what he had meant when he had asked her to ‘Wait for me’ nor did she know when he was going to return.

She sighed as she changed out of her light blue robe and into her white tube dress with a green off-the-shoulders over- dress. She was now 21 and was at the age when she had to choose who she was going to marry, but her interest in boys had dwindled into nothing since he had left. There were two options left for her now. One option was to marry the first nice boy she met or… Well when her friend was here, she used to laugh at the idea, but now…it didn’t seem so bad. When she had announced her decision to the town, the townspeople had been both shocked and excited. Her decision brought back joy long since forgotten, even the townspeople of neighboring towns were quietly celebrating. Good news like that was rare now especially after a member of the dreaded Xenocrates family had seized the throne. If someone was late in paying the hefty taxes or stepped out of line, then Queen Ornella would either execute or enslave the ‘troublemaker’.

She stepped into her soft velvet green slippers before blowing out the candles and walked to the door. She glanced around the small room before leaving. Once the ceremony is complete, this is where she will be spending most of her life.

Most of the villagers were waiting outside to congratulate her as she walked towards her house next door. She smiled and shook everyone’s hand while she accepted the small gifts that were practically shoved in her arms. Only her friend knew the smile she wore was an empty one. She stopped at the door and said her goodbyes to the townspeople before going inside.A servant appeared immediately after she closed the door.

“Milady! We heard the good news. Your mother is very happy,” he exclaimed while politely bowing to her.

“Thank you, Gilroy,” she responded ina quiet voice. Gilroy relieved her of the gifts she carried and placed them on a nearby table.

“Your mother is in the parlor,” he informed her before hetraveled to the he disappeared behind the red curtain, she approached the large blue velvet curtain that led to the parlor. She took a deep breath before shepushed the thick material out of her way and entered. Her mother was sitting in her usual chair near the fire place as she knitted one of her popular scarves. Her mother quickly dropped her work once she saw her.

“Oh! I’m so proud of you!” Her mother squealed as she hugged her daughter in a bear hug, “Who would have thought my mischievous little girl would grow up to become a priestess!”

“Yeah…” she agreed as her mother set her back on the ground, “I was really surprised when I passed the test today.”

“It’s not so surprising when you think about it. After all,Lathsaid you had theabilities of a priestessbefore he left the village.”

A bell suddenly rang before she could respond. Her mother began guiding her to the dining hall next to the room.

“You haven’t eaten yet have you? I had Néme cook up your favorite.”

“Thank you mother…”

In the dining hall, the long table had roast beef, garden vegetables, and grilled fish with rice placed at one end. Néme emerged from the kitchen curtain with a pitcher of red wine and filled a crystal wine glass before leaving again. Gilroy escorted her to the end of the table and informed her that he was going to draw bath water for her. Her mother proceeded to sit on her left and tell her about the latest news in the neighboring towns as she ate.

About 20 minutes later, they heard the front door close and soon the master of the house entered the dining hall.

“Father! I’m glad you made it home safely,” she greeted him as he sat on her right hand side.

“It was an exciting trip, I must admit,” he confessed as a glint appeared in his eyes, “By the way, you wouldn’t believe who I saw today…”

“Wait a minute Bob, guess what happened today. Our daughter is going to become a priestess!” Her mother interrupted. Bob suddenly lost his excitement and covered it up with a smile.

“Oh really? …That’s wonderful news! Eh, could you go get Néme to give me some of that wine, Rosalie?”

“What were you going to say father?” she asked as her mother left to retrieve Néme.

“It’s…nothing… You must promise me something though. Promise me that you will take the time to make sure you want to be a priestess. I don’t want to see you get stuck into something you don’t like.”

“Okay, I promise,” she said while smiling. Rosalie came back with Néme and returned to her seat. Néme filled another crystal glass with the deep red liquid and left the pitcher on the table. Bob drank the glass’s contents in one gulp before getting a refill. It was after draining his second glass when he noticed something odd in his daughter’s hair.

“What is in your hair?”

“Hmm?” She looked up with a confused expression.

Rosalie finally noticed it too, “Your right. What is that?”

She jerked away in embarrassment as her mother tried to touch her hair, “It’s probably dust and cobwebs from the room in the temple. I’ve been cleaning all day.”

“That makes sense. After all, it has been 17 years since the last priestess used that room,” her mother agreed, but her father looked doubtful and worried.

“Well, I’m going to go take a bath and then retire for the night,” she announced cheerfully as she stood up and walked out of the dining hall.

“Okay, good night.” She heard her mother say before she could reach the blue curtain. It unnerved her how unusually silent her father was, but she could only shrug it off and continue out of the parlor and up the stairs. She paused briefly at the balcony over the parlor and glanced at her parents before going in her room.

Her bath tub was already filled with hot water, expensive soaps, and exotic oils. She closed the curtain to her bathroom and took off her dress after sheretrieved her silk nightgown from her canopy bed. The hot steaming water relaxed her muscles and removed the dirt and sweat from her body. Once the hour long bath was over, she stood in the middle of her room as shebrushed her hair. When she began cleaning her brush, she found blue strands amidst black. She dismissed this as figments of her tired mind and went to place the brush on her dresser. But the glimpse of blue caught her eye in the mirror and when she looked at her reflection, she let out an ear piercing scream.