Religious Reign

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Hialeah wakes up as the sunlight filters her room. She rises from her bed and gets ready for the day. Dressed in her robes she goes to the chapel and sets it up for the daily services. “Good morning Father,” She bows politely greeting the priest as he walks in. She is just setting up the candles.

“Good morning Lady Hialeah, I hope Sagia blessed your sleep.” The priest responds placing the book on the altar.

“I slept well, thank you Father, may Sagia bless you.” Hialeah replies as the finishes up. She bows in front of the altar and to the priest before leaving the chapel. Her next destination is the chapel gardens. What started off as a simple plot to keep Hialeah busy as a child, has grown to a full scale garden. The priests encouraged Hialeah’s green thumb and because of her the fruits and vegetables produced by the chapel are known throughout the city.

Hialeah sings as she tends her gardens. Her beautiful mezzo-soprano voice drifts through the gardens. The priests do not push for her to be in the church choir though. It is like they do not want her to perform in front of anyone. It is a beautiful sunny morning as the works on pulling the weeds and watering the gardens.

Nisa wakes to screaming. Screaming men in some sort of...argument? She rubs her eyes, trying to shake the tiredness from her eyes--it's much earlier than she'd like to wake, especially with how late they got home last night. She looks over at her sister with a look of concern, who seems a lot more awake than she.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Nisa asks, stepping out towards the door. Surely enough, her uncles voices are mixed within the angry voices, all of which are male. She steps out to see three men in suits pointing fingers at her two uncles. She recognized the symbol on the pins that poked into their front jackets and scowled.

It was the men from the bank. They were after their land. Someone was always after their land. They were the nearest, unsold natural land in this area that was left. The stupid bank wants to renovate the land, take away the trees, the stream...and make it look like city trash.

She says nothing, merely putting her hands on her hips with that scowl remaining as her uncles continue to insult the bank men with colorful language and rather inappropriate gestures. Oh, yes--that's where Maria had gotten her attitude from. She shakes her head with disapproval at the suited, rich men. She doesn't like them. And they won't take her home.

Maria had kindly taken herself inside the wagon when the men showed up. She didn't want any part of what was going on. Though now she knew where she got her colorful language from. She can only laugh as she peeks through and sees her uncles making fun of the men.

She turns to Nisa and scowls. "I can't believe they want the money for this land. It's a beautiful place here and they want to tear it up. Don't they know we need the trees to breath, the water to drink and the birds for beauty? They know nothing of morals and values."

Maria looks at Nisa. "What do you think will come of this? Do you think our uncles will want to move? It's not like there is anywhere to stay in the city. We would have to leave." she asked worriedly.

Hialeah finishes in the garden and carries some of the fresh fruits and vegetables in the kitchen. The priestess in training takes them willingly. “We are really going to miss you when you leave us. It won't be too much longer before they have your church ready for you. Oh and I hear congratulations are in order as well. Lord Aldain is a wonderful man. Sagia is giving her blessing for your years of dedication to her.”

Hialeah's cheeks turn pink. “Thank you Isabella. It is just happening so suddenly, I haven't had time for it to sink in.”

“You've always been too cautious.” A male voice is heard from behind her. One of the Priests walk in to help with breakfast. “Sagia is telling you it is time to branch out. After morning services, you should go to the market district and look around. It won't be too long before you are Lady Aldain. Do you think you are ready to lead this morning's service?”

Hialeah spins upon hearing the man's voice. “Thank you, Father Phillip. I am looking forward to the opportunity to lead the service.”

They all settle down to eat. Hialeah doesn't eat much, her stomach is a mess from both nerves and excitement. After breakfast she goes to her room to get her priestly attire on. She pauses at the mirror before heading to the chapel. She does look different, but she is unsure how. She exits her room and heads to the chapel to greet the parishioners.

"Girl...no." Nisa says, crossing her arms. "They've been saying no for years. Why would those two idiots suddenly change their minds and why would they be arguing with the two suits right now if they wanted to sell?"

She steps out of the wagon and moves towards the four men, all of which immediately stop talking as she makes her presence known. She scowls at the men with the two suits before smiling fondly at her two uncles.

"Guys, it is time for breakfast. Maria is already about to start cooking up some delicious food. Why are you wasting your time out here when there is soon to be some delicious, hot, meals on the table?" Nisa asks them politely.

"Dear, we are in the middle of--"

"I can see that." Nisa says cheerily. "However, you two know I do not like it when you argue with each other. Why don't you two stop fighting and come on in?"

"What? Honey, we are arguing with these two bank men--"

"Now, now. I won't take no for an answer." Nisa says, patting them on the shoulders. "You two are the only ones out here and I know you weren't arguing with me. Come on inside and eat."

The two men then smile with the realization of Nisa's game. They look at her and begin to turn at her requests to move with her gestures.

"Now, wait a minute, gentleman." One of the bank men says. "We aren't finished here. We are trying..."

Nisa continues to ignore them and her uncles fall in after, walking towards their home with smiles on their faces. Nisa speaks a little loudly, to overcome the bankmen's voices. "I'm sure Maria will make something good. I don't know about you two, but I am so ready for some food."

Hialeah stands in front of the congregation. She does not feel nervous or anxious at all. No, it is a feeling of belonging and accomplishment. The realization of her life's work since she could remember. She cannot wait until her church is chosen. Then she can be looking at her own congregation and spread the love of Sagia.

She greets the people outside after the service. The older members thank her and share stories of how they watched her grow. She goes back inside and is about to clean the altar. However the trainees are doing that. She looks around a bit lost, her routine disrupted. Father Phillip finds her. “Why don't you go to town. As a priestess it is good to be seen outside the temple.”

Hialeah is surprised. She goes to her room and changes. She remember then Father Geoffrey visited town quite frequently. She went with him occasionally until...She touches her neck and closes her eyes. That was the past and she is no longer a little girl. She is a Priestess of Sagia. She dresses in some casual gear and goes to the marketplace in town.

She wanders around the stalls unknowingly being followed. He is still upset that the Pope took her away from him. How did he find out about them? He is not upset at either Hialeah or Lord Aldain. They were just as shocked as everyone else. He watches her as she approaches a stall, happily greeting people who stopped her. She would do it. She would marry him out of obligation, but would she be happy? He walks up to her. “Hello Hialeah, I didn't expect to see you here.”

Hialeah turns, surprised. “Good morning Ke..Prince Kevin.” She nervously tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. She was bound to meet him in town sometime, but didn't know if she was ready so soon.

“Hialeah, no need for formalities, we are friends after all.” Kevin places his hand on her shoulder and smiles. It is a smile that used to make her heart flutter, and it still does.

Hialeah covers his hand with hers. He is giving her an out. She can see the look in his eyes. “Yes Kevin, but we can only be friends.”

Kevin is tapped on the shoulder by another man. Soon he is lost in the conversation. Hialeah feels like she's been punched in the stomach. She watches Kevin for a moment before feeling the need to be alone. She walks over to an empty bench and sits down.

Maria watched Nisa go out and talk with her uncles. She had seen this trick before. She tried so hard not to laugh. She decided to play along. “Breakfast is getting cold everyone! I made some eggs and bacon. There is some fresh bread here as well. If you want I can warm it up by the stove.” She said as she poked her head out of the door.

Their uncles were playing right along. “Oh breakfast sounds like it is going to be good. Maria my girl, did you make some gravy to go with that? I was thinking some gravy to go with that fresh bread.”

“I am working on it now uncle. Give me a few minutes and it will be done for you.” Maria said. “Nisa, can you get some of the fresh milk please.” She asked.

Nisa giggles. "Fresh milk, coming up!"

She moves away to do as she has been asked, looking out through the window to see if the stupid business men have edged away, yet. They are still standing out there awkwardly, talking to each other in a heated argument. She scowls, moving to the door to lock it so that the fools can't just walk in if they decide to be stupid.

Then, she caries the milk over. "I want some gravy, too. And I want to know what the crap we are gonna do today! It's gonna be so booooooring."

Maria was in the process of making gravy. Their uncles were setting the table and looking through the supplies. “Well it looks like we are going to need supplies.” One of them said.

Maria looks at Nisa grinning as she brings the gravy to the table. “Ohhh Nisa, we should go shopping! I have a little money saved back for a rainy day. Do you want to go to the market with me after breakfast?” she asked.

They all sat down at the table to eat. Maria was eating her breakfast and thinking about the day. “I wonder if we will see Hialeah. I hate that she got upset with me the other night.” They finished up breakfast and all Maria could think about was going to the market. “Come on Nisa, I want to go shopping!”

Nisa sat down, ready to eat, and takes a hug from one of her uncles. She had seated herself next to him in hopes of stealing the food off of some of his plate, but alas...the man was already being protective of it. She reached out for just a moment as Maria began to talk excitedly, and he already slapped her hand away. Nisa scowls.

"Who is this Hialeah?" An uncle asks, curious.

"Just a friend we made at our last performance." Nisa replies quickly. "You'll have to ask the uncles that, Maria. You know they get the cart today. Or would you rather walk to town the whole way?"

The uncle across from her chuckles, shaking his head. "You two are always up to mischievous play...if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were no nieces of mine. I chop all of the lumber, I get paid, I chop more lumber, I get paid. We do acts on occasion, I get paid---but you two? Out gallivanting about like little children deprived of any joys of life. You've got plenty of joys in life, you know--I feed ya, shelter ya, I don't think ya even ask fer much..."

At this point, Nisa is rolling her eyes. Now it's turned into a lecture. She reaches forward across the table and grabs one of her uncle's biscuits. "Hey!" He calls out, halting his speech, but she scowls when her uncles both laugh--her other uncle had taken one of hers at the same time and placed it on his brother's plate to replace it.

"You two are no fun at all." Maria pouts. "You jerks."

"Biscuit thief." The big man next to her whispers.

Maria shook her head. “That is so mean of you.” She had a look of pure innocence on her face. The man beside of her laughed and couldn’t say anything at all.

“So I take it chores first? Why does it always seem like all work and no play around here?” Maria asked as she picked up her empty plate from the table. Besides, you buy the food, but who cooks it? Who cleans your dishes and makes sure your stomach looks like a bowl full of jelly eh?” she asked taking the last piece of sausage from her uncle’s plate.

“Hey now lassie…That was mine!” Her uncle said.

“Yea well it wouldn’t hurt you to miss it either.” She said chuckling. She started up the water in the sink so she could wash the dishes. “And I will have you know both Nisa and I do our fair share of acting and dancing as well to earn money.” She turned around to look at Nisa. “This is why we should try to save some money up and buy us a couple of horses. That way we can get into town without any problems or having to share the cart.”

Maria had already made up her mind though that she might sneak off later anyways. She smiled as she began to wash her dishes in the sink and was waiting on the others to finish so she could wash them as well.

Kevin's eyes watch Hialeah even as she sits alone. It appears she has made up her mind. Maybe he should try to talk with Lord Aldain. Hialeah is not one to go against the Pope, but is the Lord?

Hialeah enjoys being out with the people, but at the same time she is nervous. She has not spent that much time with them outside of the church. She hopes she doesn't have to visit the poor district again. She touches her neck remembering what happened last time.

After her short visit, she returns to the temple. She goes straight to the gardens and works on it to calm herself.

As the morning shifted into the afternoon, Nisa found herself lying out on a large, decorated towel, far from her uncles so that she could mostly undress and bathe her skin in the sun. She didn't really do it for her skin tone, as her skin was naturally a darker color than most city folk, but she did enjoy the heat and the sounds of nature. It helped her relax.

However, it wasn't long before her relaxation was interrupted by the sound of a crying child off into the woods near the moving stream. She raises an eyebrow, sitting up. What's going on? She stands up quickly, calling out her sister's name before moving outward toward the forest's edge. She would need Maria...she doesn't know the forest as her sister does.



Hialeah is out in the gardens, tending to the various flora and fauna peacefully on her own. Fortunately, the gardens are so brightly lit and so out into the open of the side of the church that it is difficult to sneak up on the girl...or stealthily hide around her. Unless you are Karen, of course. She smirks, watching the dark figure move towards the Priestess' back, trying to sneak its way toward her without notifying her of its presence. What an amateur.

Karen is an odd looking woman. She stands at six and a half feet tall, lanky but with some lean muscle evident on her limbs. She wears all grey, never taking the colors of any religion or people, as most would. She closes her eyes for a moment, the sun to her back as she concentrates on the area around the garden, listening. She can only hear one of them.

Karen:

The black figure leaps down from some scaffolding, a Katana in hand as he moves downwards to strike at its target. Karen is quick, her movements so fast, that she is a blur to the human eye. Karen's own blade, a short sword, marks the space between the Katana and Hialeah, the attack halted immediately. The black figure grunts with displeasure at missing its mark and Karen smirks again, clearly pleased as she hears the voice is that of an impatient man.

"Please step behind me, Hialeah." Karen speaks, not taking her eyes from the assassin. "I am sworn to protect you."

The sword play ensues.

Hialeah loves this time. She is working on the plants and singing softly. She sees movement as something falls from the roof. There is a metal like flash and then grey. Someone blocked the attack on her. She falls onto the dirt. She mouth opened in a silent scream. She watches the woman fight the attacker. Why are they here? What does she need protection from? She is a priestess.

Hialeah's mind replays the attack on her when she was younger. She stays seated on the dirt crushing the plants beneath her. The woman is victorious. "Please tell me who hired you? And who would attack a priestess on holy ground?"

Maria had busied herself with cleaning her laundry. She was muttering under her breath having wanted to go to the market to shop. But no, her uncles would not hear of it for today. She hangs the clean clothing over the cord. She hears her name and shades her eyes to look for her sister.

She wipes her brow and walks over to her. She was sun bathing again. She shook her head. “What do you need Nisa?” she asked.

She heard a voice in the forest of a child. She looks out into the forest. “Nisa, we need to go look for that child. They sound lost to me, or in need.” She looks at her sister. “Go get some clothes on and follow me. I know where the stream is.”

She waits for Nisa to change and they head into the forest.

As Karen finishes the intruder off, choosing to knock the man unconscious with the hilt of her blade, rather than slice him through. As this is on Holy Grounds, murder would probably be quite inappropriate. Nothing too important to the non-religious, like herself, but she has a level of respect for her client and works around the assassin the hard way.

"I beg your pardon, Lady Priestess." Karen says, bowing down forward with one arm over her chest as an errant knight would. "I am hired by Lord Aldain, sworn to serve him with the utmost loyalty."

She looks down at the black figure, leaning down to remove his mask to show the face of a stranger that she has never met. She looks back up at Hialeah with a response to her second question. "An idiot, clearly. Do you recognize him?"



Nisa throws her clothes back on, trying to rush as quickly as possible. The longer they wait, the more trouble the child could be in. She hopes the kid is okay...she's nervous for the child, but also nervous for herself--she gets lost in the woods so easily and she's afraid of some of the woodland creatures...if she didn't have her sister, she wouldn't know what to do.

She finally makes it outside and clings on to Maria's arm. "Let's go!"

Hialeah is scared. She watches as the woman knocks the man unconscious. She feared that she would kill the man. Then she comes over and bows to Hialeah. She explains that her employer is Lord Aldain. That opens another set of questions. Is she safe being engaged to him, or should she expect more of this. "Thank you, ma'am."

The woman unmasks the attacker. Hialeah bends down to look closer at him. "I do not recognize him at all. He is a skilled fighter. May I have your name, please? Will he be questioned when he awakens."

Some of the temple staff rush over. "Hialeah, are you alright? We thought we heard..." Phillip pauses upon seeing Karen and the man on the ground.

"This man tried to attack me, thankfully this woman stopped him. Everything is fine, but we need to contain this man until he awakens." Hialeah tells him.

"I will go get the priests. They will know what do." Phillip leaves.

Hialeah looks up at her guard. "Am I safe here?"

Maria grabs Nisa’s hand and pulls her into the forest. She stops and listens to the sounds around her. So much was to be heard. Most people would ignore the subtle sounds, but to Maria it was a treasure trove of information.

There was more yelling from a child. Maria looked at Nisa. “We need to go to the river. Once we are there we should be able to find whatever is making that sound, but I’m pretty sure it’s a young child.” she said.

They run towards the river. There are so many trees around, Maria goes through a web and thinks nothing of it as they run. She jumps over a log and then bounds over a puddle of mud. This forest isn’t your normal forest. She can hear the sounds of animals, wolves howling in the distance.

“Someone save me! Help!!” there was something desperate in the child’s voice as they yelled. “Is anyone out there?”

Maria manages to get them to the river, it wasn’t an easy path but it was the fastest one she knew. She looks for the voice of the child. “There!” she said pointing to the bend in the river.

There was a young boy holding on to a dead tree in the river, a wolf nearby with three others in its wake. Their fangs bared as they make their way to the edge of the river. The child was crying as water went over his head. “Please save me, anyone.”

“I am thankful I keep my knives on me, but damn if I didn’t wish I had a better weapon.” Maria said.

Karen nods her head dismissively as Hialeah reveals that she has never before seen the man. This is not surprising to her. Most victims of such assassins have never before seen their attackers when they manage to survive. The woman asks for her name. She manages a smile.

"I'm Karen. You are safe, indeed, so long as I am around--that much I can guarantee." Karen replies as a man arrives and speaks with Hialeah briefly before leaving again. "The church will probably hand him over to the authorities and they will be handling the questioning. I would deliver him, myself, but I am sworn to your side."

She bends down and begins to tie the man up carefully, his hands bound tightly behind is back with no hope for him to manage to slip them out. She then backs away respectfully as she waits for the church officials to arrive. She does not wish to upset anyone with her presence, but Lord Aldain will smooth things over if they do not like her new task.

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"Oh, crap!" Nisa cries out. "What do we do?! I can't take down a wolf! She panics, her hands grasping at her own clothing. She looks around frantically, trying to think of what she could use as a distraction. Her breathing quickens and she wonders what the hell these wolves have been eating.

They never attack humans--not unless they've already had a taste of their flesh...but people aren't out here that often...so who have they been eating? The question sends chills down her spine. She doesn't really want to know, she thinks.

"What do we do?!" Nisa asks again, looking to her sister for guidance. "That kid's gonna die!"

“Thank you Miss Karen, but do you think that is necessary? I grew up in this temple and all those years I have been safe.” Hialeah waits with Karen for the Officials.

They rush over and take the would be assassin from Karen. They apologize to Hialeah for the trouble and eye Karen warily. “As soon as we know something we will let you know.”

“So that is it? Hialeah runs her hand through her hair. “Karen, I want to talk to Lord Aldain and let him know what happened. If I don't want to be the one responsible for bringing violence to the temple. Maybe he can help me.”

Maria is thinking but Nisa is panicking. She looks at her sister. “Shut up for a moment…” She is looking around and thinking. They need a distraction…But where and what? She looks at Nisa as the boy is still screaming. “Nisa, I am going to distract the wolves, don’t worry about me I will be safe. Just make sure to get that boy out of harm’s way.” She said. “There are some stones there you can use to cross the river, but be careful I don’t need you to fall in.”

She leaves her sister standing there and begins to run down the riverside. She whistles and makes sounds at the wolves. “Hey you big dumb dogs, over here!” she yelled. One of the wolves turned to investigate but that was about it. She picks up a rock and throws it, the same result. She thinks and she thinks hard. She has to get their distraction. She takes a bigger rock and walks back up the river a little bit. She aims for the wolf nearest the child and throws hard. She hits home.

There is a yelp and Maria does it again. The wolves all turn to look at Maria who is taunting them and trying to distract them. They begin to slowly edge away from the boy and head towards Maria. They are slow because she is on the opposite side of the bank. She throws a heavy stone and hits the wolf in the snout again. The chase begins.

"Dear Priestess," Karen replies, crossing her arms, "Of course I think it is necessary. If it were not, this man would not have attacked you here today--but he did. Besides, it does not matter if it is necessary or not. This is the order given by my Lord and I shall follow it."

Karen begins to pace lightly as Karen clears things up with the others and then requests to see Lord Aldain. "Hmm. I am unsure if he will be awake at this time. Would you prefer to send a messenger, or shall we travel to his home to find him there?"

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Nisa does as she is told, waiting until the wolves and her sister are out of sight before doing what she can to help retrieve the boy. When she finally manages to fetch him, she is already soaked from below her waist, due to how much of a clutz she can be.

Nonetheless, she is careful to pick the child up and hold him a bit as he sobs, rocking him gently at the stream's edge to calm him down from the frightening experience. She sort of hums as she looks around, both nervous for her sister's safety, their own safety, and of course, she is lost. She has no idea where to go from here, or where to take the boy.

"Are...are you okay? Feeling better now?" Nisa asks sweetly?

"Yeah." The kid says quietly and briefly.

"Why are you in this forest? Anyone hardly ever comes here." She asks.

He waits a while before replying. "...I dunno."

Hialeah looks over at Karen. “I need to get out. Even if we take the long way to Lord Aldain's house. Is there anywhere in town you want to go? I must admit I am a bit sheltered when it comes to anything outside of these walls.”

She leads Karen to her room and takes a small purse. “Maybe we can go to the marketplace and get something to eat or drink. It may be your orders to protect me, but that doesn't mean you have to be a stranger.”

"Very well." Karen says seriously, "We shall head out, then. I will send a messenger ahead to let him know of our coming and I shall be happy to dine with you."

Karen gestures for Hialeah to lead the way, for she is one that has always followed. If there is one thing that Karen is obviously used to doing, it is following orders and following people. "It is a shame you have not traveled much, Lady Priestess. There is much to see in the world."

Hialeah looks at Karen puzzled. “Everything I need is here within these walls. My life is a simple one as most Priests and Priestesses are. I guess to most people that is bad, but I had a happy childhood. A true 'child of the Goddess', as the priests called me. There was one time we went to preach in the impoverished part of the city, but that didn't turn out well.” Hialeah places her hand on her neck.

“Please when it is just the two of us call me Hialeah. For I consider you more than just a guard.” Hialeah smiles. She feels odd being the leader as she knows nothing about the city. As they walk, she tries to remember the path that Keven took her on. She was about to declare that they are lost when she sees colorful awnings. She looks at Karen blushing. “Finally for a moment I though we were lost. So where is the best food to eat? I've only been here once before and I cannot even recall where that was.”

"It is no problem." Karen replies nonchalantly. "We shall eat at Jaria's MarketEats. She has the freshest of fruits and vegetables, mila--I mean Hialeah."

As she guides her to a nice seat and beckons to the waitress, she orders some food and drink and allows for Hialeah to do the same before asking her a question that has been on her mind for some time. "Pray, forgive my intrigue, but what do you mean when you went to the city and it did not turn out well? What happened?"