The Queen's Gambit

21: The Old Chapel

The Old Chapel was a small, tumbledown structure smashed along the west side of the castle. Long ago, the sturdy arched doors and colored glass windows had been shuttered--many years before even Rhea's father had been born. A new chapel had been built, but this old one, now not much more than a ruin, had remained.

Legend told that when Adusos the Great had landed in Etria, he made his way here--to the highest point on the plains. He mixed the blood from his wounds with the dirt and asked the Seven Saints to honor his rule in a new land. His prayer was answered in the form of a red hawk that alighted upon a stone--the first stone on which the chapel had been built. And beside which the castle and Citadel had followed.

"I suppose you'll feel right at home here," remarked Rhea as they traversed the narrow path to the chapel's entrance. The fierce winter wind whipped at their faces and blew thin veils of snow across the path.

"This chapel is still revered by the priests," said Kain, shifting his grip on the sword hilt at his side. He had not heeded Rhea's advice to leave the weapons behind. "It is considered to be the most sacred site in the kingdom, even more sacred than the Akronica."

"Is there a special ritual that must be performed?" They had reached the arch of the doors, their hinges and ironwork rusted, the wood aged to black. The masonry around the lintel had crumbled in places, yet structurally, the chapel appeared mostly sound.

Kain placed a gloved hand on the ancient stones. "Only a blessing to be recited. The Order teaches several to their acolytes before they take their vows of silence, and the particular one for this chapel is unique."

"But you speak. You are...no longer one of them."

"I am in name, but not in heart. It was not a choice I made willingly."

Rhea glanced at his wrists, where the silver cuffs lay hidden under thick layers of fabric. "But why would--"

"Can we go inside?" interrupted Kain, stomping his feet. "Or are we just going to freeze to death in front of the door?"

***

The doors proved impossible to enter. Either they were rusted shut, or they had been barred from the inside. A  short search turned up several broken panes in a window that had been shoddily patched with scrap wood--a few thumps with the hilt of Kain's sword took care of them.

The chapel was unlit, as expected, and only marginally warmer than outside. Murky darkness obscured everything except the vague outlines of rafter and bench and balcony--the balcony that likely hid a passage to the dining hall. What illumination existed was from the dim remains of the sun that heroically squeezed it's way through the opening in the window behind them. A damp, musty smell of stone and old wood suffused the single room, but Rhea could smell something else, too. A faint smell of smoke and pitch and the organic scent of something alive among the chapel's slow decay. She noticed Kain stiffen beside her.

"Hello?" she called into the dark. Loud enough to be heard, but soft enough not to startle a sleeping person.

Something thumped in the rafters above, followed by a curse and short commotion. A loud clatter shook the small sanctuary, and a golden helm rolled to a stop at Rhea's feet.

She picked it up, running her fingers over the smooth finish, the wrought gold curves of wings on the sides. A feeling of sickness rose in her stomach. The last time she had held this helm...she banished the thoughts from her head. There is no room for the past, she chided herself for the thousandth time. Only the future.

But the faceplate caught the remnants of light through the stained glass window behind her, throwing off a dancing blood-red reflection that mocked her.