-HER-
"I've been waiting long for this day," she smiled as she placed the cup she had just sipped from on my side of the table, "Sit,"
Despite the command that came out of her lips, the smile playing on them told me to run for the hills. Her eyes gleamed with an incredible maliciousness. That same look of knowing was etched on her face.
"I wonder why," I asked as I slowly walked up to the table and took my seat. The smile on her lips widened.
"Why?" She repeated, "It'll be a historic day if you pass this test. A Royal has never been a priestess before," she spoke, sipping from her cup. As I looked down at my cup of tea, I reminisced the day I confronted Vittoria. I felt her eyes on me as I studied the colour of tea for a while.
She knew better not to say anything this time about it but still, her eyes lingered on me. She was waiting for me to have that sip. I knew she wasn't trying to poison me today, but it'd still be foolish to trust Vittoria readily. There was a reason why she happened to be the youngest high priestess of the Lagrifiri Shrine.
"Or maybe," I started, holding the cup, "You're trying to fulfil one of your purposes," I remarked, eventually taking a sip. She cocked an eyebrow at me and challenged, "What agenda do you think I might have?"
"I don't know," I answered candidly, "but I do know that I'm here because you wanted me here," I divulged, my voice lowered to a whisper, "not because I was chosen to be a priestess,"
Something flickered in her eyes. It was as if she was caught off guard, but she schooled her features in a second.
"I see you fancy getting into my business," she fought to keep that smile on her lips.
"I don't fancy that. It's just that I'm your business now, Vittoria," I pointed out coldly. She gave a humourless laugh.
"Let's stop with this word salad," she declared, finishing her tea, "and get to the real business,"
I had finished my tea as well, so she collected the cups and got up from the table, turning her back on me for a moment. I glimpsed around her office to steal a hint for my test, but nothing out of the ordinary caught my eye.
Everything in her office looked quite ordinary. I heard Vittoria humming to herself as she took her time washing the cups. In the meantime, I watched her back as she proceeded to put the cups away before walking to one of the cabinets in her office.
When she eventually turned towards the table, I saw a pouch in her hand. Her face was wiped clean of any emotions as she stalked towards the table and elegantly sat down without adjusting her dress. Thence, she placed the pouch on the table with the utmost gentleness in front of me.
"What is it?" I asked instantly. She looked at me with a sly smile arching her lips. She proceeded to open the pouch, and inside it was something similar to what Vittoria had given me that night in the lagoon.
"You're—"
"Take it like last time," she commanded.
"What is this... what does this mean, Vittoria?" I asked, enraged, "How is this going to—"
"—just do as I say," her voice dropped to a chilling tone.
"You're playing with me," I declared.
"Take it," she used the voice on me and instantly, my hand reached out for that leaf ball before putting it in my mouth. Vittoria watched with satisfaction as a look of disgust climbed on my face due to the sickening taste of that substance. I gained back control only after I had swallowed it.
"Good," She remarked before putting the pouch away. Meanwhile, I fought the awful flavour that still lingered on my tongue, threatening to make me see my lunch for the second time. I sat there awkwardly and anxiously while Vittoria seemed to have forgotten of my presence because she got on with her work as if I wasn't there.
A few more moments passed, and I waited for her to say something, but she continued to act oblivious to my presence. For a moment, it didn't feel like I was at my test at all, but this was more puzzling. Sensing the absurdity of the situation, I kept my patience. I waited for her to address me with a second task or quiz me on some spells before sending me back to my room, but as far as I knew, this test wasn't supposed to be easy. Neither was it the same for any two priestesses, hence adding more to the absurdity and unpredictability of this test.
"I'm still here," I reminded her while she was busy sorting some of her books on one of the shelves with her back facing me.
"I know," she responded, half turning around. Suddenly, her voice sounded more profound than usual, and her eyes were completely dark when I looked at her. A sinister look shrouded her face. I blinked my eyes rapidly, unable to believe what I was seeing.
As I blinked, Vittoria moved closer to me. Her eyes were utterly pitch black now. I reminded myself that I must be having those same reactions from the substance she had given me.
"What is happening?" I managed to speak with my breaths turning ragged all of a sudden. I was in a fix. Everything around us seemed to be melting like wax... even the granite table before merging with the floor.
"Your test has now begun," Her voice had turned another octave deeper. As she closed the distance between us, an unknown force paralyzed me. The only thing I could do was stare into her sinister and inhumane pitch-black eyes as she continued to move closer to me.
Just like the other night, I couldn't blink. My eyes were instantly burning with tears, but this was just the beginning.
"What—"before I could ask, the black in her eyes bled out to her face and thence to her body and thence to everything around us. Fear gripped my heart, but I couldn't move and even blink. I had only one option— stare into the abyssal slowly encompassing me. With it, the temperature dropped to a freezing threshold, pricking my skin with goosebumps.
I tried to make a sound, but it got stuck in the back of my throat. I was losing control over everything again until it felt like nothing was left to be controlled. I was floating at the bottom of the abyssal, surrounded by the serenity that felt like the prelude to a devastating storm.
When I was getting used to nothingness, I felt my surroundings change. Suddenly, I felt the pressure on my knees. I was kneeling somewhere. When I straightened up, I found myself in the High Priestess' Office, but something felt different. I looked around until my eyes fell on a woman. I could see it wasn't Vittoria right away even though that woman was wearing the High Priestess' clothes. The woman was busy working with something on the stove with her back facing me. I could only hear the sound of delicate dishes clattering.
My heart stopped when the woman turned around. Her eyes held me captive in a burning cage of terror and shame. In her hands, she had a tray with a teapot and teacups. She gave me a cunning smile that almost reminded me of Vittoria as that woman walked towards the granite table.
"Good to see you again," she welcomed.
"We-we haven't met before," I stuttered, feeling claustrophobic as I looked at her.
"Are you sure?" She asked with an uncanny smile playing on her lips. I didn't realize I was shaking until I looked down at my hands.
"I-I'm ashamed of what I did," I admitted. The frequency of my breaths raced with my heartbeats. Suddenly, there wasn't enough air in the room for me to breathe.
"But that's not going to stop me from feeling disrespected," she said. Her voice struck me with dread. Cold sweat broke all over my body. I closed my eyes briefly and attempted to still my breathing. Meanwhile, her petrifying eyes remained on me.
"I beg your forgiveness, your Holiness. I didn't intend to interrupt your slumber," I was shaking as I remembered the night I dug out the former High Priestess. Seeing her before me, alive, had the hair at the back of my neck standing up. It was the first time I saw a dead person look so alive yet so dead and terrifying.
"But.." I don't want to forgive," she drew out slowly. I opened my eyes and dared to glimpse into her eyes to find them blazing with vindication.
What have you done, Theresa!
"Your Holiness," I tried again, "I'm aware of the consequences of the blasphemy, but I carry enough guilt in my heart to repent for a lifetime. Please, forgive me. I'm young and foolish,"
"There's no forgiveness for what you've done, girl!" Her voice rose suddenly, pricking my skin with goosebumps. "You've awakened me from my eternal slumber. Either you grant me your body as a new vessel, or YOU PUT ME BACK TO SLEEP!" With that, a blinding light flashed behind her. I heard the shatter of some porcelain somewhere before the deafening sound of the howling wind overpowered everything.
When I could finally see and hear properly, I found her standing on the granite table with the scythe in her hand and a murderous glare in her eyes.
"Brace" yourself," She growled and tried to mow me. I managed to dodge the scythe just by a few inches and rolled away to a safe distance. I noticed some of my hair on the ground, and it sent a chill down my spine.
I didn't have anything with me to defend myself. My heart pulsed in my chest as I heard the sound of her scythe tearing through the air. I was shaking with fear as I glanced at her above my shoulder. She was right behind me, ready to separate my head from the rest of my body.
I dodged her again at the right time, stood on my feet, and faced her. I was pissed at her for attacking me while I had nothing to defend myself.
"THIS IS AGAINST THE CODICES!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as my long-stored feelings of discontent and frustration started to rise inside me. If only I could turn them into a weapon.
"I'm a High Priestess," She reminded me with a regal undertone, "I can go beyond the codices!" With that, she leapt at me. I let out a short yelp before getting away from her before she could cut me in half with her scythe, but I missed merely.
"YOU'RE A FVCKING CUNT!" I screamed when a line of blood appeared on my white cloth. Instantly I felt the burning pain of the small cut she'd given me around the stomach. She laughed before leaping towards me again.
I got away again, but I found myself in the absolute corner of the office this time. Behind me were shelves and shelves of holy junk, and in front of me was Ceredora with a murderous smile on her lips while she edged closer to me.
"Looks like you don't have anywhere else to go," she teased. The look of satisfaction on her face was driving me crazy. It urged me to do something to wipe that stupid grin off her face.
I wasn't going to give up so easily.
I turned around and started climbing the shelf. She laughed at me while still edging closer and closer. Whatever I got onto the shelves as I climbed higher, I threw at her. It slowed her down a bit, rewarding me with some extra seconds to think of a way out of this.
It was impossible to fight her because she'd cut me in half if I tried to get close to her.
"Get down and fight me, you Royal Cunt!" She yelled. I took a vase full of a potion I knew could give her some burns and threw it at her. I didn't miss how she had to take a step back before using her scythe to divert it. That's when it struck me.
I need to get too close to her to dodge the scythe and strike, but with what?
"GET DOWN HERE!" As she roared again, I panicked and continued climbing towards the ceiling. I was almost at the top shelf when something caught my eye. Inside a glass bottle, I saw a dagger on the top shelf. The way its blade glinted briefly, I knew it was sharp enough to kill the nightmare I had brought back to life.
Without wasting another second, I reached for the bottle. Ceredora was screaming at me to get down and fight her. I was close enough to the bottle when the whole wall shook. I almost lost my grip and slipped but found an empty shelf to regain my footing before trying to reach closer to the bottle. As the wall shook again, I went for the bottle and smashed it against the inside of the shelf until the dagger was free.
"GET DOWN HERE AND FIGHT ME!!" Ceredora demanded. I clasped the dagger's hilt and flung my body around to have a good look down at Ceredora.
She was surprised to see the fear replaced by decisiveness on my face. I used this opportunity to leap at her from that altitude. She gripped her scythe, ready to sling it at me, but I had crossed the range of distance within which the blade could hurt me.
I knocked her down to the ground and sat above her, digging the dagger's edge into her neck, deep enough to draw out some blood but not deep enough to kill her yet.
All of a sudden, Ceredora was gone from underneath me. Instead of her, I found Vittoria under me. There was a sneer on her face as she glared at me. I sat above her, more confused than ever, but I didn't take the dagger off her yet.
"It was you all along," I growled. She smiled in response. I added slight pressure to the knife to remind her that she was still at my mercy. It toned down her smile, but that shrewdness persisted in her eyes. "Was this all part of the test?" I demanded.
"Yes," she breathed. I stared at her face to ensure she wasn't lying to me.
"You almost killed me!" I growled, still feeling the rage as the adrenaline pumped through my veins. I had blindly believed that it was Ceredora. I thought I couldn't be more foolish.
"But you survived," she pointed out.
"Does that mean I pass this stupid test of yours?"
"Almost,"
"What do you mean by almost?"
"We're merely halfway through," she clarified.
"With what you put me through, I'm not trusting you with this shit anymore," I gritted, still holding the dagger against her neck. She smirked.
"You don't get to choose here," She told me. I narrowed my eyes at her.
"I wonder why you chose this way of testing me," I wondered aloud, "Is it because you want me to be too terrified of Ceredora to speak about what I saw in her grave? You're scared of someone finding out of your dirtiest secre—"
"— ENOUGH!" She roared in my face. I was the one smirking now.
"I'll ask you again," I began, "Did I pass the test or not?" She remained silent, studying me pensively. "Vittoria?" I drew out, applying some additional pressure to the dagger. "Am I a priestess or not?"
She maintained a poker face as she took her time to study me. After a long moment, something flickered in her eyes.
"Congratulations," she eventually broke the silence—a smile playing on her lips with cunning in her eyes. I still had the knife to her neck with some blood on the floor. "You're now a Priestess, Theresa,"
I still didn't move when she said that. I knew better than to trust her so easily. She was the youngest High Priestess, after all. Even though I have had the upper hand for this moment, a look of strange satisfaction.
Did I walk right into a trap?
_
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