-HER-
I let out a curse that would have gotten me in trouble back in the Shrine as I pushed that man back and glared at him. But he didn't stop at that. He was still reaching out to me.
"Keep your hands off me, you serf!" I warned him.
"Woman, if you want to fall in the sea, then be my guest," He snapped back. I realised that I was still standing by the railing while the perilous waves swayed the ship. As another mighty wave rocked the ship again, my hand reached out for him without my will. Those ethereal yet juddering tingles wrapped up my arm like grapevines as soon as he held my hand and tugged me to a safer place.
As I adjusted my dress, I felt his eyes linger on me, containing an unhealthy curiosity in them. My clothes were still wet and clinging to my skin, appearing almost translucent. I shuddered as the chilly sea winds brushed my skin. Quickly, I made sure that I had all my belongings with me. Meanwhile, he stood there, staring at me as if I owed him money.
"What?" I snarled when he continued to stand there like a statue, digging his eyes into my skin.
"I was waiting for you to show some manners and thank me," He told me with an air of importance.
"Manners?" I said, "You were the one who didn't want to let go of my hand!" I accused.
"Didn't you just throw yourself in my arms just a few moments ago?" He provoked with the tip of his lips slightly curling suggestively. I gasped at his accusation.
Did he think that I threw myself in his arms voluntarily?
The cockiness on his face said so.
Who did he think he was?
"That was the waves," I glowered.
"Are you sure?" He asked as a smile emerged on his lips, flashing his flawlessly straight teeth. The cockiness further amplified on his face.
"You seem to think too highly of yourself for someone dressed as a peasant," I noted, feeling annoyed, but at the same time, I was curious. In response to calling him a peasant, he chuckled without losing his cockiness. My comment only seemed to have added to it. It somewhat surprised me, feeding my curiosity.
It made me stop for a minute and scrutinise him profoundly. He dressed like a peasant, but the way he talked, the subtle authoritative tone disguised under the cockiness, nearly reminded me of my brother when he barked orders at the people at his court. Apart from this, something else felt particularly peculiar about him, and I couldn't put the finger on it. It was beyond my intuitive powers.
"Says a whore," He returned, making my jaw hit the deck, and my eyes widen in surprise at his savagery.
Maybe, he was a peasant after all.
But I'd have to admit that he wasn't wrong. Nuncia, in charge of disguises, had given me somewhat revealing clothes. I don't know what she was thinking, but I made a mental note to talk to her once I returned to the Shrine.
"You have no idea who I am," I glowered at him, matching his domineering gaze with pridefulness.
He arched an eyebrow and straightened up to his full height until I had to tilt my head back slightly. Suddenly, his features filled with grimness, injecting the air around us with tension. Even under those dirty peasant clothes, there was something about him that screamed of regality.
"Neither do you," He replied coldly—this sudden drop in his temperament temperature startled me a bit. In the semi-darkness of the deck, I could feel him examining me with surfeit inquisitiveness. This strengthened the ominous feeling that I had for him. Whoever he was, I decided he wasn't worth the trouble. I chose to walk away without uttering another word.
Even though I left him and blended in with the other passengers on the deck, I felt his eyes pursuing me like a second shadow. I didn't have to look among the passengers to spot him. He stood out with his tall frame and broad shoulders. I ground my teeth and glanced away, hoping that we reach the next port sooner from where I could get myself another ship or boat to the Shrine.
The Shrine.
I wasn't ecstatic to return after meeting my brother. I could have beaten him like I used to do in childhood to make him listen, but I'm afraid the Nobles and other court members would've disapproved it.
Ugh! I wanted to forget my way back to the Shrine! Thinking of the High Priestess waiting for me in the Shrine tempted me to sleep with the fishes. Oh, how I envied them for having such a free life in those abysses!
Being eaten by a shark appeared much better than facing that tyrant of a High Priestess. She wouldn't listen to me no matter what. Since my first day, she'd made sure to make me miserable, but I had to admit this— it was odd for her to let me out of Shrine before completing my training. It was against the Shrine law.
There might be more to this than what was meeting the eyes.
"Where are you headed to?" I nearly jumped as a familiar voice asked me out of nowhere. I glared at him over my shoulder.
"Nowhere," I replied.
"Is that what they call the whorehouses these days?" He inquired with the same cockiness. The gloomy undertone of his question didn't go unnoticed by me. He looked at me as if he knew something about me that I didn't know.
Who was he?
"Stay away from me,"
"You may dress like one, but I can tell you're not one of them," He stated, nodding towards a prostitute busy flirting with a drunk passenger. I nearly saw her pick his pocket. When I looked back at him, he was scrutinising me bluntly.
"I don't see why this concerns you," I told him.
"Well... I have my reasons," He muttered to himself, running his eyes down my body with an unfamiliar emotion simmering in them accompanied by a tinge of ardour. Or I might have imagined the latter because it vanished quickly, but that carnal inferno continued to burn in his eyes. My face warmed up while I glared at him, wishing that it'd kill him, but oh, I was out of luck today.
"But just to be sure, am I wrong?" He pressed.
Why was he asking so many questions?
No one had spared me a second glance today while I travelled (okay, maybe a couple of men here and there due to my dress— which Nuncia would hear about ), but this fellow possessed an unusual determination to find out about me.
Maybe, he was a spy from my brother's court?
It seemed unlikely after scrutinising his features that hinted at his overseas heritage. I was sure by now that he was anything but a peasant. Was it one of his disguises for a phoney business such as me? Whatever was his business, why was he trying to include me into it?
Was he doing this just because he helped me onboard? I should've drowned in the sea then because I'm sure the High Priestess will introduce me to the world under the ocean when I return to the Shrine tonight.
"Whatever those are, keep them to yourself," I said curtly, walking away from him. There was some commotion in the ship, signalling the port was near. I felt anxious, and frequently feeling his eyes tailing me wasn't helping.
What if he tails me to the Shrine?
I'm sure the Matriarch and the High Priestess wouldn't be delighted to receive a guest tonight, especially someone fishy like him, and just to put the cherry on top— a man. Forget the world under the sea; they'd send me straight to the underworld.
As if to make matters worse, he stepped behind me in the line as the ship hit the dock and the passengers began to disembark. I clenched my fists. I had a feeling he wasn't done annoying me as his breath fanned the back of my neck.
"What's your name?" He asked as we proceeded to get off the ship. The woman in front of me was moving like a snail.
"I don't have a name," I told him.
"Is that what the whores say these days?" He joked.
"Call me that again, and you'll have a broken nose," I threatened. He chuckled, not knowing that I wasn't joking and that I was more than capable of doing that.
"I was right, wasn't I?" He concluded, catching me off guard. By now, the woman in front of me had started to move, but I didn't care. I pushed her aside rudely and proceeded to shove my way to the front line.
Some people protested, but I didn't care. I wanted to get out of there, but at the same time, I didn't want to go back to the Shrine. Maybe, I should've drowned myself. The sea was starting to look more inviting the closer I got to the Shrine.
Rushing out of there proved to be worthwhile. I'm sure that man wouldn't have left me alone had I stayed there for a minute longer. I got on the next boat after ensuring that no one followed me.
Fortunately, this boat was full of just regular passengers. Since it was pretty late at night, most of them were tired, and halfway, some fell asleep. I was the only one to get off at the Blackrock harbour.
It was a long-abandoned harbour, rumoured to be haunted and inhabited by gipsies. But, in reality, it was an intermediate port for us priestesses to use while travelling under disguise. The rumours helped to keep most of the people away, and for some of the curious wanderers, there were enough traps here to kill anyone who didn't know where they were stepping.
The boatman and the other awake passengers didn't seem too sure of leaving me in that dark place alone. Accompanied by the freezing night breeze, I watched them as they rowed deeper into the sea.
After ensuring they were gone, I headed towards the other end of the harbour, carefully avoiding the traps. I was sure that someone from the Shrine was waiting for me because it was too late.
I was right.
Ness, one of the priestesses, was waiting with a boat. She had dozed off. The boat rocked as I climbed into it, making her sit up abruptly, looking alarmed and alert. She relaxed when she saw that it was me. The sea winds toyed with her lantern light, threatening to put it out.
"Theresa," she yawned and stretched before adding some more oil into the lantern, "Do you have any idea how late it is?"
"I couldn't find a boat on time," I told her as she handed me an oar. The tides were high as we were rowed into the sea, heading towards the Shrine. I could see its silhouette through the fog curtain.
"I guessed that, but you should think of a better excuse," Ness cautioned me. The fog now surrounded us.
"Why?" I asked, my heartbeats picking up.
"I don't know what has gotten to the High Priestess, but she hasn't been in a good mood since sunrise. I swear, I saw smoke coming out of her ears when I left this evening. Even the Matriarch has been avoiding her all day," she said and shuddered.
I swallowed hard.
_
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