The moon caught up with the trio soon enough, and so they decided to make camp. Sitting with the small fire Yorick had made, there was nothing to be said. Sir Van Amstel had chosen to place himself across from the other two, and a bit farther back from the flame. Yorick's silence had grown deafening for him, and he did not wish to look upon the boy's solemn expression. He had, without truly doing so, taken life from his squire. I was told to test him, he reminded himself. It was only another mission.A bit of space, the knight's thoughts continued, will do both of us some good, and, in time, these things will right themselves. He began to pray, both to pass the time and to learn of this new mission he had to complete.
Yorick, doing well to suppress his feelings on the actions of his mentor, attempted to focus on the woman beside him instead. She took to resting on her knees. Her hands, hidden by the draping sleeves of the dark blue robe she wore, were folded over each other and kept close to her stomach. She stared, the boy assumed, into the fire. He took the time to study her more clearly, hoping to find a clue as to who she was, or what mission she might have been given. Her hood was just as low as it had been when he first saw her, but he realized now that the hair trailing past her shoulders was milk-white, a trait not so common.
"Where do you hail from?"
She let a few minutes pass before giving, "Much farther north than most are willing to travel," as her answer.
"And you are a priestess, are you not?"
"I am."
"Who have you pledged yourself to?"
One of her hands gestured forward, which he knew was to Sir Van Amstel.
"Him and I are on this path together."
"It is Zas, then? Do you know…" Yorick paused, glancing over at the knight before lowering his voice and leaning closer to the woman. "Do you know why-"
"Why he challenged you?" she finished, matching his hushed tones. "He is bound by the wishes of The Oleg, just as you were to be. But there is a god greater who has forged another path for you."
"Who?"
A small smirk crossed her lips before she replied. "You are quite curious. We will talk more of this when you wake. For now, find rest."
Flicking her sleeves, she let them roll back to her wrists, showing her hands. In the light of the fire, he could see now that her fingers faded from a colour of pale to a blue much deeper than her robes. "Come," she said, patting her lap. "I will help you rest."
He hesitated, of course, wary of this stranger, but laid his head on her lap. He was in need of any help he could get. A myriad of questions came to him. Who is this woman? Why did Van Amstel trust her so easily? What had Zas told him to do? Why did Zas tell him to do so? Does Zas not want my pledge? Do none of the gods want my pledge? Will I be rejected at my Arrival? What will happen then? Will this woman truly explain in the morning? Sleep was not going to come easy for him. A small humming began from the priestess, which turned into a song:
"Summer with snow,
so be it, so be it.
The river is frozen,
so be it, so be it.
My heart is ice.
My fingers are numb.
It spread to my eyes;
I can't see the sun.
Autumn with snow,
so be it, so be it.
Red covers white,
so be it, so be it.
My heart is ice.
My fingers are black.
When it covers my thighs,
he won't take me back."
She continued to hum the tune, spinning her fingers above Yorick's head as she did so. A small bit of faint green dust fell over his eyelids, and soon he had drifted off to sleep.
───── ⋆ 🜲 ⋆ ─────
When Yorick woke, the knight was nowhere to be seen. The priestess was still sitting in her spot beside the fire pit, her hands tucked away again. The boy took a place at her side.
"I should have asked sooner, I apologize, but what is your name?"
"As a temple maiden, I am known as Lacus… my given name is-"
"Henrietta Dacre."
The squire turned to see Sir Van Amstel standing behind them, just a few feet away. The boy's lips were parted, quite far apart, and his eyebrows were somewhat raised. He had not imagined his mentor to sound so… young? He had forgotten they were less than a decade apart, and imagined something much more gravelly would leave the man's throat. That was not so important to him as the breaking of the vow, or, even, how the knight seemed to have an almost hurt tone just in saying her name. The man's eyebrows were harshly furrowed, and his eyes flickered with green as he stared at Henrietta with more focus than an archer attempting to shoot a red-tail doe. "Her given name is Henrietta Dacre."
"Yes. But you will both address me as the temple maiden I am."
The knight mumbled a few words to himself, which Yorick caught, about how it was disrespectful to do such, but agreed nonetheless. Bringing herself to her feet, the woman stretched her hands out to the squire. "We must talk of the work you will do. Of your duty to the gods, and to the people."
He took both of her hands, standing with mild effort due to her bit of help. "We all have a duty to the gods, I understand that much. What do you mean 'to the people'?"
Her grip tightened as she began to explain, "You are not to be just any knight, young one. You are to be The Great Protector."
"What? What do you mean?"
"You are to become the Emperor."
He pulled his hands away from her, his brows furrowing. "Me?"
"Yes."
"Are you certain?"
"The Ever Bright One has spoken. It is to be you."
Silence filled the space they occupied. Me? Emperor? He sat back down, running a hand through his hair as he pondered what this would mean for him. How does one even become emperor? What does the emperor even do? What will I have to sacrifice for this? "No," was the only thing he could think to say.
"This is the wish of the gods. You cannot deny it."
"But it is not my wish."
"Your fate is being carved as we speak, child. There is nothing we can do to change what has been decided. We will leave shortly. Prepare yourself for the journey."
She moved away from him then, reaching down for her belt and tying it around her waist. Taking a deep breath, he stood again. This is the wish of the gods. I cannot deny it. But, perhaps, at the very least, I could turn this to my advantage.