The Grand Temple was more beautiful than I remembered, even peaceful. Priests and acolytes robed in various shades of blue bustled through the outer paths between the white–stoned buildings. The gardens in each courtyard were immaculate, and still mostly green despite the crispness of the air. From where we stood outside the receiving hall, the only sounds around us were the faint murmurings of the faithful around us and the clear music of birdsong.

In sharp contrast to this idyllic scene were the two snake–like beings in front of me. It set my teeth on edge.

I knew Rhiannon had to be just as affected as I was, but she did not let it show, instead holding herself with utmost imperial dignity as she obliterated the priests' arguments one by one. I did my best to keep my own temper in check, but it was all I could do to keep my voice even.  I could feel my expression twist more and more whenever Priest Kieran spoke, the memory of his compassionless eyes as he looked at the Saintess writhing in pain on the cold stone floor by the Spring of Blessings fresh in my mind.

"Indeed. We cannot ignore the will of Lumina, no matter who we are."

The High Priest's wizened face tightened, the first expression she had shown since we had arrived. It was obvious how serious of an insult Rhiannon's statement was. I half expected Priest Kielan to snap completely and throw a punch at the princess, and shifted my body slightly so I could better intercept an attack. The tension was broken when a woman stumbled out of a bush across from us.

She looked like a ghost, barefoot in white robes with pale blue and purple petals scattered across her disheveled white hair. Despite her colorless hair, she was young. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, and she was thin – the kind of thin that seemed unhealthy, like someone who had just recovered from a terrible illness. With unsteady steps she rushed forward, glancing back over her shoulder toward the sound of incoming footsteps.

I tried to assess the situation, glancing quickly at the High Priest and Priest Kieran, both of whom were frozen in shock. There was a woman running away from a group of priests in the temple, and she was not dressed as a priest or as an acolyte. She also looked as though she may have been harmed recently. Were there other dark secrets within the Grand Temple besides the Ceremony I had witnessed?

I shot Rhiannon a sharp look to warn her to step back to safety and moved towards the woman, intending to block her pursuers from reaching her. I was not sure of the political implications of this yet but with the collective authority of me, a captain of an imperial order of knights, and Rhiannon, the first princess of the empire, we should be able to protect this person and help her escape the temple's grasp if needed. I knew Rhiannon would help – she was a calculating person when she had to be, but she was not one to ignore someone in desperate need of help right in front of her.

Before I could reach the woman, a trio of priests in pale blue robes that indicated their low–rank rounded the corner and then stopped abruptly, their eyes wide. One, a woman with long dark brown hair and light brown skin, gasped faintly at the sight of the High Priest. None of them seemed like they could dare to move.

The white–haired woman straightened her back and looked at the priest who had gasped. "Emilia. Leave." Her voice was soft but stern. Flinching, the priestess looked around briefly, perhaps waiting for the High Priest to speak. When no one moved or spoke, she left, pulling the other two shell–shocked priests by their sleeves.

Who was this? My first guess that she was an escaped prisoner seemed unlikely, since she had just ordered the people chasing her down to leave. She held herself with dignity and authority now, the properness of her stance in sharp contrast to the leaves and petals in her hair and her bare feet on the cold stone path. Her finger were trembled and she clasped her hands together in front of herself, looking at everyone's faces with a placid expression. I do not know what I expected her to do next, but when she spoke, her words shocked me.

"Captain. It's nice to see you again."

Rhiannon looked at me, eyebrows raised. I shook my head slightly; I had never seen this woman my life. I opened my mouth to say as much, but she spoke again before I could.

"Ah, my mistake. You wouldn't have seen my face then. And I find myself embarrassed to admit I don't fully know who you are. I heard Priest Kieran call you Captain, or I think I did, so I apologize if my address was impolite."

I closed my mouth as she kept speaking – apparently it had fallen half–open in my shock. Her tone was as calm as before, but she rambled more and more as we all stared at her in silence. Was she nervous?

"And Princess Rhiannon, I presume? I don't think we've ever met. It was always your brother and father who came on the solstice. It's an honor."

The priests were still silent. Kielan was now glaring at the woman as if silently ordering her to shut up, and the High Priest's gaze was intense but enigmatic. The woman was studiously avoiding looking at both of them. Unsurprisingly, Rhiannon was the first to regain her composure.

"It's lovely to meet you. But you have us at a disadvantage, I'm afraid. Would you tell us your name?"

The woman's eyes tightened at the question, as though the word name hit a nerve. I noticed belatedly that her eyes were purple. I had never seen purple eyes before.

In the awkward silence that followed, I finally managed to gather myself enough to speak.

"The Saintess." My voice was a bit hoarse, and I cleared my throat. "It's an honor to meet you properly, Saintess."

She laughed then, glancing down at her attire, and I realized 'properly' might not be the best word for this situation. I could see Rhiannon's uncharacteristically shocked expression out of the corner of my eye.

Priest Kielan finally spoke then. I had no idea what was going on, but it was clear that neither he nor the High Priest had planned for any of this. It struck me then that the Saint had acted against Priest Kielan's wishes during the Ceremony as well. The battle of wills was much more obvious here though; instead of veiled actions in the confines of a ritual, the Saint had barged in and thrown everything into abject chaos.

"Saintess. You should be resting."

She smiled at him sweetly, but it did not reach her eyes.

"I'm feeling much better. And it seems I'm the topic of discussion today, so I wouldn't want to disrespect our guests with my absence."

"It is very kind of you to join us, Saintess, especially since you have been unwell recently. We were told you did not receive visitors and would be informed of the outcome later, otherwise we would have waited for you before beginning this discussion."

Rhiannon had wiped the shock from her face and spoke smoothly now, backing up the Saintess to help her block Priest Kielan's attempt to dismiss her. The Saintess smiled at her, the expression sincere this time.

"Thank you, Princess Rhiannon. I will have to trouble you all to explain to me what the discussion is. I only overheard some of it." She glanced sheepishly at the bush she had been hiding in. I held in an inappropriate laugh at the thought of a revered Saint eavesdropping while hiding in a hydrangea.

I noticed the Saintess shiver faintly. Looking closer, it seemed as though her robe was more of a house robe than it was proper clothing; it was thin and she seemed to be wearing only a nightgown underneath. It might have been my imagination but it even seemed as though her toes were starting to look a bit blue.

"We should take this discussion somewhere warmer."

Priest Kielan looked at me sharply then jerked his head in something between agreement and disagreement. "It is too cold here. The Saintess should go and rest inside before she falls ill again."

"No! I mean, I'm quite alright. We can talk here if that's necessary."

Rhiannon sighed theatrically. "I myself am quite tired. Perhaps we could all go and discuss this comfortably now?"

Priest Kielan scowled, but the High Priest finally spoke and ended the debate.

"Indeed, Your Highness. We will continue this in my chambers. Priest Kielan, summon Emilia and have her attend to the Saintess there."

It seemed as though the High Priest was trying to regain control of the situation by acting as though all of this were happening with her permission. I was wary of how she would approach the rest of the negotiations, though. She might be conceding to this much, but it was clear that the fractures between the Saintess and the temple were more severe than we had anticipated. It was hard to guess how this would affect our plans.

Priest Kielan left, and the High Priest called over a low–ranked priest from who–knew where and started telling them something about preparing the chambers.

"Erik, your coat." Rhiannon whispered, looking at me pointedly.

"What?"

"Goodness. Give the Saintess your coat, Captain Oesten. Now."

"Oh." I hurriedly shrugged off my uniform jacket. The Saintess objected faintly, clearly surprised.

"No, it's alright, really –"

She was shivering quite badly now. I ignored her protests and draped the coat over her shoulders. She really seemed so fragile. Was this truly the same woman who had drunk the Holy Water? Absently, I brushed off some of the flower petals that were still in her hair, and she flinched violently. Rhiannon grabbed me and pulled me away, rolling her eyes at me.

"Manners, Captain."

I pulled back, feeling both very guilty for startling her and a bit wronged. It wasn't as if manners had much relevance in such a ridiculous situation.

It was then that the High Priest turned back to us, face impassive as she took in the Saintess now wearing my coat. "The chambers are ready. Let us finish this."

I exchanged a glance with Rhiannon. This was all going very differently from what we had planned.