To my surprise, the escort knights sent by the temple were relatively competent, and the one assigned to ride with us inside our carriage – a young man named Ernest – was easily a match for any member of House Solana’s order. He had a friendly and open personality to suit his name, so our trip to the nearest temple was at least not spent in complete silence. The Radiant Order had a well-deserved poor reputation for the quality of its knights, as many received their posts in exchange for sizable donations or as a reward for clerical tenure, instead of as a recognition of merit. Whoever organized this expedition to abduct Helian had taken the task seriously.

  By this point we had exhausted most of the conversation topics available to us, so I had begun strip-mining the stereotypes best saved for dire circumstances.

  “How has the weather been near the temple lately?”

  Ernest rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Unusually warm, I’d say. Though my understanding is that most parts of the county have been warm this year, yes?”

  I nodded. “That’s true. As it happens, a good number of our knights are at the border right now dealing with monster activity – the weather seems to have gotten the pests all excited and ready to storm the walls.”

  He grimaced. “I sincerely hope the walls hold. I can scarcely imagine what would happen if the creatures broke through. Records from the era before the walls were built describe horrors that are hard to believe, considering what life is like today.”

  This one was certainly an outlier. Most temple knights were known to spend their spare time on meditation, martial exercises, or contemplation of scripture – so for Ernest to be this familiar with historical records, that suggested he had an educational background outside of the temple.

  “If you don’t mind me asking, Sir, how long have you been part of the Order?”

  “Not that long, really. I was only knighted last year. Unlike most of my colleagues, I enlisted shortly after my coming-of-age, once I had a proper opportunity to consider my place in life and decide what my real goals were.”

  A noble, then. “I can understand that. It may be hard to believe, but I only entered my line of work a few years ago as well.”

  He smiled. “I can hardly imagine what you were doing before, but I confess, I had been wondering whether ladies-in-waiting typically possessed a skill set like yours.”

  It seemed we had been sizing each other up this whole time. I appreciated that he’d refrained from raising the topic until now – typically anyone who noticed would struggle to contain their curiosity, and I had to contrive a suitable excuse. I usually went with something along the lines of “oh, we all have to learn to hunt back home” and demurred if they insisted on asking where I was from.

  Ernest turned to look at Helian. “She’s been leaning up against you for a while now. Your arm isn’t getting numb, I hope?”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  I shrugged. “It’s no problem. I’m pretty sturdy, as you may have guessed.”

  He nodded. “To be honest, I wish more of my brothers and sisters at the temple were the same. We’ve gotten something of a reputation, and it’s frustrating to hear people talk…”

  I felt a twinge of discomfort. The young knight acted as if my gift was having its typical effect, but I was certain that it was not. His speech and mannerisms were controlled, and I could tell he was choosing his words carefully.

  I would have to determine whether all clergy were somehow protected. That would be a very unpleasant discovery, but the alternative – that only this young man possessed such a trait – raised a set of troubling questions as well.

  ------

  Once we arrived, Ernest helped me get Helian out of the carriage, and I began carrying her inside as he led the way. The groups of priestesses milling about in the temple grew silent as we approached, and while most had the decency to refrain from openly staring, I could tell we had their attention. Word had no doubt spread of Helian’s condition and our trip to bring her here.

  “We’ve prepared an attached pair of rooms for you in the annex, near the revered mother’s chambers. It should be pretty quiet there, and there’s only one hall that leads to them so it will be easy to keep things secure.” Ernest pointed to the right as we approached a 4-way junction and waited for me to turn the corner.

  I smiled. “That’s very thoughtful of you. We’ve already tried rousing her with loud noises to no avail, so it’s probably for the best to let her get rest in a quiet space for now. Can I assume you’re one of the people assigned to protect us during our stay?”

  “Yes, I’ll be on shift most days. Two of my seniors from the order will be taking the other shifts – they’re quite reliable, so you’ll be in good hands, even if they’re not particularly good conversationalists.” He grimaced.

  As promised, the ambient noise of the temple’s residents faded to silence as we made our way through the annex. We arrived at the end of a wide hall, and Ernest opened the door at the end and gestured for me to enter. Once we were inside, he closed the door.

  Hmm. “If you don’t mind, I have a somewhat unusual request.”

  He tilted his head. “Yes? What is it?”

  “Is there a way to ensure the door can’t be unlocked from the outside?”

  He stroked his chin, as if to indicate that this required serious consideration. He had already decided on the answer moments ago, however. “I think that might be possible. I’ll look into it.”

  “I hope you understand that it’s nothing personal. We’ve had many issues with security in the past, and Helian especially prefers her room to be secure at night when she sleeps. Even the estate’s servants didn’t have a key to her quarters.”

  Ernest sighed. “I’m starting to get the picture. I think if I explain to the revered mother, she will be willing to relinquish the spare keys so that no one can enter without permission other than her, at least.”

  I nodded. “Do you know if there was any agenda planned for the day? If we need to make introductions or meet with anyone, I think I can be ready within an hour or so.”

  He shook his head. “No, we assumed you would want to recuperate after the trip, so nothing is planned until tomorrow. The revered mother was hoping you’d join her for breakfast, and the elders want to meet with you in the afternoon.”

  “That sounds fine. If it’s not too much trouble, could someone bring our luggage in from the carriage? I don’t want to leave Helian unattended.”

  “Of course, Lady Rosa. I’ll see if I can find someone to handle it. You only brought a couple bags, so I doubt it will be an issue in any case.”

  I smiled. Even if I couldn’t trust the young man, he was at least agreeable. With any luck there would be other people here with similar personalities, and things wouldn’t be too difficult…