The Moon Princess (Part 3)

Concern colored his eyes. He squatted down near her, raising his gaze to meet her eyes, but he couldn’t see her face properly, as it was hidden behind a veil.

“Would you tell me more about it, My Lady?”

“I am not from here. I was reincarnated into this body.”

“I am afraid I do not understand what you are saying, My Lady. I am just a humble servant with little knowledge.”

“As I was saying,” Selena started explaining, “I am not the same lady you served for. I am… someone else.”

“Did you forget everything again, My Lady?”

“What?”

“Would you like some herbal tea, My Lady? It will ease your slumber. I will go prepare it, now.”

He raised and turned away to leave the chamber, but she grabbed him by his elbow.

“I don’t want any tea,” she said, her voice rising. “And I am not your lady!”

A sharp knock on the door alerted her. The door opened, and there was yet another stranger standing there. But this was no servant, that was for sure. This man was tall and older, probably somewhere around forty. He was dressed similarly to her now. There was a silver circlet on his head, a crude version of a crown. He looked like a priest. But this was no religion from her world, she did not recognize his attire at all.

“What is this ruckus?” he asked, his tone sharp. “Get the bathtub out!”

Two young men dressed in similar attire to his were standing behind him in the hallway. They entered the room and started taking out the water from the bathtub with the buckets. They did it multiple times and then took the half-emptied bathtub out of the room. Once the door to the chamber closed, the priest came closer to the woman sitting in the armchair.

“Elias told me you are unwell today,” he said to Selena. “Are you tired?”

The atmosphere in the room was now completely different with the presence of this man. An aura of authority emanated from him. No doubt, this man was probably very strict and harsh.

“Yes,” she replied nervously, forgetting about her protest.

“That’s Lord High Priest for you, my dear saintess.”

“Yes, Lord High Priest,” she corrected herself quickly.

He ignored her and turned his head to the young man standing next to him. “What was that shouting before, Elias?”

“Lady forgot everything again,” he explained.

“Very well. Go fetch her a cup of herbal tea. That will soothe her nerves.”

“I will be here shortly, Lord High Priest. ”

Once Elias disappeared, the high priest came closer to her and then took her hand into his. Selena felt reluctance growing in her insides, uncomfortable with him touching her. But he did not mind that one bit. Instead, he carefully examined her pale hand.

“Mhhmm,” he was speaking more to himself than to her, “looks like we will be able to draw another blood tonight.”

“What?” Selena squeaked like a mouse.

She had seen enough blood for the day already.

“Dear Moon Princess, our holy saintess, didn’t I tell you multiple times already that in order to preserve your purity, we must often draw blood from you?” he asked her.

His fingers with multiple silver rings were now caressing her skin on her hand. It made her skin crawl.

She gulped.

“Not only does it keep your soul pure, but it also gives power to our priests. Your existence is a gift from God himself,” he said. “It is both your duty and honor.”

She shuddered.

He finally let go of her hand and stepped back. Selena was looking at him through the black veil, her head spinning. Does this lunatic draw her blood and drink it?

She felt bile rising in her throat.

Another knock announced to them, Elias returned with the cup of herbal tea.

“Here, My Lady,” he said and gave her the cup. “This will soothe you and help you sleep better.”

“Thank you, Elias,” she replied meekly and took the warm cup into her hands.

She ended up in the body of a saintess, which is used like a blood bank for the priests. She did not feel safe here a all. Weren't holy saintesses supposed to be treasured and taken care of?

“Is something bothering you, My Lady?” Elias asked her.

“N-no… I just… I…”

She did not even know what to say. It looks like the previous girl tried the same method to break free from her role, and they had already grown tired of her tactics. Now they did not believe her.

“Lord High Priest, it looks like Lady is really confused today. Can it be she really forgot who she is?” Elias asked.

The priest looked at him. “It could happen that we drew too much blood last time, and she lost her powers. Until the saintess is fully awakened, she is not as powerful. But fear not, it will not take many days, and once the Red Moon appears in the sky, her awakening will be complete.”

“Yes, the prophecy,” Elies replied. “Once the Red Moon appears in the night sky, the Moon Princess fully awakens in her new body and will be powerful enough to fight the calamity coming under the Red North Star.”

Selena was listening to them, trying to find a way to get out of this situation. Quickly. Otherwise, they will bleed her dry.

Kingdom of Lunaria? Where was that? Red North Star? This all sounded too strange. She had never heard about such a kingdom. And the people here were speaking strangely, the interior felt too old, like out of some fantasy book. Was she reincarnated into another world?

“You do not like the tea, My Lady?”

Only now she realized she had not had one sip out of the herbal tea. So she slowly raised her veil with one hand and brought the cup to her lips with another. A heavy herbal scent was wafting out of the tea, calming her nerves.

“Thank you,” she said again.

She emptied the cup and gave it to Elias. He took it and left the chamber. Now it was only the high priest, standing there, wordlessly. She had no idea what to do. Usually, her brain would be racing the whole night, thinking about how to get out of this situation, but the tiredness overcame her. Her mind suddenly felt numb.

“Still feeling tired, my saintess?”

“A… bit,” she said.

Her mouth and eyelids felt heavy. Her head wobbled…

A sharp pain awakened her. She snapped her eyes open, but she was unable to move. Her whole body felt heavy. A paralysis took over her body and she was not able to do anything, not even shout.

The high priest was still standing next to her, holding her forearm with one hand and grasping a dagger in the other. He cut into her flesh with the blade without mercy.

She could feel blood dripping down her skin. Then something warm and wet touched the wound.

An internal scream was echoing in her body, while the high priest licked her blood, drinking directly from the wound.

She raised her eyes, looking for help, seeing Elias standing near the door, looking at them. He did not step in. He did not say anything. He was just standing there, staring. She was not able to read his expression through the black veil.

After a few gulps, the high priest disappeared, and she was left in her armchair, tired and too scared. She could feel that her wound was already closed, fully healed, but her skin was still sticky, and the ominous feeling persisted. She wanted to take another bath, or at least a shower.

Up until this point, she was desperately trying to prove to them that she is not their saintess. But she clearly possessed her body and had even her spiritual powers. It was her own soul, but technically, she was still the saintess. Did that matter to the prophecy they mentioned?

But the question was: If they would really start to believe she is not the real saintess, would they set her free… or would they kill her?