Oath

Selena was standing in her locked tower alone. The evening had come, and the sun had already set behind the horizon. Her chamber was now somber, as she did not have any candlelight. But the moon was already in the sky, and its rays fell directly through the window inside to the tower.

She came closer, stopping right in the space where the moonlight was reaching in. She sat down right on the floor, onto the carpet made out of silvery light. She folded her legs under and rolled up both habit sleeves. She put down the black veil and offered her face to the light.

The soft moon caressed her. Its touch tingled. Her skin started glowing as the moon magic glided over her and entered her body, filling her with power. She could feel the silver energy flowing through each cell of her being. She never felt this before, but now she knew this was magic as ancient as the moon itself.

She slowly breathed out, her voice soft.

Back then, during the black mass, she never realized the effect the moonlight had on her body. Overwhelmed by happenings in the church, locked unmovingly in place by the cold statue, she was simply too scared to notice.

Now, when her mind was calm, she could clearly feel it.

“Please, give me your power and guide me,” she whispered.

A soft glow sneaked under her closed eyelids, now even brighter than before. She opened her eyes, looking for the additional source of the unknown light. It was coming out of her body again. But this time, it was different.

Her skin was still radiating a soft milky glow, but now, she could see thousands of cuts on her forearms and palms. All of them were already healed and invisible during the day, but now, during the night, they shone under the moonlight, proving how many times she had bled for the sake of their priests.

Once she realized how much pain the previous incarnated saintesses in this body had taken, she was horrified.

The lock on the wooden door to the tower clicked. She did not rise from the floor, she did not even open her eyes. She knew it had to be Elias. After all, it has been several days since he last drank her blood.

“I am here, My Lady,” he said, standing behind her back.

She opened her eyes, slowly.

He dropped to his knees before her. Once he saw her glowing skin, his eyes widened. His gaze was gliding over her arms, beaming with thousands of cuts.

“Are those the wounds people inflicted on you?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said.

He was clenching his knife in his fist. His hands trembled. Should he inflict another scar on that soft, glowing skin? He was hesitating.

“You should hurry,” she said. “Otherwise, that old fox will realize something is going on between us.”

He shook his head, scaring away his doubts. The blade cut into her body, causing sharp pain. She bit into her cheeks to prevent herself from crying out. Once his lips touched her wound, the pain disappeared.

He stopped.

“What?” Selena asked him.

“Your blood. It tastes different today. Are you beginning to awaken your true powers, My Lady?”

“I… don’t know,” she answered.

He leaned down to her arm, kissing her glowing skin. He chased down the red pearls of blood with his soft tongue. A quiet moan escaped his lips.

Selena shivered once she heard him, the pain from the sharp cut long forgotten.

“Once I will fully awaken,” she said, “we will both run away together, out of this country.”

He stopped drinking her blood and looked at her. “Do you speak in earnest, My Lady?”

“Yes.”

He stood back up, thinking aloud. “B-but, you are to be wed to the Lord High Priest,” he protested. “You are to save our kingdom before the great calamity.”

“I have no obligation to save this country,” she replied. “I have no obligation to marry the priest. I will choose my own fate. And I chose you to be a part of it.”

“But My Lady… if we will do as you say, we will be deemed traitors.”

“That does not matter to me,” Selena said firmly. “Right before the next mass, when all priests will be gathered in the church, we will attack the high priest and run away. Swear an oath to me now, and I shall never abandon you.”

He was looking at her, his face solemn. It was a big risk for him, as he was only a servant.

“By my honor, I swear.”

“Good,” she said, content. “Now go before the high priest finds out about us. It is already night, and he has not been here yet. I suspect he will arrive soon.”

“He told me he will come later tonight. Something has happened, and he is waiting for a messenger coming from the neighbouring kingdom.”

“Which one?”

“The Silgorod.”

“Silgorod… I never heard about it.”

“Silgorod is much bigger than us, and its king was always greedy, wanting to seize our holy lands for himself. But we were able to call a truce. They have not attacked us for several decades now.”

“Do they also have their own saintess?”

“No.”

The creaking of the wooden stairs announced to them that the high priest was coming. Selena put her veil back up on her face, smoothing down her habit, hiding her glowing hands. She was trying to brace herself for what was going to come now.

Elias opened the door for the priest and moved aside, with his head bowed low. The high priest arrived at the doorstep.

“How's our saintess today?” he asked Elias.

“I had to forcefully give her the tea today, Lord High Priest,” he answered in a polite tone.

A pure lie. It has already been several weeks since she last drank any drug. She was just pretending, she is unable to move.

“Has the messenger come, Lord High Priest?” Elias asked.

“He is nowhere to be seen,” the priest answered. “I decided not to delay things further. Let me look at our Moon Princess, and then I will return back to the grand hall.”

“Yes, Lord High Priest.”

As he was pulling out the ritual dagger, they both heard heavy footsteps running up the stairs. The High Priest hid his dagger just in time. Facing the open door, he saw a young man running up to the tower, panting.

“Lord High Priest!” he shouted right as he appeared in the tower.

Ignoring the saintess, he dropped directly onto both knees, his head bowed. “I bring grave news.”

“What is it? Speak!”

“Our spy in Silgorod reported that their army is preparing to go to war. Against us!”

“According to their prophecy, their hero is destined to lead their army to war against us to take our saintess. Their High Priest has chosen the leader for the siege, and their king is now building his army, preparing for a war.”

“Do you know how many days it will take them? They always had a big army on standby, even though it cost them a lot of gold. We need to be ready to face them head-on.”

“They will be on the move tomorrow. Considering the distance they need to travel to cross the borders, it will take them seven nights to arrive.”

“Well then, we will have to meet them at the borders. After all, our kingdom is so small, we are able to cross it in three days. Go down and ring the bell, call all the priests. We will need to prepare ourselves. Silgorod always had good warriors, but they do not have any wizards or sorcerers. We do not have a strong army, but we have our saintess and our holy magic.”

“Yes, Lord High Priest!”

The messenger fled from the tower, leaving them all alone. Elias was still standing next to the open door, his face deathly pale. Selena could feel panic rising in her body. In the world where she came from, there was no war in her country. She couldn’t even imagine what it would look like. But the most horrifying thing was, the messenger mentioned they are planning to take the saintess, in other words, her.

“They are going to attack Lunaria because of me?” she asked the priest, her voice weak.

“It goes without saying, my dear saintess,” he smiled at her. “You are the most powerful one. Of course, there will be countries going to war, just trying to snatch you away from us.”

“Do I go to war with you?”

“Not only will you be going as my future wife, but you will be our leader in the upcoming conflict. You will be slowing them down with your holy magic, and you will be healing our own priests. Instead of taking banners of Lunaria with us, you will be there to let them see, you belong to us and no one else.”

“B-but,” she stuttered, “how s-should I do that? My powers have not a-awakened yet. And I… I do not know how to use my holy powers.”

“You don’t need to use your holy powers yet, my saintess. But for your safety, pray that the Red Moon will come forth soon. Otherwise, we will have to bleed you dry.”