Chapter 28: Clear Water City Temple

After clearing the remaining rubble of the road, Silva and her friends finally arrive at Clear Water City Temple, where Silva hopes to reunite with an old friend. Making their way up the stairs, they noticed the temple was a little too crowded. It seems people outside of the priestess hood were actually living in the temple.

“I thought temples are a place to visit, not a place to live?” Rufus asks.

“I believe these are the people that were not able to cross the valley when it was blocked, so they took refuge here,” Silva explains.

“Well, that makes sense, but I will admit, this temple is really beautiful. More beautiful than the ones we visited before,” Rufus compliments.

“Yes, well, the temples are known to be beautiful to reflect the area's beauty and what it represents. The design for this temple was inspired by the field of Silver Lilies located not far from here and it is the area's pride and joy. This is also to remind everyone that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes which explains the lily shaped temple. I’ve forgotten how beautiful this place was,” Silva explained.

“I agree, it gets me every time I visit,” Raquel points out.

“I agree too. Now let’s go find Lilianna, I sure do miss her,” Silva suggested.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Raquel said kindly.

Silva and her friends walk around the temple area to find Lilianna and luckily Silva finally finds her talking to someone.

“Lilianna!” Silva shouted to hug her friend.

“Silva!” Lilianna shouted back. “Silva, it sure is great seeing you again, it sure has been a long time,” Lilianna said as she was walking up to her old friend.

“Yes, it has been like this for ten years. The last time I saw you, you were a priestess in training and now you are running this temple. This sure is amazing,” Silva complimented.

“Thank you Silva. I did miss you so much,” Lilianna said, hugging her.

“Me too. I was wondering Lilianna, why are there so many people here at the temple?” Silva asked.

“Oh yes, a few months ago since the road was blocked, many people had no way to cross the valley, so I offered them shelter here until the area cleared. They were arriving days at a time and they seemed happy staying here. Now I received word yesterday the paths are cleared, so I am excited these poor people are able to return home,” Lilianna explains exhausted.

“Well, it seems you are handling everything well,” Silva pointed out.

“Yes, I manage and thanks to the extra pair of hands around here, this place has been easier to manage,” Lilianna said kindly.

“What extra pair of hands?” Silva asks, wondering.

“So, what is the story with Silva and Lilianna?” Rufus asked.

“Silva and Lilianna have been best friends ever since Silva used to live here and they have always been attached to the hip since,” Raquel explains.

“Well, she sure knows how to make friends and pretty ones at that,” Rufus with gazing eyes said.

“Don’t think about it, Silva will kill you before you get anywhere near her,” Lisa warned.

“This is sure going to ruin my fun here,” Rufus disappointed.

“Is it my daughters?” Silva asks.

“Oh, no, not now, but they will surely be happy when they come to visit me,” Lilianna said over joy. “You raised your daughters well.”

“Thank you, but who are these extra hands you are talking about?” Silva asks.

“Well, is it about time you showed up? I was beginning to worry about you guys,” Julian said, coming over to greet them.

Silva turns around and sees Julian, her thorn in her thigh, was there helping.

“Julian? What are you doing here? I thought you would be leaving this area by now,” Silva asked, a little bit shocked.

“Are you stocking me? Because you are never the helpful type.”

“Ha-ha, very funny. Well I was on my way to the next city and I saw these people needed help, so I thought I would help while I am here,” Julian explains.

“Yes, thank you for your concern, but you may leave now,” Silva rudely said.

“Silva, you know him?” Lilianna asks, confused.

“Yes, unfortunately, he is my political fiancé my parents set up for me, it’s a long story,” Silva vaguely explains.

“Oh, I see, I better go attend to my guests, please excuse me” Lilianna excused herself.

“Yes, we will go help you,” Lisa offered her help.

“Thank you Lisa. Now Julian, you can leave,” Silva rudely said to Julian.

“As you wish, I will leave, take care and I will see you next time,” Julian said, handing Silva a rose as he walked away.

Once Julian left, Lilianna returned to speak with Silva.

“He seems like a charmer, but I believe he is not your type,” Lilianna observed.

“You are right about that. The Guild King arranged this marriage hoping magic will return to my kingdom which is strange how he would know about it. I doubt this will work since Solaria took away any possibility for my kingdom to regain magic and was killed for it. My home is supposed to be pacifist and my family’s greed drove them to this state they are in now, some parents they are,” Silva explains Lilianna.

“I know when you first told me about this a long time ago. I never thought the situation in your home was that bad,” Lilianna answers in shock.

“I know and the worst part of all of this, Solaria before she died trusted me with her magic because I was born with an uncorrupted soul. Now I have to travel to the temples to take on the goddess trails,” Silva explains.

“Wow, I never thought I would be in the presence of a goddess. Congratulations. I heard rumors about a new goddess inheriting our goddess magic, but it is a little hard to believe my best friend is one. My advice, you should embrace this new destiny and see what the outcome will lead you,” Lilianna congratulating her friend.

“I guess you do have a point, but it is something I will not celebrate about.”

“Yes, I’ll let you sit on that while I take care of a few things, I will see you again soon.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Silva shouted back.

Lilianna looks back to Silva and gives her a smile before turning away again. Raquel rejoins Silva wondering how her friend is doing.

“Looks like you had an interesting conversation with Lilianna,” Raquel pointed out sitting next to her friends.

“Yeah, it was,” Silva said.

“Silva, I know you came here to see an old friend, but what is our next move? I mean we cannot stay here forever,” Lisa asked.

“We should report back to the others and maybe we can stay here for a few more days before heading to the next city.”

“Right, I will take care of that,” Raquel offers.

“Thank you Raquel. Can you make sure if Gale is back? If she is, we will stay here at the temple,” Silva asked for a favor.

“Interesting. What about Terrance?” Lisa asks to join the conversation.

“Seth, explain to Terrance what has happened here and tell him about Julius and Scout,” Silva orders.

“Sure, thing,” Seth said.

“Oh boy, I wonder what will happen when he finds out about Lord Julian,” Lisa teases.

“Don’t worry. I will take care of that,” Silva said walking away.

“Right,” Lisa said, a bit annoyed. “So, what should we do now?”

“Well, just start relaxing because we are not leaving here until Terrance arrives, so in the meantime go and have fun,” Silva ordered.

“Alright,” Lisa said walking away.

“Ok, Terrance told me he will be here as soon as he can, he just has to find a way to break the news to the girls,” Seth explained.

“Alright, thank you Seth,” Silva said kindly.

“Hey Silva, I was thinking, since we are here, why don’t we settle the score that we never got around to after all those years,” Raquel suggested.

“Yeah, that should be fun, but can we do it tomorrow because that job we just did was exhausting,” Silva explained.

“Alright tomorrow it is,” Raquel agreed.