The Archpriestess, the Princess, and the Boy: Redux
“Well met, Master Hiro. I hope you are not finding your new life too taxing.”
“Not at all.” Hiro’s smile was slightly stiff.
The álfen woman did not seem to believe him. She drew closer, cupping his cheeks in her hands. “You are quite certain that you are in good health?”
Hiro’s face burned. Her delicate arms would be easy enough to brush aside, but the archpriestess of Frieden was not so easily refused. Laying hands on her could spark a diplomatic incident—not to mention alarm her retinue of knight-priestesses, who would be quick to draw their swords.
Even Liz knew better than to intervene. Still, that didn’t stop her from glaring. As the archpriestess’s ministrations continued, she eventually reached the limit of her patience.
“Haven’t you prodded him enough?”
The crimson-haired girl’s anger washed off the archpriestess’s blithe smile. “Why, Your Highness, I hadn’t noticed you. Do you know, I must have mistaken you for an open flame somebody carelessly left in a grate.”
The odd turn of phrase drew a perplexed look from Hiro, but the álfen woman only put a finger to her lips and smiled.
Liz’s mouth pursed ever so slightly. “Well,” she said, “I wonder what your followers would think to see you start your day ogling a man’s body.”
“They would be overjoyed to see an archpriestess of Frieden reunited with the Spirit King’s chosen champion, Emperor Schwartz—through his descendent, Master Hiro, of course.”
Hiro sighed wearily as the two glared at one another. He and Liz weren’t in Baum to argue. They had returned with a handful of bodyguards to recover the soldiers who had been wounded crossing Mount Himmel.
“Right!” Liz announced. “Time’s wasting.” She sidled up to Hiro and hooked her arm pointedly through his. “But we should be heading back to Berg Fortress. Thank you ever so much for treating our men.”
The archpriestess’s smile never faded, but the warmth seemed to drain from it. She shook her head serenely. “Must you hurry home? Your guards must be exhausted from the journey, and dinner is already on the table. Will you not rest here awhile?”
Delighted murmurs rose from the soldiers at their backs, although they were quickly silenced by a glare from Liz.
The princess turned back to the archpriestess. “We’re flattered, but our provisions will be more than enough, and we will have plenty of opportunities for rest on the way.”
“Are you certain that is wise?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Your companion seems rather set on staying.”
The archpriestess gestured toward the entrance of the Spirit King’s sanctum, her smile widening. Hiro and Liz followed her gaze.
“Here you are, Lady Cerberus. The finest cuts, fresh off the bone!”
“Have you heard of redsalt? You can only get it here in Baum, but it brings out the flavor of meat like nothing else!”
“You—!” So that was where Cerberus had gone. Apparently, the white wolf had been busy being bribed by the archpriestess’s attendant knight-priestesses.
“What are you doing?! Get back here this instant!”
Liz’s protests fell on deaf ears and a wagging tail. She watched in mute betrayal as Cerberus vanished into the sanctum, enticed by the fragrance of cooked meat.
The archpriestess turned back. “It seems the matter is settled. You will be joining us for dinner after all, I take it?”
Liz kicked at the ground like a sulking child. “Why does Cerberus always think with her stomach?”
“Follow me, Master Hiro.” The archpriestess seized Hiro’s arm and pulled him along.
“Hold it right there! You can’t take him anywhere without my permission!”
“You speak of him as though he were your property. If that is how the royal family view their subjects, the future of the empire is bleak indeed. How Emperor Artheus would weep to see what his bloodline has become.”
Liz ground her teeth. “Fine! Fine. We’ll stay a short while and no longer.”
If Hiro’s memories were anything to go by, Artheus had been far more headstrong than Liz. He would never have offered even that small compromise.
“Very good. I shall attend to Master Hiro, of course.”
“Over my dead body!”
The two continued to bicker with Hiro sandwiched between them. As the trio crossed the threshold of the Spirit King’s sanctum, a gentle breeze blew past, and for just a moment, the rustling of the branches sounded like Artheus’s laughter.
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