The First Archpriestess
A horrific scene unfolded beneath the trees. The ground was awash with blood. Dying screams echoed through the air, only growing more numerous with time. But even that wretched sight seemed to fade away as Hiro stood entranced. Golden hair, silk-soft, danced beneath the boughs, setting the forest glittering with heavenly light as it caught the shafts of sunlight filtering through the canopy.
“Hah!”
She expelled a quiet, sharp breath. One clean slash cut down the monster before her. It was not her only victim—one by one, the other creatures surrounding her slumped to the ground. Blood arced high with every cut, but not a single drop fell upon her. The sword in her hands stayed undulled as it did its work, its glittering blade untouched by crimson stains.
She was a fantastical vision. An otherworldly sight. To look at her was to wonder whether one had strayed into a dream—and dimly, it occurred to Hiro that she was all the more beautiful for it.
Beautiful. Nothing else could describe her; no other word could suit her better. She carried herself lightly and fought as though dancing, like a battle maiden straight out of a story book. She was beautiful...and who could fail to fall in love with beauty?
“Are you unhurt?”
Her voice yanked Hiro back to reality, but it still took a moment for the haze of infatuation to clear from his mind.
“What?” he blurted out dumbly.
“The Anfang Forest is a far more perilous place than it was when you were summoned to this world. Did Lord Artheus not warn you to stay away?”
Her smile shone with a Madonna’s compassion. He felt the strength leave his limbs; it was impossible to resist.
She held out a hand as white as porcelain. “Can you stand?”
Belated embarrassment welled up in Hiro’s chest as he gazed at her fingers. Not only had he needed a woman to save him from monsters, he had collapsed on his behind from fear and couldn’t even get up on his own. Overcome by shame, he brushed her hand aside.
“I’m fine. I can do it myself.”
Unfortunately, his legs didn’t agree. He tried to force himself to his feet, but his knees buckled and he fell again, smacking his rear painfully against the ground. That only brought on another surge of self-loathing. He hung his head, unpleasantly reminded of his own weakness and insignificance.
“What are you so ashamed of?”
Hiro raised his head to find the woman’s beautiful visage startlingly close. Her hand reached out to cup his cheek.
“People depend on one another when they must, and allow others to depend on them in turn. That is how they grow strong. Do not belittle yourself so. You are destined to become strong indeed.”
“What makes you so certain?”
“I see it in your eyes. Whether someone will resign themselves to their circumstances, or whether they have the will to break free...all this is written in their eyes.”
There was nothing that Hiro could say. She spoke with such force as to brook no disagreement, with such confidence as to leave no room for argument, and her words struck him square in the chest.
“May we not walk side by side? When such serendipity has brought us together, it would be foolish to disagree.” She smiled a little bashfully, for once looking her age, and giggled. “You may depend on me, so long as I may depend on you.”
“Rey, I...” Hiro tried to speak, but a pale finger stayed his lips.
“Ssh. It’s all right. Let us grow strong together.”
She was beautiful. Nothing else could describe her—and her smile drew him in, deeper and deeper, like the bottomless depths of the clear blue sky.
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