In the late hours of night that ended this cursed day, a last visitor is still waiting to make their appearance, yet their visit is not whished by whom they must visit.
The Hight Priest sat on the chair besides the bed where Empress laid with her back turned towards him, she was looking at the moonlight coming trough the window casting a shadow of clouds in the sky. Even though he was called to come much earlier, he chose not to, it was not the right moment, to many ears are awake during the day. The night was much better for conversation, always was and always will be.
They sat in silence long before the High Priest decided to speak. She hasn't told him anything yet, but he knew what had happened to her. When Maria came before him, to meet him halfway, she told him that her Lady is unwell, she is having a flareup again. Even without an explanation the priest knew what that flareup was, he has seen it many times with his own eyes, many unfortunate times of which memories keep him awake at night.
In the dark room, only lit by a single candle light and soft moonlight coming out the window, the bruises could be seen peaking out of her nightgown, red like blood.
"I thought it was over." She spoke quietly, almost whispering. "Two years ago was the last time this had happened."
"You and I both know it will never be over." Priest clenched the rosary in his hand. Memories flew through his mind, in the distance he could hear the voices, the screams and sounds of breaking bones and sliced flesh.
Two years Empress fell of a hours during her visit of the royal hunt.
However this wasn't the one Priest remembered so vividly, this one was far worst and far back in time. In days before the two of them were to ever step foot in this empire.
On the royal hunt, Empress's horse was suddenly scared by something causing him to go mad and run straight to the cliff, the Empress fell of before he jumped, hitting her head hard on the ground. Anybody else would be dead on the spot, but she stood up and using all strength left in her, from bruises that were like today forming on her back, looked over the edge of the cliff, and saw her horse laying at the bottom in the pile of his own blood.
It was a well trained horse, Lucky was his name, a white pure breed, from a family of horses that was in service of Romanet family for years.
Before that there were some other smaller incidents, poisoned tea, food, many sliced throats and a few arrows piercing her chest. No culprit was ever caught and no one suspected, there was no case, there was no body, no wounds, nothing that could prove these events were happening. But in the last two years it had stopped.
"My chest, they pierced my chest with a sword. During the court assembly." She told him, her hand slowly moving to the place the blade came out of, she remembered it vividly, length and wight of the wound. "It was a long sword, of white metal. The ones guards own. There were two guards with me."
"My child, when you came to me today," Priest cleared his throat. "Is this what you have feared?" His voiced echoed through the flames of candle light lit next to the bed. It was the only candle in the room. Empress insisted on no light, but one candle she couldn't deny without a valid reason.
A tear escaped from her eye on the goose pillow she was resting on. "My dream was about nothing like this. This, I could not have predicted."
Two royal guards were with her, both behind her back, guarding the door, both of them were carrying such swords. Both guards she knew by name, they have been in her service for years, guarded her and her family with honour all these years.
Only person on the balcony besides them was her daughter, nobody else came in or came out, Neftali would have seen them and the murder would be caught right away.
Strange curse this Empress holds, a curse of death, the very same one that granted her life also brought grate misfortune upon her. Death, unavoidable thing, in everybody's hands, was to her a repeating moment.
If you were to poison her tea, slice her throat, strangle her, stab her to death or do anything else that will lead to her death she will live through it and you will to. The act will be done, the damage done, blood spiled, every dying once of pain felt, but death would not come, it remains as if nothing had happened. If you blink, the sight of it is gone, only evidence of it happening was the bloody blade or an empty bottle of poison, and bruises on the victims back that were her remainder the act happened, there was no hallucination, and the pain from them was far worst than any death she was to experience.
"Of all people, for it to be him, all these years." The most obvious one. "Dear Lord may you bless us."
How do you arrest someone who killed you if you are still alive? If the only thing you have is a memory and a weapon you can never find, and if besides you, only the killer knows about this, what do you do? What can you do? The answer is nothing, it has been proven many times in the past.
Unfortunately, Empress can never be certain, but the evidence pointed only in one direction.
One more tear ran down to her pillow. She could see them, all the memories, all the acts. A turn of events that she could not have predicted, all these years she spent wondering who would wish her so much harm, when the answer was right in front of her, the most obvious one.
"Evan, it is Evan." She said what they both thought. His warm hand touched her shoulder. "I am not certain yet. If one of the guards is gone, it is him."
There was no way of knowing witch one of the two it was, but if either of them is gone by next morning, it can only be the Emperor's doing, who else has the power to order such a thing and who else despises her so much as he does? The man she cares for the most, the one she has given everything to. Has his lust reached a point of no return?
Empress knew it was about that time he found her, but this outcome couldn't be predicted, and for it to go on for so many years before, truly something that could only come out of fear.
The one who sent the guard, now must get rid of him. He can allow that man to live with such knowledge, it will lead him to insanity and ruin his plan. Nobody can find out he wants to get rid of the Empress, that is his own death ticket.
The victim's failed death can only be paid by another, the one of the culprit.
"I am sorry my child, that the one you love so deeply only thinks about hurting you."
"Yet my love stay's the same."
"That kind of love is wished by many, and even more wish that love came from you."
"Yet I can only ever give it to one." One and only one, the one that she lives for, the one she came all this way for.
"We both know such love you have only for him. But love of the heart is beating for another."
Empress stopped breathing for a moment, the pain suddenly got worst. "Please leave now father."
The priest kissed her head, "Take care my child."
Before he left she asked one last thing of him. "Please blow out the candle."
"We both know you can't avoid it forever."
"No, but today I can."
"Very well." He blew out the candle by her bed, leaving her in the dark, only light being the moonlight that is slowly hiding behind dense clouds.
One is to be scared of the dark, many things lurk in the dark, but it is another to be scared of what lurks in the light. If you are haunted by both it is better to pick the dark to face, but if you are haunted by one without the privilege of choosing and that being the light, you are still going to wish to fear the dark.
Empress feared the light more then the dark.
Maria was sitting in the drawing room reading a book under candle light. she stopped when bedroom door opened. "How is she?" Maria asked the priest.
"I am afraid there is nothing new for me to tell you, time is what she needs to recover." He approached close enough to see what book she is reading, then stopped and smiled softly. "You were expecting that answer."
"I did, that is what you always say father." She returned the smile, "I only fear time will one day run out for her. Much sooner then expected."
"Our little Katherine, run out of time?" He giggled like old man do. "If anything she will outlive us all. Make that last of your worries lady Maria, she can endure allot, much more then a regular person can."
"Maybe that is what I truly fear, that she will be left alone, with nobody to take care of her."
"Now that is a real concern, people often fear death, but nobody wants to live forever. That is much scarier than dying." He looked at the rosery in his hand, worn out during the years, with uneven pearls that crumbled under years of being held in his hands. The cross was already reattached many times, but even if the rule is to replace the rosery when the cross falls off, he keeps reattaching it. It is not only a object, a symbol of religion, but a item that keeps him grounded, it serves as a reminder of who he is and what his place is.
"You are probably right."
"What is that you are reading in this late hour?"
"It is The book of Percy." She showed him the title, engraved with gold letters in the brown leather. It was a gift from Her Majesty, one of eleven Holy books her Majesty has gifted her few years ago when she started showing interest in religion. They were all the same, bound in brown leather with golden letters engraved on it. The of Percy in her hands was already showing signs of age as she had read it many times, like the rest of them. Maria could probably recite every single one of them from memory. Yet in her collection on was missing, the twelfth one. Last of those that are known to exist, The book of Cato. "I am reading it tomorrow at the temple, to the children. It is good to revise before such things."
"Oh yes, tomorrow is Sunday." Maria always did that, on Sunday morning she would go to the temple and read to the children that went to school there, they were orphans rescued and brought to the temple to get education and shelter. Once, not so long ago, her lady was one of those children.
"It is, but I am wondering if it is right thing to go and leave her alone."
"Do not worry to much about her, others are coming tomorrow, she wont be alone."
Two other court ladies are coming back to the palace tomorrow after being away to visit their families before the season begins.
"And even if they don't come there is always Emily." The priest added.
"Yes, Emily."
"Well I must leave now, good night lady Maria."
"Good night father."
He walked to the door, not the entrance but the closet door. Took the candle that was on the table next to it and lit it. Then opened the door and didn't come out. In that closet, behind the wall of dresses there was a passage that lead to the temple. It was an ancient maze of tunnels that was build a long time ago along with the palace itself. They lead to several rooms in the palace as well as the temple catacombs. But many of the entrances and exist have been closed of with renovations and only a few of them remain usable, to Maria's knowledge, only three people, including her, knew how to get through them. Her lady shoved her a few years ago, in exchange she does not tell anybody else about them, only if the lady herself allows it. Besides, she only shoved her how to get to the temple and back, as well as all the places she could enter from the palace. Third person that knew about them was the High priest, but the one that originally discovered them was her lady, of all of them she knew them best.
That is the same way the High priest came here, same way he comes every time things like this happened. Same way that her lady secretly sneaks out some times in early hours of the morning to visit the temple, returning just before her maid comes to wake her up.
Maria returned to her book, she will stay awake, reading until the morning even if her eyes get tired. Just to keep guard like an angel looking over its soul.