[Open] Reality check

[Shona Tertignan]

“Aye,” I replied, “I finished my service just of late.” I gave Beatrice a little smile, examining her. “What of you?”

It was a blanket question, about her vows, about her vocation, too.

[Béatrice nó Faure]

"It is the same for me. I recently completed my wandering, following in the footsteps of Blessed Elua," my tone was pensive as I reflected on it. "And now I am come to the city to continue my service, though I miss the Sanctuary in Landras terribly. But we must follow where Elua bids us."

[Shona Tertignan]

“Of course,” I replied quietly. For a moment, I let silence stretch, before I asked, “I've yet to go to Landras, Sister Beatrice. Tell me of the Sanctuary?”

[Béatrice nó Faure]

"Oh it's the most peaceful place you'll ever come across," my voice softened as I spoke of it. "It's in Siovale you see, so it's near the mountains and there's something so deeply calm about it. Mostly it's just the Brothers and Sisters and the children, and Brother Ludovic is in charge. He found me and took me in. It's a simple life and everyone looks out for each other, hardly anyone has ever decided to leave for the village. I know it's biased since I grew up there, but I truly believe it's the most charmed place in Terre d'Ange."

A wave of homesickness overwhelmed me. It had been three years since I'd seen them last. I pushed down the feeling and turned happily to Shona. "You should visit, someday. It's good for the soul and maybe you could give us some advice about where best to plant an orchard."

[Shona Tertignan]

“I would love to,” I replied, smiling a little. “It sounds like a lovely place...” I took a breath, and felt my heart swell with longing of my own. “It sounds like home, really.”

A moment later, I shook it off. “I have brothers, out of the city – the estate where they grew up was very much like it, though of course, it was, as you imagine... it was not a temple.” I smiled a little, and stifled the thoughts I had about my mother, about being ripped from home so early.

Ah, her wishes to make me like her. They'd shaped my life, for a time, but no longer.

[Béatrice nó Faure]

Her voice held a trace of sadness that I assumed was a homesickness like mine.

"Sometimes you can forget the Sanctuary is also a temple," I said, since we were speaking of homes. "It still has that sacred air about it, but when you're in the fields and valleys around it you feel like any one of a large family working together to keep it." I felt that as a priestess of Anael, Shona would understand that sentiment better than most and it made me pause to think about what sort of family she'd come from.

"Your brothers and family? Do you visit them often?"

[Shona Tertignan]

I nodded thoughtfully, thinking that this sort of teamwork had been a difficult thing at Bryony – my housemates were often secretive, there were little betrayals, some competition. All in all, it had been a lonely place. I'd been grateful for the precious few friends I'd made there, and in other houses. That made me think of Larquel, and I silently prayed for his soul a short moment.

“They came to the city when I took my vows,” I said, “and now that my service is here, I do have more opportunities to visit.” I smiled a little. “I always missed my family.”

It seemed I was doomed to live away from them, alas. It struck me suddenly how lonely I could be betimes, and I was grateful for the temple of Anael, and the gentle companionship of my brothers and sisters.

[Béatrice nó Faure]

"It is well then," I smiled, though there was still a note of something melancholy in her voice. I let my hand brush briefly and gently against her arm. "The gods are kind, and work in mysterious ways. Maybe it is a gift of theirs that you can visit your loved ones more often."

It made me wonder when I would be called back to Landras. I had no doubt Elua would draw me there again, but not as yet.

[Shona Tertignan]

“Aye, they are, and it likely is,” I replied with a little smile that was brave. “I did find my year of service difficult for it, but I don't think it would have been a trial otherwise.”

It was odd: I'd served Naamah all my life, but a year of service in Kusheth as an acolyte had been more demanding than every other year of service as an adept.

Then again, it was such a change, it was hardly difficult to understand.

[Béatrice nó Faure]

"And you come out all the stronger for it too," I added. When reading the Eluine cycle it was hard to fathom just how difficult it would have been for him and the companions to do so. Living it, albeit alone, had helped me to skim the barest layer of understanding. I knew that similarly for Naamah's chosen, they had to undergo a year of wandering without refusing anyone who might seek their solace. But I wasn't sure what was involved for Anael's followers.

"What does Anael's year of service entail?" I asked.

[Shona Tertignan]

“A year of labor in the fields,” I replied, smiling. “To wander and work with the peasants as they need it, or don't, and live as scarcely or as richly as they do.”

I gave Beatrice a wry look. “You might imagine it was quite the change from Bryony.” I looked at my hands, which once were very delicate, and now carried a few well-earned calluses.

“No regrets, though.”

[Béatrice nó Faure]

"That is good." I said, truly happy for her. Regret was one of those things, like hope in a way, that could tease you to madness. "What was it like being raised in the Night Court... if you don't mind me asking?"

For a girl like me, raised in the country far from it all, the Court of the Night Blooming Flowers had seemed like an enchanted fairy tale.

[Shona Tertignan]

“Odd, I suppose,” I replied thoughtfully. “I can hardly give you a complete portrait. Bryony is a peculiar house, and one in which loneliness blossoms along with prosperity – though I did have a friend or two.” I smiled, just a little, but it was sad, too. “I had friends at House Orchis as well, and some at Jasmine.”

I found myself looking up at Mont-Nuit and sighing a little.

“I found out lately that one of my friends died in the plague, may Kushiel be merciful, and the One God bless his soul.”

[Béatrice nó Faure]

"May he find joy in the Terre d'Ange that lies beyond," I added quietly. It appeared that there was quite some subtle sadness behind the initially cheerful and efficient exterior. I hoped that she was truly at peace, despite it all.

[Shona Tertignan]

“He has, I'm sure,” I replied with a small smile. A moment of silence passed, and I looked up at the darkening horizon.

“It will be time, soon.”

Time for prayer, for meditation, for serving in other ways.

[Béatrice nó Faure]

Her voice had gone soft again, and only then had I realised how late it had become.

"Oh, my, I'm so sorry. I didn't realise how fast the time had gone," an ironic statement, considering the events of the day. "Will they be missing you at Anael's temple?"

[Shona Tertignan]

“I may have to explain myself,” I replied with a soft smile, “but as you know, Lord Anael is patient, and so is his clergy.”

A pause, and then, “What of you?”

[Béatrice nó Faure]

I felt that familiar jab of contrition, like a mischievous child who had earned their friend a stern talking to, but I was sure they would probably praise Shona's efforts in having helped bring a life into the world and so put that slight uneasiness to rest.

"I doubt very much that they will notice. They are so used to me flitting off. Just as long as I am back by sundown."

[Shona Tertignan]

I couldn't help but laugh a little. “Ah, would that Blessed Elua himself have chosen me,” I replied, and winked. “But let me not abuse my Lord Anael's patience – we shall speak again soon, aye? I want to visit Landras with you.”

I leaned over to kiss Sister Beatrice's cheek, and having done that, took my leave to hurry back to the temple.