Duty to Olmgra and Family, Part III
Sirshi couldn’t help but feel sad when she walked into the Temple of the Rising Sun early the next morning. People were beginning to congregate, which meant she was late. Many of them said hello to her. She smiled and acted the perfect apprentice priest.
Her sadness fought with the anger she still held inside. She knew who was to blame for this. The person that had no doubt been keeping tabs on her the entire time she’d been at the castle. The person that had never wanted her to be a priest either.
As she got her robes on, she thought about Roshil. Even if she didn’t feel the same way about her, she was worried. She wished Roshil would come back to the temple. The thought of breaking a statue crossed her mind. Not only could she not do that on purpose, but Lord Grund had told her to go to him, not to Roshil if one broke again. That probably meant Roshil wouldn’t be the one fixing it.
At least her punishment will have to end eventually.
During the Sun Welcoming Ceremony, Sirshi let Master Moudren’s brief words into the storm of anger. She let the sun wash over her. She had a plan, and with it, hope. If Master Moudren couldn’t do anything, Sirshi could at least confront the person responsible for telling her parents to force her away from the temple.
It wasn’t hard to find Ekla, not really. After the Sun Welcoming Ceremony the next morning, she followed Kurgm out of the temple.
“Master Ekla is probably waiting,” he said, eyeing her.
“I’m counting on it,” she said.
Sure enough, there was her half-sister, looking self-important like always. She never looked smug to other people, but Sirshi could see it in her. She knew her half-sister well enough to know that’s how she was.
“What did you do?” Sirshi demanded.
Ekla stayed calm and collected, just like she always did. Didn’t anything bother her? She could’ve at least pretended she cared.
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“Don’t act stupid!”
“No, that’s what you do.”
Sirshi ground her teeth together as Kurgm stepped between them.
“I don’t like having to be the adult here,” he said. “I don’t think this is a good time or place to do whatever this is.”
“Apprentice Kurgm, stay out of this. Apprentice Sirshi, what are you talking about?”
“Father’s demanding that I change specializations!”
“He’s what?” Kurgm asked. He looked from Sirshi to Ekla. “Is he allowed to do that?”
“Apparently, he is! Sent me a letter yesterday to tell me all about how my ‘cry for attention’ has to end!” She pulled out the letter and shook it. “What did you do?”
Kurgm took the letter and read it. At least he was interested in what was going on.
“What?” he said. He turned to Ekla. “Master Ekla?”
She took the letter and read it over. Her expression never changed. It stayed cold and hard, just like she was. Deep down, that’s who she was, and Sirshi knew it.
“Sirshi, Master Ekla wouldn’t do that.”
“I didn’t expect you ever reached out to him, or your mother,” Ekla said. “I told him you were doing well. That’s all.”
Kurgm opened his mouth to speak, but Sirshi cut him off.
“Really? And why should I believe you?”
“Because I have never lied to you,” Ekla replied.
“But you still talked about me to father behind my back!”
“To tell him how you were doing.”
“He doesn’t care about me! If he did, he wouldn’t be doing this to me!”
“Apprentice Sirshi, that’s enough.” Master Moudren put herself between Sirshi and Ekla. “You’re embarrassing yourself and the temple.”
For the first time since she’d started yelling at her half-sister, Sirshi noticed that their argument had drawn a crowd. It wasn’t much, and most of the apprentices were dispersing now that there were two masters involved. Even with people staring at her, she couldn’t find it in her to be embarrassed. Anger had shut out every other emotion in her. It was all she felt, all she was, and it was all Ekla’s fault.
Ekla held out the letter to her, and Sirshi snatched it out of her grasp.
“No matter how upset you get,” Master Moudren said, “I expect better of you than to yell at a servant of the court, regardless of who they are.”
“She started all of this. If it hadn’t been for her, none of this would be happening!”
“I know that’s not true,” Master Moudren said. “At least, I know that’s not what she intended.”
“You don’t know her like I do. She never wanted me to be a priest!”
“What I want—”
“Master Ekla,” Master Moudren said, “I imagine you and your apprentice have work to do elsewhere.” She smiled at Kurgm. “Apprentice Kurgm, it’s always nice to see you.”
He stood at attention and smiled back at her.
Ekla’s eyes moved from Master Moudren to Sirshi, then she turned around and walked away down the corridor.
“Apprentice Sirshi, I’m disappointed in you.”
“But—”
Master Moudren glared at her, and Sirshi’s anger evaporated like water in the desert. Master Moudren had never glared at anyone.
“I’m… I’m sorry, Master Moudren.”
The glare disappeared from Master Moudren’s face. Sirshi wanted her to smile, but she didn’t think that was likely to happen.
“I spoke with Our Lady Exalted Priest yesterday,” Master Moudren said. “I’m afraid this isn’t the first time this has happened. Parents not wanting their children to be apprentice priests because they themselves believe worshiping deities is a waste of time. She said she would look into those other cases — they were before her time here — and see if she could find anything.”
“So she can stop my parents?”
The sunken expression on Master Moudren’s face gave her an answer before Master Moudren herself did.
“We can’t be certain. She can only try her best. That’s all any of us can do.”