Keeping The Peace, Part III
Kurgm walked into the Temple of the Rising Sun, but didn’t stay in the main chamber. Instead, he ducked through a side corridor. It was small, but as he walked down it, the sounds of the outside world faded away, leaving him alone.
At the end of the corridor was a small room with a soft floor. At the other end of the room sat an altar with a smaller statue of the Goddess Olmgra smiling down at anyone inside. At her feet was a silver basin that caught the light of the room and seemed to shine in it. When he closed the door behind him, all sound from outside cut out.
Kurgm walked up to the altar and knelt down. He was alone in the room, so he spoke to her out loud.
“My parents always said you guided them through hard times. Even…” He closed his eyes until the screams faded. “You gave them hope that tomorrow would be better. Well… I could use some of that hope right now. I’m not sure if what we’re doing is working. My parents served the court. I grew up believing in that. I believe in the servants of the court, but…” He closed his eyes again. Mad ramblings of nonsense joined the screams and cries, but he pushed those down too. “I’ve believed in people before that let me down. I—”
A sound caused him to jump. He snapped his head to his right, and saw another door opening. A young woman, about his age, held a silver chalice in one hand as she closed the door with the other. She turned around and jumped when she saw him.
“I didn’t realize anyone else was here,” she said. “I can come back.”
“No, it’s fine,” Kurgm said. He motioned up to the statue of the goddess. “She hasn’t said much anyway.”
The girl smiled, then walked over to the basin. She tipped the chalice and poured water into it. Kurgm was certain she was the new apprentice at the ceremony that morning.
“Have… have you seen the protests outside?” Kurgm asked.
“No.” She shook her head, sending her carefully arranged curls scattering over her face. She grimaced and rearranged them again. “No, I hadn’t. Is that why you’re here?”
Kurgm nodded, thankful that there was someone else to talk to.
“I thought it would be fine, but then a friend of mine mentioned how it is outside the court, and now I don’t know. What if Skwyr ends up the same? What if all that talk about freedom and equality and acceptance meant nothing?”
“I’m just here to refill the cleansing water.” The girl eyed him as though she thought he might attack her. She glanced at the door. “I need to do other things too.”
“But if it is a lie, wouldn’t you want to know?”
“Can it wait until I’m finished?” she asked.
He backed up to let her get to the basin. She began to pour water into it from the chalice in her hands.
“My… some people lecture me for worshipping her, but that hasn’t stopped me.” She nodded at the statue. “We’ve had faith, and she’s sent angels to help us in times of need. That’s what the court is, isn’t it? Except they send knights instead of angels.”
“We’re not just soldiers, we’re peacekeepers.”
“You’re… you’re a knight?”
“An apprentice knight. Apprentice Kurgm.”
“Apprentice Sirshi.” She nodded politely.
“Are you a priest?”
“Rotating through the temples right now, yes. I have to learn about all of them, not just the one I intend to serve.” She frowned at him. “I’ve seen you before, haven’t I?”
“I come here every morning.”
She nodded, but furrowed her brow. After a moment, she returned to filling the basin. When she finished, she walked back to the door.
“As our goddess teaches us,” she said as she opened the door, “all will be well.”
“Thank you.”
She nodded again, then left the room. Before she left, she stopped.
“Good luck with your whole existential crisis thing.”
“Thank you. Good luck with whoever keeps lecturing you.”
She scowled for a moment. “Thanks.”
Kurgm looked up at the statue again. As nice as it’d been to have company, it hadn’t helped much. Having faith in the court was good, but he didn’t know if it was well placed. He’d always believed it was, but what if it wasn’t anymore? What if Roshil was right? What if Skwyr became like the other kingdoms?
He stood up, wondering if he could stumble upon Master Ekla. She might be able to set him straight. Or at least give him something to do to take his mind off his problems.
He bowed to the statue of the goddess, then left the room. He tried to keep his focus on where he was, if only to keep it off everything else. But before long he was back at the door to the castle.
He walked through the door. He barely felt the tingle of the magic doors anymore. When he stepped into the castle, he found the one person he wanted to see walking by.
“Apprentice Kurgm,” Lord Velal said.
Kurgm stood at attention.
“May I have a word, My Lord?”
“Only if you can do so while walking.”
He fell into step with Velal. He caught himself before he started explaining the last few hours, trying to figure out how to condense it.
“Have you been assigned protest duty yet?” Lord Velal asked.
“Yes, My Lord. That’s what I wanted to talk about. I talked with Apprentice Roshil earlier, and she seems to think the court’s not going to do anything.”
He criticized himself for naming Roshil. That could easily get her in trouble. Not could, would. He’d just outed her, and she was sort of his friend.
“I see. Not surprising, knowing her family.” He looked at Kurgm’s confused face, then added, “Both of her parents were betrayed by their respective kingdoms. That leaves a bitterness inside a person, so even after living here for so long, it will take longer for those scars to heal. So when she expects Skwyr to end up like them, it is only because she was taught to regard the kingdoms with distrust. Add to that her own history… I’ll only say that however scared those people are outside, Roshil is worse.” His face curled into a smile. “But I assure you, we are doing everything we can to restore peace.”
“They don’t think that outside.”
“They are afraid. As Roshil, you must forgive them what they say in the clutches of fear. People aren’t themselves when afraid.”
Kurgm let out a sigh he didn’t realize he’d been holding in. When he realized what he’d done, he straightened up again.
“Apologies, My Lord.”
“I’ve known you since you were born.” He winked at Kurgm. “I’ll let you get away with it this once. But don’t let Master Ekla catch you. To be honest, her dedication intimidates me sometimes.”
Kurgm pressed his lips together to force back a laugh.
“I’m glad to see you’re looking better. In the future, do remember that speaking out is welcome; it’s the only way we can know when something’s wrong. We do, however, discourage whining.”
They stopped walking. Lord Velal motioned down one corridor. “Now, I must be going. I believe you will be running into Master Ekla soon. Take care of yourself, Apprentice Kurgm.”
“Thank you, My Lord. You as well.”
He watched Lord Velal walk down the corridor, then turned and continued down his own path. All his life, Lord Velal had managed to find the right thing to say. He hoped that would be him one day.