The Prince
The doctor was a liar. Me and Mill didn't know that, of course. At least not right away. Mill, to her credit, didn't treat me any differently, now that she knew I was full of worms. I appreciated that a lot, it made it feel more normal. I did catch her looking at my chest a bit more after that though, and I wondered if she was imagining the worms bursting out of my scar and pouring out of my body.
I certainly did. I had dreams about it at night, just dreams of the worms gushing out of me onto Mill, covering her in a sea of worms, a sea of me. All the worms squirming into her, filling her nose and mouth and eyes and ears, her screams choking out as I felt and tasted everything, feeling myself snuff out her life, I would realize it too late, and scream and lunge to save her, only to wake up to an angry Mill pushing my hands out of her mouth in the darkness of the crawlspace. After the third time, she started sleeping face down.
It was about three weeks after the tests that I saw the man in armor talking to Sister Galla. I didn't think much of it at first, I assumed he was there for official tax reasons, or to make a decree, but as soon as she saw me, she sharply looked away and put on a prim and polite face to the guard. Something seemed wrong, so I decided wait until he left, and then I snuck up to the church door. I stood in the doorway, and softly called out to Sister Galla. She stood from a pew and saw me, and gasped, and rushed over to me.
"Get inside lass! What are ye doing standing in the door with the guard out for ye?!"
I blinked and stepped in
"S-sorry, I thought I wasn't allowed inside..."
She closed and latched the door behind me and shook her head
"Forget whatever stick the gods have up their butts about ye, when the princes' guards are out for someone, it'd be a sin to let them see her about, and that's a much worse sin than letting a godforsaken into a sanctuary."
"The prince?... The one we pay taxes to? Or, the adults do I suppose, what's he want with me?"
She shook her head firmly and twisted her lips into a scowl.
"Never you mind lass, nothing good, I promise you, if you get taken, you won't be back I know that. Ye'll stay here for now, I don't want ye leaving this building, hear?"
I shivered and hugged her.
"O-ok, thank you... Could you tell Mill where I am? She'll be worried if she heard they're looking for me and I'm not at home..."
Sister Galla nodded and stroked my hair.
"Aye, I'll do that. Stay hidden, use my room in the back, and don't let anyone see ye, no matter who they might be."
As she left, I slid under her cot in the back room and rolled to the back wall out of sight. I knew the prince was feared, the adults were always whispering about how he charged too much in taxes, to the point a few towns had vanished from lack of food, and there were rumors he would pull people off the street and they'd never be seen again, but no one in our town had disappeared so I had chalked that up to rumor talk. What could he possibly want with me? My first thought was that as the adults had whispered, he wanted to collect all the young pretty girls for his own mysterious needs, but with my plain flat looks, straight grey hair and pallid grey skin I was sure that couldn't be why he was interested in me. Was it because I was godforsaken? Was he a religious type?
The door to Galla's room creaked open and I leaned forward to see if I could tell who it was. I saw a white floor length skirt, and a pair of cloth shoes that needed repairs badly. It had to be Galla and Mill. I started shuffling out from under the bed as they whispered to each other and put the brace on the door. I stood and patted Mill on the back. She whipped around and muffled a yell with her arm.
"They're tryin' ta git ye! They wan' t' take ye away an' do sommin to ye! We-"
Galla put her hand on her head and she went silent, still shaking a bit with panicked energy.
"Yes, they do want to take ye away, I don't know why, but they've been looking for ye with the words 'a demonic grey girl' so they know a bit about ye at least already. We need to get ye out of the town, and away to the monastery in the greenwood, I'll get the supplies, so-"
"Leave town?!" I yelped, my mind catching up to her words "But... Mill, and my home, and my jobs, and..."
Mill grabbed my hand and squeezed it
"Ifn' yer goin', I'm goin' no worry 'bout that. An' jobs are where e'r we are."
Galla nodded and turned to Mill.
"Millicent, I am actually going to need you to do me a big favor, I know you said you were denouncing the church, but if you would come back, I need a sister to introduce our friend here to the monks and nuns, and you're the only one in town with any training, would you shoulder this responsibility? It would mean escorting her all the way there, and serving at the monastery while she's in sanctuary, can you do that?"
Mill's eyes bugged and she gasped
"M-me? A sister? B-but I'm not ready, I ne'er finish'd my stuff, I gots so much ta-"
Galla put her hand on her head again and she clammed up.
"Millicent, I trust ye. I've had your pendant ready for almost a year now, I was just waiting for your womanhood ceremony to give it to ye, but we've no time to wait on the whims of nature now, you have a love and a light, and I want to bless that."
She turned to me and frowned a bit
"What we're about to do is very private, and ye shouldn't even be here for it, much less see the ritual or the pendant. Both are very precious, private things in a sister's life, but with the situation, I'll ask ye sit still and mind yerself while we do it, and be respectful of it, ok?"
I nodded and sat back, feeling embarrassed and slightly honored. I had never considered being present for any rituals, and with my status among the gods, it felt almost dangerous for me to be here. I felt the buzz of anxiety as Galla turned to Mill and stroked her head.
"Now Millicent... I want ye to know, I think ye're one of the most responsible and trustworthy sisters I've had the glory of training, and I'm so happy to see ye make it here. I love ye like me own daughter, and if we were not in the situation we're in, I had plans to invite ye and her to live here, with me. I'm sorry it dinae work out like that, but I still see ye as my own kin, the both of ye."
Mill started crying at that, and hugged Galla tightly. I sat awkwardly on the bed and watched them quietly. It felt so strange, seeing Mill cry without shame, without playing it tough or hiding her face. I stayed silent as Sister Galla got out a small box and pulled a golden necklace out of it, a flat twisting circle made of golden leaves and vines, circling around and around each other in a beautiful pattern. Sister Galla started the rites, and Mill kneeled in front of her, still crying, but beaming up at her the whole time.
"...And with the full blessing and power of the gods bestowed on me by those before, I bless ye, Millicent, to be among us as sister, to grow and train, and to bless others as I have blessed ye."
Sister Galla finished, and lowered the necklace onto Mill's neck. Mill stood, and held it in her fingers gingerly, away from her body like she was scared of it crumbling if she squeezed it too hard. Galla stroked her head and smiled
"No need to be so careful, Sister Millicent, our pendants are as blessed as we are, and the holy power of the gods keep them safe and shining bright, I promise it won't break."
"It looks really beautiful Mill! Mm, Sister Mill, sorry..."
I spoke up for the first time since the rite started.
Mill laughed, more freely that I'd seen her laugh in a while and rolled her eyes
"Ye'r family, or somin' like tha' at leas'. No need ta' be fancy on me, hear?"
I look to Sister Galla for confirmation, but she just smiled sadly and turned away.
"I'll be getting ye supplies in town, I expect to be back by nightfall, please both of ye stay in here until I return, and stay as quiet as ye can. Ye leave at the witching hour for the greenwood, best to slip out while ye can."
With that, she slipped out and left me and Mill alone. Mill calmed down considerably after a few minutes, but I could feel the pride and joy pouring out of her as we sat on Sister Galla's room, and she kept pulling her pendant out from her dress and staring at it in awe. As scared and nervous as I was, I was still happy to see her this way. Her stern, rough exterior was lovely to me, because it made me feel like only I knew the real her under her shell, but... seeing her with that same shell wide open filled me with a strange feeling that made me quite happy, and I basked in her joy until Galla returned with travel supplies that evening.
~
We were wearing new clothes, Mill in a habit and me in a nice dark cloak, and we each had a basket full of food, a little bit of money, and some personal effects like our tool kits. Galla had scoped out the church and area around the town leading to the road, and she said there was no sign of the guards, so we should be safe. I thanked her for her help, and we headed out into the dark.
There usually was no one best way to get to the monastery through the woods, one way took you along a creek, one way through the hills, and one way was just following the road and cutting across the turns in it to cut time off. We were very wary of the road, and it wasn't quite moonlit enough to see our way through the hills, so we crept along through the creek bed. It hadn't rained in a few weeks, so the creek was no more than a small trickle running through the middle of the bed, and our footsteps made no sound in the soft dirt.
~
It took us until just before dawn to make it to the monastery, the creek leading us within a stone's throw of the side garden. I slid off Mill's back, and she cracked her spine in a few places and shook out the stiffness from carrying me.
"Well, I guess y' got t' sleep a bit at leas', yea?"
I stretched and yawned
"Well, a bit, but it's hard to sleep while being on someone's back..."
"I dinne' 'ave any trouble sleepin' on ye."
"...Yeah, you drooled in my ear, I could tell you didn't have any issues getting to sleep"
She snickered and poked her tongue out a bit at me
"Ye get yerself inside and forget abou' tha' stuff, sister's orders."
I rolled my eyes and started around the monastery with Mill right behind me. Circling the building, I saw the front door was wide open, and the lawn around the front was matted and flat. I slowed down for a second, looking around for anything else strange, and felt Mill's hands slam into my back, shoving me forward
"Git inside, dumass!"
She hissed in my ear as she pushed me. I staggered forwards as I saw soldiers round the far side of the building and I broke into a run, my feet thudding on the ground, and my heart thudding in my chest. I took the stairs 3 at a time and lunged for the door, sliding across the ground, the stone digging into me. I felt a metal clad hand grip my ankle, just as a hand grabbed my arm and yanked me forward. I lay just inside the monastery door, panting. The man who had pulled me in was glaring out the doorway at the soldiers on the stoop
"You can't have her, she's in a sanctuary, a proper one, blessed by the gods! You try to get in here, and the heavens will rain on your heads!"
The soldiers made no movement to enter, but parted ways to reveal a man in silver armor and purple clothes. His white hair contrasted his young face, and in his hand he held a long thin knife. In his other hand though was something I was much more concerned about. The monk gasped
"Prince Nerin! S-stay back, even you don't have dominion here!"
The prince smiled a sly, smug smile that slid across his face slowly, and purred in the voice of someone who has always gotten everything they want
"Oh, I don't need dominion in there, I have it out here, and I fully intend to use that dominion. Unless... Maybe your new ward would like to stop me?"
I stared at Mill, her body shaking in his grip, blood running down her neck from the tip of the knife pricking it, and her eyes as hard and angry as ever. I felt myself crying, and the monk grabbed my dress to stop me, but I pulled myself free. Life without Mill wasn't worth living, so why bother protecting it? I then made the worst decision of my life, a decision I would regret for the rest of my life.
I stepped out of the monastery.