, it'd been easy with her training. Mages were a profession that was often known for its repetitive courses, training, and work. It was also a highly prized position. Mana was not a hard thing to grasp, but it was not also an easy thing to master.
Priscilla would have loved to use the moment of respite to plan. Think of what came next. However, she drew blank thoughts on the subject and found herself wondering if she'd live through the night. She wondered if they knew the danger they were all in. She wondered if she knew the extent of danger she was in.
"How are you, Lady Priscilla?" Bishop Luis appeared beside her.
She looked up, panicked by his sudden appearance.
"Pease, young one." Bishop Luis smiled. "We're done here."
Priscilla looked down and found the large pot was nearly empty. The hall was no longer filled with the frantic pleas of serfs. It was now filled with a solemn peace to it as everyone delved into their meals. She wondered if they ate out of hunger, or fear.
"Come now, let us eat too," Bishop Luis gestured to the small table in front of the altar at the very back of the cathedral.
The mass of tables with food and plates had been set up under the mural of Alistair. The people ate amongst the pews with their family and friends. Priscilla and the church's hands had been segregated beyond the table before the altar. This was to keep the townsfolk from tearing into the supplies that'd been brought out for those who needed it. A few of the servants who had eaten at the beginning now walked amongst the pews. They carried bibles and read scriptures with those who wished counsel.
Priscilla was not a religious person in her mind. She found the sight touching though and sat down with the left-overs of her pot.
"Had Cyril been given food?" Priscilla asked.
"Of course," Bishop Luis smiled. "She requested more fruits. She never touched her soup."
"That's good to hear," Priscilla sighed. "She hasn't eaten much since she woke up."
"Not eating for a day will not harm her," Bishop Luis said as the rest of the servants picked a different table to give them some privacy.
Priscilla's expression tightened with amusement for a moment.
"What's so funny about that?" Bishop Luis laughed.
"It's nothing" Priscilla waved her hand dismissively.
"I know she's not mortal," Bishop Luis kept his amicable smile, her Priscilla's face cramped up. "No mortal eyes glow like hers. Silver is the eyes of Gods. Red is the eyes of Devils. Gold, however, I have never heard of. Do not get me wrong, I hold no issues with Lady Cyril herself, but I am a nosy man by nature."
"She's..." Priscilla mulled over what to say. "Special."
"Special indeed," Bishop Luis nodded encouragingly. "How did you two meet? I see the way you look to her."
"She saved me and my friends," Priscilla said as she stared the man in the eyes protectively. "I don't believe it's any of--"
"Now, now. No need to be defensive." Bishop Luis held up his hands while keeping that irritating smile on his lips. "The Light does not judge who you love. We only seek to be saved in our Lord's eyes."
"Cyril is an Angel," Priscilla confessed.
"An Angel?" Bishop Luis kept that unassuming smile. A smile that bred trust.
"We woke her up at the top of Fable's End after Prince Desmond's expedition was attacked by... By the undead and these black tendrils..." Priscilla breath shuddered. "She walked us out of that horrible place and brought us back."
"When was this?" Bishop Luis asked softly.
The rational part of Priscilla told her to shut up. Her heart demanded that someone hear her. Hear her torment - what she saw. And so, her heart won out and she laid it all out before him. He nodded his head along as she talked about how it all came to be. From her reason for signing up with the princes to the journey there. He laughed with her when she spoke up those honey-sweet times with her friends.
He held her hand when the words of death were uttered. He then rubbed her back as she spoke of the black death that rose around them. Of the undead that chased them. Of watching her friends die.
"I didn't hesitate..." Priscilla said. "When I saw those... Things... Come at us, I fought back. I was calm. I remember that. I had fought against those things with everything I had. But my friends..."
"It is okay... You can stop if you like..." Bishop Luis comforted her.
"No... My friends... They hesitated and they had died because of it. " Priscilla said in a detached manner. The horror had broken her past the point of tears. It had burned everything in her. She had been desensitized by it, or maybe she had compartmentalized it? She didn't know. Only, it was easy to talk so long as she kept her breathing steady and her voice monotone.
"We ran up the side of a small bridge to a portal," Priscilla said. "We didn't know if it would kill us or vaporize us, but we went through."
Then she spoke of the lake they found, and the wakening of Cyril. Of the wonders, she held in her home. With Bishop Luis's soft prodding, she spoke about their trip down. And how she had slain the dragon. Bishop Luis noted the sudden affectionate tone that had steeped into her voice when she spoke of Cyril. The soft smile that had blossomed when she spoke of the snow games. The grin that replaced it when she spoke of that accidental kiss on the field.
There was no question of what the girl felt for that... Goddess.
Bishop Luis was sure of it now. The ancient tomes had spoken of what lived on the summit of Fable's End. Cyril, the Creator. The City of High Elves. The tomes spoke of the war for that Goddess's resting place. But never had anything mention that she had in fact still lived. They only spoke of her as if she was dead. The story had come to its end and Priscilla looked to the Bishop.
"I believe you love her," Bishop Luis said.
"I know." Priscilla nodded.
"You know?" Bishop Luis asked.
"I know it here," Priscilla padded the top of her heart. "When we had kissed, I knew it. I may have not been meant for her, but I don't care. She is the most wonderful person I've met."
"I believe you may be suffering for what we refer to as 'Knight-In-Shining Armor syndrome," Bishop Luis said. "That is when someone saved falls in love with their savior. This may or may not be your mind trying to heal itself, but I will not tell you for certain. Just keep that in mind."
Priscilla was about to say no, but then a scream broke the peace. Then the world descended into chaos.