"Your Majesty, the High Priestess is awake." Ayana reported.
Krista lightly pinch the sleeping redhead baby in the cradle cheeks and she bent slowly to give the baby a light kiss. "My beautiful daughter, I have a lot of things am preparing for you. You have to grow strong and then we will exact our revenge on Autumnshell." It was this sententious she used to tell her baby everyday whenever she was sleeping in the cradle. "I don't like how Gerian feeds Hyenata, find me a new nanny also a nursing mother to feed her." She tucked the blanket in replacing the blue crystal placed few inches from Hyenata's head.
"Nursing mother?"
"Yes to feed Hyenata. I can't continue feeding her." Krista declared. "I have to retain my youthful look." Her beauty was her most powerful weapon and she planned to use it. She doubt Dima Zee would marry her if she wasn't beautiful.
Krista took her seat on the chair next to the cradle and brought out a spell book she had been reading in a box beside the chair and also a red box filled with different colours of candles.
"Your Majesty The High Priestess is awake" Ayana repeated awkwardly.
"She is a thorn in my side and I don't think she is on my side. I have to find someone more powerful than her to overthrow that spineless High Priestess with no background." She flipped through the pages. "I have to find a mage more powerful."
Since Dima Zee died, Krista had been searching for mages desperately with the excuse that Agatha needs them to stay strong but she was only taking in mages to form her own powerful army but the High Priestess wasn't that cooperative.
Krista had even started learning magic drinking all sort of potion to enhance and wake up the magic deep inside her, she prayed in the temple to Heaven to grant her magic abilities. It used to take years for an ordinary person to learn magic. Krista studied day and night but she wasn't able to light a candle yet.
Krista even bought a lot of crystals for Hyenata to absorb to develop magic abilities since she wasn't born with magic.
Dima Zee younger sisters, Kala Zee and Zealger Zee were already on her side. Krista was glad Dima Zee doesn't have a brother to fight over the throne with her and she was able to prevent him for taking in a concubine. With Lunarwell behind her, the Queen Dowenger didn't say a word to anything she does, the council were on her side and the only person left was the High Priestess who now holds the post of the late King's sorcerer Kaha.
The High Priestess was the one responsible for the training of the mages but was reluctant to take in Krista, refusing her indirectly by giving her lot of spell books to study. Since Krista wasn't born with magic and it was troublesome to teach someone without magic.
To obtain knowledge and the secret to magic Krista had been trying hard to please her since the people of Agatha would believes anything someone in her position says. The High Priestess was an honest and complicated person Krista had ever met.
Some rumours were going around that Krista killed the King and it was the High Priestess that pacified them after telling Krista she knew she murdered Dima Zee but she would not tell a soul. The reason for keeping this secret, Krista do not know. The High Priestess told the people Dima Zee died of natural occurrence and then Krista took care of the others that didn't buy their story.
Sighing deeply, Krista closed the spell book and adjusted her cloth before walking out of the room. Three servants bowed to her and proceed to the room where Hyenata was.
The rest of the servants outside the door trailed behind her and Ayana as they walked out of her palace. A palanquin was ready for her at the front of her villa's gate. She glanced at the colourful wrapped boxes each servant standing beside the Palanquin held. Two servants quickly parted the drapes for her and she took her seat on the chair and rested her back to steady herself as the bearers lifted her up.
The temple was not far but Krista enjoys nothing more than showing off as the most powerful woman in Agatha even the Queen Dowenger was suppressed in her palace.
The bearers stopped at the stairs leading to the gate of the temple, they lowered the palanquin down and the servants quickly pulled up the drapes for Krista to step out and just as predicted there was nobody outside to welcome her. Only the guards by the stairs bowed.
"Didn't you send words am paying a visit today?" She growled feeling her stomach tumbling in anger as her eyes glow red.
"I did your Highn....." Ayana paused. "I did your Majesty." She corrected.
"Seems the High Priestess with no name is being pompous if she isn't one figure needed for Agatha I would have cut off her wings." Krista held her skirt up as she climbed the stairs not minding if the servants heard her. They know better than to spread rumours.
"Welcome your Majesty." A female guard at the gate bowed and started leading them but they were not being led to the temple. They were going the opposite way in the direction of the High Priestess house.
Krista spotted the High Priestess sitting under a pavilion sipping tea and seemed to be in deep thought.
The High Priestess was very young and she had a long brown wavy hair matching her deep brown cat eyes, her lashes were long and brown, her mouth was very wide. Krista would not categorise her as beautiful but she was attractive and always dressed in beautiful red robes matching with a black belt without a single jewelry. It was a beautiful look and Krista was impressed the High Priestess dressed better in red and black than the deceased Kaha.
If she wasn't a High Priestess she would have a lot of suitors on the line for her. Krista heard a rumour the High Priestess was the secret daughter of Kaha and she tried to search for evidence but comes up with nothing not even a name, no one knows where she came from, they just know Kaha brought her in when she was five. Before she became the High Priestess they used to call her Priestess and Krista had never seen her untill Kaha's funeral and she was the one that performed his last rite.
"Your Majesty." She placed her tea cup on the saucer, stood up and bowed.
"High Priestess." Krista greeted and took the seat the guard drew out for her. "I heard you were a bit under the weather and I told the Royal Physician to prepare this medicinal potion for you, the ingredients composition of it are very rare gotten from deep in a ice cave." Her mouth curve in a fake smile as she exaggerated. Collecting a small golden box a servant handed to her.
The rest of the servants she brought started piling the boxes they brought with them in a neat orderly colourful manner.
The High Priestess bowed. "Thank you your Majesty for your benevolence." She collected the small golden box opening it to see a small white bottle, she closed the lid and placed it in her pouch before taking her seat proceeding to serve Krista tea.
"I was informed you fainted during prayer and you were unconsious for three days." Krista started. She would rather not beat around the bush. "What happened?"
"I was searching for mages and felt a sudden great power, greater than all." The High Priestess explained. "It hit me with a surge and I was searching the location of this power because being in the wrong hands can bring a great calamity." She said her face impassive.
This was the kind of interesting discussion Krista had been waiting for and she was glad her trip was worth it. "A great power?"
"Yes your Majesty, greater than all and I was able to pinpoint the location of this mage to Autumnshell." The High Priestess replied honestly.
Krista gasped. "Autumnshell doesn't allow the use of magic!" She exclaimed.
"I will interpret it as Autumnshell does not allow the display of magic but that does not mean some don't have magic in Autumnshell your Majesty." The High Priestess corrected.
"Then we must find him or her." Krista demanded starting to get impatience.
"I will only be able to know their identity if they use magic again but this mage is very powerful and I do not think its wise to find them. For them to be in Autumnshell means they won't misuse their powers." The High Priestess pointed out.
Krista clearly heard the hidden meaning of those words. The High Priestess was indirectly telling her the mage would be safe in Autumnshell and not expose to the world of politics which mean she had no interest in finding the mage.
"I have to attend court, I will join you for tea one of these day." Krista stood up her voice carrying a hint of urgency.
"I will escort you your Majesty." The High Priestess stood up and bowed ready to see Krista out. Each of them with a knowing look since she knew Krista would do everything in her power to find this mage and Krista knows the High Priestess knew she would find the mage but she doesn't know the High Priestess agenda for telling her this information and she doesn't care about finding out.