"Your majesty," I said, looking at the Luna. "I do not know if I can bring him with me everywhere I go today."
I said it straightforwardly. This is not something that is commonly done. Besides, not even Nova and Comet are allowed to follow me in my work. I doubt Altair would be.
"Oh, you are worried about permission, right?" Aaliyah asked, smiling brightly. "Don't worry, I already asked the Head Priest if Altair could follow you around and he said yes."
"He did?" I asked, tilting my head to the side questionably. "Well, if the Head Priest says that it is ok then … I suppose I do not have a problem with it."
I looked at the man in front of me, still hanging his head like a child embarrassed by their parent in front of everyone. I could not help chuckle at his expression, it is truly amusing.
"Altair," I called to the man, resting my head in my hands as he looked up at me. "Let's work hard today, alright?"
Surprise coming on his face before relaxing almost immediately, the man nodded, smiling at me.
After that, I finished the rest of my meal, very grateful that I did not take my cloth off my mouth as the two came in. I don't know what I would have done if they saw my bare face. I would have been so embarrassed.
Comet and Nova looked like they wanted to ask me something but kept their mouth shut about it. Especially since Altair kept a sharp eye on the both of them.
I did not even have the chance to introduce them to each other properly as I had to eat quickly and then dip myself in the pool to purify my body from the pheromones still stuck to my body before I met with the common people.
Once I was done eating, I had to rush out and Altair followed me, meeting with High Priest Freyr, who looked a little surprised to see Altair with me.
But, after I explained everything to him, he when back to pretending like he did not exist anymore and ushered me into the bath.
In the bath, he only talked to Altair when he need to make use of him and did he make use of him. He sent Altair to grab the oils and the potions to be poured into the water.
And, when I was done, he sent him to grab the robes I was to wear that day from the other Priests. I did feel quite bad at how much he was sent around but I didn't have much to say about myself.
High Priest Freyr saw my body and merely raised his eyebrow at me, amusement dancing all over his face.
"Don't worry, this will help to make those marks disappear." He said, pouring the liquid that Altair got onto my body, from the head up.
And, like clockwork, the marks did disappear almost immediately. I was thoroughly impressed, to say the least.
Altair was very quiet the entire time, even as he helped me get ready, his hands accidentally grazed against my waist, making him blush uncontrollably but he still managed to keep his composure.
Finally, we were out of that place and I felt fresh and ready to tackle the day.
The first order of business is to meet the new twenty-something group of people that will be assisting me today. It is not possible to work with the same twenty people.
They are currently resting and we do not want to overwhelm them with this amount of Holy Magic. Especially when they are not people that are used to it.
Let's get through another day now.
________________________________
"I sincerely apologise, Orion," Altair said, following behind me while we were making our way to the group of people I am to spill my blood on, again, though he did not look the least bit apologetic. "I promise I will not get in your way. As best as I can anyway."
"Hello, may I know your name?" One of the soon to be Priests asked, smiling at Altair, who immediately looked at them with nothing but scorn on his face and turned away without saying a word.
What happened to his awkward friendliness? Well … it is quite amusing, to say the least.
"Should you not be a little friendlier to them?" I asked, trying not to show my amusement to him.
"I have no reason to be." He said honestly, not even sparing them a second glance as he walked past them.
"Does that mean you have a reason to be friendly to me?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at the man beside me. "What is it that you want from me, I wonder?"
"I want nothing from you," Altair said, looking me right in the eyes. Sincerity jumping through. "Except … maybe … that you remain well for the rest of your life."
"Now that is an interesting request," I said, unable to stop teasing this incredibly awkward man. "You know, sometimes I feel as though you know me from somewhere. By the way, you look at me … have we met before?"
A look of surprise flashed across his face before quickly dismissing it, and going back to his usual stoic expression. "No. We have not met before that night."
"You mean the night I healed you and you turned running?" I asked, pocking his side with my hand. "But you looked like a child there."
"That happens because I was a little low on magic." He said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "If I do not have enough strength, I will not be able to turn to my human form. So I just turn into a child."
"Were you just fighting? You were wounded badly." I remarked, remembering all the scratches and bruises all over his face from that night.
"I cannot say." He said, looking slightly apologetic.
I could stare at him looking like this all my life and will never be tired of looking at his face. Such a shame I have no interest in pursuing a lasting relationship, I would have seen him as a potential mate otherwise.
Well, that is until he finds his true mate. I can smell that he is unmated … for the time being. Such a shame. Truly.
"No matter," I answered, stopping as High Priest Freyr stopped in front of me as well. "You don't have to tell me. Just be careful in the future. I will not always be with you to heal you up."
As though I said something wrong, Altair's expression turned dark almost immediately.
"If you could live forever … would you want to?"
"No," I answered, turning from the people in front of me to Altair. "Living forever sounds like it would be a pain. What about you?"
He looked at me for two seconds before breaking into a gentle smile, "Yeah. I agree with you."
'So pretty', was the only thing I could think about the moment I looked at his expression. I was so enamoured by how angelic he looked that I completely missed one important fact.
Why would he suddenly ask me something like that out of the blue? It doesn't make sense.
Then again, I understand why he might have wanted to ask it. I have seen many deaths in my time and the question of your own mortality comes to your head, bugging you every time someone drops dead in front of you.
It truly is a horrifying experience because you know your time is coming soon or that person lying motionless in front of you could have been you.
So I understand, in some way, why he asked it. I do hope whatever is bothering him internally, it gets taken care of, for the sake of his peace of mind.
That is what I would like to ask of everyone that I care about. Live peacefully and without regrets, that way, death's cold grasp with not be met with frightened eyes and a reluctant spirit.
So that your journey into the afterlife is paved with flowers and not with worn-out footsteps from resisting your inevitable fate.
"Are you ok? You have been staring at me for a while." Altair asked, turning to look at me as I snapped out of my thoughts.
"Yes," I said, trying to wipe this nostalgic feeling dancing inside me. "I hope you live a good life, Altair."
"Where is this coming from suddenly?" He asked, genuinely looking surprised.
"I just felt like saying it," I said, walking to the other Priests lining up in front of me and leaving Altair to stare behind me.
Perhaps I should not have said that as the only thing I felt the entire time I placed my blood on the forehead of the Priests, was his burning gaze on the back of my head.
Ah. Ha. He's cute so it's ok. I guess.