The young acolytes bickered and gushed dreamily over the Knights in waiting whilst Rekya just watched them in boredom.
Rekya herself had once dreamed of a life of freedom, chosen by a great knight and adventuring at his side,
Braving dangers and the thrill of the unknown, it was a life that suited her much better than being stuck in a temple chanting daily prayers and blessings.
However Rekya had long let go of this dream, the present Knightdom of Kinouri retained their distance from the priestesses,
This was because the knights had been trained to abhor distractions and the bond between a Priestess and a knight was more a burden to the knights,
Now, the Gold Ranked Knights did not bother taking priestesses, leaving the decision of pairing priestesses to the Oracle's Hall.
In such case, those Senior and Junior Priestesses flaunting their noble status would never give the acolytes any opportunities to shine.
And when the time came for the trials, the acolytes had no hopes of defeating the highly trained Junior Priestesses for a chance to serve at the side of the knight of their choice.
Rekya already knew all nineteen of the existing Gold Ranked Knights already had their Priestesses, there was only the three newly titled Gold Ranked Knights who would require a Priestess.
And with hundreds of noble blooded priestesses fighting for a place at their side, where could there be a place for Rekya?
Rekya's attention was once again attracted when she heard the acolytes gasp in awe.
"Who is that breathtaking beauty?" Acolyte Kennedy asked in shock and Rekya lifted her gaze, only to have herself left in complete shock and awe.
Right there, approaching the line up of knights in waiting was an unearthly beauty, the kind that left hearts racing,
With lush red tresses pulled up into a pony tail and gleaming golden orbs, Rekya swore she had never set eyes on a more beautiful woman...or girl rather as Rekya could see this beauty was still tender in age.
Her features were soft, with an elegant poise and each step she took was regal and graceful, a lady of nobility through and through.
Yet her aura was something different entirely, where Rekya had expected youthful exuberance,
Instead all she saw was something cold yet tyrannical, the beauty's gaze was sharp and chilling and as she came to stand at the very front of the line up, the eyes of all the knights in waiting trailed her,
Rekya herself could not take her eyes off of this awe inspiring female.
"Do you not know it, doesn't she look rather familiar to you?" Acolyte Helena asked in a quiet tone.
"Heaven knows I would never forget if I had laid eyes on such a mystifying beauty before." Acolyte Kennedy replied with a shake of her head.
"Then look at her eyes and think again." Acolyte Helena said mysteriously.
Rekya stared into the golden orbs of the breathtaking beauty, only for a moment as the female soon closed her eyes, ignoring all the awed stares she was receiving.
However pondering over those glowing golden orbs, Rekya also felt she had seen them once before.
"They look strikingly like those of deceased Knight Kalver." Acolyte Kennedy spoke up suddenly after recalling it.
"Indeed, this is the Princess of the Kalver Dukedom and the new Knight Kalver." Acolyte Helena revealed.
"The Princess of the Kalver Dukedom? Famed for her beauty an elegance all across the Empire! She is to be Knight Kalver?!" A young acolyte asked in shock.
"So it turns out, the Young Lord of the Kalver Dukedom bears the mage marking, the Princess of Kalver is the only pure blood warrior marked born to the Kalvers." Acolyte Helena continued.
"The Heavens are unfair, how could they bless just one person with a noble bloodline, unearthly beauty and even a warrior mark?" Acolyte Kennedy lamented.
Rekya frowned slightly, for some reason, while others gushed over this new Knight Kalver, she instead felt an ache in her heart as she saw the grief exuded off of this female.
As much as the young Kalver tried to conceal it, Rekya could see the aura of grief resting heavily over her and truly who could blame her?
Rekya had heard of the circumstances surrounding the death of deceased Sir Ronan Kalver and how this young beauty had been there to watch her brother die.
Rekya could not imagine the pains and heart ache for one to witness a dear kin die right before your eyes,
Rekya had never known her family, so she could not dare hope to understand and clearly no one else would.
For when they saw this young, grieving female, all the world could see was a privileged and pampered princess but somehow Rekya knew she was more...so much more.
"Blessing? The deceased Knight Kalver has passed on in his prime yet the young Kalver Princess is forced to take his place barely a few months afterwards, forced to place aside her grief and put on an act of being fine."
"Just how is that a blessing?" Rekya found herself speaking for the first time, her words sending all the other acolytes into silence.
Rekya shook her head slightly as she watched the red haired beauty,
"Even the noble blooded have their pains too, life is unfair to everyone. Life takes from everyone, Creator comfort her heart and grant her the fortitude to carry on your will." Rekya prayed aloud.
"Creator comfort her heart and grant her the fortitude to carry on your will." The other acolytes echoed Rekya's prayer before they continued on their way, heading out to the gardens.