The soldiers held their breaths as they saw a figure walk out of the darkness of the tower. A small young girl appeared before their eyes, her face covered by a veiled hat. The veil fell to her waist. They could make out the outline of her head and upper body but nothing more was revealed. It was like looking at a faceless individual who had no identity. The young girl was guided by her servant who held her hand as she walked out. The girl didn't say anything and just stood there inspecting every one of the people present.
"My lady."
The girl turned her head after hearing Elwood calling out to her. She signaled her servant to walk her towards him. Once before him, she made a small curtsy to show respect to the Elder who had seen her grow up for over a decade. Elwood asked her to raise herself and held her hand.
"Take care of yourself out there child. May the heavens protect you in this journey. May you bloom into the flower you are meant to become. May you know who you are so that you will not easily fall when tough times come. May you reach the end of your destiny…"
Elwood paused for a moment and leaned in closer so that only the girl would listen to his whisper.
"...and may you be the master of your destiny."
The girl squeezed Elwood's hand for a moment but said nothing.
"It is time. Daliyah, guide our lady to her carriage."
"Yes sir."
As Daliyah walked by Elwood she heard him mumble
"Do not leave her side."
Daliyah just nodded and led the young girl to the carriage.
The soldiers studied the young girl's every step. She seemed to just be an average person. They didn't feel anything special or spiritual aura from her. They remember the stories they used to hear about the White Lotus priestess. It was said that wherever she went, her presence could easily be known. She would purify any place her foot stepped on.
This girl though, could be your everyday commoner.
"She is just the vessel after all"
"She's not the real priestess. Nothing but the package that is used for the real treasure."
"Will the priestess come back through her? How do they even know she's the right person?"
Though the young girl could not hear their thoughts, their gaze was enough for her to have an idea of what was going through their heads.
"They could at least try to hide some of their disappointment."
The girl tightened her grip on Daliyah's hand.
"We'll be reaching the carriage soon my lady. Just bear a bit longer."
The girl kept her eyes on the ground. She counted the steps she took as a way to ignore the judging looks of the soldiers.
"...20, 21, 22, 23, 24…"
Two feet appeared in front of her. She raised her head and was taken back for a moment by what she saw. Standing before her was a man wearing what seemed to be a mask that covered his whole face. He was tall so she had to lift her head a bit.
"Are those…feathers or horns…?"
The man didn't say anything and just stared straight ahead, almost like she was not even there in front of him.
"Even the weird one in the group ignores me huh?"
She noticed she was in front of the carriage. The girl was about to place her foot on the step when a gush of wind partially opened the front of her veil.
"My lady!"
She was about to try to cover herself when a hand grabbed the veil before her. The hand quickly covered her face with the veil and held it in place until the wind calmed down. The girl saw that the man was now looking at her as he held the veil in place.
"He helped me…so… he was aware of my existence?"
The girl smiled for a moment. It was something ridiculous to be smiling about but, for some reason, it made her happy.
Even though the man could not see her eyes, she made sure to look straight at his face. She smiled a smile he would probably never be aware of.
"Thank you."
The man said nothing. He just looked at her. He couldn't see her face but the tone of her voice gave him the idea that she was smiling at him.
"I must be crazy. Why would she smile over something like this?"
"Ahem, Arcane."
The voice of his fellow soldier brought the masked man back from his thoughts. He nodded at the girl and stepped away so she could get in the carriage. The girl turned and with Daliyah's help, she got into the carriage.
Arcane closed the door and signaled that the vessel was ready to go.
"Soldiers! Depart!"
The commander gave the order and out the party went, back to the capital with the Priestess' vessel.
***
The rain was falling as the party walked on the tricky mountain roads. Agatha could hear the raindrops mixed with the sound of soldier steps and the hooves of the horses.
"My lady, why don't you take your hat off? No one can see you in here."
"Oh dear, I forgot I had it on."
Agatha took the veiled hat off and was finally able to breathe a bit better than before. It was unexpected for her to be asked to wear this veil as she was walking out of her room.
"Asked? Yeah right, more like ordered to wear it."
She hadn't asked why they wanted her to cover her face. She knew they wouldn't tell her the truth anyway. Luckily for her, Daliyah was there and after arguing a little, all she was able to get from them was that Elwood had been the one to give the order.
Agatha remembers the words Elwood had said to her right before her departure
(...and may you be the master of your destiny)
Agatha gave a bitter smile as she replayed those words in her head.
"That's some way to joke around with me old man. After all, you're part of the reason I'm stuck with this cursed fate."
"My lady? What's the matter?"
Agatha caught herself having all those "useless" thoughts again.
"It must be the rain."
"It's nothing Daliyah. I'm just…thinking."
"Thinking about what?"
"Nothing important. Just random things. It feels strange to be out of that place. For some reason, I didn't think the mountains I saw every day from my window were real. Yet, here we are struggling to walk through them. It just feels surreal."
"It's understandable. You didn't step out of that place for quite some time."
"Yes…13 years to be exact."
The carriage fell silent once again. 13 years isolated from the rest of the world. If Agatha didn't know any better she would think that she had committed a crime and those years in the fortress were her punishment. She started to think, if she did commit a crime she had not been told of then what would it be?
"Was my crime being born?"
She started to feel a tightness in her heart.
"Goodness, this rain is making me too emotional."
"My lady, would you like some sweets?"
Daliyah took out a basket from under her seat. After she opened it, Agatha's eyes lit up as the smell of sweet pastries filled the carriage.
"Daliyah! Where did you get that?!"
"I made them early this morning. I asked one of the soldiers to place it here before we departed."
"Daliyah, you are an angel!"
Agatha grabbed a piece of strawberry shortcake and happily took a bite. She closed her eyes as she savored the cream melt in her mouth.
"This is amazing. I feel so happy now."
"I knew you would appreciate it."
"Don't just look at me eating. Grab some for yourself."
As they ate the treats, Agatha looked towards the door. She wondered if the masked soldier was walking beside it or if he had moved his position.
"Say Daliyah, the man that held my veil…what does he look like?"
Daliyah held out her index finger as she asked for a moment since she was still chewing.
"Well…he's quite tall, and he's wearing a mask so I can't describe him."
"A mask…what did the mask look like?"
"The mask seems to be made out of iron. It had a few feathers around the edges. It covered most of his face except for his eyes."
"His eyes…what did his eyes look like?"
"Hmmm, I didn't pay much attention."
Daliyah was about to take another bite but stopped herself.
"If I may ask my lady, why are you asking so much about this man?"
"No real reason. I just…wonder why he is wearing a mask like that. Isn't it suffocating? Can he breathe with that thing on?"
"I'm sure he's used to it by now if he is wearing it. Don't tell me…"
"Huh?"
Agatha looked up from her pastry to see Daliyah's face closer to hers.
"Have you fallen for this man my lady?"
Agatha dropped the shortcake.
"What?! N-no! Oh, look at what you made me do!"
She picked up the shortcake and blew on it.
"You've never asked so much about anyone before my lady."
'That's because there was no one to ask about."
Agatha rolled her eyes and tried to see if her shortcake was still edible.
"Would I die if I ate it after it fell on the ground?"
"Whatever the case my lady, he does not seem like good news. He didn't even say anything when you thanked him."
"It's not an obligation for him to respond. What if he's mute? Plus, at least he helped me. I can assure you none of those other soldiers would have batted an eye."
"I just wonder…"
As Agatha finally decided to risk it and take another bite of her shortcake…
"WOLVES!!!"