weaker than yourself make me sick.” She said, willing anyone to oppose her. The people started to whisper among themselves, many with ashamed looks on their faces. Others just cast disdainful looks at them, before turning to leave.
Soon the crowd dissolved, and the only ones left were the three of them. Selissa kneeled by the girl and put a hand on her shoulder.
“Are you okay?” She asked quietly, careful not to frighten her further. The red-haired girl looked at her with wide eyes, obviously not used to people being kind to her.
“Y-yes.” She stammered, lowering her eyes when she realized she had been staring. The boy shot her a grateful look.
“Thank you.” He said. “Not many would have stood up for her like that.”
“Unfortunately the world is mostly populated by lowlifes like them.” Selissa answered. She rose from her kneeling position and offered the younger boy a hand. He took it with a thankful smile, before helping up the girl. The girl, still frightened, kept hiding behind him.
“You live at the temple, don’t you?” The boy asked. “I think I saw you yesterday.”
“I do. My name is Selissa.” She answered, smiling at the boy. As she met his eyes, she saw him stiffen in surprise. That was a normal reaction when people looked her in the eye, but the boy soon recovered and returned her smile.
“I’m Nijel. This is my sister Nadia.” He offered his hand. Selissa accepted the hand shake, a little hesitantly. She figured he had to be from Ver’dohna. Sinarian people didn’t shake hands, instead preferring to greet people with a slight bow.
“Pleased to meet you.” She said before dropping his hand. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you end up in this situation?”
Nijel looked a little embarrassed before answering. “Nadia and I simply went for a walk in town. I didn’t think it would be a problem, since she had her hood on, but this vendor bumped into her, so it fell down. It went downhill from there…”
The young girl, that Selissa now knew was called Nadia, bowed her head.
“It’s all my fault. I’m sorry.” She said in a meek voice.
Nijel opened his mouth to protest, but Selissa beat him to it. “Sorry? Sorry for what? That some people decided for themselves that you were worth less than them and gave you that mark?” Nadia looked up and Selissa met her eyes. “You’re only worth less when you start to think that you are. Don’t let those people get to you.”
Surprise was evident in the girl’s eyes. She clearly wasn’t used to people other than her brother accepting her and standing up for her. Selissa’s thoughts went to Calen. She knew how that felt. Everyone but Calen had always kept their distance to her, too. But even if they avoided her, at least they didn’t try to chase her away.
Very aware of the hostile looks the passing people were shooting their way, Selissa smiled at Nadia.
“I have to go pick up some robes at the tailor. Want to join me?” She asked, extending her hand to Nadia. Nadia looked warily at her hand, half surprised, half frightened. She shot a look at Nijel, who smiled and nodded at her.
Nadia slowly accepted Selissa’s hand, and the three of them went on their way, doing their best to ignore the stares of the crowd.
5
After returning to the temple, Nijel and Nadia had gone to their room, and Selissa had gone to look for Calen. With her arms full of clothes, she went through the temple grounds.
As she went up the stairs to the east quarters, she heard a voice to her left.
“So the brave warrior girl is running errands now?” A low voice asked. Selissa felt an annoyed tick in her jaw as she turned to the speaker.
Alassane stood learned up against the wall a few feet from her, a lit cigarette hanging from his lips.
The strange feeling she always got when he was around washed over her, but this time it was overpowered by annoyance. Had he nothing better to do than bother her?
“Why don’t you just go somewhere else? To Hell, perhaps?” She said, a pleasant smile plastered to her face, standing in sharp contrast to her harsh words.
He mumbled something she could have sworn sounded like “Been there.” She figured she had imagined it, as he looked at her with that damn smirk. He took the cigarette from his lips and exhaled slowly.
“Who are you trying to fool with that fake smile of yours?” He asked amused.
The fake smile widened. “You, obviously.” She answered.
Her reply caught him off guard, and she took the chance to slip past him. She sighed in relief when he didn’t follow her. She had no idea what the guy’s problem was. He had only been there for a few days and he was already getting on her nerves.
Forcing her skinny tormentor from her mind, she continued on her mission to locate Calen. For the first time Selissa cursed the size of the temple. Normally she found it great, as it prevented others from easily finding her. The problem was that it also prevented her from finding others.
She rounded a corner and had apparently not noticed the sound of footsteps, because she collided head-on with someone who was hurrying in the opposite direction.
She staggered backwards a few steps, dropping the robes in her arms in the process. As she regained her balance, her eyes located the cause of the collision.
A brown-haired boy, probably a few years younger than her, sat on the floor where he had fallen. He was rubbing his head where he had bumped into her.
He seemed to realize that he had actually bumped into someone else and jumped to his feet. “I’m so sorry! Are you all right?” He asked, obviously mortified by his actions.
“Yes, don’t worry. I guess I wasn’t watching where I was going.” Selissa answered, trying to ease the boy’s anxiety. Getting a better look at his face, she guessed he had to be one of the new apprentices. She had never seen him before, and he was too old to be one of the children attending classes there.
She bent down to pick up the clothes strewn across the floor. The boy started to mumble apologies again, as he bent down to help her.
“I really am sorry. I should have been paying more attention.” He said as he picked up most of the robes. “There’s a lot here, you shouldn’t be carrying this much. Let me help you.”
Selissa smiled at his eagerness to make up for running into her. She picked up the last of the clothes, before motioning for him to follow her.
“Thank you for the help. It is quite a lot to carry alone.” She had no problem carrying it all, but decided not to mention that. He would probably feel better if he felt like he was helping out.
They walked on, Selissa navigating them through the corridors to where she hoped Calen would be. The boy stared in wonder as they passed by the different gardens and halls of the sanctuary.
“How do you find your way around here? It’s huge. I have been getting lost all day.” He said, looking like he was trying to make a mental map of the hallways they crossed.
“You get used to it.” Selissa said, finally spotting Calen talking to one of the lower ranking priests. He looked up and smiled as he saw her approaching.
“There you are. I was wondering where you had gone.” He said teasing.
“I’m sorry, Calen, I had to break up an angry crowd on the way.” She said as she handed him the robes. A questioning look crossed Calen’s face, but Selissa didn’t offer any further explanation. Instead she turned to the boy.
“Thank you. You were a great help.” She said smiling. The boy, obviously pleased by being of help to someone, leaned forward in a bow, before turning to leave.
Selissa considered staying to talk to Calen, but she knew he had a lot to take care of. The priests were always busy when the new apprentices arrived.
She waved goodbye to him and turned to leave herself. As she turned her head, she saw Nadia standing close by, staring at them with wide eyes and a horrified look on her face.
Selissa walked towards her slowly and kneeled next to her. “What’s wrong, Nadia?” She asked softly, careful not to start
le her.
“That boy…” Nadia whispered, looking past her. Selissa followed her eyes and saw that she was looking towards the place where the young apprentice had just disappeared.
“Yes, what about him? Is there something wrong with him?” She asked the girl, who was shaking by now.
“H-he’s… He’s going to die.”
6
The next day Selissa sat in the secluded garden, thinking about Nadia’s words.
“He’s going to die.” What did she mean by that? There was nothing wrong with the boy and absolutely no reason why he should get hurt. So why would she say that?
She sighed. She had been wondering about it all day yesterday, but hadn’t reached a conclusion. Not one that made sense anyway.
“Willing to share your thoughts?” A by now familiar low voice asked. “Or are they not worth my time?”
Selissa’s eyes narrowed as she looked up at Alassane. He was standing there watching her, the ever present cigarette in his hand. She could almost feel the arrogance emitting from him.
“You again? Are you stalking me?” She sneered.
Alassane let out a huff of smoke. “Don’t flatter yourself, woman.”
Selissa exhaled deeply, trying to keep her anger in check. It seemed like his very presence managed to send her into a temper tantrum. She rose from her seated position and strode past him, doing her best to ignore him.
Just as she thought he had gotten the hint, she heard him falling into steps with her, a few feet behind.
“My, my, you really aren’t good at taking