Khendal's Pov
The hall for the ritual was lavishly decorated, and it was clear for all eyes to see that there was a difference compared to the previous ones. The air itself felt different.
Freidka, that was what she called herself. She was different.
"Your Majesty, I don't like that woman." Kael voiced out.
"How many times must I tell you to call me by my name whenever we are alone?"
"People are passing. They could hear us."
"So?" I questioned. Sometimes, Kael was just too uptight for his own good
"But you're right, I don't like her at all. No, it's not that I don't like her. It's just that she's quite different from the other priests I knew."
My eyes followed the movement of their dance, and I was impressed. It was a beautiful and rhythmically coordinated dance. There was no fancy music, but still, they managed to make the dance look appealing.
"Impossible! This is astounding!"
"She already possesses white hair!"
My eyes immediately went to the only girl with white hair, and she looked relieved. She was probably happy she was the one chosen to be my bride.
I shook my head in pity. "They're always like that."
The possessed priests moved towards her, and it was then I noticed something, she wasn't happy, she was scared, terrified even.
I watched as she was led through all the procedures, but anyone could see she was spacing out. All through everything, she looked conflicted.
What was going on?
I finally approached her as was the custom. We were to tie a knot in the presence of the gods, signifying our union as husband and wife, after which I would take her to spend the night with me in the temple. Not that I enjoyed any of it. Their young women were extremely naive when it came to matters of the bed.
She looked at me, and I held her gaze, I was determined. Her eyes were pure silver, and I had never seen anything like it all my life. Her hair was also white, as white as snow, and it somehow felt comforting to look at it. She was pretty.
She broke our eye contact as I was only a few inches from her. Poor thing was very shy.
Stretching my hands towards her, I waited so we could complete the final part of ritual, the tying of the ribbons.
Her hands trembled, just like I'd expected, just like all the previous girls. I couldn't blame them though.
It was taking too long for her to give me her hands so begrudgingly, I smiled at her, hoping for it to work so I could leave. It always worked.
It didn't.
She gave one last look at me, it wasnt a look of nervousness or anticipation, it was raw fear. She ran out of the hall like her life depended on it, she didnt even run with the grace a lady usually carried, she ran like someone on a mission,a soldier at war, and I was left there, shocked, too stunned to react, and with my hands still stretched out.
I was left at the altar on my wedding night.
The entire hall erupted into murmurs, and Kael came to my side.
"What just happened?"
"Beats me."
The priests had finally come to, and they were being informed of the situation. Freidka's eyes opened, and she face palmed as she called some priests to her side.
"When I get her, I will kill her and bring her back to life!" One of the girls among the twelve yelled, coming out of their circle.
"Lumina, where do you think she could have gone to?" Another girl with red hair asked.
"Who knows what goes on in her mind. I honestly thought she had given up on running away from things, but Avery is an ancient of days. How could she run off on her wedding day?"
"Maybe she really doesn't want to get married to that king.."
"None of that matters now. We need to get her back."
All eleven girls stormed out in search of the running girl. Her name was Avery.
"Your Majesty?" Kael called.
"I'll go find her now. If she ran away from here, I'm sure the others will have a hard time finding her. Luckily, I caught a whiff of her scent, so it shouldn't be hard to find her."
"Okay then, I'll stay here and hear what the high priestess has to say about this."
I was already gone before he completed his words, but that wasn't too much of an issue cause I could still hear him.
She smelled like moon flowers, which wasn't uncommon for the Riverine clan, but there was another scent on her. Another scent, although it was faint, it still invaded my senses, and I could not put my finger on it.
The wind carried her scent, and I followed it diligently, out of the hall, out of the temple and into the forest. How did she get there so fast?
I continued trailing her scent until it became stronger, and I knew I was where she was.
Muffled sobs. I heard them coming from my right.
"Now, what am I going to do?"
She was on the grass, under a willow tree, curled up and swaying . It sounded like she was speaking with someone, but when I looked around, I could only see a small squirrel.
"Mother told me that I could leave this place after my eighteenth birthday, so I waited for six years. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't hate this place or the girls, in fact, I consider them my own sisters but to continue in this deceit, I do not think my heart will be able to take it."
Does she have a lover?
The girl continued sobbing until I could take it no more. Stepping out of my hiding place, I revealed myself to her.
"Does the idea of staying with me really disgust you?"
"Y-- your majesty!" She called, alarmed.
"Answer the question." My voice was low as I spoke.
The night breeze blowed through her gown, letting it sway around majestically.
"If I am to be entirely honest, it does." Her eyes were darting about.
I raised a brow, they were taught since their young age that they would be married off, so I just couldn't understand.
She flapped her hands. "It's not that way. I mean, you don't disgust me. No, that's not right." She shook her head and appeared to be speaking to herself.
"The thought of marrying you doesn't disgust me, but I disgust myself."
She finally looked up at me. "I'm not the one for you, I'm the wrong person."
"Are you implying that your priestess made a mistake?"
Her eyes widened as she shook her head vehemently. Her head could fall off if she wasn't careful.
"The priestess did not make a mistake, but I just know, I'm not the right one for you. "
Her eyes suddenly became watery. "By the time you understand, you'll hate me."
I stood there, watching her cry until she finally summoned the courage to move.
Wiping her tears, she clenched her fists and turned to me.
"Let's go finish the ritual."
She didn't even wait for me to give any reply before she started to walk away.
She muttered words under her breath, and I heard it.
"I'm running away tonight.."