Cult of the Lamb : The Man in the Forest

Chapter 2: Kenedra

Merida had made it back to her bedroom window unnoticed. She put her hands on the sill and carefully pulled herself up. As she tried to slip through, she lost her footing and fell into the room. The loud thud of her body against the floor woke her sister. She sat up quickly, her head snapping this way and that to find the source of the noise. When her eyes fell on Merida, she glared.

"What are you doing?"

"I fell..." Merida grumbled, pushing her mass of wool back as she stood and brushed herself off. She was far more inebriated than she realized, and had to catch her balance on the bedpost.

"Are... are you drunk?" Lydie asked in a hushed voice.

"It's none of your business, Lydie." She growled and sat in her bed, fumbling with the strings on her robes to take them off.

"You're going to get in so much trouble..." Her sister sighed, pulling the blankets off herself. Merida rolled her eyes, tossing her robes aside. "Who gave you alcohol? Was it Khalyn? She's a bad influence, Merida."

"Shut up, Khalyn is my best friend." Merida glared at her before laying down in her bed, pulling the blankets up over herself.

"Why were you drinking?" Lydie pressed despite the other's clear attempts to go to bed. When Merida didn't answer, she went on. "Is it what I said?" She asked, her tone becoming inexplicably gentle. "I didn't mean it, Merida, I was just angry."

"Sure..." Merida huffed.

"I'm sorry, really I am. I don't think you're a brute... Honestly, I'm a little jealous of you." Merida turned to look at her sister.

"Jealous of me? Why?" She asked with heavy incredulity.

"Dad loves you more." Lydie said with a little shrug, as if it were obvious. "He spends so much time with you."

"We only spend so much time together because he's training me. If you let him train you, you'd be with him just as often."

"I don't like fighting, Merida... I don't want to learn. I enjoy healing wounds, not causing them."

"I don't know what you expect then, Lydie. He doesn't know the first thing about healing. He loves you just as much, why else would he be so protective of you?" Lydie gave a little shrug and looked towards the door. From the sound of it, their parents had gotten up for the day.

"Look, to make up for being such a bitch yesterday, I'll try to cover for you. Just stay in here and sleep, okay?"

"Thanks..." Merida smiled a little and curled up under her blankets. Lydie got out of bed, put on her robes, and left the room. She closed the door behind herself, and Merida could only hope that whatever excuse she came up with was a good one.

Merida slept like a brick, and didn't wake until the early afternoon. Her head was pounding, and she groaned as she forced herself out of bed. After lazily pulling on her robes, she left her bedroom in search of water to appease her throbbing hangover. The temple was empty, so she was able to get a glass of water unimpeded. She chugged it down and sighed, deciding it was best she make an appearance before her parents had time to worry. She grabbed her staff and stepped out of the temple to find the Cult grounds already alive with followers going about their duties. She planned to look for her sister, to thank her for her apparently successful attempt to cover Merida's absence. As she walked through the grounds, however, it was her mother that caught her eye. Mir̃alai had her Doctrine in her hand, blessing one of the followers who had been sitting at the shrine. Merida attempted to slink out of view, but it was no use.

"Oh, Merida...!" Mir̃alai smiled, approaching her with a warm smile. "Are you feeling better now, dear?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. I just have a headache." Merida replied with a feeble smile.