A Betrayal of Faith ✔

FIVE: The Palace At Ishmar

Nerin Oshana was far more interesting than his older brother, even though Rina had only seen him for a few minutes. Not many Princes would sneak through the servants' halls to listen in on private meetings. It was highly unprofessional and more than a little rude, but it had amused her. It could be that the young Prince would be her source of entertainment during her stay in Ishmar.

Isiah, while polite, had been dull. Followers of the Old Gods all had the same story. Either their parents were believers or they were dropped off at the Sanctum when they were babies. They were devout, they trained their powers and took classes up until they were eighteen, then they taught. When they turned twenty, they went on their pilgrimage. Most returned as proper monks and lived out the rest of their days at the Sanctum.

Some didn't return. There'd been a servant at the palace back home in Ziya that had lived as a follower of the Old Gods until his pilgrimage, where he had seen the light of Sol and the darkness of Lune and converted to the New Gods. It was extremely rare, but it did happen.

She was a little sad to be rid of Isiah, however. It had been good to travel with someone new, even if was only for a few days. He'd been polite to her and had answered any questions she'd given him. He would do well on his pilgrimage, she was sure. But now he was out of her hair. She had other Ishini to focus on.

Such as the King that walked next to her in silence. During her trip, she had gone over and over again in her head how she would speak to him, what they would talk about. She hadn't expected silence, but maybe it was better. There would be no attempt at pleasantries, no faked or forced small talk. They would speak only when they needed to.

There hadn't even been much talk during the little meeting Harudan wanted to have. Her advisor had spoken on her behalf for most of it. The King was going to give them a day to settle in and then peace talks would begin. There was much to discuss when it came to the treaty.

Some of the things the young King had said had taken Rina off guard. "I just wanted to say how sorry I am for the actions of my father," he'd told her partway through their meeting. "Had I been more than the thirteen-year-old boy I was at the time, I would have done more to stop him."

It had taken her a moment to find the right words to say. For years she had believed that the Ishini were an angry and dangerous race. The treaty had knocked her thoughts from their pedestal and with every Ishini she met, they only fell further and further.

"Thank you, your Majesty. I hope together, we can work towards forgiveness," she'd said. The pretty words of a pretty King were not going to sway her. She would make him earn her forgiveness, earn her country's forgiveness. That was the point of signing the treaty after all.

Now, he was meant to be giving them a tour, but so far all she had seen was the same pristine halls. She didn't know how many servants it took to keep it clean, probably the same number it took to clean the crystal pillars in Ziya.

Arched windows lined every hall, allowing the colours of the sunset to flood the room. The time to pray to Lune was soon, the second the last slither of Sol's light dipped below the horizon. If Harudan was religious (and most people were in Vishera), he would be taking her and her party to the nearest church.

Her stomach growled loudly and her cheeks darkened in embarrassment. Harudan looked over his shoulder at her. "The cooks and servants are preparing dinner as we speak, your Highness," he said, a smile pulling at his stubble covered cheeks. "We will pray and then we will eat." His gaze flicked to the orange and pink sunset outside.

Some people, Rina's parents were a perfect example, grew anxious if they missed prayer time by even a few seconds, believing the Gods would punish them. Rina, while devout, knew that as long as she prayed every morning and night, the Gods would still favour her. It could be that Harudan was like her parents.