Also, at the moment all she wanted to do was get out of the spotlight. So instead of talking back and giving the other priestesses even more grist for their gossip mill, she turned and fled, going as quickly as she could to the suite of the Priestess Superior.
Never should have told, she thought, swallowing down tears of rage and shame as she ran along the corridors. Never, ever should have told!
Three
The suites of the Priestess Superior and the Senior Priestesses, who were her direct subordinates, were located on the level above the Sacred Grove. They had their own private lift-tube which ran from the main area, with the communal living space and the food prep area, right up to their small, private wing of the Mother Ship.
When she’d first come to the Mother Ship, Elli had come up this lift every day to tend the Descending Priestess Superior. But she still felt awe when she rang the chime and the door to the Priestess Superior’s suite slid open, revealing an opulent setting.
To start with, there was carpet on the floor instead of the bare, cold metal of her own little cell. It was a thick, rich pile in a deep blue and green swirled pattern that you sank into when you stepped inside. (Barefoot, of course, since none of the novices were allowed to wear shoes.) Then there was the furniture—the couch in front of the fireplace was huge and plush and overstuffed, covered in some kind of suede-like leather in deep blue that matched the carpeting.
On the walls were works of priceless art in gleaming gold frames and there were a few tables that had expensive-looking vases and knick-knacks scattered here and there. Elli made certain to stay well clear of those—she didn’t want to be accused of breaking anything.
“I was told to come and see the Ascending Priestess Superior?” she said to the priestess who had opened the door, making it a question.
The priestess scowled at her.
“Oh yes—you’re the novice who snuck out to the human party and shamed herself with a male, aren’t you?”
“I…” Elli felt the shame roll over her again but she decided not to let the priestess—who was only the maid of the Ascending Priestess Superior—see it. “I was told to come see her,” she repeated doggedly, not answering the other woman’s question.
The priestess maid’s scowl deepened.
“Come this way—she’s out at the moment but you can wait in her audience chamber.”
She jerked her chin at the hallway leading off from the living area—one that Elli knew well, since it also led to the bedchamber where the Descending Priestess Superior was slowly dying.
Elli said nothing and simply followed her down the hallway. The maid took her to the end of it and opened the door on the left, revealing a room with a large, gleaming wooden desk and several straight, uncomfortable looking wooden chairs in front of it.
“Wait there,” she said sharply and pointed to one of the chairs. Then she turned and bustled back down the hallway, not waiting to see if Elli obeyed her or not.
Elli waited until she was out of sight and then, instead of going into the left-hand door and the office, she carefully opened the right-hand door and let herself into the bedchamber opposite it.
The room was dominated by a large, richly decorated bed. Lying in the middle of it, looking shrunken and ancient, was the Descending Priestess Superior. Elli knew that she had led the Order of the Sacred Grove here in the Mother Ship for over fifty cycles. It was only recently, in the past few months, that she’d gotten too ill to go about her duties.
Her illness had begun shortly after the new Priestess Superior had been sent to help her because of her age, but until her predecessor died, the Ascending Priestess Superior wouldn’t truly hold the title. In the meantime, she was running everything anyway, since the old Priestess Superior was too ill to do anything but lie in bed.
“Hello, Priestess Superior,” Elli said softly, going towards the bed and leaning over the shriveled figure.
“Elli, my sweet—is that you?” The old woman’s eyes opened. They were bright as new buttons, though somewhat clouded by pain, Elli saw.
“It’s me,” she said, taking the withered hand that was seeking for hers gently. “How are you today, Priestess Superior?”
“I’m well, child—as well as can be expected until the Goddess takes me home to be with her. But where have you been? I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you, too. Who’s been taking care of you? They aren’t doing a very good job.” Elli got the soft bristled brush from the bedside table and began to gently tease the tangles from the old woman’s long, dry hair. It had once been a vibrant black but now it was silver with emerald green streaks.