Escaping with the Highest Priest

Palace of Light

"Prisoner… Accursed One…"

Yllana's fingers traced the letters written on a piece of paper on the bedside. What she thought was cotton that she was lying on were really clouds. Clouds that have been shaped like a mattress and a pillow. The softness cuddled her for days. And the floor was also made of clouds.

"I thought I would fall through if I stepped on these," she muttered softly, "but it seems those were only-"

"Yllana," that soft and somewhat tired voice came from the wall.

She remembered. There was a man with her inside that room! But…who is he again? And more importantly…who is Yllana?

She stared at the man. His face was pale and sad as he studied her from the distance. She wanted to go to him. There was something inside of her that was pushing her to release him from the chains.

"You say that I am Yllana. Who am I? What…am I? Why are we here?" Since she had no memories of what happened to her, she might as well trust someone who has been locked up inside with her. Being locked up with her may mean that she and this man here had some relationship from a crime.

The man's brows curved deeper as his mouth twisted into a sad smile. She heard the chains clink slightly as he tilted his back to look into her eyes. "You are the mainland's savior. They call you the Accursed One who was supposed to bring calamity upon the lands, but you went against fate and became the one who saved it."

She looked at the fluffy ground. She can't remember anything at all.

Hearing no response from her, he continued, "The heavens are angry when you ruined their plans-"

"What plans?"

"Destroying the mainland,"

"Why?"

"That is the reason why both of us are here. You were curious about your curse and you wanted to find an answer, but we got caught and we are now in the Heavenly Realm."

"I- I see." She breathed in deeply and looked at his scars. Some were long while some are short. The longest one she could visibly identify is a fresh new one that run across his chest up to his shoulder. There were shorter ones and some older wounds have been shaded darkly. She cringed at the awful sight.

"I thought you were a demon? Why won't your wounds heal faster?"

"This place hinders anyone's ability to use life force or special abilities running through their blood."

The heavens were such a place? The more she listened to him the more she was getting a darker picture of heaven. When he was done telling her about that place, she asked who he was to her.

Lucien went still for a while. "I am … supposed to marry you." His eyes sparkled as the words left his chapped lips. "I hope you still will…"

Looking at him with that sad look on his face, her chest felt heavy. Without realizing it, she had already walked up to him and his wide eyes did not leave her face. She only stopped walking when the chain on her feet came to its end. She couldn't advance any further.

"What are you doing?"

A cold sinister voice devoid of any emotion came behind the iron bars. When they looked at the speaker, they both frowned. A small child clad in a white and golden-lined robe with a small face gazed at them coldly. If looks could chill, they would have been frozen from the intensity of the child's gaze.

This was the second person who appeared in front of them in a white and golden robe with a halo floating on top of their heads. The servants, she assumed because they were always behind these people and bowing their heads, were in plain white clothes and does not carry the same air about them.

"Nothing you should concern yourself about," Yllana snapped at the child. As much as she wanted to ask who these people were, she dared not to anymore since the first woman who had come to them just ignored her. It was more likely that they expected her to answer their questions, but not to question them in return. She was a prisoner indeed in an unfamiliar place.

She stood with her chin held high and her hands clenched on the sides.

"Cursed people like you should not have been given any chance to redeem themselves. Look at how you behave. Now that you have changed your fate, you act as if you hold the world in your hands now." His gaze was sharp as he stood there waiting for any of them to reply.

Two prisoners are locked up facing him at the moment. And he expected them to lash out for they have been beaten and starved for days. But… they just stared back.

"So?"

That one word from Yllana made the child bark even louder. "Ungrateful! And you even brought this filthy creature into this holy place!"

*Slap!

Lucien saw a white light dash in front of him and the next thing he felt was his cheek burning. "A pitiful creature and yet you pay attention to me. It seems your superiors have other things to say other than keep both of us alive." A smirk formed on his lips as his eyes lowered down to the ground observing the little girl in front of them.

Puffed out and reddened cheeks, the child was furious.

"A guardian should not be short-tempered,"

After a while, another voice, old and warm to the ears, came from behind the servants. The two servants accompanying the little girl moved to the sides and gave way to the newcomer.

"I greet the Highest Priest."

"Forgive the Cardinals, they are newly minted with the death of several old ones. There are six of them and they are still getting used to their new roles in this realm." The old man had a crouched back and he was holding a staff in his hand as he approached Yllana and the little girl. His long beard was almost reaching the ground.

"Sixth Heavenly One of the Heavens, Truth, you are not supposed to be here."

"I just wanted to find out the truth." She pouted.

"By harassing the prisoners?"

"To make them spit out what happened to the West and why we are not celebrating the arrival of the Seventh Holy One! Ugh, why can't anyone understand me?!"

"Your methods are brutal, you know. Now, go and find some clouds to play with. I have something to discuss with them."

With heavy steps, the child went out and never looked back at them. Although Yllana could feel the animosity from the elder in front of her, she could not feel the same intensity she did from the others who came and visit them. "Another torturer?"

"No," the servants besides the old man disappeared in puffs of smoke. "I am your savior," the voice changed in the middle of the elder's words. From a groggy old man's, it turned into a delicate and cool voice of a man. Yllana looked at Lucien first as if affirming if what she heard was real. The look on his face showed that he too was shocked.

A thin mist covered the old man's figure and when the mist dispersed, the true figure appeared before them in a tall stature. Soft jawline with a dimple on his left cheek, the man smiled.

"Follow me, if both of you want to leave this place."

He turned around but before he could take another step, Lucien asked, "What's it to you? Why help us?"

But the man only snapped his fingers and continued walking. The chains holding both of them broke. They were free. Yllana's eyes twitched seeing Lucien falling to the ground.

That man seemed strong. And he looked dangerous, especially with the two large horns on his forehead. But what she wondered more about was the calm feeling she had even though he looked like that. It was as if he would never hurt her.

"We have a choice not to follow him." She whispered to Lucien as she took his arm and supported him to stand.

Lucien looked at her face closely. "If he is trying to fool us, then he should have made our escape a little more discreet. He seems to know so much about this place since he is so confident appearing in front of that child."

"Oh, do not think much about the reason why I want to or why I hate both of you. I just don't like the Palace of Light. That is all." He chuckled. The man was swaying the staff from side to side while looking at the sides of the hallway.

"Where are the servants?" Yllana asked from behind. It was better to keep a distance from him.

"I ordered them to look for me at the Hall of Justice."

"Why?"

"I am the Highest Priest. Hehe, I forgot to introduce myself to you, didn't I? All in good time, lovebirds. All in good time. For now, escape from this wretched place." He laughed once more and the sound of his cracking laughter echoed through the halls.

Lucien and Yllana looked at each other. Are they making the right decision?