"You are wrongly blaming me. I have nothing to do with the attacks on Draoidh!" Anastasia was done listening to their acerbic words. "I am extremely sorry that the fae army attacked you all, but it all happened without my knowledge. And don't you dare call me bitch or whore, because I won't stand it!"
The lightning above them came in fierce forks accompanied with a roaring thunder that sounded as heaven's drum beat of war, threatening the vokudlaks.
"You won't stand it?" said the man. He took a step closer with his claws and fangs lengthening. "If you want to see another day, you better leave, else don't blame us if you are found dead in your room!"
Anastasia's breath became ragged as tears stung her eyes. She would never be a part of these people. Never. And Adrianna wanted her to be with these people? What kind of protection was this? She saw the man withdrawing a dagger from beneath his tunic and she did the same. The clouds became denser and grayer. The air was thick with tension and dampness. And at this point of time, she didn't care whether her mood emulated the weather or she had the dagger pointed towards them. She was badly hurt, alone and she had to defend herself. "I am warning you," she said, as the energy in her chest wanted to explode. "Don't come near me because I am not what you are thinking. If you dare to come even a step closer, you will regret." Her massive white wings flared as those words left her mouth. The violet of her eyes became stark. Silver speckled behind the violet. She beat her wings hard. The magic in her traveled through her veins towards the fingers.
Lightning streaked the skies ominously.
"Anastasia!" a man shouted from behind. "Calm down!"
The Shaman.
"Stay back," he said to the others with calm confidence. His voice was that of someone who had spent a long time in a position of authority. The men and women in the front stopped, not because they wanted to but because the Shaman demanded it.
Thunder boomed and more lightning forked.
Anastasia looked at the people. Their anger and hatred were so palpable that it was difficult for her to lower her shields. Emotions overwhelmed her, shallowing her breath.
"This woman shouldn't be allowed inside the temple," said the man. "She's nothing but a slut of the prince who is slithering her way inside Draoidh.
Slut? Bitch? She reduced to these things because she was their prince's mate? "How dare you!" She seethed in a low guttural voice. Her wings flapped and she was airborne. The floor trembled beneath her, her magic about to unleash. It started raining heavily.
"No!" The Shaman shouted again to gain her attention. "Anastasia, I am sorry for all of them. Please calm down!" Carefully he walked towards her and stood right in front of her. He craned his neck to look at her and then clasped his hands. "Come down fae princess."
Anastasia hissed and peered at the Shaman. Seeing his face was etched with concern and fear, she did everything she could to call her magic back. When she stepped on the floor, she stared at the Shaman through the heavy downpour.
The Shaman bowed to her and said, "Please forgive them. They don't know who you are."
Anastasia's gaze shifted to the faces behind him. They were all glaring at her. She tucked her wings behind and then turned to leave. Grasping her robe, she started to walk fast and soon started running in the corridors towards her room. She opened the door of her room and walked to her bed where she crashed. The moment she crashed on the bed, the raw panic hit her chest and a shudder raked through her body.
Disbelief mingled with anguish surged through her as she tried her best not to cry. She focused on her breathing to steady her breath but her mind was in such a mess that she couldn't help crying. Why did the queen send her to the temple? How was she protected here? If the people in the temple had heard the rumor, then chances were that the rumor was rapidly spreading in the kingdom. She had to get out of this place. And then she would find Lilette and punish her. Badly… painfully.
For the rest of the day no one came to her room. Anastasia didn't know when she drifted off to sleep. She was disturbed a knock that pounded on the door. When she opened the door, she found Tamara.
"Anastasia, please join us for dinner," she said in her sweet voice.
Anastasia hesitated. She bit her lip and lowered her head. "I would rather eat here," she said in a low voice.
"Anastasia," the priestess said, "I am so sorry that you had to face that situation. Please don't worry. Things are now in control and no one is going to behave like that with you. The two men and woman who misbehaved with you have been sent to do harder jobs and demoted by Shaman." She took her hand to brush her cheek. "This kind of an incident has happened for the first time in Temple of Aaros."
Her heart felt at ease at Tamara's words. She wore her sandals and walked with Tamara to the dining hall. "When was this temple built?" she asked. "It looks pretty ancient."
"At first there was only a small sanctum here. Gradually the rulers started showing interest in building it. This temple is now the official residence of the Shaman. The ritual of weddings usually takes place over here," said Tamara. She turned her face to look at Anastasia and said, "I hope you choose to stay with us more."
Anastasia didn't reply. Just a few hours back she was wondering how to break away from here without being noticed. She wanted to go back home to Ileus.
They reached the dining hall where men and women were around two long tables that were laden with various kinds of food.
"We only serve vegetarian in the temple," Tamara whispered. She directed her to the head of the table where the Shaman was sitting. Everyone in the room stopped mid-conversation and started staring at her. Goosebumps prickled her skin as the air thickened with tension. They continued watching her till she walked to the Shaman. Stillness amongst all of them was like a warning, an ominous one… it spoke louder than the words.
The Shaman got up and received her politely. He smiled and asked her to sit on the chair on his right. She gazed at the plate that was loaded with various types of fruits. When she was seated, Tamara sat next to her. The Shaman looked at everyone else on the table and they all resumed eating, but none of them spoke.
"It is a ritual that all of us eat from this plate of fruits. The disciples and those who visit here offer these to the deities and at the end of the day, we share the offerings. It is a tradition we've been following for a long time," said the Shaman. He picked fruit from it and gave the plate to Anastasia. Too hungry because she hadn't eaten for the day, Anastasia took a lot of fruits and passed the plate.
