Valencia

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    The girls looked at the scene and realized I was going to get an earful from this snake. Sarah looked at me helplessly, but I only mouthed.

    “Take care. I will try to visit you soon”

    The girls hurried away, and when they were well out of earshot, Nina looked at me and said.

    “Perhaps the Crone didn’t tell you how things are carried around here. She doesn’t entertain insubordination or casual threats issued using her name.”

    +38

    She said, eyeing me like a hawk. I had noticed early on that this woman was a bully, but now after seeing her little disy of power, I could tell she loved to make these petrified girls run around like her personal ves.

    And I doubted anybody had everined to someone higher. The look of surprise on their faces told me that these girls didn’t have direct ess to the Crone, a fact this hag was hellbent on exploiting.

    “I didn’t threaten you. I only pointed out that a Novice was sick and I wanted to take her to her room to rest.”

    I said tly.

    Nina smoothed the folds of her already smooth gown, removing the imaginary creases with her fingers, and looked at me.

    “Do you deny that you have not been doing the task assigned to you for the past few weeks?”

    I shook my head.

    “I know I have been falling behind a little on the work, but I promise to make it up.” I offered.

    She picked one of the scrolls, held it open in front of my eyes and said, “Because I can guarantee 9 out of 10 of these scrolls have Novice Sarah’s handwriting, not yours.”

    She aggressively began opening, holding the scrolls aggressively in front of my fa,ce and tossing them back on the desk.

    “And I have more proof to show than threats to vouch for me.”

    The scrolls were delicate, and she was tossing and flipping them around like they were solid blocks of metal.

    Okay, she did have a point there. I used to be so tired that I barely did any of the transfer of text from the old scrolls to the new. But I didn’t sleep all the time either.

    I did do a fewi, /ibut not as many as Sarah. And I thought we just had to get the task done, and it didn’t matter who did the

    most.

    Sarah had been fine with it and even stopped me multiple times from overexerting myself. She would insist that I rest and would do all the work herself.

    It was my fault, though, that I didn’t realize how much of a toll that would take on her.

    “Yes, I have done less work than bSarah/b, but please dont punish her for this. It is my fault,” I relented because now I feared she would think Sarah wasplicit in this.

    Sarah was already ferrified of this woman, and I didn’t want her to bully my friend just to get back at me.

    “Now we are talking” Nina looked finally relieved that she had the upper hand on me. I had been annoyed and wanted to

    p the shit out of her earlier, but now that I realized she could just bully Sarah and make her miserable if I didn’t do as she asked, I decided to take a step back.

    It made me feel like a coward, but I told myself I was doing the smart thing. That I was only bidding my time until I could ess Crone and evoke my magic.

    Never before had I felt such an urge to be able to do magic just so I could twist this woman’s neck.

    Nina paused for so long and kept looking me up and down that I thought she was not going to open her mouth again.

    “Do you agree that you were letting Novice Sarah take up all the hard work on both your behalf while you barely contributed to the task?”

    Fuck this shit!

    “Yes”

    I mentally tried to count down to ten so that my tone doesn’te out as sarcastic. I just wanted her to leave me the hell alone.

    And Sarah.

    “Good” She nodded, pleased that she had finally coaxed me into submission.

    “Can I please go and check on her once?” I asked, but she shook her head.

    “epting your fault is the first step towards epting who you are. But just that won’t suffice.”

    She then looked at the mountain of work behind me, and her eyes darted to me.

    “Since you are the one who put Novice Sarah in such misery wouldn’t it be fair enough that you bring her out of it?”

    She asked with a slight tilt to her head, but I could see her eyes shine deviously. It looked like she was going to make me pay dearly for this mistake of mine.

    “As a penance for your mistake and your friend’s health that worsened because of you, I see it fitting that youplete the work on her behalf.”

    An all too sharine smile twisted her ugly lips, and I looked dreadingly at the pile of scrolls. It would take me hours to finish it.

    And even if I tried to do it all, I wouldn’t be able to finish it before the temple was closed for the day.

    “I can start afresh tomorrow. I will arrive at the crack of dawn toplete it” I bargained, hoping that the girls were really looking at Sarah and had not just run off to their prayer thingy because I recalled Nina had shouted at them earlier for being

    I didn’t know those girls well to leave Sarah in their hands. Maybe I could sit beside her and put a cold press on her forehead until her temperature falls. Or if it continues to rise, I could ask Killian or anybody to get a healer to look at her.

    “The task is pending sincest week, and I have been lenient enough with you both. And it seems that you have still not learned your lesson because you keep trying to wriggle out of your responsibility. So I suggest you better start working.”

    She said with her hands folded on her chest, and I blinked in shock.

    “Please, Senior Priestess Nina….

    I begged, even though her name tasted like ash on my mouth. How much did she want me to squirm?

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    38)

    “Since you are learning how to be obedient and respectful, I will ignore thest week’s deadline that you missed already and count today as thest day if you manage to finish it before dawn.”

    What?

    1 stared at the pile and back at her.

    “I dont think it will be possible for me to finish it before dawn. Plus, the temple chambers are closed after night.”

    I tried to reason with her, but she shook her head.

    “A few exceptions can be made every now and then. And dont try to y any tricks this time around. I want you to be honest and sincere in your efforts. Only then can I know that you deserve to be given higher tasks.”

    Great!

    “At least can you send a healer to check on Sarah…” I asked and quickly added, “Sernior Priestess Nina?”

    The woman smiled smugly.

    “I am a healer. And I will go check on her after I see the pile finished. Good luck.”

    With that, she stalked off.

    AD