Chapter 11 - The Maiden and the Old Chapel

"Riding across the meadow and looking for shelter from the rain, our group was attracted by a flock of crows. The amount was large, so we thought something bad had happened. My guardians decided to check it out, but they didn't want me to go, because it could be a horrible thing to see…"

°°°

"Come on, please! Ahhh? Iain? Locke ?! Don't be like that, I'd better go and see!"

"No!" said the mercenary flatly, ignoring Alexa's pleas. "Decidedly not!"

"Iain ?! Please tell him I have to go! "She turned to her greatest ally, but Iain looked up at the sky, pretending to be distracted by thoughts, until he turned and said, "Don't think about that, Lex. Will we continue our path or will we eventually regret it. The rain is coming. It could have just been an animal struck by lightning…"

"It's not! I'm having feels about it…" she exclaimed, dramatizing as best she could and starting to roll her eyes…

PAF!

A slap at the back of her neck, and Locke passed her indifferently, saying,

"Don't even start! I saw a tall building right there, let's see what it is, it'll start raining soon. No more looking for carrion, or spending good money, or getting us to make funeral pyres or rock mounds for strangers. You just have a piece of sea left to stop being Lex and being a respectable married lady. You won't get any plague right now," the mercenary grunted, and somehow Lex thought the brute warrior was being, in his own way, sentimental and protective. Iain agreed with him and they changed course toward a building at a distance. The maiden still stared at the crows in ominous foreboding, but followed with the men.

They soon saw that the building they were heading to was a small ruined chapel next to a small watercourse. It deviated from the river they had crossed for about an hour, apparently. A small wooden bridge, falling apart and clearly unfit for use, connected the stream to one side. It was possible to see a beautiful estate on the other side of the creek, quite prosperous, with a stone manor standing out in the distance.

"This place still has a roof, it should shelter us from the rain," Iain said cheerfully, but the maiden was not that excited. The door was locked with planks and a heavy chain, as were the windows, but the two men skillfully broke into the room and they entered the abandoned chapel as soon as the rain began.The small wild animals that made the abandoned place their home were moving away from humans as they explored the place.

Iain providentially found candles and lit them with his flint, so they had lighting in front of the altar, the most preserved place. There was no image of a saint on the altar, but there was still a pulpit, benches, and the totally dry holy water sink.

Alexa was checking the painted pictures on the walls, with the help of a long altar candle, when Iain approached her, and extended a bundle,

"Take it."

Puzzled, Lex asked,

"What's this?" She really didn't have seen this bundle before. Her fiance's servant said,

"Well, you said you had your socks and leggings wet. Take it off. I bought it for a good price from a maid of that entourage. It'll be useful soon, anyway."

She scrabbled at the bundle, pulling out a gray-blue velvet winter dress with the collar and sleeves embroidered. Clean socks and a undergarment to wear under the robe. They were about their size. She was struck by the beauty and luxury of the soft-to-touch fabric, the delicacy of the lacework, and also thought that Iain really had good bargaining power and possessed the good fortune of finding dishonest servants at the most unexpected of the moments.

"It's beautiful! Thank you! "

"Aherm! "The redhead pretended to cough, embarrassed," Go to a corner and change, far away from that pervert. And away from those painted angels there too."

"She nodded, feeling very happy for a while. After so many misfortunes and setbacks, a little joy like that. Feeling like a woman and being able to do that. Much of her life had been banned from being a girl, and had only briefly experienced the small pleasures of feminine vanity. Then again she was forced to flee and dress like a boy, toward a fiancé whom she had seen only once, and people willing to murder her ...

She didn't think she deserved it.

The maiden untied and set free her thin platinum hair, which reached just beyond her shoulders, and twirled, feeling the fabric sway around her legs. It felt so beautiful!

She returned to her fellow travelers, dancing down the aisle of the chapel with graceful twirls. They were dividing the food sitting on an altar step, but stopped to see the maiden's mischief.

When he stopped in front of them with a graceful bow, the two men were wide-eyed and gaping, as if seeing a vision. Alexa opened a beaming smile, satisfied. 'Not even these two clots are really immune to my feminine charm! Hihihi… 'But before she bragged or mocked them, the maiden felt a sudden discomfort, and put a hand to her head, a little dizzy.

"See, she's spinning then she's dizzy. If you only stop those childish things ...! "Iain said suddenly angry, but getting up to help her. Locke grunted, his mouth full of bread and roast,

"Lex is making drama to get more food. Stop it, don't make the man with hemorrhoids make unnecessary effort. Take, stop in the morning and eat soon. Ah, just because you put on a dress… "He held out a piece of meat, but the maiden refused with a gesture. She was nauseated, and the image of the piece of meat only made her glimpse human flesh plucked by pecks, out of fresh bodies lying in the cold field.

Iain laid her down on one of the benches, and covered her with her cloak,

"Now you'll be warm. I'll save you some food," he rubbed her cold hands, and taking off his own fingerless gloves put them on the maiden.

The messenger had learned to be more tolerant of Alexa's problems and weird quirks during the months they spent together. The darkness and flickering candles, allied with tiredness, made the maiden's eyes weigh, and soon she dozed off.

Alexa woke up to the sound of a person praying fervently, muttering his prayers in an almost disorderly manner. She could hear Locke's soft snore coming from somewhere, and the pitter patter of the light rain outside was the earthly part of the sounds she heard. But the voice… The voice was definitely not.

The maiden cautiously raised her head to look at the altar, protected by the pew in front of her. A faint bluish glow came from the front of the altar.

A wisp flickered in front of the altar.

Alexa widened her eyes, she heard the whispers and moans of the soul that sought solace in front of an empty altar. Alexa cautiously sat on the bench, wondering what to do next. Her heart was pounding so hard she wanted to get out of her chest. It wasn't because she knew about that she wasn't afraid to deal with restless souls.

The bluish flame burst, and the supernatural cries ceased.

Alexa heard the heavy footsteps coming from the altar toward her in the semi darkness of the chapel.