'I need to find that alternative path even before Theron can find it. I need to protect him. I can't let him be harmed because of my destiny. It should be me paying for bringing this disaster on him and this kingdom.'
"Where exactly did he go?"
"Your Majesty…" However, his voice trailed off seeing the expression on the young queen's face. Her beautiful face was devoid of emotion, yet it felt like if he were to refuse to answer her, something terrible would happen.
"I won't repeat myself a second time," he heard her say in an eerily calm voice.
The High Priest gulped before hesitantly answering, "King Theron has gone towards the ancient temple north of the capital, which was the original Temple of the Divine. It is hidden in the rocky mountain region in the North, several hours away from Blackhelm."
"A temple on a mountain?" she mumbled. She was about to leave, thinking of using her powers in order to search each and every mountain north of the capital.
"Your Majesty, take this with you." The High Priest pulled out a yellow gemstone that was hanging in a gold chain around his neck. "This will guide your way. I am sure, with your powers, you will reach there as soon as you have this pendant."
'Powers?'
Only then did she understand that the High Priest had perhaps always known that her identity was not ordinary.
Not wasting a moment more, she vanished out of thin air right in front of the High Priest. The expression on his wrinkled face showed no surprise at all.
On the courtyard of the temple, Sir Galien who was waiting by the carriage soon saw the High Priest approaching him. He was clueless that both the King and Queen of Megaris are no longer inside the temple.
Seeing the highest ranking priest of the temple, the knight hurried to greet him. "Your Holiness? Why are you outside? May I know where the King and Queen are?"
"They had left the temple," the High Priest replied, not bothering that his words might shock the loyal knight.
"Left? When? What? I didn't see them leave the temple—""
"They exited from the back of the temple. I suggest that Sir Knight, you return to the palace and wait for them there," the High Priest said.
"Your Holiness! Please tell me where the King and Queen are. I need to follow my liege and his wife and keep them safe!"
The High Priest let out a small smile at the worried knight. "I don't know about King Theron, but Queen Esther is someone who doesn't need anyone to protect her. She will be more than enough to protect her husband."
However, the knight insisted, "Your Holiness—"
"Then you shall wait for them to return here," the High Priest said and then he returned back to the temple.
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With her powers and the stone from the High Priest to guide her way, Esther reached the region where the ancient temple ought to be located north of Blackhelm. While it would take several hours for her husband to reach the rocky mountain, she was able to reach it in a matter of minutes.
In front of her was a lonely temple on top of a rather squat rock mountain, its simple architecture neither of Megaris nor any of the past eastern kingdoms she remembered, as if it was a remnant of people who had long disappeared from the continent. Surrounded by fog, the temple gave off a creepy, depressing atmosphere as it was generally made of dark redwood and black tiles, and although it was well-maintained, the floors and walls bear obvious visages of time.
Esther didn't have to climb the long winding stairs as she simply used her power to reach the top of the stairs.
Standing outside the closed wooden door of the temple, she did not knock or call out to announce her arrival. She merely stared at the door which opened on its own. The moment she stepped inside, a raspy, feeble voice of an old man welcomed her.
"Seems like a person in need has found her way to this forgotten temple."
Esther looked at the source of the voice and saw the oldest human being she had ever laid her eyes on. With his back hunched and his pale skin spotted with age, an elderly man wearing a simple brown robe similar in style to the High Priest was sitting on a chair made from stone with a prayer bead in hand.
She walked towards him and bowed to him. "Your Holiness, please accept my greetings."
The former High Priest stared at her with squinting eyes, obvious that his sight had deteriorated to the point he couldn't see her well despite standing in front of him. "What does a being with powers like yours need in this temple?"
"Your Holiness, I am searching for an answer and I expect to get it from here," she replied.
"What is the answer you are seeking for?" he asked.
"I want to know the other way of lifting the Devil's curse."
She thought that the old priest would be taken aback, but he only chuckled in response. "Other way? Seems like you don't wish to give what the Devil asks of you."
"Certainly not," she replied.
She had pledged herself to Theron and she loved him with all her heart. She would rather choose the alternative path and be punished instead of doing something that would terribly hurt her beloved man.
He smiled at her determination.
"That room there." He lifted a frail bony hand and pointed at a certain door. "Behind that door, you will get your answers. That door opens only for a person in true need. If it denies you entry, you can go back to where you came from."
"Thank you." Esther bowed to him once more and hurried towards the door. She stood in front of the door, silently praying for it to open, and to her relief, it did.
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