Chapter 7: habits die hard.
Early in the morning before even the sun came over the horizon, I am being dragged out of bed... I get that I'm going to see the Empress and high priest today but Lynn is waaaaaaaay too enthusiastic... I don't even have any cloths that I would consider 'nice enough' to have an audience with the Empress. And I certainly don't have the right accessories... Even knowing this Lynn does his best and I am not released from this torment until he is satisfied. I must have been tugged at and yanked around for hours because by the time Lynn left to get my breakfast, the sun was already up.
A couple days ago while I was walking around, I found the storage room which is normally used to store furniture and valuables when they are not in use. There didn't seem to be much of value in there but I did find a mirror, some gold earrings and a Jade hairpin. I asked lynn to put the mirror up in my room. The previous owner of this body may have hated the way she looked but I certainly don't. This is one of the most beautiful characters I have ever been incarnated as. Looking in the mirror I examine my face and the only jewelry I seem to possess... The earrings had been a gift from the Empress on my fourteenth birthday and the hairpin was a gift from my father on my sixteenth birthday... I don't know what kind of bad blood there was between this girl and her father but I'm sure it's something stupid. Her father was a commoner and had nothing to his name when he entered the Empress's harem yet he somehow managed go get up enough money to buy his daughter a jade hairpin for her sixteenth birthday. It's obvious that he loves his daughter, she was just too selfish to notice. I'll have to make time to go see the person who gave me such beautiful hair...
After Lynn came back and I finished my breakfast, he put the finishing touches on my makeup and outfit before escorting me to the main Palace. I don't have a carrage so it will be a bit of a walk. Good thing the shoes are worn in and it's still early spring. It would be miserable to walk around like this in the summer heat. I wasn't wearing as many cloths as I would had the laws of this world been like the ones I'm used to though. From what I understand, Men get dressed up in beautiful cloths and expensive jewelry and put on makeup to look more appealing... And the women dress more for mobility. They still make an effort to look nice though...This place really is backwards. I don't hate it but it's realy weird.
Along the way to the main Palace, a lot of people stop to stare and whisper about me and Lynn. They don't even try to hide it. Is it because I didn't cover my hair? It would be a shame to cover up such pretty hair with a veil though. Some of them probably think it's unsightly because it's the same as my father's hair. *sigh* humans are so dumb. I can't wait to get away from Palace politics.
It feels like it takes hours but we Finally arrive at the main Palace. I have been talking with Lynn along the way so it wasn't too boring. I learned that the high priest is treated the same as foreign nobility. like a queen or Empress from another country. I'm glad I asked. I may have been too casual had I not known.
We walk up to the entrance to the reception hall but are stopped by the guards. "Name and reason for visiting?" (Is she for real? I know I'm not popular but how could she not know a princesse's face?!) "How dare you!" (Uh oh.. there he goes...) "The Empress personally invited her highness to the main Palace to meet with the high priest! You should have been expecting us!" Lynn really doesn't hold back when it comes to me... He kind of reminds me of a small dog. All bark and no bite. It's cute though... The Guard was taken aback for a moment then looked back to me. She seemed to realize who I was after Lynn's passionate introduction. "My apologies your highness, I did not recognize you. Please come in. Her majesty and her holiness are waiting for you in the parlor." I smile and nodded to the guard then proceeded inside with Lynn. "That was hilarious.." I had spoken just loud enough for Lynn to hear me. I couldn't see his face when I glanced back at him but I could tell his ears were turning red. Too cute!
Once inside, I am guided by another guard to a room in the East wing of the reception hall... If I remember correctly, honored guests are received in the East wing because it represents the rising sun. That tells me how important this priest really is... I really don't want anything to do with anything involving the word important... its annoying and inconvenient. I have been in positions of power before and all it does is disrupt my sleep and cause me stress so no thank you... Upon reaching the room where my mother and her honored guest wait, I take a deep breath and wait to be announced. "Announcing the arrival of her highness, The Fifth princess, Kaimera Klain." Once my name had been announced, I head inside.
"Greetings to your Majesty, Empress Freya Klain... and your holiness, guiding light of the Empire." I did my best to properly greet my mother and the high priest then look up. Looking at the high priest, it's pretty obvious who she is. She lookd exactly like what I would expect a high priest to look like. Long white hair, pale skin and light blue eyes with a soft, kind expression... My mother waves me over and I go sit down on a bench seat. My mother is in a chair to my right and the priest is on the couch on the left.
Once I was seated, the priest didn't waste any time. "Your highness, it's a pleasure to finally meet you... I am here today because of something I heard from another priest." Aha, so I was right. She's here to confirm if I have holy powers... I don't though... I am capable of using Devine power by condensing spiritual energy but I shouldn't have anything other than spiritual energy in my body at the moment so hopefully this will go quickly... The priest stood up and walked over to stand in front of me, putting her hand out to signal that I should take her hand. I put my hand in hers and I can instantly tell how strong she is! She hides it well but she definitely has spiritual power flowing through her! I can normally sense holy power as Devine power but I can't feel any from her... that's a bit odd... If she's a priest, shouldn't she have a lot of holy power? I look up at her in my confusion to see a shocked look on her face. "Is.... Something wrong?" She seemed to realize she was still holding my hand and quickly let go, clasping her hand over her mouth.
I watch the priest as she starts pacing back and forth, mumbling unintelligibly to herself then look at my mother who seems concerned. I can feel nervous energy from the Empress but the priest... She feels... Excited?! What is there to be so excited about? I look at my mother then back to the frantic priest. "Um... If I've done something wrong, I would like to apologize..." The priest jumps, then turns back to me quickly. "No! No, no, no... not at all your highness. You've done nothing wrong!" Ok... Now she feels nervous... What is happening right now? "I've just never sensed this much holy power in anyone before. I could hardly believe it was real!" What?! what the heck is she talking about?! I don't have any holy power! She doesn't even have holy po... Uh oh... Wait... What if... in this world... they think spiritual energy is holy power?! Oooohhhhh.... I messed up!
How was I supposed to know that spiritual energy reads as holy power here?! That's bever been an issue before! I'm loaded with spiritual energy because I've been trying to compress it into spirit stones to turn a profit later! I don't need this kind of attention! "Uhm... Perhaps I am still filled with the Devine power of God after I was given my second chance at life?" That's a good excuse right? The priest looks at me and seems to turn the idea over in her head for a bit. "No... The holy power should have faded by now. Even with a complete resurrection, the holy power should only remain in the effected areas for a week at most." Well crap, she realy knows her stuff... "Does that mean I will need to go to the temple?" It's really not a bad option. It's safer and less stressful than life in the palace. I'm the fifth princess so I'm at the bottom of the totem pole here... I've lived the temple life before. It's not so bad. "No, your highness! This is much more important!" The priest looked at mother expectantly, then mother looked down and sighed. What am I missing here? "Your Majesty, It can't be denied! She is the Phoenix from the Prophecy!" What?! No no no no no no! Prophecy means important! Important means a lot of work! Noooooooo.... My easy life! Why did I have to be so extra!?