July 11, 1302
Chendal
Sera sat cross-legged on her light blue cushion in the prayer room, facing the white marble statue of Aryst. Her hands rested in her lap, and she sat straight with her eyes closed and her face serene, the picture of someone deep in prayer… but she wasn’t. Her mind kept straying to thoughts of Matt. For a few moments, she would feel the soft, calm light and the steady, glowing feeling of Aryst’s power inside her, but then she would see Matt’s beautiful face—that rare smile, those light blue eyes that held so much in them—and smile before she would catch herself, take a deep breath, and return her focus to her breathing, emptying her mind once again. If she couldn’t get through this, she wouldn’t gather enough divine energy to do her job today, and then wouldn’t be able to heal at all.
It took her almost twice as long as it usually did, but finally she made it through what had always been so easy before. She made her way to the sanctuary for the morning prayer; these were actual words to Aryst, not meditating for her divine gifts as she had just done. Through heavy pine doors, she entered the large white room with a vaulted ceiling and smooth marble pillars. Walking across the light blue carpet, she passed rows of whitewashed pews until she came to the altar at the far end of the room. She took a seat in the front pew and bowed her head.
Goddess be with me, for your will is my way, she said silently.
She had to see him. No, she had to be here; she had been gone too long already. But she couldn’t wait. She considered asking for a small leave of absence. She just needed a week or so to get to Halimi and back, and have a few days' time with him.
The sound of someone’s footsteps reminded Sera that she was supposed to be praying, and she forced her mind back to that as another cleric took a seat nearby. Give me the strength—
No, she couldn’t leave, at least not this week; she already had several counseling appointments lined up, people who wanted to see her in particular. She couldn’t reschedule on them—she had been away long enough. Suddenly she had a thought, one that was followed immediately by feelings of excitement and guilt. She was a dream healer; she could call him into a dream and see him there. But to use the power for selfish reasons, reasons other than healing, was wrong. But surely just one time wouldn’t be so bad. She just wanted to be with him for a little while, and then she would be good and wait until she could get some time off to go to him in person. She smiled, and her heart fluttered at the thought of seeing him again. Oh, why can’t it be nighttime?
A sigh escaped her before she thought to hold it in. She opened her eyes just enough to peek over at the other cleric. When she saw Edna smirking at her, she blushed deeply at being caught. The young redheaded cleric, with her sweet round face, smiled conspiratorially and scooted down the pew, closer to Sera. “Tell,” she whispered.
Sera couldn’t fight the grin that tugged at her lips. “Just hard to focus this morning,” she whispered back, trying to sound like it was nothing, but Edna could feel Sera’s emotions and knew better.
“You’re in love,” Edna accused happily. “Who is he?”
Sera glanced over her shoulder to make sure they were alone. When she found the room empty, she turned back to Edna. “Okay, his name is Mathias, and he’s…” She sighed again before telling the cleric about him—at least as much as she could without saying anything about him having served Malluk before, or the sort of person he used to be. She talked about how wonderful she knew he really was, about the man she knew he would be in time.
Edna sighed wistfully. “When will you see him again?”
Sera was about to answer, but stopped when one of the doors opened and High Priestess Salyn walked into the sanctuary. Sera wouldn’t have admitted to her plan about using her dream healer power anyway—no one could know about that, since it was against the rules. Sera and Edna shared one last smile before they dutifully returned to their prayers.
...the wisdom and the compassion to help those in need of your healing and guidance.
