Notes: 1) If you see this anywhere but Literotica, it isn't supposed to be there!
*****
Lislora tried to focus on the Torgan boy practicing the sounds of the Aran language seated across from her, but thoughts of what might be awaiting her tomorrow after breakfast kept distracting her and the sweat that had begun out of nervousness made her back sting.
"It seems..." Hodrim hesitated and looked at her as if he were almost afraid to continue.
"It seems silly to sit here making odd noises?" Lislora offered with a wry smile. "I thought so as well, but the tutor I learned from insisted on it. He said knowing the sounds helps you pronounce the words properly. You might have noticed, listening to the Duchess, the words have few firm endings or harsh sounds at all. It's like butter in your mouth.
"It can be difficult to follow, at first, until you recognize the subtle differences. The words yes and no, 'sef' and 'sah', sound very much the same as 'Aj sehf' or 'sa tóv', 'I will' and 'not now'."
"But it makes sense. The meanings of the words are so close... It almost seems easier than Torgan." He gave her a pleased smile.
"In some ways, it's very easy. When you see it written, however, you may change your mind. They have two ways of writing, formal and informal. Neither has a single straight line. Learning to speak Aran is much less difficult than Lerian or Phaethian once you can distinguish the sounds, learning to write it makes you want to have them all taught Torgan." She couldn't help but smile at his doubtful look.
"When I've given you a small vocabulary to work from I'll start speaking Aran during our lessons, then I'll begin teaching you to write the words. Speaking it will be more important to the Duchess but reading it and writing it well have nearly become requirements for rising in the ranks of the priesthood."
"Why?" Hodrim frowned slightly. "Ganas requires priests to spend their lives in service, helping and healing, tending to the souls of his people and reclaiming those who look to false gods. Foreign tongues seem... unnecessary."
"Reading and writing Aran is a sign of wealth and nobility. I remember being in Nemauros when a new Kamrus was chosen for the temple there." Lislora studied the boy's face wondering how much she should tell him. "My father explained that the upper ranks of priests have to be respected by the nobility and they often only respect their own. He said to trust that if Ganas wanted a man to become a Halloc or a Kamrus he would."
"That isn't how it should be." The boy's frown deepened. "We're all equal in the eyes of Ganas."
"Things aren't always as they should be. Should a woman be punished for believing someone she trusts and allowing herself to be seduced while the man who betrayed her trust and ruined her name suffers no punishment?"
He looked as if he wanted to protest and she lifted her hand, "I deserve punishment and I need to be purified. I broke the Duchess' trust. But her husband did as well. Prince Draeseth gets to keep his gentle, forgiving wife and live as if he's done nothing wrong."
"She won't chide him or..." Hodrim's brow was furrowed as he mulled over her words.
"With her soft manner? I don't think I've ever heard the woman chide anyone, and she confided in me that he scolds her when she tries to prompt him to keep his word."
"This does not seem like an Aran lesson." Halloc Aurim's voice coming from behind her made her jump.
"I had asked why priests need to learn Aran, I know I need it to speak for the Duchess but..." Hodrim gave the Halloc a pensive frown. "Then the topic turned to the Duchess and her husband. I-"
"A Prince of Torga shouldn't be referred to as 'the Duchess' husband', even if he is a Black Prince and not born to the line of succession. His Highness has his faults and if his gentle wife cannot hold him to his word Ganas will be the one to see him punished for breaking it. As Ganas will find a way to punish him for betraying his wife's trust and making her feel lesser than a baroness."
Lislora swallowed nervously. Something in the Halloc's tone seemed unsettling.
The boy took a deep breath and nodded his understanding with a serious expression before asking, "Did you have to learn Aran to become a Halloc?"
"No. In the Dalcur, where I was born and became a priest, it isn't seen as a necessity. My brother, who also became a priest, has spent time trying to learn it, however." The Halloc made a dismissive gesture that suggested he thought it was a waste of time. "He was always one to use five steps to get to the place where one would take most of us. In some ways, the Duchess reminds me of him. They both have a manner that's just a little too soft." He smiled at Hodrim. "It's much more praiseworthy in a Sister."
Beckoning to the boy, the Halloc laid a hand on his shoulder and escorted him to the door. "Go to the priests' quarters and ask for Brother Jannun. The Duchess helped him with his Aran each time they spoke. Tell him I suggested he discuss his reasons for learning it with you."
"Yes, Halloc Aurim." Hodrim gave him a grateful look. "I thank you."
He stood in the doorway for a moment watching the boy leave before coming back into the room and closing the door. "This chamber was chosen for you to give your lessons because what is said in it can be heard in the one next door. I wanted to be certain you were teaching the child Aran and not filling his head with lies about the Duchess as you did her husband. Instead, I discover you filling his head with lies about the priesthood. The Sellac will be informed so that she may decide what to do with you. I would cast you out for such lies."
"What lies?" Lislora could feel her heart beating in her throat. "If I was wrong-"
"The upper ranks of the priesthood are not entirely composed of the nobility."
"I didn't say they were!"
"You implied it!" His face was thunderous and his hand swung in an arc making her flinch back. "And you told the boy that things are not as they should be within the priesthood, which is a lie. Ganas' priests are as they should be, he would not allow it to be otherwise!"
"Ganas only guides us if we allow it! The wrong choices can still-"
The blow took her by surprise and left her ear ringing.
"A lying whore does not get to speak of the will or ways of Ganas to me." Grabbing her by the arm, Halloc Aurim wrenched her out of her seat and propelled her out of the room.
It barely registered that he barked at someone to tell him where the Sellac could be found. Lislora's mind was swimming with thoughts of what would happen if she were cast out of the convent. They could petition the King to have her title, land, and house stripped from her and given to someone more worthy, leaving her utterly destitute with no place to go and no family to turn to.
"Sellac Gesosin!" The Halloc's voice rang out as he dragged Lislora down the stairs toward her.
Still stunned, she stumbled and ended up falling the last few steps and ending up on her hands and knees at the foot of the stair.
"Help her," Sellac Gesosin spoke firmly to a nearby Sister. "Halloc Aurim it is unacceptable-"
"This lying whore was filling young Hodrim's head with lies."
"A woman under my care is not to be thrown down the stairs no matter what she's done. I judge the severity of any wrongdoing and issue punishment here. I will speak with you in my study."
Lislora couldn't keep from trembling as she was helped from the floor and taken to the kitchens. A chair was quickly found and a cup of watery wine was pressed into her hands.
Herleesa was kneeling in front of her after she'd tilted the cup back and drained it. "What happened?"
"I was speaking to Hodrim and I-I relayed something my father told me once about priests learning Aran because it's a sign of wealth and-and station. The Halloc was listening and took offense. I tried to argue and he," she took a breath and reach up to touch the side of her face, "he struck me and dragged me out. I think he wants to have me thrown out of the convent."
A murmur went up through the gathered Sisters. All of them knew what that would mean.
"The Sellac won't allow it." A quiet voice came from behind them all. "She may be firm with her punishments but she won't allow such a thing to happen." Heads turned toward one of the older Sisters, her face grim and her skin more grey than green. "I spoke with her once of why she chose this convent when she could have chosen to serve in Gogmenos or Korgurunos. Sellac Gesosin wants to do the best she can for all of us, she doesn't want to lose a single soul to Mezaldir, and she will not tolerate abuse.
"Some Hallocs, and even some Kamruses, are too harsh. Discipline must be tempered with care and cannot be offered in anger."
The knot of fear in Lislora's chest loosened slightly.
"We can pray while we wait for the Sellac to discuss the matter."
"Yes, Sister Soleighe." Several of the other Sisters spoke at once.
Sister Soleighe smile faintly, "The meal still needs to be prepared. We'll have one prayer here and then I'll take Lady Lislora to pray by the altar."
After helping Lislora from the chair, the Sisters gathered close together, the small cluster nearly forming a half circle with Sister Soleighe kneeling in front of them. Her voice was quiet and soothing as she offered an earnest prayer for Ganas to offer his protection to his sometimes wayward children and to put things on their right path. The Sister had altered some of the formulaic phrases slightly and it made the prayer feel as if it were more intimate and somehow more comforting.
When she finished, they all rose, but before anything more could be said, the servants' bell rang.
"That will be the Sellac summoning us." Sister Soleighe gently guided Lislora back through the house toward the study.
