Chapter 8

I spent another cold night in the prison. This time, I wasn’t able to stay on my feet and ended up on the filth-covered floor, curled up an crying. Although there was a myriad of nasty smells, the one that assaulted my nose the most was the smell of Faith’s wet pussy. I couldn’t wash my hand or my cock, and so they both smelled like her erotic body. Som pheromone’s lingered, so I was aroused and then also ashamed at being aroused.

I tried to sleep, but every time I got close, a rat would come out and bit at my toes or fingers, instantly waking me up. I wasn’t sure how much time passed by in that cell by myself. I wished someone would visit, even if it was Faith again. I was starving, and it was to the point where the rats were starting to look tasty. I considered pretending to sleep to draw one out and then grabbing it before they scattered so that I could eat something. My stomach felt as hollow as my soul.

When the door suddenly opened to light, at first, I thought it was a hallucination. However, as I shakily looked up from my place on the ground, the shape of a short bald man in a robe appeared in my vision. The man was accompanied by two guards. I watched as they approached my cell and then stopped in front of me. I wanted to get up, but my body felt to weak to. All I could do was stare at them hopefully like a lost puppy.

“This is the guy.” The robed man pronounced. “Free him.”

I could only stare blankly as the two soldiers stepped forward and unlocked the door. A moment later, they entered my cage and undid the shackles. I was still staring blankly.

“F-free…” I finally managed to get out.

The robed man smiled gently. “Yes, the king has pronounced that all of your crimes are to be forgiven and you are to be released immediately. You will have to thank your friend thoroughly for this.”

“M-my friend?” I blinked. “Was it Ms. Diane?”

The robed man didn’t say more, gesturing to the guards who helped me stand up. As they pulled me out of my cell, I could barely believe what was happening. As soon as we exited the hallway, the light was blinding. The next few hours became a bit blurry. I knew I was given a warm bath. I was able to clean off the gunk all over me and warm myself from the chill that had seemingly sunk deeply into my bones.

When the bath was finished, a servant brought a spread of food. I quickly got dressed into the simple clothing that the royalty provided for the class, which was something between a uniform and commoner’s clothing. As I finished dressing, I looked in the mirror and barely noticed myself anymore. My skin was pale, and my hair looked a bit greasy. My eyes were sunken and my toned body now looked a bit too skinny. I had definitely lost weight. I wouldn’t say I was ugly, but the handsome aura I once gave off was gone. No matter what I did, I couldn’t hide the bitter anger in my eyes either.

The smell of the food sitting nearby hit my nose and my stomach growled. I couldn’t hold back any longer, sitting down and immediately consuming it all. It was simpler food than the nobles typically ate, but for me who hadn’t eaten in what felt like days, it was delicious. I aggressively ate it like I was afraid I’d never be able to eat again.

“You should eat slower. If you shove it in your mouth, it will make you sick.” A voice took me out of my revelry.

I looked up, and couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of Riley. She was wearing the robes of the church, but she looked very beautiful. It was hard to say what was different about her. Her hair was a bit wavier and fuller. Her skin was white and free of blemishes. Her lips looked a bit deeper red, and her eyes were more piercing. It was like all of the damage I had taken the last few days, making me pale, scrawny, and sunken, had happened in reverse to her.

“You’re beautiful,” I said before I could stop myself.

Riley blushed, her beauty even becoming more enchanting. “The church takes good care of me. They get first pick over many of the alchemic potions made. They insist I use a variety of products. They are magical products. There is a saying in this world that women of the church never age, and after seeing these beauty products that defy logic, I’m starting to believe it. Many of the other girls in our class are jealous. Some of them have even tried to flirt with the priests as if the priests weren’t celibate!”

She let out a long giggle, seemingly carefree as she sat on the chair across from me. I forced myself to finished chewing and swallow before turning to her. Looking at her felt like I had entered another world. The horrible things that had happened to me and my sister felt like a nightmare that I had woken up from.

“You sent me a note earlier. Are you the one who helped me?” I asked cautiously.

“When we heard you were thrown in jail, everyone in class freaked out. They even put aside training and locked us down for two days to keep us from rioting. Willow even threatened to fight her way to your cell.”

Hearing that everyone kicked up such a fuss put tears in my eyes.

“A-and Kate?” I hesitated to ask.

“She convinced the prince to let Ms. Diane and your sister see you. Once they told everyone you were doing fine, they calmed down.”

How was I doing fine? I prevented myself from saying what I was thinking, knowing Ms. Diane probably didn’t want the class to worry while my sister… well, she was in her own world now.

“How many days has it been?”

“Five days.” Riley bit her lip. “The king said he’d only hold you for one month. Everyone was about willing to except that, but I wouldn’t.”

“I-I see…” I couldn’t help but shudder as I thought about being trapped in that hellhole for a month, “Thank you, for saving me. It really was bad.”

She seemed to relax slightly at my words. She didn’t know how bad it was either. Being in a cell for a month sounds simple. They probably all saw it like being in prison in our world. A month was unfortunate, but they probably thought I could manage. None of them knew what it was like being in those filthy cages. No food, no light, and not bathroom. I noticed Riley watching me carefully, so I turned to her.

She blushed slightly. “I had to agree to become a priestess to get the church to intervene.”

“A priestess? Is that… like…”

“It’s for life.” She lowered her head. “Originally, I was only working with the church to learn alchemy, but they’ve revealed a bit about the nobility here.”

“What about?” I asked, trying to look uninterested, even though the legitimacy of the nobility was a subject of great interest to me.

“The items to do alchemy are extremely difficult to obtain.” She explained. “A normal person isn’t able to obtain them at a market, which means that someone who wants to do alchemy has to have special connections.”

“Like the nobles?”

“Yes, nobles want to rope an alchemist in, but doing so ties your fate to that noble. You’re left with whatever recipes nobility can get their hands on. You might live a little better, but your life belongs to that noble, and your ability to grow is almost nothing. You’ll spend most days manufacturing the same potions over and over again which the nobles will trade for the potions they want. Most alchemists opt to join the priesthood instead.”

“Is the priesthood better?” I asked uncertainly.

“Oh, yes, much better.” She declared enthusiastically. “They have a library of potion recipes. They’ve allowed me to access a few of the simple ones, but the ones I’ve been using on my skin, as well as most of their best, are kept under lock and key. Only by joining them will they allow you to study these potion recipes. You also gain the right to use them at will. Of course, there is a point system, so you have to sell potions to the church to earn points to buy ingredients and recipes, but it’s all fair, and the church sells those potions to the public and nobles, so we’re doing a service as well, but on our terms.”

“You’d think they’d worry about someone running off with the recipe.” I contemplated.

She shook her head. “They use a magical contract. There is something called the purification ceremony, and once the initiate’s body and soul are clean, they become a permanent member of the church.”

I frowned. “This sounds serious. If you become a priestess… didn’t you mention something about celibacy?”

She gave a half smile. “You caught that, huh? I had to do this for you, you know?”

I lifted my hands. “I didn’t mean to, I mean, I’m sorry!”

She let out a little giggle and then leaned across the table. “Do you want to hear something?”

I blinked. “What?”

“To join the priesthood, I have to take a vow of celibacy.” She explained. “However, that doesn’t speak to what I do before then. I carefully talked to several priests, and many of them weren’t virgins before joining.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What are you trying to say?”

Her face turned slightly pink. “The ceremony is in one week. That means I have one week before I have to commit to my life as a priestess.”

I thought about her words for a few moments, and then I gasped. “You’re not saying…”

“Yes,” She looked around nervously like she was afraid someone was looking at her. “I think I’m ready. If I can only have it one time, I want to do it with you.”

We talked for a little bit longer. I told her about Faith, although I didn’t mention the part about us having sex. I merely warned Riley that Faith was likely brainwashed and couldn’t be trusted.

“I’m not sure Kate can be trusted either. Prince Cole… I think he’s gotten in her head.” I hesitantly gave that warning at the end.

I was worried I’d lose Riley’s trust by blaming the other girls too much, be she merely nodded. “You’ve suffered a lot, Connor.”

For a second, I felt choked up. After suffering from all of this, I finally had someone on my side. Riley wasn’t just my friend, but we were about to make it official too. I knew that she was going to become a priestess, but we could figure that out. I’m sure that once Riley tasted it once, she wouldn’t be against repeats. What the priests didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.

“Is there anything else I can do? For the church, I mean.” I asked uncertainly.

If we were talking about bringing the church down, then I wanted to help. Nothing would make me happier than seeing Prince Cole lose everything. Then, there was that bitch Princess Maria. I would tie her up and then fuck her in every hole until she was just an onahole, then give her to her troops. I’d let her experience what they did to my sister!

“You just need to have patience,” Riley spoke quietly. “The church believes that the nobility has been corrupt for some time. However, they still don’t have enough power where they can just take over. Even if there was proof, they still have an army. Just keep your head low. If anything comes your way, pass it to me, and let me know before you do anything foolish!”

“I-I will!”

Riley finally nodded, satisfied by my promise. She finally parted after making sure I had eaten enough. She told me that the church had cut a deal with the kingdom. The church had given the kingdom potions equaling the value of the magic item I destroyed. With the debt squared away, my crime was wiped out. It was as if nothing ever happened. In other words, I could continue to work on exposing the truth about the royal family. I could make them pay.