Cecily

You want to know more about this strange, timid girl who looks at you with her best attempt at sneakiness. You finish your breakfast quietly and wait for the others. In the meantime you engage in conversation with your entourage. All the while you keep an eye on Cecily, waiting for her to leave so you can watch where she goes. Despite her small meal she eats in even smaller bites, so it takes a frustratingly long time for her to go. Eventually she finishes and you note where she goes. Just as she leaves she looks back at you and your eyes meet. Both of you dart your eyes away at this unwanted contact. Getting up, you stretch theatrically and give a parting joke to an obsequious courtier. You walk off in the direction Cecily went, hoping to find her.

There are only a few rooms in the section of the convent Cecily went to. Your first guess was empty, but on the second you find her. It seems to be the convent's library, having a few shelves of scrolls and tomes. Cecily is sitting at a small desk, head buried in a book to a conspicuous degree.

She looks over her shoulder nervously when she hears you walk in. "Y-yes, do you need something?" she asks with her usual timidity. "I'm sorry to bother you," you reply, trying to sound soothing, "I just had a few questions." "Questions? Questions about what?" "Well, about you. You intrigue me. I'd like to know a little about you, and why you keep looking at me when you think I'm not looking." Her pale face goes bright red almost immediately, which you see until she turns back to her book shyly. "I'm nobody special, your majesty. The divine saw fit that I come here for study and devotion to Him. As such, He made so that my father suffered a poor harvest and lose his ability to provide for me. I was handed off to relatives, equally poor. My aunt was once a servant of the lord who established this monastery, and eventually this aunt sent me here around the time when I had lived through my eighth summer. So, here I am." She looks glad to be done talking about herself, but you aren't satisfied yet. "And the glances, the stares?" She reddens again and mumbles something incoherent. You walk closer so you can actually hear her. "What was that, please speak up." This is like pulling teeth, but you really want to know. She finally muster her strength for a single sentence: "I don't want to look at you."

"What?" You are incredulous. Getting answers from this girl only leads to more questions. "You're going to have to explain." She sighs, and even sounds a little frustrated. That's the boldest you've seen her so far. "The divine sent you here to test me." You stand there like she just slapped you in the face. She thinks you're some kind of test? A ridiculous notion, but you urge her to explain further anyway. She sighs again. "Like all of my sisters, I have taken the vow. Of chastity. And despite my best efforts to guide my soul along His word, my eyes betray me and always look to you. And when they do, my mind is filled with...impure thoughts. Base thoughts. Terrible thoughts for a nun!" She stands up and looks at you straight in the eye, fists clenched at her sides. "Why won't you just lave me be?!" She holds her angry gaze as tears start to fill her eyes.