No, but Winlay shares her dream

"No, your Holiness, not all the ways of course." Winlay started meekly and then when the High Priest nodded encouragingly and dropped his hands onto his lap, continued with a sudden burst of passion. "But I had hoped to work in the convent's gardens with Sister Margaret. If I stayed with her for a few years, I could learn how they produce such wonderful food and then I could then travel and teach others how to better their crops and feed their ..." Her voice faltered as he saw the High Priest's frown.

"You are far too beautiful to waste your life pulling weeds in a garden." There was an absolute finality in his statement. Winlay was so disappointed in knowing that she would not be able to work with Sister Margaret that it took her a few seconds to even consider his rational for the decision. How was her beauty relevant to her role as a servant of Xelta? The High Priest's eyes wandered, and a distant smile settled on his face as he shifted to a more comfortable position, then with a small start he seemed to remember Winlay was still waiting by the table.

"You are disappointed my dear?" Beldan continued, "perhaps I spoke too swiftly, stay and dine with me and I'll listen to your argument." He smiled at her and leaned back on his great chair lifting one of his hands from his lap and rested his heavy arm casually on his immense belly. In spite of her misgivings, Winlay was torn, the High Priest was offering to let her make her case.

Would she be able to explain to him why she felt her calling lay with sharing the wonderful agricultural knowledge of Xelta with the people of Pandora. Winlay?s official schooling had ended at the age of twelve like most of the other children in her village, but the Speaker had encouraged her to deepen her understanding of the Church and the role of the disciples of Xelta in the careful spread of knowledge. She felt that she might be able to explain in the prophet's own words how this would be a perfect way to spread the word of Xelta and his love of the common people. Of all people, the High Priest of Xelta should be convinced by the words of the church's own prophets.

On the other hand, perhaps she was being presumptuous. Who was she to pick her path in the service of Xelta. Perhaps it was precisely for initiates like her that the writings of the prophets were laid out in the ante-chamber. Also, Winlay recognized the High Priest?s frown. She had seen that look on her own father?s face and the tone of voice used by the High Priest was as firm and unyielding as her dad?s decrees. Would it be as pointless to reason with His Holiness as it was to try and convince her father to consider an alternative view once he had made up his mind?

"I can see you are hesitant." Beldan interrupted Winlay's conflicted memories of her dad. "Stay and eat lunch with me. You can see there is far more than enough, and I don't often get to eat with a pretty young woman like yourself. Also..." Beldan quickly added perhaps noticing Winlay's discomfort when he mentioned her appearance, "...my role within the Church is to advocate for the regular citizens like you and your family. I'd welcome a chance to hear about your village." As he spoke servants cleared away the papers that covered the table and replaced the documents with at least a dozen magnificent dishes that contained all manner of luxuries. The combined smells of the heady spices and roasted foods made Winley's mouth salivate, there was more food on the table than on her family's Harvest Feast celebration back home.

"You see what I mean?" Continued Beldan persuasively "Every day the cooks prepare a meal like this, I have begged them to let me eat simple meals, but they claim the honor of the Holy Palace is at stake." He paused, again shifting his hands under the table, and then added one last argument. "Are you really going to turn down my polite invitation? That kind of rudeness usually comes from Cryn." Winlay saw that the table had already been set with two place settings and that a chair had arrived mystically and placed at the table. Could she really refuse the High Priest's invitation when so much of her life might depend on his decision about her placement?