Problems in the Church

Winlay and Sister Margaret walked in silence for several minutes before Winlay finally asked the question that they carried unspoken between them.

"Who is she?" The question was awkward, but it was enough of a prompt for Margaret to begin.

"She is an initiate just like you, she arrived last year about this time from a small town East of here, nice girl." Margaret paused for a while in thought and then continued "She was a quiet one, very devoted and eager. Prudence came from one of the more conservative diocese, I guess you can tell by the name. Most times if a initiate is named something like 'Honor', 'Chastity', or 'Purity' you can be pretty sure she's from the East." Winlay wondered if Sister Margaret was deliberately stalling, but waited patiently suppressing the questions that were churning in he gut.

"Two weeks after her arrival, Sister Prudence didn't return from her assigned duties in the Holy Palace. Some initiates just pack up and leave." Noticing Winlay's shocked look Margaret explained. "Not all initiates have longed to serve Xelta all their lives like you have my dear. Some are sent to the church so their fathers don't have to pay a dowry, others are fleeing a life of drudgery, it's not uncommon to have them find that the church life is not what they expected." Winlay nodded wide eyed, still not sure why you would want to leave the Church of Xelta.

"But Prudence wasn't one of the initiates who we thought might disappear. The Mother Abbess immediately sent word to the Holy Palace who reported that Sister Prudence had left the Palace at noon not feeling well. The entire city was searched, but no one knew what happened to her, Prudence disappeared for nearly a week." Margaret took a deep breath and then continued on, clearly this was not an easy story to tell. "A teamster found her not far outside of the city walls a week later. She had been ****, beaten and **** horrifically. When she was first found she had no memory of what had happened to her.

Over time she recovered physically, but her mind has not recovered and I doubt it ever will." We tried several treatments to clear her mind. High Priest Beldan even sat and prayed with her for a full night in her hospital room when she first started to recover but nothing he or anyone else could do could heal her broken mind.

"Poor dear!" Winlay's exclamation of horror and sympathy escaped her despite her best effort to listen. Margaret smiled at Winlay and squeezed her shoulder in a gesture that made her feel much better.

"Who would do such a thing?" Asked Winlay still reeling from the horror of what happened to an initiate she didn't even know.

"Well, it could have been some crazed psychopath." Winlay waited for Margaret to continue, because based on the way she answered she was pretty sure that Margaret feared something much more sinister. Taking a breath before she continued Margaret took Winlay's hands in hers and held them tightly.

"I hope I'm doing the right thing. I wish I had taken Prudence aside like this, it may have made a difference. Winlay, my greatest fear is that Prudence was betrayed by someone inside the church." Winlay could not believe what Sister Margaret was saying. She had a hard enough time believing that anyone could be evil enough to attack an innocent woman like Prudence, but Margaret was saying that a member of the church could be responsible.

"I've been hearing disturbing rumors about High Priest Beldan." As soon as Sister Margaret mentioned his name Winlay had a vivid memory of the fat Priest wrapped in gold, licking his fat lips as he eyed her and the other pretty initiates. Margaret must have noticed the change in Winlay's expression because her own lips hardened in response. "I don't know for sure, but the thought that it had been Beldan who assaulted her the first time and then to think I let him sit all night alone with Prudence has cost me more than one nights’ sleep.

"I also worry about the Templar's role in this incident." Margaret shook Winlay gently to make sure she was focused on what she was saying. "Stay away from them Sister, under no circumstances let yourself be led into their training grounds." Margaret's face was drawn and the wrinkles that had always warmed her face now seemed to age her by at least ten years. "I'm afraid I destroyed your trust and belief in the church that you love. Don't despair my sister, most of those you meet are like you, but I fear for the church when it is rotten at its core."

The two women sat in silence until the bell for the evening dinner sounded.

“Go on dear.” Margaret shooed Winlay out of the safety and comfort of her cozy workshop and off through the gardens back towards the main dining hall. As Winlay approached the hall she saw the throng of hungry initiates outside the doors and realized that the hall would be much more crowded in the evening than it had been at lunch. She wasn't even sure she'd be able to find Mika and she really wanted to be able to share with her all she had learnt in the few hours since she last saw her.