The steady sound of her footsteps matched the feeling of her heart pounding in her chest as Cresta walked the halls of the monastery again. It had been years she had been back in this hub of clerics she had once studied with. Now she was a woman, grown and employed in the temple of the Imperial Palace, a place very far from this serene temple.

Her heart thudded anxiously as she passed through the stone halls, the brisk spring air of the mountain well contained in these walls. Lanterns flickered overhead, lighting the way as she approached the main hall.

Her priestess robes billowed as she walked, the perfect white satin hugging her figure and cooling her skin as she arrived.

She loved the sight of the main hall of the temple. She loved the smell of the burning candle wicks as their dim light illuminated the praying figures that knelt in the pews murmuring their hopes and desires to the goddess. Her goddess, the goddess of creation watched over them in the hall in the form of a rough carving of her profile in the stone wall above the altar, its more distinct features weathered with time.

Cresta approached the altar, the old floors familiar underfoot. She bowed deeply to the profile of her goddess, then moved to sit in the pew in the front row. She whispered a prayer of thanks for her safe travels and for the goddess’ many blessings upon her.

Footsteps approached her, those of a young man whose eyes she could feel on her as he slunk into the other side of the pew. He took a seat only a few feet apart from where she sat. She ignored it, though she could feel his wandering sidelong glance.

Then he broke the silence. “I haven’t seen you at this here temple.”

A vein throbbed in irritation at his sudden words. He could see she was a priestess, he had to know she had taken an oath of celibacy, poverty and devotion.

She met his gaze. He was handsome, almost shockingly so but she did not care. She was devoted to her oath. “I’m from the Imperial palace,” she answered simply.

“So far,” he responded impressed. When she saw his gaze again, his look remained flirtatious. Clearly he liked a challenge.

Her jaw ticked as she clenched, grinding her teeth, pursed her lips, and sent him away with a glare.

She could hear his annoyed “tsk” as she shifted away from him. He must have taken her for the priss, overly zealous devotee that she was. She didn’t care.

She was dedicated to her goddess, to her oaths. She was the paragon of virtue. She could not be tempted by some pretty faced man with an easy smile. She worked hard for this.

She returned to her silent prayer, a meditation as she thought of all the things she would accomplish at the monastery, all the solitude she would bask in as she focused on her pure devotion to the goddess.

She would fixate on that which would help her return more wise to her sisters and fellow zealots in the Empire. She tried to be a guiding light, a mentor and a beacon to those in search of faith though she was not perfect, but she would do her best to guide them.

Cresta could admit her flaws, she had to. It was the only thing that kept her running towards the light of the goddess.

Just as she thought of her flaws did she see the shuddering ruffle of the white dress of the High Priestess. Cresta’s heart fluttered as she watched with awe as she wandered in, the model of all Cresta could dream to be, the figurehead and one closest to the goddess.

Cresta she watched as people got up to walk to the High Priestess Leia and greet her, ask for her wisdom and bask in her glory.

Something twisted inside of Cresta. She had admired Leia since she had first seen the high priestess, but it was more than just admiration. When she thought of Leia alone or away, she pulsed with a feeling she couldn’t quite verbalize.

When she thought of Leia’s warm smile and her kind eyes, she felt something stir in her heart. When she thought of Leia’s soft tresses that flowed down from her elaborate crown, she couldn’t ignore the tension that rose in her shoulders. And when Leia laughed, she felt a warmth in her stomach.

It wasn’t right, what was in her head when she saw the High Priestess, it was not becoming of a young devoted member of the clergy. But she couldn’t ignore it. She wanted the High Priestess to smile at her, to praise her, to rely on her.