Lilia took a deep breath and looked upon Norake sitting in the somber corner. The dark memories hidden deep within her skull about to emerge. Coming back from the dead from the shadows through her lips. A thing she never thought she would ever do.

 "Let me start at the very beginning..."

 The rolling sound colossal like thunder vibrating the walls is what attracted the smokey eyed girl down that dark hallway into the chambers of her Lady. Her eyes grew larger by each step she put before her. The sound increased as each step by step was laid, fierce and terrible like a storm.
 She stood in front of the door, arms shaking she was unsure of what she should do. Risk disturbing her Lady to check on her welfare or to stand there and wait uneasy until the haunting noises stopped attacking the arena between the four walls.
 The door pulsed and breathed before her. The illusion slithered to the walls and made its way like an infection through them. Veins emerged and the dark blood flowed giving the stone temple mysterious life.
 The decision was made for her indecisive mind quickly, but not by her own means. Thieving the scene a scream escaped from the other side of the thick wooden door. Inside surely must be the mouth of this intense being. It echoed down the halls and called attention to others within the temple. Without being aware of her reaction she turned the knob, hot underneath her hand as if there was a fire on the other side. Regardless of the pain she swung the door open with a hefty push.
 She held tight to her hand in the other sizzling with torridity. Heat rushed for escape and collided into young Lilia's form knocking her to her knees. The force licked its lips as it took tastes of her bare skin, almost wanting to possess the young morsel.
 The extreme fear felt from within Lilia for the entity she encountered had to be pushed aside. The Lady had been within shut doors with this thing. She had to ensure her safety.
 But now free the entity had had its fill of the Lady Mayia, it wanted other victims to feed upon. Lilia looked upon the creature which had now come to shape as a billowing black cloud. She could no longer see within the chambers of her Lady.
 Somehow she managed to get to her feet, and the cloud met her face. It bobbed to and fro, floating in front of her as if just staring, but it had no eyes in which to see. Then simply it just faded away.
 Lilia stood there motionless for a moment, blank thrown into a trance of mystery about the source of such a creature. She shook her head remembering her task at hand. The room was now clear only lit by a few candles. They flickered as the wind now allowed inside drifted by. Lady Mayia laid there on the floor motionless. Lilia ran to her side.
 Lady Mayia's dark chestnut hair covered her oval face. Lilia gently removed it from the flesh and saw the motionless face that matched the body before her.
 "Lady! Lady Mayia!" She said touching the hot skin of her Lady's shoulder.
 She did not react to the gentle touch, and remained motionless.
 "Please Lady! Wake up!" She pleaded. Now shaking the stiff shoulder.
 Again no reaction.
 "Oh Goddess, don't take her from us!" She quietly exclaimed.
 
 The other girls of the temple who had heard the eerie commotion came to see what was happening. They all froze standing in the doorway laying eyes on the display that was before them. Surely their Lady, the Priestess of the temple was dead. But by what means?
 Suddenly without warning, before any questions could be asked, Lady Mayia's eyes jolted open. Brown shells plastered with terrified existence. Her body jumped up, feet swiftly planted on the floor. She looked at the girls with rage.
 "What are you doing in here?" She asked sternly.
 "We heard terrible noises." The youngest, with long blonde hair and golden eyes responded.
 Lilia looked at the Lady Mayia with confusion. Shouldn't she be grateful for her girls to worry about her well-being?
 "I told you plenty of times, no matter what, do not disturb me while I am in this chamber. I am consulting with the Goddess." Her eyes of anger drifted from the four girls standing in the doorway to Lilia on her knees next to her. "No matter what you heard or seen. Isn't that right Lilia?"
 She obediently nodded her head and got to her feet.
 Eyes met directly with that of her Lady. She tried to form words behind her lips, but they were stopped by the now cool fingers of her Lady placing them upon her questions.
 Lilia put her fingers to her lips to warm them from the coldness of Lady Mayia's fingers. Her skin was boiling hot just seconds ago, now they felt like ice.
 "Now leave, I have to concencrate the grounds because now they have been penetrated and soiled."
 Without a word, but hard confusion and concern behind their eyes the girls at the door all did what they were told. Lady Mayia waited at the door for Lilia to exit.
 She grasped her by cold eyes and a threatening grip around the wrist.
 "You will not speak a word to anyone about what you have seen. You may not understand it, but what you saw was sacred meant for me only. To break such bonds between an individual and the supernatural is a crime... almost punishable by death my love."
 Lilia's eyes grew wide. The smokey grey azuli shivering at the thought of the words spoken.
 "But I love you too much for that. I will pray for the Goddess' forgiveness for us both, and hope that we do not both get punished too severely for this. And that you, you will live to see another day."
 "The Goddess shouldn't punish..."
 Interrupted, a harsh squeeze to the wrist confined Lilia's words.
 "Do not question. You will indeed get punished for this."
 After that Lady Mayia gently guided Lilia out of the room and closed the door with a harsh slam which echoed among the stone walls.

 Lilia slowly walked down the halls, ignoring everything else except the contemplation lingering on in her mind about all that had happened just moments ago. She rubbed the sore wrist with her fingertips, every now and then looking at it. Such cruelty came from a woman she loved and served and known ever since she was a small child. She couldn't believe what had transpired had really happened.
 She slowly exited the temple out a large archway built with dull stone, much like the colour of her eyes. The sunbeams attacked her eyes stinging them, but she continued walking without covering them for protection.
 Her pace seemed slow and thick, like the world around her was honey and she was trying to swim through it. Epochs seem to pass to reach the small distance of the sanctuary of the tree's shade. She sat below the dark and large twisted tree. She eased her way in leaning up against the rough bark. It scraped at the skin on her back and gently clawed and her ebon hair messily hanging down.
 Eyes levitated forward as her legs stretched out in front of her in view. Her knees were splattered with red scratches. Purple and blue bruises were beginning to show through the surface. The white dress she wore that clung loosely to her body at the hems were decorated with red stains. Now the thick soreness made its debut onto the scene making her realize why her pace had been stifled.
 
 That thing, that black mass was supposed to be the Goddess. Lilia could not accept that. Ever since she was a small girl when she was brought to the temple by her father she was taught that the Goddess was warm and mothering.  The great Goddess being the creator of all had to have her dark side, but that was reserved for the death and destruction of all things cruel in this world. Things that did not belong here.
 But this creature, it was anything else from what she had always imagined. Hard, terrifying and the lingering essence of sorrow. It had a lot of power behind it, but it couldn't possibly be the Goddess she had revered and worshiped for many years.
 There was no way though she could question the motives of her Lady. The high priestess of the temple of The Goddess. Not in the condition she was in now. She had transformed into someone else completely. This black thing had to of done this to her, but how was she going to protect her when she was told only to stay away.

 A dangerous plan filtered within the working gears of the young woman's mind. This idea was not quite oiled well and went in and came out roughly. She couldn't possibly do what she was thinking... but there was no other way. She had to be absolutely sure about this creature before she could judge any farther. But what she was planning, could plot out her tombstone.