Louise
Enraged, Louise pressed herself against the wall of the house. She listened to two servants who cleaned the rooms of the Wise Men every day. The two young men were still holding their brooms and rags as they leaned against one of the palm trees for some shadow. After the terrible fire, most of the rooms remained in good condition.
"A diamond?", one of them asked. He had frizzy, short hair. Louise couldn't remember his name. But she knew that he had introduced himself to her once. When she had just taken up her work as a priestess. He had tried to flirt with her. In vain. He wasn't her type and he was too old.
"Yes!" The other was of round stature with dark skin and a bald, tattooed head. Illustrazions of the gods of the sand. "I've seen it!"
"I thought the dragons would refuse to share the wealth with us!", grumbled the curlyhead. "So where does it come from?"
"Listen!" The group grinned conspiratorially. "I've heard the Wise Men talk about it! The cursed had the diamond with him."
"Oh. Shouldn't the stone be returned? To the boy? Maybe it was a gift?"
"Fool! What does the cursed want to do with a diamond? He should have been dead long ago. A sacrifice to the gods! And now the dragons have him. He's literally sitting on the diamonds! And his sister! That Louise!"
"What about her?" The curly head grinned. "She's very pretty. And her figure! It's a dream." Louise rolled her eyes.
"Lustnewt!" The fat man laughed. "She's a priestess. And too young for you! No! Because of the brother! This girl..."
Now Louise's ears perked up. There had been plenty of rumors about her in recent days. She was said to have a secret boyfriend. No matter how much she said no, she was not believed. Her supposed boyfriend was a young, tall man. Young and with long black hair. Narcisse. She had been seen talking to him. However, no one recognized the dragon because the person, the source of the rumors, only saw him from behind. Louise even had to justify herself to the Wise Men! It was difficult for her to convince them that although she had spoken to a man, it was not her partner. She left out that it was Narcisse. Talking to a man was not forbidden.
Officially, she was almost kidnapped by the dragons during the attack but was rescued at the last second by a wizard. Since she was terribly frightened by the flames and everything, she was believed not to have been involved in Lou's abduction. In fact, she had hardly known anything about the plans. Especially not that the dragons would set fire to the temple complex. So she didn't lie when she was questioned about it.
The once magnificent temple was now black with soot and destruction. Louise's room was in good shape and not in danger of collapsing, but part of the house had collapsed. The walls of the once magnificent buildings were now as black as the temple itself.
"She has a boyfriend!", the round man announced.
She has a boyfriend!, Louise repeated in her mind. Not again!
"And?" Curly just shrugged his shoulders. "My sister has a boyfriend too!"
"Why are you so stupid?" The other snorted. "Your sister is not a priestess. They have to live abstinently, have you forgotten that?"
"I thought they only weren't allowed to sleep with someone!", Curly defended himself. "Is she going to be kicked out?"
"No. She won't. But... What if she was involved in the escape? After all, the cursed one is her brother! She might as well be cursed! Who knows? And this man?"
"You're crazy!" Curly laughed and gave the other one a friendly push. "The priests and priestesses are faithful. She in particular must have understood the need! After all, it was the word of the gods! Don't be silly."
"Maybe!" The round servent tugged at his broom. A few of the old bristles came loose. "But it was about her brother... She's pretty, this Louise. If she really wants a boyfriend, I'd be ready. I'm a better choice than you!"
"Nope. You're too fat! You'd crush her under you!"
"Why are we friends?"
Snorting, Louise turned her back on them and hurried to her room, which she was currently sharing with Nanette. Her friend's room fell victim to the flames. Nanette lay on a mat on which she now slept, reading a book. She was wearing one of Louise's dresses. Her property was burned. All of it. When Louise rumbled into the room, however, she looked up in shock. "What is it? Why so angry?"
"I..." Tearing at her hair, Louise sat down next to her friend. "The Wise Men have a diamond."
"Nice. Will the dragons finally give us some? What's the point of dragons having them..."
"Enjoy the sparkle? The dragons didn't give them the Sparklestone!" Louise grabbed the book from her friend, who immediately protested. "Aren't you reading this for the... Don't you know that by heart?" It was a storybook. For children and young teenagers.
"And?" Nanette grabbed the book and held it close to her. "It's my favorite book. I got it the day my magic showed itself! Now tell me! Why does a diamond make you angry? Where did the Wise Men get it from? If not from the dragons? Sparklestone? How old are you? Four?"
"The stone belongs to my brother. That's what he calls it." Louise sighed. "The Wise Men stole it. And... I heard servants talking about it! And about those stupid rumors!"
"Louise?" Nanette put her arm around her shoulders. "If you don't want more rumors, don't get upset that the Wise Men have a stone that belonged to a condemned boy. Your brother should have died. What if they think you helped them escape? You could be locked up. It's bad enough that you refused to watch the sacrifice, even if I understand it. But you've made yourself suspicious! It is fortunate that you were still believed. Now... If I'm honest, I would have done the same. I think so."
"Lou is my brother and the Wise Men stole his stone! Am I not allowed to be angry?", scolded Louise. "He's my brother!"
"Of course you can! But keep it to yourself!" Nanette gently pulled on one of Louise's strands of hair. "You’re innocent. Loving one's brother isn’t forbidden. But keep quiet about it. Please."
"You're right... But... I think the vision may have been misinterpreted! We weren't even told what exactly it was! No details. It's all secret. What if it's just..."
Startled, Nanette covered her friend’s mouth. "Hush! If someone hears you! You're right, it's a bit strange. Otherwise, important visions will be communicated to us in detail. Only this one wasn’t. But... Don't say it. Forget about it!"
But Louise couldn't forget it. She planned to ask the priest personally about the vision. She wanted answers.
