Harper
"Oh." Lou blinked with red cheeks. He looked cute, apart from the too much jewelry and all the ribbon. "Oh."
"What's up?" asked Nour, giggling. "Don't you like it? I was just exaggerating a bit, I didn't want to... Are you okay?"
"I..." Lou plucked a ribbon from his hair. "I like jewelry. But..." He looked at one of the many necklaces. "I don't think I want to wear it." Then he tugged at another ribbon. "And all of that feels weird. Heavy. Do I look silly? Do I? Is that a good thing?"
"At least it's funny..." Nour looked at me questioningly. Her eyes seemed to beg me for help.
"Funny..." Lou tugged at the next ribbon. "No one has ever said that to me..." But instead of smiling, he grew paler and paler and shook his head.
"Lou?" Nour looked from him to me. "Funny is a good thing..."
"Yes?" Lou looked skeptically at the bow he had pulled out of his hair. A golden ribbon. "Does gold suit me? Don't I look stupid with gold?"
Now I had to laugh too, like Nour a few moments before. "Your eyes are golden brown, Vivi. Of course, GOLD suits you. Gold, diamonds, just anything that sparkles!"
"No!" Lou shook his head. "Sparkles are beautiful, but not on me!"
"Then let's free you from it!" Sighing, I began to rid Lou's hair of all the superfluous embellishments. Nour helped me.
"Good. I don't want to look funny. And I don't want to carry anything heavy. The jewelry is like..." Vivi's voice grew quieter. He held still while I carefully untied all the bows and chains from his hair. He wanted to keep one bow in his hair. But only one. However, when I tried to untie the jewelry he wore around his neck, Lou frowned. Nour, on the other hand, pouted.
"What is it, Vivi?" I asked.
"Not everything."
"Not everything? You mean the jewelry?"
"My beautiful masterpiece!" growled Nour. "I didn't mean to scare you. Excuse me, Lou!" I ignored her. Lou, on the other hand, felt for her hand and then held it lovingly.
"Yes. Don't take everything off. I... It's too heavy, you know?" With his free hand, he awkwardly pulled a necklace over his head. "I'm fine, Nour."
"All right." So I helped him get rid of most of the jewelry. "Better?"
"I don't know... At least not that heavy? What do I look like?" asked Lou.
"Cute!" What else would he look like? Vivi was delightful. With or without jewelry.
"Suits you", Nour murmured.
"Yes?" Lou blinked, let go of Nour, and finally took off the last of the jewelry. "But it feels strange. Cold... When I... On my ankle." He shook his head and shuddered. "That was cold, too."
"What was cold?" Nour asked immediately, but Lou didn't answer.
"Let it be!" I scurried through the girl's dark hair. Whatever he talked about, it seemed like a bad memory. At his foot... Was he talking about shackles? It sounded like it.
Louise
"For the hundredth time, I don't have a secret boyfriend!" Louise snorted angrily.
"I'm sure you didn't say that a hundred times", Kay contradicted her. She knelt in front of Louise on the beautiful stone floor of the room. A colorful mosaic.
"Why do I even have to say it more than once?" Louise sat in the healer's small hospital room and let her take care of her wrist after Louise stumbled. The wrist was slightly sprained and hurt. But with the help of the healer, the pain quickly disappeared. In the temple, she had free access to medicine or the help of the healer. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to bring any of the available medicine to her family. "Even Nanette wants to know who my admirer is. I don't have one!"
"I think Nanette is jealous." Warmth and soft light emanated from the healer's hands. The air around her hands seemed to glisten.
"What?"
"Well!" Kay let go of Louise's wrist. "I’m done!"
"Kay!" protested Louise. “Why is she jealous? About what?"
Smiling, the healer sat down next to Louise. "You're a pretty girl. You have more admirers than you think. Some of the young seers often stare at you. But they don't pay attention to Nanette."
"Do they? We aren’t allowed to have any romantic relationships. Nanette knows that!" But Louise didn't care about that rule anymore. She didn't care about any rules. She only half-heartedly followed them and made no effort to do her tasks perfectly. She was furious. And annoyed!
She was angry at everything. It felt like an unquenchable fire was bubbling inside her.
"That doesn't change the fact that you're young. And sentient people, dear. You wouldn't be the first priestess to have a secret affair. The mother of one of the wise men was a priestess. A scandal, at the time. Did you know? He grew up in the temple." Kay wrinkled her nose and placed her hands in her lap. "And I bet he's not the only forbidden kid to ever grow up here!"
"And then how did he become one of the wise men? If it was a scandal? Forbidden?"
"Hm." Kay leaned against the rough wall of the room and crossed her arms. "My mother was friends with the priestess at the time. That's why I know the story. Nobody talks about it anymore, but... The priestess was hanged after giving birth. She never said who the father was. Rumor has it that it was one of the wise men and that's why he was finally accepted there. Officially, however, it was the will of the gods. As with any of the Wise. The gods choose them. You know that."
The room was sparsely furnished. Louise sat on a small bunk. Otherwise, there was only a narrow table with a chair and a wall shelf filled with all kinds of herbs, cups, and scrolls. But just like the cool floor, the walls were also colorfully decorated. They showed pictures of healers at work. "It's terrible."
"It is. Is your brother okay?" Kay smiled softly as she asked this almost casually.
Startled, Louise stared at the healer. "What?" Was this a trap? Did Kay know anything? Had the Wise Men set her up?
"Your brother. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. But, the way you got upset, surely you know where exactly he is now?"
"I don't know."
"As you say." Kay shook her head sadly. "The Wise areN#t perfect. They are superstitious. But they keep things going. Without them, there would be chaos. And they are cruel to traitors, Louise. Take good care of yourself."
When Louise left the hospital room, she was confused. Did Kay know the curse didn't exist? Or did she suspect it? Had the Wise Men instructed her to question Louise?
Could she still trust Kay?
