Malice Maze

Chapter 5
Nanaia’s Choice

“You are not welcome here,” Tiffani spoke again, her voice shrill, her worry showing in her every motion. She stood between the columns of the shrine, the other priestesses of the shrine standing back far enough away from the shrill anger of the head priestess. Only Nanaia seemed curious enough to start moving forward, her violet eyes glimpsing the many armored soldiers who stood before the shrine. Tiffani knew they had been coming, she had been told to make a choice by her queen.

“Find a priestess, any of your priestesses will do,” the queen snapped at the woman who lead her people in prayer of the great God Zeus. “You have no choice, Tiffani. The world will not miss one of fifty priestesses. You have too many as it is.”

“We only have ten,” Tiffani had had the fall to correct. It had earned her a wicked slap across her face.

“Choose one!” the queen had screamed in Tiffani’s face. “I do not care which, but tomorrow my guards will be there to escort her to her new home, and if you keep them from doing so I will have your head.”

“It is sacrilegious!” Tiffani screeched. “You can not take God’s people and thrown them into that maze! I will not allow it!”

“You are not allowing it,” the queen reminded Tiffani. “You are just choosing a girl, a young one preferably. I want someone beautiful, someone who will make that fool king stutter.”

Tiffani now stood before the guards, her arms outstretched, unable to send one of the priestesses through that maze. She knew of the horrors of the maze, a maze that Dralnu had created years before with purposes that remained a mystery. Many people said it was a heinous crime to put people in the maze, but there were the rare amount of people who came out and spoke nothing but of high words for the place. Eloquent praise came from the lips of the warriors who came out stronger, larger, bulkier in their muscle, praise came from the women who went seeking an answer to their infertility problem. Those, however, were the rare cases. Most came out damaged, or worse, never at all. The maze had been used as a punishment, a place to ruin the soul. She could not willingly give up one of the girls.

“We were told to cut you down if you stood in our way,” the head guard spoke easily as if he routinely did just that. “Tiffani, none of us like you enough to spare you.”

“You would murder me in God’s home?” Tiffani shrilly cried. This was giving her second thoughts. She did not want to die.

“I would murder you in a shrine built to falsify your god, yes,” the guard continued. “Now choose a girl or we will choose one for you.”

“Nanaia,” Tiffani snapped sharply.

The young priestess jumped and ran forward, joining Tiffani between the columns and staring out at the guards. The guard who had just threatened Tiffani smiled appreciatively at Nanaia. Scarlet hair flowed around her shoulders, a scarlet color that was healthier than the off-red colors of the other priestesses, and Nanaia had the one true revelation of being one of God’s Chosen, she had violet eyes. All of the other girls were red haired and blue eyes, a blue that could appear lilac or purple in color in the right light, but no one had the beauty and perfection that was required of a priestess that Nanaia had. Nanaia was all curves, rich curves that would have made men drool, full pouting lips, and an innocent look about her though there was something darker deep down. She would have made a perfect seductress, and instead she had given her life to a God who had neglected his people for years.

“You would choose the only chosen priestess?” the guard laughed. “I find it ironic that you preach the good of God, and yet you would give up the only priestess among you who seems truly chosen by that God.”

“I choose her because if she is truly chosen by God, she will prevail,” Tiffani assured the guard, though it was not what she was thinking. What she was truly thinking was jealousy. Why could she not be chosen? She was beautiful? She was a virgin, like the queen required. Why did the queen not send her into this maze? She had given her life for God all of these years and he repaid her by… choosing Nanaia!

“Very good, ma’am,” the guard said in his proper tone and reached out for Nanaia.

“Tiffani,” she said, turning to the older priestess and looking to her with lost eyes. “Tiffani, what is going on?”

Her question was never answered. Tiffani turned away from the priestess and allowed her to be taken by the guards.