ƥαṇdα-ηθνε|·ƈθm Maeve reached the temple in less than half an hour. With the help of the maid and the carriage man, she got down. The chair with wheels was being brought in another carriage that was right behind them. Maeve was made to sit in it. She looked around and saw that none of the royals were present.
"Where's everyone?" she asked. At least Anton should have been there.
"M'lady, we have reached here quite early I think," said her maid as she began to push her towards the temple.
Maeve knew what the maid implied. She was trying to say that Maeve was too eager to come here. She ignored her words. "Tell the carriage man to go back and inform Lord Lazarus that I am already in the temple."
The maid left the chair with wheels and began to go when Maeve snapped at her. "You dimwit! Take me inside the temple and then go!"
The maid twisted her face and again began to push the chair. As they were about to reach the first circle, the Shaman came out, shouting, "Stop! Stop!" He was panting when he reached Maeve. "Goddess Maeve," he said and bowed to her.
Maeve looked smugly at the maid as if trying to say how much she was respected as a goddess. The maid had a poker face. She turned her attention to the Shaman. "Why have you stopped me?"
"The temple is surrounded by the warding circles. Only you can enter and a few other royals, but the maid can't enter," he explained.
Maeve gritted her teeth. "Then you push this chair inside. How will I get to the temple otherwise?"
The Shaman looked at her with utter surprise. "I can't do that m'lady," he said, holding his hand up. They were burnt and had black patches at several places. "If I use these hands, how will I perform the ritual?"
"What the hell do you mean?" Maeve snickered. "How will I go inside? I can barely walk!"
The Shaman looked flustered, but the answer was obvious. She had to crawl her way inside the temple. He glanced at the maid who seemed to be stifling her laugh.
"You can wait for one of the royals to come here, m'lady," he suggested.
Maeve gritted her teeth, looking extremely angry. She scanned the length that she had to get down to crawl and shuddered. It was almost fifty feet and the ground was wet with a few rocks littered around. The grassy patches were rough and were present only towards the steps of the temple. She snapped at the maid, "You will stay here until I go inside. But for now go and tell the carriage man to fetch Prince Anton or Prince Lazarus as soon as possible!"
The maid nodded and rushed to convey the message to the carriage man as Maeve sat there and watched her with hawk eyes. She couldn't believe that no one had come to the temple. Everyone was looking forward to the ritual but no one had come. She was sure that at least Lazarus would be standing here eagerly, but even he wasn't here. She was expecting Anton to be there, ready with his troops, but he was missing. She knew that King Viktor wouldn't even come. Even though he was looking forward to the ritual more than anyone else, he didn't want to commit to it because it was below his dignity. She would teach them all a lesson.
Half an hour passed but no one came. Maeve looked desperately at the Shaman who must have gone inside the temple a dozen times in that half an hour. When he came this time, he said, "M'lady, you must come to the temple now. I suspect that if you go any later, the right time will pass away."
Maeve's eyes became wide as she peeped behind him to see the path again. "You should let the maid take me in," she insisted, cursing the royals inside.
"She won't be able to survive this circle, m'lady. She will burn in hell's fire."
"Then create a path for her!" Maeve retorted.
The Shaman blinked at Maeve. "If I do that, it will take me an hour more. I will have to rebuild the circles."
Maeve twisted her fingers in her palms. Crawling down the path was the only choice left. She gazed at her white gown and her open hair over which the flower wreath was and took a deep breath. "Okay!" she said in a raspy voice. "Help me down."
The maid came in the front. She helped Maeve get up from the chair and then lowered her to the ground. She backed away instantly, relieved that she didn't have to be a part of the ritual and rolled the chair away. Now Maeve was left to crawl all the way up to the temple stairs. With a deep breath in, she started to crawl like vermin. It was a gargantuan effort to go ahead on her own. She would place her hands in the front and pull her body with it.
In the darkness of the night, goddess Maeve was seen crawling to the temple in hope for another chance at life.
She was panting by the time she reached the steps of the temple. She dragged herself over them and then inside her the corridor and courtyard, leaving a trail of blood. Some of her bandages opened. By the time she reached the place where the ritual had to take place, in the center of the courtyard, under the full moon, she was crying and panting and cursing.
The Shaman pitied her but he didn't help her. He pointed at the stone bed where she had to lie down. Maeve climbed that up and then plopped down on it. Her eyes went to the full moon. "Hurry up," she said to the Shaman. "I want to get a healthy body fast!"
"But where is the healthy body?" The Shaman asked, scratching his head.
"What?" Maeve cried. She was in such a frenzy to reach the temple that she didn't notice that no one had even come. Panic spread through her like fire.
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