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"I don't know," she admitted. "I know that Migard still refused, is standing by his refusal, and may be demoted to filing because of this. I know that Zeal hasn't come when we've called. I know that Amerlee spoke with the Council of Educators, so they are now involved. Your student status made that possible." She looked over at me with a hint of a smile. "And most of the council are women. They have seen other women on our Path being demoted for nothing more than our gender. Still, teaching is considered a woman's duty now, and the Council of Educators are all teachers."
"Unless they're scared of being demoted," I pointed out. "I have a feeling that it wouldn't take much for Kinen to decide that he needs men in all leadership positions while women do the 'easy' or 'brainless' work."
"Which is why I wanted to make sure you had proof," Saval said just as we turned up another hall.
And then we walked on in silence. I had no clue what to say, and yet I was once again in the middle of things. More than all of that, Zeal wasn't helping? Just on principle, I decided to pray to him as well, thinking as hard as I could.Zeal, please help us? Please do not make Migard suffer for what they're doing to me?I know you've been busy lately, but I think I need you.
Then I waited. My boots clicked against the hard marble floor. Saval's shoes tapped. Talin's boots thudded, and each step brought us closer to a pair of large doors in a section of the temple I'd never been in before. In front of them, a man was pacing back and forth, looking like he was impatiently waiting for something. At the sound of our approach, he looked up and smiled.
Zeal still wasn't here.
"Good," he said. "You have her. Priestess Nariana?" he asked me.
"Yes, priest," I said.
"Come."
He pulled open one of the large doors and gestured for me to enter. Talin followed right on my heels, but Saval didn't. Inside, the room was open and expansive, but not that deep. There were rows of chairs, a table in front of them, and an arced set of raised seating facing all of it. Sitting in that arc were faces that I recognized from my Obligation class final. These were the priests I'd served at that meal, and the man near the end was the one who I'd told to sit back down.
Shit.
"I have the initiate in question," the man announced. "Priestess Nariana and her guardian."
"Step forward," a man standing before the raised seats demanded, pointing to where he wanted me. "You are Priestess Nariana on the Path of the Body, correct?"
"Priestess Nariana on the Path of Temptation," I told him. "I practice Body as my main Path, but am also studying Word, Protection, Action, and Obligation."
"But which one is your Path?" the man demanded.
"Temptation," I said again.
"That's your temple," he corrected.
"It is both my Temple and my Path," I assured him. "Sir, I have lace from my toes to my neck. Arms, legs, hips, back, and across the top of my chest. I wear all five Paths, that means my Path is the temple. I also don't know why I'm here."
So Elma, the only other priest I knew on the Council of Educators, leaned forward. "Nariana, as a Priestess of Temptation, do you have an assigned scheduler?"
"I do."
"And who is that?" she asked.
"Priest Migard, Path of the Word," I replied.
So another priest spoke up. "Would you say that Priestess Migard knows you well?"
"He does," I agreed, noticing movement from the corner of my eye. Looking over, I found Migard sitting against the wall with his hands folded in his lap. "He has taken extra care to learn the nuances of my preferences and limits, and has been an excellent scheduler," I told the council. "In fact, my partner and I would like to stay with him once we graduate."
That was when the man I'd yelled at last year decided to speak up. "So why would he think that your limits would be a problem for a patron to adhere to?"
"Well..." I shifted, getting comfortable as I realized this wasn't going to be over quickly. "We can start with my first year as an initiate. I explained to Migard how I was conned into a session where the other initiate priest only wanted to cause my guardian pain. Then there were the multiple sessions where my instructor paired me with people he knew I was not comfortable with, threatening to kick me from my Path if I refused the session. That culminated in a session with an untrained punisher. Priest Nyrren and his guardian Wobem attacked my guardian while I was bound and gagged, unable to help. Nyrren was killed in the event, and I no longer will allow both my hands and feet to be bound at the same time. We discussed all of this, as the reasons for my limits are often what makes it easy to determine what falls into the grey areas. At least that's what Migard told me when he was learning what we prefer."
"How picky are you?" asked the man standing before the raised chairs.
I just shook my head. "Excuse me, who are you again?"
"Priest Winreth, manager of all schedulers," he explained. "Priestess, what I want to know is why Migard would think that a patron who agreed to your limits would not be acceptable to you."
"Because he knows me and my limits well," I explained. "In fact, my partner and I stopped by Migard's office when we heard of this recent session to make sure we explained exactly what was and was not acceptable. I have reason to believe that certain potential patrons might be willing to breach a contract for a chance to harm me."
