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"Yes," I said, taking over when Nari started to look unsure. "Put the chair in the bedroom, but both couches should fit in the dressing room, right?"
"Oh, good idea," Talin said. "And these walls should stay white. We wanted the dressing room in blues and greens. The bedroom should be a dark charcoal."
Drandir smiled. "And I have a turquoise and pale gold cloth - more of a cream, really. Action showed us how to use a glue to stick it to the marble walls like wallpaper. I thought it might work in the new... Are we calling it a drawing room?"
"Sitting room," Anver said. "There's not much in there right now."
So Drandir started giving directions, ordering a trio of priests into the sitting room. Another pair went to the dressing room with their buckets of what had to be paint. Four more were told what to do with the couches, and Talin offered to show them where to put them. Me? I headed over to where Drandir was showing Nari the sticks.
"These are the shades we have," he explained. "Since the sitting room will be in stripes because of the fabric, I thought we could do the dressing room in one shade and do a repeating pattern in another over it. Like damask, but not quite as ornate. I just need to know if you want more green or more blue."
"Green," she said, pointing to a lovely jade color. "And this midnight blue would be good for the pattern, right?"
Since she looked up at me, I nodded. "I like it. Those are the ones I would've picked."
That earned me a little smile, but Drandir wasn't done yet. "And this is the charcoal color we have. I'm hoping it's not too dark."
"No, that's perfect," Nari said, looking at the stick he held out. Then she pointed at another. "I think that's too light. This way, the furniture will be the focus, right, not the room?"
"We'll make sure of it," Drandir promised her. "I also brought up a selection of paintings for Ela to go through. It's unwanted stuff that's been sitting in storage. I can take away the ones he complained about. I also had a few side tables and end tables in a similar color of wood. If you're ok with it, I'll have my people start putting things out in arrangements, and you can let us know what you want moved when we're done painting?"
Nari clasped his arm. "Thank you. I know you all say you want to help, but this? It's..."
"Makes us feel appreciated," another priest said as he stepped into the room holding a cluster of envelopes in his hand.
"Polst!" Nari greeted him. "I should've known you'd help with this."
"I'm actually delivering mail," the man admitted before looking to Drandir. "But what's going on?"
"We're making the Chosen's suite into something to be proud of," Drandir told him. "Paint, furniture, and a full overhaul. I want to be done in four hours, so won't mind extra hands if you want to help too."
Polst just shoved the envelopes at me. "I'm now done with deliveries. Oh." He looked at me. "There's one in there for Priest Anver. It's marked for his room, but I know he's here more often than not."
"He is," I assured the man. "Nari, go tell them what you want, because you know we're all going to agree. Shit, Talin's probably the only one of us with any idea of what things should look like."
"You sure?" she asked.
I cupped the side of her face. "I'm completely sure. We want our desire to have her home the way she wants it."
Behind me, Polst made false gagging sounds. It was enough to make Nari laugh, but she gave in. Tilting her head towards the drawing room, she led Drandir that way. The priest named Polst lagged behind, smirking at me like he had something to say. Sure enough, the moment Nari was out of sight, he took a step closer and lowered his voice.
"Two priests of Obligation were sent north last week. They yelled at someone in the Word dining hall who said Nari was a fake," he said. "The Priests of Action have tried finding out how many priests are being moved out of the temple, but no one seems to have numbers. Odette, a girl from that class Nari had with us? She heard that so many priests have been sent to the country that for the first time in a century, there are no empty rooms for priests in any of them."
"Is this a new thing?" I asked.
Polst nodded. "This year. I mean, a few were sent last fall, but most of them have been reassigned this month. Dozens upon dozens, Priest Wraythe. Sounds like it tends to be the most devout and the most outspoken. Priests who are respected on their Paths and who were expected to be promoted are instead heading for the country."
"I don't know what to do about that," I admitted. "We're just initiates. We don't have much sway in the scheme of things."
"We know," Polst assured me. "And a hundred priests may seem like a lot, but their absence won't even be noticed here in the temple. We're just worried that Nari is losing her base of support. In Obligation, we hear things, and when speaking up for the priestess with five Paths results in a reassignment to the middle of rural Calseth, people tend to learn how to be quiet."
"He's tilting the scales in his favor," I realized. "The more believers Zeal gets, the more priests Kinen tries to get rid of. Fucking asshole."
"But Obligation is with her," Polst assured me. "And those letters look important. That's the baron's seal on them. I hope it's good news."
Then he headed back into the hall, likely to help with the furniture that was still out there. Flipping through the envelopes, I found the one with my name on it and opened it as I walked towards the sitting room. Inside was an elegant card in a soft grey color, and gold ink that shimmered in the gas-lights. When I pulled it out, I saw the crest of the Baron of Temptation and the Ranndor family.
Inside was Maela's handwriting, inviting me - personally - to Yamina Ranndor's eighteenth birthday party. At the bottom was a note making it clear that presents were not encouraged, and that each invitation would admit one person. I smiled at that, thinking about the fit Tishlie would have when she found out Anver had been invited to something so prestigious.
