The Courier Ch. 15

However Cecilia, who was always suspicious of other people’s motives, realized that there was a huge benefit for the Priestess as well. It was certain that Maria Elena would tell her new mentor, in graphic detail, everything that was going on in the Royal Residence. The Priestess would have access to a lot of inside gossip about Anyia, something that would give her and her superiors valuable information that they possibly could use against the Royal Family in the future. At that point it was hard to tell whether or not the Priestess’s intentions were altruistic, but the fact remained that she had just acquired a window into the opaque world of the Royal Household.

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Maria Elena left the Temple of the Ancients in a much different mood than when she entered. She had been fearful and resentful upon going in, but after talking to the Priestess, she was calm and resigned. She was not looking forward to entering the Royal Residence, but according to the Priestess she was going there for some higher purpose. Another detail that calmed Maria Elena considerably was the fact that she would continue to have some contact with the outside world and that she had placed herself under the authority of a person who had at least some power over the Grand Duchess. It also occurred to Maria Elena that, if there was a possibility that her actions would be reported to a Clergy member of the Danubian Church, Anyia might moderate her behavior and not be so vicious to her.

The inward calm that Maria Elena took with her from the Temple lasted throughout her final two days as a Ministry of Justice criminal. She made love to Victor Friday night and managed to get him to understand that she had spoken with Jason's Priestess. She showed him the letter the Priestess had given her and repeated the Danubian phrase "Path in Life". Victor seemed to calm down as well. "Path in Life"...well, if it was indeed inevitable that he and his lover were destined to be separated, then at least they could enjoy each other's company for the last three nights they had together. It was as he suspected, the Creator had given them only a fleeting moment to be together. The moment would come and go, and there was nothing that could be done other than to enjoy what little joy the Creator was willing to grant.

As she had since her arrival in Danubia, Maria Elena spent Saturday braiding her hair with her Spokeswoman and her friends. Cecilia felt that it was very fortunate that Kim could hear first-hand about Maria Elena's conversation with the Priestess, because that was additional information the Spokeswoman could take with her when she spoke to Vladim Dukov about what should be done concerning the custody of Criminal # 101025. It would be better if the Prime Minister knew right away that the Danubian Church now had direct access to what was going on inside the Royal Residence, and thus be forewarned of the impending scandal. Kim seemed not as concerned as Cecilia about the Priestess's motives. Instead she was glad about the correspondence, because she had every intention of staying in contact with her client while she appealed the transfer of custody.

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The following day Maria Elena and Victor went together to the see the Priestess in the Old Temple as a couple. They went alone, without Cecilia, without Jason, and without Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna. Victor, as usual, wore his black prayer robe, which was the only garment he normally wore when attending worship services. He and Maria Elena knelt in front of the Priestess as she prayed in archaic Danubian.

Maria Elena did not understand much of the conversation between Victor and the Priestess, but she understood enough to realize that the Clergy woman was asking about his relationship with her. Victor nervously responded to a series of questions. Maria Elena felt very uneasy, because it was obvious that Victor had to confess that he and the criminal were having a sexual relationship without being married. What she did not know at the time was that, to a member of the Danubian Clergy, a sexual relationship outside of marriage was not as big of a taboo as it was to most other religious sects. The Priestess was more interested in Victor's intentions than in the fact that he and Maria Elena were not yet married. When the questioning ended, the Priestess took Victor's hands and prayed. That didn't surprise Maria Elena, but what came next was a total shock.

The Priestess let go of Victor's hands and led both her guests to the back part of the Temple. They ended up on a large stone balcony overlooking a forested park that led to the East Danube River. In the middle of the balcony was a round stone pit with a smoldering fire. Both Maria Elena and Victor knelt. The Priestess placed her hands on Victor's shoulders and again prayed in archaic Danubian. Maria Elena could tell that Victor looked very nervous. When the Clergy woman was finished, she ordered him to stand up. He stood perfectly still as she pulled the robe over his head and handed it to a Temple attendant. With the robe taken away from him, Victor was as naked as Maria Elena.

The Priestess then placed her hands around Victor's neck and wrote down a number, which she handed to an attendant. A moment later the attendant returned with a metal collar. Victor knelt, and the Priestess put the collar on and locked it. It turned out the Priestess had ordered him to perform Public Penance.

Although she was totally shocked and bewildered at the moment, later Maria Elena would learn what exactly had happened at the Temple. The Priestess did not have any problem with Victor's affair with her, but had decided that the relationship needed to be tested while she was interned at the Royal Residence. It was indeed Victor's Path in Life to be with Maria Elena, but only the Creator knew when he would be reunited with her. Therefore, until they were reunited, he would wear a Temple collar and perform Public Penance. Along with praying over what had happened to his first wife, he would pray every night to be reunited with his lover, and until that happened he would live in humility. The collar, and his own nakedness, would be a very public display of Merchant Victor Dukov's commitment to Criminal # 101025.

Maria Elena knew that performing Public Penance would be extremely difficult for a man used to running his own business and giving orders. However, it was obvious that he loved her enough that he was willing to make the sacrifice for her. He would wait for her, collared and naked, until her custody could be returned to the Ministry of Justice and she could return to his house. That might take years, but it didn't matter. During that time, it would be his Path in Life to remain collared for her.

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Sunday night was the final night that Criminal # 101025 and Merchant Victor Dukov would be together before she was taken away to the Royal Residence. Victor reflected that if he had not taken Maria Elena with him to his brother's dinner; Anyia never would have seen her and the transfer of custody never would have happened. However, the Priestess would have told him that to think like that was to pursue a false vision of the Destroyer, because the Colombian's Path in Life was to serve the Grand Duchess. The change of custody had nothing to do with any actions that Victor took or did not take; it was the Creator who had decided that Anyia would see her and want to add her to her collection of servants.

Maria Elena and Victor made love one last time in his bed, and spent a very long time quietly caressing each other's bodies. She touched his collar with both regret and fascination, feeling very bad that he had to perform Public Penance on her behalf, and yet extremely grateful that he would do something like that for her.

Finally he fell asleep, which gave her time to stand up and spend some moments looking out the bedroom window. She contemplated the moon, which was almost full and already starting to go lower in the western horizon. Just a few more hours…and the sun would come up in the east and Criminal # 101025 would return to the Central Courthouse and have her Ministry of Justice collar removed, not even a month after it had been put on. She touched the device, regretting that it no longer would be part of her life. She realized that, while the collar marked her as a convicted criminal, it also gave her official status and some legal rights and protections. The collar destined to replace it would offer no protection at all. The she would endure that awful moment when she would see Kim, and Cecilia, and Victor for the last time, one last glance over her shoulder before she was taken away and loaded into a minivan. That moment would be painful.

Maria Elena went downstairs and stepped out of Victor’s front door. For a long time she stood in the street listening to the rustling of the leaves and the strange twittering of creatures that were either birds or bats…she couldn’t tell which. Finally she went back inside and snuggled up to Victor…to be with him one final time…for a fleeting moment in her life.