The Ordination of the Novice

sign of Saint Avila's oldest wing. The door creaked open under her hand, revealing a narrow space barely wider than her outst

mply stood there, breathing in the scent of damp stone and old straw - an

nds into the water left by an early attendant. The coldness bit her skin awake

remembered, a thin scar just below her chin from an accident months

ilent procession, heads bowed. Some robes looked familiar - the fall of cloth, the way

The words of prayer rose from memory, yet her heart struggled to follow. "Gui

walls, lit by flickering torchlight, seemed to lean inward, heavy with stories whispered

novice who had once been closest to her heart: a quiet companion with a gentle wit and laughter that softene

a voice spoke softly beh

more severely, but her eyes still carrying the same hesi

Emily w

t's been so long, Emily. They said

confessed, the words tasting

ingers twisted the edge of her sleeve. "There are new rules," she murm

" Emily said. "I can s

s one word for it." Her gaze softened. "Be careful

gain - louder, insistent. Maire stepped bac

u at prayer?

Yes. But not everyone will welc

y watched her go, heart pinched by relief and guilt: relief that Maire had spo

ing light across the cold floor. The novices stood in neat lines, heads bowed, lips moving i

ad, she felt the weight of curious glances, the barely audible hiss of whisp

her mind wandered. The stone beneath her knees felt harder than she remembered, the air colder, the words emptier. And y

e back, the hush of robes blending with the scrape of boots on stone. Outside, the courtyard lay washed

on of being watched. She turned sharply. Beyond the cloister arch, where the shadows deepened, she glimpsed a figu

r perhaps Saint Avila still kept secrets in its oldest co

nalise, her gaze calm but unreadable. "You're to scrub

ed her head.

y above a whisper, "I suggest you remember t

Annalise turned away, her s

art a quick, uncertain beat. Around her, Saint Avila seemed both fam

quiet resolve coiled tighter, l

me back fo

hed her from the shadow

leave until