Iris opened her eyes. A familiar face stared back at her, her sleepy face reflected in that pair of sapphire-blue eyes. She found herself resting on her client’s lap, cushioning on the softest bed in the world, relaxing in the safest place in the world.

She couldn’t resist the urge to smile. Her mind, rid of anxiety from those strange dreams, was clearer than she thought possible. It was like she had arrived in a wonderland, the world created for the angel in front of her.

The peculiar sensation in her chest now seemed clear. She examined Alice’s facial expression, her subtle smile, her tender eyes, her mischievous lips.

“How long . . . have I made you wait?” Iris said. “I’ve always been a light sleeper; this is the first time I’ve slept so well.”

“To enter your dream, I have put you in a deeper stage of sleep.” Alice grabbed her guide’s hand, which rested on her stomach. “I’ve also healed your fatigued mind.”

“Did you also do something to my body?”

“You may think of them as an aftercare.”

Iris carefully sat up. She reluctantly separated from her client, to whom she could’ve confessed, and who wouldn’t reject her emotions. She only had to be honest, be direct, and be brave.

But she was still uncertain. Alice was too otherworldly for a feeble woman like her. She could only be a burden, a defenceless damsel.

“How . . . am I still free?” she said. “Those beings wanted to capture me, yet I’ve never seen them.”

“Because you’re special, though I’ve yet to know how.”

“What did I have that they so desire?”

“An irresistible charm?”

Iris blushed, but she refused to accept it. “Alice, I can tell that you know something.”

“Can you tell?”

Despite Alice’s teasing tone, Iris seriously contemplated. Countless wild thoughts bubbled within her. Her past unfolded before her mind, yet she found nothing remarkable. The only remarkable thing was the present.

She observed the encroaching forest, the swirling hot spring, and the ever-flowing waterfall. They hid from the world secret encounters, once in the past, and again in this moment.

“Am I your lost twin?” Her voice faltered. “Is that why you approached me? Did they target me because of our bond?”

Antina appeared behind Iris and covered her with a warm blanket. She knelt beside the guide and chuckled with her mistress, who became amused by the barrage of questions.

“Would you like to be Mistress’s sister?” Antina said. “This matter isn’t impossible.”

“What do you mean?”

“You may choose to join—”

“Don’t pressure her, Antina.” Alice shook her head. “She isn’t someone to be swayed by this petty circumstance.”

Antina pouted but stood down. Her gaze remained on the guide, whom she could tell was dripping with thoughts. That pair of eyes, too honest for their own good, flaunted the depth of her feelings.

Her mistress too grasped the scarlet string, yet she allowed this opportunity to slip away.

“Please forgive my imprudence, Iris,” Antina said. “Your flustered expression tempted me; I couldn’t resist the opportunity.”

“If I’m not Alice’s sister, then why do we look so alike?”

“Do you wish for a deeper reason?” Alice said.

“Is there?”

Iris and Antina stared at their playful mistress. She gave the brightest smile that shone amidst this dark forest and attracted the bluish fireflies to circle her body, to take in her otherworldly fragrance, her elegant disposition. Alone she held secrets no mortals should hold. She kept them hidden in the abyss that was her heart.

“I have a guess, but it’s too dangerous for you who live on the overworld.”

“Please whisper them to me, Mistress.” Antina grinned. The promise engraved onto her heart never felt so intimate.

Iris frowned. She looked at her lady’s maid but then stopped herself from voicing her thoughts. Who was she to prevent it? Who was she to feel annoyed, to feel jealous?

“Then I only need to cross over—” Iris’s voice faltered. Her gaze met Alice’s, and she found herself unable to make a clean decision.

To leave behind her friends, her peace, her mundane life, should she risk everything, just to be with this lady whom she only met twice, who could easily bewitch her senseless?

“A heart in turmoil is not a heart clear of worry. The decision to join me should be made with great care, an amount not possible in this short date.”

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“Why . . . did you lead me with such an answer?”

“Blame yourself for asking such a question.”

Iris shook her head. She closed her eyes and blocked her ears with her hands before laying on the sheet, pretending to be asleep, pretending to have no interests. Every inch of her skin trembled when the nightly winds grazed her. She refused to move from this spot, as if the world had frozen her in time.

A puff of warm breeze tickled her nose. She failed to seal her mouth properly; her high-pitched voice leaked out along with overflowing licentiousness.

Never had a voice rang so sensual inside her. She opened her eyes to face her Alice lying beside her, staring deep into her reddened eyes, obscured by the burning mist of their intertwined breaths.

“Alice?”

“Iris?”

“What are you doing?”

“Comforting you, my Dear.”

“You heard nothing!” Iris couldn’t find the strength to sit up. Her client’s presence bound her to this compromised position. She could only wait for Alice to make her move, to do whatever she wished, to satisfy the desires they shared.

“You’ve told me of your past, but I’ve yet to fulfil my part of the deal.”

Iris perked up. She suppressed the indecent thoughts in her head and cleared her mind of all else but total clarity.

Alice’s past, the past of this angelic enchantress, must be extraordinary . . . and enthralling.

Even Antina lay down beside her mistress while donning the most solemn air. In this world, who would have a chance to listen to the past of her mistress, who seemed so otherworldly, so full of mysteries, so out of reach?

…

Elizabeth stepped out of a limousine. Her bright eyes sparkled under the cool shadow cast onto her by the majestic complex that stretched skyward, reaching into the sea of clouds, peering beyond the curtain of sunlight. The cathedral towered over all skyscrapers, looking over the cityscape as the guardian of this peaceful planet.

Even the distant mountains only served as a complement to this representation of The Lord’s divine grace.

Although she’d seen this marvel in videos and framed photographs, nothing could capture the sublimity of this monument.

She couldn’t help but smile, awe oozing out of her palpitating heart. She lightly coughed, trying to suppress her improper excitement. A maid came to her side and whispered to her that the people of the church were coming. She gave a slight nod.

A group of women in white clerical robes approached Elizabeth. In the middle a prominent lady, cladded in a deep blue dress, beamed at Elizabeth. Her crystal-like azure eyes caressed Elizabeth’s body, tickling her chest.

Elizabeth tensed up, but she still remembered to curtsey. Her nervous manner failed to hide itself, though the lady in blue took no offence.

“You must be Elizabeth,” the lady said. “How was the journey?”

“It was comfortable, Madam. May I have the pleasure of hearing your name?”

“No need to be so formal. I’m Maluxia, an Archbishop overseeing the Jurisdiction of Clear Mist.”

Elizabeth exchanged a few words of praise with Maluxia, whose fame preceded her presence. The two made their way toward the cathedral while conversing in soft tones surrounded by quietude. The accompanying priestesses and maids made no distracting noise, keeping to their rigid duty.

Inside the cathedral, Elizabeth and Maluxia stood before a golden double gate. The maids and priestesses no longer followed them, for only the Saintess Candidates and the Archbishops may enter this sacred region.

“Are you nervous?” Maluxia said.

“This is my first time . . . seeing such a beautiful palace.”

“The Lord’s creation is beauty itself.”

“Praise The Lord for her blessing.”

Maluxia chuckled. “Didn’t I tell you not to be so formal? You’re to become a Saintess Candidate. Your seniority will be equal to that of an Archbishop. We’ll be colleagues.”

“How could I? I lack the experience, and I’ve never felt The Lord’s calling.”

“You’ve been training your entire life, haven’t you?” Maluxia held Elizabeth’s hands, stroking their trembling backs. “The Lord has watched over you since the day you were born, and you’ve let her seed sprout in your heart.”

A wisp of warmth entered Elizabeth’s body. Her blue hair stirred upward, dancing to a tone invisible. Golden light emanated from her silhouette, springing forth a pair of illusory wings. The marble floor and pillars reflected her appearance, which gained now a hint of immortal quality. Her star-like radiance covered the room, that even Maluxia became dim in comparison.

Elizabeth gasped, and all vanished like a puff of dissipated dream. She stared at her archbishop, who drew back her hands.

“What . . . was that?” she said.

“Your spirit has nurtured The Lord’s gift. This is but a fraction of your Holy Power, far grander than most would ever achieve in their entire life.”

Elizabeth looked at her delicate hands but failed to discern anything extraordinary about them. She couldn’t believe what Maluxia said, but there was no reason to lie.

“Are all the Saintess Candidates this gifted?” She couldn’t control her quivering voice. “This much power, it’s terrifying.”

Maluxia shook her head. “Yours is the strongest, the most elegant; still you mustn’t be complacent. Only the most worthy may become her closest aid.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Would you . . . support me?”

Maluxia smiled. “The Saintess Candidate may choose her mentor, and the mentor has the right to choose her pupil.”

“I won’t disappoint you!”

Elizabeth reached a large prayer hall. Maluxia urged her to enter alone while she guarded the room from the outside. Only the Saintess Candidate may feel The Lord’s aura, may approach The Lord’s blessed statue.

…

“But Alice, I thought you were a Mage, not a Priestess,” Iris said. “I’ve never heard of the Goddess whose alias is The Lord, either.”

Alice giggled. “I’m no longer a Priestess. Now . . . I’m just a lonesome woman who abandoned her faith.”

“What about Lady Maluxia? She must’ve been an amazing person.”

Alice’s eyes dimmed. “She’s long since passed away.”

Iris inhaled. She didn’t know how to console her client, who despite her poignant air kept her aloof disposition. “She must be proud of you.”

“I wouldn’t say so.”

“Please don’t put yourself down. You’re a wonderful person, the most gorgeous!”

“You’ve become flirtatious, Iris. Did my personality spill over to you?”

Iris blushed. She got up on her feet and stretched. The cold winds flowing from the nightly forest numbed her fingers. She looked at the hot spring. A desire to submerge herself, to submerge her feelings, emerged.

She glanced at her client before she decided to follow her heart. She changed her attire and dripped herself into the warm bubbling water. No one could distinguish the redness on her face, whether it came from the heat or her unstated thoughts.

Alice and Antina followed suit. The three joined the natural bath, separated only by the thinnest films of vapours.

The waterfall quietened as the night consumed the earth. Chilly air crashed with Iris’s burning body temperature, pricking her sensitively pink skin. She leaned on the edge of the spring but found it uncomfortable.

Her head felt heavy, her eyes blurry. She fuzzily inched closer to Alice and squeezed into her. She mumbled something she couldn’t hear, though she was still aware enough to know that Alice was grinning at her.

She raised her head. Alice moved ever so close to her. She closed her eyes and bent forward. Something soft touched her lips, but she lacked the clarity to discern its identity. She fell into Alice’s embrace and whispered a plead, an important plead from her subconsciousness.

Her mind lost its grip on time. Her body went limp, supported only by Alice’s hug. A fruity, sweet fragrance overwhelmed her until she could no longer feel anything.

“How cute.” Alice touched her moist lips while watching her guide’s sleeping face.