PELAIR. The Gems of the Golden Serpent.

2. Sorah

"Keep quiet, my little darling!" said Sorah quietly while sneaking away from the chapel, looking at the precious booty she had just abducted as if the baby girl could understand her. "We ought to be very cautious. Now comes the hard part, and you must keep silent," she said again while placing a small handkerchief over the little nose of the baby, impregnated with a numbing substance provided by the Duke of Alasia himself before starting with her mission.

"Put the substance on some tissue and cover her face with it, but be careful not to apply it for long," he had said. "It is a potent potion, and you can kill the child. You better don't do it!" had said Guildor in a tone that left no doubt about the threat.

Wasting no time, knowing that eventually the absence of the child would be noticed, she hurried to Rennata's cell. Luckily, the custom the novices had of covering their faces served her well on this occasion. During the confusion, no one would know which novice was missing. The fact that they all were at the ceremony had also been a stroke of fortune since no one would interrupt her hurried escape.

Sorah reached the small cubicle of the unfortunate apprentice, and without losing much time, shut the door without passing the bolt. Thus, if the search that surely lay ahead went by, everything would be in order, and the cell would not raise any suspicion.

She took the baby, who was fast asleep, and tied her up gently but securely to her chest. Sucking in a deep breath of air to calm her nerves, she got out through the window and crawled back by the windowsill, this time with more difficulty due to the extra load she carried. She reached the gap she had previously prepared to accommodate the baby, curled up, and got ready to spend the long day ahead. She had taken the precaution of bringing water, and some bread and cheese to alleviate her hunger. She also brought the long hemp rope and the oil lamp that had remained hidden in her room.

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Miralia's confusion didn't allow her to react in time. The potent elixir she had consumed dulled her mind and didn't let her think straight.

"Aelanis!" she exclaimed exalted. "Where's the baby?" she asked to no one in particular.

The chanting continued since nobody was aware of what was happening. The purpose of that ceremony was to get the attendance into a kind of ecstatic trance. Hence, nobody paid any attention to the clumsy movements of the Queen.

Miralia moved dazedly among the novices, who didn't think anything unusual was happening. The erratic movements of the Queen seemed to follow somehow the motion of the chants.

The Sister Superior of the Order noticed that something was odd with the way the Queen behaved. She thought strangely of such behavior. Nevertheless, she was the Queen, and for no reason, she would dare to point out that foul.

"Aelanis!" the Queen cried again this time with higher intensity. "Where is the princess?" she asked with a brunt voice, trying to clear her head.

Some novices looked up, but their brains were so dulled with the liqueur, that they just peered their sovereign waving her arms and rummaging among the concurrence.

The anguish and helplessness began to emerge in the consciousness of Miralia, who finally realized what had happened.

"The Princess!" she shouted. "The princess is missing!" she said with a heartrending shriek of anguish.

The chants began to decline until finally quieted down altogether. An expectant and tense silence fell in the chapel. The Mother Superior, understanding, at last, the Queen's claim, started to look everywhere in the hope of seeing a novice with a stupid face holding the princess. It didn't happen.