With heavy footsteps, she proceeded along the ever narrowing streets. It was strange, the city itself was by no means poor, but aside from the central square and the residential district near the gates, the area around the supposed orphanage felt more like the slums—not that she ever had been in one, but the air and even the ground felt distinctively different from the rest of the city.
"Ugh… what is that smell…?" She looked to the side of the street where the repugnant odor came from and there was brackish liquid flowing alongside a makeshift gutter dug out from the dirt. "Do they not have proper waste disposal in this part of the city?"
She looked behind her and only noticed now that she had been walking on a dirt path for quite some time.
'I guess not…'
The church wasn't far but seeing the state of the shacks and lack of plumbing made her feel skeptical.
Once standing right outside the large wooden double doors of the orphanage, she raised her closed right hand and knocked a few times. Her knuckles felt strange, she expected to hit a hard surface but the wood felt strangely soft. After a closer inspection, she noticed the part she knocked her hand on became slightly dented as if the wood was rotten from inside out.
"Ah, a visitor?" A muffled female voice came from inside. "I'll get the door, just a minute…"
Priscilla had time for one last look around the immediate vicinity before the church's doors opened. An elderly nun wearing worn indigo clothes came from behind the door, her hands were thin and her complexion was pale. Despite her outwardly appearance she still smiled.
"What can I help you, noble Miss?"
Her somewhat sunken brown eyes still had a kind and caring warmth to them. Priscilla inadvertently averted her gaze for a brief moment.
"Ah… this is the orphanage, right?"
"Yes, the one and only in Arrivaul."
Priscilla took a quick peek inside and there was a distinct smell of stagnant air coming from the building.
"I see…" The spell fencer turned back to the nun. Who was rubbing the rosary between her index and thumb. "Are there any children inside?"
"Ah, are you looking to adopt a child?"
"Oh, uh… no. Sorry, I came here to check how things were going. I heard from Geralt that things were… tough."
She gave her a tired smile.
"Haha… that is true. Things are very tough but we get by with the little help we get."
"I see. Could I have a word with the children?"
"Child." She corrected her with a somewhat sad expression while making way for Priscilla to enter the building. "I still haven't been able to find a suitable parent for that poor girl…"
"Excuse me."
With a short polite nod she made her way inside. It wasn't too different from a normal church, but the abandon and decay was painfully visible. Wooden pews were covered with a thin layer of dust and they had a wet, slightly rotten smell to them. The stained glasses that depicted the Goddess of Light were covered with a mixture of dust and dirt that made it almost impossible to see anything through. The same was true for the sculptured statue behind the decaying wooden podium in the middle of the hall.
"She went out to run some errands of her own, but I'm sure she'll–"
The nun's voice became strained as she coughed dry a few times.
"Are you alright, sister?"
"Ah, don't worry my dear… it's just my age showing…"
"This is hardly a place to be called home for adults, let alone a madam of your age and a child."
"Haha… I know. My son said the same." She clasped the rosary between her hands. "But I can't bring this child with me to Arcadia nor do I have the heart to leave her here alone. As long as I can find someone that can adopt her… as long as it's someone that can make her happy…"
"Sister…"
It felt like strings were strangling Priscilla's heart. She was never a religious woman nor did she ever find peace through prayer, but one thing was clear. Nobody should ever have to live through such a miserable life.
'This isn't living… it's surviving…'
Whatever dim light came from the grime covered stained window illuminated her saddened expression which made the elderly nun smile warmly in return.
"Worry not about us, dear. Just the act of someone so beautiful and noble come here to even ask how we were already made my day a bit brighter."
"No but this…"
Suddenly the wooden door behind the spell fencer opened. Her left hand moved to the scabbard near the round handguard of her blade as she turned around. Through a small gap between the doors, a petite hooded figure slipped by and came running directly to the nun—completely ignoring Priscilla.
"Sister! Sister!" The girl uttered with a happy tone in her voice. She carried a sizable bag of baked goods under her left arm and shook a piece of half-eaten bread with the other. "I got money to feed us for days!"
From the way she spoke and the spring in her steps, Priscilla deduced she was maybe a teenager.
'So this is the child huh…?' The spell fencer looked closely and noticed the cloak she was wearing felt oddly familiar. 'No… it can't be…'
"That is incredible, dear! How did you manage to do it?"
The nun asked with a gentle voice but the girl's voice suddenly faltered.
"Ah… I uh…"
After kneeling in front of her, the sister gently asked.
"Rionara… my dear, you haven't been stealing again, have you?"
"No… I… I found it. Yes, I found it on the ground." She put the half-eaten bread back in the bag and pulled out a very familiar pouch of coins from her pockets. The ends of the strings were neatly cut. "Here, look how many gold coins are inside, Sister."
Seeing her own stolen bag of coins on the hands of a child made Priscilla feel conflicted. While all she wanted was to give that girl a good slap in her rear, she couldn't in her right mind do something harsh in front of the kind nun that was taking care of said child.
"She's inside."
A faint male voice near the doorway made Priscilla snap back and quietly hop out of view behind a pew. Peeking from the far left side, she noticed three thugs enter the church. They were an assortment of rags covering most of their bodies as makeshift protection against small blades. Two of them had daggers in hand while the third was holding a hatchet.
"Are you sure those were gold coins?" The one holding the hatchet was the biggest of the trio and he spoke in a low voice. "Getting in trouble with the guardsmen for only a handful of coppers isn't worth my time."
"Are you doubting my eyes?" The one wearing a bandana and a mask sounded offended by his companion's remark. "I saw her use them to pay the baker in the shopping street."
"Alright kiddo. Just hand over the coins and we won't have to hurt you or the hag." The last one had long greasy black hair and a disgusting beard that hasn't been washed in weeks. "Unless you want to try your luck–"
Priscilla quietly readied her rapier as she heard footsteps coming closer to the two. The nun clasped her hands as she kneeled and begged.
"Please don't hurt us… we barely have anything to give to you…"
"Shut up!" The masked thug shouted as he approached. "I know this kid was carrying gold! With that much coin we won't need to live in this cesspit of hobos! Now give us the coin!"
Rionara let go of the bag of food and stood in front of the sister with a shiv she pulled out from under her cloak.
"Get away from us!"
Once the thug was a step away from brandishing his blade—Priscilla sprung and with a swift swing of her rapier, she cut part of the man's wrist, making him drop the weapon. The other two were surprised by the spell fencer's presence and took a few steps back as their friend screamed from pain as his blood tainted and permeated through the wooden floor.
"Aaaargh! My wrist!"
The royal knight's entrance surprised Rionara—that only now acknowledged her presence.
"Step away now if you value your lives." She folded her right arm inwards and pointed the tip of the blade at her enemies while tucking her left arm slightly behind her back. "I will not hold back."
"There is only one of her!" The cut thug screamed. "Kill her!"
The large thug charged in while wildly swinging the hatchet.
'Tsk… uncouth pig!'
She sidestepped to the left and thrusted at his fingers, cutting three of them in the process which forced him to drop the weapon.
"AAARGH!"
Despite the pain, he continued to charge and tried to punch her face but Priscilla was faster and ducked beneath his arm while cutting through his left thigh which made him crash into one of the pews—smashing it into pieces.
The greasy thug attempted to get close enough to stab her but instead was met with the round guard of her blade against his face.
"Augh!"
She then followed up with the pommel to the side of his head which knocked him out cold.
Rionara was awestruck, she heard stories about knights and how gallantly they saved those who couldn't defend themselves but Priscilla's skills were simply captivating in her eyes. Despite the gritty and dark church, her bladework emanated a certain beauty the teenage girl couldn't quite put her finger on. However her thoughts were cut short as an arm wrapped around her throat.
"Stop! Or the kid gets it!"
The thug who had his right wrist cut was using his arm to hold Rionara hostage while holding the dagger with his left hand. Priscilla turned around and clenched her teeth.
'Tsk. I was too focused in subduing the other two I didn't pay attention to that one–'
She took a measured step forward and his blade came even closer to the girl's face.
"Didn't you hear me?! I'll kill her if you get any closer."
"Oh, I don't think you will."
"Wha–" At that moment, the nun grabbed his left arm. "Let go of me you hag!"
However, given her frail body, he easily shook her off as she fell on the floor.
"Ugh!"
As he turned around to face the spell fencer, she was already up in his personal space. She ran her rapier through his left joint while grabbing his right hand—freeing Rionara from his grasp.
"AAAAAAAAAARGH! NO! I WON'T– I WON'T LET SOME STUPID WOMAN GET IN MY WAY!"
While he could physically overpower her, there was one thing he didn't account for.
"Stay! Down!"
She kicked him between the legs and when he tumbled backwards, she used her own weight to push the rapier down through the wooden floor, pinning him there. While he squirmed in pain, she made sure to get the weapons and hold onto them while she quickly helped the nun up.
"Here, Sister. Take my hand."
"T-thank you dear."
She nodded before turning to the girl.
"Rionara. Get Sister out of here and call the guardsmen, I'll stay here to keep an eye out on these worms."
"R-right."
As they both got out of the church, Priscilla sighed heavily.
"Not even a day has passed and I already got myself in trouble…" She held her head low while still groaning under her breath. "If the Goddess truly exists I hope this doesn't reach either Lord Leonard or Dame Phoebe… ugh…"
"You damn swordswoman! Get this blade out of my arm!"
"Argh, shut up stupid." She picked a piece of broken pew and threw it against his head, knocking him out. "Thanks to you clown circus trio I'll have to deal with guardsmen of another kingdom."
She pinched her nose ridge and tiredly blinked a few times.
"I'm one of the Knight's Trio… I shouldn't get myself involved in these matters…"
The moment she muttered to herself she started to remember her mentor's words.
"Listen well, Priscilla. We may be Arcadia's finest, but we must uphold our oath. We protect those who cannot protect themselves so that one day, they may do the same for someone else in need."
She clenched her hand into a fist and brought it close to her breast.
"My Queen…"