Strangers in a Strange Land--A Pawns & Queens era novella--Chapter Five

[Evie]

Didn't see that coming.  The children are a right pair.  I do like the Arilans in your writing. And the Haldanes.  Very well done.

I feel for anyone having to keep an eye on those two. 

I was hoping for a slightly more painful fate for Madame, but I guess we take what we can get.

What, being Mind-Ripped (since she was shielded and actively resisting, so that wouldn't have been a painless Mind-Read) and physically scorched with what was essentially Force lightning at close range isn't agonizing enough for you? 😅 Well, maybe Renier was particularly inept with that death trigger, so that ended up being painful too. I mean, he wouldn't particularly care if she died comfortably, right? If anything, he'd consider a painful death a just reward for failure.

I was hoping for a slightly more painful fate for Madame, but I guess we take what we can get.

GIven that it is strongly implied that her soul is NOT on the way to heaven I imagine she has an unpleasant fate in store off camera.

One might say an eternity of unpleasantness. Hopefully she'll have to kneel on dried beans the entire time.

I was hoping for a slightly more painful fate for Madame, but I guess we take what we can get.

GIven that it is strongly implied that her soul is NOT on the way to heaven I imagine she has an unpleasant fate in store off camera.

"off camera"? I wanted to see it! stamps her little foot

😂 Maybe Uriel will bring her back just so you can torture her some more, Emperor Palpatine. 😄

They certainly couldn't guard all the entrances all the time but if they had been aware of the entrance of the gallery they would have guarded it during the ritual. Warding sounds like a good idea.

Hindsight is 20/20. I'm pretty sure they would do so in future, as long as they have enough trusted Deryni or squires to spare, now that they are aware of the (still extremely low) potential of some unknown person discovering that entrance, but given that everyone who was known to be aware of it was already involved in the ritual (aside from perhaps Colin, who was miles away and Camber, who wasn't fully trained yet), and that it's likely been years since anyone entered the chapel that way (why bother, when it's your chapel and you can just walk in the regular door?), they probably forgot that entrance was even there. The part of the corridor that leads down to the lower bailey would be a lot more likely to see occasional use than the part that only links to the Chapel, although Camber might find that passage handy on rainy days once he's a priest and wants to head to the Chapel straight from his apartment without ever going outside and getting wet.

[Laurna]

Geoffrey and Aidan did not need the being to state its intentions in order to know they needed to back away hastily. They had already crossed half the distance back towards the staircase by the time it made its leisurely way towards Madame Dardenay's corpse, lingering over it with dispassionate interest before sundering soul from body, both spiritual entities suddenly disappearing back through the floor in a swirl of energies plunging downwards. Geoffrey, having seen inside the woman's mind, surmised that the Archangel Uriel's trajectory was unlikely to change directions.

It is not normally in my personality traits to cheer on the Archangel of Death, but there are always exceptions to every rule.
Cheers! In this instance, your trajectory is in the appropriate direction!

Evie the one thing I am upset for missing, is how did Prince Cinhil do throughout the ritual? We did not even get a glimpse of our beloved prince.

[Evie]

It is not normally in my personality traits to cheer on the Archangel of Death, but there are always exceptions to every rule.
Cheers! In this instance, your trajectory is in the appropriate direction!

Evie the one thing I am upset for missing, is how did Prince Cinhil do throughout the ritual? We did not even get a glimpse of our beloved prince.

Well, there's one more chapter coming up that I think will give you more than a glimpse of what you are asking about.