Parthena's Promise Read Online Free PDF

could not face the long trek back across the moor. Her head swam, she had not eaten, and her thirst was great also. She clung to her bag as the door opened; her mouth felt dry and the room moved around her. She was fortunate, that as two sisters entered the room they realised she was about to fall again and grabbed her quickly stopping her from crashing her head on the stone floor.
    “My dear!” one exclaimed as she was steadied. “Come with us, you have rested, but now need to eat.”
    Thena agreed; she felt light in head and heavy of heart. She was led to where the sisters were having their broth and bread in a neat row at a table in the centre of an old stone arched room. The vaulted ceiling seemed high and the air around her cold. No one spoke, but she was escorted to an empty space and a sister gestured that she should be seated. Still with her bag close by her feet, Thena climbed in as smoothly as she could. She took little persuasion to consume the warm food and, as it slipped down her throat, she felt her energy return as if it was the nectar of life that she had imbibed. Gratefully, without looking around or need of word, she finished her meal and, using the bread, left the bowl clean.
    “You must come with me now,” a nun said to her and stepped back ready for Thena to stand. No one else spoke. They silently stacked their plates as she left. Eyes watched her, but no one gestured or smiled. It was as if she was a foreigner who had invaded their space and they were wary of her. They did not know what to make of her. Perhaps that was what she seemed to them – a threat – someone who did not follow their rules – an outsider.
    Thena followed her escort around the stone corridor to the corner of a quadrangle, the middle of which was being used to grow small crops of herbs within the sheltered walls. An older nun hoed it lovingly, focused on her task. The place had a strange feeling of peace about it that stilled Thena’s anxious heart. They stopped where stairs spiralled up out of sight behind the ancient wall. Here the nun stepped aside again and allowed her to climb them first. She thought of refusing, feeling as if it could be a trap, but then she wanted to see if it was the same Mother Ursula, the mother superior from her childhood, who sat in the office above. How old would she now be? Thena wondered. She followed the curve of the stone wall, carefully placing her feet on the small worn steps that had many a foot fall upon them over the centuries. When she came to a wooden door she knocked and waited momentarily until a strong voice ordered, “Come in!”
    Thena placed her free hand on the large iron handle, as her other still clung to her bag with the stolen coin hidden inside it. She swallowed, almost feeling as if the sin of her crime could be read in her eyes as she entered. Peace had vanished again and guilt gnawed at her soul instead. The room was stark. A woman sat behind a desk on a simple chair. There was no fire in the hearth behind her and no hangings covered the bare stone walls. The wooden floor creaked as she crossed its uneven surface.
    The woman watched her, but did not speak until Thena stood before her.
    “Your name, girl,” she said.
    “I am sorry to have inconvenienced you and would like to offer you a…”
    “Do you have a problem hearing me or comprehending my questions? I asked you what your name is.”
    “Yes, I heard well enough. I was going to offer you a donation before I left.” Thena looked at the hard face of the lady opposite her. This was not the gentle old lady she had seen as a child. She did not care for the woman’s tone, her confident dominant manner or her assertion that Thena had to obey her like one of her order.
    “Who are you running from, girl?” she continued.
    “Would half a crown be sufficient for your kindness and hospitality?” Thena answered. She cared not for her attitude and decided the sooner she left the better it would be. She was beginning