The fruit plate was passed around the table. It contained offerings from those on the table as well those who had come to the temple to offer their prayers to the deities.
"When does the temple open its gates for the general public?" asked Anastasia as she dug her fork in a sliced apple and ate it.
"We open it in the morning for two hours until the afternoon," replied the Shaman. "There is a long queue of devotees in front of the temple every day. Earlier it used to become very crowded and messy. So, we have made a system here whereby we open only for two hours. The devotees are allowed to enter one by one and when a devotee has offered his or her prayer to the moon goddess, Selene, in the main sanctum, we allow the next one to enter. We have also limited the time they can stay in the sanctum," he added. He kept his fork down and put his elbows on the table. He cradled his chin on the intertwined fingers of his hands.
"Those who can't see the goddess must be dissatisfied," said Anastasia, eating more. She savored every bite she took because she was really hungry.
The Shaman laughed. "That is true. But it can't be helped. We have to maintain a lot of discipline here."
Anastasia noticed that people had started leaving the table. She took a deep breath and again went back to eating.
"Tomorrow you can come with me to the main sanctum where the statue of moon goddess Selene is," said Tamara, offering her a plate of stewed vegetables and bread.
Anastasia added more to her plate and nodded. "That would be nice." Much to her embarrassment she noticed that the Shaman wasn't eating. He was looking at her with interest.
Tamara said, "It was the queen's wish that we build the temple around the moon goddess and so she invested a lot here. And believe me—the people loved it."
"Is the moon goddess the only deity vokudlaks pray to?" asked Anastasia, stirring the bowl of tomato soup.
"Vokudlaks?" Tamara asked with a frown.
"I mean the werewolves," Anastasia corrected herself. Sometimes she forgot that she had to speak the common language here.
Tamara chuckled. "I like your accent. Yes, Selene is our goddess. It is known that we are the children of the moon goddess. The moon's rays have a very unique effect on the werewolves."
And this is when it struck her as to why her husband behaved like he would go mad if he didn't mate her during the full moon.
"When the queen was born, she was blessed by the moon goddess herself. This is absolutely unheard of in the wizard kingdom. But our queen is a special one. They say that when she was born the goddess descended to the earth only to give her blessings to the child," Tamara said.
"Oh!" That was surprising. She couldn't imagine how the goddess appeared with all the silvery glow around her. Overall, Anastasia was pretty impressed. No wonder her mother-in-law was such a wise woman, a legend in the Lore.
"How are you feeling now?" asked the Shaman. "I am sorry for what happened to you in the courtyard this morning. They are driven by the rumors that are spreading in the kingdom. Please forgive them."
Anastasia's cheeks became pink. She was moved with the way the Shaman was asking for forgiveness. She took a deep breath and then gave a faint smile. "I am willing to forget it all," she replied. "I just want to spend the next two days peacefully."
"And you will, fae princess," he replied earnestly. "I will make sure of it."
"Thank you," she said, dipping her head slightly in a bow. When the Shaman offered her a plate of mashed potatoes and cheese, her stomach groaned. Gods, she was crazily hungry. Once again, she said a soft thank you and focused on eating. She snatched yet another fork from the side and started digging it in the potatoes. She moaned softly as the dish melted in her mouth. When she looked up next, she saw that almost everyone had left and she also noticed that the Shaman had barely touched his food. He was only offering her to eat various dishes. She was flustered and blushed, but then she didn't make much out of it.
When the dinner was over, Tamara escorted Anastasia back to her room. "Would you like to look around the temple?" she asked. "It is very beautiful."
For a moment Anastasia was tempted to go and look around, but after the morning's incident, she was weary. These people already hated her. If something untoward happened, she was sure that she wouldn't be able to control herself and that would mean bloodshed—not hers, but theirs. She shook her head. "No, I want to rest."
"Sure," Tamara said. "But one of these days, you must walk with me under the moonlight and see how the temple looks. This plateau is breathtaking in the night. Some say that the moon goddess descends from the heavens during a full moon."
"Ah! That's interesting."
They had reached her room by then. Tamara bade her a goodnight and hurriedly walked away. Though bored as hell, Anastasia went to stand near the freshly lit hearth. The window of her room was left open and so the air was very cold. In fact, she didn't realize until she started shivering. She turned towards her bed and jumped back at what she saw. Her husband was lying on the bed, and was watching her with a lop-sided smile that revealed a hint of his fangs.
"Ileus!" she exclaimed loudly and then pressed her mouth with her hands, scared that someone might have heard her. "Gods, how did you manage to enter the temple?" She couldn't understand how was able to cut through so many spells. She couldn't help giggling at his mischief. She rushed to him and jumped on him. He caught her and circled her tightly in his arms. The next moment he rolled and she was pinned beneath him.
"I can enter anywhere I like honey." He gave her a chaste kiss on the lips and buried his face in the crook of her neck. "I missed you…" he murmured. "A lot…" He just stayed there and inhaled her scent.
Anastasia closed her eyes as she savored his warmth. She couldn't believe that she missed him so much. "I missed you more honey," she whispered. Loneliness of the day manifested in tears that were threatening to come from her eyes.
Ileus lifted his head up to gaze at her and kissed away the tiny pearls that formed around her eyes.
"What is wrong, sweetheart?" he asked in a hoarse voice.
"I wanted to come home."
He kissed on her lips and slumped beside her. "And I wanted to come to you."
She chuckled deeply. "You are incredibly unpredictable."
"And you are incredibly predictable. I knew you wanted to meet me and so I came here."
"Ah really?" she said amusedly. "Well then, thanks for obliging me." She could now feel his erection against her belly.
Ileus rolled on his back. He folded his elbows and cradled his head in his arms. "You are welcome princess."