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The Priests who feel guilty[]
The Priest and his partner had many children to support. He’d been so pleased when the father of Blue Tentacles offered them both jobs with good salaries as Chaplains to his prestigious family. That family was close to the great ruler Morowl, the Priest and his partner had even hoped that their sons and daughters might aspire to yet higher positions in the Royal Court. [1] That young rascal Scarlet Tentacles had put paid to all that hope. His colleagues had told the Priest that the family of Scarlet Tentacles was no longer in good favour at Court. His name was now Blue Tentacles but he was still the same Centaurian who’d done the same thing.
Then while Blue Tentacles was still in prison his mother had come to the Priest distraught because she’d just learnt that he son was in love with some old tramp.
“Serves the boy right” was the Priest’s first thought. The Priest disciplined himself with all his strength. “Blue Tentacles is a child of the Great Lord Sun as we all are,” he’d reminded himself firmly, “I am called to bring the light of the Great Sun to guide Blue Tentacles and his mother as all Centaurians should be guided."
About a week later, (that’s a year as Porrila orbit its sun) Blue Tentacles father had come to see the Priest and his partner. Father told both them confidentially that a marriage was being arranged with a very high ranking Centaurian called Leering Eye Spots or Slithery Tentacles. The two Priests both momentarily shook with revulsion but quickly checked themselves when father became disapproving.
Sun Priests who served the upper classes told any number of stories about trying to give pastoral care to upper class adolescents seduced and hurt by villainous Leering Eye Spots. Low class Centaurians had less protection and Sun Priests who served them told even worse stories. Afterwards both Sun Priests easily felt the priestly compassion they should feel for Blue Tentacles but giving him the pastoral care he needed was a different matter.
Alone later the two spouses caressed each other with their tentacles and talked seriously.
“If we don’t protect Blue Tentacles the Lord Sun will later punish us.” they agreed.
The swamps where homeless Centaurians lived were crowded with Sun Priests who had refused to do bad things their employers demanded and lost their jobs. Both knew what a true servant of their Lord the Sun would have done. Both knew they had not the courage leave their comfortable careers and move to the homeless swamps. In any case how could they inflict that onto their own children? They both knew they would do what their employer wanted and work towards any awful marriage with the slithery villain.
Back in the Sun Chapel things got no better.
Chapter 17 What’s Aunt Violet’s plan?
Footnotes
- ↑ The reader already knows that they were hermaphrodite like all Centaurians. Each child that the Priest had was both a son and a daughter at the same time.