It was a mild summer day in Santeem. Colourful light was glimmering through the stained glass windows of the royal chapel. Cristo was kneeling down, carefully rearranging the prayer books and Bibles along the reading pew. He was completely focused on making sure the space between the books was even.

Suddenly, the head priest walked towards Cristo from the reception hall. He looked down at him and smiled.

"Preparing for tomorrow morning mass I see. I'm glad to see you working hard. It's very essential to plan ahead." Cristo quickly got up and smiled back at him.

"Indeed, Father Thomas. It's very important for the mass to run as smoothly as possible."

"You know, Brother Cristo… you've been progressing so fast. Before you know it, you will be able to manage masses without my assistance." Cristo bowed.

"Thank you, Father Thomas." Then he looked up to Father Thomas and scratched his cheek, feeling embarrassed. "But you know… I just try my best. It's nothing special…" Father Thomas chuckled.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're doing a marvellous job and I couldn't be any more proud of you."

Just then, the Church door creaked open. Cristo and Father Thomas turned their attention to it and lightly smiled, as it was someone that the two were quite familiar with.

"Ah Brey… You seemed troubled," said Father Thomas as he walked closer to Brey. Brey looked down and let out a deep sigh.

"Sorry for my unexpected entrance, but I would like a word with you."

"Sure thing. I'm free right now." Father Thomas said calmly. The two walked towards the pew where Cristo was working. Brey noticed Cristo and waved at him.

"Hello, Cristo. How is everything?"

"I'm doing fine, Brey."

Father Thomas looked around the pew.

"It looks like you're finished with the Bible and the Prayer Books. Brother Cristo, would you like to set up the altar?"

"Of course, Father," Cristo said confidently.

Cristo got up from the pew and strolled up to the altar. He started removing the cups and the candles to make way for a clean table cloth. Father Thomas swept his arm in front of Brey.

"Have a seat."

"Thank you, Father..." Said Brey.

Brey hurriedly sat down. He looked down to the floor, clutching his green robe tightly. Father Thomas gave Brey a concerned look.

"So, Brey… what's wrong?"

Brey took a big breath and sighed.

"It's Princess Alena. She got herself in trouble again."

Father Thomas gave Brey a puzzled look.

"Oh, what happened this time?"

"Princess Alena tried sparing with the royal guards. She tried to disguise herself as one of them by taking armor from the storage room while no one was looking. The next morning she tried to participate in their training…."

Cristo paused, eyes wide when he heard Brey's story. Cristo tried to focus of placing the newly cleaned cups on the altar, but he couldn't. Father Thomas crossed his arms.

"Then, what happened?"

Brey put his hand on his face and shook his head.

"Then the guard that couldn't find their missing armor went to the training ground and asked his colleagues if they knew where it was. Alena was caught off guard, so the soldier with whom she was sparing with hit her helmet and then they found out about her disguise." Suddenly, Cristo leaned over the altar.

"Princess Alena! She's not hurt, is she?"

Brey and Father Thomas paused.

"…I mean… Those weapons are very powerful, even with amour; head injuries can be very devastating!"

Cristo's face turned a little red, as he felt embarrassed for interfering. Brey broke the silence with a light chuckle.

"Oh no, Cristo. Princess Alena is fine, she's just in trouble with her father; that's all."

Cristo let out a sigh of relief and went back to arranging the altar.

"I've never seen Cristo so shaken up before. He's usually so calm and collected," said Brey.

Father Thomas smiled.

"Oh, well, Cristo is just the kind of person who wants to look out for everyone." Father Thomas looked back at Cristo, who was nervously placing candles on top of the altar. Father Thomas smile faded as he spoke in a solemn tone.

"…He is quite compassionate…"

Brey glanced at Father Thomas with a perplexed look. But before Brey could say anything, Father Thomas chuckled.

"Oh, I apologize for changing the subject! Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Brey rubbed his chin.

"Well, yes; there is. I'm worried about the Princess' behaviour. She's becoming more rebellious each passing day. I worry about Santeem's future if she doesn't change her attitude."

Father Thomas gave a gentle smile.

"I don't think you should worry too much about it, Brey. She's still young. She's probably going through a phase."

Brey sighed, "maybe…"

"Things will turn out fine. Just give her some time and be patient with her."

"Of course, Father" said Brey.

"Ummm, Father Thomas…"

Father Thomas turned away from Brey and saw Cristo standing in fort of the pew. He noticed that Cristo's checks were still red and how his voice trembled as he spoke.

"I finished setting up the altar... Is there anything else you need help with…?

Father Thomas looked down and thought about it deeply. He never saw Cristo look so nervous before. He was unsure how to react to it. Brey's presence didn't really help the situation either. Then he saw the coloured sunlight beam through the stained glass windows.

"Why don't you look after the church's garden? It's such a beautiful day today; it would be such a shame to miss it."

Cristo bowed.

"Ah...Yes, father!"

Cristo went outside, looked up at the clear blue sky and sighed. He walked to the backyard of the church and stopped by the tool shed. The tool shed was rotting, showing its age. Cristo took the key from his pocket and unlocked the shed's door. He slowly opened the door and stepped inside. The wooden floor creaked as he walked towards the water kettle can that was sitting on the shelf. He picked up the kettle; left the tool shed and locked the door. He even pulled on the knob multiple times to make sure it was locked.

Cristo went the pond and scooped up water with the kettle. It became so heavy that he held the kettle tighter than usual. Water started to drip ever so slightly as he carried it back to the garden. When he got there, Cristo put the kettle on the ground and took a deep breath. He looked at the crops to ensure that they were growing healthily. The leaves of the soon-to-be cabbages, string beans and carrots had a yellow tint but were still green. Although the crops were far from being ripe, they did show signs of growing. However, Cristo noticed that there were weeds surrounding the crops. He bent over, removing them one by one. Cristo was constantly wiping the sweat from his brow, as it didn't take long for him to become tired.

Looking after the garden at this time of day is a lot more difficult than I anticipated. I wonder if Father Thomas had any other reasons to send me to look after the garden.

Cristo wiped his sweat with his sleeves, looked up to the sky and sighed.

Maybe it's punishment for overhearing his conversion with Brey. I wasn't a part of it so it's really my fault for intervening.

Cristo pulled a couple more weeds.

It didn't help that I was so loud… I should never act that way inside the church. Father Thomas must be disappointed in me.

Then he paused and started to ponder.

But the only reason why I acted that way is because I was worried if Princess Alena was hurt. It's never a sin to show concern for someone's well being, especially if it's the Princess.

Cristo turned his attention back to weeding the garden, however, before he could continue his task, his eyes widened in fear and embarrassment.

But…What if Father Thomas thinks I acted that way because I have feelings for Princess Alena and this is his way of punishing me…? I mean, if he thinks this is true, I'm truly I'm a disappointment in his eyes….

Cristo ruffled his hair in frustration,

Ah! I'm over thinking this! He can't possibility read into my actions like that… I mean he didn't sound too angry at me when he sent me to look after the garden! Even if he was suspicious, I will just tell him the truth if the question comes up… I mean, I don't have anything to hide from him.

Cristo ears started to perk up, as he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Cristo. What are you doing?"

"Ah, Princess!"

Just then Cristo accidently pushed the watering kettle with his elbow. Cristo gasped as water spilled out and picked up it up quickly to prevent it from emptying. Cristo stood up, patted away the dirt on his clothes and bowed.

"I'm sorry for my foolish behaviour, Princess. I did not know that you would come by to visit."

"Oh, don't worry about it Cristo! I was caught off guard before!" Then Alena whispered to herself, "…It all because of that stupid solider…"

However, Alena was not as quiet as she thought she was, since Cristo's face became solemn. Alena noticed the change of expression on Cristo's face and decided to change the subject.

"So, Cristo… what have you been up to lately?"

Cristo smiled, "Oh, well…I've just been looking after the Church garden for Father Thomas!"

"Hey, these weeds look like they're buried in deep. Maybe I can help? I really have nothing else better to do!"

Cristo shook his head

"Oh no Princess, Father Thomas expects me to take care of this garden on my own." Cristo picked up the kettle and watered the first row of crops. "I should really learn how to look after this garden by myself, because helping things grow is an important part of Priesthood!"

Alena crossed her arms.

"…Okay if you say so…"

Alena watched Cristo water the garden and sighed. She was slightly irritated that she wasn't doing anything of value. Cristo bit his lips. He remembered something that he needed to talk to Alena about. Something that was bothering him since this afternoon. Cristo turned around and placed the kettle on the ground.

"Princess Alena. I heard from your tutor, Brey, that you tried to spar with the soldiers today."

Alena put her arms behind her neck and chuckled nervously.

"Oh yeah I did! I mean that one solider caught me off guard but I did pretty good for my first try! Especially since that my only sparing experience I have was using my old dolls as punching bags!"

Cristo frowned. "Princess Alena, do you know how dangerous that is!"

"Cristo, you're so overprotective! You treat me like a child! You're just like everyone else around here!"

Cristo put his fist against his chest and exclaimed:

"But Princess Alena! I don't think about you that way... it's just that, if you got hurt… everyone would be very upset!"

Alena looked away and didn't respond.

"…So, Princess Alena… if you don't mind me asking…Why do you do these reckless things…?"

"…You promise you'll listen…?"

Cristo's face became sombre.

"Of course Princess..."

Alena paused for a second. Then she looked up to him and sighed.

"…I want to train so I can be strong enough see the outside world…" Cristo didn't say anything, and Alena continued. "I only have a couple of years before my coronation, so everyone else has been comparing me to my mom lately. I want to have some space to get away from it all...a place so I can be my own person without the care in the world…I want to experience what life is like outside of the castle before my chances slip away, so that's why I'm going to try my best become stronger, as quickly as possible."

Cristo looked down and paused. He was at lost on what to say. Cristo felt a gut reaction to warn her about how dangerous the outside world was, but he knew that saying something like that would be inconsiderate. In some way, her feelings were relatable. Cristo looked up to her and said:

"…I'm sorry to hear that Princess…It must be hard…"

"Don't worry about it, Cristo." Alena sighed.

Cristo crouched down to the garden and started to weed the second row while Alena watched, their emotionally tense conversation created an awkward atmosphere. However, Alena smiled and crouched down to Cristo's level as she remembered a question that she was meaning to ask him since he moved to Santeem Castle.

"Hey Cristo, I have something to ask you."

"Yes, Princess…?"

"Since you lived outside of Santeem before, I was wondering… what was life like in the outside world?"

Cristo paused and fiddled with the leaves of the string bean vines.

"Well, the truth is I don't know what life is like in the secular world…" Cristo said solemnly. Alena raised her eyebrows

"You don't…?"

"No Princess…I don't… You see I was raised by The Church so I spent most of my time praying and studying theology …. I've moved to various seminary schools for educational reasons, but I never had much of an opportunity to experience the outside world…"

Alena paused for a moment and said:

"Cristo do you wish you can experience the outside world?"

Cristo's eyes started to narrow, almost like he was going to cry. However, not a single tear fell from his eyes.

"Priesthood is very important to me. My faith was really all I had for as long as I could remember…But sometimes… I wonder what the secular world is like, even though secular life in some ways is quite intimidating… However, there are things we have to sacrifice because of our status. I think that is something that we are both familiar with."

They both became silent again. Cristo stood up and starting watering the crops once more. Then he noticed that there was a presence besides just him and Alena. He turned back and looked at the stained glass window. He saw Father Thomas walking, but then he suddenly stopped when he saw Cristo and Alena. Cristo put down the kettle and his voice started to tremble.

"Ummm, Princess.. I don't think I'm supposed to talk to anyone when I'm gardening…"

Alena gave Cristo a puzzled look

"Uh, okay Cristo…"

Alena got up and ran past Cristo. But before she left the church's backyard, she turned back and waved.

"Hey, Cristo!"

"Yes, Princess?"

Alena smiled.

"Thanks for listening."

Cristo smiled back.

"You're welcome, Princess Alena."