|| My Parsifal ||

|| chapter seven : blessing ||

"is she okay?" you ask copia, arms linked as you walk down an empty hallway, on your way to your room. you both had left the ghouls to do whatever the fuck they do.

"yes, she is fine. she just wanted to check up on you, is all. she said you weren't answering her calls." he informs you, turning right to another hallway.

you get reminded that you had put your phone on silent before your terrible dinner, so it made you feel guilty that you worried your poor grandma. kind of ironic that she knew exactly where you were, though.

"oh, i see. i'll try to contact her when i get to my room. did she say anything else?" you ask again, this time turning a left. the clicks of your shoes were producing a quite satisfying sound on the marbled floor, as the church was quiet at this time. there were no people to be seen, probably because it was late.

"oh, right. you forgot your bag. so i am assuming you don't have any spare clothes on you?"

fuck, you didn't. your wallet was in your bag, and so were literally all your essentials. good thing you still had your phone on you.

copia took your frustrated silence as a yes, "i take it you also don't have any money, yes? well that's okay, i will try to find some unused clothes.. somewhere in here.. is it okay for you that you sleep freezing tonight?" and offered doing maybe one of the nicest things someone has ever done for you.

his kindess really surprised you. if this happened in your local church, they wouldn't even try to help. this place however, is so much more accepting and understanding. atleast that's what you're assuming, as copia is a part of the so-called 'clergy', meaning he's one of the higher ups.

"that's more than okay!" you shout, but not too loud, you didn't wanna wake up any sisters of sin from their beauty sleep. "but, i don't know how long i'll be staying here, i don't want to burden you. is there anything i can do to help?" you question copia, and he starts to think as you stop in front of a dark oak door.

it had the room number plastered in the middle, your room number being sixty one, beside the door was a hook with what you assumed the key to the room was hung on.

"well, if you insist, i might have a job for you. but for now, you can do whatever.. shit you want, okay?" he nods, clasping his hands together. "well.. i'll leave you here now. have a good night, dear."

"goodnight cardinal," you say. your eyelids were getting heavier by the second, you were so tired. "thank you again, for everything." you thank him with a hug this time. you don't know what came over you, but it just felt right. he's already done so much for you, during the few hours you've known eachother.

he hugs you back after a few moments of hesitation, and rests his head on yours.

you've never felt so much comfort with someone in so long, not even your grandma could make you feel this safe, and that says a lot. you couldn't put your mind to it, but there was something about this place that made you feel so accepted and understood. it was like a blessing to you, it felt like a dream. maybe it's too early to be feeling these things, maybe it's just your exhausted self desperate for rest, but you wanted to stay like this forever. you wanted to just forget about everything that happened, forget all your problems, bury your troubles six feet below and live a new life right here, right now.

tears were starting to form in your eyes, as your thoughts of burying your problems did the very thing you wanted to avoid; thinking of your problems, when copia pulls away from the hug.

"okay, stop it with the sappy shit." he says, cupping both of your cheeks with his hands momentarily, before moving them down to your shoulders, lightly shaking on you. "tomorrow, after you get your clothes, i, or a ghoul, or maybe both, it depends on my schedule.. but, either way, you are gonna get a tour of this beautifully sinful place." he informs you, a small smile on his face.

'beautifully sinful' was a term you've never heard before, but it fit this place so goddamn well. hell, you never even thought being 'beautifully sinful' was possible, as you grew up surrounded by christianity. still, you were accepting of other people's beliefs, but you thought your grandma was just feeding your little kid brain something to get you awake at night, fantasies, if you will. you never thought something so peculiar was possible.

you nod in response and slightly bow your head down, trying hard not to let the tears in your eyes escape once more.

copia could tell. not because he was smart or anything, but because it was obvious. and since he knew he was shitty at comforting people and would just make things worse if he tried to, he just said; "now go have a well-deserved rest, you have a long day ahead. goodnight, cara mia.", and let you in your room.

the room surprised you, as it was for you, and you only. hence, why there were so many of them. you were too tired to have a look around though, and instead cried the night away in your bed, letting yourself sink into the darkness that was your pillow. you said you were gonna call your grandma, but you just figured you'd do it tomorrow.

your eyes were sore, the pillows were soaked, you were only in your bra and shorts, as you hung your dress to dry inside. "you probably looked like you were high, you'd look terrible tomorrow.", was the only thought stopping you from draining your eyes to the point of drought.

falling asleep to the sound of light taps of rain, you awoke to knocking on your door.

unedited, feel free to point out typos!