See The Light

Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you Dewdrop and Aether for proofreading this chapter for me and giving me suggestions to improve it. - Cumulus <3

Chapter 6

Celestial's POV

As we begin walking down the long hallway to the office, what I assume are the general clergy members, brothers and sisters of sin, whispering to each other and pointing towards the Cardinal and myself. All this attention was freaking me out. Even after being judged my whole life, experiencing it again still hurts. I keep my eyes trained on the ground as if avoiding eye contact was supposed to help.

We arrived back at Sister Imperator's office with a few minutes to spare. I dropped my hand from the Cardinal's arm and began pacing back and forth trying to slow my breathing. I was beginning to panic. If the regular members of the church are treating me with this much disdain I don't think I can handle all of the Papas and Sister Imperator's judgement.

"Tesoro, you are not alone. Remember I am going to help you and keep you safe." The cardinal says halting my pacing by placing his hand on my shoulder. I look up at him, then at the Ghouls before nodding. "Let's get this over with then," I say before walking back over to the office door.

Copia knocks firmly on the door before returning to my side and we hear a shuffle before the door is finally opened. We went in single file, before coming to stand in a small group opposite to where Sister Imperator and Papa Nihil sat along with three other men who I assume to be the Papas.

It takes me a moment to recover from my shock of seeing them all in intimidating skull face paint and noticing that they, like the Cardinal, have one green eye and one white each unique to them. Before I remember what the Cardinal told me earlier. I curtsy and Copia bows as do the ghouls we came with.

For a moment they all just stare at me, I look down at my feet as the feeling of their eyes on me like knives piercing my soul makes me uncomfortable. After an uncomfortably long silence, Sister Imperator begins the meeting.

"Papas, it was brought to my attention yesterday, that not only did the Cardinal leave the church grounds without permission, he also brought back an outsider. The girl in front of you comes from Griftwood, the town that tried to destroy us many years ago. He wants her to join the ministry." the sister says pointedly. In the corner of my eye, I can see the Cardinal grimace. My heart is beating so fast and loud that I'm pretty certain they can all hear it. I choose to stay silent, in fear I may only make this worse.

Cardinal Copia's POV

You could cut the tension in the air with a knife. Sister Imperator and Papa Nihil sat back with smug smiles thinking they had won over the other Papas by getting them to agree to dismiss Celestial. I may not have known them well, but I did know they were level-headed and would at least let me give my side of the story before making their final decisions.

"Thank you Papas for agreeing to this meeting at such short notice. What the sister has said is true. I admit I did walk in the forest without authorization, and I did find Celestial alone on the doorstep of the church. She had no family, no friends and no purpose. I agree I shouldn't have invited her to stay without speaking to you all first. But she needed help and we could give her the purpose she desires. Since when do we turn people away who are willing to accept the dark lord into their hearts? When do we turn people away for wanting to learn and participate and prove their worth?" I say glancing at Celestial and then back to the Papas not backing down.

Primo and Secondo look at each other seemingly having a silent conversation and Terzo just sits there legs crossed, head on his hand, looking bored out of his mind. Secondo then turns to Terzo and whispers something inaudible to which Terzo nods lazily.

"While we do not condone you sneaking out, Cardinal, you make a solid argument about the young girl. We do not turn people away, especially those who are willing. Celestial can stay but only if you teach her the ways of the Church of Ghost, you will train her to be the best. She is to have a full medical to make sure she is fit for work. She will be your assistant. Should she perform badly by extension that means you will too." Primo states in a booming voice which rattled the windows.

"You will have a week to prepare her for the baptism ritual, and in turn, you will be the one to perform it since you vouched for her place within the ministry," Secondo adds a permanent frown on his face.

When I look at Sister Imperator and Papa Nihil they are silently seething, the sister's eye twitching in rage clearly they did not expect the meeting to have this outcome. I look away quickly so as to not push my luck when Terzo stands and walks over to Celestial who is wide-eyed and fiddling with her hands. "You will have the room next to the Cardinals, in case he needs you for anything. My room is opposite yours feel free to stop by at any time, for anything." He states in a seductive voice before grabbing her hand and kissing it lightly, then winking and walking out of the room.

That man is a slut. Out of all the Papas, he is the worst, seducing anything with a pulse. My blood boils at the cheek of him flirting with my Celestial. She belongs to me. He will learn that soon enough. Before I lose control and say something I'll regret, I decide it's time to leave and get started on teaching Celestial about the church and the baptismal ritual that would be taking place. As I begin to bow Celestial follows suit and curtseys. "Thank you, your dark excellencies for giving me a chance". She smiles at them before turning to me then grabs my hand pulling me along with her and the ghouls out of the room.