Darkness At The Heart Of My Love

2

Later that evening, Athena sat at the desk in her room; scribbling away in a notebook. A knock at her bedroom door pulled her attention away from the pieces of paper. When she opened the door, Cardinal was standing in front of her; as timid as ever.

"Good evening, Athena." He greeted "Did you uh, did you still want to hear some tour stories?"

A smile immediately found a way onto Athena's face "Of course."

The two ended up taking a walk around the outside of the church. After a few tales from the tour, Athena and Papa sat on a bench near the entrance of the church.

"So, what did you get up to while I was away on tour?" Cardinal asked.

"Hm, not much, I'd say the usual." Athena shrugged.

Cardinal gave a some what sympathetic look "Did you write or draw anything new?" He asked.

Athena looked up at him "Yeah." She nodded.

This made Cardinal smile "May I see some of your new work?"

Athena nodded in agreement and the two made their way back inside the church.

Once in Athena's room, Cardinal took a seat at the edge of her bed as she gathered her sketch book and stray papers. Athena handed the drawings over to Cardinal as she took a seat beside him on the bed.

"Nothin' really special, mostly trees and some random stuff I thought up in my mind." Athena explained.

Cardinal took a look at the last piece of paper Athena had handed him.

"You drew me?" He asked in an unreadable tone.

"Yeah, in your new Papa regalia." Athena smiled.

"I love it."

"You can keep it if you'd like."

Cardinal looked over at Athena "Thank you, Athena, really, this is amazing. May I hug you?"

Athena's response was a nod before pulling Cardinal in for a hug. The two embraced for a few moments before someone was heard clearing their throat in the doorway.

"This is very professional." Terzo remarked as he stood in Athena's doorway.

"Is there something I can help you with, Terzo?" Athena asked.

"No, it appears you're already in the middle of something."

"Okay." Athena nodded and stared back at the man glaring daggers through her.

There was a moment of silence as Athena looked on as she waited for Terzo to leave or give a reason for being there. Terzo stared right back at her, seemingly having no thoughts of leaving. Meanwhile, Cardinal sat there making a very awkward expression.

"Well if that's all, then I think it's time you leave my room, Terzo." Athena stated as she stood up from the bed.

Terzo only continued staring at her, up until she was standing in front of him. That was when he looked behind Athena and at the man sitting on her bed, looking very uncomfortable with the situation that was occurring.

"You can't make him leave this time." Athena stated quietly, yet sternly.

Terzo then returned his gaze to Athena "I was your Papa once. Is this how you talk to your dignitaries? Is this the kind of influence the Cardinal has brought on?"

"Terzo, I'm gonna close the door now." Athena said calmly.

Terzo narrowed his brows at her, but didn't stop her from shutting the door.
Once the door was shut, Athena returned to sit next to Cardinal.

"Well, uh, what about your writing? Write any new stories while I was away?" Cardinal inquired.

"Yeah, but I don't think I'd like to share those right now." Athena said timidly.

"No worries, but I bet they're great." He assured.

The two talked for a little while longer before they decided to head to bed. Once she had walked Cardinal out, they exchanged "goodnights".

"Goodnight, Athena."

"Goodnight, Papa."

"Hey, Athena?" Cardinal spoke right before Athena could close the door.

"You know you don't have to call me Papa, right?"

"It's out of respect." Athena stated.

"I know, but it seems so formal, I miss when you called me Cardinal."

Athena nodded "Well then, goodnight, Cardinal."

Cardinal smiled before giving a small wave and turning to walk away.

Once Cardinal had left, Athena returned to her bed. She hadn't noticed how exhausted she was until her head hit the pillow. As she laid there, moments from earlier began to cross her mind. Cardinal's return home, the hug she gave him, the walk they went on, the stories he told her, Terzo rudely interrupting them. Thinking about Terzo's interruption that evening reminded her of another incident that occurred while Terzo was still Papa Emeritus.

It was a night that Cardinal had stopped by Athena's room, simply to chat as the they often did. The two were sat at the edge of Athena's bed, laughing amongst themselves when Terzo walked in.

"Cardinal, I'm sure Papa Nihil would love to hear about this. That his right hand man is fooling about with a sister of sin."

"Terzo, we were just-" Cardinal was cut off by Terzo.

"I am Papa. Not only are you sneaking around with a Sister of Sin, but now you're disrespecting me." Terzo crossed his arms.

"We were just having a laugh, that's all." Athena spoke up "The Cardinal is my friend."

"No, the Cardinal doesn't have time for friends. He has very important duties to attend to, but as I can see; he doesn't spend any time doing them. Face it, Cardinal, that's why no one around here takes you seriously. You can't even do your job." Terzo crossed his arms before instructing Cardinal to exit Athena's room.

Just remembering that night infuriated Athena. But Cardinal showed Terzo, Cardinal took his place right out from under him.

Meanwhile, a few doors down the hall, Cardinal was also reminiscing about past interactions he had with his friend; But his memories were on a more positive note. He remembered the first time he ever saw one of Athena's drawings. Athena was sitting outside on one of the benches when Cardinal had walked up behind her. He was impressed with what he had seen and eventually, Athena let him look through her sketchbook. Another memory he had was when he read some of her writings. Athena was a brilliant writer, too brilliant to be sitting in the ministry and not being able to share her talent.

Cardinal wanted more for Athena because he knew she was capable of great things, yet she gave all of her time to the Church of Ghost. He knew there was a world out there for her outside of these walls, he just wished she'd go for it.