Cloak and Dagger (Castlevania Nocturne x fem oc)

The Abbot's Secret (edited)

It was dusk by the time Maria's bandages were finally removed. The bleeding had stopped, it wouldn't be long before new skin stretched over what had once been open flesh. Tera gave a satisfied nod before rolling down her daughter's mended sleeve as Mélanie watched from the window ledge next to the fire place. Less than twenty four hours ago she had been ducking behind bushes, trying to not be seen by vampires. It seemed like a lifetime away. What was going to happen now? She stared out the window at the setting sun and she began thinking of what she and Annette had learned back at the graveyard, of the complex conspiracy of the alliance between the Church and the vampires. Of where Richter was...
The worry that had possessed her since Richter fled at the sight of Olrox felt different now. The threats she had heard from Drolta in the alleyway seemed to have nested in her brain, like diseased things, infecting her thoughts of the Belmont. Would Richter be able to defend himself from whatever Drolta was throwing at him? Would he come back, alive and well?

Mélanie's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Was it Annette? She had left earlier, saying she wanted to commune with her ancestors in the spirit world, seeking their guidance. Was it Richter? Had he finally come back?
Mélanie got up from the window ledge as Tera rounded the table and made her way towards the door. The three women's eyes all widened in surprise when they saw who it was. The darkly cloaked Abbot.
"Emmanuel," Tera addressed the man in front of her. She started shutting the door only for the Abbot grab it, preventing it from fully closing. Maria sprang to her feet and grabbed the knife on the table. Mélanie flicked her wrist, a red tinted knife falling comfortably in her hand.
"Tera, please," the Abbot pleaded. "I only came to talk. Please."
Tera took an uneasy breath, but opened the door for him anyway; interpreting his plea to be genuine.

"We have nothing to say to you," Maria spat as the Abbot made his way into the house.
The Abbot eyed Maria with a hint of what appeared to be concern.
"Are you... hurt?" he asked.
Maria didn't answer.
"You've got some nerve showing up here after what happened back at the Abbey," Mélanie said coldly.
The Abbot shrank under Mélanie's icy gaze and made his way to the table, sitting himself down.
"I've been turning it over in my mind," said Tera after closing the door. "What I saw, and what I know about you. You told me once that God had called you name. That he called for you to fight evil."
"I used to believe that, yes," said the Abbot.
"And now?"
"Now, the cornerstones I built my life on are being toppled."
"Maybe it's time they were toppled!" Maria hurled at him.
"Of course, that sounds romantic, like everything you revolutionaries tout," the Abbot sighed. "But once you've raised this country to the ground, I wonder who will be left to rebuild. You talk of freedom. Freedom for whom?"
"Everybody," said Maria.

The Abbot stood up and walked towards the fireplace. He looked mean, unlike the man they'd seen in the dungeon yesterday.
"There's a woman in my parish, eighty two. She's been hobbling to communion every day of her life, and now her grandson has forbidden it in the name of reason. Do you think when she wakes in the night, she'll cry "reason," "liberty," into the dark to banish her terrors?"
"That's just one woman," said Maria.
"Over two hundred priests were massacred in Verdun," said the Abbot, anger coming to his defence. "It won't be long before priests are exiled or put under the guillotine. There is talk of melting down church bells to make cannonballs. The barbarians are at the gate. To them, no one will be true enough or loyal enough. They will drench us all in blood."

"Maybe.  But not if your night creatures do it first," said Mélanie, and she took a few steps towards the Abbot, who did not back away.
"I'm building an army!" shouted the Abbot.
"And fighting on the wrong side. With vampires. If that doesn't count as hypocrisy, then I don't know what does."
"I'm making the alliances I have to for now. And the sacrifices."
"And how many of the people you once swore to protect will pay the price?"
"The man I used to know would stare at himself now in disgust," said Tera.
The Abbot's eyes widened for a second with shame.
"I've never been sinless, Tera," he conceded.
"There's a long way between sinless and harbouring fucking night creatures!" shouted Maria, who didn't want any excuses made by the Abbot.