Children of the Clergy

Season 1 | Episode 11 | Further brocken

"I cannot help him."

Errapel withdrew his hand and Secondo instantly stopped coughing. He slipped into a stunned state and stared around at the room, seeming not to recognise where he was at first. His memories were fuzzy and his throat felt strangely dry.

Suddenly, he noticed the absence of the healer demon who had been knelt beside him just a few moments before. He frowned. He said that I would be safe soon. But the Ether almost just killed me. That was not safety at all.

Papa Nihil ran to his side, "Are you alright, child?" There was genuine concern somewhere in his voice, but Secondo couldn't hear it. Primo ran over to him too, desperately awaiting his answer.

Secondo chuckled, "I don't know." There were no emotions or opinions being forced onto him. He was able to have an opinion of his own, "I truly don't know."

Primo didn't understand the reason for his joy but he relished in it just the same, throwing his arms around his younger brother and hugging him firmly into his chest. The two boys giggled and laughed to themselves as the rest of their unacknowledged company watched in confused satisfaction. They could all tell that something had just gone wonderfully right, although they still didn't know what it had been.

Papa Nihil sighed, a relieved smile creeping onto his face. The Ether, for whatever reason, had just given up. Secondo was alright.

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A week passed and Secondo had made a full recovery. He wasn't coughing or slipping out of consciousness all the time anymore. The whole Clergy felt like a huge burden had been lifted off of their shoulders, the Emeritus family especially.

Papa Nihil had gone and done a few smaller, more private, performances already. He had hired a few temporary musicians to replace the ones that had passed and he was adapting to being back under the spotlight just fine. Even if it would just be for a short while.

Primo was back to finding out as many things about the uses of ghouls as he could and Terzo was continuously messing with him and his ghouls just for the fun of it.

Seestor Imperator had been given a temporary restriction to complete personal time spent with Secondo. At least one other person, preferably above the age of eighteen, had to be with them throughout the entire interaction. Secondo felt much safer with that precaution in place, even if it was only temporary.

Primo had been in the middle of a test on how long water ghouls could hold their breaths under water for when he suddenly remembered the small blue book he was supposed to give back to Papa Nihil that day. He'd borrowed it to help learn more about his ghouls but Papa had wanted it back as soon as possible. He was always very protective of his belongings like that and Primo knew that he'd be in a lot of trouble if it wasn't back with him at the exact moment he'd wanted it to be.

He brought Water's head out of the small fish bowl he'd been using for the experiment and grabbed the small book from on top of his desk in his room. He ventured down the corridors and walked directly to Papa Nihil's room. He reached it reasonably quickly due to his hurried pace.

Just before he could nock on the door, a shrill voice called his name.

He turned his head to see Seestor Imperator strolling down the corridor towards him, a cruel smile spread across her face. He sighed before turning fully and facing her. Don't do anything to make her hate you. Don't do anything to make her leave.

She walked all the way up to him and stopped only a few inches away. Primo took her hand in his and lifted it, placing a small kiss on the back to be polite before letting go again. Her smile grew even wider and her other hand made its way to the small blue book he was holding. She took it away and looked it over intensely, "What in the nine rings is this for?" She said snarkily.