Children of the Clergy

Season 1 | Episode 13 | Leverage

The near-silent creaking of the floor boards was the only indication that someone in the Emeritus Sons' Quarters was awake. Secondo slipped out of the door and out into the empty corridors of the ministry.

The shallow moonlight seeped in through the glistening stained glass windows, coating the marble floor in a gorgeous array of colours. Small oil lamps added a soft orange hue to the maze of light. The night felt calm and serene and it almost felt wrong to be disturbing its peace.

Secondo wandered down the endless corridors, slowly making his way to the room he'd dreaded going into since the day the person who lived inside gained custody over him. Seestor Imperator's room.

He arrived at the door, hesitating for a moment before knocking quietly. She might not even be awake. I wouldn't want to have woken her up.

A shuffling sound came from inside the room and the door was slowly pushed open. Seestor peered out, looking around for a moment before glancing down and spotting Secondo waiting for her. Her eyes widened. She hadn't expected him to go anywhere near her out of his own free will for a while.

"Secondo?" She whispered.

A tear rolled down his cheek, followed by a quiet sob as he broke down in front of the tall blonde woman. She frowned and wrapped her arms around him, gently guiding him into her room to sit on the edge of her bed. She sat down beside him, clearly still confused by his presence but trying to help him calm down all the same, "Hey, what's wrong? I really wouldn't have expected you to come to me if you were upset. So, why are you here?"

Seestor wiped away his tears with her sleeve, placing her hand underneath his chin to tilt it up and make him meet her gaze. She was genuinely concerned, for multiple different reasons.

Secondo hesitated before answering. A single sentence that caught Seestor completely off guard, "I want to leave."

She stared back at him trying to process what he'd just said. Leave? He doesn't mean...Secondo broke down again, cuddling into her side. He did. "Secondo? What happened?"

He tried to hold back his emotions, gazing up at Seestor with glossy eyes, "Papa Nihil. He...I know you aren't married anymore, so it doesn't really count but...But he...He still..."

Seestor looked instantly more intrigued by the mention of Papa Nihil and their divorce. If this was going to give her any more leverage in the matter of what happens to Secondo, she wanted to hear it. She still hated that Papa Nihil had control over what happened to him, even though she was his legal mother, "Go on. What did he do? You don't have to be scared to say."

Secondo could feel his tears threatening to spill so he forced his answer out before he broke down again, "Primo found him...with another woman from one of his performances in his bed."

Seestor held in a gasp as Secondo began crying again. That hadn't been what she'd been expecting at all, and she could feel her blood boiling just thinking about it. Another woman? With Papa? Who did he think he was just throwing himself around like that? If she'd done that, he would have gone feral. So why should he get to do the same and still get away with it?

Seestor knew that Papa would never truely get over her and he would do whatever he could to earn her approval, no matter the cost. Just to prove to him that it was never going to happen, and to get back at him for what he'd just done, she'd do the thing he dreaded her doing the most.

She'd leave. Just like Secondo wanted.

"You said you wanted to leave, yes?" Seestor Imperator questioned. Secondo peered up at her and nodded slowly, tears staining his cheeks, "Good, then it's settled. I'll pack my things tonight. You go back to your room and pack yours. We'll leave tomorrow morning, before anyone can try to talk us out of it."

Secondo cuddled back into her side, finally managing to stop his tears from falling. Seestor hugged him back, pulling him into her chest and closing his eyes as she relaxed into his soft embrace. Secondo felt as if he was frozen in time and he opened his eyes.

They glowed with a dark blood-like red.
Deep red lines crept up from the tips of his fingers and the bottom of his neck.

Seestor Imperator could bring it out.
They would try to stop it.

Get away from them,

Be alone with Seestor Imperator,

And its vessel would have no choice but to give in.