The Rise of a King - Copia x Reader

XIII

Later that day, the bells rang for the congregation and clergy to assemble. The chapel slowly filled with life while you sat with the sisters, Terzo and Copia in the room next door, waiting for your turn to step inside. The sisters chattered wildly as they got the chance to be in a room with Terzo and did their best to charm him to which he objected in no way. You however couldn't sit still, nervously you walked up and down the small room and picked your fingers nervously, looking around for something to reassure you. The only thing having kept you calm so far was Copia standing by the door, patiently waiting for him to be the first one to step out. But wait, where was he?
You looked around hectically, eyes widened in shock, had he already gone outside? Did you miss your turn?!
'Shit', you thought to yourself as you suddenly felt two arms being wrapped around you, making you squeak a little.
"Hey there", a friendly voice suddenly greeted you and you felt your tension dissolve within a second as you recognised it as Copia's.
You turned around to face him with a nervous smile but the look on his face told you he knew that deep down, you were close to breaking out into a mess of sweat and tears. He gently rubbed your shoulders and the sides of your arms and gave you the most understanding smile anyone could've ever given you.
"Don't worry, my dear. You have done well during practice this noon and will do even better out there".
"Oh I'm not sure, C. I mean what if I mess up?"
"Out of question, cara. You handled this censer so gracefully, all you have to worry about is that Sister may want to hire you as the permanent keeper of this position"
He smirked playfully evil which made you laugh relieved, he just always knew how to cheer you up.
"And now, it is time for you to grab that powerful tool of yours and rock everyone's socks of!"
His words have given you confidence so you have him a sharp nod and set up the censer. And deep down you knew 'if anything happens, he'll be right next to me'.

A minute later, the time has come. You stood by Copia's side, who still was a little ahead as the door was opened and the two of you stepped outside into the great, impressive chapel and along the red carpet. You swung the chain elegantly, remembering every second of your training with Copia while he spoke his unholy prayers. His surprisingly deepened voice echoed through the halls and sent a shiver down your spine, though you couldn't allow yourself melting along at the moment. You kept up with him and soaked in his words as the incense perfectly spread along the benches.
The energy you felt in that moment was overwhelming, you were given the opportunity to help spreading the word and blessing of Satan while being surrounded by a congregation that shared your belief. It was something you truly enjoyed and it made you forget all worries you had felt before.

That was, until you made your final steps up the stairs to the altar to open the way for Papa Emeritus the Third. At the very last step, of course you had to embarrass yourself as your foot got stuck by the carpet which made your stumble forward. A few people in the rows gasped and your face ran deep red but you eventually managed to finish the round and disappear within the dark. Yet, there was no time to mourn or relax, you quickly put away the censer and walked back outside, this time with the other sisters of sin. You all gathered in half a circle around the altar and watched as the Papa entered the chapel and stepped to the front.
"Welcome everyone, dear clergy, dear congregation", he began as he stood in front of the altar, a charismatic smile gracing his lips.
"Tonight, we are gathered here in honour of our dark Lord Satan, we aspire to receive his unholy blessings upon us. As me and the Ghouls will introduce tonight's service with a song to resemble our belief, the dear sisters of sin will go around and distribute wafers amongst you".
He gestured towards you and the other sisters who now walked over to the altar where a huge jar with wafers stood. All of you had received the rows you were to deal with earlier so you grabbed enough wafers and walked down the steps as Rain's bass filled the chapel with the sound of 'Con Clavi Con Dio'.

You suspected people would still remember you as the sister who just failed to simply climbs a few stairs, yet the amount of people actually eyeing you as you passed the rows, was more than you had feared.
Their stares made you feel like a thousand needles were being pierced through your soul and you started feeling extremely uncomfortable, though you couldn't allow yourself showing any signs of weakness now, sister was probably already in the depths of her disappointment anyways.
As expected of you, you ignored all looks given you and handed out the wafers without any single complication.
You returned to your original position and listened to the last verses of the song, it truly was a magnificent sound, almost mesmerising.
As it has finished, you and the sisters were to disappear back into the preparation room, yet as you slowly made your way back, sister pulled you to the side, outside onto the hallway. As your stomach suddenly went heavy, you could tell by the look on her face you weren't to expect a speech of gratitude. Her head was tilted to the side, her eyebrows furrowed and eyelids narrowed. They were glowing in fury.
"What was going on out there, sister?", she asked, clearly annoyed.
You began to stutter, your heart raced and you feared for the worst.
"I.. I don't know, sister Imperator. I didn't pay attention to where I was going and suddenly tripped over the last step. I promise it won't happen again"
"Won't happen again?", she raised her voice and your eyes widened, why was she overreacting so much?
"All eyes were on you, you let our clergy look anything but professional. And what about the censer? I thought you had learned to handle it"
Now you were confused, you didn't recon any issues with the censer as you had used it.
"I'm afraid I don't quite know what you are talking about-"
"I am talking about that you didn't clean it after you were using it!"
"Well that is because I had to get back in as quick as possible, I was about to clean it after the service"
"That is unacceptable, our tools shall always remain in best shape and condition. Go and do it now, you have truly disappointed me tonight"
You felt like someone had just hammered their bare fist through your chest, as if a huge whole now hung inside of you, tearing all of your organs apart.
Disappointed her? That's not fair, you've done all you could! How dare she-
"I said now, sister", she spoke even angrier, which had seemed completely impossible before, and made her way back inside the chapel.
You lowered your head as you headed back inside, sobbing as you cleaned the censer thoroughly.

"Hey Y/n, here you are", Copia's voice suddenly cheered a few moments later. A little surprised, yet still hurt, you look up at him with teary eyes and his smile fell in an instant.
"What's wrong?", he asked and quickly took a seat next to you.
"It's getting too much, C", you start to sob again.
"First I embarrass myself in front of everyone, then they won't stop staring at me and on top of it all sister pulls me aside to tell me what a shame I am to the clergy. Whatever I do, I do it wrong. Maybe I don't belong here", you feel a tear run down your cheek and thought soon more would follow, yet the ache in your heart was paused as you felt Copia's finger gently wipe the tear away.
"No, please don't think so. You know you belong here, you're a great sister and one little mistake can't change that. No idea what's up with sister but she's definitely been overreacting"
He gave you a warm smile but you just sat there with a heavy weight in your chest, clueless about what to do now.
Of course he was right, you've never felt as much at home like you do here but what if you're not enough? What if Sister Imperator will start complaining even more and everyone will look down on you?
The feeling of being the clergy's idiot for all eternity made the held back stream of tears release within seconds. You tried remaining silent for a moment so Copia wouldn't get worried, yet you just couldn't hold it anymore.
You expected calming, reassuring words or maybe even an annoyed speech from your friend, you couldn't blame him after all. But instead of wasting any words on what's already done, he just silently wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into a tight hug. As you felt your face against his shoulder, you tightly grabbed his back and sunk your fingers deep into the soft fabric underneath you skin.
After a while of silently sitting there, in the last corner of the small room, he began to speak for the first time in minutes, his arms still holding you close.
"Let me bring you to a place where your sorrow can't follow you, alright?", he asked her calmly, yet with a demanding sub tone in his voice that let you know he really wanted to help you.
You looked up at him for a second before you agreed with a hesitant nod. Copia didn't waste any time, he immediately pulled you out the room and up the stairs until you reached an old, heavy iron door.
He pushed it open which required all his strength and what was revealed to you was the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

A/n: An evil cliffhanger, I know but trust me, it's worth it!