Children of the Clergy

Season 2 | Episode 8 | Not a word about it

Seren walked slowly to the cafeteria, keeping her eyes trained on the floor.

By now, the rumors had spread and most of the Ministry knew what she was, the other Emerituses and nurses included. Even people she used to consider friends were refusing to associate with her anymore. She was completely alone, except for the sister that watched her every move.

She sauntered over to the queue that was waiting to collect their food. It was lunch time so every sibling that could be there was crowded in.

The moment she was anywhere near them, the other siblings backed up, giving plenty more space than was necessary. She sighed, trying to move closer as to not interrupt the formation of the line but they just backed away even more. It was like they thought she was radioactive, that being too close would hurt them in some way.

She didn't blame them though. If she could have left her body for another, non-holy one, she would have done it instantly.

But, instead, she was trapped with her heavenly powers and her soal born from a witch and an Angel.

She'd half-considered trying to get possessed, in the hopes that it would counteract her origin. But, after remembering how badly holy energy burned for hellish creatures, she'd pushed the thought aside. And, anyway, she surely wasn't crazy enough to meddle with the forces of hell in that way. Was she?

Seren finally collected her food and walked over to a nearby table, the sister following close behind. She glanced down at the tray and then past it to her hands that wrested in her lap. The rope had been taken off and replaced with enchanted shackles. They would supposedly keep her magics at bay, although the Clergy lacked experience with heavenly powers and weren't completely certain that they would work.

Seren could tell they did though because, every time she tryed to conjure up her magics, it felt as if her energy was slipping away and being absorbed by the shackles. They were working just fine.

As she started to eat her food, a strange feeling began to grow and her insides felt itchy. It was like something tiny was bitting her everywhere and she could feel the sweat forming.

She tryed to keep her cool and ignore it but it was only getting worse and, soon, it was almoust painful. Her body burned and she felt herself shaking from the strain.

"Are you alright, sweety?" The sister asked.

Seren exhaled slowly, trying to breath through the pain. "Yeah. Just nervous." She tryed to offer the sister a comforting smile but the burning was too intense.

Just as it got to what seemed to be its worst, two familiar faces strolled into the cafeteria, she hadn't properly met the third yet.

Everyone turned, shocked that they'd even come. They had kitchens of their own and didn't need to come to the cafeteria. They were never seen anywhere near it unless they were looking for someone.

Seren frowned as the pain got so much worse. "Shit."

She watched Seestor Imperator and Secondo stroll across the room, surveying the siblings, clearly looking for someone. The young boy's ghoul, Fire, was flanking him.

By now the itch and the burn had become unbearable and Seren was having to bite down on her tounge to stop any pained noises coming out. "Actually, can we leave?" The sister stared down at her, a look of concerned confusion on her face. "I'm just not feeling too good right now."

"Are you sure? You seemed fine this morning, and you've barely eaten." The sister questioned.

Seren exhale again, knowing for certain that either Secondo or Seestor's presence had something to do with the pain. "Not hungry anymore."

The sister sighed, holding the small witch's arm and lifting her from her seat at the table. Seren stumbled slightly. Even putting pressure on her legs was unbearable.

As the sister helped her out of the cafeteria, she met Secondo's eye and her gaze drifted down, instantly focused on something else.

There was an absurdly deep gash on his leg, still red with blood. It looked as if something had cut into him with a blade or dug in deep with a claw. Either way, it was a horrendous injury and Seren wished in that moment that he still trusted her enough to heal him because it surely wasn't going to just fade away on its own.

The moment Secondo realized where she was looking, he wipped around to hide the scar from her. Seestor Imperator noticed his protective display, glancing over and instantly seeing Seren. Her eyes narrowed and she dragged Secondo with her as she approached.

Seren stopped instantly, cowering down as the tall woman came closer and wincing as her presence increased the burning even more.

Seestor came to a stop directly in front of her, glaring down with her usual superior stare. "I'd like you in my office in 5 mins. We have a lot to discuss."

Seren nodded swiftly and the older woman smiled a cruel smile, leaving in the direction of her office and guiding Secondo away with her.

The young boy locked eyes with Seren again as he left and she saw the malice in his gaze. "Not a word about it, Angel."

Seren flinched again as his voice spoke in her mind. If being only inches away from him wasn't painful enough, having him in her head was almoust enough to make her scream. She knew he'd been talking about the scar and he didn't want her to mention it to anyone. Usually, she would have defied his order and gone to find help for him anyway, but they were on bad enough terms already so she chose to simply quiet down and do as he'd asked.

As the two left, the pain finally died down and she breathed a sigh of relief as the itch stopped.

"Are you alright now? You seem a little more relaxed." The sister asked.

Seren smiled up at her. "Yeah." She paused. "As much as I hate to admit it, I think that hurt because I know I'm holy in some way now so being in the presence of someone so closely connected to the Dark Lord was painful."

The sister smiled down at her sadly, cleaning up her appearance a bit before guiding her away to Seestor's office.

The meeting was short but straight to the point: Papa Nihil had decided that, since Seren was aware of her ties to heaven now, there was a risk of her magics playing up. They didn't want any angelic forces discovering her because of it so the shackles were to stay on for the time being until they could find a more permanent solution or until they could confirm that she wasn't a threat, to herself and the Clergy.

Throughout the entire interaction, Secondo just glared at her and Fire wouldn't stop growling. The display reminding her of Quintessence's reaction, the image of his bright blue eyes haunting her once again.

By the time they'd finished up and Seren had been properly introduced to the sister who had been guarding her, who's name was Aria, she'd become almoust used to the pain. It was still awful and she desperately desired to be rid of it, but it wasn't unbearable at least.

"So, you will be keeping a close eye on her?" Seestor questioned, turning to Aria.

She smiled and nodded, "Of course."

Seestor smiled in reply. But, as she turned to face Seren, her expression was cruel again. "And you. You won't be turning on us, will you?"

Her tone was fierce and the silent threat sent a shiver down the young witch's spine. "No, ma'am."

As they turned to leave, Seren glanced back, catching a glimpse of Secondo's scar out of the corner of her eye. Once again, his voice spoke in her head, reminding her of just how much danger she'd be in if she told anyone.

"Not a word about it, Angel. Not a fucking word."