𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐗 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫
My dear Lord
Please save my soul
From this desire
That is burning up my insides
Manalus feverishly prayed, his legs numb from kneeling on the cold floor, hands outstretched and directed towards the heavens, his beautiful face stricken with a look of desperation unlike any other.
Save me from this temptation
For I fear Your wrath
I am a righteous man
So don't let my heart go astray
On the path of light
Keep me steadfast
How had this madness started? Manalus could recall that day clearly, as if it had been yesterday.
He had been looking out of his window, admiring the rainy day from the comfort of his warm estate sitting atop a hill, overlooking the sprawling city below from its lofty position. White smoke bellowed up from the chimneys of the little houses dotting the landscape, feeding into the grey haze of rain and smog.
What caught his eye, however, was the hunched over form of a person on one of the little roads, one that had been abandoned by the people upon the arrival of the pouring rain.
A woman, he realized, who had her form concealed by a long tan-brown overcoat and a richly embroidered headscarf was bent over, seemingly petting a... stray cat, as it eagerly ate from a small wooden bowl. Manalus squinted his striking, forest green eyes, strangely taken in by this scene of kindness.
It wasn't that he had never seen others being affectionate to the stray animals of this city, after all, these cats in particular kept the rodent population in check. Manalus supposed it was perhaps her smile, small and hidden from the rest of the drowning world, intended to be seen by no one.
Long after she had left, and the cat had burrowed itself under the wooden crate that the woman had made into its makeshift shelter from the drizzling rain, Manalus replayed the scene a few more times than he would have liked to admit.
The next time he had seen a glimpse of her was in that great, domed blue house of worship, set in the centre of the city. For a moment, against all the odds of this world, his eyes had met her (e/c) ones for a moment, and by God, had his heart thumped a little harder.
Hurriedly, yet regrettably, he had cast his glance aside, lest his thoughts devolved in a direction that wasn't proper. Shamefully, and with a growing sense of desperation, Manalus realized he couldn't focus on his prayer for the very first time.
The time that was meant to be dedicated to his Creator was instead spent to fight the war inside his mind, fighting off images of her twinkling eyes and the sinfully delightful curve of her smile.
Why her, oh the Holy One?
Of all women, why did you make her so irresistible?
I am purer than the vulgar crowd, You know that!
So why does she set my soul alight,
With her scorching gaze?
Beautiful, she was beautiful, from the inside out. Pretty was her rare smile, gorgeous was her rarer laugh.
What he was doing wasn't something a respectable man of his position should do, but damned he was, to follow her with his ever-green eyes, as she walked around the bustling marketplace, oblivious of his steady, hungry, desperate gaze.
A whore.
That was what she was, a common whore, an outlet for the weak, licentious populace. His heart had broken and repaired and broken again as he mulled over her revolting identity every hour of the day, his prayer beads forgotten and his rich silk robes in disarray.
Why is it her, God?!
You know I'm a respectable man!
Curse her! Destroy her!
Damn her to the very pits of Hell!
Night after night Manalus cried, his forehead humbly prostrated before his Lord, asking, begging for His Holy intervention. His eyes were red, and so were his knees, yet he still cried out in hopes of being saved, his heart heavy and ashamed of the things he had imagined doing.
Yet, as the dawn arrived like it always did, bringing about each new day, he still found himself following her like a shadow, following her into the red-light district, a foul place of sin and pleasure, God's holy land desecrated by humans, filthy all the way to their very cores.
His heart seared with a burning wound, as he watched her like he always did, as she disappeared into that crowded building, swallowed up by greedy eyes and faded screens.
So kind, so devilish
A seductress, with a generous heart
Who taunted him with her beguiling smiles
He would remember them at night, those glimpses of smirks, her alluring lips hooked up in an irresistible curve, causing him to gasp for air, his heart drumming loudly in the silence of his empty room.
Exile! Exile the impure!
Rid the land of its sinful!
That is the only way his heart shall find peace!
"My lord! The woman has been caught!"
A look of calm assurance settled in his Grecian features upon hearing the words, as his prayer was finally answered.
"Bring her to me. Waste not a second."
My Sublime Lord
Love was never evil
It's not my fault
For it was Your Divine Plan
Cast her into hellfire
If she will bring ruination upon me
Or make her forever mine
If she is to be saved by me
Her (h/c) hair was in a disarray, her cloak haphazardly thrown over her figure, as she was forcefully brought in, and made to kneel before his imposing figure.
Her trembling, bewildered eyes reminded Manalus of newborn sheep. Yet, he knew, she was a wolf, a devil, beneath all those layers.
"I heard of your ailing mother," Manalus stated, his voice light and airy, calm, as if his heart wasn't beating a thousand beats per minute.
She looked up at him, her face frozen with fear, the depths of her (e/c) eyes stricken with clear horror.
"I will give you two choices, my dear. Either become mine, and let your mother survive, or die now, taking your mother with you."
Oh how tempting, how heart squeezing were those tears, but Manalus looked on, his face an alabaster mask, sporting a subtle frown.
Even as a swath of silence passed, the woman didn't answer. Manalus, reaching the end of his thinned patience, strode towards her, before reaching out, his cold fingertips drawing invisible art on the canvas of her face, as she shuddered in her despair.
"It is rather tragic, to die from a curable disease," he whispered teasingly into her ear, "and all because someone was selfish."
Cornered like an animal of prey, her distress reached a crescendo, her lips quivering as she sealed her fate, the fear of death and loss blinding her.
"You! I choose you!"
"Excellent! Magnificent, my dear!" his voice was joyous, his glinting green eyes delighted.
Manalus wrapped his arms around his bride-to-be, an ecstatic grin on his face as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, nose eagerly taking in her unique essence.
"Forever and forever mine! I was meant to be your saviour!" he giddily whispered, his heart soaring high up to the heavens, "God is good! God is great!"
_______________________
A/N:
So... here I am, once again, back from the dead. How has everyone been?
I always wanted to write about a religious yandere, so this is the result. Not the best, but it has been a good creative exercise for me. My motivation has been pretty low for a while now, but college is about to kick my butt, so I'm trying to get my life together.
Anyways, thanks for reading lovelies! And yes, this one shot was heavily inspired by Hellfire from The Hunchback of Notre Dame XD
Also, I can't believe this book has more than 60K reads at this point! Y'all must be bored lmao, but thank you all for reading and leaving such lovely comments! It means a lot to me <3 Stay safe, and see you next update!
P.S. Feel free to check out AmateurCreators
It's an open project I'm starting with Bloody_Wankers, where we will post write-ups and such to improve ourselves. Anyone who's interested is welcome to join :^)