107 Chapel Days · Scene 25
Chapel Days
Chapel Days · Scene 25 · Ceremony b
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ith a blink
Chain’s eyes popped open and she stared at the expecting stares that bored into
the prayer alcove she had hidden herself away in. The stares were led by Buck
and his cohorts and Chain’s look of surprise became an annoyed pout. She could
not focus on him for long though as the eyes of the entire chapel were turned
upon her and she was left feeling extremely uncomfortable.
“This situation is troublesome.”
Swimming down to join her larger counterpart, Drop commented
on the stares as she hid herself in Chain’s hair behind her ear. Agreeing with
Drop, Chain swallowed nervously before exhaling slowly.
“I don’t think I can walk away now either.”
The patience demonstrated by Verdant as he said nothing more,
further put Chain on the spot. Then there was the fact that Squawk would be
next to go through the ceremony, and though Chain doubted it would be anything
as over the top as it was being for Maye, making him wait was an idea she knew
she would quickly regret. With a pout and a groan Chain decided to play along
and departed the prayer alcove. As she did her cape flared into being behind
her with her sword appearing on her hip. Stepping out in front of the chapel’s
main doors she offered Verdant an angry pout as the bishop smiled knowingly in
return.
With Chain’s first step down the aisle, the priests and nuns
flanking Verdant and Mother Osprey began to move about. Waving their scepters,
they let spill from there lips prayers in a language long forgotten to modern
man.
[I guess that’s one good thing about having Maye along. She
would know ancient languages better than I do outside of technological uses.]
Finding at least one advantage to having Maye join her in the
future, Chain allowed herself a smile as she continued walking up the aisle.
The question of how much she could trust a member of the Cardinal Church still
ate at her though, but she pushed such concerns aside.
Reaching where Maye knelt as the priests and nuns finished
their prayers, Chain found herself standing at the foot of the bottom cross of
the tri-cross while one priest each stood at the foot of the other two crosses.
They all arrived at the same time to their positions, and Chain only stopped as
the priests did before realizing where she stood as they raised their scepters
in the air above Maye. Traditionally the priests would present Maye a question
but the ceremony taking place was anything but traditional and Verdant stepped
forward between the two priests to stand before Maye. In his hands he held the
small vial of Foreigner blood and a syringe waiting to draw it.
“Child of the unions upon the Face of Icarus, you desire to
become tainted by the foul and unholy Foreigners, and seek Her Eminence, the
Lady Cardinal, the Saint of the church which bears Her name and unifier of the
Sister Goddesses and Father Icarus to cast forth Her Light in judgement. Are
you so ready to be judged by Her divinity and accept the judgment that Her Light
cast upon you? Speak now Child and know that you are within the presence of She
who will save mankind!”
“I am.”
“Then raise your head child of unions upon the Face of Icarus,
and look unto Her Light!”
“This part of us will help soothe the Beast so that we might play
along with this performance.”
“Hn.”
Nodding her head slightly as Drop whispered in her ear while
Verdant neared the end of his dialogue, Chain took a deep breath and brought
the fingers of both hands together to snap them. Watching the ceremony closely
so that she would know when to lift her hands, Chain did not miss when the priests
lifted their scepters and raised her hands to join them. As Maye raised her
head and looked into the golden Light between the two scepters, the bishop slipped
behind her and drew a full syringe of the blue blood from the vial he held. Jabbing
it into Maye’s neck and injecting her with the Foreigner blood, the bishop introduced
her to a world of pain, nightmares, and hatred beyond compare while Chain
plunged her into a world of darkness with a snap of her fingers.
It was the first time that the Darkness within Chain was visible
for all present to see and gasps of shock rose up with the distinctive ringing
sound of her snap. The gasps and shock of the nuns was not unwarranted as the Darkness
within Chain took the form of a Light consuming orb of Darkness above Maye.
Verdant and the priests performing the ceremony held their ground as the orb of
Darkness swirled violently and Maye struggled to hold on to her humanity against
the infection that tore through her flesh, mind, and spirit. Chain could not
see her suffering, but her vision filled with Darkness and two eyes of emerald
hued flames glared down upon her, challenging her to face it once more in
battle. But Chain was not singular and Drop rose up out of her hair and extended
her hands and will towards the orb of Darkness in a motion that left her
representing the goddess Ocia alongside the cross pointing down the main aisle of
the Chapel. It was a bit of symbolism that Verdant had planned for to control
Maye in the future, but it was an event she would have to be told of later.
Bathed in the Darkness that consumed all Light around her, she had no guarantee
she could stay herself at all. But then the sphere of Darkness stabilized, and
a single pinprick of golden Light appeared in its center. It was so warm and gentle,
akin to a mother’s caring touch and banished all darkness within the chapel
bathing all in its golden Light as it descended upon Maye.
.
Copyright © 2019 Joshua D Tarwater
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