IMPORTANT! sequel of 'do and repeat'
the repentance
In one world, they were one and ended with melodrama, but in another, they were one and happy for ever and after.
Lucy was barely 10 when she first saw the holy maiden.
It was one Sunday in late winter when she first time saw a carriage–not too fancy, but enough to tell it was the holy maiden's–strolled into her village and stopped in the courtyard of the small church. There had been a glimmering shine came from the woman, the elderly woman clad in white robe and white veil as she stepped out the horse-pulled wagon.
Lucy swore she thought she saw an angel. The holy maiden was a god-sent and had a calming aura around her. The small bells stitched on the hem of her veil jingled softly as she walked, slowly nearing the church. She was as graceful as a swan–her posture, her smile.
Sister Mira had been correct–the holy maiden was, well, a holy maiden.
Lucy thought it would be nice if she were to live in her village.
The holy maiden often traveled around to give blessing to children or aid people in need, Sister Mira explained to her a week before. But it didn't mean she had no home. Sister Mira also said that she lived in a place far from their village to maintain her power. Lucy didn't know what kind of power Sister Mira talked about, but it was definitely a fortune-bringer one.
As the elderly woman neared the church, Lucy saw Father Makarov greeted her, smiling and made some small talk with her, probably asking how was her travel and complimented her non-changing young spirit. He then whispered something, something that would be a serious matter, seeing the sudden seriousness in their eyes and lips set into a tight grim line.
Lucy wondered if something happened, something bad, but she couldn't quite able to place her finger on. That subject, she decided, would be privately discussed only between them.
They stepped into the warm building and Lucy accidentally made an eye contact with her. She smiled at her, her eyes crinkled kindly and the wrinkles around her eyes deepened, showing her fifty-year-worth of wisdom and experience, and Lucy couldn't help but suppressing a wide grin and gave her a shy smile instead.
The two made their way to the second floor and Lucy hastily, frantically made a dash to the third floor–her choir group must have had been waiting for her to start the practice.
The next morning was another sunny day, not a single snowflake fell, but the ground was pretty much thick of snow from yesterday's sudden snow rain. The winter breeze made she ran a shiver and Lucy pulled the blanket around her body tighter. She was half asleep when she heard the excited murmur coming from the corridor just outside of her room.
"It's about to start!" A feminine voice would say, there was a thick wonder and excitement in her tone. "The blessing!"
The blessing. Lucy quickly scrambled out her bed and peeked through the window directly to the courtyard a level below. There were children with their parents sitting on the chairs, they smiled excitedly and nervously at the same time.
On the front of them was the holy maiden, sitting on a throne-like chair with a girl on her knees and bowed head in front of her.
Now Lucy understood where the excitement did come from. A halo was visible to her eyes on the girl's head, crowning with glimmering white light. There would be an awed murmur coming from the other in the queue and children with eyes all sparkled like a gemstone.
The holy maiden chanted something, an incantation as the halo slowly dimmed and disappeared along with the end of her prayer. The girl looked up to her and smiled shyly and the elderly woman, in return, nodded and kissed her in the forehead.
So that was how the blessing carried on, Lucy thought, almost tripped on the blanket as she made a quick turn to her cupboard to change her clothes. It must be felt wonderful to be blessed upon. She thought she wanted to be blessed too. But could she?
In the afternoon, after another quick choir practice, Lucy found herself wandering around the third floor. The practice had been cut short due the sudden upcoming storm and she had no other choice but following the instruction on practicing on her own.
She had not met Sister Mira or Sister Erza today. Perhaps the arrival of the holy maiden got their hands full with preparation for the next round of blessing tomorrow. So she settled herself on the third floor, sitting on the floor near the circle windowsills and stared at the courtyard below. The snow started to fall in slow motion, but it quickly became a blur.
She frowned, a snowstorm was never on her favorite things list because the howling wind was just too vicious and the temperature was too cold for her small, thin body.
So she pulled the robe, part of her choir uniform, tighter and closer to her. She started to sing later and fell asleep there.
She dreamed about receiving the blessing and it felt so wonderful, that was why Lucy's mood tonight was at its best. Her smile and red cheeks would not be defeated by the howling wind or the carrot in her stew. And the fact that she was having dinner with the holy maiden was a plus for her mood.
Father Makarov was there too, chatting with her as if they were old friends, but they might be! Looking closer, they might be at the same age, golden and wrinkly, but happy nonetheless. Sister Mira was on her right side while Sister Erza sat across her, munching her cake quietly with a small blush at the pleasant sweetness.
"Mira-nee?" Lucy would ask in a small voice. "Will I get a blessing too?"
And Mira, both her mother and older sister figure would reply in a cheery tone and a soft smile, "Sure, you will, hon."
And that answer encouraged her to eat the carrot she had once pushed aside. It tasted not that bad now that Lucy had braced herself to eat it slowly. She heard Sister Erza's small laugh, before she stood to bring the dishes back to the kitchen. Lucy got up as well, intending on helping wash the dishes. She missed the look Father Makarov and the holy maiden gave her.
The next morning the holy maiden blessed the children again, but Lucy couldn't watch it until she finished as she and Sister Erza had to go to the village to buy food supplies. Ten minute walk was the distance between the church and the marketplace. Even though there was an uproar about the holy maiden's arrival, the marketplace was still a rowdy place as ever.
Lucy could only watch in excitement as she saw the merchant shouted on top of their lungs to attract customer on the road. There were fruit seller and meat seller, but what attracted the most was the small shop that recently opened in the village. She once took a peek through the window to see what they sell and it took only a small moment for her to conclude it was a shop that sell antique things.
Sister Erza was busy picking the apples when she bumped into someone. She turned to glare at the person, only to be left with mouth hung open as she saw the person's face. Lucy silently adored the blue hair he had and she could not help but notice the vertical tattoo across one of his eyes.
Lucy turned to Sister Erza, only to saw her blush several shades of red at the young man's sheepish smile and the small utter of apologize. Lucy thought it was her chance to take a look at the unique shop, seeing Sister Erza would have her hand full of him. Lucy let out a small giggle at the thought.
The mahogany door creaked slowly and the bell attached to it jingled softly, making her remember at the veil of the holy maiden. Lucy quickly, and carefully, looked around the goods displayed there. She saw a golden Rosario, etched with fine ornaments and small gems in blue and red color. She saw a quill and her hand was itchy to touch the feather-pen to feel the softness.
She was surprised to see no one other than her in the shop. She thought it was an interesting shop so how come people didn't get attracted to it?
"Welcome, young sister," a voice greeted her from behind the counter. An elderly man with round glasses and crinkled eyes behind the counter made her relieved to realize that she was not actually alone in this shop. "Feel free to look around since I have not much customer here."
"Thank you!" She said before making her way to a rack full of misty jar. There was a label on each jar, informing its content and its price. And then, her eyes found it.
Silver Bullet.
["I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"]
She blinked, fingers touching the jar.
[Beautiful scarlet liquid soaked someone's hand. It dripped once, twice. That person cried.]
"Mister," she called, "what is a silver bullet?"
The old man exited the counter, walking towards her with his cane. He repositioned his round glasses and scratched the back of his neck. "It's a weapon, child."
Lucy turned to the jar in her hand, peered the glistening metal chunks inside. "It doesn't look dangerous," she said, eyebrows knitted and lips puckered. And to her surprise, the old man laughed.
"Oh, child, it is dangerous," he took the jar from her and placed it back to the rack and then pointed to the wall behind the counter. "See that gun? Long time ago, this old man used that gun to hunt."
"Hunting?"
He nodded slowly. His eyes closed momentarily, as if he swam back into the memory where he was in his youth age and was in his prime shape. Lucy waited and was about to call him when his rough hand gently ruffled her hair. "I was a hunter, but I hunt what people fear of."
"Like a monster?" Lucy asked and she quietly thought about the imaginary monster that hung around under her bed.
"Worse than a monster, but yes, you can shove them to that being," he replied as he walked back to the counter. "Even now they were still roaming around," he muttered at last.
Lucy was left in wonder.
Lucy was barely ten when she first received the blessing.
It had been snowing that day and was the last day the holy maiden would stay before she traveled again to the next village. Father Makarov had called for her that morning, before she went to her choir practice, and informed about her blessing ritual. Lucy couldn't help but smiling brightly at the news, she bowed politely before dashing out of the office. She missed his heavy sigh.
She hummed quietly all the way to the third floor. The golden haired girl couldn't shake the giddy feeling as she finally would become the same as the other children.
Whereas the other kids were given at half of her age, she didn't once feel like a latecomer. She was an orphan, and those kids around her weren't, so she could see why they received the blessing far earlier than hers.
Family. They had their family to take care of them and parents to teach them the importance of a blessing. Well, she got a family too, a big family. She lived at the church and the sisters and Father Makarov had been very nice to her. They provided her meal, a place to sleep, and even medicine when she was sick. In return, she would sing in the kids' choir group. Her voice was beautiful, said some sisters, or even heavenly said some impressed women from the adult choir group.
It was almost four in the afternoon when she was called by Father Makarov to a room. Sister Erza picked her up from her room and led her to a room she hadn't known existed. As they arrived in front of the room, Sister Erza placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and she smiled before pushing her to open the door.
White floor and wall welcomed Lucy as she creaked open the old mahogany door. There were pillars that supported the high ceiling and if today was sunny, Lucy believed the mosaic glass on the ceiling would give a colorful shadow on the floor. She nervously stepped into the big room. It was quiet, as quiet as the chapel, but cold.
She spotted the holy maiden in the center of the room, crouching on the floor with a coal in her hand. As Lucy neared her, she glanced up and wordlessly gestured her to come. "Stand here, child," she said as she made a small circle around her.
Lucy could only stare in silence as the old woman continued her drawing of some symbols and more circles. It looked like she drew a big mandala. Each layer was filled with symbols and curvy letter–or so she guessed. If she counted it right, there were twenty circles around her in total.
And she was the center of it, standing still like a sun in the solar system or a black hole.
She heard a faint sigh came from the holy maiden. She put the coal away and straightened her posture, her white robe swayed in a graceful manner and Lucy shivered from the excitement.
She began murmuring something and the countless symbols were illuminated. Had Lucy not aware of the smallest circle in the mandala drawing, she would take a step back to the second inner circle and probably ruined the ritual. The ritual? The blessing ritual?
If Lucy remembered correctly, the blessing only took the holy maiden a simple murmur of prayer upon a child's head and a halo would flutter on top of his head. Why would hers be different from the other?
She could only blink in confusion and told herself not to read too much into it.
Sister Erza was still there with arms folded and gaze scrutinizing them. She stood by the door, throwing smiles to Lucy and she deciphered it as a silent don't-worry. The holy maiden raised her hand and the twenty circles shone and Lucy couldn't help but feeling overwhelmed by the light.
There was a soft popping sound came from the floor. She saw the symbols lifted, levitating in the air around her and rotating around. It slowly spiraling toward her and Lucy wondered what would happen if she were to touch it.
The first letter touched her back – she felt it a bit ticklish before burning pain was shot all over her body. She whimpered, gasping as she fisted her hand into the hem of her choir dress before finally tumbling over like a mess.
She didn't know that the blessing would hurt, in fact, it shouldn't hurt at all, according to Father Makarov, but she tried her best to keep the scream that almost escaped her mouth within herself. Slowly she sat and hugged herself in an attempt of relieving the pain that started to recede. Beads of sweat trickle on the back of her neck and she barely felt the dampness of her own tears. She found herself panting, and surprised about it.
Through blurry eyes she watched as the holy maiden did not move from her place and neither did Sister Erza. She took their silence as her turn to move, to lift her head and to question about the pain she felt. But then, seven symbols floated right in front of her and followed wherever her eyes looking.
"Pick whichever you desire, dear," the old woman's voice filled her ears and she wondered if her hesitation was visible in the holy maiden's eyes. "It will be your blessing."
So that ritual wasn't a blessing? was what she would ask. But she was too tired, she felt like her body had just undergone some harsh mountain training and she needed her warm, comfy bed so much. So in a hurry, she picked whatever letter that her heavy eyes saw first.
Sadly Lucy was no longer awake when the symbol she chose was entering her body.
The day when the sun was shining brightly, if not a lot brighter than days before, was the day when Lucy first noticed the small bruise on her forehead. It hurt a little when she pressed it, but it felt like it wasn't there if she left it alone. Perhaps she got it while she was sleeping–unconsciously moving around and got her forehead bumped into the wall. It didn't swell and she was planning to ask for some ointment to Sister Mira in the latter day.
She was wearing her choir uniform, white long satin dress with silver embroidery on the hem, and was tuning her voice chord when the headache hit her like a tsunami. Lucy put a hand on her forehead to support her suddenly-heavy head as she staggered to chair to sit. It wasn't a nautical headache, but more like a painful throbbing all around her head. Her ears rang and she heard her heart thumping wildly.
She knew the pain would pass eventually, and it did in a good five minutes. Beads of sweat were visible on her pale face and she wondered if she was anemic just like Sister Erza was.
Though she remembered the holy maiden's blessing on her last week. Surely her power wouldn't make a rough turn and giving her a curse instead of blessing right?
Lucy drank the remaining water in her glass in an attempt to refresh herself before storming out of her room to the chapel, murmuring how late she was because of the headache and hoped that she could catch up.
The door to the chapel creaked as she opened it slowly and she sighed in relief to see that her friends were just arriving. They hadn't even started practicing their voices and she was glad that Father Makarov hadn't yet to make an appearance. She pushed the door closed behind her and walked to her place. But it was too quiet, it suddenly went silent the moment she approached her singing spot.
Lucy couldn't help but stop walking upon noticing the stares her friends gave her. She tilted her head slightly in confusion and offered them a small smile. Still, even after the silent greeting, they did not return her gesture. Some of them whispered to another while keeping their eyes on her. Lucy didn't want to think bad about her friend, but she had a hunch that they were talking about her. She wondered what was wrong with her.
The stares turned into an anxious glance. Some of the older children glancing around, as if looking for someone, while the younger children took a step behind and gripped the dress of the older children.
Lucy was confused. They were scared, intimidated, but she couldn't exactly place what made them acting like that. This morning she got up earlier, but aside from the headache she had, nothing was out of the ordinary from her morning routine.
She offered a small smile once again, and flinched when she heard whimpers came from the younger children. "Good mor –"
"Devil! Evil being!" One of them, a boy with brown hair shouted, despite his apparent anxiety and cut her greeting rudely. He pointed his finger at her and she flinched at the stares that turned into glares. It was directed to her. "S-Sinful being has no place i-in here!" The boy continued.
"That mark! That mark!" A girl frantically screamed, her face paled as the other girls hugged her in panic.
"That mark! It's the mark! Oh Lord!"
"Lucy-nee is evil?"
"Have to purify her! We have to purify her!" The same boy shouted. "Someone call the sisters!"
The choir group was a scrambling mess in an instant. Some of the girls ran out of the chapel to get the sisters while the boys circling Lucy. Lucy hugged the music sheet tightly as she slowly took a step behind, then two, then three. And then, she ran, attempting to get to the door and was about to reach it when her hair pulled roughly and she stumbled backward.
Water was poured on her face as she struggled to breathe normally. She pushed the boy away and once again made her way to the door, but the door didn't budge even after all pulls and pushes. Some children must have had their hands on this.
Her long hair was pulled again and she screamed in pain, hands flew reflexively to her hurting part. She whimpered when the boys started to pour water on her again and she was flat on her stomach with hands locked behind her back.
"Mira-nee! Mira-nee!" She screamed hoarsely. "Erza-nee!"
Then the door opened and right before her was Father Makarov himself. His usually kind and wise eyes were now narrowed dangerously. But then, he looked at her, and the frown he had was deepened.
"Father…" Lucy whimpered, feeling her eyes burned in a failed attempt of preventing herself from crying.
"It's a crescent mark, on your forehead," he said instead, almost cold as to chill the bone. "What sin did you do, child?"
Crescent mark? "I didn't do anything! I swear to God!" Lucy thrashed around, feeling the grip of the boy around her wrist pained her.
"No, child, you must have done something, a taboo," he sighed. "The mark wouldn't be there if you didn't."
Lucy's eyes widened as she tried so hard to remember what kind of sin, taboo did she had done. But she felt like she couldn't think of anything under the scrutinizing-stern stare from the father. She closed her eyes, awaiting his next word.
"Child, you have to repent your sins," his voice cut her right in the core. "Repent, or you will be exiled."
tbc
note: this is simply a remake of the previous 'the repentance' if you have read it, published days ago and got deleted by someone with a high level of stupidity (me). edited the opening.
note2: i apologize for those who followed this story (the previous one tho) and found it missing from their list. i deeply apologize.
note3: REVIEW! kindly say hi to me.