Vincent took Ember to the biggest washroom in the whole church. It was a room in which all four walls, and floor, were composed of gray stone. There was a window that resided in the front of the room. A porcelain colored claw foot bathtub sat right square in the middle of the room. Whoever sat in the tub could stare out the window. A small sink was located to the right of the room's only window. There was a toilet in the far corner. A shelf of various colored glass bottles hung beside the sink. All of the bottles had aged tags, most of them unreadable. Vincent grabbed a few of these bottles, examined the labels, and handed her a violet colored bottle.

Ember held it up to the little bit of sunlight that poured in through the window. It was half-full with some kind of white substance.

"Claudia's famous shampoo," said Vincent, answering the girl's questioning gaze.

He gestured for her to open it. She did so, and sniffed it.

"Lavender," said Ember happily.

"And vanilla," said Vincent. He smoothed his hands over his sweater vest. "Making shampoo is the only thing Claudia does that's normal," he explained. "I have no idea what she uses in it, but it'll make your hair like silk," he said, running his finger through his own brown locks.

Ember smirked. "As if making your own shampoo is normal," she countered.

Vincent giggled. "Not exactly."

Ember scanned the room. It wasn't exactly the Plaza in New York- where she had stayed many times- but it would have to do. She was glad for once that she was unlike her parent's, who wouldn't do such a thing as to even look at the bathroom, let alone actually use it. Vincent went to a cupboard that sat beside the toilet. He withdrew three blue towels and set them on the side of the sink. Ember thanked him.

"You go ahead and wash up," he instructed. "I am off to find Sister Rosemary, she will have something black you can wear."

Ember raised a brow. "Why black?"

Vincent sighed like she had asked the world of him. "It's this sect. All members must wear black. Although you are not one of us, you are Claudia's guest, and she demands you dress as if you were one of us."

Ember shook her head. Her eyes ran down Vincent's brown, white and tan clothing. "Why aren't you wearing black?"

Vincent pressed a hand to his chest. "Because I'm an exception," he replied haughtily. He softened then. "Also because I was not born of this sect."

"How many sects are there?"

"Two more. The sect of the Holy Mother, and the sect of Valtiel." He coughed. "Oh! Just go on and take your bath, and I will explain our beliefs to you in full detail this evening." He made his way to the door and grasped the handle. "Oh!" he squeaked. "And allow the water to run before you get in, it takes a bit for it to warm up."

Ember half-smiled. "I will."

After Vincent had left the room, making sure that he was not in earshot by listening through the door, she slid the lock in place. She was in a strange town, in a strange church, full of strange people. She knew she couldn't trust anyone. Except Vincent, he seemed a kind soul.

She turned the brass faucet in the claw foot tub, allowing the cold water to run over her fingertips for a moment. She then set to work peeling off her clothing. It was odd, she was wearing her favorite outfit. If only she could remember what had happened before she awoke in Silent Hill. The white blouse was ripped on the bottom, and had blood stains sprawled all over the front. Her jeans were muddy and there was a new hole in the knee. Her boots were packed with mud, and smelled of sodden earth. She tossed the articles in the corner, and lowered herself into the tub. The warm water hit her body welcomingly, and soon, she was relaxed. She sighed a deep sigh of relief and submerged herself neck-deep into the tub. She poured a significant amount of Claudia's handmade shampoo into her hand, and took her fingertips to her scalp with it. Her red hair was so thick that it took quite a while to thoroughly scrub it.

With her scalp raw from scrubbing, she submerged her head underwater, her red tendrils sailing around her face. From underneath the water, she looked upward. A distorted image of Vincent's face appeared from out of nowhere. Ember opened her mouth to scream, and pushed upward. She shot up out of the water like a buoy. Her hair stuck to her face. She curled in a ball, hugging her knees to her, hoping to conceal her body from him.

She screamed.

Vincent fell back. He had not meant to scare her. "Easy! Easy!" he shouted worriedly. He turned to hide his face. Ember ceased her scream. He turned his back to her. Behind him, she bunched into an even tighter ball. Although his back was to her, he still covered his eyes with the back of his palm. He pointed to the toilet. There was a black bundle on it. "Sister Rosemary thought it'd fit you," he said quickly. "Meet me in the chapel when you're finished."

He jogged out and slammed the door behind him.

Ember uncurled herself and shook her head. Vincent was just as odd as Claudia, although she probably wouldn't barge in on a naked woman in the tub. Ember quickly finished with her bath. She stepped out, pulled the drain plug, and rushed across the room. She swiped one of the towels from the sink and tied it around her. She advanced over to the toilet and picked up the black bundle, allowing it to unravel .

It was a plain black dress. It had nothing special about it, only that it had three black buttons down the chest. She slipped it over her head, dropping the towel to the floor as the black fabric encased her body. It was a little bigger than she anticipated. The bottom of the dress hit the floor, creating a black puddle of fabric around her feet that danced about her ankles as she walked. The sleeves were tight, and the top was loose, so the dress sagged half-way down her shoulders. Ember felt like she was wearing some sort of slutty prom dress, even though all it really showed was her shoulders. Whoever had worn this dress before must have been out of proportion. The arms were the smallest part of the whole dress.

Taking a few minutes to get used to the long article of clothing, Ember circled the bathroom a few times. She tripped twice, even fell once. But she was headstrong and just pulled herself back up. Within minutes she had mastered a stride that allowed her feet to move out of the way of the swaying skirt. Scooping up her filthy clothes, she slid her feet into her boots and headed out the door to the chapel.

Claudia was not in the chapel. Vincent reclined comfortably on a church pew, his feet up on the one in front of him. He was reading some leather-bound book, similar to the one Claudia had presented just and hour before. He smirked when he saw her figure strode to him. He took one good look at that dress and realized what a disaster it really was.

It looked huge on her. He could tell that she was uncomfortable.

"Not exactly Sunday best, is it?" Vincent asked her.

Ember looked down at the dress. "Far from it," she replied with a giggle. "Still, Claudia requested I wear it."

Vincent made a noise in his throat. "I would advise you to ignore her," he said. "But she is above me, and if I was too anger her too much, she could have something done to me."

Ember raised her brows. "Do you really think she would do that?"

In truth, Vincent didn't know. He wondered if she still had feelings for him. She had claimed to once, but that was years ago. Vincent lowered his book and set it on the pew beside him. "Your damn right I do," he hissed loudly, covering up his true feelings towards his Priestess. Ember was a teenager, and would most likely find his crush on Claudia hysterical. He knew how normal world teenagers- especially girls- could be.

Vincent cooled. "All right," he said softly. "I suppose I ought to teach you something about us." He stood and collected his book. He noticed her dirty clothes in her grasp. "You can set those aside for now. I will have Sister Rosemary wash them."

He led her to the altar at the front of the chapel, where he pulled out two chairs. They sat and he began by touching on the details about God's creation. He spoke proudly of how a man and woman offered gifts to the sun, and how God had become just from that notion. Ember wasn't the religious type, but something about the way Vincent spoke about God's creation drew her in. He spoke with such sincerity, such passion. They exchanged many nods as he explained on. Every once-in-a-while, Vincent would crack a horrible joke about the God's. They were awful jokes, but Ember laughed anyway. She began to discover that Vincent understood a lot about her world. As he moved into th subject of Claudia believing in the Rebirth of Paradise, he even cracked one about how the Mother Of God couldn't afford an abortion. Ember had laughed so hard at that she almost fell out of her chair.

"Oh, Vincent!" she cried. "You're an ass!"

Vincent huffed between laughs. "Well, maybe. But Claudia is an even bigger ass!"

They boomed with laughter.

"Actually, she has a nice ass," Ember said with a playful smirk.

Vincent paused, his grin never receding from his face. The girl had made a good point, Claudia's behind was curvy, yet graceful. It was something he was guilty for noticing a long time ago. He was just glad that he had found someone with the same opinion. However, something irked him.

Was Ember attracted to other females?

"Ahem!" came a voice from the back of the chapel.

Vincent swallowed and Ember winced. They both turned their attention to see Claudia standing by the back door. She held her folded hands behind her, her nose in the air. She stood expressionless. Vincent knew already; she was not pleased.

"Vincent, you fool," Claudia remarked lowly. "How dare you lead this girl to speak so disgustingly of me!" she pointed at Ember. Claudia knew very well that the girl had said it by her own will, but Vincent had influenced it. She stomped to the front of the chapel. She took one good look at Ember's dress and shook her head. "That dress is much too big for you."

"It's the only one Sister Rosemary had on hand," said Vincent.

Claudia sneered. "Sister Rosemary! That sorry excuse for a maid of God," she hissed. Everyone knew that Claudia and Sister Rosemary had history, and not good history, at that. "It's predictable that she'd give this child such an ungodly thing to wear."

Of all things Ember hated, it was being called a "child" that enraged her the most. At Claudia's statement, Ember jumped to her feet. "I am not a child!" she hissed, getting right in Claudia's face.

The blond and the redhead were practically nose-to-nose. Ember stared right into Claudia's icy blue eyes. For being such a young girl, in Claudia's opinion, she had wit. This situation reminded Claudia of when she was that age, so desperate to escape the evil household of her father, yet so headstrong that no one could convince her that Paradise wouldn't be opened. Claudia looked into the girl's vibrant green eyes and almost got lost in them.

"Perhaps not bodily," Claudia stated. She inched into Ember's face. "But mindfully you are as strong as an infant."

Ember gasped. Claudia was much too haughty in her stance. She had no choice but to back down. She withdrew herself from Claudia's personal space and took to standing beside Vincent. She crossed her arms and waited patiently for Claudia to speak again. Vincent said nothing.

"Considering your unknowledgeable attitude towards our ways, I advise you to do as I say." She strode smoothly over to the altar and pulled out a book that looked exactly like a Christian bible. She held it out to Ember. "You must read this."

Ember snatched it from Claudia's grasp. But before she could draw back, Claudia's hand came up and latched onto her wrist tightly. She pulled her into her face again. "Do not presume to disobey me, girl." Her expression had become utterly dark. Her voice was low and shrill, her accent barley noticeable now. They were so close that Ember felt every one of Claudia's breaths on her face. "You will not win," Claudia added.

She released the girl, tossing her backward as she did it.

Ember straightened her posture and stood on two feet. She had royally angered Claudia, and she regretted doing so.

Claudia gave Vincent a grave glance before she started for the door, her skirt in her fists. She halted before the massive wooden door and pivoted on her heel. "If you plan on residing her for any amount of time, I order to remove your footwear." And with that, she hissed and stalked from the room.