Warnings: Wha--? A CONFESSION! (gasps loudly) Everyone run! Everyone hide! (runs away wailing)
Disclaimer: The usual drill. Ya guys all march by it. :)
A/N: Yaaayyy! Another moment for me to thank my beloved reviewers! You guys keep this whole thing going. And look what we have here! Yet another chapter! Mwahahaha! Oh, and another thanks to everyone who gave me the note about the "Priest" to "Father" thing with the name…as actually, I spent a GREAT deal of time with my sister thinking about which one to put up there…and in the end when Chel (my sister) looked it over, she insisted on the "Priest" thing (because she said that the name would be a key point later in the story, but I didn't see why). Oh well. It's all fixed now. THANKS GUYS:D
Guilt Confession"Have a seat."
A look of guilt. Uncertainty. Nervousness.
The newly-built and sturdy stool made not a sound as the new confessor came to sit down carefully upon it, as though proud to demonstrate that it was perfectly capable of holding up anything – even a man of considerable age, such as the one that was now sitting down to look over with a small gulp at the small, decorated window by his head.
On the other side, he could see a priest. A priest dressed in scarlett robes with white ties at the chest and the waist, a head of grey hair with a big bald spot right on top, and an expression of the utmost calm and confidence on his face. It made the man's guilt increase slightly, but he didn't stop to try and explain to himself why he felt that way. He merely waited for the other to speak first, as it had been a very long time since he had done this.
"Begin." The cue was given a moment later, and the man knew his time had come. It wouldn't be so bad…after all, all he had to do was change his voice a little bit and just say what he had to say…and then it would all be over.
Right?
"Bless me Father, for I have sinned." He mumbled, surprised at how awkward the words felt in his mouth. "I…I bring guilt before the Lord…"
"Guilt?" The priest on the other side repeated, though there was no sound of movement from the other side of the decorated window. It made the man nervous. "And where does this guilt come from, my child?"
The man nearly rolled his eyes, but he knew that that would do him no good. To be immature here would not help him get through this any quicker. So instead, he chose to force himself to speak again. "There was a man that came to me the night before last." He let the words spill out, just as he had planned to do. "He asked for my help…but I refused him. I believed that he asked too much of me."
"Ah." The priest on the other side was nodding, the man could sense that. "Well, such a thing is not uncommon. What was he asking of you?"
The man almost winced. He had been afraid that he would have to answer that question, but now that it was being asked…well, he knew he had no choice. Of course he could lie…but he would never do that. Not with the oaths he had taken at the beginning of his former career. "I am a retired man." He finally forced out, glad that his voice sounded as steady as it did. "He wanted me to return to my job…claiming that I was needed, and that I had some sort of…destiny in front of me…" He shook his head. "But I do not wish to return to my job. It was cursed. Father, you would not believe the things I witnessed there…"
"Were they things of evil?" The priest asked smoothely.
"Yes." The man had to restrain himself greatly to keep from shouting out his answer. "There were wicked things…demons, I am sure. I could not remain in a place where so much evil was allowed to fester…so I left."
"Mm." The priest murmured, still not moving from where he sat behind the window. "And did this man give you any other reason for why you should go back?"
"Well…not really…"
"Did he sound like he was a fortune teller, or someone who is not to be trusted?"
"He sounded…suspicious. Almost as if he were bordering on the brink of sounding dangerous, but he always skirted it with a tone of calm…I don't know how else to explain it."
"Hmm…and do you believe his request was sincere?"
"I…I was too overwhelmed at the time to judge that. He sounded too much like…the others."
"The others?"
"The other ones that came to confess to me before I retired. They talked much like he did…like they came from a time that was many, many years ago…almost from another world all together. I can't truthfully place why I thought that. Perhaps I am just getting old…"
"I doubt that. You are not the first to come to me with tellings of strange things such as these."
At this, the old man looked up in surprise. "Really?" He asked.
"Yes." The priest continued, still as calmly as ever. "Peddlers, travellers, and other townspeople have come up to me saying that people much as you have described have come up to them, asking them strange questions, mostly in the form of asking for directions. And although you are the first man of God to come to me…I must tell you that many of the questions that were asked of these people had to do with asking where a certain…church was."
Once again, every little hair on the man's neck stood up on end. "Wh…what?" He stammered, suddenly feeling as though he had been stampeded with a canyon-load of disturbing information. "But…wait…did they…were they…and how did you know that I am a man of God?"
"You wear the crucifix of the priests." The priest responded calmly from the other side of the wall, though he did not move to look to check and see if he was right. "It is not that hard to guess. And I would also guess that it was you that all these strange people went to once they found their church."
Father Herman opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out for a few seconds. "I… they…I thought they…" He shook his head sharply as he caught himself slurring his words again, and took just the briefest moment to regain control on his mouth, at least. "I do not know what to do. Are you saying that you believe I was…meant to help these people?"
"Perhaps." The priest responded evenly. "But then, perhaps they are up to no good at the same time. It will be up to you to judge, my child, though I would not do it without the Lord's help. Pray to Him, and ask Him for the guidance you will need to make your decision. Only He is able to give you the true help you need."
Father Herman swallowed, afterward taking in a deep breath and becoming very uncomfortable as his heart rate sped up to a rather disturbing rate. He was simply too old to be dealing with this. When he had taken this Oaths, he had had no idea that this would be part of his test of faith. Never.
Good lord, what was to become of him!
But he knew this was not a question to ask the priest, so instead he murmured a thank-you to the other old man, stood up, crossed himself, and turned to leave the very old building that the St. Joseph's church had become.
One thing was for sure now, at least.
He was going to pray…and then he was going to have to find a way to contact that strange man again. There was no other way to go around it.
Heavens…if he ever needed God's help before, that was nothing compared to now.
He was most sincerely doomed.
--))--
(gasp) Oh my goodness! So Father Hermanhas gone in for a Confession! Yikes! The madness continues! But at least he's one step closer to dealing with this though. I guess Aragorn's visit disturbed him a little bit more than he would have let on to anyone else, didn't it? Oh well. Let's hope I'll be able to catch another chapter with him soon. He's getting a bit harder to track down these days…
-Review Responses-
Kabuki733701: Oh, mellon nin! (hugs tightly) Thank you for the compliments! It gives me a lot more energy to write when I know you guys like the story so much. You're so sweet! Oh…and look! Another confession! (gasps dramatically) But from the dear Father himself! Hmmm…I guess this does mean this will NOT be the end of confessions…and it's all YOUR fault! ;) (giggles and high-fives Kabby) Thanks for droppin' another review my way. I sure do appreciate it!
Lina-Baggins: Oh, don't worry about the late review, my dear friend! (hugs) Thank you for leaving one for me, as I KNOW what it is like to have computer problems. (gives a hacking cough toward the huge gap in her updates) And yes, poor Father Herman does indeed get the short end of the stick. But let's face it, he's got a tough job:) Thank you so much for your compliments, mellon nin. I love getting your feedback! (goes off to quickly store away the Théoden Idea in her Idea Drawer) I mustn't lose this…
Almostinsane: Lol! I love your penname! (cracks up) And don't you worry about the priest. I've got my eye locked on him, and he's not goin' anywhere if I can help it. (dresses up in F.B.I. outfit and takes off to go track down the old man) And as I said in my Author's Note up there, thank you so much for your tip about Father Herman's title! Like I said, my sister and I argued over that for a while, and she insisted that it should be "Priest Herman" because it SOUNDED right, and because she said it would play a part in the rest of the story. I have no idea why…but that's what she said. Anyway, enough blabbing. Thanks for helping me fix it up! (hugs)
Lindahoyland: Ha! (laughs) The Nazgul getting the dear priest! I'm not sure that poor guy would live after he already had one heart attack. ;) But you're already getting the plotbunnies stirred up, so you'd better watch what you put in my head…(looks around cautiously)…them Black Riders just might be popping up at any moment…lol! Thanks for your review!