AN: No beta we die like hilichurl
Grace was a woman of will, kindness, and patience. Everything that Gotelinde was, she strived to be. Gotelinde was the epitome of what a nun should be, after all. Always kind, always warm, with a never-fading smile on her face.
It was her lifelong goal to be like Gotelinde.
But sadly, as she was faced to force time and time again, and even now, her own nature and the circumstances around her would do well to prevent that goal from ever coming true. She would only come close, but inevitably never reach it.
Why do you ask? Well…
Grace was a woman of will, kindness, and patience. And that fourth one was getting extremely thin because she couldn't find Rosaria anywhere!
Reporting her activities back to Gotelinde as the woman has said previously that day only gave her a chuckle and a smile from the nun.
"She says something and does something else. Really, that woman tries too hard."
"What do you mean, Sister Gotelinde?"
"Ufufu, don't mind me. Just make sure to keep an eye on her for me, will you?"
Of course. She would've never refused. Her duties at the cathedral weren't for quite a while, since both Rosaria and Grace were set at nighttime.
"Seriously, where is she?"
She wasn't in the standard room, she wasn't sitting on one of the benches in the cathedral hall, she wasn't even in her favorite spot, her room, either!
Grace resisted the urge to groan. She hated the idea that this is what her whole day would be, but the more she looked, the more she thought it might be true.
"Excuse me for potentially intruding on what might be a private matter but… what might you have problems with?"
She turned to the right to see the Knight of Favonius stationed by the cathedral. He was looking at her with an impassive gaze, yet in those eyes of his held warm concern.
"Oh, nothing. It's just that I haven't seen Sister Rosaria, and Sister Gotelinde told me to keep an eye on her." she sighed. "I can't even find her. How am I supposed to keep an eye on her, let alone know what she's doing or where she's been?"
"I know."
"That's nice. I'm sure it'll be good for you Knights." she nodded absently. Then her eyes widened. "Hang on, wait, what did you say?"
"I know where Sister Rosaria is."
"H-How?"
"Sister Grace, I am stationed here for many hours in a day, standing watch. There is little I can do other than observe." he told her, every piece of his words pierced through Grace's heart. "How could I not notice that Sister Rosaria went to the Knights of Favonius headquarters?"
"Ah, right. Yes. I'm sorry. Can the earth swallow me whole right now, please?" she timidly asked. "Wait, she went to the Favonius Headquarters?"
"She did."
"Why?"
"I cannot answer that. All I know is that is where she went."
Grace put a hand to her chin while she nodded. "I see."
Why would she go to the Knights? Did they have some kind of assignment for her? If they did, Sister Gotelinde would inform them just like always, but she hadn't done that today at all. Which meant that Rosaria had gone to the Knights of Favonius headquarters of her own volition.
'But why…'
Grace shook her head. There was no sense standing around wondering. It was better to walk over there and look for her again. At least this time, she had a narrower area to search.
"I'm heading off to the Knights of Favonius headquarters. Thank you very much, sir…"
"Otto."
"Thank you, Sir Otto."
Leaving the Knight with a wave of her hand as she was given a salute in return, she thought of two things.
First of all, she'd need to get something for Otto. Standing there for so many hours a day doing nothing must leave him bored out of his mind.
And second, what in tarnation was Rosaria doing?
Noelle was… confused, to say the least.
"Miss Rosaria?"
"Yes, Noelle? Do you have a question?"
"I do, but it's not about the lesson."
"I see. Go on?"
"Since when did the Knights of Favonius had a classroom?"
It was so strange. Noelle had agreed to learning from Rosaria, then the next thing she knew, she was in a classroom, with her being the only student.
That's not all. Rosaria had found a pair of glasses she now adorned, as well as a teaching stick to point to whatever she had drawn and written down on the board for Noelle.
And yes, Rosaria expected Noelle to take down notes. Which she did, not that she would ever do otherwise.
But these were all questions she would rather not ask. She would rather not find out where everything else came from. Ignorance was bliss, after all.
…Bruce would say that multiple times in a day. She would have to ask what it actually meant later in the day.
"The Knights needed some place to conduct briefing." Rosaria casually told her.
"I… I suppose that made sense." Noelle slowly nodded. "But with this room's design and-"
"It kinda looks and feels like a classroom. I get it." Rosaria sighed. "Well, you'll have your very own Lisa to thank for that."
"Miss Lisa is the reason for this room?"
"Yeah. Don't take me word for word for it, you'll have to ask her for all the details, but if I remember correctly your Librarian took the chance to bring a part of Sumeru to Mondstadt because of it." Rosaria shrugged.
"From… Sumeru?"
"Yeah. Sumeru. Land of Knowledge and all that stuff. You should bring it up with her when you have the time. I think you'd be able to learn a bit from her." the nun's eyes then narrowed. "But if I hear word of you learning anything that isn't beneficial to you to some degree I will-"
"N-No need to worry, Sister Rosaria. I'll be aware."
Rosaria blew out a few strands of hair from her face. "Good." She nodded. She crossed her arms. "So, no more questions, yes? Can we go back to the lesson now?"
Noelle nodded. "Yes please."
"Alright, so going back to what I was saying-"
"Sister Rosaria?"
A voice as well as the sound of a door creaking open interrupted them. A blonde nun peeked through with wide and uncomprehending eyes.
Noelle stood up and bowed. "Good morning, Sister Grace."
The sister couldn't resist smiling as well as giving a bow in return to the warm welcome.
"Sister Grace." Rosaria's greeting, on the other hand, was far from warm. Lightning seemed to be extending from them as they glared at each other.
Noelle sweatdropped. Uncertain of the course of action she should take regarding the sudden hostility between two women of faith.
"Should I procure refreshments?"
"I have my eye on you."
"I know you do."
"Sister Gotelinde thinks you're harmless but I know your type."
"I'm sure you do."
"And I'm watching you more now that you have your eye on Noelle."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Sheesh, you're harder on me than that woman."
"I have to be! First, you don't show up for morning roll call, then we have to check if you're even awake or if you've even gotten back that day, then we have to make sure you perform your morning tasks before you inevitably make sure to dodge them, and then when you do disappear, we have to look for you!"
"...Get that out of your system? Feel good?"
"Honestly? Yes. I feel better."
"Wonderful."
"And her name is Sister Gotelinde!"
"Yeah, sure, whatever. Enjoy your afternoon tea and shut up."
"It's not even the afternoon!"
"Didn't stop Noelle from making it, did it?"
Grace only glared at her as she bit into her scone.
Apparently, it didn't stop both nuns from enjoying it either.
She sighed, both in the delight of the pastry and exasperation of the situation.
"What is going on?"
"Ask the bitch. She's partially responsible for this anyway."
Grace glared at the pale nun next to her as she bit into another pastry. "Her name is Sister Gotelinde! And you will give her the respect she deserves!"
"What she deserves is my foot in her ass."
"Oh really?" Grace huffed. "I'll make sure to tell her that."
Rosaria's head had never moved so quickly. Wide eyes stared into the other sister who was softly humming while chewing on freshly made biscuits.
"You wouldn't."
The blonde tilted her head ever so slowly with a bright smile on her face.
"Try me, bitch." her harsh words did not match the gentle expression on her face.
The two held their gazes upon each other for a moment. If anyone saw them, it was almost a certainty that the general image of the sisters, in general, would be broken in ruined.
They already knew that Rosaria was an odd one, of course. But Grace? Loving, kind, warm Grace? Her true personality was anything but.
Everyone else might see Grace as a good sister and a great person, but Rosaria knew the truth. It was all a lie. The real Grace was here right in front of her.
Warm, kind, and patient? Try stubborn, sassy, brash, and a tad bit sadistic. Though Rosaria did think that the last one only applied to herself.
'Then again, most of the sisters aren't what they initially seem either.'
It was only until Grace slowly went to sip her tea that they broke their exchange of gazes. Grace let out an audible sigh, a pleasant air surrounding her.
"So, you mentioned that Sister Gotelinde had something to do with your involvement with Noelle today?"
Rosaria didn't want to relent, but it was already a lost cause. She'd lost the fight. "Yeah."
Still, she stole the last biscuit just as Grace was about to go reach for it. She smirked.
'You may have won the battle, but I'll win the war.'
Grace turned towards her with a strained smile. "I see. Care to explain?"
Rosaria chewed and swallowed her food and sipped her tea first before turning her head to the other woman.
"She told me to keep an eye on her. That's it."
"Funny. That's what Sister Gotelinde told me about you as well. And really? That's all you need to suddenly take Noelle under your wing to learn…"
"How to say no."
"Right. Learning how to say no. like that isn't something that comes to everyone naturally."
"You'd find very quickly how it doesn't, and Noelle isn't everybody."
Grace groaned. A gesture unfitting for a sister of the church, but very appropriate for Grace's current mood. "That doesn't even make any sense!"
"Are the both of you alright?"
The addition of a third, familiar, voice swiped all traces of aggression between the two as Grace turned to face the maid with a smile on her face, and even Rosaria had a hint of a smile on her impassive expression.
"We're fine."
"We're doing wonderful, Noelle. Thank you for the snacks."
Rosaria and Grace both greeted her.
Noelle smiled. "Wonderful. I would make you more but I'm afraid it would spoil your meal for lunchtime."
Both sisters agreed.
Grace raised an eyebrow. "Say, Noelle, what's that you have in your hand?"
Rosaria wondered as well.
Right after Grace had interrupted her lesson, Noelle had left to do her chores after she had made them snacks, but she promised to resume the lesson later or another day should Rosaria be available. An arrangement that was most agreeable, Rosaria thought.
A broom was in one hand, and although she hadn't seen this rumored Cookie yet, she could hear distinct sounds of mechanisms and gears if she strained her ears. But now that Grace mentioned it, there was a small cup with a lid on it with a straw poking out.
The container was transparent, and they could see a slightly red liquid inside. Something about it was familiar, yet Rosaria couldn't put a pin on it.
"Oh, this?" Noelle gestured to the beverage in one hand. "I met Miss Barbara earlier."
Rosaria gulped. 'Oh no.'' Off to the side, she could see Grace slowly paling.
"She was so kind too. She offered me this beverage she made without anything in return, though I must pay her back in some way." she put the broom off to the side as she held the beverage in both hands. "I suppose it's time for a sip."
An unspoken truce was made that day between the two sisters as they spoke as one.
"No!"
AN: Not everyone is as they seem, and few can hope to match this better than the Sisters of the Favonius Cathedral. Although innocent at first, I wonder what secrets lie veiled in their past?
And Noelle, don't just drink something that people give you, no matter how nice they seem. One sip and you might be on the floor drinking milk and the spice still won't leave you.
