Chapter Text
The reign of Papa Emeritus II held a promise that wasn’t kept. That’s what Sister Imperator preached, at least. A failure, she said, washed up and bitter old man. Despite the following he did manage to gather with his less than stately approach, she wasn’t the least bit satisfied. You’d overheard some whisperings behind closed doors, rumors of a new Papa that was going to carry the band soaring up above the rest to its rightful pinnacle. Today was the day that you’d find out if this was true.
You scurried down the winding halls of the Ministry, muscles beginning to cramp as you tried not the drop the stack of papers and folders that you clutched in your arms. Sister Imperator hadn’t given you hardly any notice to prepare for her announcement this afternoon, leaving you rushing to arrange everything in time. Your footsteps echoed off of the marble walls, the sound drowned out by the frantic checklist you ran through in your head while you rounded a corner toward the State room, nearly colliding with a startled Papa Nihil.
“I’m so sorry, your Dark Excellency!” you quickly apologized, bending to gather the papers that now littered the floor.
He adjusted his papal robe and scoffed, “Slow down, girl! The Ministry is not a race track!”
“Yes, certainly not, Papa Nihil. I- I’m trying to keep up with my preparations for Sister.”
His eyes narrowed, mumbling something under his breath about his sons being an embarrassment before continuing on his path down the hall. You were more out of breath than before by the time you regathered your papers and picked up your pace. The State room was already filling up with Clergy members and Ghouls, voices hushed while they theorized over the meaning of this impromptu gathering. Dropping your stack of documents on the long table, you spun around to then come nose to nose with the Sister, her expression as stern as ever.
“Have you sent notice?”
“Yes. Yes, Sister,” you puff with heavy breath. “Notice has gone out to all members and the camera Ghouls should be arriving any moment.”
Her eyebrow arched and she replied, “Should be?”
“Will be.”
Sister Imperator’s eyes shifted around the room before she tipped a subtle nod in your direction and stepped away, allowing you to take a deep breath. Blowing it out slowly, you felt a bit of relief from the morning’s anxiety. You managed to pull together a respectable meeting with all important members of the Clergy present and a camera-ready setting in just a few hours. When the Ministry film crew arrived, it was go time.
All eyes turned toward the podium when Sister stepped up to face them. It was the beginning of a new era. Papa II’s time had come to an end and someone newer, someone younger, was to take his place. You swallowed hard as you listened to Sister’s beratement, disappointed in the farce that was seated in front of her for calling themselves masterminds, so-called prophets, failing to reach for goals behind those that lined their pockets. But her anger subsided just below boiling point, her posture softening when she spoke of the new Papa. Secondo’s brother, a full three months younger. He would take the band further than anyone could imagine. Papa Emeritus- the third!
From the balcony above, there was movement in the shadows. His black papal robes shimmered with gold and ornate design as he stepped into the light, adorned with the Grucifix and a sheen of royal purple beneath. The mitre atop his head made his unholy figure that much more imposing and his face that bore the corpse paint, bold with clean and simple lines, reflected a magnificent aura that sucked the breath from your lungs.
The table came alive with whispers that soon grew into a roaring cheer. You noticed that your mouth was hanging open and promptly closed it to clap along with the council, ignoring the heat that had crept into your face. Sister smiled triumphantly and shook Papa’s gloved hand after he descended the stairs, then everyone quickly fell silent, awaiting words from the new leader. He stood at the head of the table and cast his gaze over you all in silence for a moment. His striking pale blue eye, inherited along with its dark green counterpart and made even more dramatic by the black paint on his lids, sent a shiver down your back when it landed on you.
The corner of his mouth twitched upward, and he said, “Viva il Papa Emeritus Terzo.”
Voices around you echoed the proclamation then all stood to file out of the room and get to work as Sister Imperator instructed. She spoke with the new Papa while you stood by, her voice growing distant and muffled in your ears as you stared at him. There was something about him, the potency of his presence, that left you spellbound. You stood there unblinking, your heart thumping against your chest until the sound of your name being spat at you shook you from your trance.
“Sathanas, girl! Clean the cobwebs from your ears and escort your Papa to the chapel for his photo shoot!”
You blinked and shook your head before hurriedly apologizing and tilting forward in a small bow. Your face burned while you avoided eye contact with Papa III, feeling that his gaze was certainly on you. You quietly walked the hall beside him with your hands clasped together in front of you, facing forward while the swish of his robes tickled in your ear. A rush of heat colored your cheeks when you let your eyes wander over next to you to be met with his and you quickly averted your gaze.
“You tremble like a leaf, signora. Does Papa make you nervous?” he asked in that velvety voice.
You struggled to answer, your words tangling frustratingly in your mouth while your face burned, and you kept your eyes locked on the approaching doors at end of the hall. “I’m so sorry, Papa,” you finally managed to squeak out.
“Va bene, ragazza. No sorry,” he replied in a lighter tone. When you turned to him he said, “I have a tendency to take the breath away.”
His green eye winked at you, rendering you speechless once again, your heart jumping into your throat when you both reached the heavy wooden doors at the end of the hall and Papa threw them open.
He already acted like a Papa. The way he carried himself, his movements and expressions, regal but also arrogant in a way that was somehow charming. He stood in front of the backdrop of the chapel wall and posed for the Ghouls to film him for his coronation announcement, looking into the camera in a way that made your cheeks hot again. They finished with a pose that presented his hand to the viewer to kiss in veneration of his unholiness. The Ghouls began packing up their gear and you whipped your head around when you felt a hand on your shoulder.
“Perhaps you will accompany me to my next appointment, cara mia?”
You hoped that Papa didn’t misinterpret the stunned look in your eyes when you nodded, “Yes of course, Papa."
You’d never been so anxious around someone before, butterflies going wild in your chest while you both made your way back down the hall. But it wasn’t necessarily in a bad way. Was it his title? The way he acted? Your thoughts were interrupted when could feel him looking in your direction again.
“I am curious, my dear. What brought you here to the Ministry?”
Your nerves prickled at your back, and you took a breath in an effort to quiet them down before you answered, “Well, I needed a change. I had to go somewhere new. I um…”
Without noticing, you had trailed off, your eyes unfocused toward the empty space in front of you. Papa stopped walking and turned to face you. “Mi dispiace, forgive me. I am being, eh, nosy. I do not intend to bring up unpleasant memories.”
Your expression softened while you blinked at him, his kindness taking you a bit by surprise, and you answered, “That- that’s ok. You have the right to know.”
“Che cosa? Me? No. No, no, no,” he said, waving his hand dismissively. “No ears besides yours need to hear anything about you, cara mia. Only if you want them to hear it.”
You stood in front of the doors to the boardroom and tried to swallow against the tight knot that had formed in your throat. Papa kept his eyes on yours while he gently took your hand to bring it to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of your knuckles before silently disappearing behind the closed door.
It took several minutes of standing alone in the empty hallway until you could get enough air in to your lungs to be able to let go of the wall. The wave of emotion that had washed over you and left you drowned down to the bone was unexpected, but not unfamiliar. It liked to hit when you least expected it. You couldn’t be the only one that joined the Ministry as a means of escape. That makes it sound like I ran away and joined the circus, you thought to yourself. I guess I kind of did…
-
“Come in.”
After her response to your careful knock on Sister Imperator’s door late that evening, you gently opened it to find her at her desk, the only light in the darkened room sitting on the tabletop beside her.
“Is there anything else you’ll be needing this evening, Sister?”
She raised her eyebrows at you, as if she found your tone ungenuine, but seemed to let that slide when she answered, “No. That’ll be all for tonight.”
You nodded then lingered in the doorway instead of turning to leave. Soon Sister’s eyes shifted back up from her desk to gaze at you and your posture stiffened. “Is there something you’d like to say, Sibling?”
Sister often reminded you of your low status in the Ministry ranks whenever she felt that you were overstepping your bounds or were simply irritating her. You wanted to ask questions. If you asked to know more about Papa Emeritus the third, you hoped she would answer. The man hadn’t left your mind for a single second ever since his eyes gazed into yours while his lips kissed your hand. But you thought better of it.
“No, Sister. Goodnight.”
In the darkness of your dreams, his face was like a beacon, the light fading every time he blinked. Your heart began to race when his eyes landed on you, the sharpness of his gaze cutting right through you while wrapping you in comforting warmth at the same time. Exposed, but protected in the echoing blackness. Your lungs drew in a sharp breath, his hands pulling you up from beneath a water’s surface, and your eyes snapped open.
The familiar walls of your modest bedroom came into focus, and you wiped the sweat from your forehead before taking deep breaths to chase away the residual adrenaline. The hauntings from deep in your mind seemed to have been drawn out to torment you once again, this time with a new face. But something about it felt different. The wind blew fiercely outside your window, singing in the trees of change to come.