stopped, and sighed. “Victoria.” She said again, as if she was trying to find the right way to word what she was about to say. “As I said before, Victoria. You always have a choice. I’m not sure if you were very observant tonight, but if you were, you might have noticed an unusual amount of so-called nuns.” Victoria nodded. “Not everyone in the Other Sisterhood is a nun, Victoria. As I told you, the Other Sisterhood is a choice, but so is joining the convent. I can’t speak for everyone you saw tonight, because many of them, I can’t say that I know very well. But I do know, that their reasons for joining the Other Sisterhood, as opposed to the traditional one, are likely not..honest. But, I cannot pass judgment, as I am a part of both. I do know that they must be looking for something, that they cannot find in the city, and perhaps in the world. As for Raela, Victoria, you must know that you are the only one here who is a ward of the convent. Ah, that is not a bad thing, dear, but that is how it is.”
“ But why me? Why is Raela here?”
Sister Katherine took a deep breath, and continued. “Raela is here, due to the wishes of her parents. They believed that sending her here, might give some direction to her life. And, to answer the question you are probably thinking, Raela’s parents do love her very much, but they believed that this is what was best for her.”
“ And my parents?” Sister Katherine was silent for a moment, and Victoria’s question hung awkwardly in the air. “Your parents, are very much alive. But it would be better for you, if you considered them dead.” Sister Katherine’s mouth tightened into a hard, thin line.
Victoria stumbled back, as if she had been punched in the face. “Best if I considered them dead? But why? If I have parents, I want to meet them. For all these years, I thought myself an orphan. Don’t I deserve to know my history? My real last name?” Victoria asked, her eyes ablaze.
“ Your parents had a choice. As a ward of the convent, they are no longer your parents.”
“ But I want to know them!” Victoria’s voice grew louder.
“ Unless something has changed with your mother, since the last time I met her, as long as I am living, you will never know her. If I have to give you my last name, to ensure that you are not judged unfortunately, I will. I mean your mother no harm, but I cannot see how meeting her will cause you anything but grief. I am sorry Victoria, but that is where I stand on the matter.”
Sister Katherine abruptly turned and continued to pick up trash. Victoria said nothing for the rest of the night; the only companion to her self-imposed silence was the soft stirrings of nighttime creatures, hunting for their next meal.
The following days came and went with no sign of Roman, or the Other Brotherhood. Victoria slipped back into her daily routine as activity in the Other Sisterhood also came to a screeching halt.
It was if the events nearly two weeks ago, had never even happened, Victoria thought, as she scrubbed the back of yet another, dirty orphan. It was nearly 12 in the afternoon, and the sun was beating down harshly onto Victoria’s forehead. She wiped her head with the sullied rag she always kept in the pocket of her day robes. Her night robes, she remembered wistfully, hadn’t been put to good use in a while. As she scrubbed away mindlessly, she wondered what she missed more; the rush of the Other Sisterhood, alone, or the rush she got when she found herself face to face with Roman. Victoria didn’t like the idea of depending on someone else for her thrills, but she couldn’t deny that something about Roman made her feel very much alive.
As the afternoon wore on, Victoria found herself wandering over to Grace’s area, in great need of a break. Grace, as large as ever, but equally as kind, watched her approach. “You’re looking worse for the wear” Grace said, as she focused intently on wrapping the leg of a
“ But why me? Why is Raela here?”
Sister Katherine took a deep breath, and continued. “Raela is here, due to the wishes of her parents. They believed that sending her here, might give some direction to her life. And, to answer the question you are probably thinking, Raela’s parents do love her very much, but they believed that this is what was best for her.”
“ And my parents?” Sister Katherine was silent for a moment, and Victoria’s question hung awkwardly in the air. “Your parents, are very much alive. But it would be better for you, if you considered them dead.” Sister Katherine’s mouth tightened into a hard, thin line.
Victoria stumbled back, as if she had been punched in the face. “Best if I considered them dead? But why? If I have parents, I want to meet them. For all these years, I thought myself an orphan. Don’t I deserve to know my history? My real last name?” Victoria asked, her eyes ablaze.
“ Your parents had a choice. As a ward of the convent, they are no longer your parents.”
“ But I want to know them!” Victoria’s voice grew louder.
“ Unless something has changed with your mother, since the last time I met her, as long as I am living, you will never know her. If I have to give you my last name, to ensure that you are not judged unfortunately, I will. I mean your mother no harm, but I cannot see how meeting her will cause you anything but grief. I am sorry Victoria, but that is where I stand on the matter.”
Sister Katherine abruptly turned and continued to pick up trash. Victoria said nothing for the rest of the night; the only companion to her self-imposed silence was the soft stirrings of nighttime creatures, hunting for their next meal.
The following days came and went with no sign of Roman, or the Other Brotherhood. Victoria slipped back into her daily routine as activity in the Other Sisterhood also came to a screeching halt.
It was if the events nearly two weeks ago, had never even happened, Victoria thought, as she scrubbed the back of yet another, dirty orphan. It was nearly 12 in the afternoon, and the sun was beating down harshly onto Victoria’s forehead. She wiped her head with the sullied rag she always kept in the pocket of her day robes. Her night robes, she remembered wistfully, hadn’t been put to good use in a while. As she scrubbed away mindlessly, she wondered what she missed more; the rush of the Other Sisterhood, alone, or the rush she got when she found herself face to face with Roman. Victoria didn’t like the idea of depending on someone else for her thrills, but she couldn’t deny that something about Roman made her feel very much alive.
As the afternoon wore on, Victoria found herself wandering over to Grace’s area, in great need of a break. Grace, as large as ever, but equally as kind, watched her approach. “You’re looking worse for the wear” Grace said, as she focused intently on wrapping the leg of a
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