A Visitor For The Devout (Cecilia)

Morning broke in through the windows, its rays forced Maria to wake up. As usual, the morning clock failed to ring. At this point she wasn't even surprised, but at least the sun was a suitable substitute. After cleaning herself up for the day, she could be seen donning the same religious habit from last night. There were morning chores to be done and prayers to be said before the new Cadet can head out to Class Zero.

Maria once decided to get the Mother Superior ready for the daily rituals, but the reeking scent of alcohol and her disheveled slumbering form caused the girl to change her mind out of disgust. This scene was familiar, but continued to surprise her. While competent in the Church's management somehow, Louise had always been quite the slob.


The prayer trickled out of her lips as she knelt in the midst of the chapel room. Only the shine of sunlight through the stained glass windows and the dim candlelight allowed enough visual acuity to navigate through the pews. The comely statue of Isla stood before her as she prayed with the cross above its head. The room was empty, save for Maria kneeling. Chores were finished in a timely manner, thanks to the fact she did them last night before bed.

And without these obligations, she continued to pray...

Though Endymion was known to many as "the city that never sleeps", Cecilia had always found its mornings to be quite peaceful. The early emergence of the sun's light, the quiet departure of the darkness of the night before... And on top of it they always brought with them the most tranquil silence. Even her home district of Suzie Q, always full of energy and booming with music, grew hushed and still with the triumphant arrival of dawn. On nice mornings like these there were many places to reflect, but out of all of them Cecilia preferred the church in Sunlake Palms the most; as a devout follower of Isla it was only natural. What better place was there to find peace than within its holy walls?


Entering through the doors, the girl would proceed down a path she knew all too well until she reached the chapel room. Cecilia slowly began to walk forward toward the towering statue of Isla that sat in the center of the room only for her feet to suddenly come to a stop as she noticed a woman kneeling before it. From the looks of it she was in the midst of prayer; for a brief moment Cecilia considered taking a place alongside her and joining in, but ultimately she decided against it. She had no right to interrupt the blue-haired woman's communion with the Goddess of Endymion, so she'd simply watch patiently from afar for the time being. Hopefully she hadn't made too much noise back when she first entered the room.

Maria had been fervently praying to the statue with her words flowing from her lips as smoothly as a trickling river. She needed to stay calm this morning, being the first day as an actual Cadet. It had been a very hectic last night after having forced to fight a real demon as a test. While she had been offering her prayers to the motionless statue, Maria could hear someone entering the area with her hearing. A visitor? Not many people come in here at this time of day, except for the most devout few. And even so, it was still a very early morning by many standards. Either way, Maria was more or less done.

She finished and then started to rise onto her feet. Upon turning, the appearance of a cute young woman greeted her. What a great morning to start off with, another one who made her self-conscious about her own looks as if Brittany wasn't enough. The nun smiled at her nevertheless. She was a guest, of course, and she hasn't done anything to warrant any misgivings.

Smiling back at the nun, Cecilia would nod her head in response to the question. "Yes. That is indeed the case." She answered studying the woman intently with her eyes. Though she had been attending the church for quite a while now, she didn't recall ever seeing her before. Perhaps it was mere coincidence that they hadn't met until this moment or maybe they had crossed paths before and simply didn't recognize each other. The latter didn't seem too unlikely. After all, there were many faces that gathered at the Church of Isla and memorizing them all was a fool's errand. Whatever the case, the blue-haired woman was an unfamiliar sight.

"I don't believe we've met before. I'm Cecilia. Judging from the attire, I take it you're a nun here?"

Maria smiled and clapped her hands together cheerfully. Indeed, this was another member of the faithful. Of course, the nun-in-training didn't exactly make a whole lot of appearances to many outsiders within the Church. Mostly because she spent most of her waking hours working on chores for the establishment, getting the lazy Sister to do her work, and a lot of self-training to prepare her very body and mind for her job as a Cadet. So she didn't have much of an appearance in the Church. Perhaps some people may have seen her, but Maria never had much of a presence anyway.


She had giggled gently and allowed her clasped hands to fall separate to her sides and reconnect behind her.

"Trainee, huh? Well regardless of whether you're a nun yet or not, dedicating yourself to the Queen is quite noble. It must be a wondrous experience." Cecilia would comment offering praise unto Maria. To walk the path of a holy woman and devote yourself to Isla... It was the opportunity of a lifetime. She was somewhat envious of the blue-haired woman, but at the same time she was happy for her. "I try to come here at least every morning. If I'm not able to make it for some reason I come back later in the day, although it doesn't feel quite the same when I do. I suppose that's just a natural result of breaking routine though."

"You were pretty immersed in prayer when I arrived. Forgive me if I'm overstepping my boundaries, but was it about anything in particular?" Cecilia asked with curiosity in her eyes. She recalled a frightening terrorist attack on the night of the divide's anniversary. Perhaps Maria was worried about that?

Noble and wondrous? Maria thought back at the time, way before her grueling training, of when she had to lie down on that operating table. She also remembered fighting her first demon last night. It was nerve-wracking and gut-wrenching... yet exhilarating. Later that night after the battle, she found the feeling sickened her. She only continued to smile towards her guest while nodding at every word the girl had to say.

"Ahaha. Of course, that's why it's called routine in the first place. It is quite the pain to re-adjust," Maria agreed with her readily, "Don't worry about it, I was just finished when you came in. It's nothing special. Some mundane hopes and requests nothing too important. And a bit about the attack earlier."

Her job as a Cadet was certainly hardly mundane by every means. But Cecilia didn't need to know this part about her. No one else needed to know. Maria didn't want praise or attention. She just wanted to go on her way, the girl never deserved such things.


It was a faint curiosity. Perhaps if she had family that also shared the same beliefs, maybe Maria could identify that family. Though she has hardly heard about the Hunt's.

"I see." So she had been correct in her assumption then. Figured. Cecilia herself had been worried about it somewhat too, especially since it had happened in her home district. Nevertheless, she trusted in the Queen and the Cadets to keep her and those around her safe. They had done so on that night and they'd do so again. No terrorist could possibly hope to defeat the guardians of the city, after all. The fact that he hadn't managed to kill even one of his hostages demonstrated that fact perfectly.

"Sadly so. My parents are among the faithful, but they've been rather busy lately. It's difficult to find a time when we can all come as a family."

"Ah. Is that so? I know, people can be busy at times," Maria's smile turned more gentle and understanding as she nodded again. People had their own busy schedule. Yes, it was great to give respects to the Savior. But current obligations have much heavier weight and more instantaneous consequences. "At least we're always open when you need us, hahaha..."

It made her remember how her parents were so busy and usually Maria had to lead her siblings to the morning mass alone before the Eternal Divide. It was rather nostalgic. How lucky was this girl to still have her family, it was a tender thought. The nun had been willing to make her own sacrifices to protect something as fragile and important like this.

Maria had her suspicions given her beliefs, but it was nice to try to ask to be certain, "Are you attending the Seven Stars Academy too?"

"Mhm. I'm a first year with the Helper Sorority. It's pretty exciting to be going there." Generally speaking Cecilia didn't like change that much. Unless something was wrong with the current order of things she saw no real point to deviating from the status quo. It was an uncomfortable, odd experience that replaced the old and comfortable with the new and unpredictable. But attending Seven Stars Academy? That was a change in her life she was more than happy to embrace. As for why, her friends were attending there, although that wasn't the main reason she was so excited about it. No, no. It ran much deeper than that.

"I know this is going to sound a bit conceited, but I always liked to think of myself as a special person, y'know? Maybe it's me just getting my hopes, but..." She paused with a contemplative look in her eyes before shrugging and dropping the subject. "Anyway, you said you were attending too, right? Are you a first year like me?"

School life, that was something Maria didn't expect to get after these five years. She had thought that after her training and preparation that she would immediately be mobilized to be used as an unit that served the Queen. At best there was one of the nuns who was willing to tutor her to keep her up to date on her education. But after attending her first day at school, it was rather nice compared to being alone in that cramped basement.

"There's nothing wrong in thinking like that from time to time. But it does mean you have to work very hard to prove it," Maria said to her. She seemed to have some kind of confidence in herself, another thing to direct her envy too. "Mhm. I'm a third year. I'll be graduating soon enough and hopefully I'll become an actual nun. Assuming I don't get into too much trouble, heh."

By trouble, she meant the kind of work the Cadets had to deal with. Maria didn't have much hopes that she'd last that long. But at the very least the surgery done on her body could bring up a new generation of people capable of fighting off demons.

"True. Though hard work isn't really the sole factor, is it? It's partially a matter of luck from what I've heard. Although I have always been somewhat lucky..." Whatever Cecilia was talking about, she was clearly excited by the prospect of it, although her voice took a strangely melancholic tone when she mentioned her supposed good fortune. Nevertheless, it didn't last long and soon she returned to her previously sunny disposition. "I guess that makes you my upperclassmen then. Out of curiosity, are you a part of any sororities?" Part of her was tempted to suggest Maria join the Helper Sorority, but she was mostly just asking out of curiosity.

Maria nodded in agreement. Some people had all the luck and talent, while others had absolutely nothing. It's this little factor that caused much antagonism between those with luck and those without it. For her she may have been lucky to be able to take on Andraste. But on the other hand, she was forced to rely on it. She noticed a slight change of expression on the girl, but didn't bother to question it yet since it didn't seem to important. "...sort of. I started one for the Tea and Crumpets club, a club on British culture. But I never had anyone try to join it...

She wanted to say more in response, but she wasn't quite sure what the appropriate reaction to this situation was. Part of her felt like offering to join the sorority herself, but Maria probably didn't want people coming to it out of pity, and beyond that Cecilia had her hands full already with the Helper Sorority. "Well I'm sure somebody out there'd be more than happy to join your club. How long has it been around anyway; did you establish it recently or...?"

Maria shrugged. She didn't mind it all too much in all honesty. It just gave her a free room to mess around in. "Mhm. It's rather new, not that old. So I'm not too surprised by the lack of members, but I feel like it won't have any any time soon."