Summary: Aeon wakes up in a strange place. Will he stay, or will he be on the run again?
Ao3 Link: Here
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4
So it's been a WHILE, um, a lot has happened (I graduated from college, yay), but through it all, I did want to keep writing. I really wrestled with the chapter for no good reason. My blog also kinda dropped off the face of the earth, so hi guys, I really do hope I'll have more time now to have less time in between chapters, but honestly, I do not know.
Chapter 5: The Escape
Everything after the door opening was a blur. Aeon vaguely remembers a deep voice and a warm, weightless feeling, but he knew it was just a foolish dream. He knew the pain and panic were real memories, that his brain probably conjured up the feeling of arms wrapped around him and the deep humming of a soft melody as a way to comfort himself.
What confused them, though, was that the comfort of the sheets and the mattress beneath him felt very real.
The realisation woke him up from the hazy in-between state he was in, but Aeon stopped himself from moving; it was a habit he acquired for when he didn’t want Sister Imperator to know he was awake or listening. Something wasn’t right, something felt off, something felt wrong, it felt…different.
It wasn’t his mattress or his sheets because they didn’t feel any spring poking through the bedding or any cold air infiltrating through threadbare holes. He could tell he wasn’t in his own room; there was no stench of mold hanging heavy in the air, no wind whistling through cracks in the masonry of the walls.
The pain that constantly pulsed through their system was still there, but it somehow felt dulled and less than usual. For the first time in a very long time, Aeon almost felt safe.
A wave of exhaustion rolled over Aeon, and he tried to go back to sleep to escape the punishment that his anxiety-ridden mind assured was awaiting him, but an incessant beeping and bright light that seeped through his eyelids prevented him from doing so. Aeon wasn’t sure what the beeping was or what it meant, but it was annoying, and he wanted it to stop. He wanted to sleep so badly, desperate to finally feel comfortable, but his racing heart and screaming mind cut through the syrupy peace and told him to get up.
Aeon braced themself for the worst, prepared to meet Imperator face to face again before opening their eyes. The brightness blinded them for a second, only for them to realize they were surrounded by white. No scowling face of Sister Imperator staring them down, not even the bright fires of the place they only saw in nightmares, just white.
Tall pillars of pristine marble towered upward, lit up by the large windows that they bracketed. None of them had the heavy curtains that always shrouded Sister Imperator’s office in suffocating darkness. Even the white plaster of the vaulted ceilings seemed to glow as the sunlight reflected upward; it almost hurt his eyes. He tried to look around, but his head ached with every movement. To his left was a box similar to the one that he had seen on Sister Imperator’s desk before; it glowed and gave off a faint hum. A red line crossed the box before it disappeared, only to reappear and trace the same wobbly peaks and valleys as before. Oddly enough, the red shaky line that ran across the box seemed to move in sync with the annoying beeps. To his right was an odd contraption that held a clear bag full of an odd transparent liquid. The bottom of the bag ended in a tube, but he wasn't sure where it led.
Nothing felt right. Aeon wondered if this was part of his punishment. Maybe Imperator sent them to be isolated in a new space as a test, to torture them, to show them the consequence of selfishly asking to be with other people.
Aeon was jolted out of his observations at the sound of voices, his body moving without his permission. They couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it didn’t sound good; a deep voice sounded tense and hushed. The voices sounded familiar, but Aeon wasn’t sure how. Maybe the first voice that boomed like rolling thunder was the Papa figure that Sister talked about constantly. The Papa that Sister told him never wanted anything to do with him because he was a ‘filthy and worthless halfbreed that had no powers or use to the clergy’. If that was true, then maybe this Papa was coming to finally send him back to the pits.
The constant beeping was getting faster, and Aeon winced as the second voice raised, their angry voice rolling like thunder. He couldn’t catch all of the words, but he locked up in fear as he heard the name, Sister Imperator.
Aeon winced as something pulled at his left arm; there was an odd tube going into it, and the other end was that weird bag on a hook. He didn’t have time to question it as the sound of the woman’s voice came closer. Whatever it was, it was keeping him in bed; he gripped it and pulled, barely blinking at the pain as it ripped out of his arm.
They regretfully pulled back the nice sheets and jumped out of the bed, wincing as their feet touched the cold floor. They noticed that their clothes were different, nicer, and too large, so they quickly tied the drawstrings so that the pants didn't fall and trip them. They cautiously rounded the corner of the bed and took off in the opposite direction of the raised voices. They walked quickly through rows of beds just like the one they were in, one was occupied by a sleeping figure surrounded by beautiful flowers that they couldn’t stop to admire.
Finding the nearest door, they came into a somewhat familiar hallway. It had some of the same details as the ones in the abbey with Sister Imperator, though the hall was brighter and the walls were adorned with portraits. Aeon recognized the face of Papa Nihil, Sister’s late husband. The black and white papal paint warped with the wrinkles on his face, and the robes he wore were heavily adorned in white, gold, and red. It was odd to see him depicted in such a regal way, considering how much Sister would complain that he was a bumbling idiot, though Aeon couldn't linger on it much; they needed a new place to hide.
The portraits watched Aeon quickly run off as he took a chance and headed to the large doors that lay open in the front of the hall. Nearing closer, he realised they led to an outside courtyard. Seeing as he had no idea where he was, he figured being out in the open where he could see almost everything was better than turning blind corners.
The imposing doors opened into lush greenery and a blindingly blue sky; the lawn was perimetered by hallways with open space and pillars instead of windows and walls. Straight ahead, Aeon could see more open space past the odd outdoor hallways, and so he sprinted, not wanting to feel the eyes of the statues that littered the grass. He was pretty sure he heard a shout as he dashed through the unfamiliar courtyard out into the sun, but he didn't have the time or courage to look behind him to find out.
Aeon rushed by tall grasses and colorful flowers, too panicked to take in all of the new sights and sensations around them. Sister never allowed them outside; the only fresh air they ever had was from open windows and the cracks in the stone walls of their room. They followed a small path of flat stones as their exhaustion started to catch up to them. The air rushed past their face as they ran, tall grass licked at their arms, and hot stones burned their bare feet, but it did little to distract them from their goal: to find somewhere to hide.
As his pace continued to slow and he continued to follow the path, Aeon found that it led to a small building surrounded by trees. The shade and the discovery of a hiding space sent a wave of relief down Aeons' spine as he wearily walked up a couple of steps leading to the door of the building. He didn’t hear the low notes of an organ over his heavy heartbeat and the shrill squeal of the hinges.
Closing the door behind them, Aeon had to wait until their eyes could adjust to the darker interior. They panted as they pressed their back into the cool, metallic door and looked around them. Although few, all of the windows in the room were thick and colored, painting the little light that did come in through them in an array of colors that bled on the walls and floor. Black candles sat at either end of rows of benches, their flames flickering and waving; the ones closest to the door only let gentle lines of smoke up into the air, their light extinguished. The exhaustion fully caught up to Aeon, and they slumped against the door before sliding to the ground, static filling their ears as cold shocks ran up their fingers. They squeezed their eyes shut, and despite their building headache, shook their head in an attempt to rid the fatigue and static.
Opening his eyes caused Aeon to frantically scrabble against the door to stand up as a dark figure approached him. They were more than halfway down the rows of benches before Aeon staggered to his feet. He tried to let out a noise, but no sound came out, whether it was to plead or make a pathetic attempt to scare this person away, Aeon wasn’t too sure.
The figure stopped about five feet in front of him. Candlelight glowed behind them, somehow making them look imposing and soft at the same time as their dark robes swayed to rest. Their appearance contrasted with the colorful windows surrounding them, dressed head to toe in black, with hair to match. Their face was familiar, but Aeon couldn’t fathom how, seeing as the only human he’s ever seen was Sister Imperator and the photos and paintings in her office.
They bent down to look Aeon over, and he tried to stay still as their eyes raked over them; their left eye, white as snow, seemed to glow as they did so. Being inspected was something Aeon was very familiar with in all of his time with Sister Imperator, but somehow this felt different. Instead of feeling anxious and flighty, the look he was being given by this stranger made him feel… well, he wasn’t sure, but it felt a lot like what he remembered feeling before he woke up in that white room. Maybe this, too, was just another part of a dream, another lie his brain crafted to try and hold his fragile conscience together. The person leaned even closer and tilted their head to the side, which reminded Aeon of the big black birds that sometimes perched outside the hole in his room. “And who might you be, little one?”
everyone in the notes we are all holding hands. everyone who hasnt worked on a wip in weeks or months or years, its okay. we are going slow but we are going
What game would you erase from your memory just to experience it for the first time again?
Feed your dashboard by answering my question, blogger.
Oh boy tumblr April fools day is apparently ask box harassment /j
Uhhhhh can’t say I play many games but I watch a lot of game play throughs and I wish I could watch a play through of “that dragon cancer” again for the first time. It’s such a moving game Espically with creator commentary to go along with it.
Hey ya'll, I want to finally open up some comms :]! I'm only going to have 3 slots to start off with, but I'll make a longer shortlist in case more people are interested.
The full details are on my kofi, if you're interested { Kofi }
If you stay interested after reading the info, just send me a dm and we can start talkin' :]!
