Chapter Text
You were woken up this morning by an alarm set for 8am. You rolled over onto your other side and hid your head under your pillow since your head was throbbing at every sound of the alarm from the lack of sleep you got tonight. You had to take some pain meds, before it turns into a nasty all day long headache. When it was on repeat for the third time, you lazily reached for your phone and finally opened your sleepy eyes, the brightness was way too high so in reaction to that you squint your eyes to protect yourself from that annoying blue light burning a hole into your brain.
You allowed your body to go into satisfying shaking spasm as you stretched your tense body.
“That felt so … go-ood.” You yawned at the end as you mumbled softly and slowly sit up on the edge of the bed. You looked around the room and you finally noticed the details you missed before because of the light. The sun was now shining straight to your room, leaving beautiful golden marks and shadows on the floor and walls.
You only had a few minutes to get ready, before one of the sisters stopped by your door, so you got to work, and quickly. First top was to go to use a bathroom with a now painfully full bladder, you cursed yourself for always leaving it on the last second up to the point it hurts. You then washed your hands and face with cold water. Next step was to brush your teeth and scrape down your tongue, so you did it and flossed them at the end. You gave yourself a toothy white grin in the mirror.
“Perfect.”
You checked the phone again and noticed, you only had a few minutes left, so you knew, the bath was not the option now. You slipped out of your clothes and took a brisk shower, used your favorite body scrub together with body wash. The water was colder then you preferred, but that only pushed you to be done fast. As you ran back to your room, to your luggage, you then found black underwear, panties and bra, with socks, tapered black pants, and neutral long sleeved t-shirt with soft cleavage to show a little, but not too much and put it on the bed. You then ran back to the bathroom to get your moisturizer with deodorant and perfume, you applied it all on your body. First the lotion on your legs, hips, tummy, back and arms, then deodorant and your perfume.
Next step was to put on your clothes, it only took you a minute, you observed your reflection in the mirror, these pants made your curves pop out. But you noticed the belly pouch from the side and huffed.
You should do something about it, you noted to yourself.
Now you had to deal with your crazy wavy hair. You stood in front of the mirror with a curler in your hand and did two soft more defined curls on each side of your hair, you decided to go with a messy bun, with curly locks on the side. It looked almost perfect, but since you heard soft knocks and your name, you only put on clear lip gloss and called the person in.
“Hello my name is Emilia, but people call me Ema. You have to be Isabella if I’m right?” A lady in her early 30s, slightly taller than you, walked into your room in a nun robe. You were slightly surprised and she could clearly see it on you as she raised her eyebrow in amusement.
“Hello, yes, that is me. So umm … Terzo told me, that you will show me around the ministry today?” You smiled at her.
“Yes! I will, I’m always so excited to show new people around, this place is …”
“Magical.” You finished the sentence together with her.
“YES! It truly is, if you liked it so far, just wait after I show you what we have here. You will love it, but first.” She checked her phone. “It is the time for breakfast, so since I know you came in late, you have to be hungry, right?” She looked at you with a warm look on her face.
“I am hungry, so. I’ll just put on some shoes and should I grab a notepad or something with me?” You said as you were hopping on one leg trying to fit into your shoes. “Only your phone and keys if you wish to lock your room, but we do not lock the door here, nobody steals here so it is up to you.” She walked out the door and you were right behind her as you let the door close and lock it quickly. You are new and don’t know anyone here yet, so it made you feel a bit more safe about your things.
When you walked through the halls, as Ema was pointing to other halls, and doors explaining where was what on your way to the dining hall, you saw a few more girls in the same nun outfit. Everyone had different lengths of skirt, some had stockings, some had long skirts, there were also guys wearing the same thing but for men with pants. Strange.
After a few minutes of a lot of left and right turns, she stopped in front of a tall wooden door. You could hear chatter behind them. “Here it is, the dining hall. It tends to be busy around this hour, so I hope you are good with a lot of people in one room.” With those words she opened the tall wooden door and walked in. You slowed down as your mouth fell open of pure shock. The dining hall was HUGE!
A lot of long dark wooden tables with benches by them. It reminded you of a Harry Potter dining hall. The ceiling was incredibly tall with huge chandeliers and the walls were covered in colorful windows and tall curtains. The ceiling had a typical gothic style vault. You had to ran to go back to Ema, who was now standing by the canteen style table, where different variations of food waited on trays. Ema grabbed one plate and got herself a sandwich with veggies on the side and an apple. You grabbed a plate as well and noticed mozzarella cheese balls, so you got that one, with sliced tomatoes and avocado toast together with a glass of something that looked like orange juice.
Ema waited for you at the end of the table and walked you towards a corner that was empty without people. You noticed as a few people turned their head towards your direction but only in a curious way. You gulped nervously, because now you realized how huge it was. It took you nearly a whole minute to walk to the table where Ema sat down.
The breakfast was delicious. During breakfast she explained how the laundry was done, that you either washed it yourself in the laundry room or that sisters in charge of laundry did it for you, you only had to leave it in the bag with your name tag and then pick it up the next day, or, where the infirmary was in case of an injury, who to go to if you wanted to buy something, or if you wanted to go into town to buy what you needed yourself. In short, it was a lot and you already knew you were lost from the amount of information Ema was trying to give you.
“Oh, I almost forgot. Sister Imperator wants to talk with you after breakfast.” She said between bites of her sandwich. You widened your eyes and she laughed.
“Don’t worry, she can be a bitch sometimes, but only if you cause problems repeatedly, or if you don’t fulfill your duties well.” Ema said with a chirpy tone based on your reaction. “And don’t worry I’ll walk you to her office, after you savor this masterpiece.” She smiled at the rest of her sandwich.
After finishing your meal, you put the dishes on the trays and walked at a slower pace towards Sister Imperator's office. Along the way, Emma showed you more of the doors and endless corridors. It was much bigger than it seemed from the outside, but you'd get used to it in time. Maybe you will.
Or maybe you’ll need a damn map for this place soon.
“There it is.” She stopped and smiled at you. “I will wait here for you Bella, alright?” You took a deep breath in. “Thank you Ema, hope you will, if not, I have no idea how to go back to the dining hall, and have no idea where my room is.”
You laughed nervously all tensed up. She noticed.
“C’mon, she won't bite, now knock and walk in. Or do you want me to hold your hand?” She held in more laughter, after you gave her one of your please shut up looks.
You then raised your arm and softly knocked on the door. A soft come in echoed through the door and you walked in, closing the door behind you as if it was about to fall in pieces, if you used more force. You noticed that she sat behind a massive wooden table that had neatly organized piles of paper stacks on, few books.
“Hello Isabella, please, take a seat.” She waved her hand towards one of the empty chairs and you sat down as she wished.
“So, how do you like it here so far and how was the travel?” She gave you an almost unnoticeable smile. “Thank you Sister Imperator, it looks beautiful, historical yet modern. It has a soul if I can say. The travel went well, your people helped a lot with everything.” You smiled at her.
“Good to hear my dear. Now, there is one specific thing, the place of your work. It is close to the rehearsal room. I will walk you there myself now, so you can meet our senior guitar technician, who will leave us soon and who will be there to help you with anything you'll need for a few days, before he signs off. So, shall we go?” Sister got up and walked towards the door. You followed her right behind.
Once again, endless halls welcomed you as she briefly walked through them to another tall double door. She opened them up and there it was. Guitars on their stands, from bass to classic guitars and electric ones. There was a guy in his 50s by one of the tables working on white fender guitar.
“Hello John, this is the young blood we took in here.” Sister said coldly.
“My pleasure to meet you …” He said and as he stood up and offered his hand for a handshake.
You squeezed his hand softly as you greeted him with your name. “Isabella, Isabella Palmer.”
“Bella, I have to go on with my duties now. Your day starts at 9am from monday, until 5pm. Papa told you all the other details, right? If you finish all your duties for the day earlier, you are free to go earlier as well to do anything you’d like.”
“Yes he did, thank you Sister.” You thanked her and with that she walked away.
—
John was a nice guy, welcoming and goofy. He had a band t-shirt with black jeans and boots. His hair was long and tied up together so it would not go into his eyes. His arms were covered in tattoos and he wore a pentagram necklace. He showed you the guitars that needed their strings changed, another few had broken necks, another needed their pick up to replace as well. All of it had to be done by next wednesday. You were scared for a second, that there would be shattered guitars that needed to be put together as a puzzle, but so far it looked more than good.
Your phone then rang and Terzo’s name appeared on the screen.
“Hello picolina, where are you, eh?”
“I am at the technician room now, am I needed somewhere else? I will be there as fast as I can if you need me for some-” You blurted out fast. “Stop, stop it tesoro. First you start on monday, si? And second, your belongings arrived, that is why I’m calling you, so now get out of there, leave the workaholic John there and go get cozy in your new home. And I am telling you, if I’ll know that you’ve been there before monday? You’ll see.” He said with a stern voice, but then laughed in the end. “I have to go now, go and get comf-.” You could hear a high pitched giggle in the background and with that he hung up, before finishing the sentence.
You then thanked John and wished him a nice rest of the day, as you walked out of the room and with confidence went back the same way as Sister brought you there. Or at least you thought. There was nobody on the halls now, only your footsteps echoed through them, as you slowed down to pay attention to any detail you remembered from before to get back on track where you currently are.
Well shit.
You are lost.
You wandered the corridors, trying to find your way back, but you couldn't. Then you felt again, as if you were being watched and followed. You looked back and there was nobody, the feeling got worse, you sped up the pace of your walk, and soon it turned into a run, no. More of a sprint.
Your heart was pumping fast, you could feel every single beat of your heart in your throat.
Your chest squeezed tightly, you could not breathe anymore.
You looked back and there was nobody. Why are you running Bella, calm down, calm down, you stopped on one of the crossroads of the halls since nothing was behind you.
“Calm the fuck down Palmer.” You were fighting with your own thoughts out loud. “I can’t …. I can’t…” You gasped for air. “I can’t calm down.”
You could.
Not.
Calm down.
You spun around on your feet, searching up for the right direction or any form of an exit, but it only got worse. You were now gasping for air at this point, but you couldn't get a single ounce of air into your lungs.
So tight.
Jitters were now dancing in your eyes, you could not hear anything, just a buzzing in your ears. Your head was spinning, your vision blurred out, cold sweat covered your body as you tried to reach for something to support yourself, to find stability again, but there was nothing. You failed.
The cold stone floor got closer to you every time you looked down.
Your legs gave up on you as you fell to the ground like a card house blown by the wind.
It all went dark. Just the cold stone, nothing else. You don’t know how long you’ve been down on the ground. But all you knew is that someone tried to shake with you, but their voice was too far away, or it seemed it was. It was like a tunnel.
“Isabella, Isabella!” Masculine voice called your name. “Shit, stay awake Bella, help is coming.” You opened your eyes and could see a blurred black masked figure hovering over your ragdolled body, the sunlight met their face and their eyes glowed purple. That is all you remembered before you fell unconscious again.
—
“Put her down on the bed here.” Female said and you could feel a soft bed underneath you. You tried to open your eyes, but when you did, everything spun around once again. “Isabella, can you hear me?” Someone softly slapped your cheeks and opened your eye and pointed flashlight into each one.
“She is responding well, she hit her head when she fell down. She might have a concussion.” That female said and you could feel something on your finger now and a soft pinch on the hem of your hand.
—
*Beep, beep, beep* Echoed through the room.
You tried to open your eyes, this time successfully. You were met with a nurse that was exchanging the saline bag that was connected to the iv on your hand. Your head hurt so much and your stomach twisted. The nurse quickly took a plastic bag with a rubber circle around to your mouth and right on time, since you threw up the moment she did it.
You hated it, oh god. It is so awful. But you did not care in the end at all. She then handed you a cup of water to flush your mouth.
“Isabella, my name is Judith, I am the nurse in charge of you, do you remember where you are?”
“Yes, I am in the ministry.” You replied with a cracked voice.
“Do you remember what happened and why are you here in the infirmary?”
“N-no.”
“You had a severe panic attack and hit your head pretty hard for sure as you fell down. One of our people found you in the hall laying on the ground. You have a mild concussion. I gave you an IV with fluids to keep you hydrated and medication, to calm your heart beat down, I will call a doctor now that will explain more to you, alright Isabella?”
“Yes.” Was the only answer you could give her.
Judith then left, and in a few minutes the doctor walked through the door.
“Good evening miss. How are you feeling?” He asked.
“I feel, not good. My head is throbbing but other than that, I feel alright I guess?” You sit up and lean towards the headboard of the bed.
“Great, well. As Judith informed you before, you suffered from a panic attack and then passed out. During that you hit your head, so you need to rest. We have to keep you here for observation overnight, to check on your vitals and tomorrow you will be discharged. You have to remain calm for the few upcoming days, we will give you a medical report to confirm your inability to work, alright?” He said.
“But I just got here, I have to work, it-it I can’t be just laying around.” You stuttered out.
“Look, we care about health here, alright? Nobody will be mad if you start working a few days later than you were supposed to. So since everything seems fine, we will bring you a vegetable broth, so you can try and eat at least a few spoons. I will come tomorrow morning to check your vitals and how you are doing, alright?” He smiled down at you.
“O-okai, thank you so much Doctor.” You smiled back with a pained expression. “My pleasure, try to get some sleep.” And with that he walked away, and as he said Judith was back after a few seconds with a cup of a veggie soup, your stomach felt upset and in fear of not throwing up again, you tried to eat just a few spoons and then laid down once again to try to sleep.
—
You slept peacefully and dreamlessly that night, thank God you did. More nightmares wouldn't have helped, given your condition. The next day, just like the doctor said, he came in the morning, checked your vitals and wrote you a medical report along with your discharge papers. Luckily it was early morning so there was no one in the corridors. It's always very quiet in the morning for how big the place is and how many people there are. Judith walked you to your room as you were still a bit dizzy and at least you didn't have to search for your room for too long. When you entered your room, there were boxes neatly stacked by your closet that you had packed a few days back, but you were the last thing you were in the mood for.
After Judith left, you finally used the time to take a hot bath. You then walked to the bathroom and let the bathtub fill with hot steamy water and added some mint scented bath salt, together with body wash to create bubbles. You then got undressed and allowed the water to swallow your naked body.
“I can get used to this …. “ You said with a soft relaxed smile as you enjoyed the scent of mint that soothed your head down, and bubbles that tickled your collarbones. You don't know for how long you’ve been there, but once the water was cool, you decided to get out and dry your body and found a pair of shorts with a hoodie and warm socks again. You felt your stomach rumble, but your body and head was too tired to try and find the dining hall, yet to deal again with the looks of people, so you only hopped on the bed and wrapped the comforter around your body and without realizing it fell asleep again.
Soft knock echoed through the room but you did not respond to that. The knock was now more intensive and you got up fast to open the door but as you did it, the world spun around and there was only black in front of your eyes.
“I’m coming!” You said out loud hoping that the person behind the door could hear you. Luckily after a few seconds it was alright and you finally opened them up.
“Thank Satanas, stai bene. Stavo per rompere la porta dai cardini. Cosa stavi facendo? Stamattina, Aeth... Antony ha detto!” Terzo walked past you talking fast in Italian while he did the typical Italian hand motion.
It took him a second to realize that you did not understand a single word based on your confused face, so he then switched back to english. “You have no idea how worried I was tesoro. What happened? Antony told me this morning what had happened yesterday, how do you feel?”
“I uh … I passed out and hit my head pretty hard, then I can’t remember anything, just waking up in the infirmary and that’s it. But I am alright now! I can start working tomorrow, it is going to be fine.” You said with a smile that froze the moment you looked up at his concerned face.
“Are you crazy? Satanas … “ He pinched the bridge of his nose. “You need to rest and get well. Nuh-uh! Don’t say a single word on it, if you’ll start on monday, or wednesday, it does not matter.” Terzo finished as he gave you a tight hug. This guy is touchy, you noted that.
“Thank you for helping me. I feel like a burden already, don’t know why it happened honestly, maybe just … maybe I just got overwhelmed, yes, that’s it for sure. But someone had to find me right? How else I’ll end up in the infirmary?” You pulled away with those words and now thought about it for the first time.
“Actually the person who found you is behind the door as well, if he may walk in?” Terzo looked at you, and you nodded as a yes. He then walked to the door and opened them up. Antony walked in and he gave you a tight hug the moment he saw you.
“You scared me Bella, I’m glad you are alright. Next time, no passing out is allowed without people around, okay?” He chuckled and pulled away from the hug as you looked up at him with an embarrassed smile.
“Thank you for the help, emm …” You paused yourself. “Actually, thank you for the help again.” And you both chuckled.
“Alright, I got some errands to run, so since now I know you are alive, I’ll leave you here guys, as Ae…” He cleared his throat. “Antony said, no more passing out, and let me add with or without people.” And with that Terzo left your room and you were left alone with the prince who saved you.
Twice.
“So, are you hungry? I can get you something to eat, since nobody saw you in the dining hall for breakfast, and it is already …” He looked at his phone and raised his eyebrow. “It is already dinner time, the time floats away faster here than I’d like to admit heh.”
You wanted to decline but your empty stomach said otherwise and growled loudly. “Actually, that would be lovely, thank you.” You smiled up at him and then finally noticed the way he looked. There was black beanie sitting on his head, he had a few earrings in his ears, a nose piercing, 2 rings on one of his hands. He wore black sweater and black jeans with black boots. All black guy, simple but stylish. His face had round shapes, yet masculine yaw and one thing that hypnotized you.
His eyes were addictive. Dark blue eyes that were now piercing you through and a smirk formed on his face, since you stared at him a little longer then was normal. “So, what does your heart desire little one?” He broke the silence and stepped closer to you as he was looking down at you. You gulped. “I-I don’t know w-w-what do you mean?” You stuttered out.
He then leaned closer to your head and whispered to your ear and let out a deep soft hum before he finally said. “The food, what do you want for dinner?” He chuckled at your shocked reaction, you did not expect any of that. How did this situation happen? Holy shit!
“Oh the food, of course the food what else right? Heh, ehm well … m-maybe something lighter, such as salad?” You finally said in a hushed voice. “Good, I’ll be here in a few minutes little Bella.” He straightened himself up and winked at you before he closed the door behind. Your stomach twisted, not that you wanted to throw up, but were these … butterflies?
You could not consume what just happened. You barely know him and without any clues he did what he did. What the actual fuck is going on? You were sitting on your bed scrolling through your phone, not paying attention to any of the insta posts, since the interaction you both now had did not leave your head alone. You then closed your eyes and leaned back towards the headboard unable to stop replying his hot breath on your ear, his soft deep voice almost whispering to you what does your heart desire. Your tummy twisted internally and you smiled to yourself. You did not know why, but somehow it was turning you on, the way he was looking down at you, his beautiful eyes, addictive, but soft. The way he held your waist at your flat, when he helped you get up, the warmth of his hand, butterflies exploded all over your body and you could feel your crotch warm up but …
“Ehem…” Echoed through your room and you squealed in surprise. “I am back with the food, how was the day dreaming?” He smirked and walked towards you with a food tray filled with food. There was some pasta, salad and a piece of something that looked like a chocolate cake.
“I will leave it here on a bed and let you enjoy the food peacefully.” He smiled at you and you uncovered yourself so you could carefully get up so as not to knock the food down.
“Thank you Antony so much. But you didn’t have to bring me the pasta and a cake, I will live even on the salad …” You gave him a soft hug, which he welcomed and squeezed you softly back. “I just want you to eat a real meal, you don’t need to feel ashamed to eat well Bella, alright? Now, go eat it, I’ll wait until you finish it all.” He said with a serious expression and a stern voice. He was not joking since he sat down on the opposite side of the bed and waited for you to join him as well. You then sat down slowly, not covering yourself up again as you took the pasta plate and slowly ate it all, almost. He then looked at your thighs which you didn’t notice. Your scars were now visible nice and clear, but you tend to forget it, especially when you got cozy at your old place or even now here. He had concerned facial expression once again but he switched back to neutral one, as you looked up at him from the plate.
He was silent this whole time, which only stressed you up, so you tried to eat as fast as you could, without making a lot of mess to get out of this situation. You tried to offer him a bite, but he declined, because he ate already.
You gulped the last piece of pasta and then moved on to the salad. It was only cut tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and cucumbers with some balsamic and olive oil. Simple but refreshing, so you cleaned the bowl fast. But your stomach was now so full, that if you ate some more, you would explode.
“Antony, I can’t finish the cake. I am so damn full that if I take one more bite, I’ll throw up. ” You leaned back again and held your stomach.
“Good, I am glad you finally ate as a normal human being, but at least one bite of the cake now.” He said with the stern voice once again and got one bite of the cake on a fork and then stretched his arm towards your mouth as he leaned closer to you as well. He was looking into your eyes while you forced your mouth to open so he could slide the fork into your mouth. You then wrapped your lips around as he slowly took the fork out, so you could have the bite. “Good girl.” He said with a hushed deep voice once again, but this was it.
This took you off guard.
You coughed after you inhaled a small piece of cake into the wrong tube and with tears in your eyes you looked at him again and he had the nastiest playful smirk on his stupidly pretty face again. “Alright, your stomach is now full and I have to go actually. And since you don’t want more of the cake, I’ll take it then.” He switched to his normal voice as he got up with the tray, and started munching on the cake himself.
“Good night Bella, rest well.” He said and walked out of your room with a smile as if nothing happened just a few moments ago.
You stayed as you were now holding your head with both of your hands. “What hell is going on?!” You whispered with widened eyes. You then brushed your teeth and hopped back to bed to try to get more sleep. But you were rolling in the bed for a few hours, unable to sleep. The moon was now shining through the windows again so the light did not help as well, usually you did not mind but maybe it was the fact, you slept the whole day through. So you got up, put on a pair of leggings, slippers and decided to go for a walk. You remembered that only a few steps away from your room, there were huge wooden doors that lead to a library and maybe a good book could do the magic.
You walked through the hall and not even in like 5 minutes, you opened up the door to the library. You stood there in a pure shock. You knew the ministry was huge, but the library looked almost infinite. It had multiple endless tall cabinets with books, some of them had a ladder to reach for the higher shelves. You looked to the left and noticed a table with chairs, and a few steps away there was a fireplace with a couch and a few more comfortable chairs. You decided to walk through one of the aisles and one book stood up even though it was all the way up. It had a crimson red cover, you had to slide over one of the ladders to get it. As you did you noticed it was really dusty so you sweeped it away with your hand to see the title.
*The Ghouls*
You raised your eyebrow and took it down with you. You then walked towards one of the tables, sat down and lit up one of the lamps to get yourself more light to read. Once you read the first few pages, they explained who ghouls are, from where they are and how they are made. You got to know that ghouls are souls of people that died tragically so Satan gave them another chance to live another life in the form of a ghoul, who either lived in the pits, or were summoned back to earth in rituals or that they were born, which did not happen often, since they had to go through complex mating process. They explained briefly different elements, mating, rituals, and even mentioned their anatomy of their bodies. As you finished reading the first few pages, you then got the main page, where every chapter was shown with the number where it starts and ends. It was interesting so far so you started reading about the first chapter, how ghouls are made and in what circumstances. You’ve been reading for another hour, unable to stop. But then suddenly….
“Fuck…”
Noise echoed through the library and a soft masculine voice cursed and whined. You jolted up in the chair as you tried to focus your eyes towards the noise. You saw a tall black figure standing in the middle of one of the isles.
“Hello?” You said and as you did it, the figure turned their head towards you and the only thing you noticed was the shining blue eyes in the dark staring back at you. The figure had horns and something behind the figure was swooshing from side to side. After that thing heard you, it disappeared within a second.
You screamed and did not care that you left the book on the table as you ran out of the library towards your room. Your heart was pumping fast again, but it calmed down after you jumped into bed and covered yourself up with a blanket, as if it could save you from whatever it was. Then exhaustion took over and sleep took you away again.