Singing in the Church

The Bishop finished his sermon and stepped aside. Bells rung as service came to an end. Time to sing the holy anthem.

A small group of instrumentalists came out and two nuns stepped forward. They began to sing in perfect harmony, blending in with the flutes and string quartet.

Bonnie and Dixie, who loved to sing in church back when their family was whole and they attended every Sunday stood up and began to sing along. They knew the lyrics by heart since Felicia and Alexander had been taught it when they were children.

Linking arms, the sisters sang happily. The other nobles were a bit taken aback, but then a few stood up and joined them. Then they all stoop up and joined them.

The Duke, who had been about to chastise them, shook his head and also stood up. Though he did not join in on the singing, he clapped his hand with the rest of them.

Tyren also clapped along when she saw Helena remove her veil and join the nuns in their singing.

The Pope watched with bemusement. Well, this was an unusual development.

The band stopped playing their instruments and the singing ceased. Everyone was laughing in joy. The nuns immediately went to Bonnie and Dixie, praising them for their bold move.

"Well done, my lord. My lady. Indeed, Goddess Kartara's mantra should be sung by the nation as a whole." They bowed and left.

The nobles all began to converse, discussing the sermon and their donations to the church. Helena was surrounded by some of her lady friends who were all praising her for her prayer.

The sisters went to stand directly in front of the statue of the Goddess. The jovial mood faded as the earlier hypnotic element came back in full force. There was magic within this statue. One that made their blood sing.

"Greetings, Lord Alexander. My lady." An amicable voice had them turning around. It was the creepy Pope, aka Shawn Desman.

Bonnie bowed her head. "Greetings, your Holy Eminence."

The Pope held up his hand. "There is no need to address me as such. In this humble abode of the Goddess, we can speak as equals."

"Father Matthew, then." Bonnie concurred.

The Pope turned his eyes on Dixie. "And who might this young lady be? I am certain I have never seen her here during mass before."

Dixie bowed her head. "I am Lady Felicia Viviane Del Montague, your grace."

"Oh goodness! I have not seen you since your mother was still alive. How have you been, young lady?" The Pope smiled with all his teeth.

"I could be better, but I'm still alive." Dixie replied, shrugging.

The Pope chuckled.

Bonnie yanked at her collar, giving Dixie the signal to cut their greetings short so they could go get the holy sword.

"Pardon us, Father Matthew but this the first time in years I've been able to visit this church. Alex has promised to give me a tour."

The Pope nodded in acknowledgement. "Of course, young lady. Please explore your curiosity towards the Goddess's sanctuary. This will be an opportunity for you to get closer to our Protector."

Bonnie and Dixie bowed their heads as he walked off. They spun their eyes when they sensed Helena glaring at them. What now?

Turning around they immediately headed towards the center of the Cathedral. The holy sword was said to be located inside the Garden of Promise. Moniqua's blueprints were neatly tucked inside Bonnie's coat. They couldn't just pull it out anywhere, but they had brought it just in case they got deeper underground.

Greeting some of the priests who acknowledged the Grand Duke's heir, they kept their pace leisure so as not to draw any suspicions.

Finally, they entered the beautiful central garden which had an open ceiling. The sunlight streamed down making it look more like a small forest than a garden. It was large with pillars covered in greenery. An enchanting fountain was gently spewing water, the sound of it only adding to the peaceful atmosphere.

Both ladies smiled and walked even slower, forgetting their urgency in the face of such serene beauty. When was the last time they went for a hike? Nature walks became a thing of the past after they got kicked out of their family home.

They felt a magical pull once more as their eyes spotted the holy sword. Rushing over, they could see that it was buried to the hilt in a massive boulder of black stone. Legend said that after Goddess Kartara's final battle, she disappeared from the world. Her spirit ascended into the heavenly realms and she dropped her sword. It plunged into the earth and nobody could pull it out. Not any of the previous Popes or Saintesses. Not even Emperor Alfonso. The sword was sacred and Kartara would not permit anyone to touch it, not even the ones she had blessed with her magic. Eventually, the church was built around it.

Will we be able to pull it out? Bonnie pondered. We had our souls pulled through time by the infinity symbol. Kartara's symbol. The same symbol on the sword. Will the Goddess grant us more privileges than she did the other Saintesses?

If we are here to fight a Demon Lord then surely that means we'll need the holy sword.