Chereads / Misfortune and Souls / Chapter 4 - Ceremony

Chapter 4 - Ceremony

Two months after I first arrived at the orphanage, the demoness comes back. She arrived with Kathline, one of our caretakers, affectionately dubbed after my horrible 5th-grade French teacher, Kathline Schubert.

Ms. Shubert was a real strict bitch and so is Kathline, and I love it. Because under her tyrannical rule even the king of crybaby' shuts his wailing trap.

Kathline shows her my crib before bowing and leaving us.

Ms. Demoness seems to have some status. Well, it makes sense, she has the silky, fancier robe after all.

These past two months have done a number on the demoness. Her sapphire eyes now have heavy bags under them, and her previously well-kept robe is a mess.

I don't know what she's been doing, but it ain't sipping Pina Coladas on a beach.

As she walks up to me with her exhausted complexion, she reaches into her robe and begins to pull out a bottle of hot cocoa.

Oh, hello baby!

I'm jittery with joy as she hands me the bottle. I immediately start drinking. Meanwhile, she pulls up a chair and sits down next to my crib.

Hot! Shit, my tongue! I wince as the huge sip of burning hot cocoa I took to burns my tongue.

Damn, I should have been more careful.

Noticing that I am in pain, the demoness pulls me into her arms and tries to comfort me with a horrible attempt at rocking me around.

For a nanny, she is really bad at this.

However, I don't want her to feel bad. She seems stressed enough as it is. So, I fake comfort and start drinking again, very, very slowly this time though.

Happy to see her efforts bear fruit a smile slowly starts to spread on her stressed face. Wanting to bring me even more 'comfort' she proceeds to rock with more vigor.

I want to scream at this abuse of my poor baby body, but after seeing her smile I decide to preserve it.

Ow! Ow!

Ouch!

Thankfully, a minute of abuse later Kathline comes barging in.

Oh, I love you so much, Kat! You saved me

After walking up to us she turns to talk to the devil.

"Rliquas molia"

"Thank you, I otes matoruas profsectam"

Hehe, yeah, I picked up some basic words baby!

After delivering the message Kathline leaves again. Whatever had been said just now the demoness didn't take it well.

With concern written all over her face, she puts me back into my crib, caresses the few stubbles of jet-black hair on my head, and walks off after Kathline.

Picking up on the atmosphere of distress the crybaby king and his followers start their acoustic warfare again.

This is some great, fun stuff I must say.

A minute or so later, Kathline comes back in and picks a baby in the front then leaves again for about the same time frame only to come back with the baby asleep. She then switches her for another and leaves again.

This repeats itself, growing closer to me with each baby swap, and with it my premonition that what awaits me is not going to be pretty. The demoness doesn't seem to be the type to stress over nothing.

This is the one time where I would like her to avoid me.

Maybe ten minutes later, Kathline comes in again and it's my turn. Alright, here we go.

Not to worry though I have an escape plan, and as Kathline picks me up I activate it.

TSSsssss

Ahhhhhhhhh!

Whoopsies, I wet myself sorry Kathline, but I'm going to need a diaper change before I can go, maybe another time though.

Or you can just do that. Ok, great, this is awkward now.

Completely unaffected by my shenanigans Kathline simply takes of my wet diapers and throws them into the trash on her way.

In my birthday suit, we leave the room. I'm taken from the dormitory through the hallway to the prayer hall I originally arrived in.

Upon arrival, I spot the demoness and a tall elderly monk standing next to the big sun stele thingy which now has the marble floor underneath removed to reveal a basin filled with water.

Weirdly, the water blends perfectly with the ocean depicted on the stele. Almost as if it comes from the mosaic. Also, while I wasn't sure before I can say for certain now that the sun is glowing. This is some weird wizardry shit.

In front of them on the futons, the Mosque's nuns and monks sit in neat rows each one holding a mouse over a bowl. I am getting some satanic vibes here. I'm not liking this one bit.

My arrival was noticed by the elderly priest whose comically large black, golden top hat wobbles as he turns around to the demoness notifying her of my arrival.

The devilish woman who had been by the pool muttering something to herself walks over to me and plucks me out of Kathleen's arms.

I am then carried over to the tub while Kathrine sits down on an empty futon in the front row.

Once in front of the basin, my demon nanny raises me lion king style in front of the nuns and monks who in response start mumbling some sort of prayer.

As it goes on the mumbling keeps getting louder and louder and as it hits its apex they twist the mice's heads off like bottle caps and empty their blood into the bowls in front of them.

Creepy...

Next, I am lowered back down and handed to the old monk by the demoness who performs a slight bow while doing so. He then walks into the basin by rows of stairs in front of the stele.

Until the end of our descent, he lowers me into the water with their prayers continue to ring in my ears. This seems an awful lot like a Christian baptism. You should really invent your own shtick, you copycats.

As I am completely submerged the prayers of the nuns stop. A few seconds later the sun's golden glow is replaced by a strong crimson light that paints the mosaic and basin in its color.

In the water illuminated by the light, I felt like I am submerged in blood. It's almost as if I can smell and taste its metallic nature.

Then I feel the elderly monk's hold disappear causing me to sink to the bottom. The geezer looks calm so this should be part of the ritual, still, I don't like this.

Time passes at the bottom of the basin and my air continues to run out, but I still see no reaction from the old coot. I'm genuinely scared of drowning at his point.

Please Mr. monk I don't like drowning pull me up!

I try to swim up, but the water is too heavy. My 2-month-old body is simply too weak. I'm stuck at the bottom, and my air is running out.

If someone doesn't pull me up, I am really going to die here, but the old man continues to be indifferent.

I struggle even more fiercely, pulling and clawing at the monk's submerged robe.

Help!

Please!

Why are you doing this? Why'd you let me go you stupid old coot? Come on, please pull me up I don't want to die. Please…

I feel my consciousness slipping as my last bit of oxygen escapes me and water rushes into my lungs. My body is bloating, filling with some kind of energy yet I feel weak like It's not my own.

At least I finished all that hot cocoa before this.

Right before I close my eyes, I see an empty basin and a pair of sapphire pearls.