A/N: Sepia POV! But what's this... a pair of unexpected visitors just after Marcus and Co. have left?
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The Convent is quiet. Not a creature is stirring. There's not a single orgy to be found. Rather odd to anyone who knew what sort of things the Sisters of the Convent got up to. It was much too quiet for anyone who knew the true nature of the Convent's Mother Superior.
Alas, it'd been just under a day since Sepia and her flock had seen Marcus and his party off. They weren't in mourning necessarily, though there were certainly quite a few Priestesses very sad to see him go. No, the Convent was as quiet as it was because they were still recovering.
Three days and three nights. That's how long they fucked in the aftermath of Tobias Williams'… 'unfortunate' demise. The Paladin Commander's death, along with his men, was more than enough cause for celebration in her and her flock's eyes. And who better to celebrate with than the one who had done the deed?
Not to mention, more than a few of her girls had always wanted to be defiled by the Dark Lord. That wasn't just a Sister Irene thing, no sir. And yet… despite there being so many of them and just one of him, Marcus had given them all a run for their money. To the extent that they'd had to bring in reinforcements in the form of Marcus' only party members.
Sepia hated to admit it, but it was the truth. The Convent was on the ropes until Angelina, Erised, and Roka-Ra all joined in on the fun. And even then… they'd all been left dehydrated and slowly recovering. Sepia was one of the few people in the Convent who was even capable of standing right now, and even she had a strange soreness in her hips that the Succubus hadn't experienced in ages.
It had certainly been a long, long time since-
The Succubus twitches. Torn from her inner thoughts, Sepia's red eyes narrow as she hears the sound of rapidly approaching horses. Only two, her enhanced senses tell her, but even still…
With most of the Convent indisposed, it falls upon the Mother Superior to rise from her desk and sweep out of her office. She passes through empty hallways, as almost all of her flock is currently in bed still, trying to recover from the extremely pleasurable, immensely satisfying plowing that Marcus had given each and every one of them.
As such, when Sepia steps out of the Convent's front gates and onto the road, she does so alone, her red eyes concealed and her demonic features invisible at the moment. She looks every bit the prim and proper Mother Superior, albeit more buxom and beautiful than most Mother Superiors could claim to be.
She might stand alone, but she is not defenseless. And it's only two riders, so she figures she should be enough to repel them or worse, should something untoward come to pass. Even still, Sepia can't help but wonder who exactly was riding out here so swiftly. She'd already sent a letter into town letting the remaining garrison there know that Commander Williams and his entourage had been discovered torn apart by a Yeti. Things would go just fine there, she was sure of that.
So then who were her latest uninvited guests?
Over the final hill they come, and Sepia's eyes go as wide as dinner plates when she sees who's visiting her. The Crown Princess, Elsenthia Seradina Leliana, comes riding down the path at a breakneck speed, a look of pure determination etched across her pretty half-elven features. Her presence alone would be alarming enough, but it's her companion that nearly has Sepia choking on her spit.
Meeting the eyes of the Holy Pope's Shadow, Sepia's back goes ramrod straight, her entire world shrinking down to a pinprick. And then… just as swiftly as she freezes up, she uncoils and relaxes, and pretends like nothing has happened whatsoever. Luckily, the two riders are far enough away that Princess Elsenthia sees nothing of this reaction. However, the Shadow does. Sepia knows this, but focuses solely on the Crown Princess as they come to a halt a few dozen feet away from her and Elsenthia rapidly dismounts.
"Greetings Crown Princess. I must say, I'm surprised to see you here at my humble Convent, so far away."
Elsenthia's eyes narrow, the half-elf clearly suspicious. But then… it was rather weird for Sepia to be greeting her outside like this, wasn't it? Still, the cute young thing looks Sepia up and down before slowly nodding.
"You're the Mother Superior then?"
Smiling, Sepia bows at the waist.
"I am she. Well met, your highness."
Flushing a little bit, Elsenthia does a little bow herself, though not one nearly as deep as Sepia's.
"You as well, your Reverence. Um…"
Sepia watches as Elsenthia's eyes track to the Convent behind her. She can practically see the Crown Princess' mind whirling. Was she expecting something else? Sepia frowns a little bit. Did Elsenthia somehow catch wind of the Paladin Commander's plans and expect to find the Convent raised to the ground or something? It certainly looked like the Princess was shocked to see the place still standing.
After a moment, Elsenthia seems to realize how rude she's being and flushes, clearing her throat and meeting Sepia's eyes again.
"We've come to warn you. The Paladin Commander in the nearby town, Tobias Williams… he has designs upon your Convent. He plans to use a Writ of Authority issued by her Holiness to assert control over you and your flock and inflict suffering unimaginable upon your Priestesses. We're here to stop him. You don't need to worry, we'll turn him and his goons back, and get the Holy Pope to rescind the Writ post-haste."
… Cute. The Crown Princess is adorable. She's exactly the kind of young thing that Sepia would love to eat right up… with her consent, of course. But then, she's sure she could bring Elsenthia around to her way of thinking. She might have even tried, if it wasn't for the Princess' companion. The Shadow at her side sees Sepia holding her tongue and smiling slightly as she tilts her head to the side in amusement.
"Oh? How did you come by this information, I wonder?"
A flash of guilt appears across Elsenthia's face, making it clear that however they discovered Tobias' plans, it wasn't cleanly. Still, she straightens up and clenches her jaw after a moment, seemingly quite sure of the righteousness of her actions all the same.
"We found letters detailing his plans in the office of a traitor to the Holy Empire. His goal wasn't just to take control of your Convent under false pretenses, but also to eventually usurp the Holy Pope entirely. I am confident that once she hears of this, her Holiness will take decisive action!"
Well now. Sepia sure hoped not, for obvious reasons. With Commander Williams and the worst of his men dead, the Succubus had no desire to see the Holy Pope turn her attention towards Sepia's little corner of the world. Unfortunately, given the Princess' presence, that might not be possible to avoid. Even still, the way Elsenthia was talking…
"Oh? Then I imagine you already talked to her Holiness before coming all the way out here?"
At this, Elsenthia does color and duck her head, looking a little embarrassed.
"Ah… no, we did not. T-Time was of the essence you see… and of course, I have the Pope's Shadow at my side. Her right-hand. So… in a way, I already speak with her authority."
Sepia's gaze slides to the silent Shadow for a moment as Elsenthia's companion neither rebukes her nor backs her up. The Crown Princess also looks to the Shadow, before flushing a little redder when she gets no indication one way or the other. The ensuing silence is a little awkward, until Sepia finally breaks it with a happy smile and a clap of her hands.
"Well then! I am pleased to be able to tell you that there is nothing to worry about, Princess! Commander Tobias Williams and his men might have had terrible, terrible designs upon me and my Convent, but whatever their plans were no longer matter… seeing as every last one of them ran afoul of a Yeti and died not but three days ago. I sent word to the garrison in town, but I imagine you didn't stop there before coming here, did you?"
Elsenthia's eyes have gotten progressively wider and wider as Sepia speaks, until she flushes once more at that final chiding rebuke.
"W-We couldn't know who to trust. But… that's not impossible. An entire squad of Paladins, taken down by a Yeti?"
Sepia shrugs.
"I don't know what to tell you, Princess. They are, all of them, quite dead."
There's a moment of silence as Elsenthia mulls this over. In which time, Sepia's attention is drawn once more to the Holy Pope's Shadow. She'd known of the entity, of course. Known to avoid her at all costs. But she hadn't known WHO the Holy Pope's Shadow truly was… until now. And yet, she wasn't sure whether that knowledge made her safer or put her and her girls under even more threat than before.
She would- Sepia startles as Elsenthia suddenly invades her personal space, clutching at her arms and disrupting her inner thoughts.
"Mother Superior… if those brigands pretending to be Paladins are in the Convent behind you right now, tell me and I promise I will find a way to defeat them. Even if they've faked their own deaths and are holding your flock hostage, I and her Holiness' Shadow can root them out, I swear it to you."
"Excuse me?"
What was the Princess even talking about? Staring into Elsenthia's wide, earnest eyes, it honestly takes Sepia way too long to figure out how this must all look from the Crown Princess' point of view. She blames Marcus and Angelina for it, both of them having exhausted her in very different ways. Still, eventually she figures it out.
Elsenthia sees Sepia here, standing outside of her completely silent Convent all alone… and fears the worst. She doesn't see a single one of Sepia's girls, nor does she see any movement within the Convent at all. There's a perfectly reasonable explanation about that of course, but it's not one Sepia had intended to give Elsenthia.
And yet, the half-elf is so certain of herself… and so deeply rooted in righteousness. Sepia can tell that almost nothing she says in this moment, no lie she tells, will convince Elsenthia NOT to go storming into the Convent. At which point, the Crown Princess will find a whole bunch of Sisters, all of them laid up in their beds having recently been fucked silly by a singular big, fat half-orc cock.
Sepia knows how that will look to Elsenthia. She knows if she lets the half-elven girl see such things, she'll have to alter Elsenthia's memories afterwards. And she's not entirely sure that the Pope's Shadow will allow that, no matter who she truly is. In the end, Sepia's only path forward is to tell the truth. Some of the truth, anyways.
"… You need not concern yourself with me or my flock, Crown Princess. Tobias and his men never made it past the front gate."
Sepia's soft tone brooks no argument and holds no deceit, causing Elsenthia to reel back as if struck, looking at the Succubus in a new light with wide eyes.
"What… what do you mean?"
Smiling apologetically, Sepia clasps her hands in front of herself, letting out a sigh.
"Paladin Commander Williams and his men were not killed by a Yeti as I had reported. They were killed by the Destined Hero, Marcus, as he protected us from their sick depravations."
The truth will set you free. That was how it went, right? Elsenthia's jaw drops open, the Crown Princess looking more gobsmacked by the moment. For the first time, the Pope's Shadow looks interested as well… but then again, she would be, wouldn't she?
"The Destined Hero was here?!"
Elsenthia's voice is surprisingly shrill… and also deeply emotional. Oh? Sepia is a Succubus. She knows a connection between two people when she sees it. Even still, she plays her part perfectly, purposefully misunderstanding Elsenthia's words.
"I know that the Church is currently hunting for him, Crown Princess. I understand that there was some trouble back in the Capital. However, he came to my Convent in need of rest and safety, and as the Church preaches, we gave it to him. In turn, serendipity and the Holy Light's glory decreed that he be here when Commander Williams came knocking. I hope you can understand why I wished to hide his involvement."
Still reeling, Elsenthia looks like she doesn't know what to say or do. Finally though, it comes to her.
"I-Is he still here? Is he inside? I'm not here to hurt him, I promise! I just want to speak to him!"
Of course, as soon as the words are out of her mouth, Elsenthia's head jerks in the direction of the Pope's Shadow. Suddenly, the Crown Princess looks as though she thinks things are going to end up in a fight or something. Meanwhile, the Shadow just radiates amusement. Sepia has to resist the urge to cover her face with her palm as she lets out a sigh and shakes her head.
"He's gone. And no, I don't know where he went, Princess. We both decided it would be better that way."
Now that was a bold-faced lie, but then the best lies are always hidden within a nice coating of truth. Besides, Sepia the Succubus hadn't gotten where she was in life by being a bad liar. And Elsenthia truly wasn't in the right frame of mind to question her further either. The Crown Princess' eyes are on the ground, not even looking in her direction as she clenches and unclenches her hands for a moment before letting out an explosive sigh.
"R-Right… that's probably for the best. Um… d-do be careful, your Reverence. Apologies for wasting your time."
As the half-elf turns and begins trudging back to her mount, Sepia feels for her, she really does. The Succubus' heart goes out to the Crown Princess, much to her surprise. She almost wishes she could tell Elsenthia where to find Marcus. The Pope's Shadow wasn't nearly as much of an obstacle to doing so as Elsenthia probably thought, given her true identity.
But no. Sending Elsenthia after Marcus at this point would be a bad idea, not for Marcus' sake, but for Elsenthia's sake. Where Marcus was going, the Crown Princess could not be allowed to follow. Sepia figured there was a good fifty-fifty shot of Camilla helping Marcus and his party rather than hindering them, but if Elsenthia showed up, things were almost certainly going to go to shit.
As the Crown Princess mounts her horse once more, Sepia shares a look with the Pope's Shadow. Were they going to have a problem? She didn't want it to come to a fight, not really. But at the same time, she would happily sacrifice herself to protect her flock if the need arose.
However, in that heartbeat where Elsenthia is distracted with pulling herself up onto the horse, the Shadow tilts her head to the side… and then shakes it ever so slightly. Sepia exhaled a breath she didn't even know she was holding, giving a miniscule nod in return as the Princess and her companion turned and started riding back the way they came, albeit at a more sedate pace.
Crisis averted; Sepia supposed… for now, anyways.
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A/N: Next time on Dragon- err, next time on Breaking Providence... is a special sort of chapter. It'll be half-Elsenthia POV, and half... Shadow POV~
Look forward to that, coming on Monday everyone!
As always, hope you all enjoyed and be sure to let me know what you think!
Chapter 49 will come out on Monday like usual, or you can read six chapters ahead right now over on the P atreon!