C6 The Mission (1)

She rapped on the oak door as if the sound of the hollow knocks on the wood were enough to make her feel frightened.

She was used to doing so, but as a routine she put her hand out as soon as she heard the light tap that echoed throughout the eerie corridor.

On the staircase that led to the room, her presence cast a long shadow. In spite of the fact that she had been brought up and educated in the abbess for close to fifteen years at this point, she was unable to rid herself of the feeling of dread that she experienced whenever she was called to the quarters of the mother superior.

The majority of the statues in the courtyard unnerved her, but the one that stood out the most was the one in the center of the church square that depicted Saint Michael the Archangel stomping on the head of Satan. Nevertheless, the statue of Saint Theresa caught in a moment of ecstasy by an angel had always been the one that had captured her attention.

Ecstasy… She was led to believe that it was something other than madness that caused the ancient saint's mental instability. However, she did not consider the ancient saint to be insane.

She made a valiant effort to find the appropriate expression in language, but she was ultimately unsuccessful. During all of her reading, she had stumbled upon the opportunity to look the word up in the archive of the church in order to obtain a more precise definition.

The mother superior had gone ahead to give her the warning that she should refrain from pursuing knowledge that would hinder her spiritual development and training.

Then, she had merely paused her investigation for the purpose of giving it a break.

Scarlet, on the other hand, possessed a level of curiosity that was unparalleled whenever she came across something unusual.

The mere mention of the word caused her entire body to tingle, but she had no idea why this was happening and was unable to inquire about it from her fellow nuns or members of the order.

Everyone there appeared to adhere to a stringent code of silence, and they seemed to value mundane ignorance very highly.

"Please do come in!" Sister Scarlet heard a voice say from the room, so she entered, closed the door quietly, and turned to look for the outline of the Most Revered sister who had called for her.

A dark habit made of tartan and a silver chaplet hung around Mother Rose's neck as she sat behind her desk, contributing to the gloomy atmosphere that had been created in the room.

Scarlet fixed her gaze on her own face, which was partially obscured by the chandelier.

There was just a hint of light coming from the dying fires that had been lit in the mantelpiece in order to keep the room warm.

"Mother, you had someone send for me." Her voice was so soft that it was barely audible.

"When you're tired of staring and counting the wrinkles on my face, you could sit down if you wish, dearie," Mother Rose spoke in a lilting tone that sounded almost phony.

Scarlet, who had been standing with her hands joined together, bowed together in humility and shuffled to the chair facing Rose.

Rose stared at Scarlet with nerve-wracking intensity until the younger woman dropped her eyes onto the table.

The presence of Mother Rose emanated an energy that caused her to fidget.

"You said you-"

"Oh yes, of course, I am aware of that. Now, there's no reason to be too hasty because I can see that you're dying to ask me why I pulled you up from bed this late at night." Mother Rose's eyebrows knitted together as she examined the young nun in front of her.

"You're right, mother. In point of fact, I haven't given much thought to the question of why my mother would pick me out of the holy flock of the Lord's servants to be her child. It's been a while since I last visited your home, Mother. Coming here is something that I consider to be a privilege." Now, Scarlet was slowly developing her ability to speak. She was sure the older woman would be able to hear her heart thumping against the inside of her chest as it raced to beat faster than it ever had before.

"The lord looks upon you, Sister Scarlet, and everyone else who does the lord's bidding, with special favor," Mother Rose put her hands together in front of her as if to pay some sort of respect or tribute in order to calm down the latter's overexcitement in her presence.

"We are of the opinion that you, sister Scarlet, would be the best candidate for this position because the Lord has chosen you for this significant mission, and you are tasked with completing it without making any mistakes or falling short in any way."

Sister Scarlet has never seen her guide and instructor so focused on a task at hand as she was right at that moment.

The older woman's lips were pursed as she waited for the younger woman in front of her to process everything she had said before getting started herself.

Scarlet was self-aware enough to know that she should hold her ground and maintain a neutral expression on her face so that she would not give away the state of her emotions.

She did this so that she could keep her elation under control despite the fact that her thoughts were racing back and forth.

Her ample bosom, which housed the most giant pair of breasts in the convent, continued to thump loudly.

The habit she wore did not do much to conceal them despite its best efforts.

It was what Mother Rose would have wanted anyway that she didn't act extremely childish upon hearing the news, knowing full well that there were others - other trainees like her that would kill to be selected for such a delicate mission.

It was hard for her to believe that she was given her first mission as an intern when she had only recently begun her training for the order a little over two years ago.