Awake

You jolt awake, a startled shriek on your lips. Once more, you were in the dark infirmary, every detail clear as can be. No more dreams. No more Burning Rose. You let out a rattly breath, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. A groan beside you alerts you to Janine's presence, "What's wrong?" She groggily reached out to touch your back and you somewhat bitterly wonder how many times she'd woken up next to someone else. You feel a guilty for your judgement but you were getting progressively more angry as the Order, the "rock" that you built your life around, was slowly changing and deforming beneath you. "I had a nightmare. About the Burning Rose." She mumbles something comforting and rubs your back but you're not in the mood to be comforted. You needed to move. Needed to take action. You slide your feet out from under the covers, "I'm going for a walk."

Janine's arm falls from your back and she sits up, blonde hair comically tangled, "What? Now?"

"Yes now. Everyone else is asleep and I need to find some answers." You pull on socks to muffle your steps, all the more aware of your lack of proper battle attire as you debate whether it was worth tracking down a tunic and trousers or if your night dress would fit the bill. Your attire from dinner seems to have vanished. You stick with the night dress, it was the quicker option and it was a bit too short so it wouldn't limit your legs range of motion. You just had to remember not to bend over too far.

You stride out into the corridor ready to crack some heads and turn the whole abbey over if you had to. This place was an abomination as far as you were concerned. Whatever it had been, now it was a source of pain for the Burning Rose and you couldn't abide it. Janine hurried up behind you, her steps noticeably echoing in the stone hallway, "What are you going to do?" You groan inwardly at how much noise the nurse in training made but answer honestly, "I'm going to search the abbey for a dark chamber with a pool in the center, and I'm going to start by tracking down Selena and going through her things."

"Sabine, there's no room like that in the Abbey!" You shush her but she carries on, albeit with a quieter tone, "Why are you looking for a room like that?" "I had a vision from the Burning Rose, Selena conducts evil in that room. If I can find it, then I can figure out how to stop it." You don't need to look to know Janine is rolling her eyes and she starts to argue with you about how sane people don't have visions but you tune her out. She might be beautiful and sweet but you were starting to get tired of the girls lack of faith. And backbone.

Five minutes later, after convincing Janine to help by largely ignoring her, you arrive at Selena's room. Which was more than a little odd all on its own. Lay sisters should be living in the dormitory with the other sisters, not have their own room. "What are you even looking for?" You shushed Janine irritatedly, "just watch the door!" You'd know it when you saw it. You could feel your deities presence, The Burning Rose pushing you to where you needed to be: This was going to end and it was going to end now.

You turned the room over, forgoing caution in favor of haste, much to Janine's displeasure. Unfortunately, after ten or so minutes of hard searching, your efforts seemed to be in vain. Your mounting frustration seemed to come from both yourself and The Burning Rose: you because you couldn't find what you needed and her because she couldn't tell you where it was. You slump defeatedly against the bedpost, rubbing your head in your hands. You glance over to Janine, completely failing to look casual as she kept watch at the door. There has to be a simple solution... your eyes drift to Janine's posterior, her habit clinging to her curves in a rather unseemly manner. She has a really nice ass. You nod in agreement. You almost want to call it a night and slip back into bed with- WHAT.

A sharp twinge of panic pulses from your goddess and you have the distinct impression of a hand slapping over a mouth, "Sweet Mother of... What is wrong with you?" The question was positively filled to the brim with blasphemy but there was only an embarrassment filled pause from your goddess before your connection dimmed. You try to contemplate what could possibly be effecting The Burning Rose to the point that she was implanting lustful thoughts in her followers and the thought terrifies and angers you.

You repeatedly pound a fist into the ground, fighting the urge to scream, never before feeling so completely in the dark... but your eye catches on something: your outburst had flipped up the edge of the carpet, revealing the edge of what almost looked like-

"There's a trap door." Your statement is accompanied by a whoop-like surge of excitement from The Burning Rose and you yank the carpet back to reveal the door. You fumble for a moment with the handle before pulling it open and a cool breeze wafts up from the dark passage, a ladder descending into blackness. You look up to see Janine staring open mouthed at the discovery and you smile, "This is what I was looking for."