Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Of Bravery

Rain fell down like a punishment from Heaven itself, smiting the barely put-together chapel, shaking the very foundations of the building and menacing with bringing it all down to make an example for any other wicked, traitorous houses and churches out there. At least, that’s how Gabrielle felt it, as her tiny bare feet slapped down on the cold ground of the North Hallway, her little body shaking in fear every time lights illuminated the sky outside, announcing the coming of another thunder.

“Nnngh, what’s with all this noise…?” Complained the girl, her little hand clinging to the window frame and peering into the pitch black night outside. “Dumb storm, don’t you know this is the Age of Silence? Shut up!!”

The roaring thunder was the only answer she got, the strength of this rude storm was enough to push Gabi right on her behind with all this ruckus. Or well, it was really half the power of the storm, and half the girl’s intense fear of loud noises.

Gabrielle accepted her punishment with little dignity, whining and getting back up while rubbing her behind a little bit, feeling herself pouting slightly. Yes, this is what she gained for throwing such half-arsed arguments at the sky; she should have thought of something better.

I don’t have time to think though… there’s someone outside…!

The little girl patted her cheeks a few times, pushing away doubts and unnecessary thoughts. This was no time to think about the Age of Silence, or how the name makes no sense for people now were as loud as they had ever been (as far as Gabi knew), she had other things to focus on!

The sound, that was the same sound! The same feeling as my vision!

Gabrielle had felt storms before, she knew them well. Old enemies of her sleep, shaking everything without care for no one seemed to really mind the noise. Sure, after the rain passed everyone cared about the holes in the roof and the flooding of their crops, but the world-ending noise and shaking? Not a single damn was given.

Language. Potty mouth.

She patted herself a third time. Being angry didn’t justify thinking bad words, even if the situation was incredibly frustrating. Because none of them cared, not a bit! They simply disregarded it all, ignored the sound and slept as if nothing was going on. Gabrielle never understood how, the mere rain was already unnerving enough to make sleeping harder. She had come to accept that they were simply better at ignoring some stuff, but that night’s lightning fell with such violence, and no one even lifted a finger…

This is way too much. I have to do something! No one else will if I don’t!

What was she going to do? Gabrielle had no idea, no plan to follow! After the initial explosion, she just knew she had to walk out of that room and investigate. 

It was either that or staying and listening to the other girls’ mumbling.

They usually spent the early night talking about the local gossip, the things happening in town, the fishing boy and his oddities, the food that they were going to eat that week (delicious potato soup!), and of course what they were going to “prank” Gabrielle with the next day. She didn’t really pay much mind to what they said, beyond some light eavesdropping to at least be partially “in the know” of whatever was going on… but that night, when the trumpets blared and the lightning struck, Gabrielle was more than open to hearing what they thought.

“Was that lightning!?” Screamed one of them, spooked at first, only to devolve into giggling due to the other girls’ teasing. “Oh shut up, shut uuup! I am not that scared!”

“Afraid of lights now, Tiphany? So sweet, such a silly filly!”

Gabrielle flinched a bit there. That term, they always used it to refer to her, even when talking to others… she wasn’t even sure how that worked exactly, but she could feel it.

“I think it fell down on the trapdoor! Do you think Enrico is angry?”

“Ohhh his face must be a cherry right now!!”

More laughter… they soon started focusing more on how dumb Father Enrico must look right now, forgetting the important details. This frustrated Gabrielle, it ruffled something inside of her, made her angrier than ever before and she didn’t even know why!

Before she knew it, she was already stomping her way out of the sleeping chambers, and now… there she was, trembling with fear from this storm, each step less determined than the last.

Why was she even doing this? What did she want to achieve?

As she opened the door from the hallway, and her body once again slid into the Main Hall of the chapel, she simply couldn’t find an answer. She couldn’t find anything really, for the candles in the Hall had died up long ago, leaving the whole place in darkness somehow scarier than the one outside.

Maybe I have to do it for the other girls.

Gabrielle tried to justify her impulses as she walked much slower, raising both arms in front of her to feel her way through. All that could guide her until her eyes grew used to the dark were her hands, and the sounds of both the little dripping leaks on the ceiling and the wind shaking the many doors around.

Was it for the other girls? Gabi never truly felt hatred towards her abusers, she had never cursed them more than it was acceptable to the eyes of the Sisters, but she wasn’t exactly attached to them either. Even when some of them disappeared, Gabrielle didn’t really feel sadness for their absence, nor relief either.

She felt envious.

Can you really be worried about people you envy…?

Gabrielle shook her head, no. She couldn’t. She wasn’t really worried, at least, not enough that she could feel it– How did that feel, even? To be worried about other’s well-being? Not like this, it certainly couldn’t be like this.

Then what, about the Sisters?

The only sisters she felt a bit closer to, as of right now, were Arianna and Alejandra, and even if tonight she felt much more confident in her trust towards them, she couldn’t really say she was worried, could she? They were young and capable, whatever it was that happened outside, they could probably solve it themselves.

Besides, what of the others?

…

Oddly enough, Gabrielle felt more frustrated with them than any other person in the chapel. The old crones, just watching, just nodding, punishing at their own leisure. Gabi avoided thinking too much about them, because every time she spent more than two minutes telling herself that things were her fault, there was a very small, annoying part of herself that fervently refused. It snarled and bit inside of her chest, demanding attention that the girl was not going to give it.

But that was enough for her to know that she definitely didn’t like them.

Who was left, then? The animals? The people in town? No.

Father.

…He is not my father.

Gabrielle felt bitterness on the back of her throat. Father Enrico gave her food, shelter, he taught them all he could and even tried to give them a chance to redeem themselves and Ascend. By all means, Gabi should feel proud and happy to be in his care, right? She should feel thankful and attached, should she not? 

Then why did it feel so wrong to call him Father at all? Why did his gaze always feel so cold, his presence so distant, his hands so callous and rough on her head the few times he showed affection?

Gabrielle never knew her father. She barely understood the concept, but she knew that this man was not a Father. 

Or maybe he was, and she was simply as cold and cruel as people accused her of being.

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Maybe I am just not a good daughter.

Sigh. Gabrielle let her arms hang down in a defeated gesture, walking a few more steps in the dark until her forehead bumped into the door. 

“Ouch!”

Feeling the swelling in her head and the cold air licking her toes was enough to shake those feelings away from Gabi’s mind, at least for now. Frustrated, she huffed and rubbed her face a little bit, before turning back at the door.

“Alright, time for a plan. The plan is now…” Impatiently, Gabrielle hopped from one foot to the other. “This was unnatural, and it was caused by someone… Maybe it was an accident though! Maybe, maybe it was just a… Hmmm…”

Could it be a monster? No. Monsters don’t come near chapels, that was something everyone knew. Monsters were afraid of churches, and if there was a monster here, it was probably just as scared and confused as she was.

Then what, maybe a Demihuman? She had seen Adella do magic before, but nothing like this. They all looked very, very weak to Gabrielle, so it was definitely not one of the Elves. Perhaps another demihuman, lost in their way to that “better place”? If that was the case, Gabrielle had to help them out before someone else noticed!

What if it was a human?

Gabrielle froze, her eyes opening a bit more, her hands hovering so close to the door’s handle

Now that was a scary possibility. If this was the work of a human, then this was definitely not an accident. People always do things on purpose, at least that’s what Gabi had learned all these years. People are also ready for a fight at all times, so…

She would need a weapon. Definitively

With a deep breath, the girl unlocked the door. It was so easy one could wonder why they even bother closing it in the first place. A soft push was enough to let the rain pour on poor Gabrielle, as she took her first steps into the backyard. 

She waited for a second, letting her eyes grow used to the dark a bit better. Weapons. She needed weapons, not really to “fight” per se, but at least to look ready for a fight. Gabrielle had learned that even if people are ready for a fight, they are also cowardly! And if they realized a person was strong and prepared, they would definitively leave them alone.

That’s how she kept the others from poking fun of her most of the time: by looking angry and ready to punch out a tooth or two.

So, she needed a weapon that looked strong! And there was only one place to get them at this time of the night. 

Ready…? Yes. Ready. Okay, one… two… three! BREAK!

Pushing herself further into the freezing rain, Gabrielle ran a straight line from the door and right to the shed on the other side of the backyard. Running didn’t give her time to doubt or to think about the cold, or the fear, or anything at all really! She just rushed in, not even trying to open the shed’s door like a decent person and pushing right in with her shoulder, falling on the muddy floor as soon as she felt safe from the rain.

The little girl gasped for air, shaking her head and then fixing the habit covering her hair. Good. That was the hard part!

Alright, now a weapon… a weapon, what could be a weapon?

Before anything, as Gabrielle got up and cleared some mud from her clothes, the girl grabbed one of the discarded pots still there and made sure it was empty,  so she could put it right on her head. A helmet, that was always the first thing to acquire when getting into a fight, and the pot would do! It even had holes on the sides, so she could perfectly see what was around.

Now she could properly choose her weapon.

There were plenty of tools in the shed, from rakes and brooms to old, rusty knives. They were all suitable, but the girl didn’t really want something lethal: carrying a knife always felt dangerous and wrong to her. But half of her choices were sharp and dangerous! So, that only left Gabrielle with the obvious choice.

No… no, come on! There has to be something else that looks strong and heavy, right!?

But there wasn’t. Sure, there were some big sticks and such, but none of those would deter a hungry thief. So it was either a huge carving knife, or…

Her arch-nemesis.  

“Well, well, well! Look who just ran out of options!” The heavy, powerful, oh so disrespectful mallet was still right where Gabrielle had left it: resting behind the door, smugly staring with its non-existent eyes. “Isn’t it a bit late for playing hero, baby girl? Get out of here, get lost! Let’s not waste anyone’s time here.”

I am NOT going to talk to you!

Gabrielle spat on the floor, angry and rude, rubbing both hands together for a moment as she approached the massive wooden tool. 

Don’t let it intimidate you, Gabi: that thing is an inanimate object, and you are a human being. Teach it some respect!

Two pale little hands squeezed the Mallet’s handle and let their nails sink and cling to the wood. Gabrielle mentally counted, closing her eyes before taking a deep breath and lifting, now!

Get up!! GET UP!!!

The heavy rounded head of that wooden mallet barely abandoned the mud, before slamming right back down with an imaginary cackle.

“Is that it? Come on, silly filly! Go back to sleep and let some other, stronger girl take care of this!” The mallet laughed oh so loudly in Gabrielle’s mind. “I heard Amber can lift things pretty good!”

Something in Gabrielle’s chest bursts into flames right there, anger fueling her strength beyond her limits.

No! I don’t need her help, she’s not stronger than me! She is not! You will come with me…!!

Gabi snarled, pulling with all her might until the head of the mallet abandoned the ground, resting on her shoulder soon after. Its weight hurt, pushing down her bones, but Gabrielle was more than determined to carry it around: no one would dare to mess with a girl with a huge mallet, after all! 

Now be quiet and cooperate!

“Ohhh look at the big, scary baby! Put me down before you hurt yourself!” The mallet kept teasing. Gabrielle growled, but ignored the inanimate object’s advice while kicking the door right out of her way, taking the first heavy steps back out into the rain.

The sounds of the drops falling were much more annoying now with that helmet in place, but thunder and lightning had become but a mere nuisance with her partially obscured vision. It was perfect.

All that was left was the walk to that trapdoor on the side of the chapel: the site of the impact. Gabrielle had to get in, check what happened, and then get out, simple as that. She just needed to make sure things were fine, she just needed to know things were still safe. And it had to be her who checked it.

Because no one else was going to.

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