The Pope is Missing

Do not have hope. It is a dangerous thing. More than tragedy, hope can kill your spirit completely. Simply accept the hand you have been dealt.

Helena did not know what was happening. She could not comprehend the continued destruction of her happiness. The deluge of pain and loss left her breathless. It drenched her in a misery unlike anything she had ever known. Her eyes continued to drench her as well. Her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it in her fingertips.

There was no escape now. There was no place for her to take refuge in. Felicia had struck at everyone who loved her. One by one, she was being stripped.

"Mother, what do I do now?" 

Having arrived at the palace in tears, news of the murder attack had already reached the Emperor's ears. Sadly, no attention could be spared for the Del Montague household since the royal family was dealing with a heartbreak of their own. 

Emperor Cromwell was furious at the Pope's continued absence and as such had ordered a group of royal guards to forcefully drag him to the palace to explain himself. That man, who claimed to be holy and always had the right answer to quell everyone's fear was beginning to appear more and more obsolete by the day. He had been wrong about Lady Felicia's execution. He had been wrong about the three week disaster period. The witch's curse was still looming over their heads.

Pacing back and forth in the royal council room, Emperor Robert was surrounded by members of his cabinet. Some were seated. Some were standing. All were equally anxious. Especially since nearly half of the chairs were empty. When the Emperor had inquired about the absence of his council members, the respective families had each sent a knight informing him that their masters had suddenly fallen ill and were unable to attend the meeting. A few pressing questions revealed that their plight was the same as the Crown Prince and the Grand Duke's dead heir.

Fear was prevalent amongst the noble class. They were fully aware that all of them were now under attack. Letters were exchanged amongst the aggrieved and terrified bluebloods. Everyone they knew had a spouse, parent or sibling who had suddenly fallen sick. The attention was no longer on the Del Montague family. Though they had heard to of the crow attack and the number of servants who had died a few days prior, they could only lament their own misfortunes.

Lady Felicia was once again a hot topic of discussion. Her name was only spoken in whispers for fear of rousing more of her vengeful spirit. They had never heard of a time in the history of Elysium where a dead witch was able to do so much damage. More importantly, why had the Goddess not intervened? Why did she not purge this empire of the witch's curse and save them? Have we lost the Goddess's grace as well? Why hasn't she helped us?

Why couldn't the Pope do it?

What of the Saintess?

Back at the Cathedral...

The statue of Goddess Kartara was now releasing a deluge. To the extent that it sounded like a waterfall and flooded all the ground floors. Priests ran about helter-skelter, their footsteps splashing as they tried to make sense of everything. 

The Pope was nowhere to be found.

To make matters worse, a group of fully armed knights bearing the insignia of the royal family suddenly showed up and demanded to see the Holy Father. They were greeted by a large collection of priests and the Pope's Bishop.

The knights were shocked to see the state of the church. The floors were flooded, it poured down the front steps and washed out onto the road and trees. Most shocking, the water was red! Entering further, they saw the statue of the Goddess releasing red water from her eyes at an immense volume. The sound was so loud they could barely hear themselves speak.

"Bishop! Where is the Pope?!" One of the royal guards barked.

"We have not been able to find him. But I'm certain his Holy Eminence is trying to find a solution to all this. We will info---"

The royal guard held out a scroll with the Cromwell family stamp. "We have been ordered by His Majesty to bring the Pope to stand trial and explain the nature of the witch's curse before the royal council. We need him here right now!"

The Bishop's eyes bulged at the word trial. Controlling his anger he held up his palms in a gesture of peace. "Unfortunately, we--"

"Enough!" The head guard turned to his men and lifted his hand in command. "Search the church and drag that man out from wherever he is hiding!"

The Bishop gasped. So did many of the other priests from the Pope's faction. Father Demetri smirked. 

"How dare you!? The Pope is a holy being! How can you order your men to treat him with such disrespect?!" 

The head guard glared at him. "In case you haven't noticed, people have died from the witch's curse. There was an attack on the Del Montague manor by demonic crows which killed over thirty people. The Pope had ordered the execution of the Duke's daughter and it has yielded such results. He must now answer for his misjudgment."

"That--Felicia Del Montague was indeed a witch! Her execution was done for good reason!"

"And I am not implying it wasn't. But with her death came a curse and right now countless noble families have grown sick and are on their deathbeds. The Emperor demands answers."

"The Pope communicates directly with the Goddess! He will find a solution to the curse!"

"And that is what the Emperor wants to hear!"

"Rightfully so, the Pope should answer directly to His Majesty." Demetri chimed in. Furious eyes turned to him.

The banter stopped as the knights returned to report to their captain. 

"Sir, we have looked everywhere. The Pope is not here."

The captain narrowed his eyes on the Bishop. "Where is your superior?! Where have you hidden him?"

The Bishop sputtered in outrage. "We have not hidden him anywhere! Be mindful of your words! We will not stand for such insult!"

"Sir, we have not been able to search the underground floors. The doors are all locked." Another burly knight chimed in.

"Provide us with the keys to search underground." The Captain intoned.

"The underground chambers are filled with sacred scrolls and relics of the Goddess. We cannot just open them up for you. The Pope has already forbidden most of us from going down there. Only the heads of the three factions are permitted entrance." A priest from the second faction uttered.

Father Demetri stepped up and handed his key over to the captain. "Go ahead, Sir. We have nothing to hide. And the Pope is wrong to ignore a royal summons. My key won't open every door, but you should be able to get into most of the rooms."

"Demetri, how dare you?!"

The knights paid no mind to the outraged clergymen. They had a royal decree to fulfill. Once the knights were out of sight, the Bishop raised his hand and slapped Demetri across the face.

"You have gone too far!"

Demetri shrugged. "I have done nothing wrong. The Pope ensured us the effects of Lady Felicia's would be gone after three weeks. He was wrong. Lives are on the line and he has been issued a royal summons. Why is he hiding from us? From the Emperor? Perhaps, he knows he has erred in his judgment and is now unwilling to face the consequences of his crime."

"How dare you blaspheme!?" The Bishop shrieked. "You could be executed for saying such things!"

Demetri's eyes narrowed. "The only one who will be facing an execution if he doesn't show up and provide a solution to this madness will be the Pope."

The Bishop was speechless. So were all the priests of the first and second faction.

Demetri gestured at the priests under his command. "All of you, board the carriages and head to the palace. We will all stand witness to the king's summons. I will join you after I have found the Pope." 

He walked off, briefly looking upon the crying Goddess once more.