Chapter Text
It had been twenty years since Stella had first been taken in by the Satanic Church. She could not say she missed her life before this, given that she was only six years old when Sister Imperator found her huddled up by the front door of the Abbey, and she had been there ever since.
Imperator had taken her under her wing and raised Stella as her own. Stella was not a Sister of Sin or a part of the clergy. But that did not mean she did not have her duties. The closest thing to what she did was something like a catechist, a teacher who taught the history of the Church and its teachings to aspiring clergy members and Siblings. She had shown great promise at a young age with her education, and — much to Imperator’s dislike — she all but refused to become a Sister. As she got older, she cited it was because she did not want to wear a habit, though no one but Stella knew her true reason for never officially joining the Church. No matter how hard Imperator tried, she had been unable to stop this rebellious streak.
Because of her connection with Imperator, Stella was close to the Papas. She, Terzo, and Papa Nihil were thick as thieves, but in their own separate ways. When she first arrived, they made her feel the most welcome. Terzo, who was now the current Papa Emeritus, had always treated her somewhat like a little sister — at least when she had been younger — while Nihil was like a grandfather. But even though they made her feel so welcomed, it was always very obvious that she was not one of them. It was not as though she did not believe, but she sometimes wondered how her life would have been if she had not ended up there. There always seemed to be something lacking in her life, something she had come to associate with outside the Abbey. It frustrated her sometimes not being able to pin down what it was. Imperator always cryptically assured her that she would realize her destiny when the time came.
Outside of the Papas, she only ever interacted with a handful of the Ghouls. Aether and Mountain were the main ones, and she viewed them as her brothers. But seeing as Stella often liked to keep to herself, they were the only ones she saw regularly. Aether made sure she did not stay locked away forever, while Mountian made sure Aether never pushed her too far. All in all, she loved them both dearly.
Terzo would often tease her about spending all of her time in the Abbey’s vast library, pouring over the dusty, neglected old tomes. She found it all fascinating. Everything she ever wanted to know was there, and the Ghouls and Siblings that worked there were constantly adding to the collection. It was there that she taught herself Italian and Latin and a smattering of other languages that she hardly ever got to use but enjoyed knowing all the same. The library was her second home.
And that was where Terzo found her that rainy afternoon, with Aether laid out on the floor next to her, also reading. They were tucked away on the far side next to a wide window that overlooked the sloping grounds on the east side of the Abbey.
“You are still here, cara mia?” Terzo asked, plopping himself down in the chair across from her.
Stella hummed, finishing up her notes. “I need this for a lesson next week.”
Terzo stretched out his legs and got comfortable, putting his feet near Aether’s face. The Ghoul shifted away with a mildly disgusted look. “I am pleased you enjoy teaching, but it's the weekend! We should be out doing something!”
“Like what?”
“Like… like…” Terzo huffed. “Well, I suppose you don’t really like doing the things I like to do.”
Stella looked up at him with an unamused expression. “I’m not joining you for an orgy.”
Aether snorted in amusement.
Terzo deflated. “I knew you’d say that…”
“Ask Dew to join you,” Aether commented idly.
“No. He hogs all of the attention.”
Stella sighed, marked her place in her book, and set it down. “Oh, don’t pout, Terzo. Just because I’d like to stay in and read doesn’t mean you have to hang around here. I’ve got Aether to keep me company. And you’re the Papa, for Satan’s sake! You can do whatever you want!”
“I know,” he replied, still pouting. “But we used to have such fun before you started teaching.”
“Those were harmless pranks and midnight ice cream runs, not nights full of debauchery,” Stella pointed out. “And I was a kid.”
“But you have not been a bambina for years! What about the time you joined me two years ago? That was fun, sì?”
She could not help but smile at the hope in his voice. “I honestly don’t remember it that much. And it was one time. After we both had been drinking quite a bit.”
Terzo looked off dreamily. “And I still think of that night. You were so—”
Aether sat up and quickly interrupted. “If you two start reminiscing about your sex life, no matter how limited, I don’t want to hear it.”
“We won’t,” Stella said pointedly before Terzo could respond. “Once was enough for me, Terzo. I was actually thinking of turning in early tonight. I promised Primo I’d help him with something in the garden early tomorrow morning.”
“Hmph, so you’ll do something with him…” Terzo griped, crossing his arms.
“Ew,” Aether muttered, laying back down. Stella smirked at him.
“Primo doesn’t try to get me to join him in orgies.”
Terzo sniffed. “Good. Because that’s my job.” He then looked down thoughtfully at Aether for a moment before snatching what he was reading out of his hands. “I didn’t know you read. What is this…? The Son of Satan.”
Aether reached up and snatched it back. “It’s a comic book,” the Ghoul grumbled.
Terzo smirked but refrained from teasing him and stood. “Well, since you do not want to have any fun, cara mia, I shall leave you here amongst the dust.” He made a face as he, a bit dramatically, dusted off his sleeve. “Oh, Sister Imperator wanted me to let you know that we’re receiving a guest tomorrow. Secondo is bringing someone along with him from Italy. So make sure to join us for dinner tomorrow night.”
“You know I’ll be there,” Aether commented. “Free food.”
Terzo shot him a look.
Stella smiled. “I wouldn’t miss it. But please don’t put me across from Secondo again. It felt like he was judging me the last time he had dinner with us. I started questioning if I was even using my fork correctly!”
Terzo chuckled. “You will sit next to me, so you will not have to worry about Secondo.” He sighed again. “The things I do for you, cara mia…”
“You love me,” Stella replied with a sweet smile.
“Sì,” he said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “I will see you tomorrow.”
“Do I get a kiss?” Aether asked, looking up from his book.
Without warning, Terzo leaned down and kissed him on the mouth.
The Ghoul cringed away. “Eugh!”
“Is that not what you wanted?” Terzo asked innocently.
“Not like that!” Aether replied, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Terzo grinned and turned to leave.
Stella settled back into her chair, grinning after him. “Have fun!”
Terzo did not look back, but he waved. Stella looked down at Aether.
“You alright?”
The Ghoul dropped the comic book onto his chest and looked up at her. “I’m scarred for life. I’ll never recover.”
She chuckled and reached down to pat the top of his head. “You’ll survive.” There was a pause. “Who do you think the guest is?”
“No idea. I haven’t heard anything. But if Secondo is involved, I assume it’s someone important.”
“Agreed.”
Stella went back to reading, but her mind kept wandering to thoughts of who this guest might be. As Aether had said, if Secondo was bringing him along, and they were having dinner with him, he must be someone high up in the hierarchy of the Church. It was not often the Abbey received important visitors with no significant upcoming events.
She shook her head. No use thinking about it now. She needed to finish up her lesson plan.