Beyond The Veil,

Sister Lucy was awakened by the tolling of the convent bell. She opened her eyes, startled for an instant, then a groan left her lips. It had been ten years, but she could never get used to the obscene hours they had to wake up. The little room she slept by herself was dismally black. The sound of the bell told her it was four in the morning. The first prayer of the day would start a few minutes later.

She closed her eyes and fell back on the small bed with a sigh. She could hear the soft, swishing movements of the nuns as they gathered in the hallway.

Reluctantly, sister Lucy dragged herself out of bed and put on her habit. The rule was to sleep in the habit, but Lucy had decided against the rule a few years after she joined the convent. No one would know anyway.

She quickly made her bed and stepped out of her room where all the nuns were standing with their eyes downcast and their hands folded on their fronts. With a sign from the Reverend Mother, they all moved silently towards the chapel.

Sister Lucy was fourteen when she first joined the convent. Against her will, of course. After all, how could the only child of the powerful Derrick Levan, brought up in wealth and class, ever know anything about nuns and convents.

Her cousin Byron had dragged her to the priest's office where they found the Reverend Mother.

"You must walk with your head bowed. Keep your hands folded under your habit. Take short steps. Walk slowly. You must never make eye contact with any of the other sisters, or even glance at them. You

may not speak. Your ears are to hear only God's words," The older woman had said and Lucy had looked at her as if she was a retard.

For the first few weeks, Lucy showed complete defiance. Byron had threatened her but she would not make it easy for the people who had complied with him in making her life miserable. She went against every rule and the reverend mother hated her. She had once heard the woman pray for forgiveness for harbouring hate for a child. The child was her.

Whenever she caused mischief, Byron would be called to the convent and that alone would school Lucy back to being proper.

Other nuns took a month to say their vows, but Lucy said her vows after three months. The Reverend mother still had the scar Lucy gave her when she was shaving her hair. She had been summoned to the office and offered a seat, then before she could process what was happening, she heard the snip of scissors and something tugging at her hair. Furious, she had snatched the scissors from Reverend Mother Beatrice ad stabbed her arm. She had to be held down by two men afterwards and her head was clean-shaven. She cried herself to sleep the entire week.

By the next year, sister Lucy was close to being a real nun. The only thing stopping her was her loneliness, and her constant attempt to keep seeking conversation with the other nuns. She always failed.

The third year in the convent was when sister Lucy felt she'd had enough and tried to escape. She was captured by Byron's men and beaten up badly. It took a week for the wounds to heal. Since then, sister Lucy never stood out among the nuns again. They all knew her— from all the things she had done— but she didn't grab anyone's attention again. She became another sheep of God in the Wisteria convent.

….

After morning prayers, the sisters marched to the dining hall where they took their breakfast. After breakfast, they moved to their assigned duties.

Sister Lucy was the bookkeeper in the convent, a role she had requested from the reverend mother after forming a sort of friendship with the woman, claiming that reading made her feel closer to God and at peace.

Reverend Mother Beatrice came to meet Lucy at the convent library. Using the sign language all the nuns used, she asked Lucy to accompany her to the office. They walked in silence, a silence that engulfed the whole convent, making sister Lucy feel suffocated. She definitely could never get used to it.

The Reverend Mother offered sister Lucy a seat opposite hers.

"I need you to do something for me, sister Lucy," she begun. "There's a young woman. She was brought today and I'm afraid… she's in a bad condition. Might I ask you to watch over her?"

Lucy observed the woman opposite her. The years she'd spent dealing with all kinds of women and girls coming and staying in the convent had given her wrinkles, and the fierce spirit she had when Lucy was fourteen and new in the convent was ebbing away. She was saying something about pleasing God by helping other children learn and appreciate the togetherness of the convent…

"Yes," Lucy blurted out, cutting Reverend Mother mid sentence. She stared up at Lucy's beautiful and calm face and a wide smile split her features.

"You have changed so much, sister Lucy. You've became more responsible and more godly. I am proud of you. The Lord in heaven is proud of your progress."

Lucy nearly rolled her eyes.

After her attempted and failed escape, Lucy had learned the hard way and since then decided to stay in the shadows. It had taken a lot of tears and sleepless nights, but she knew she had to keep a low profile. Observing became her goal. She observed everything and everyone in the convent.

She knew the reverend mother held a lot of power so she tried everything to please her. Which was easy. She just had to follow every rule to the book. She knew of the other activities carried out in the convent that didn't involve God at all. She knew getting close to the priest would be really good for her because he held a lot of power. She almost knew everything.

She had earned the trust of the reverend mother and the quiet acceptance by Father Arzhiel.

Watching a new nun was nothing new. She was supposed to act like a chaperone to the victim, help her adapt quickly and make sure she didn't cause drama.

The latest victim was currently looking around herself and sister Lucy watched her, wondering what her story was. From her bandaged head, Lucy could tell that this one was a tough nut. If they had to knock her unconscious, that meant she was dangerous.

"We're in Alvalhem," Lucy stated calmly and watched the colour drain from her face.

"What!? No, I live in Meplphet. How did I get here?" Nephele asked, her brain trying to bring up the last events before she lost consciousness.

Lucy just stared, calm as ever, her eyes probing, her mind racing.

Nephele quickly got to her feet and nearly lost her balance when a wave of dizziness washed over her. In an instant, Lucy was by her side.

"Be careful sister Nephelia. You've hurt your head."

"What? My name is Nephele! What the hell is Nephelia?" Nephele snapped in annoyance, making Lucy's eyebrows raise in surprise. Oh, the cursing. I'm going to enjoy this.

"Sorry, sister Nephele. I'm sister Lucy. The reverend mother asked me to look after you," Lucy said politely, inwardly smiling for the drama that was about to happen in the convent.

"This is a big misunderstanding. I want to see that reverend mother. Where's brother Elvis?" Nephele asked, her eyes darting around.

Beside her, sister Lucy's lips rose to an amused smile. A family victim, huh?