Beyond The Veil,

The nuns in the Wisteria convent didn't have any personal belongings, and even though Nephele didn't consider herself to be one of them, she still had to follow the rules. She was given the habit that she would be wearing while staying there, and everything else was confiscated by Reverend mother Beatrice.

Sister Lucy showed Nephele to her dormitory which was at the end of the block, and she was even more surprised than Nephele. Lucy had never been to any other dormitory except the one she slept in as the rules dictated, but she knew they were all the same. It was a small room with bare floorboards, consisting of a small bed, a straight backed wooden chair, a wash basin and a small earthen jug.

Nephele's room was different. It had everything, but had a bunk bed instead of a single bed.

Nephele didn't think much of it since she didn't know what a convent looked like, and she didn't mind the poor living conditions either because even though she was brought up in wealth, she was once a street child with nothing. She turned to look at Lucy and saw the latter staring at the bunk bed with a frown.

"What is it?"

"Hmm?" Lucy shifted her gaze to her, "oh, it's nothing," she said, keeping her thoughts to herself. She didn't know if Reverend Mother Beatrice had arranged for Nephele to share a room, and if that were the case, Lucy was sure it would be her. Was it a good ideas to pair them? Probably not because Lucy was almost sure they would be bad influence to each other. Was she looking forward to getting a roommate? Yes! She had lived a solemnly quiet life, and with a character like Nephele, she could feel like she was out in the world again.

"You should get some rest," she said to Nephele, already feeling excited for the coming days.

Nephele cleaned up with the cold water and put on the nun clothes. She looked down at herself with a frown when she was done, feeling both amused and annoyed. If the previous day someone had told her that she would be in a convent and dressed as a nun, she would have called them insane. But there she was.

…

Nephele couldn't sleep. She kept having dreams and nightmares about the same person. A person whose face she couldn't see, but knew they were connected in some way. A person who had very soft and beautiful hands and the sweetest smile. A person who they talked and talked, but when she woke up, she couldn't remember any word that passed between them.

She was woken up by the tolling of the bell, alerting the nuns for the evening prayer before dinner. Nephele sat up on the bed feeling disoriented.

It was a sunny day and she was walking and talking with a beautiful stranger, then she woke up in a small, dark room that wasn't hers.

It took a few minutes for her mind to bring back the recent events and she groaned in frustration, falling back on the bed with a sigh.

After the evening prayers, it was Reverend Mother Beatrice who came to get her for the evening meal.

"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—"

"Then how am I supposed to ask for something? I barely know my way around," Nephele cut Beatrice off before she could finish.

The Reverend mother pressed her lips together, offended by Nephele's interruption. "We use sign language. And you don't need to know your way around. Sister Lucy will show you everywhere you should be."

Nephele's eyebrows raised skeptically. That sounds very controlling and restricting.

"You mustn't enter another sister's room and neither should they," the Reverend mother added, making Nephele sigh, waving a hand in front of her face.

"How long am I supposed to be here?" She asked, catching Reverend Mother Beatrice off guard.

"It shouldn't be long."

"And why must I follow these ridiculous rules?" 'How the hell am I supposed to survive without talking?'

"Sister Nephele," the Reverend mother paused, waiting to see if Nephele would object to being addressed as a nun. She didn't. "It would be rude and wrong even in God's eyes if you should interrupt the ways these women have decided to serve Him just because you're here temporarily."

That shut her up.

…

Reverend Mother Beatrice accompanied Nephele to the dining hall, and despite the earlier warning, Nephele still stole glances at the nuns. At some point she forgot she was supposed to be discreet and brazenly stared at the sisters.

Her curiosity grew with every face she saw. What could possibly push a woman, anyone at all to sacrifice their lives and live in eternal silence and eternal restrictions. Wouldn't they get that after they died? How long had they stayed in the convent? What were they thinking?

True to the Reverend mother's words, each woman walked with her head bowed and her hands folded below her breasts. Nephele's hands freely swung at her sides, and her eyes kept moving from one face to the other. She didn't even realize it.

When they entered the dining hall, Nephele joined the queue and stood behind the Reverend mother. Each sister took her food and found a place to seat on the long tables placed between tow benches. Nephele was the last person on the queue, and she almost cursed out loud when she saw what was on the plate. There was a very small portion of rice, a lot of vegetables and soup and an apple.

Nephele stared at the plate for a long time, wondering and scowling. When was the last time she ate this many vegetables and with no meat? She couldn't stay for too long After making peace with the meal, she searched for Lucy's familiar face. She couldn't find her because every head was similar —bowed and covered in white. The nuns ate silently, solely focused on their food.

A wide grin split Nephele's features when she finally noticed sister Lucy, who was trying her best to make signs with her hands because she couldn't call out to her. She walked over and sat next to Lucy. The latter smiled warmly.

"Is it always this silent?" Nephele whispered, and before Lucy's lips could part to give a response, someone loudly cleared her throat.

Lucy pursed her lips and stared helplessly at Nephele. She tried talking to her in the ancient sign language they'd all learned in the convent, but Nephele just stared blankly, clearly not understanding a thing. Lucy's shoulders dropped in resignation. With no other option, she turned her focus on the bland food and ignored Nephele for the rest of the dinner.

…

Sister Lucy was summoned to the Reverend mother's office the third time that day, and she had to congratulate herself because none of the summons involved her or her family.

"Sister Lucy," Beatrice addressed, rubbing the lines on her forehead. She couldn't remember being this tired in a day. "I need you to move your things to sister Nephele's dormitory. Father Arzhiel doesn't trust her to stay put and we decided you should keep an eye on her. I need you to report everything to me. If she asks too many questions, or if she plots something or tries to convince you to do something." Her eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't do anything to jeopardize your relationship with the Lord, would you sister Lucy? I trust that you've changed your ways?"

"Yes, Reverend Mother."

"Good."

….

Lucy only had to carry her habit, her wash basin and her beddings to Nephele's dormitory. She was both excited and anxious for this step.

Nephele would either be an ally in her ten-years-long escape plan, or she would be just another person she would get to know. She couldn't think of her as an enemy.