"Amen."
The last word of her prayer was made vocal as Sofia finished her private waking invocation. Her eyes raised from her bed to instead look at the wall, not yet finding it within herself to raise from her knees. Normally she would close her eyes during such devotion, but she dare not lower her eyelids for more than she had to.
Her sleep; after being relieved of her duty at Amaia's door, was restless. When she laid her head to rest, her usually blank dreams were filled with thoughts and visages of the vampire below their convent. Even now, kneeling at the side of her bed, her mind was filled with the sights and sensations of the night prior. She swallowed, remembering the way that long tongue had slithered between her lips. She could feel the ghosts of those delicate fingers trailing up her thighs; the soft impression of her fangs against her neck; the plushness of her lips; the shocking warmth of her body; how she wanted to feel that tongue-
Sofia started, snapping herself out of the daze she had unintentionally put herself in. She rubbed her stomach through her habit, ignoring the fact that the hand had just been on its way to find its way between her thighs. Fists clenched and thighs squeezed together as she tried to clear the sinful thoughts from her mind. Saint benedict and the Heavenly Father would give her strength. She knew a confession was in order for herself... but not until the blood feeder had been... handled. Once she was gone it would be safe to approach Father Vincenzo.
Sofia was pulled from her thoughts by a knock at her door. The nun hurried to rise, brushing her habit of the dust from the floor so that she might appear presentable. Satisfied, the door was opened.
"Sister Sofia, I'm glad I caught you awake. Oh," The woman at her door frowned, "I hope I did not interrupt your waking prayers?"
"Sister Evelina! No no, I just finished actually. May I help you?"
"Oh, well, Mother Superior asked me to make sure you were awake after the early morning guard. She doesn't want you to miss our mid-day meal again."
"Ah, yes. Well, shall we walk together?"
The two women began their journey through the halls of the monastery, quiet for several minutes before Sofia broke the silence.
"What... what do you make of A- the
Vampira?
" Sofia caught herself before revealing that she had learned of the creature's name during her nightly guard.
"Oh, what a wretched thing. She spends half of it seemingly in a state of rest, although I wouldn't call it sleep. Her body still reacts to sounds as if she were awake, but it's the one time that she's silent. She spends the rest of her time trying to ensnare me in conversation, asking all manner of questions, even as she begins to repeat herself after all this time. I thought she might realize the futility of it by now, but she persists." Evelina shook her head, hardly able to contain the disgust from her voice.
"You... don't speak to her at all?" Sofia tilted her head just slightly, trying her best to conceal the guilt that plagued her thoughts.
"Of course not! Mother Superior's orders were clear." Evelina stopped, narrowing her eyes at the sister beside her. "Sofia, you're not
conversing
with that wretched blood feeder, are you?"
"What? N-no, of course not! She just... she tries to speak to me as well."
Evelina looked for a moment longer, but seemed satisfied with the other nuns' answer.
"Well, that's good at least. Goodness, I hate to imagine what holding a conversation with that vile thing would lead to."
~~~~~~~~
Night fell, as it always did. The Mother Superior and her two accompanying nuns had since departed, this time having left Amaia covered in lashes. Blood had welled up in the wounds, but hardly as much as what would be expected from a human. Sofia, while helping her stave off her starvation, had not left her full enough to be able to bleed as a mortal might. Consequently, it was the same reason the wounds had yet to fully close.
But Amaia hardly noticed the marks. At least, not when she heard the steps coming down the stairs. She had long since learned to recognize Sofia by the sound of her descending stairs alone. While confident she would, Sofia returning was not written in stone. The fact that she was tonight spoke wonderfully of her descent into Amaia's hands.
The door was opened, and for the second night in a row, the nun came upon the seemingly meek looking vampire. Sofia grimaced, making sure to shut the door before she took her place beside Amaia once more.
"I brought a bucket of water again... but it won't help you really, will it?"
"Heh, I appreciate your efforts sister, but no. you've already helped me more than you can know with what you did for me last night. But-"
"Then let me help you again."
"No, Sofia. The risk to you is too great, you've already-"
"Amaia,
please!
" Sofia chewed her bottom lip, trying her best to reason with the other. "I- Your-... I can't let you continue to wallow down here in your pain."
"Well... I can accept that. But I can't allow you to go without repayment. If you insist on helping me, I must insist on helping you again." Amaia had caught it in Sofia's voice. That little hitch of selfish need. The slight desperation to feel the pleasure Amaia offered once again, despite the forbidden nature of it. She did well to insist it was for Amaia's sake, and she probably even believed it herself.
