"Has it happened, who did they make council?"

Somewhere in the distance a girl hushed for the others to keep quiet. "Do you want Miss Bradil to hear you? Rebecca hasn't returned yet, we still have to cover for her."

"She hasn't? But she's been gone all night."

"What do you think they're doing to her?"

"I don't know, but we mustn't ask questions, I'm sure Rebecca will tell us once she returns."

"If she returns."

Magali had been half asleep, praying for the school bell not to go off on a Sunday, when the conversation between her camrads stirred her sleep. It had all been a blur, imagination even. Nevertheless, Magali told her new friend as they met up on the outer ends of campus.

"Strange." Mia said. "And you're sure they mentioned Rebecca?"

"Bien sûr." Magali nodded, she was certain.

On this cloudy Sunday morning the two girls were headed into town. It would be Magali's first visit and Mia had promised to be her guide.

"Why is this strange?" Magali asked, still holding her Italian grammar tight. To repeat words that had already been said to her, was the trick, this was Magali's way of keeping conversations afloat.

"Well, I don't know many people in your dorm, but I know Rebecca." Mia said.

"You do?"

"Everyone does, she's the sister of Enzo and Lorenzo."

"The crimson brothers?" Magali had picked up an interest for the sacred brotherhood ever since she discovered that Charles was one of them. Her history book hadn't given her much information about this generation of crimson cadets, however, Mia tells her that there's twenty of them and that Charles was amongst the seniors.

"Well they're not really leaders, leadership requires more delegated authority. They're a part of the council."

"The council?"

"The people that call the shots on what goes on in the clubhouse."

"The Clubhouse." Magali nodded. The girls passed the elegant building on their way out of the school premises. For some reason the building seemed so detached from the rest of the campus. As if the brotherhood was beyond any other affiliation that happened at SDC. Magali wondered what it was like for him, how Charles liked it there.

In order to get into town the girls had to take a bus that only came along once every hour to pick up and drop off the students of Scuola di Conoscenze. The girls held their coats to their throats arriving into the small town. This way pinching every button to make sure that the cold breeze didn't penetrate. Mia suggested that they'd get something hot to drink, so they found a small café. Mia went to order their hot beverages, whilst Magali chose a table for them to sit. She chose a booth beside a window, from there they'd have a view of the town that seemed a bit too slow for a Sunday morning.

"Don't you go to church on Sunday's?" Magali asked as Mia approached with two mugs of hot chocolate.

"My family are atheists" She winked.

Magali nodded understandingly, shifting her gaze back towards the window. It was the tower rising above all that had caught her attention.

"I can take you there if you like?" Mia said, noticing Magali's interest in the town's cathedral.

"What time is the Sunday service?" Magali's watch indicated that if there was a service it had already started.

"Not sure, The best thing we can do is go there."

A few people had begun roaming the streets as they left the cafe. They weren't many, but they were people, Magali told herself. For some reason the town's aesthetic had her imagining vampire's lurking at night. This thought reappeared when the narrow street they had been walking on, erupted and the giant cathedral rose before them.

"We're here." Mia said.

"It looks closed." Magali frowned. Back home the church doors stood open on Sundays.

"Maybe this isn't where to enter, let's try around the building."

Mia was right, the giant ports weren't for public entry. Along with a few other visitors the girls entered through a side door that took them into the main hall in front of the priest altar.

"I'll take a seat further down if you like to pray in peace." Mia said, pointing to a row further down from where they were standing.

"Where is the priest?" Magali asked. She didn't feel comfortable praying in a church without knowing about its affiliation, without knowing its head, the priest. This is what her father had told her to do once she felt comfortable enough attending any church in her new town.

Mia looked around the chapelle. "Should we ask somebody?" She said, referring to some of the people already bowed down in prayer.

"Let them pray." Magali said. They exited the chapelle and went into the main hall. They were met by the giant church ports again, this time regarding them from the inside. The girls had two options: climb the flight of stairs that lead to what Magali assumed would be the organ balcony, perhaps look for someone up there. Or they could stay in the main hall and wait for the priest to hopefully walk by.

Mia preferred the second option, however Magali was already seen climbing the flight of stairs. However two voices had them suddenly paus mid climb. It was the priest dressed in all white, with him, an old man dressed in all black:

"And the ritual, was it completed?" The old man spoke.

"It was Sir, the girl did her part."

"And the boy?"

"The boy was cut, lost a lot of blood, but was conscious throughout the ceremony."

"Where is he now?"

"At the school Sir. Resting."

"Good, he'll need it."

"I must tell you, Sir." The priest said anxiously.

The old man had gotten to turn around and leave when the priest spoke. "Yes Julius?" He said inpatient.

"There was one complication with the ceremony."

"What kind of complications Julius?"

The priest rubbed his dry hands together. "The boy wasn't wearing his ring."

"Is that so?"

"Said he lost it, Sir."

"I see."

"This means that the ceremony wasn't complete" The priest bowed his head in shame.

The old man regarded the priest with an undermining stare, as if he found himself to be superior, Magali thought. Something about the whole conversation between the two made her want to stay hidden at the bottom of the steps. Mia seemed to think the same when smothering an erupting sneeze, afraid to make any noise as the girls stood peering over the railing.

"I apologize for not discovering the absence of the ring Sir, but if you recall the ceremony has been performed on plenty of ringless gentlemen, gentlemen before our time."

"Yes Julius, common men, but as you know, Charles Leclerc is one of the legacies, he is the grandchild of Isac Leclerc. I specifically asked them to use this cathedral where all of the legacies are tethered. Hadn't I made myself clear Julius?"

"You had Sir, you had made yourself clear." By now the priest looked to crumble.

"What should we do now Sir? Performing the ceremony again could be dangerous."

For a minute the old man looked to ponder. "The girl." He said. "She understands her role in this, doesn't she?"

"I believe so Sir."

"I need you to be certain about this Julius." The old man said firmly.

"I...I am certain Sir."

"Good, I'll have the message delivered to the boys, once Charles has recovered we will proceed with the ceremony."

"But how, Sir?" The priest pleaded. "If the boy is cut again he'll die and I won't stand for it, not in my cathedral."

A laugh left the old man's mouth, a laughter so dark that Magali would rather have the School bell ring in her ear for the rest of her life, than to ever hear it again. Coming down from it, the old man spoke calmly. "This cathedral belongs to no one Julius. Your family has just been tending to it for all these years."

The priest said nothing.

"The ceremony will go on once the boy is ready."

"But Sir..."

"Don't worry Julius there won't be any more blood on your hands. This time we will do it the old way."