Chapter 6
1702 Words
CHAPTER SIX
I let Father Collins lead me out of the room, leaving Ros behind, but I cast a look over my shoulder before the view through the doorway was blocked by the wall. Ros stood in the room with his hands balled into fists at his side, and his eyes staring in frustration at the floor.
“Come along, Kate,” Collins called from a few steps further down the hall.
I scurried to catch up to him as he led me down the leftward portion of the hall toward what I assumed was the back of the church. “Ros isn’t one of the brothers?”
Collins burst into laughter and the noise startled a pair of brothers who stood against the wall. The good father gathered himself and bowed his head to them, where they returned the favor. “Pardon my outburst,” he apologized as he turned his attention to me. His eyes twinkled with mirth. “The thought of one so… spirited as Ros being a brother of any order is quite amusing. To answer your true question, he is a guest among us. Business has brought him here, and I hope he concludes the affair soon.”
“It doesn’t sound good,” I mused.
“You have a kind heart, Kate, but this matter is beyond that which you need worry yourself,” he advised me as we turned the corner.
I found myself staring down a corridor that stretched the full breadth of the church. The wall to our right no longer had doors, but windows stood in their stead. The plain glass looked out on a large courtyard in the center of the church. Brothers in their habits worked away at small, raised garden plots or tended flowers. I couldn’t help but lift my chin and soak in the warmth from the sun.
“Do you not have such natural beauty from where you hail?” Collins wondered as he guided me down the hall.
“We do, but I have to go to a park to enjoy it,” I admitted as we passed one door after another on our left.
Collins stopped us before one of the smaller ones and opened the portal to reveal a room hardly larger than a cupboard. The walls of the rectangular interior were lined with shelves, and on them were all the clothes a monk could ever want. Plain shirts, plain pants, and rough robes were the order of the day. The bottom shelves even had some plain brown shoes of wrapped leather.
Collins slipped inside and took a long look at me before he turned his attention to the shelves. “Rather small, but we have some small brothers who have made spares for themselves.”
“I don’t want to take anything from anyone else,” I countered as I watched him rummage through the neatly folded clothes.
He smiled as he continued his search. “Your kindness is admirable, but the brothers stitch these clothes for both themselves and anyone in need, and you, my daughter,” He paused and cast a quick look at my attire, “are in rather desperate need.”
I blushed and pulled my shirt down in a vain attempt to give myself some decency. “Sorry…”
He turned to me with a few bundles in his arms and shook his head. “There is no need to apologize. Truth be told, I am grateful you have finally arrived. The world is in great need of hope.”
I winced. “I don’t know if you have the right girl. I’m just a simple office worker from a small city.”
He chuckled. “The brightest lights may come from the humblest of beginnings. What matters is not where you came from, but what you do with the gifts you are given to give your light its brilliance. Now then,” He plopped the three bundles into my arms and stooped to take up a pair of shoes. “Let us see about getting your light a little less visible.”
Father Collins led me out of the linen closet and back to my room. I was disappointed to find it was empty. Ros had left, and I wondered if his departure was permanent.
“You needn’t worry about his being gone,” the good father assured me as he set my shoes near the bed and turned to face me with a smile on his lips. “I am sure you will see him very soon.”
I blushed and averted my eyes from his keen gaze. “I-I was just getting used to him being around, that’s all.”
“Indeed,” he mused as he nodded at the clothes in my arms. “Please do not hesitate to ask if you need assistance with those clothes, though I am sure you will find them easy to put on.”
I nodded, and he slipped past me and out of the room, mindful to shut the door behind him. Now that I was alone, I had time to think about what had happened to me. They weren’t all unpleasant thoughts, but my pulse quickened whenever my mind wandered over the prophecy and the king looking for me. The way Collins and Ros had spoken, being found by His Highness wasn’t a good thing.
I set my clothes on the bed and sighed as I slipped out of my old attire. A part of me couldn’t help but compare the action to shedding one life for another as I gently set my old clothes aside for the new ones. Father Collins had a good eye, and I found them to fit perfectly, though the shirt was slightly snug across the chest. Fortunately, my b*a had survived the trip and I didn’t have to worry about the tightness.
I finished by slipping into the shoes and stood. My eyes looked around for a mirror, and I found the room wanting. I turned my face to the door. “Um, Father Collins?”
“Yes, my daughter?” came the reply.
“Is there a mirror I could use?” The door opened and Collins walked in with a small square mirror. I lifted an eyebrow. “That’s fast service.”
He chuckled as he handed me the glass. “I thought you might be in need of one, and so fetched it while you were clothing.”
I looked at my reflection and winced. “I think I’m going to need a brush.” My long hair was frazzled from top to tip.
He bowed his head. “I will fetch one presently, but how do the clothes fit?”
“Not too bad,” I complimented him as I turned in a circle.
Bad idea. I hadn’t taken a good look at how my shoes were fastened and in turning I completely stumbled out of them.
Father Collins chuckled as he bent down to pick up my wayward shoes. “Would you like me to show you how to tie these?”
I gave him a sheepish look and rubbed the back of my neck, or tried to, as my hand became tangled in my hair. “If you could,” I pleaded as I yanked my fingers free of the rat’s nest. A grimace featured on my face as I wiggled my hand to free the loose strands I’d pulled out. “And maybe get me a curry comb instead of a brush.”
“I will see what I can find among the brothers,” Collins promised as he gestured to the bed. “If you would please take a seat.”
I plopped myself down on the bed and winced as some of the goose down in the mattress poked my butt. Collins knelt in front of me and slipped first one foot and then the other into the sandal-like shoes. He grasped two loose straps of leather and tied them neatly together to make a bow.
When he moved his hands away, I wiggled my foot. The shoe fit like a glove. Metaphorically speaking, that is.
I leaned down and quickly mimicked the knot, and in a few moments my ensemble was complete. Collins stepped back as I hopped to my feet and paced the room. “How do they feel?”
“Like walking on air,” I complimented him as I stopped to wiggle one of my feet.
He smiled. “I am glad to hear it. They are very durable, as well, and nearly waterproof.”
I turned to face the bed and held up the remains of my shirt and looked through the two long tears in the back. “There doesn’t happen to be anything in that prophecy mentioning how I can save my clothes during this ‘borrowing,’ is there?”
He stroked his chin. “I fear not, but I am sure you will find a way to control your ability soon enough. However, I will search through the books contained in the libraries within the city and see if I might find more information pertaining to your dilemma.”
I lifted my head and smiled at him. “I’m guessing prophecies aren’t fulfilled all that often in this world as in mine.”
He chuckled. “Not often at all, but I am glad for this one.”
I felt a tightening over my heart. “So I can fight back the darkness?”
Father Collins set a hand on my shoulder and met my eyes with his own twinkling ones. “So that I was able to meet such a charming young woman.” I blushed and he removed his hand. “Now then. I shall leave you to your solitude while I attend to my daily chores. That is unless you wish to join me.”
I eased myself back onto the bed and shook my head. “I think I’d rather sit here and think about a few things.”
He bowed his head. “Then I bid you a good morning, and I shall check on you later.”
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