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Richter's eyes opened abruptly to an unfamiliar ceiling. Awoken but no sense of waking from any kind of slumber, the night before was a haze, Richter couldn't remember what she was doing here.
Sitting up, Richter looked out of the large open window, the town square distant but in view, she could hear many people talking indistinguishably. The scene began to set in Richter's mind as she stood from the bed.
Investigating the room, Richter began to remember the woman... Annette, she said. Yesterday she had introduced herself and showed Richter a place she could officially stay. Was this place to be Richter's home, for the time being.
It couldn't be helped that Richter thought of the lavender-haired woman she loved, but this other woman seemed hardened and weary of the world, and her hair was a rich fiery red, her face sharp and curved, unlike the soft lavender Annette that Richter longed for. Though, her voice was unsettlingly similar.
The woman ran a brothel, which was also very unlike anything Richter has seen before.. It might have been embarrassing, but this was not the case; The situation in the slums of this city was hideous, and this woman ran a notable safe haven for this type of business. There was a door, Richter opened it and walked down the hallway it led into.
As she passed the doors, it seemed the rooms were empty, everything here was dead silent. Richter wondered where Annette was, whether she was ready for.. what they discussed. As she explored the seemingly empty building, Richter thought about last night.
"It's no secret that people are being hurt.. You saw how they're being hurt. That's how I heard of you.. I'm thankful you helped one of my friends, even if it wasn't on the job, they mean a lot to me.."
The red-haired 'Annette' began nervously rubbing her arm and looked down, as they sat on the same bed from which Richter awoke.
"One thing I'm sure you've come to learn, it's not easy to be poor, or to be a woman, or any number of things that may be inherent to a person, for that matter.."
Richter felt a sadness deep inside her as she listened, remembering the girls she had met in the city, and the things they had told Richter about their lives. Annette returned eye contact, tears beginning to form.
"It's not easy trying to keep them safe, Richter.. I have to ask, what do you know of the church..?"
Richter's heart rate picked up fast as she tried to sort through all the many things she could say, panic starting to set in as she remembered her fugitive status. Though, Richter remained confident of her motives.
"They've hurt me and a family a great deal.. Not to mention.." Annette.
Richter began to regret her words already as she was unexpectedly choked up, her eyes closed and she bit her lip, looking away.
"Hello!?"
Richter called out from a central room to the upstairs of the building, wondering where anyone was at this point, as the front door was left open. Richter continued the search the rest of the building.. Yesterday they had many people come and go at this time.
"Richter.. You can tell me. You're safe from them here."
The red-haired woman named Annette put a hand on Richter's shoulder, and her lip quivered as she tried harder to repress the tears, taking a deep breath in an attempt to gain composure.
"I had to leave behind the people I love.. The church.."
Richter had to stop and breathe for a moment. Annette began to rub Richter's shoulder in a comforting manner, though she still shook.
"They saw me and my.. The woman I love.."
Richter looked at her with conviction, proudly grief-stricken for the first time since that night.
"The church was secretly watching us, trying to catch us being, well, in love together.. It seems they couldn't be obvious or they would have barged right into our home."
She looked down, brow furrowed angrily at the memory. Many times had she told herself how unfairly the church had treated her, it became obvious the past few years that expressing it verbally was cathartic.
"We had been so careful to keep our love hidden.. I don't- I don't understand why they listened by the window- why did they know our words, so precisely?!"
Openly she began to cry, the words came out in-between her trembling. Annette exclaimed her sorrow to Richter, stroking her back softly as she tried to breathe through the crying.
"The reason I wanted you to come here was because I can tell that your instinct is to protect people in need.. These people need someone like you. The church.. Is an enemy of ours. They've hurt me and my family a great deal as well."
As the crying had subsided, Richter wiped the tears from her cheeks and looked at Annette as if to say 'continue'.
"We need protection from the church.. They want to have us persecuted."
Richter grew frantic as the building proved empty, returning to the central room and heading for the front door when she was stopped in her tracks
"RICHTER!!!!!!!"
A horribly loud scream echoed through the street and rang in Richter's ears, eyes widened as she swung open the door, looking up and down the street in a panic.
"Annette!?!"
Richter called out for her, heart pounding and thoughts twisting as she began to go toward the source of the sound.
"Richter!!!"
Annette, lavender hair and all, sobbed loudly as she ran into view, her blouse torn at the sleeves, the embroidered pattern laid waste to, and her tattered skirt flowing behind her as she ran, weak and seemingly trying to run off a limp.
Immediately Richter took off in her direction, heart racing as she did, and as she met her lover they collapsed to the ground together, Richter holding her arms as she continued to sob in pain.
"Annette!! I'm here, what happened? Who hurt you? Are they coming?"
As Annette cried she moved her hand which was pressed against her abdomen, to reveal a large wound, blood having soaked her shirt underneath. Richter gasped but immediately jumped into action.
"Annette! It-it's okay, here lie down, we can fix this, someone!! Someone help we need-"
Looking up she realized that, like the building, the normally busy street was empty but for ominous chatter in the background. For a moment, this was very perplexing.
"Richter, the church.."
Looking back down at Annette attentively, Richter had on a look of worry, anger, and fear at those words.
"I.. I tried to run away and find you, but.. They were tracking me and.. Oh, Richter.."
Annette sobbed more as she embraced the Belmont tightly, Richter held her tight in return, allowing herself to cry as well.
"Will they find us, Annette.. How long ago did this happen."
"I- I don't know how long but, they attacked me outside of the city.. I managed to slip away, but they've still done enough to kill me.."
Tears fell from Richter's face.
"No.. No, Annette.. Please, come with me-"
"Richter.. I'm sorry- I won't make it.."
Annette held Richter's face in her hand, and it appeared she was becoming weaker.
"Go to her.. The woman you met, she will help us.. She is just like us.."
For a moment Richter was perplexed. Tears continued to run down Annette's face as she spoke.
"The church- they've hurt so many people..
The suffering they cause.. It's impossible to escape it.. Do you see what they've caused.. Richter, look at what they did to us."
Embracing each other once more, they cried. Annette seemed like she could barely hold on.
"Richter.. Annette will help show you the way.. You can stop this.. Stop them for us, and all the other people who suffered.. Under their rule.. You're so strong, my love.."
Richter sobbed as she held Annette tighter, and as Annette's body began to stop moving entirely.
"Persecuted.. What do you mean?"
The red-haired Annette returned her hands to her lap before continuing.
"Before I was able to buy this place, when we had really no structure to how we made money, somehow the church was made aware of us, and the way we served other women, the way some of us are.. Not entirely women.. It was impossible to protect everyone, we had no warning.."
Looking down, the woman expressed her sadness, and wiping the tears from her face, Richter listened closely.
"One of my girls- my friends.. The church had her hung."
It was shocking to Richter, the cruel and unusual ways in which the church operated just made her all the angrier. No one should be allowed to wield power over innocent lives the way they did.
"How.. How could they get away with that.."
Annette was confident in her conviction.
"If the church finds that something is going on which they don't approve of.. They end it. Loving someone of the same gender is a criminal charge, and so is living freely among others who are the same. It was lucky that the church didn't try and round us all up."
The woman spoke clearly like she had rehearsed it a thousand times, and lived it a thousand more. Richter remembered her own experiences. A criminal charge.. Richter was familiar with this. The word began with an 'S', and her heart continued to race and stumble as memories tried to resurface. Memories of their cruel teachings.
"This isn't acceptable.."
Richter spoke quietly as the two women sat in their sadness. 'Annette' slowly looked at her with pleading eyes, and reached out to put her hand on the sleeve of Richter's worn off-white blouse.
"Will you help us, Richter.. I think the church knows about this place. Not where it is but still, that it exists.. I don't know how I would protect the people here if the church found us."
It was hardly a question for the angry, flame-hearted Belmont, she thought, what a wonderful way to put the church's training to use.
"Of course, I will help.. I'll kill them if I have to."
It wouldn't be accurate to say that Richter has never thought about doing so before, but saying it, meaning it, was a fantastic feeling, and Richter almost wanted to laugh, sickeningly confident in her thoughts of revenge.
Quietly Richter cried as she held the lavender-haired Annette, as she lay stiff in her arms.
"Richter."
It was Annette's voice, gasping as she quickly looked up, Richter saw her; the red-haired woman who called herself 'Annette'. Staring down at Richter, she reached her hand out for the mourning woman.
"Thank you.. I-I'm thankful for the protection you've already freely given to the vulnerable people in this city.."
Annette smiled to herself, they sat silently for a moment as she reached out to hold Richter's hand as it lay in her own lap.
"Do you think they will ever be stopped.."
Annette asked solemnly, it was a hard question.. There was no way to imagine a world in which they didn't have a hand in controlling things.
"I.. I hope they are stopped.. One day.. It's a sad thing to say, but.. They just don't want to stop."
Their communication was nonverbal, Richter knew that she agreed.
"Sometimes I want to march in there and deal with them myself.."
Quietly the red-haired Annette spoke, insecure. Richter understood the feeling.
"Me too.. You have to wonder, what if the people they were oppressing.. Just fought back."
Laughing to herself, Annette held onto Richter's hand tighter.
"You know, we really ought to.. At a certain point, they couldn't stop us."
Richter smiled, too.
As Annette offered her hand, Richter thought for a moment as she stared desperately, before wiping the tears from her face and resting her lover gently onto the ground, taking the red-haired woman's hand and weakly stepping past Annette's body, as stray sobs escaped her.
"Come with me, Richter.."
Overcome with sadness, it was hard to speak any words through the many different emotions she was running through, brow furrowed. Anger, sadness, confusion, shock. 'Annette' reached out her other hand to hold Richter's tear-soaked face.
"Look at what they've done to us.. They just won't stop."
Eyes shut tight, Richter cried silently for a moment before looking at the red-haired Annette.
"They need to be stopped."
Trembling, Richter felt determination emerge from her rage and sadness.
"... What if we really did it."
Annette spoke clearly like she was realizing for the first time that she really could. The notion fueled the growing confidence Richter had that she is stronger than everyone in that church. After all, what did they always say? The Belmonts had to stay in line, for if they did not, they would fall victim to the spoils of their own power.
Whether this was true historically, she doubts. Over the years the church's lies we're undone by Richter's exposure to the real world. The real world needed power like her, they needed protection. The church has only ever protected its own interests.
The Belmonts are no use to anyone for as long as they're in with that church, for as long as they support them and carry out their will. For all its worth they certainly deserved the Belmonts to fight back.
It was silent for a few moments as Richter thought before she confidently replied.
"I want to."
Richter's face had grief and anger written all over, but she nodded in response. They need to be stopped. Tears didn't stop flowing, as Richter tried to compose herself.
"What do we do.."
The red-haired Annette gazed confidently past Richter's eyes and into her soul, silently let go of her hand, and reached up to hold the other side of Richter's face, gently.
"Shh.."
Richter studied the woman's face inquisitively as she ran her hands to the back of her head and into her brown hair, holding onto either side. A small blush ran across Richter's face at the perceived affection, despite the situation.
As she began to grip her fingers onto either side of Richter's head, a shooting pain developed, one sharp sting after another until the sensation made her exclaim, confused but quickly the pain took over, as if lightning were coming out of the woman's fingers.
Richter began to yell in suffering as the woman concentrated on putting this spell on her, just the Dark Priest had instructed. Green streaks of lightning began to emanate from where the spell was being placed, the Succubus thought what a beautiful color.
Watching as Richter's face was distorted by sheer pain, she thought how worthy the Belmont is, how she would have everything she wanted, in due time.
The red-haired Annette smiled at Richter's eagerness, and for a moment the Belmont felt insecure.
"I-I mean it..! I think we could stop them.."
But of course she did not doubt it, Annette looked at her with the same longing for revenge that had been painted across her from the moment they suggested fighting back, and her hand reached up to Richter's face, pulling the long brown hair behind her ear affectionately.
"Let's stop them.."
Nervous at the contact, the Belmont swallowed hard as the red-haired Annette slid her hand into Richter's hair to hold the back of her head.
Suddenly, Richter can see and hear nothing that exists within the material world.