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At about four in the morning a sudden ache goes through my body when I am trying to sleep after a rather stressful tour. The last show was great and dandy, but getting both food poisoning AND my period in the span of a couple hours was the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Oh and let's not forget that Frater Imperator– “my brother” – seems to hate me.
I haven’t met Copia yet, and if you are asking me to be completely honest, I’ve sort of been avoiding it. All the fans on social media have made silly jokes about how much the man hates everything I have ever done, but I don’t feel like it is very fair. I didn’t exactly ask to be Papa. I was picked by Sister, and that’s it.
I get out of bed once the pain has grown past ignoring. Navigating through the dark of my room I fiddle around until I find the lightswitch. When it flicks up I’m met with a decrepit me in the mirror wearing christmas pajama pants that I forgot I even owned. I’m not wearing a shirt either, and so the tape over my chest is just on full display. I seriously need to get this taken care of.
The Clergy is dark at night; I’ve noticed that quickly while living here. It's not a dark that you can just ignore and pass through, but it is rather all consuming and draining. The stained glass above does little to help me find my way to the one damn bathroom on this large ass floor. I’m just happy the ghouls stay on a separate floor.
I go to open the door but it is locked.
Odd.
“Uh excuse me?” I utter. Some rustle from the room echoes out and I hear someone muttering to themselves. Seconds later a man about my height comes out with an agitated expression. His eyes flick down to the tape for a split second then back to me. Damn it.
But then I see it. Under his chest are scars and cursive letters tattooed over them. They are words I know well from singing them almost every night the past couple months. “I can see through the scars inside you.” We stare for a while wordlessly, then he laughs humorlessly.
“At this point you’re just stealing my entire brand huh?” He says to me tiredly. He rubs away exhaustion from his face before he steps out of the way from the door. His voice is grumpy, but of similar pitch to mine. And weirdly enough, I feel like I’ve seen this guy before…
“I–do I know you?” I ask him.
He shakes his head slowly.
“No, and I almost wish it could stay that way.”
For some reason that I cannot name I don't think that's true.