Shadows Disappear In The Light

[viola]

November 22, 2008
Dublin, Ireland
St. Catherine's School for Girls

Hogsmeade?
Dublin.

She had stepped foot in the city limits, and as fast as lightning was back in a familiar setting. The smell of precipitation caressed the air, as it too, in that place from where she had come it was getting ready to snow. At least it wasn’t raining, Annemarie thought to herself as she walked down the sidewalks, her small heels clinking as her long robes just barely hung and swayed above the grounds. Annemarie needed someone that could relate to her, someone she could release all her problems upon… someone that would know her better than she even knew herself. In that respect, she had gotten special permission from Raynor to leave the school for a few hours as the students lingered and dilly dallied within the town of Hogsmeade; a few hours that Annemarie hoped would make all the difference in the world about who she was, and who she could be.

The city was vast, and the church that was connected to St. Catherine’s was just as generously built. It was one of the finest nunneries in all the United Kingdom, in Annemarie’s opinion, and the only true place that the thirty two year old called home. It was good to be back in a place that she knew would always accept her; and yet, she never told any of those she trusted her magical side. They didn’t need to know, and would never understand, so she kept it to herself and continued on.

It had only been almost a year since she had left the school, the town, the country, and yet it seemed as if so much had changed. The buildings she passed by all had different names of the stores and markets that inhabited them, and the people seemed less friendly than they were at one time. Looking down at the street, no one greeted Annemarie, former Sister-in-training of St. Catherine’s with a smile or even a head nod. Whatever had happened in Dublin that year had changed the city drastically. It seemed all the life was sucked out of the place… all the life had left Dublin.

Only the church seemed untouched, or at least to Annemarie, the school was untouched. The church itself seemed warn, weeds grew upon the wall, now brown and brittle due to the coming of winter, and the bell that once chimed proudly in the bell tower, now was in front of the church; laying there as if it had been thrown a great distance, by a very strong being. What had happened, Annemarie didn’t know, but she was determined to find out.

[closed/Admin Approved]

[viola]

It was strange, the feeling of being a public guest, rather than a resident. Annemarie had only ever walked through the corridors and the walls of the church as a nun-to-be for so long that when she walked through them now, she could hardly remember the feeling she received of just plain awe. The stain glass windows with Jesus upon them, and the Saints all seemed to look down upon her and question why exactly she was there among them again. She too wondered, but Annemarie knew. She had to see Sister Mary Ellen, for after all she had gone through, she knew the Head Sister would help her clear her mind.

Her footsteps echoed in the great stone halls, following those of Sister Isabella who led the way. Smiles had greeted Annemarie at the great doorway made of solid oak when the sisters that were gathered in the nape noticed that she had returned. They all chattered and spoke about all that had gone on in the last year, and most of them were filled with joy that Annemarie was back with them. They understood after Annemarie spoke, that her visit was just that, but Annemarie couldn’t help but to hear her heartbreak along with theirs as she told them that she wasn’t staying.

“Then tonight, a glorious dinner!” Sister Samantha had said. Her bright, chubby face sparkled and Annemarie, along with the other sisters laughed and agreed. They’d have to have a marvelous supper for Annemarie, inviting some of the students that had cherished van Aller before she left. “Oh! And we’ll invite little Sally and her parents.” One said excitedly. “What about, Sandra? You cannot forget Sally’s twin, my dear.” Another said. Annemarie just laughed, loving those two girls and their family with all of her heart. She’d missed all of her girls… her students. God’s children…

Isabella on the other hand, had never been fond of Annemarie, and as she brought her to see the Head Sister, both women walked in silence. It was deafening as Annemarie’s heartbeat pounded in her ears, her breath was barely exhaled as she could feel her stomach want to burst. She hadn’t seen Sister Mary Ellen just as long as the others, but this was different to see her again. And with Isabella as her escort, Annemarie found that she could barely allow herself to say or do anything that could have been considered, un-lady like; or rather, un-nun like.

Posture straight, clothes unwrinkled, though the robes she wore kept gaining a glance from Isabella as she strode. “Is there something wrong, Sister Isabella?” Annemarie asked, the other nun, sticking her nose up in the air as she walked and shook her head. “Of course not. What would be wrong, after all? It’s not like you leave us, and then come back unannounced… only to say you’ll be shortly leaving again…” the woman muttered more, but it was inaudible for Annemarie and she was slightly taken aback. Had the woman wanted her to stay if she could, as well? “Sister…” Annemarie began, but Isabella’s hand rose up to stop Annemarie from saying anymore.

“We’re here, Annemarie,” Isabella said, rapping three times on the Head Sister’s door with her knuckles and then turning to leave. “I’ll be at the dinner.” It was all she said before she left, and Annemarie smile warmly, her hand reaching up to grab hold of the necklace she wore to involuntarily play with it. Isabella had too, missed her… or so it seemed. Annemarie was finding herself becoming more and more attached to the church again… what every had made her leave?

The door opened slowly and a familiar voice was heard. “Come in my child, the breeze from the hall is rather chilly. Don’t you think”

[viola]

Her office wasn’t the same as it had been just a year ago. The pictures had increased, and newer ones of the students and the Sisters were up in their places. One of her still remained though, and Annemarie blushed slightly as she saw it once more. It was her in her first uniform that she had ever gotten, completely white, and brilliantly stunning. It wasn’t the normal wear, but it was her first fixture as she was allowed to enter into the church and the sisterhood. Annemarie was so fond of it, and Sister Mary Ellen had taken her under her wing that day as her special project. She knew there was more to Annemarie… more than just some college girl who’d lost everything she had had once upon a time.

Her hand dropped from the necklace she wore, and as it did, it bounced it just slightly so that it was no longer tucked underneath her clothing as it once had been. Annemarie’s eyes traveled more around the room as she noticed the stone walls, still the same walls she’d seen before, the desk that was the same, and even the woman behind the large mahogany desk was the same. She looked beautiful, and a tear formed in Annemarie’s eye as she saw her old friend, colleague, and mentor.

“A bit chilly, yes,” Annemarie said as she sheepishly shrugged her shoulders and closed the door behind her. A smile could hardly be contained as Annemarie turned back to the older woman, and she stepped gently on the floor, making her way over to her. “Sister Mary Ellen, I’ve missed you so much,” Annemarie said, wrapping her arms around the woman as Mary Ellen stood to greet her. “And I have missed you my sweet child. Please, sit with me. I want to know everything about your new life.” Of course, Annemarie knew she couldn’t tell all of her new life to the Head Sister, and before she even spoke she prayed silently to God to forgive her. How could she reveal that she was a witch to the Head Sister? Not only could she not morally, but it was also against the laws of the magical world… a well kept secret, that Annemarie could never tell.

“I’m now at a boarding school in Scotland. The very one I went to when I was a child,” the Head Sister nodded as Annemarie began, not asking anything of her that was not given. Sister Mary Ellen had always known that Annemarie held a life to her that was dear and private, and though she knew it would be judged later when her dear sweet, Annemarie met with the Almighty God, Himself, she also knew that it was not her place to stick her nose where it did not belong. She was grateful for any information Annemarie told her, for she knew she would never lie, and when she also told her about a man her heart reached out for, again Sister Mary Ellen was not surprised.

“It’s just been awful, Sister… I feel like everything I knew, found to be true…” she stopped shaking her head as Sister Mary Ellen took up where she left off. “You feel, Annemarie, that the life you formed is now coming untwined and you are unsure of what God had meant for you. I understand completely, my child.” The older woman smiled and sighed. She had known that Annemarie wasn’t meant for the life that she, herself, had chosen. It had been why she had been so surprised when Annemarie told her she wanted to join the nunnery in the first place. She found it to be excellent news, but she never thought it was something that was right for the young, dark haired lass… especially with a past that she could never reveal. There were too many secrets she kept… too many fears, hopes, and even desires.

“Annemarie, I want to tell you something,” Sister Mary Ellen reached into her desk and pulled out something that she had found Annemarie throwaway years before. It was a picture. One that Sister Mary Ellen swore she saw move once or twice, but every time she looked back at it, nothing happened. It was a scene of her the young Annemarie with someone, a boy… and another young lass. A memory that obviously had been treasured, but then found to be nothing more than a painful truth.

Handing the picture over to Annemarie, the dark haired woman gasped as she looked back from the picture to the Head Sister. To Annemarie, the picture did in fact move, and as she hugged tightly to male in the picture she knew quite well to be Alexander Griffiths, his sister danced beside them and giggled and laughed at the two of them. She had been making fun of the fact that Annemarie was being mushy, or something to that extent. That had been taken right before Xander had left the school… a few weeks before Xander had graduated.

“Sister… I…” Annemarie stuttered looking up at the older woman, a tear falling down the side of her cheek. “How did you find this?” she asked.