The Gargoyle's Sin

Running Errands

I truly struggled getting out of bed this morning, I was even willing to face my aunt's wrath if it meant being able to hide away from everything for a while longer. If I'm being honest, I didn't really even sleep last night. My aunt was very quick to point out how horrible I looked and I was silly enough to think she would take some pity on me and tell me to rest today. That hope was quickly distinguished when she told me she had some errands for me to run today and gave me a list of groceries, medicine, and books from the library that she needed. So here I was slowly trudging my way to the shops while trying not to think about my conversation with Grimald. 

I was now more afraid than ever and kept catching myself looking over my shoulder terrified of finding people in dark robes following me. It was tempting to run to the cemetery to sit with Grimald or even run back to Sybil's home and hide. How did I get mix up in all of this? Maybe if I put everything back where I found it and quit digging deeper by asking questions I would be left alone. Deep down I knew that wasn't true for multiple reasons,. First being that I was to curious for my own good, I always have been and I always would be. The second being that I knew that even if I did quit searching for answers I already knew more than I should and trouble would continue to find me. Besides, I enjoyed Grimald's company and wanted to find a way to lift his curse if that was even possible, he was the only one I truly felt safe with. 

I saw the pharmacy first so I quickly ran in and picked up my aunt's medicine. The pharmacist was a kind older gentleman who had crows feet around his eyes, a balding  head, and a smile that never left his face. When I gave him my aunt's name he instantly knew who she was and quickly retrieved her medication for me. 

"It's so nice to meet you," he said. "Your aunt is definitely a character that most folks around here struggle to like. I personally think she's just a little misunderstood."

He chuckled at the end of his sentence while he bagged up the bottle of pills. 

"How is she doing? Is she recovering well?"

I nodded my head in reply not really knowing what to say in response to his question. The truth was she should have been recovered enough by now to be left alone, but because she refused to leave the couch no progress was being made. The clearing of a throat brought me back to reality and I realized by the look on the pharmacist's face that he was expecting a verbal answer. 

"U-umm she is re-recovering alright. She st-still has a l-little bit of pain but s-seems to be doing al-alright."

By the end of my explanation my face was a deep shade of red from embarrassing myself with my stutter. It was a major insecurity of mine and only came out when I was afraid or nervous and right now I wasn't sure which one I was feeling. 

I finally left the pharmacy and hustled to the grocery store so I could get what my aunt needed. I was ready for this day to be over with so I could hide under the covers of my bed. I was emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted. I just needed a long hibernation away from all of this. 

While checking out I realized the sales clerk couldn't stop staring at me and I immediately felt self conscious. I knew I looked rough but I didn't think I looked that bad, not enough for a complete stranger to stare anyway. Honestly despite my exhaustion I wasn't afraid to admit that I still looked better than the guy scanning the groceries. He had long greasy brown hair and stood at about six feet tall and didn't look like he weighed more than ninety pounds, nothing but skin and bones. His pasty complexion added to the whole creepy vibe he had going on and the cross necklace he wore just put me even more on edge. 

"Your not from around here are you girly?"

The sound of his voice made me grit my teeth since it hit my ears in the worst way possible. I simply shook my head not really wanting to hold a conversation with this man. 

"Hmmm," he hummed. "Be careful, there are monsters lurking in even the kindest of faces."

Suddenly the weight of the rings that hung around my neck caused me to swallow suppressing the urge to wrap my hands around them. I wasn't sure if this man was talking about people in general or was trying to hint at something else, something that was suppose to be a secret. 

I just nodded before quietly thanking him and leaving with the bags. I had one stop left and that was the library, I hope they didn't mind me bringing in my groceries. Walking up to the librarian I  softly cleared my throat feeling my anxiety kick in when the beady eyed woman with a long pointed nose looked up at me and raised her eyebrows. 

"U-um I-I'm sor-sorry for b-bothering you. I was so-wondering if y-you could he-help me f-find these books." 

She sighed before taking the list from my hand and then shot me a look of clear confusion.

"What does a young girl like you want these books for? You are just asking for trouble, stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong."

She wasn't necessarily rude when she said that, but I didn't understand what she was getting upset about, they were just some books.

"I don't u-understand," I whispered. "My aunt s-sent me h-here to get these b-books for her."

The librarian just stood from her seat and quickly made her way through the aisles of books and grabbing one every now and again. The clicking of her heels echoed throughout the entire building causing me to realize that no one else was here, it was just us. 

She quickly stamped my books, had me sign the cards and then put them in a bag for me. As I was walking away I heard her say, "Be careful with that curiosity of yours. The way you are going right now is going to land you six feet underground."

I gulped and all but ran out of there as quickly as possible and found a bench at the end of the street. I pulled the books out of the bag and decided to look through them before heading back to my aunt's house so I could see what all the fuss was about. The first two I looked at were just books about the history of the Bible, another was what looked like a romance novel, not something I saw my aunt reading. But the next two books made my heart stop and caused dread to fill my entire body. 

The first one was titled 'The Old Church Order: History Guide and Rules'. I remember what Grimald had told me about them and the story that Sybil had shared with me when we first met. Why on earth did my aunt want this book? Why did this book exist? It couldn't be a coincidence, not when the second book was used to learn Latin, the same language 'Accalia' was written in. 

I kept telling myself that maybe she wasn't apart of the Old Church Order, that she wasn't planning on translating the evil book hidden under my bed. But no matter how hard I tried my gut was telling me something bad was coming, that my aunt knew more than she was letting on, that she was up to no good. 

Stuffing the books back into my bags I ran back to my aunts home, but I planned on making a stop at the neighbors before giving these books to my aunt. Sybil needed to see this and hopefully she could ease my fears, unfortunately I had a feeling she would just confirm them instead.