Chương 153: Chapter 145 - Venturing Out

Chelsea They had discussed this not being just any old trip to an orphanage. Chelsea understood. She had been a Valkyr living in Valhalla. But the way Liam was talking made it seem bigger somehow. For two weeks, most of the Holy City had known there was a new Holy Empress. They had heard stories about the demon who had taken control of the Crystal Cathedral, imprisoned the cardinals, emptied the dungeons of those wrongly accused, and begun tearing apart decades of Church policy. Very few had actually seen her.

Today, that changed. She was ready. Chelsea stood near the oval doors leading from the private section of the cathedral while Liam inspected the group of Holy Knights assigned to accompany her. He had doubled the number Chelsea originally requested and then added several more after learning how many people had gathered outside. She adjusted the white-and-gold dress Rose had made for her and tried not to think about the crowd. This was high school public speaking all over again. This wasn't supposed to be an event.

She was just going to an orphanage. That was it. Chelsea looked down at the small mimic nestled against her left arm. Looty had recolored herself for the occasion. Her little body was normally pink with white trim, but she had changed the pink portions to gold while leaving the rest white. The result matched Chelsea's clothing surprisingly well. Her lid lifted slightly. Two little eyes peeked out before a long tongue slipped out. Chelsea giggled and pet the tongue gently.

"There you go. Looking very regal today ma'am." Liam turned around and stopped. His eyes were locked on Looty. Then he looked up at Chelsea. Several nearby knights followed his gaze, their expressions changing almost simultaneously. Chelsea's smile remained.

"What?" she asked innocently. Liam appeared to carefully consider his response.

"Your Grace…" Chelsea looked down at Looty.

"Oh. Her?" Looty opened farther and allowed her tongue to hang from the side of her opening. One of the younger knights looked away blushing. Chelsea narrowed her eyes.

"This is Looty. Surely you've seen her. I sometimes eat with her."

"I'm familiar with her but..."

"Good. That saves me some time." Liam's eyes remained on the mimic larva. Chelsea knew exactly what was bothering him. Mimic larvae had a very specific reputation. Looty was harmless. She had no teeth, no arms, and no legs. She spent most of her time hiding in places Chelsea would eventually find her and celebrating by clicking her lid when Chelsea didn't find her. Chelsea loved her. The rest of society apparently saw her species and immediately thought of private bedrooms.

"She's coming with me." Liam closed his eyes for a moment.

"Of course, Your Grace." Chelsea looked toward the other knights. Not a single one dared to object. Chelsea smiled and rubbed the little mimic again.

"See? Everyone loves you little princess." One knight coughed into his fist. Chelsea ignored him while trying her best to hide a smile. Liam stepped toward the oval doors.

"The crowd has been informed that you will be leaving shortly. We have a carriage prepared."

"I don't want a carriage." Liam turned back around. Chelsea had expected the expression that was sitting on his face.

"The orphanage is only a few streets away. I want to walk."

"There are several thousand people outside. Your Grace, this is your first public appearance since the announcement."

"Mmhmm." Chelsea shifted Looty into the crook of one arm.

"I've been stuck inside this cathedral for weeks. I want to see my city without looking through a carriage window or down at it from behind a tinted crystal window." Liam was easy enough to read. He had poker tells. She knew she was going to get her way. If for no other reason than he actually couldn't stop her, physically or… well… she was the fucking empress. The Holy Knights reorganized before the doors opened. Several moved ahead while others formed around Chelsea without crowding her.

The sounds reached her once the door was opened. Thousands of voices filled the plaza beyond the cathedral. Somehow, walking out the front door was making her nervous. She initiated Blessed Travel to give the people what she thought they wanted. Warm sunlight poured into the hall. Something Chelsea didn't realize she missed. She tightened her hold on Looty and began moving forward. The noise outside faded almost eerily. By the time Chelsea exited through the entrance, the plaza had become almost completely quiet.

People filled nearly every visible portion of it. White and gold dominated the crowd. Fifth Day had passed, but many had apparently chosen the holy colors anyway. Families stood together beneath the cathedral steps while merchants and visitors packed the roads leading into the plaza. Thousands of faces stared directly at her. Chelsea immediately became conscious of every unusual part of her body. Her horns, wings, and tail.

The bright holy glow surrounding a blessed demon standing at the entrance of the Crystal Cathedral. Then the first person dropped to one knee. Others followed. The movement spread through the plaza until almost everyone Chelsea could see had lowered themselves. She stopped moving. This wasn't something she had been expecting for some reason. She remembered the knights doing the same when she was first introduced to them, but this was on a much grander scale.

Liam moved into position a few steps behind her while the knights remained alert around the entrance. Chelsea looked across the bowed crowd.

"Um…" Her voice carried farther than she expected in the quiet plaza. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Several people raised their heads slightly. Chelsea had absolutely no speech prepared.

"Hello." Chelsea resisted the urge to look back at Liam for help.

"I know most of you haven't seen me before, so… yes. This is what I look like." A few of the people tried not to smile at her awkwardness. Chelsea continued down the steps.

"You really don't need to kneel. I'm just heading into the city today." Many of the people looked at each other, weighing their options. Many probably thought she was like her predecessor and required everyone to kneel before her. Eventually, people began rising. Chelsea reached the bottom of the stairs and immediately noticed how many were staring at Looty. The reaction was different from the one she received. They looked at Looty with disgust.

A woman near the front tightened her lips and quickly looked away when Chelsea caught her staring. An older man's eyebrows rose before he very deliberately focused on one of the cathedral's floating crystals. Chelsea looked down at Looty. Looty's eyes shifted toward the crowd. Chelsea scratched beneath her lid.

"You're doing great sweet girl." The Holy Knights opened a route through the crowd, and Chelsea stopped Blessed Travel and began walking. People bowed as she passed. Several called blessings toward her. A few children waved, apparently less concerned about proper etiquette than their parents. Chelsea waved back with a massive smile. The response spread. More children began doing it. The farther they traveled from the cathedral, the more comfortable she became.

She could actually look at the city rather than viewing it from a window. There was still a lot wrong with it. Some buildings needed repair. Several streets had sections of broken stone. The difference between the wealthy areas near the cathedral and the poorer districts became obvious after only a few blocks. This wasn't even the slums. This was what she'd consider the middle-class area. Chelsea had already approved money for repairs, but approving something and seeing the problem were two very different things.

A little boy near the edge of the crowd pointed directly at Looty. His mother immediately grabbed his hand and lowered it. Chelsea slowed. The woman went pale as Chelsea stepped toward them. The Holy Knights shifted with her. The mother bowed so quickly Chelsea worried she might hurt herself.

"Your Grace, forgive him. He's young." Chelsea looked at the boy. He couldn't have been older than six. His attention remained locked on Looty.

"You want to see her?" The mother's face became even more horrified. The boy nodded. Chelsea crouched. Looty opened her lid and stared back at him. The boy leaned closer.

"Is it a mimic?"

"Yep! Her name is Looty. She's still just a baby." His expression changed from curiosity to confusion. Chelsea already knew what was coming.

"My brother says people use those for…" His mother covered his mouth. Chelsea had to fight hard to not start laughing at the natural interaction. Several knights suddenly found distant sections of the street very interesting. Chelsea decided to save the woman from dying of embarrassment.

"She's my pet." The boy stared at Looty again. Chelsea held the mimic closer. Looty extended her tongue toward him. He reached out before his mother could stop him and touched the end with one finger. Looty immediately pulled it back into her mouth. The boy smiled. Chelsea stood.

"See? Harmless." The mother bowed again, and Chelsea returned to the procession. She didn't need to look at Liam to know he was unhappy about the interruption. The orphanage appeared near the end of the next street. Chelsea recognized it before anyone identified it. The red Xs were tiny from this distance, but she could see them. Children. Roughly a dozen of them. Chelsea's mood shifted immediately. She had seen the building in reports.

Money had already been transferred to repair it, and the account connected to the orphanage had received enough funding that no child there should go hungry again. Seeing it herself made the reports feel inadequate. The building was old but clean. Several windows had recently been replaced, and fresh boards covered places where repairs were still underway. The front doors stood open. A human woman in her early twenties waited outside with a fairy girl behind her who looked to be in her late teens.

They both looked terrified. Chelsea approached while the knights spread out around the entrance. The woman bowed deeply. The fairy scrambled to do the same.

"Your Grace. Welcome. We are deeply honored by your visit."

"Thank you." Chelsea smiled at her, then looked beyond her into the building. Children were standing in two uneven rows. Every one of them had clearly been told to remain still. Chelsea sighed.

"You lined them up." The woman's face shifted in some sort of discomfort.

"We wanted them properly prepared for your arrival." Chelsea looked at the children again. A little girl near the back was trying desperately not to scratch her nose. Another little boy had already lost the battle and was rubbing at one eye. Chelsea walked past the matron and fairy, both of whom also had Xs on their faces.

"You can all stop standing there." No one moved. Chelsea looked toward the woman. The matron hurriedly nodded, and the children immediately relaxed. A couple sat down on the floor. Chelsea smiled. That was so much better. She entered the orphanage with Looty still tucked against her arm. The first reaction came from an older girl near the front. Her eyes moved from Chelsea to the mimic larva. Her nose wrinkled. Chelsea almost laughed. A smaller boy leaned around her to get a better look.

Another child whispered something that caused three of them to stare. Chelsea could guess what the conversation was about.

"This is Looty." The whispering stopped.

"She's a baby mimic. Do you want to see?" Several children immediately looked toward the older kids. The older ones looked deeply uncomfortable. Chelsea continued.

"She also doesn't have teeth, so no one needs to worry about getting bitten." Looty opened her mouth. The lack of teeth was obvious. A few of the younger children moved closer. Chelsea crouched and placed Looty on the floor. The little mimic remained still for several seconds. Then her body began changing color. The gold faded into the same worn brown as the floorboards. Her white trim darkened until she nearly blended into the wood. Several children gasped. Looty's eyes remained visible.

The little princess was showing off. She seemed extremely pleased with herself. Chelsea smiled.

"She thinks she's hidden." A little girl crouched several feet away. Looty remained completely still. The girl crept closer and touched the top of the tiny chest. Looty opened suddenly and licked her hand. The child squealed and fell backward. Half the room started laughing. The tension broke. Children crowded closer. Chelsea immediately held out a hand before they overwhelmed the tiny mimic.

"One at a time. She's little. Remember she's just a baby." The matron stood near the entrance with a stunned expression. Chelsea sat directly on the floor. Her dress spread around her while children slowly approached. Several were more interested in Looty than in the Holy Empress. A young elf boy carefully ran one finger along Looty's lid. A human girl asked whether she could hold her. Chelsea showed her how to support the little chest from underneath.

The girl's expression twisted when Looty's tongue touched her wrist. She handed her back immediately. Chelsea accepted Looty without judgment.

"It's ok. You don't have to like her." The girl looked relieved. Chelsea settled the mimic in her lap and finally turned toward the matron.

"How many children are currently living here?" The woman gave her the number. Thirteen. Her eyes moved through the room again. Every red X belonged to a child. Every one of them was being identified by her ability as unloved. Chelsea hated that word more each time she saw it. She looked toward the oldest children. Several had remained near the walls rather than approaching. They were watching her much more carefully than the younger ones. Chelsea understood why.

The little children saw the bright woman with wings who brought a strange pet. The older children knew she was the Holy Empress and what that's meant in the past. Chelsea stood and handed Looty to the fairy girl. She accepted the mimic larva with visible reluctance. Chelsea pretended not to notice but was trying hard not to start laughing. She walked toward the older children. A girl near the center appeared to be the oldest aside from the fairy.

She was perhaps thirteen or fourteen, with cropped brown hair and a guarded expression. Another Kira. Chelsea stopped several feet away.

"I'm assuming you know why I'm here." The girl looked toward the matron before answering.

"We heard you've been taking children from orphanages. You've been taking them into the cathedral and they don't return." Hey it's Riley! For my birthday month, i am running a sale on my Patreon. 40% off both advanced chapter tiers with code: HOLYCHELS40. That means you can read ahead for $3 for 10+ chapters ahead and $9 for 20+ Chapters ahead. Additionally, I post daily over there instead of just 5 days per week. Now's your chance to check it out:)