Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes and immediately remembered what happened last night. She felt extremely embarrassed when she thought about the kiss they had and the feelings she felt. Deep inside her, she knew it was wrong but at the same time, she didn't regret it.

Sukebe was lying next to her, still asleep. She seemed so peaceful while sleeping, Elizabeth couldn't stop herself from caressing her innocent-looking face. Her long black hair was lying on the bed, all tangled together. It made Elizabeth realize that she never removed her nun outfit in front of her and that Sukebe never got to see all of her hair. Seeing Sukebe like that filled Elizabeth's head with memories from last night, making her wish to cuddle more. Sadly, she knew she had a duty to do. She kissed her lover's cheek before leaving for the cellar.

Elizabeth finished taking care of her duty. Tomorrow would be the day they ship most of their wine bottles so she needed to make sure that everything would be alright. She was about to go but was surprised to see Maria enter, accompanied by Father Benedictus.

"Sister Maria, Father Benedictus? Did something happen?"

"Elizabeth, you have to repent while you-"

Father Benedictus raised his hand, putting a halt to Maria's rant.

"I'll take care of it, sister Maria."

Elizabeth felt worried about what was going to happen to her, both Maria and Benedictus had a serious expression on their face. She felt like a child about to be scolded, with no choice but to listen.

"Sister Elizabeth, I suppose that you know, but it's about sister Sukebe. Maria told me about the bottle that she stole, and about how you covered it up."

"Father, I-"

"Silence! You shall speak when I'm over."

Elizabeth stayed calm outside, but inside her, it was hard for her to contain herself and her feelings.

"Yes... Father."

"Good, it is only one bottle after all, so I won't punish any of you. But I will have to ask you to take responsibility for lying and hiding the truth. Maybe taking care of the inventory isn't made for you after all. Tomorrow, you'll take care of the shipment, and we'll find a new place for you, one where you won't be able to cause any problems."

"You should esteem yourself lucky." Added Maria "Without me, it could have been worse."

Elizabeth bowed down, doing her best to appear as calm as she could.

"Yes, I understand. I'm sorry, Father Benedictus, sister Maria. It is my mistake, and I shall accept the divine punishment of the Lord for it."

"Good, I'm glad to see that you're still a faithful girl. I'm going to go now, this monastery feels more like a school with how much you make me work here."

Father Benedictus left, leaving the two former friends behind.

Maria slowly approached Elizabeth, her face didn't let any emotion go through, making it hard to know what she was thinking.

"Elizabeth, I-"

"Sister Elizabeth, that's what you meant to say I believe."

"Yes... Sister Elizabeth. I didn't mean for it to go that way, but understand me! I was scared of what was happening to you, you're going down a dark path."

Elizabeth made a big smile, trying her best to look as innocent as possible.

"Don't worry, God will always light my way, even if the path is dark."

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"God won't always be here..."

"Sister Maria, I can assure you that he will. I think that I found God again actually."

Maria wasn't sure how to react, she didn't understand what Elizabeth tried to say. Silently, she turned her back and left the room.

It was almost time to eat, but Elizabeth didn't want to sit next to her old friend like she usually does. She was thinking of skipping lunch, but instead had a fun idea. She hoped it wouldn't bring any problems, but everything should be alright. She knows that Sukebe is taking care of the cooking by herself, so she figured she could go to the kitchen and eat there with her instead, maybe she could even help. Excited by the idea, she hurried toward the kitchen.

Sukebe accepted Elizabeth's help with pleasure, she seemed happy to not be alone while working. Elizabeth took advantage of this moment to explain everything that happened this morning. Sukebe seemed mad and barely tried to contain herself.

"Who does he think he is? And I'm sorry to say that, but your friend was mean to you too. I hope they weren't too harsh ."

"They could have been more, I deserved it."

When she heard those words, Sukebe stopped what she was doing and put her hands on Elizabeth's face, forcing her to look at her in the eyes.

"Don't say that, father Benedictus is the first one to drink when he can, and you can't imagine how much of a pervert he is. He deserves a punishment, not you. You should start thinking about yourself."

Elizabeth chuckled slightly at her words and made a small smile.

"Everyone knows that Father Benedictus isn't so holy. But don't worry, the Lord is just, He will make sure everyone gets what they deserve."

"I can't believe how much you believe in him, it's almost impressive. I mean, I do too, but nowhere near as you."

"One day maybe God will show itself to you... Actually, I realized something last night."

"Realized what?" Asked Sukebe, blushing when thinking back about that night.

"Before, I thought that God was the only one I should put my faith in." Elizabeth talked gently, softly placing her hand on Sukebe's chest "But now, I realized that I have someone I want to put my faith in as much as in the Lord."

Sukebe removed her hands from Elizabeth's face and placed them above her hand instead.

"Do you... Really have such faith in me?"

"I do, maybe I am taking a path farther away from God, but I'm sure He understands. I'm convinced that he put you in my life."

Elizabeth could feel Sukebe's heart beat faster as her respiration did. She had her mouth slightly opened while breathing, Elizabeth couldn't help but find it cute from her.

"Seeing you like that makes me want to do just like last night."

Sukebe felt extremely embarrassed, so much so that she hid her face with her hand and turned around from her.

"Eh? Don't remind me about it now! A-Anyway, I need to take care of the potatoes, they're boiling."

Sukebe hurried and took care of what she needed to do, under the attentive gaze of Elizabeth.

"It's funny, everyone talks about how you're defiant and rebellious, and yet all I see is a cute girl."

"Well everyone sees you as a faithful and kind woman, and yet you didn't hesitate to kiss me."

Sukebe handed plates to Elizabeth and hurried cleaning around.

"Can you go serve them? It would really help me a lot."

"Of course, anything for my cute girl."

"Stop calling me that!"

Elizabeth helped Sukebe and served everyone. while serving, she ended up looking at Maria right in the eyes and handed her a plate. Maria looked at it for a moment, it looked like she was about to say something but instead looked at Elizabeth with a look full of sorrow and stayed silent.

After everyone was served, the two cooks were finally able to eat and rest. Sukebe ate all she could, while Elizabeth stared at hers for a moment.

"Do you always work alone like that? It's so much for only one person."

Sukebe looked at her with a curious gaze and answered after swallowing the food in her mouth.

"I'm managing don't worry, I got used to it. And besides... It's the only thing I can do."

"Why are you saying that? I'm sure there's a lot you can do."

Sukebe looked down in sorrow. She put her fork down and took a deep breath. Still not feeling ready, she took another one. She still felt like she wasn't ready, but decided to talk about what she was thinking.

"You know that I was a slave before. And usually, I would take care of all the cooking. They said it was the only thing I was good at, so I never trained to do anything else. It's not like I had time to, I barely know how to read, let alone write. In a way, I'm happy they made me cook, I was good at something at least."

Elizabeth stood up from her chair and went behind Sukebe, who seemed confused about what she was about to do. Elizabeth took Sukebe's head and softly put it on her tummy while caressing her gently.

"You're still young, you can learn many things. Maybe I could teach you how to read, or maybe something else. But for me, all that matters is yourself. As long as you keep being kind and strong, I will always love you."

"I hope so... Sometimes, I'm scared that you'll treat me like the others when you'll know me more."

"I'm sure I won't, I have faith in you."

The two women stayed in that position for a moment, like they had all the time in the world.

Elizabeth was curious to know what Sukebe meant, but she knew it wouldn't change her love for her, no matter what she could say.