"Child... Go home already. You've been here for hours. I'm sure God has heard your prayers by now." Said a gentle looking priest as he sat next to a young girl.

"I know Father Borden... I know... But I haven't been praying the whole time. I was doing some homework earlier."

"Yes Malaika, I know." He was one of the few that called her by the name her mother gave her. "But aren't you hungry? And don't you think the sisters will worry about you?"

Malaika shook her head with a small smile. "I'm okay Father, really. And Sister Abigale said she was coming to pick me up at nine o'clock and to stay put until then. And I still have some of my lunch left over if I get hungry." She said simply as she smiled at the priest. Father Borden was her closest confidant and her only real friend. He was almost like an uncle really, he would even give her little sweets sometimes when she helped with tasks he had for her.

"Well as long as you're here Malaika, could you do me a favor and make sure all the bibles and hymnals are where they should be for the service tomorrow night?" He asked with a smile.

"Sure thing Father! I finished all my Latin and my Math, so all I have to do is my reading and I left my book in my room." She said as she stood up, Father Borden doing likewise.

"Well, whenever you finish just come and let me know okay?" He said with a wink before heading off. Malaika giggled and began her task, knowing that the priest had something waiting for her.

Wandering up and down the pews she straightened the books, made sure there were markers in all the pages that were being used, and cleared all the bits of trash from last service's bullitens.

Catherine rarely went to the actual church, usually spending any free time she had in the abandoned church that belonged to the Nephim coven. Tonight though she wanted to remember what it was like to stand in a church in all its glory, well maybe not all its glory, but not in a state of total disrepair.

She took a deep intake of breath. She didn't need it, but it helped to steady her nerves, it had been so long since the last time she had been in church, perhaps the 1800's and she was a good Catholic girl or more had been. She didn't why she was going, but despite the fact that she was a creature of the night and often deemed as cursed creature in the eyes of the catholic clergy, she hoped that God wouldn't forsake her prayers. She needed her guidance and hoped that he would show her the way to make it safe to the other side.

She gently pushed the door open and quietly closed the door behind her. She didn't know if this was a catholic church and if it wasn't, would it matter? Wouldn't God hear her prayer no matter where she said it. She was glad for the peace and quiet of the church. It helped her relax, it was then that she noticed that she wasn't alone. What was a young child doing at the church at this time of night. She had expected perhaps a priest and maybe some adults playing, but not a young child cleaning up after the last sermon.

She dipped her finger in the holy water near the end of the middle alley. She signed herself and watched with curiosity. She could always pray a little later, but for now, she watched the young girl.

She was humming one of her favorite hymns as she walked through the pews, straightening the rows up. There had been a service around noon while she was in class, and she had wanted to come because it was one that Father Borden had been doing. But even though she asked Father Reynolds, one of her favorite teachers, he had said no.

Mother Superior had already said that she could go to the one tomorrow, so she was excited for that.

But she felt eyes on her and stopped.

A woman was there... Maybe in her twenties? And she looked troubled.

"Is there something I can help you with ma'am?" She asked in a soft voice, her dark brown eyes taking in the woman curiously. It was unusual for someone to come in this late, unless they needed help of course.

"Would you like me to get Father Borden for you? He's the only one here at the moment, but I'm sure he could help you if you need it. Or Sister Margaret I believe is in as well." She said as she pulled the bible in her hand to her chest. There was something about this woman that unsettled her, but she wasn't dangerous. Malaika knew that well. She could feel it.

Catherine could hear the soft hymn that she was humming and she smiled as it brought back memories. She couldn't sing for her life, but she had loved to hear others sing. It was often so beautiful, besides any musical talent that she may have had was in humming and the soft flute that she had used to play. She had completely forgotten about that. Perhaps she should look into getting herself a flute.

She was pulled out of her reverie by the girls soft voice. Did she want to interrupt the father and one of the sisters? Oh no, there was no need for that, none at all. Her voice was soft as she replied to the young girl. "Do not bother them, there is no need for that. I'm sure that whatever peace I need, I can find on my own." She smiled at the young girl.

She took a few steps, clearly heading towards the girl. "I am curious about one thing though. What is a young girl like you doing in a church so late at night? Aren't your parents going to be worried?" She was somewhat curious about this young girl, there was something about her.

"Okay." Malaika said, returning the smile. "Just let me know if you need any help. This place is like my second home." She was just about to turn back to her task when the woman spoke again. She bit her lip slightly at the question, but she shook her head and turned back around with a smile.

"Of course my Father worries about me. He worries about every one of his children. But he always knows where I am and makes sure I'm safe." She said simply, but honestly. God was really her only father. "And... My mother is with him now I know. Just as safe as I am." She added even softer.

"But I like it here... It's quiet... Peaceful. I help Father Borden with some tasks... I do my work for school here too so I don't get distracted by other things when I'm at home." Because whether she liked it or not, the orphanage was her home. It was the only home she ever knew, and would probably ever really know.

"Sometime the other children keep me really busy, so it's best if I do my work here and see how I can help Father Borden when he needs it." She said with a smile as she put the bible in the holder on the pew. "And sometimes he helps me with my homework too. Practicing my Latin and French when I need help."

Catherine soon understood that the child had no mortal parents. It wasn't hard to guess. It was the way she spoke and the way that the words spilled out of her mouth. The way she mention her father, it was clear that she spoke of God that watched over all his children.

Catherine nodded. "It is peaceful, that's probably why i came here in the first place. To find peace and to know that my life is the way that it was supposed to be." A soft smile played across her face. "It's funny because you make me think a lot of myself when I was your age." It was a long time ago, and unlike the young mortal she hadn't been an orphaned, but to some extent she wished that she had been. The emotional and mental abuse she had gotten from her family had been destructive and it was only when her sire gave her a way out, that she had truly felt wanted.

She smiled at the young girl. She was a lot like Catherine, wanting to be helpful and wanting to do her work diligently. "You are learning French at school? I speak French, I was born in France. I can't say that I've spoken a lot of it lately, but I find it to be a beautiful language. Do you like learning French?" She wanted to know more about this young girl, she had definitely caught Catherine's interest.

"I... I don't think that it's possible to know for sure if we are on the right path." She said softly, looking down at the dark wood of the pew. "There's no way for us to know even which way to go, He doesn't give us a compass or anything, but he tries to give us little clues. But they're easy to miss sometimes ma'am... Because we're not perfect of course. But he doesn't expect us to be perfect thankfully." She gave a nervous smile, still looking down.

Her eyes looked up brightly as the woman said that she was a lot like her. Was she orphaned too? Did she grow up without knowing a real family just like she did? Could the woman really understand some of the things that she felt? Of course the priests and nuns sympathized with her, none of them really knew what it was like to be so alone.

"I was born at St. Jerome's, here in the city Ma'am... My... My mother died shortly after I was born, but Sister Suzanna says I look just like her. She was there when I was born." Malaika said hesitantly, not sure if the woman even cared.

"Yes ma'am, I'm learning French this year. I only just started, so it is a bit difficult. I've been learning Latin for five years now, and it's helped a little... But it is still kind of hard for me. Father Borden is from Quebec though, so he knows it well and helps me out." She said, her hands clasping behind her back politely.

Catherine smiled. "I think that we have to hope that we are on the right path or else there would be no point in living would there?" Catherine's smile didn't leave her face. "God gives us a path and sometimes we do stray, but we will eventually find our way. Sometimes the direction to follow is right in front of our faces, we simply have to try to follow it. It isn't always easy." Her life hadn't been easy, yet she had suffered through it.

The girl was an orphan, well Catherine wasn't an orphan but knew what it was like to be unwanted. Her parents couldn't have been more clear, when she had been child. Escaping that had been simply wonderful. To feel what it was like to be wanted and treasured, was something that she had loved and grown into.

"I'm sorry to hear that, I'm sure that your mother would have wanted to take care of you, you would have been special to her." Catherine was sure of it and she was rarely wrong. The girl had grown up polite and seemed interested in conversation. Meaning that she didn't mind taking time to talk about whatever crossed her mind.

"Well, we could always use more French speakers in a country that considers itself bilingual." She put her hand out. "My name is Catherine."

"Oh, of course we must always have hope." Malaika said brightly. "Without hope, without faith all is truly lost. Even if it hard to hold on to, or hard to see the end, we must hold as fast as we can and pray should we need strength."

Malaika's smile grew sadder as the woman talked over her mother. "Yes Ma'am. I'm sure she would have. She gave her life for me, and I do my best to live how I know would please her." She said with a sad expression. "I... I wish she were still alive... But I know God took her for a reason... I just don't know the reason why and I pray sometimes that one day I know."

She gave a childish giggle though as Catherine said she should be proud to be Bilingual.

"Well French will actually be my third language. I love to speak Latin almost more than English. Father Luther never speaks English to me anymore just to try and test me. It's always a lot of fun too." The lady was really nice and a lot of fun to talk to.

"Oh! I'm Gabriella by the way... Well that the name the sisters gave me... My mother named me Malaika." She said with a smile. "Do... Do you come to the services here?" She asked hopefully.