#awataoe

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-XV

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: unprotected sex, p in v sex, oral sex Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 2615 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church. Ao3 || Masterlist Chapters: 15/? Previous Chapters Tag list: @sodoswitchimage

“Can I get you anything?” Ellie asked as Copia locked her apartment door.

“I’m okay,” he said. “So, tesoro, what did you have in mind for the rest of our night?” He watched her open a bottle of water and take a drink from it. She looked thoughtful, but there was something else there—something in the way her eyes darkened as she glanced at him and looked him over. 

“I don’t know. I just…I just wasn’t ready to be alone yet,” she said softly. “But if you need to go, I’ll be okay.”

“I don’t need to go. There’s nowhere I’d rather be right now,” Copia said, stepping towards her. She looked so beautiful, and he was suddenly aware of just how lucky he was. He was close enough to touch her now, and he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look?”

Ellie smiled. “You did, but I won’t argue with you if you want to tell me again.”

He laughed, his hand coming to rest on her cheek. “You look beautiful,” he said before he leaned in and kissed her, slipping the other hand around her waist. He pulled her closer as she wrapped her arms around him. Her lips moved with his and he revealed in their softness. His tongue swiped over her bottom lip, asking for entrance and wanting nothing more than to taste her. 

She opened his mouth, her tongue meeting his and making him groan. He explored her mouth, holding her close and backing her up so she was against the kitchen counter. They continued to kiss before Ellie pulled away, gasping for air.

“Holy shit,” she panted and laughed. “No one has ever kissed me like that before,” she said, panting and laughing.

“Never?” Copia asked.

“Never. Ethan and I only made out a couple times in our time together and, well, he wasn’t nearly as good as you.” 

Copia felt pride flare in his chest as he chuckled. “Thank you, tesoro,” he said, running his hand up and down her back. 

“Can we do that again?” Ellie asked, her voice soft and almost pleading. It was as though if she didn’t get to kiss him again, her world would fall apart.

“We can do that again. As many times as you want, and more,” Copia responded before his lips were on hers once more. His hand tangled in her hair, holding her head as his other arm helder her around her waist. His pants were becoming uncomfortably tight, and before he had any idea what was happening, Ellie was pushing him back, her lips never leaving his as she guided him to her bedroom. 

Ellie walked him backward until they were through her door, and they parted for air again. Her cheeks were flushed as she awkward reached behind her and closed the door. 

“Are you sure you want this to go further?” Copia asked, understanding what this was leading to. “We don’t have to do anything. I’m not expecting anything.”

“I want to,” Ellie said, walking around Copia and sitting on the edge of her bed. “I want to go further.” 

She was looking up at him now, her gray eyes dark with want. Copia stifled a groan. She looked so good sitting there, waiting for him to say something. He cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb over her cheekbone. “Okay,” he said after a moment. “But if at any point you want to stop, tell me. I mean it. Any point.” 

“I will. I promise,” she said.

“Brava ragazza (good girl),” he said, helping her move further back onto the bed. He kicked off his shoes and crawled over her body so he was above her. “Santanas, you look beautiful like this,” he breathed as he looked down at her, her wavy locks splayed out on the pillow. He smirked as a hue of pink stained her cheeks. 

“You’re not so bad looking yourself,” Ellie laughed softly. She bit her lip. “Can I confess something?”

“Of course,” Copia said. “What is it?”

“I’m a little nervous,” she said. “It’s been a while since I…I was intimate with anyone, and well, you already know how that all ended.”

Copia softened at her confession and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s natural to be nervous. We can go slow and ease in to it. I want to make you feel good.” His hand trailed down her side and rested on her hip. “What can I do to help ease your nerves?”

“Going slow would be good,” Ellie said. “I don’t want to rush. I want to remember how it all feels.” 

Copia smiled. “I’ll make sure you remember,” he said before leaning down and kissing her. His lips trailed from hers to her jaw. He revelled in the way her breaths came out in short pants and how she would let out the softest of moans when he gently nipped at her skin. 

“Can I undress you?” Copia asked between kisses. 

“Yeah,” Ellie breathed. She let Copia help her sit up before she reached around her back and unzipped her dress. Copia slid the hem of her dress up her thighs as Ellie shimmied out of the dress, pulling it over her head and leaving her in her bra and panties. Copia’s breath hitched as his eyes roamed up and down her body. 

“Splendida (stunning),” he breathed, as he trailed his fingers over her collarbone, making her shiver. He smirked, a little in awe of the way he affected her. “Ready to keep going?”

“Yes,” Ellie said, a smile forming on her lips. “This is nice.” 

“And it’s going to get even nicer,” he replied, leaning in and pressing small kisses her a spot under her ear. “I’m going to take your bra off now. Okay?”

“Okay,” Ellie said, another shiver of delight causing her to tremble.

He focused on kissing her skin, wishing he could press his lips to every inch of her as he unclasped her bra and slid it down her arms. He set it aside with her dress before he allowed a hand to cup her breast. He ran his thumb over her nipple, making her gasp softly. “How does that feel?” He asked.

“Good,” she said. “Really good.”

He hummed in response, his lips pressing a line of gentle kisses down her neck to her chest. His eyes flicked up to her face as he flicked his tongue over one of her nipples. He watched as her mouth fell open and her eyes flutter shut. Taking it as a sign to continue, he closed his lips around the bud, gently sucking and licking as his thumb and forefinger pinched and teased her other nipple. 

“God,” she moaned softly, a hand coming to thread through his hair.

Copia released her nipple and chuckled. “There’s no god here, tesoro,” he said, before giving the same treatment to her other nipple. He let out a pleased hum when her fingers curled in his hair and gave a little tug. After a few more seconds, he released her nipple with a pop and continued to trail kisses down to her stomach and to the lace trim of her panties. He looked up at her, her eyes half lidded as she stared back at him. “May I?” He asked, his fingers toying with the waistband of the fabric. When she nodded, he slowly slid them down her thighs and legs, leaving her completely bare to him. In that moment, he felt like he had been personally blessed by Lucifer himself. 

“You’re so beautiful,” he said, unable to take his eyes off her.

She blushed and smiled. “Now let me see you,” she said, sitting up and reaching for his jacket. She slid her hand under the lapels and up his shoulders, pushing it off his shoulders. Copia shrugged it off the rest of the way and let it fall off the bed and to the floor. He kept his eyes on her as she unbuttoned his first and did the same thing, leaving him bare chested and feeling suddenly vulnerable.

“You have a tattoo too,” she said, tracing a finger over the swirled pattern of the three sixes over his left peck. 

“Si,” he said. “I got it when I entered into the clergy as a priest. I was probably twenty-four or twenty-five at the time.”

Ellie traced over the pattern again before leaning forward and pressing her lips to it. “It suits you,” she said, tilting her head upward to look at him. Her hands began to unbuckle his belt, opening the buckle before unbuttoning his pants. The slight relief of pressure on his cock caused him to sigh softly in relief. He changed his position and helped her pull off his pants and his boxer briefs. She went to go peel his socks off when he gently took her wrist.

“I like to leave them on,” he said with a chuckle, feeling suddenly nervous. Any time he explained his preference to keep his socks on during sex, people teased him and laughed. He’d always laugh along with the person, but he felt disrespected. “Poor circulation in me feet, eh, they get cold easily.”

“Okay,” Ellie said.

“You’re not laughing?” Copia blinked.

“Why would I laugh?” Ellie asked. “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, and I understand. It could be ninety degrees outside and my hands will get cold. I get it.”

He didn’t know if it was possible to fall even more for her. He leaned forward and took her face between his hands. He stared into her eyes for a moment before kissing her. “Thank you,” he murmured against her lips. He repositioned himself, allowing Ellie to see him fully. Her eyes moved over him slowly as she bit her lower lip. 

“Wow,” she said softly, her eyes still looking him over. “You’re hot.”

Copia couldn’t help but laugh softly. “Thank you, cara. I’m glad you think so.” He pressed another kiss to her lips. “Now, back to what we were doing…” 

She giggled, and Copia committed the sound to memory. He leaned foward, forcing her to lie back as he knelt between her legs. He went back to littering her body with kisses. He went down her stomach and to her thighs. “Spread your legs for me, tesoro,” he said gently. “Is it okay if I touch you?”

She nodded and did as he asked without question. Copia moved his hand to drag a finger through her the short curls of hair and her slit. Ellie moaned as he gathered her slick on his finger. “You’re very wet,” he rumbled. 

“You got me all hot and bothered,” Ellie laughed, poking his leg with her toes. 

“And I won’t apologize,” he said, bringing his finger to his lips and sucking her slick from it. His eyes never left hers and he watched as they darkened and he licked his finger clean. “You taste good, tesoro. Can I taste more of you?”

“Like eat me out?” Ellie asked, her face reddening.

“Si,” Copia responded. He noticed the way her face was turning pink and he couldn’t help but wonder if she was blushing or if it was from embarrassment. “Have you had oral sex before?”

“No…” Ellie said, looking away.

Embarrassment, that’s what it was, Copia concluded. He reached forward and gently guided her face back to look at him. “There is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about, Ellie,” he said gently. “And if you will allow it, I will show you how wonderful of an experience it can be.” 

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I’m thirty years old and my only experience is a couple of sloppy make out sessions and a drunken night of sex that resulted in me getting pregnant and years of misery to follow. I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what being eaten out feels like. I don’t know what it’s like to give a blow job. I don’t know any of these things and I feel stupid.”

“I know,” he said, taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “First and foremost, the way you feel is valid. It’s okay to feel as though you lack experience or skill. It doesn’t mean you are stupid. It doesn’t make my time with you any less. I want to give you those experiences and guide you through new things. I want to watch you discover what you love and learn how you want to be pleased. I want to be the one to give you all those first experiences you deserve and should have had.”

He saw Ellie’s lip tremble and for a moment he thought she might start crying, but then she smiled at him so fully that he thought his heart might have actually burst. “Thank you,” she said softly. “I want all those things and I want to experience all those things with you.”

A swell of pride took over, and he swallowed the lump in his thought. “You honor me,” he said, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it. “I’m going to go down on you now. Is that still okay?”

Ellie nodded.

“Good girl,” he said, moving further down the bed. He lowered himself between her legs and hooked his arms around her thighs. With slow and gentle stroked, he moved his tongue through her folds, his eyes never leaving her face. She gasped, and he saw her fingers clench at the sheets. He hummed in approval before circling over her clit with his tongue. It wasn’t long before she was writhing against him, her hips grinding into his face as he fucked her with his tongue and his nose pressed into her clit.

“C-Copia,” he heard Ellie pant. “I think I’m—I think I’m going to come.” 

He hummed in response, not ceasing his actions and encouraging her to let go and stopping himself from grinding his cock against her bed to relieve the throbbing ache that was only increasing with each pant from her.  A few second later, he her thighs stiffen around him and her pussy clench as she came. She was moaning his name as her back arched off the bed. He pulled back from her slightly, gently lapping over her clit with broad strokes of his tongue as she rode out her orgasm.

With his face covered in her wetness, he smirked as he looked down at her. Her chest rose and fell as she tried to catch her breath. Her eyes seemed to be hazed over as she stared up at him in her post-orgasmic bliss. She opened her mouth a couple times, trying to speak but failing to find words. Finally, as her breathing returned to normal, she seemed to find her voice once more.

“Holy shit,” she said. “I’ve never felt like that before. I never came like that before.”

His chest rumbled as he reached over to her nightstand where she had a box of tissues. He grabbed a couple and wiped his face clean. “I’m glad I could make you feel good,” he said, tucking a wayward piece of hair behind her ear. “Can I kiss you? You’re going to taste yourself if you let me kiss you, is that okay?””

Ellie nodded, and he leaned down and kissed her, his tongue slipping behind her lips and over hers. She let out a soft, pleased sounding hum before they broke apart. “How are you feeling? Do you want to keep going?” Copia asked. 

Ellie nodded. “Yes, please,” she said.

“Alright,” Copia said, cupping her cheek and pressing another kiss to her lips. “I remember you mentioned a while back that you had your tubes removed, so we don’t have to worry about pregnancy, but I have a condom in case you are more comfortable using one.” 

“We don’t need to,” Ellie said. “I trust you and I haven’t been with anyone since Ethan that one time.”

“If you change your mind—”

“You’ll be the first to know,” Ellie promised.

Copia nodded and repositioned himself, spreading her legs a little wider. “And what else did you promise me, tesoro?” He asked.

“That if I want to stop at any point, I will tell you,” Ellie responded.

“Brava ragazza,” he said as he pumped himself a couple of times. “We’ll go as fast or slow as you want, okay?”

Ellie nodded.

“I want you to say it,” Copia said. “I want to hear your voice.”

“Yes,” Ellie replied.

“Good girl,” he hummed in praise as he ran the head of his cock over her clit, making her gasp and grip the sheets. “Still sensitive, I see.” 

“No, I’m ready, please,” Ellie said, sounding needy and desperate. Hearing it made him chuckle.

“Okay, okay,” he teased, lining himself up and guiding his cock inside of her. He went slowly, letting her get used to his girth. He kept his eyes on her and watched her eyes widen and roll back before fluttering closed. “You okay there, cara?”

“Yes,” she breathed. “This is…This is nothing like I’ve felt before.” Her eyes opened again, and she stared back up at him with a blissful gaze. “Keep going.”

“As you wish,” he said with a smirk as he bottomed out in her. “I’m going to start moving. Are you ready?”

 Ellie nodded.

“Words, tesoro.”

“Yes, please.”

He pulled out to the tip slowly and then pushed back in, making her moan and grab his forearm. He kept his pace slow and gentle, not wanting to hurt her or push her limits. She was in control of how fast and hard things got, and he fully respected that. There would come a time when he’d control what they do, assuming that’s what she wanted, of course, but he was patient to wait for that day. He kept his eyes on her, fascinated by every little moan, flutter of her eyes, and squeeze of her hands on his arm and the sheets. She felt incredible around him. He couldn’t remember a time when he last felt this good with someone. Sure, every time he fucked someone felt good, but Ellie was special. This wasn’t just a one-night stand or a fling he was having while on tour. This was so much more—she was so much more. 

“Faster,” Ellie keened. “Please.”

“Of course,” he groaned, eager to change the pace. He moved faster, hooking hers arms under her thighs to lift her hips slightly. The change in angle made him groan. “You feel so good, tesoro. So tight and good.”

“You feel good in me,” she responded between panting breaths. “Holy shit, this feels so good.”

“I’m glad,” he said, leaning down to kiss her. He let go of one of her thighs so he could rub his thumb over her clit in time with his thrusts. “This okay?”

She gasped at the new sensation and her eyes closed as her back arched off the mattress. “More than okay,” she managed to say before a pleasured whimper escaped her lips. “Don’t stop.”

“I won’t,” he promised as he continued to move and touch her. He could feel her walls begin to flutter and knew that she was close, and he knew if she came, he wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. “Where do you want me to come? I can pull out if you want.”

“N-no,” she moaned. “In me. You can come in me.” 

He let out a low groan at her words, his pace quickening ever so slightly. “You’re close,” he said. It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

“Y-yes,” she replied. “I’m close.”

His chest rumbled in satisfaction. “Good. Come for me, tesoro.” A few seconds later, he felt her clench around her and her breath hitch as she came. She keened and her nails dug into his arm almost painfully. “That’s it, Ellie, come for me,” he praised. “Just let go.” He continued to thrust into her through her orgasm, and it wasn’t long after did his movements begin to falter and become erratic. He moaned and, with one final thrust, spilled into her. 

He stilled, panting, as he looked down at her. Her eyes were closed as she tried to catch her breath. Her upper body was limp against the bed. Her fingers gripping his arm were loose and her other hand rested on the upper part of her stomach as her chest rose up and down. 

“Oh my god” she eventually said in breathy pants. “Copia…that was…I…” She seemed to struggle to find the words she wanted to say. 

Copia smiled and kissed her. “I know,” he said. “I know, tesoro.” He pressed gentle kisses to her cheeks, brow, and then lips before slowly pulling out of her. They both groaned softly at the separation. 

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” he said, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and standing. Making his way to the door, he opened it and padded to the bathroom next door. He heard the mattress groan, and a few seconds later Ellie joined him. He grabbed a washcloth from the stack of linens off a shelf and ran it under warm water. After their clean up, they were back in bed under the covers. Ellie laid with her head on his chest and Copia held her close. 

“Thank you,” Ellie whispered. “I had an amazing time tonight.”

“I’m glad,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I hope we have many more nights like this.”

“We will,” Ellie softly said. “I know we will.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, and it wasn’t until Ellie’s hand stopped tracing patterns on his stomach did he notice she was asleep. Her breathing had evened out, and she had all but melted into his arms. He huffed out a soft laugh before kissing the top of her head. He closed his eyes, unable to believe he had the most amazing person in his arms and that she had allowed him into her bed and to see her so intimately. A short time later, he drifted off into sleep after her. 

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-XII

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: none for this chapter Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 2370 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church. Ao3 || Masterlist Chapters: 12/? Previous Chapters Tag list: @sodoswitchimage Fic Divider by gothdaddyissues

Copia sat with Ellie, answering questions for the next couple of hours. They talked and ate pizza while Ellie expressed her frustrations over not understanding anything she had just seen. He understood. Despite having grown up in the church and around infernal magick and demons, there was still a lot he didn’t understand himself. 

“I should go to bed,” Ellie said, looking at her phone and seeing how late it was getting. “I…” She looked up at Copia. “Can…can you stay? I don’t want to be alone.” 

He felt his heart flutter at her question. “Of course,” he said. “If that’s what you want and will make you feel comfortable, then I will stay.”

“Thank you,” she said, sounding relieved. He watched as a pretty blush crept up on her cheeks. “I guess you can stay in my bed,” she said. “The couch isn’t very comfortable to sleep on…”

“Only if you are comfortable with that,” Copia said. He wanted nothing more than to lay in bed with her, but he wouldn’t do it unless that’s what she wanted. He didn’t want to push any boundaries with her and ruin the relationship they were building. 

“We’re both adults, and I trust you,” Ellie said. “I’m just sorry I don’t have a toothbrush for you, but you can use some of my mouthwash if you want.”

A few minutes later Copia was looking around her bedroom as Ellie was finishing her nightly routine in the bathroom. There was a lack of anything on the walls and Copia realized it was because Ellie didn’t want to make the place feel like home if she was going to have to move again. A lot of her furniture was old and he wondered if she rented the apartment already furnished. He couldn’t see Ellie lugging all these pieces of the stairs by herself even if she bought them all secondhand. He moved to her dresser where she had a picture of a man that looked like her in a military uniform. Copia knew that was her father. Next to the frame was an assortment of crystals along with the necklace she wore all the time.

“You mentioned you believed crystals could protect you,” Copia said when Ellie came into the room. He turned to look at her and found himself breathless. She was in long, loose-fitting, blue pajama pants and a black t-shirt that seemed to cling to every curve of her body. She was stunning.

“Oh, yeah, I guess,” Ellie said. “A few years ago I got really into occult stuff—crystals, tarot cards, stuff like that. I always liked the idea that crystals have energies and properties that could be used for healing for protection. I picked some up from a little shop and the lady who ran it gave me this black tourmaline necklace. She said it would help ward off negative energies. I felt like I needed it so I wear it every day. For the most part, it’s done me well I suppose. Well, until recent events.” Ellie shrugged. “But that’s not the fault of a crystal. I guess…I guess this was always meant to happen the way it did.” She shrugged. “What do you think? Do you think they hold power?”

“I do,” Copia said. “We use crystals and herbs in a lot of rituals. Witchcraft and the occult are welcomed practices in our faith. They often go hand-in-hand with one another.” He watched as she pulled back the blankets on her bed and got in. “I’m going to use you bathroom and then I’ll be right back.”

Ellie nodded and he left the room for the little bathroom next door. He closed the door behind him and let out the breath he had been holding since the moment he got the call from the ghouls. When they told him that Ethan had gotten into her apartment and had her, Copia thought everything was over before it started—that he wasted what precious little time he had with her and that she had slipped from his fingers. He reminded himself to breathe.

He hadn’t lost her. She was safe, unharmed, and more importantly, free of the man who made her life a nightmare. Ellie was free to live and thrive and he wanted nothing more than for her to do those things. 

Copia splashed some water onto his face, removing as much of the black paint around his eyes and on his upper lip as he could. He took a swig of the mouthwash Ellie offered and rinsed his mouth before returning to her bedroom. She was already in bed, sitting up against her pillows on one side with the cover pulled up to her waist. 

“Thanks for staying,” Ellie said as Copia toed off his shoes and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight if I am alone.”

“You had quite the day,” he said. “I’m happy to help, even if it’s just to be here so you can sleep.”

She smiled and he felt his heart, which was already racing from anxiety, begin to race for another reason. To see her sitting there warm in her bed and safe made every single panic-inducing thought all worth it in the end.

“You gonna sit on the edge like that all night?” Ellie asked. There was amusement in her stormy eyes and he felt his cheeks warm.

“Eh, no,” he said, pushing himself deeper into the bed, lifting his feet off the floor, and sitting against the headboard.

Ellie laughed as she slipped under the covers and laid her head on her pillow. She was on her side, facing him and Copia knew he wanted to end every day like this—them in bed together just talking until they went to sleep. 

“I have an alarm on my phone set for eight,” she said. “I have to go to work tomorrow.”

“I can’t tell you what to do, but I think you should call off and take the day to process everything,” he suggested as he pulled the blankets over his legs. 

“I can’t,” Ellie sighed. “I need the money, and I don’t need my boss giving me a hard time about calling off.”

“Very well, but promise you will try to take it easy?”

“I promise,” she yawned. “I’m going to try to sleep now. Good night, Copia.”

“Good night, tesoro,” he said.

“Hmmm you still haven’t told me what those names mean,” she said, her eyes closed, one hand under her pillow and the other holding her part of the blankets to her chin, creating a mock cocoon for herself.

Fucking adorable, he thought.

“I’ll tell you. Maybe tomorrow though. Get some sleep.” He hoped he didn’t look like a psycho as he watched sleep claim her and her breathing became deep and even. When a strand of her dark blonde hair fell over her eyes, he gingerly swept it back without causing her to stir. 

After another minute he slid down into the bed and laid on his back, listening to her breathing next to him. It all felt right, as though this was how his life was supposed to be.

But he knew it wasn’t…not yet anyway…

Ellie woke when a strip of sunlight peeked through the one broken blade of her blinds and shined right into her eye. She clenched her eyes hard, trying to fight the urge to wake. She knew her alarm hadn’t gone off yet, but she didn’t want to get up yet. She was so comfy with her blanket wrapped around her, the heavyweight against her back, and the arm draped over her stomach.

Her eyes popped open at that.

She was still as she felt the body spooning her while her mind searched for an explanation. Copia, she thought. It’s just Copia. I asked him to stay and he did and now he’s spooning me. She knew he probably didn’t mean to and that he did it unconsciously, but she didn’t want to embarrass him if he woke up and they were still in that position.

No matter how comfortable Ellie felt or how right it all felt. 

She felt so cared for and safe, and she didn’t want to leave. If she had it her way they’d stay like that until the end of time. But her logic told her she needed to get up before he woke up, so she very carefully slipped out from his hold, grabbed her phone, and padded her way to the bathroom. A couple minutes later she emerged and began to boil some water for some tea. She was glad she had two mugs and hoped Copia liked tea. 

At eight she let her alarm go off before silencing it and taking the boiling kettle off the heat. She poured the water over the teabags in each mug and added sugar and milk to her own before going into her bedroom.

Copia had rolled over onto his stomach since she left the bed. His arm was draped over her pillow and Ellie didn’t want to wake him. She knew she had to though. He was probably busy and she had to work in an hour. She came up to his side of the bed and gently shook his shoulder.

“Copia,” she said softly. “It’s eight.” 

He groaned. “Okay, okay,” he muttered as he sat up. He rubbed his eyes and blinked, as though he didn’t remember where he was at first. He looked around and then his eyes landed on her. “Buongiorno.”

“Morning,” Ellie responded. “I have tea if you want some. No coffee though, sorry.”

“Tea is great,” Copia said as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. “I prefer tea over coffee in the morning anyway.” 

“Sleep well?” Ellie asked, curious to know if he remembered holding her. 

“Si, I did. Very well actually. How about you?”

“I think that might have been the best night of sleep I’ve ever had,” Ellie admitted as she led the way into the kitchen after Copia got his shoes on. “I didn’t put any sugar or milk in your tea. I didn’t know how you liked it.”

“A little bit of sugar and a little bit of milk,” he said pinching his fingers. Ellie watched as he prepared his tea and made note of the ratios he used. “The best night of sleep you ever had, huh?”

“Yeah,” Ellie said. “Because���because I didn’t have to worry for the first time in years.” It wasn’t a complete lie, but it wasn’t totally the truth. She knew it was because he was there and he was holding her. 

“Ah, yes that is a nice feeling isn’t it?” He said before sipping his tea. “What are you going to do with your newfound freedom?”

“Finally live my life,” Ellie smiled. “I’m going to stay here and work on making this place a home.” 

Copia beamed. “Good.” 

After her tea was finished, Ellie excused herself to get ready for work. Once she was dressed she found Copia washing her mugs. “You didn’t have to do that,” she said.

“It’s alright,” Copia said. “I want to help.” He tried his hands with a paper towel and turned to her, looking her up and down. Ellie didn’t think she looked particularly special. She was just in jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. “Do you mind if I walk you to work?”

“I don’t mind,” Ellie said. 

They were standing outside of the bookstore fifteen minutes later. Ellie already knew it was going to be a bad day when she saw Charles arguing with one of her coworkers through the window. The man was red in the face and she could have sworn she saw spittle flying from his mouth as he silently yelled at the part-time shop assistant. 

“I better get in there,” Ellie said. “Poor Ryan looks like he’s about to wet himself.”

Copia looked at the scene through the window and hummed in response.

As though he could sense eyes on him, Charles looked up and saw Ellie and Copia standing outside. He then marched over to the door and flung it open. “You’re late,” he snapped at Ellie.

“No, I’m not,” Ellie said. “I’m three minutes early.”

“Just get in here. We had a huge shipment come in yesterday and it needs to be put out on the floor,” he said before looking at Copia. Charles looked him up and down and sneered before looking back to Ellie. “This devil worshipper bothering you?” He asked before looking back to Copia. “We don’t allow soliciting here, buddy.”

“I’m not your buddy,” Copia said, eyes growing dark. “And I’m not soliciting. I was walking Ellie to work.”

Charles looked back to Ellie for confirmation. “You know this guy?”

“Yes,” Ellie said and she could already hear the insults Charles was ready to throw. “Copia is my friend and he was walking me to work.”

Charles looked back at Copia and glared before retreating into the shop. Ellie sighed. Today was not going to be a good day.

“Are you going to be okay?” Copia asked her.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. Charles is just a bully and a bigot. Nothing I can’t handle,” Ellie said.

“Well, if you need anything, please let me know,” Copia said taking her hand and bringing it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles before releasing it. “I’ll see you soon?”

Ellie smiled and felt the pink seep into her face. “Yes. Gemma invited me to hang out after work tomorrow, so I’ll be up there then.”

“Wonderful,” he said before looking back at the window where Charles was yelling at the young assistant again. “Call me when you get off. I want to make sure that….man didn’t ruin your day.”

“I will. I’ll see you later,” Ellie said with a smile before going into the shop. She clocked in and turned to Charles for her assignment for the day.

“You can unpack and stock all the new Bibles and Christian fiction titles,” he said with a cruel smirk.

Ellie bit back a groan and made her way to the backroom. 

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-VI

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: (For Future Chapters) NSFW, 18+, unprotected sex, p in v sex, oral sex, mentions of past abuse and domestic violence, references to suicide Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 2031 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church.

Ao3

Chapters: 6/? Previous Chapters

Tag list: @sodoswitchimage

“Cara…”

Ellie opened her eyes to find Copia in front of her. He lifted a gloved hand to her cheek, cupping it and stroking his thumb across her skin. He smiled, his mismatched eyes crinkling. He looked gorgeous. “So beautiful.”

She couldn’t help but smile and lean into his touch. She closed her eyes and hummed in response as his hand drifted down to her neck. 

“You killed our baby.”

Ellie’s eyes flew open and Copia no longer stood in front of her. Instead, it was a man around her own age with short chestnut hair and hazel eyes. His stubbled face was twisted in rage as his hand squeezed her neck. Ellie choked, trying to suck down air. “You killed our baby, Elenor!”

Ellie sat straight up in bed gasping. She panted as she felt her heart hammering against her chest. “Just a dream,” she muttered. “Just a bad dream.” She glanced at her phone. It was nearly four in the morning. Ellie let out a groan and flopped back down against her pillows. Ever since she thought she saw her ex-fiance, Ethan, watching her outside the bookstore days before she’d been having nightmares.Her former fiance was the whole reason she’d been moving from place to place, and Ellie feared he might have found her once again. She looked around her apartment. Unlike the last several places she lived, she actually unpacked and made her new home a home. Ellie was so confident that Ethan wouldn’t find her again that she started to let her guard down. She started to let people into her life and now she was going to have to leave again.

Ellie sighed as she looked at her bank account on her phone. She couldn’t afford to get up and move again. The money her father left her was down to a couple hundred dollars from the thousands he had left her. She didn’t get paid enough to save money for another quick move. Ellie was stuck there and would have to deal with Ethan whether she wanted to or not. She looked up the phone number for the local police station. Trying to get a restraining order was going to be useless. Every time she tried before she was given the runaround. “There’s not enough evidence,” the cops would tell her. And the one time she did manage to get a restraining order, Ethan violated it within twenty-four hours. It was easier to just keep moving. Her mind drifted to Copia. If she moved, she’d never see him again. That thought alone made her heartache. She didn’t know why. Copia was nice and he was handsome, but she didn’t know him, not really.

But you want to know him, the little voice in her head said. Call him. Tell him what’s going on. You can trust him. 

“I’m not calling him,” she argued with the voice. “He doesn’t need my nonsense in his life.”

Ellie couldn’t get back to sleep and decided to just get up. She grabbed the papers Gemma gave to her a couple of days before and looked over the material, memorizing the Minisry’s mission statement and beliefs. Gemma said she’d test her during mass that morning. 

She went through the motions of making herself something for breakfast and getting showered and dressed; today’s outfit was black skinny jeans and a black knit sweater with knee-high leather boots that had seen better days. Ellie anxiously paced around her apartment until it was time to leave, and when she did walk down to her car, she kept looking over her shoulder.

I’m safe, she told herself over and over. I’m just worried he found me and I’m just seeing things and having bad dreams. 

A few minutes later she was parking her car and walking into the Ministry. She nodded at the ghoul standing at the door. Gemma started to teach her their names, but Ellie couldn’t tell who was who while they were in uniform. She knew their helmets were different and that’s how one could tell them apart, but Ellie felt like she was never going to remember all the little details. 

She walked into the sanctuary and sat down next to Gemma, Brianna, and Micah. She waved to them as she yawned and blinked rapidly to help herself wake up.

“You look rough,” Micah said. “You okay?”

“Didn’t sleep well,” Ellie said. 

“Awww,” Micah cooed before smirking. “You can always take a nap in my room after mass if you want.” He waggled his eyebrows at her making her laugh.

“Where is she going to sleep, Micah? Your bed is covered in old Taco Bell wrappers,” Gemma said rolling her eyes.

“Hey I cleaned those up,” Micah retorted.

“Shut up, mass is starting,” Brianna said as the organ’s music filled the space. 

Ellie tried her best to focus on what was going on in front of her, but she couldn’t. Her mind was stuck on the dream she had of Copia and Ethan. She caught snippets of Copia’s sermon. He was talking about pride and how being prideful in one’s self wasn’t a sin.

“We should be proud of our accomplishments and celebrate our achievements,” he said at one point. “Even if those achievements are tiny. Perhaps making your bed in the morning? You should be proud of that because it’s not always easy to do.” 

“Hey, you doing communion?”

Ellie was pulled from her thoughts as Gemma nudged her. “Oh? What? Oh, no, not today,” Ellie said, her gaze fixated on the pew in front of them.

“You okay?” Gemma asked. “You seem distracted.”

“Just a lot on my mind,” Ellie responded snapping her gaze to Gemma. “I’m okay. Thanks for asking.”

“Well, if you want to talk, I’m here,” Gemma said as she stood to get in line for communion.

Ellie watched as one by one the Siblings stepped up to the Papas and took their wafers and wine. At one point she caught Copia’s eyes and he gave her a questioning head tilt silently asking why she wasn’t in line. Ellie looked away. She needed to get this whole Ethan situation under control. When she got home she’d dig out the previous restraining order she had and take it to the police station and try to get another one filed. If Ethan had found her, it would be better than nothing. 

“Hey I gotta get home,” Ellie said to Gemma, Brianna, and Micah when mass ended. “I’ll be back up this week for our study session.”

“Okay,” Gemma nodded and frowned. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yea, yea, I’m fine,” Ellie reassured her. “I’ll see you later.”

She forced herself not to look at Copia as she hurried out of the sanctuary.

XXX

He wondered if he had done something wrong.

Copia watched as Ellie hurried out of the sanctuary after mass. She didn’t take communion, and Copia was a little disappointed by that. He wasn’t ashamed that he wanted to see her on her knees before him again. But when she didn’t stay for lunch after either, Copia knew something must be wrong. He raked his brain trying to figure out if he said something or did something to drive her away. No, he hadn’t, he concluded. When they last spoke she was looking forward to coming back to mass and seeing his rats again. 

“Excuse me, siblings,” Copia said when he came to the table Gemma, Micah, and Brianna were sitting at. “I couldn’t help but notice Ellie didn’t join us all for lunch. It seemed like she was in a hurry. Is everything alright?”

“I think so? Maybe?” Gemma said, not sounding sure of herself. “She seemed like she was distracted and she said she didn’t sleep well. Maybe that’s it.”

Copia hummed in response. “Thank you. I just wanted to check in with our newest initiate.” 

Copia turned and made his way out of the dining hall. He was stuck in his own head and didn’t even notice Sister Imperator standing right outside the doors.

“Oh, shit, sorry,” he said, refocusing to see her standing there with her arms crossed.

“You seem distracted,” she said.

“I’m not,” he said. “Just…thinking.”

“Hmmm,” Sister Imperator mused, lips pursed and eyes narrowed. She looked like she wanted to say something more, but she shook her head. “Anyway, I need the budget report for the next tour on my desk tomorrow morning. We really need to start getting the ball rolling on the Re-Imperatour.” 

“I know, I know, you’ll have it tomorrow morning.” 

Sister Imperator nodded and coughed. “Excuse me. I’m coming down with a cold it seems.” She turned and walked off leaving Copia to stare after her. 

He shook his head and began making his way to his office. He wanted to spend the afternoon catching up on his video games, but the budget report was a priority it seemed. He just pulled out the report from the last tour when his phone rang.

XXX

Ellie was walking up the stairs to her apartment. As soon as she left the Ministry, she had the feeling that she should have turned around and went back. She fumbled for the key on her keychain as she went up the last set of stairs in the three-story building. She still had the feeling she should turn around and go back. Ellie couldn’t explain it. She felt this intense pull towards the Ministry and to Copia. It was strange, but not unwelcomed she decided.

She came to the landing her door was on and looked up from her keys to her door. Ellie blinked as confusion clouded her mind. Her door was ajar, wood splintered around the doorknob. Inside Ellie could see all her lights on and her stuff thrown everywhere. Someone broke into her apartment.

And Ellie knew who had done it.

Ellie refused to step inside. For all she knew Ethan could still be in there waiting for her. She pulled out her phone and dialed 911. When the dispatcher answered, Ellie gave her address and explained what happened. The dispatcher took down her information and told her an officer would be there as soon as they could.

“They’ll all out working a four-car pile up on the highway. It might be an hour or two,” the dispatcher explained. “Don’t go into your apartment. If you can, close the door and wait for the officer. In the meantime, I would contact your landlord.”

“Thanks,” Ellie said before the call ended. She sighed and pulled the door closed as best as she could, but the door knob was busted and it wouldn’t latch.  Ellie leaned against the wall and let out a frustrated groan.

“Fuck, what am I going to do?” She asked herself.

Call Copia, the voice in her head said.

Ellie didn’t argue with the voice. She pulled Copia’s card out of her purse and dialed the number for his cell. The phone rang once before his voice came through the line.

“Hello?”

“Copia? It’s Ellie,” Ellie said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. “I’m sorry for bothering you. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Ellie, cara, are you okay?” Copia asked, concern heavy in his voice.

“Yea, yea I’m fine, but someone….someone broke into my apartment and wrecked the place,” Ellie explained. “I called the cops already. They won’t be here for a little bit.”

“Where is your apartment?” Copia asked and Ellie could hear the sound of a chair being pushed back. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.” 

“What?” Ellie asked, involuntarily stepping back slightly. 

“I need your address, tesoro,” he said again, urgency slipping into his tone.

Ellie spouted off her address. “Wait, what do you mean you’ll be here in a few minutes?” She asked just realizing what he was doing.

“You’re not waiting around for some useless cop by yourself,” Copia said. 

“Oh, well, thank you,” Ellie said. She didn’t expect him to drop everything and come to her. She just thought he’d keep her company on the phone while she waited. 

“You don’t need to thank me,” Copia said. “I’ll be right there.”

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-XIV

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: none for this chapter Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 2615 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church. Ao3 || Masterlist Chapters: 14/? Previous Chapters Tag list: @sodoswitchimage

Copia made sure Ellie got home safe and sound after the ball and kissed her again before she locked herself in her apartment for the night. She felt like she was on cloud nine and realized this was the first time in years she felt truly happy. After getting out of her dress and into pajamas, she fell back onto her bed and sighed. Part of her was afraid of the way she was acting. Did thirty-year-old women act like schoolgirls when they get kissed and asked out on a date by someone they liked? She didn’t know. Her experiences with men and romance were extremely limited. 

Her phone buzzed on the bed next to her and she picked it up, smiling when she saw it was a text from Copia.

I can’t wait for our date. Sleep well, tesoro :-) 

Ellie smiled and replied with her own “sleep well” and a smiley emoji. She plugged her phone in to charge and got under the covers, thinking about what the next day would bring. She fell asleep shortly after putting her phone down. Her dreams started pleasantly enough. She and Copia were having a picnic in a grassy field. There was wine, laughter, and kissing, but then the dream morphed. She was alone and in her bedroom. Ellie looked around and found the room dark.

“Elenor,” a voice said in a sing-song tone. 

Dream Ellie found Ethan standing at the end of her bed with a maniacal grin on his face. Burns and charred marks covered half of his face.

“Your freak friends put me in Hell,” he hissed. “It’s very hot there.”

“Get out of here,” Ellie said.

“I don’t think I will,” Ethan said, surging forward to wrap his hands around her neck.

Ellie woke up gasping and panting. She sat up in bed and turned on the lamp next to her. Ellie looked around her room and found she was very much alone.

“Just a dream, just a dream,” she said to herself as she looked at the time on her phone. It was just after four in the morning. She groaned and laid back down, wishing she wasn’t alone.

The day dragged on and Ellie spent it yawning and rubbing her eyes. She never got back to sleep after her nightmare and spent her day at work trying to keep her eyes open. At the end of her workday, Ellie got a text from Copia reminding her when he’d be picking her up for their date. She smiled and hurried back to her apartment to get ready. Despite her exhaustion, she felt excited about their date together.

She looked through her clothes, settling on the same black dress she wore the very first time she met Copia. Ellie did her hair, making the waves more defined before pinning back the stray pieces that liked to fall into her eyes. She lined her eyes in black and put on a little eyeshadow and lipstick, trying to keep everything toned down and natural-looking. 

It was only the second date Ellie had ever been on. After she found out she was pregnant, she and Ethan tried to make their relationship work. He took her out on a date and it was then Ellie realized their relationship would never be what she wanted. Looking back on it, she knew she should have run then and there. 

Ellie nervously paced her living room as she waited for Copia. At exactly seven, there was a knock on her door and practically flew to the door to answer it. Once she got it open, she found Copia standing there holding a bouquet of pink and white flowers. He wore black slacks and a jacket with a black button-down underneath. He had on his usual black paint around his eyes and on his upper lip. His face lit up when he saw her and he held out the flowers. “For you,” he said.

“That’s so sweet,” Ellie replied, taking the flowers and smelling them. They were carnations, and their scent reminded her of spring. “Thank you,” she said, turning and inviting him in. “I’ll put these in some water and then we can go.”

“You look beautiful by the way,” Copia said as he stepped into her apartment. 

Ellie smiled. “Thanks,” she said as she opened a cabinet, looking for something to put the flowers into. She found a tall plastic cup and decided that would be good enough since she didn’t own a vase. She trimmed the stems and put some water into the cup before displaying the flowers on her counter. “I’ll have to get an actual vase for them, but I love them. Thank you again.” 

“You ready to go? I made a reservation for us at a restaurant.” 

Ellie nodded and grabbed her clutch before following him out the door. Once outside, Copia opened the passenger door of his car for her, closed it once she was inside, and buckled in. A second later, Copia was getting behind the wheel and starting the car. They left town, driving thirty minutes into a nearby city. Copia parked in a parking garage came around to her door, and opened it, holding out a hand to her. 

“We walk from here,” he said as she took his hand and got out of the car. He took her hand and looped it through his arm, and Ellie wondered if he could feel her shaking with anticipation and nerves. It had been so long since she had last been on a date or in any sort of relationship. She felt like an inexperienced teenager as he led the way down the busy city street. 

“Are you okay?” Copia asked, pulling Ellie from her anxious thoughts. “You haven’t said much this entire time.”

“Sorry, I’m just…nervous. It’s been a long time since someone took me out on a date,” Ellie confessed.

“You don’t need to apologize, tesoro,” he said as they walked around a corner. “It is okay to be nervous. I know you haven’t been on a date in a while. I understand. What can I do to help you relax?”

“Just keep talking,” Ellie said, already feeling better just from his reassurances. 

He chuckled. “I’ve been called a yapper before, so that won’t be a problem,” he said. “Ah, here we are.”

They stopped in front of a busy restaurant. There were tables of people outside dining under the warm glow of string lights. Inside, patrons talked and laughed while servers moved among the clustered tables. 

“This is the most authentic Italian food around,” Copia said, leading her inside to a podium where a hostess stood waiting to greet them. “I hope that is okay. I didn’t want to spoil the surprise by asking if you liked Italian”

“It’s perfect,” Ellie smiled. “And for the record, I love Italian.” 

“Great,” he said as he stepped up to the podium. “ Ciao, we have a reservation. Last Name Emeritus.” 

The hostess looked over the tablet in front of her and, with a stylus, checked something off. “Emeritus, got it. Table for two. If you will follow Jack here, he’ll get you settled.” She said, handing a couple of menu cards to a waiting server.

They followed the man named Jack, a tall, lean blonde man in a tight server’s uniform, to a table towards the back of the restaurant. Before Ellie could sit, Copia was pulling out a chair for her. The simple gesture filled her with a fuzzy warmth as she sat down and Jack placed a menu in front of her.

“Tonight the chef’s special tonight is pappardelle ai funghi, made with fresh porcini mushrooms and a piece of our house-baked focaccia,” Jack informed them. “Can I get you started with some wine?”

“Yes, please, we’ll take a bottle of…” Copia said, looking over the wine menu before pointing to a bottle. “This one place.”

“Excellent choice, sir. If you’re ready, I can take your orders now as well.”

“Are you ready to order, tesoro ?” Copia asked Ellie.

“Uhhh,” Ellie mused, looking over the menu. “Sure. I’m ready. Can I have the ricotta and spinach ravioli with a side salad?”

“Of course, madam. And for you, sir?” Jack asked as he wrote Ellie’s order out on a pad.

“ Pasta allo scarpariello ,” Copia said.

“Of course. I’ll get your orders into the kitchen and I will be right back with your wine and some water,” Jack said, taking the menus from them and leaving.

“What’s the dish you ordered?” Ellie asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s a rigatoni dish,” Copia said. “With a cherry tomato sauce and some parmigiano-reggiano cheese. It’s a simple dish, but a favorite of mine.”

Ellie made a mental note and tucked that information away for later. “You weren’t kidding when you said this place had authentic Italian food. I swear half the menu was in Italian.”

Copia smiled. “Well, I’ll just have to teach you the language so you know what you can order for next time.”

Her ears delighted when he said next time. She smiled and felt her cheeks warm. “So, what else do you have planned for us after dinner?”

“Ah, mia cara, it’s a surprise,” he said as their server returned with a bottle of red wine. Jack poured them both generous glasses before filling two other glasses with some water and setting the pitcher on their table. The server left again and Ellie watched as Copia reached for his glass. He swirled the liquid gently and brought it to his nose before nodding in approval and taking a sip. “I made the right choice,” he said. 

Ellie lifted her glass and gave the wine a sip. The liquid was sweet and savory all at once with a hint of spice to it. “This is good,” Ellie said, taking another sip.

“I’m glad you like it,” Copia said, his eyes lighting up at her preference. “I was hoping you would.”

In almost no time at all, Jack was returning to their table with their food and a basket of freshly baked focaccia bread. He grated cheese over their dishes and tossed Ellie’s salad before leaving them again. 

“That looks good,” Ellie said as she looked at Copia’s food, cutting into a piece of her ravioli. 

“Here, try some?” Copia said, stabbing a piece of rigatoni with his fork and lifting it to her, inviting her to take a bit. Ellie smiled and leaned over, allowing him to food her the piece of pasta. His eyes seemed to darken ever so slightly when her mouth closed around the fork and she took the pasta into her mouth.

“That is really good,” she confirmed after chewing and swallowing the rigatoni. “Want to try a piece of my ravioli?”

“Sure,” Copia said.

She cute a piece of her stuffed pasta in half and got it onto her fork before holding it out to him. She watched as he gently took her wrist, guiding her hand, holding the fork closer to his mouth before he ate the pasta. “Delicious,” he said, licking his lips and making Ellie bite her lower lip at the act.

They ate dinner, exchanging conversation as their server occasionally stopped by to ask how they were doing and to top off their wine glasses. Before Ellie knew it, Jack placed a piece of tiramisu in front of her for dessert. As she savored the dessert, she watched Copia slip a credit card into the folder with the meal’s bill. She felt bad and immediately reached for her clutch. “Let me help. This was really expensive.”

“No, Ellie,” Copia said gently. “I appreciate you want to help, but I want to do this for you. I wanted to take you on a proper date and spoil you. This is my gift.”

“O-oh, okay,” Ellie flushed, unable to stop the small smile tugging at her lips. “Thank you.” 

“You deserve it, tesoro .” 

“Next time, it’s my treat, though,” Ellie insisted. “I mean it.”

“Of course. Who am I to argue with a beautiful woman who wants to treat me?” Copia chuckled. 

After paying for dinner and leaving a generous tip, Copia and Ellie left the restaurant and walked down the street. It was starting to get late and the streets and sidewalks were less crowded. Ellie thought they might be going back to the parking garage, but they walked passed the place Copia parked the car and towards the entrance of the city park. Copia let her through the park, following the paved path light by warm lights through the trees until they came to the lake at the center of the park. Ellie gasped when she saw the sight. There were thousands of paper lanterns on the lake and on the far side of the water, there was a light show casting pink, blue, green, and orange lights across the surface. There were other groups of people and couples mingling around the path that circled the lake. A chilly breeze rippled across the water, making the lanterns glide this way and across the surface. 

“Copia, this is gorgeous,” Ellie gasped as she took in the scene in front of her. “All the lights and the lanterns. This is so beautiful.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Copia said, tugging her hand. “Come, this way. Let’s get some hot chocolate.” 

They walked down the trail to a little booth with a line three people deep. When they got to the counter, Copia ordered two hot chocolates with marshmallows. 

“Here’s to a magical night tonight,” Copia toasted.

“I can toast to that,” Ellie said, clinking her styrofoam cup with his and carefully sipping the beverage. 

They walked around the lake, taking in the lights and all the lanterns floating on the water. By the time they got back to the park entrance, it was late. They returned to the parking garage and Copia paid the parking fee before opening the passenger door for her. Ellie smiled and slid into the seat. A few minutes later, they exited the garage and went home.

“I had a great night,” Ellie said. “Thank you. This was the best first day ever.”

Copia chuckled. “I’m glad, mia cara. I know your first first date probably wasn’t the experience you wanted, so I was hoping to make up for that and give you the experience you deserve.”

“And you have,” Ellie said. “Thank you, again.”

Copia reached across the expanse of the bench seat and took her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing her knuckles. Ellie blushed furiously as he lowered her hand, still keeping hold of it. “Let’s get you home,” he said, glancing over at her.

They fell into a comfortable silence. Ellie kept hold of his hand as Copia drove. Before she knew it, he was putting the car in park outside of her apartment building. “Here we are,” he said, letting go of her hand and turning the car off. He got out and walked around the front of the vehicle to open her door. Ellie took his outstretched hand and allowed him to help her out of the car. He then walked her inside and up the stairs to her apartment door. “So…” he said almost nervously, rocking back and forth on his feet. “This is the part where I give you a kiss goodnight and we part ways.”

“We don’t have to,” Ellie said quickly. “Part ways I mean…”

He raised his brow. “Oh? Are you inviting me in, cara?”

Ellie unlocked her door and opened it, gesturing for him to go in first. “I am.”

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-V

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: (For Future Chapters) NSFW, 18+, unprotected sex, p in v sex, oral sex, mentions of past abuse and domestic violence, references to suicide (For This Chapter) brief mentions of 9/11, war, death, school shootings, and religious manipulation Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 2116 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church.

Ao3

Chapters: 5/? Previous Chapters

Tag list: @sodoswitchimage

Her laugh was the most musical thing he’d ever heard, and Copia would die happy if it was the last thing he would ever hear again. He sat on the edge of his bed as Ellie sat cross-legged on the floor, his rats crawling over her knees and onto her shoulders. She giggled and cooed at them, gently petting their soft fur with her fingers. Copia felt fluttering in his stomach as she watched Ellie’s face scrunch as Meatball sniffed her ear. 

“That tickles,” she said as she gently lifted Meatball from her shoulder and to her knee. She gave him a loving pat before fishing her phone out of her pocket and checking the time. “I can’t stay for long. I have work this afternoon.”

“What do you do for work?” Copia asked. 

“I work at the little bookstore in town—stocking, running the register, stuff like that,” Ellie answered. 

“Do you like it?”

“It’s one of the better jobs I’ve had. I don’t mind it at all. My one supervisor is an asshole but it pays my bills so I can’t complain too much,” Ellie said with a shrug. 

“Asshole? What makes them an asshole?” Copia asked curiously, ready to go to bat for her.

“Oh, he’s a religious guy. Reminds me of all the people I grew up around.”

“That’s right, you said you were an evangelical baptist,” Copia said, remembering what she told him the first time they met. “Not that it’s any of my business, but what led you astray from your church?” He saw her go still for a moment as the rats crawled over her shoulders. She was considering her words, he noted and it made him even more curious

“Just a lot of things,” she said with a shrug. “The older I got the more I questioned things and the less that made sense. I didn’t particularly appreciate how controlling they were for one. I couldn’t read certain books or watch certain movies because they were considered evil. I wasn’t allowed to wear certain types of clothes. I was told my place in the world was to be a wife and a mother and pop out as many kids as possible to serve God.” She sighed. “I think the thing that started to make me pull away was being told at thirteen years old that I needed to martyr myself for Jesus in case someone came to shoot up my school.” 

Copia felt sick at that. For a child to hear such vile... “That’s disgusting. How dare they tell children that?” He seethed. Anger flooded him the more he thought about it. “And these are the people who claim to protect the innocent. I can’t stand people like that.”

“Me neither, but when you’re at that age and have nowhere else to go you just sort of pretend to be like them to survive,” Ellie said softly. “At least that’s what I did. I don’t think I’ve believed in God since I was fourteen or fifteen, but I played the part of a good Christian girl until I could get away.” 

“You do what you got to in order to survive, even if it does mean, eh, what do the kids say? Faking it until you make it,” Copia said as he nodded in agreement. “The Olde One understands this.” 

“Leaves you with a lot of issues though,” Ellie said with a laugh, her eyes glancing down at her left arm. The glance didn’t go unnoticed by him though. He had a feeling what lay under her sleeve, but he wouldn’t push or bring it up. That was her story to tell whenever she was comfortable and ready. “But I’m working through them. Slowly.”

“Life isn’t a race,” Copia said, leaning over to allow Alfredo to crawl up his arm. “You work at things at your own pace, si ?”

Ellie nodded and then laughed as Meatball tried to crawl down her shirt, and for a moment Copia thought the room got even warmer than it already was. “No, friend, you can’t go down there,” she said as she gently sat Meatball back on her knee. She looked over to Copia. “Thanks again for letting me play with them. I miss having animals in my life.”

“It’s not a problem. Anytime you want to visit them let me know. You do not have any pets?” Copia asked. 

“No,” Ellie said. “I was moving around a lot…you know looking for that change I wanted to make and I didn’t think it would be fair to put that stress on a cat or a dog or any other animal. When I was a kid I used to have a dog. Her name was Misty. She was this really pretty golden retriever. I loved her so much. She was my best friend. After my dad died, my mother got rid of her.”

“Oh, cara, I’m so sorry,” Copia said. “About your father and your dog.”

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago. My dad was in the military. Got sent to war after 9/11, and died in Afghanistan. My mother wasn’t the same after that. She got rid of everything that reminded her of him, and he was the one that got me Misty. I’m pretty sure my mother would have got rid of me if she could.”

He could see the pain in her eyes and it broke his heart. He wanted to hold her and comfort her but settled for placing a hand on her knee and giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry to hear that, cara . People grieve in different ways, but that wasn’t fair for your mother to take away something you loved because she couldn’t properly channel that grief.” 

Her hand came to rest over his for a brief moment and for a second Copia thought he felt a tingle of electricity surge through him. “Thanks,” she said softly. “I miss that dog every day. I know she’s probably gone by now. She was three years old when I was ten so she’d be over twenty years old now if she was still alive.” Ellie glanced down at their hands and slowly pulled hers away. Copia did the same, already missing the warmth it brought him. “But maybe one day I’ll get myself another dog.”

“Of course,” Copia said. “But in the meantime, my rats can be your furry friends.”

Ellie grinned. “Thanks.” She dug her phone out of her pocket again and frowned. “I should get going. I gotta get home and get ready for work.”

“Oh, of course. Let’s get the babies back in their home and I’ll walk you out.” 

They got the rats back in their cage and Ellie promised she’d back to visit them. It made his heart race knowing she’d be coming back to his room to see his rats. They were silent as he walked her out of the house and to the lot her car was parked in. “I’ll see you for mass?” He asked as she unlocked her car door.

Ellie nodded. “I’ll be here. I might be back before then though. Gemma said she had some study guides for me to look over.”

Copia nodded. “Well, if you need anything…”

“I’ll let you know,” Ellie finished for him with a smile. “Thanks again, for everything.”

“No problem,” Copia said. “No problem at all. I’ll see you soon.” He watched as she got into her car and started the engine. She gave him a little wave before backing up and making her way down the drive. He watched as her car disappeared before heading back to the house.

“Someone’s becoming smitten,” came a voice from the kitchen once he was back inside.

Copia turned to see Secondo making himself a cup of tea.

“I’m not-” Copia began before Secondo held up a hand to stop him.

“You are,” Secondo said. “Don’t deny it. Why should you? She’s pretty, and from talking to her today in the group session, she seems very intelligent and loyal.”

“Because I barely know her,” Copia argued.

“Since when has that stopped you? How many people have you had in your bed that you actually knew?”

“But I’m old enough to be her father.”

“And?”

“She doesn’t want me.”

“You’re blind, fratello,” Secondo sighed. “I’ve seen the way she looks at you during mass, and just now when you were walking her to her car. She’s smitten too whether she knows it or not. You’re making excuses.”

Copia sighed and sat down at the small table. “Maybe you’re right.”

Secondo huffed and smirked. “I know I’m right. So what are you going to do about it.”

“I don’t fucking know,” Copia said. “I don’t want to scare her off.”

“Invite her to the Samhain ball.” 

“She was already invited.”

“As your date, idiota .” 

Copia blinked. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you aren’t thinking,” Secondo said rolling his eyes. “Next time you see her, ask her. Say it’s just a casual thing or something. She’ll say yes.”

Copia nodded. “Okay���okay I will.”

“Good. And for the record, I think you two would be a good fit.” Secondo finished steeping his tea and walking out of the kitchen.

Copia sat the table thinking it all over. “The worst she can say is no,” he told himself before he made his way up to his bedroom. 

XXX

Ellie stared at the clock. Even though she was working a four-hour shift, it felt like she had already been there for a full day. Two hours to go, she thought as she went back to organizing books on the ‘New releases’ table. She thought back on her visit with Copia. She ended up telling him a lot more than she intended, but Ellie couldn’t help it. She felt so comfortable with him that she didn’t mind being vulnerable.

When the bell above the door jingled, Ellie was pulled from her thoughts. She turned to see an older woman walk in with a stack of flyers in her hand.

“Excuse me, dear, could I leave you a flyer to put in your window? It’s for an event at St. Gertrude’s,” the woman said, holding out a piece of paper to Ellie.

“Oh, we’re not allowed to-” Ellie began before being cut off by her supervisor who appeared behind her.

“Of course, Helen,” Charles said beaming. He took the flyer and looked it over. “This town needs the church more than ever.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Helen said smiling. “Ever since those devil worshippers moved into the old abbey this town has gone downhill.”

Ellie stilled, biting her tongue to stop herself from saying something that would get her fired.

“The worst thing that’s happened to this place,” Charles agreed. “I see those freaks all the time walking around town putting up their flyers. They’ve come in here a couple of times to leave flyers. I always shred them. I’ll post this in the window and let people know about the event when they come in.” 

Helen nodded and smiled. “Thanks, Charles. I’m going to continue passing out flyers. I’ll see you at mass.”

“See you there,” Charles said before Helen left. He handed Ellie the flyer. “Put this up in the window.”

“I thought we weren’t allowed to display non-store related flyers,” Ellie said taking the flyer from him.

“No one’s going to care about a church flyer,” Charles said.

“Then why don’t you display the flyers for the Ministry of Ghost?” Ellie challenged. “Why display one religious organization and not the other? Doesn’t seem fair.”

“Because they’re not a religion. They’re a cult of evil,” Charles sneered. “You kids these days…”

“I’m 30 years old. I’m not a kid,” Ellie said. “And I’m only pointing out how hypocritical the situation is and how it’s against company policy to display non-store related flyers in the windows.”

Charles huffed and grabbed the flyer out of Ellie’s hand.

“I’ll do it then,” he said before striding over to the window. 

As Charles went to get some tape from behind the register, Ellie noticed someone standing across the street from the store. She blinked and froze. The setting sun made the street outside dim and made details hard to make out, but she recognized the man staring back at her. Ellie closed her eyes for a second and breathed. In and out. In and out. When she opened her eyes again, the man was gone.

I’m going crazy, she thought as she looked out the window and up and down the street. No one was there.

He’s not here, she told herself. You’re just seeing things. It’s okay. You’re safe. 

Post Chapter A/N I hope everyone got to see Rite Here Rite Now. Seeing it has affected the outcome of this fic, so stay tuned! Follow me on twitter :) -ghulehwitch

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-IV

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: (For Future Chapters) NSFW, 18+, unprotected sex, p in v sex, oral sex, mentions of past abuse and domestic violence, references to suicide Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 2112 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church.

Ao3

Chapters: 4/?

Tag list: @sodoswitchimage

Chapter Four

Oh, my Elenor, look what you’ve become: A blasphemous heathen! Hanging around those devil worshippers? They’ll drag you to Hell!

Ellie could hear her mother’s voice in her ear as she looked over the schedule of activities and events Gemma sent her. Throughout the week the Ministry hosted everything from cooking classes to group therapy. Ellie was interested in going to one of the support groups; a group for people like her who came from religious backgrounds and were struggling with those former beliefs and indoctrinations. Since Ellie began studying Satanism and the Ministry’s beliefs, she’d been hearing her mother’s voice more and more. The woman whispered the same thing in Ellie’s ear every time. Melissa Moran loved to remind her that she was going to hell and wasn’t worthy of God’s glory and the eternity of Heaven. 

It’s been nearly ten years since Ellie last saw or spoke to her mother. As soon as Ellie could get away, she did. She could still remember the last words she said to the woman: God isn’t real and if He was, He’d be ashamed of you. 

But despite the certainty that God wasn’t real, Ellie still doubted herself every day. What if she died and found out she was wrong? What if she was going to spend an eternity in Hell suffering? Was she even loved by God?

Ellie found herself pulling up to the Ministry gates ten minutes before the support group started. She punched in the gate code that was given to her and parked in the lot. She made her way inside and down one of the corridors on the first floor that led to a small classroom. Inside were five Siblings who were mingling around a table with snacks and drinks. One of them looked up as Ellie came in.

“Oh, you’re Sister Gemma’s charge,” they said. “Welcome! Papa Secondo will be here soon and then we’ll get started.”

Ellie nodded. So she’d be meeting Secondo today? She hadn’t seen the former Papa since that very first time at mass. Gemma said no one was really sure what he was up to these days. 

“We ready to get started?”

Ellie looked up to see a bald man with sunglasses and a thin mustache walk into the room. He took off the sunglasses and folded them up into his breast pocket. He had the same white and green eyes as Copia. He scanned the room and nodded to each of the Siblings as they took a seat. Then his eyes landed on Ellie. He looked her up and down. “You’re a new face,” he said.

“Ellie,” Ellie introduced herself. “I-um-Sister Gemma said I was allowed to come to these.”

“Ah Sister Gemma,” Secondo smiled fondly. “You’re the new potential. She’s right, you are welcome here.”

Ellie smiled and relaxed back into her chair as the meeting began. 

She was glad she wasn’t the only one who felt the way she did. After hearing some of the Siblings talk about how they were raised and their fears and doubts, Ellie had enough courage to talk about her own upbringing. 

“We didn’t start going to church until after my dad was killed in Afghanistan,” Ellie said. “My mother thought it would help us heal. That church sucked her in and therefore me. When I left for college, my mother had my whole life planned out for me. She and that church were sending me to a Christian university where I could find a good God-fearing husband and have an education to fall back on in the event my husband was not around to provide for me and our children.” She let out a snort and looked around at the group. “I was 17. I didn’t want to get married or have kids. I just wanted to get a degree in something I was interested in and get a good job.”

“Christians love to have complete control over women,” Secondo said, looking over to her. “Their men think they hold all the power. They’re afraid of strong women and fear the power women hold. Without women, their way of life would never continue. There’s nothing I can say that will erase the pain and damage inflicted on you, Ellie, or any of you for that matter. But in time you will see just how strong and powerful you are. For what it’s worth, I believe you made the right steps in that direction just by coming here.” 

Ellie chewed on the inside of her cheek as she thought about what he said. 

“And we’ll end that there this week,” Secondo said. “Same time next week?”

“Sounds good,” one of the Siblings said as everyone began to rise.

“We’ll see you again?” Secondo asked Ellie as she stood.

Ellie nodded. “Yea…thanks.”

“No thanks necessary.” He replied before slipping his sunglasses back on and leaving the classroom. 

Ellie left the room a minute later, her mind on what everyone said during the meeting. She wasn’t paying attention as she turned the corner and ran right into…a tricycle. She didn’t have time to process what she was seeing as her shin collided with the front wheel and she went down to the floor. 

“Cazzo! I am so sorry!”

Ellie blinked and refocused. She saw Copia standing up straight from a red tricycle complete with a little brass bell. Copia was kneeling next to her as she sat up and winced. 

“Ellie I am so sorry,” Copia said again. “I should have looked before coming around the corner.”

“I’m okay,” Ellie reassured her wincing again. She pulled up the leg of her jeans and looked at her shin. It was already turning into a bruise and a small scrap was leaking blood. “Just a scratch. I’ll be fine.”

“Let me clean that up,” Copia said looking at her leg. “It’s the least I can do.” 

He stood, extending a hand to help her up. Ellie grabbed his leather-clad hand and pulled herself back to standing, the ache her in leg throbbing. “What were you doing riding a tricycle around anyway?” She asked, taking a step forward and wincing when she put pressure on her leg. 

“Oh, eh, it’s a thing I just enjoy,” Copia said, looking embarrassed as he picked the tricycle up in one hand and held out his other arm for her to take. Ellie took his arm and he slowly led her back down the corridor. “There’s a small infirmary just down here. We have a doctor and a nurse who live and work here in the Ministry.”

“It’s really not that bad,” Ellie insisted. “I don’t want to cause any hassle.”

“It’s not a hassle,” Copia responded looking at her. “You’re injured and should be attended to.”

Ellie didn’t argue as she limped down the hall with him. When they got to the infirmary, the door was closed and the lights were off inside. “Must be on their breaks,” Copia muttered looking at his watch. “I have some bandaids and some ointment in my rooms. I could clean your leg up there. If you are okay with that, that is.” 

“It’s fine,” Ellie said. “As long as I’m not interrupting anything. It’s just a scratch, Papa.” 

“Eh, I was just fucking around. I’m done with all my Papa duties for the day,” Copia said guiding them towards an exit. “And call me Copia. It’s just the two of us right now.” 

“Sure,” Ellie said as they walked outside and towards the house that stood behind the abbey. She looked over the house. It was a charming stone house with flowers surrounding the outside. “It’s a really nice house,” she said. “Was it part of the abbey when you all bought the place?” 

“Si, we think it was the priest’s home before. It was remodeled and all the Papas live here now. We all have our own rooms and bathrooms and we share a kitchen and living room.” Copia said pulling out a set of keys from his pocket and unlocking the door. 

“Are you sure this is okay?” Ellie asked. “I really don’t want to be a bother.” She knew Copia was just trying to help, but she had gotten so used to taking care of herself that the idea of someone else looking after her was foreign and slightly terrifying. She always felt like a burden. Her mother always made her feel like she was a hassle, and then there was her ex-

“Tesoro, you are not a bother,” Copia said turning to her and interrupting her train of thought. “Please let me do this for you. It’s my fault you got hurt.”

Ellie bit her lips and nodded. “Okay,” she said softly, giving in to his offer.

He smiled and led her inside. Ellie stepped into a small foyer where a coat rack stood filled with coats and hats. To her left was a living room with a leather sofa and a couple of armchairs. A large screen TV was mounted to the wall above a fireplace. The large bay window filled the room with natural light and made the dark wooden floors gleam. To her right was a kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite counters, dark-colored cabinets, and a smooth tiled floor. Straight ahead was a staircase that led to the second floor. Passed the staircase were two doors at the end of a small hallway. 

“It’s not a lot, but it’s home,” Copia said as he watched her look around. 

“It’s lovely,” Ellie said. “Cozy.”

Copia smiled and led her up the stairs, taking each step slow as Ellie gingerly put weight on her hurt leg. The top of the stairs led them into a hallway with four doors—two on each side of the staircase. “My rooms over here,” Copia said, leading Ellie to the left and then to a door on the right side of the hall. He unlocked the door and pushed the door open.

Copia’s room was small but comfortable. He had a queen-sized bed covered in red linens and quilts. A loveseat sat at the end of the bed and faced an entertainment stand with a small tv and retro game systems. There were two doors along one of the walls that Ellie guessed were a closet and a bathroom. On the opposite side was a large window that overlooked the gardens and the forest that boarded the Ministry’s land. In the corner of the room was a large metal cage with—

“Rats!” Ellie exclaimed, limping her way over to the cage. “Oh my god, they’re so cute!” She looked over the four rats who scurried to the bars of the cage, curious about their new visitor. Ellie looked over her shoulder at Copia. “Do they have names?”

“O-oh? Si, yes,” Copia stammered as though stunned by her interest in the animals. “The white one in Alfredo. The black and white one is Pepper. The big gray one is Meatball, and the small gray one is Rigatoni.” 

“They’re so cute” Ellie giggled as she held a finger up to the bars for the rats to sniff. “Could I hold one?”

“How about after I patch you up?” Copia agreed, opening one of the two doors on the opposite wall. It led to a small white tiled bathroom. Ellie could hear him opening a cabinet and routing around before stepping back into the bathroom with a small first aid box. “Sit down on the bed for me, cara.”

Ellie nodded and stepped over to the bed, sitting on the plush linens and mattress. She watched Copia walk over to her and kneel before her. She watched as he gently took her leg and pushed up her jeans to reveal the red and purpling bruise and dried blood of the scraps. “It looks like it hurts,” he said. 

“A little,” Ellie confessed as Copia opened the first aid kit and took out a prepackaged wipe to clean the dried blood. “But it’s not so bad.”

He hummed in response as he gently cleaned the area. He reached for a small tube of antibiotic cream and dabbed a little on before opening a bandage. “It’ll be sore for a couple of days,” he said before applying the bandage. 

“I’ve had worse,” Ellie said, playing with the sleeve of her sweater, remembering the scars it hid from view. “Nothing a couple of ibuprofen can’t handle.”

He nodded and looked up at her, his hands lingering on her leg for a second before gently pulling the leg of her jeans back down. “All patched up. Now, you wanted to hold the babies?”

Ellie grinned and nodded. 

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-VIII

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: None for this chapter Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 2341 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church. Ao3 || Masterlist Chapters: 8/? Previous Chapters Tag list: @sodoswitchimage Fic Divider by @gothdaddyissues

Aether and Copia left her to herself a couple of minutes later. Ellie looked around the sparse room and sighed. She knew she’d be safe for at least that night. As she moved her bag from the bed to the wardrobe, a knock sounded from the door. Ellie walked over and opened it a crack to find a short and curvy black uniformed and masked ghoul standing there with a pile of sheets, blankets, and towels in their arms.

“Hi, I’m Cumulus,” the ghoul said in a feminine voice. “Papa said you’d need these.”

“Oh, thank you,” Ellie said opening the door to let her in. “I’m—”

“Ellie, I know,” Cumulus said, a pearly white smile with suspiciously pointed canines appearing on her face. “You’re Papa’s new fascination.” 

“What?”

“Papa’s new fascination,” Cumulus said as she set the stack of linens on the bed. “He can’t stop thinking about you.” 

“Oh?” Ellie questioned, her cheeks warming. 

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Cumulus said grinning. “It’s actually very sweet.” 

“So he talks about thinking about me?” Ellie inquired. There was a flutter in her stomach and her heart rate increased into a steady thumping rhythm. 

“Oh, no, but we can hear him thinking about you. He’s usually really good at shielding but there’s something about you…”

“Um…what?” Ellie blinked as she repeated Cumulus’s words in her mind. If she heard right, Cumulus just admitted she, and maybe the other ghouls were telepathic. That couldn’t be right. Maybe English wasn’t her first language, Ellie thought. “You can hear his thoughts? And shielding? What are you even talking about.”

It was as though Cumulus had a realization and she let out a nervous laugh. “Oh, nothing, I’m just being silly,” she said. “Anyways, I should get going. If you need anything let us know. Curfew is midnight, so try not to be wandering the halls after then.” 

Ellie watched Cumulus leave her room quickly and Ellie couldn’t help but think there was a lot more going on than she understood. But she couldn’t deal with that right now.

Ellie made up the bed. The sheets were soft against her skin and immediately made her drowsy. “A nap won’t hurt,” she said, slipping out of her shoes and then her leggings. She took off her shirt to remove her bra before putting her shirt back on and sliding into bed. Ellie made sure to set an alarm on her phone and as her head hit the pillow, she was out. 

She had strange dreams. 

She dreamt the ghouls weren’t human but demons from hell with tails, horns, fangs, and claws. They weren’t wearing their black uniforms and masks. They wore regular clothing but their skin was unnaturally colored along with their eyes and hair. They chased her through the halls of the ministry, but Ellie wasn’t scared. She was laughing and treating the situation like it was a big game of tag. When they caught her, the tallest one threw her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and took her back down the corridor. She was deposited in a large, wing-backed chair in Copia’s office.

“Dolcezza,” a voice purred and Copia stepped out of the shadows and cupped her face. “You’re home. You’re safe.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “And you’re mine.” 

Ellie wanted to relish in the feeling of his lips on her skin, but she felt tiny little scratches against her leg. “What—” She began to say in the dream, but then she was blinking awake and staring at the white-painted ceiling. She still felt the little scratches and furrowed her brow. Ellie sat up and removed the blanket to see a white rat crawling up her leg. If she hadn’t recognized the rat, she would have screamed.

“Alfredo?” Ellie questioned and the rat sat up on its hind legs and looked at her. “How did you even get in here? Does Copia know you’re missing?”

The rat blinked at her.

“I’m talking to a rat like it knows what I’m saying,” Ellie sighed. She looked at her phone. It was nearly ten at night, a whole two hours after her alarm was supposed to go off.  “Okay, let’s get you back to your home.” She gently picked up the rat and sat her back down in the blankets. Ellie put her leggings back on and decided to throw a hoodie on over her shirt instead of putting her bra back on. She slipped into her canvas sneakers and picked the rat up gently. “I hope your Papa isn’t too worried that you’re missing.” 

Ellie left her room, making sure she had the key Aether had given her, and began making her way down the corridors. She passed open doors where Siblings were visiting their friends and partying in their rooms. Other doors she passed were closed but she could hear moans and pleasured cries coming from them. Ellie had to remind herself that this wasn’t a Christian church where sex was taboo. 

“Sins of the flesh are welcomed and celebrated here,” Gemma had said to her.

Speaking of Gemma, Ellie made a mental note to go find her after taking Alfredo home. She had about two hours until curfew and Ellie thought she should tell her friend what happened. Now that she told Copia everything, Ellie felt like she didn’t need to hide anymore.

Ellie found herself a few minutes later standing outside the Papal house. She knocked on the door and waited. A few seconds later she heard the click of a lock and the door opened to an older man with thinning light-colored hair, a large nose, and deep wrinkles on his face. He wore black trousers and a red knitted sweater. His eyes, the same mismatched ones that all the other Papas had, were kind as they looked her over. Primo bowed his head politely in greeting. “Can I help you, sorella?”

“Is Copia…Papa here?” Ellie asked, gesturing to the rat in her hands. “I think this one is his. She was in my room.”

“I’ll go get him, come in, please,” Primo said, standing aside to let her inside.

Ellie stepped into the foyer. The house was dimly lit. A soft yellow light came from a lamp in the living room and the television was turned to a local news station. A newspaper lay abandoned on an armchair. “Sorry for the time,” Ellie found herself saying. 

“It’s quite alright,” Primo reassured her. “It’s still well before curfew. You are a new sister, si?”

“Oh…no,” Ellie said. “I’m studying for my membership, but I’m not a Sister of Sin. My name’s Ellie.”

“Ah, Copia’s Ellie,” Primo said with a smile. “He mentioned you would be staying with us for a night or two. Please, make yourself comfortable. I’ll go get Copia.” 

Ellie nodded and stepped into the living room as Primo began to slowly ascend the stairs.  He had called her Copia’s Ellie and the thought made her smile a little. She didn’t sit, but instead paced as she petted Alfredo. The rat seemed perfectly content about her current situation. Ellie heard a distant knock on a door and then the next thing she heard was a pair of footsteps coming down the stairs. She turned to see Copia in a plain black t-shirt and red sweatpants with bright blue socks with little white rats on them.

“Ellie? Cara? Is everything alright? Primo said you needed to see me,” Copia said as he approached her. His eyes were heavy with concern and worry.

“I’m okay,” Ellie reassured him quickly. “I’m sorry for coming by so late, but I had a visitor.” Ellie opened her hands where the rat was happily curled up and ready to take a nap.

“Alfredo,” Copia sighed with relief. “That’s where you wandered off to. She’s an escape artist; likes to roam the house and the abbey. Usually, she either comes back on her own or a kind soul returns her. Where did you find her?”

“In my bed,” Ellie said. “I was taking a nap and she woke me up.” 

“Your bed? Weird,” Copia said shaking his head. “Thank you for bringing her back here. She seems comfortable in your hands though. Do you want to bring her up to the cage and she can continue her snooze with her sisters?”

She nodded “So, she does this often then?” Ellie asked as she followed Copia up the stairs.

“Oh, si,” Copia said. “But like I said, she always finds her way home one way or another.”

Ellie followed him into his bedroom. The lights were off and a couple of pillar candles were lit on the dresser casting warm, flickering, yellow light across the room He had the small tv on and it looked like he was paused in the middle of a game; Pacman, Ellie surmised. “Sorry for interrupting your game session,” she said walking over to the cage in the corner where the other three rats were sleeping in a pile together.

“Bah, it’s fine,” Copia said, opening the little metal door. 

Ellie gently put Alfredo near the sleeping pile of rats. “Try not to wander far next time,” she said teasingly to the fuzzy creature. Alfredo blinked up at her and then curled up with the others and went to sleep. Ellie closed the door and slid the latches into place before turning to Copia. 

“So, eh, how’s your stay been so far?” Copia asked, hands behind his back.

“Oh, fine. I slept through most of the evening,” Ellie said. “Only meant to take a nap for a couple of hours but I slept through my alarm.”

“Sounds like you needed the sleep more than you realized,” Copia responded. “That’s good though. Use this time to get as much rest as you can.”

“I’ll try,” Ellie said. “Kinda hard with the whole crazy ex stalking me and breaking into my apartment.”

Copia frowned and nodded. “I can’t say I know what you mean, but I can imagine how stressful that is. You are safe here though, please know that.”

“I know,” Ellie reassured him. “I should get going. Maybe I’ll just go back to bed. I have work tomorrow.”

“Speaking of,” Copia chimed in. “I’m going to have Aether drive you to work and stay with you.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Ellie said frowning. “Besides, he can’t stay in the store all day.”

“He won’t be in the store. You won’t even notice him. He’ll just be nearby just in case. Please, it would make me feel better knowing there was someone around when I can’t be.”

The thought of having someone nearby to keep her safe in case anything went wrong was nice, Ellie admitted. She couldn’t say for sure that Ethan wouldn’t just walk into her workplace and harass her knowing there was nothing she could do about it. He’d done it before. “Okay,” Ellie said. “As long as he’s not in the store. I don’t know how I’d explain that to my boss.” She thought about what he said again. Was she crazy or did he imply that he wanted to be the one to watch over her and protect her? Ellie tried not to think too much on it in case her assumptions were wrong. She knew she was just lonely. She’d been lonely her whole life but that didn’t mean she could jump onto the first person who gave her affection and attention. That’s how she got into this whole mess.

He’s different, the voice in her head said. 

“Grazie, cara,” Copia said looking relieved. “Aether will meet you out front when you’re ready to go, but for now, will you permit me to walk you back to your room?”

Ellie smiled. “Sure.” 

She looked relaxed in leggings and a hoodie, he noted. And despite the still exhaustion etched on her face, she looked amazing. 

He walked alongside her in silence. It wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. It was pleasant and just knowing she was next to him eased him. All too soon though their time together was over. Copia stood back as Ellie unlocked the door to her room. 

“Keep me updated on what’s going on with your apartment, si?” He asked. He knew she probably wouldn’t be here tomorrow night. She’d want to go home, and when she did, he’d have his ghouls watch over her and make sure she remained safe. If he had it his way, she’d stay within the Ministry until that ex of hers was in jail or dead.

“I will,” Ellie said. “I’m gonna go to the police station either tomorrow or the day after and see if there’s anything they can do for me.”

“If they can’t, we’ll think of something,” Copia assured him. 

Ellie opened her door and turned to him. “Thanks again for all of this.”

“It’s nothing, cara,” Copia said. “I hope you can get some sleep tonight.”

Ellie nodded and as she began to move into the room, Copia remembered something. “Ellie?”

“Hm?” Ellie responded turning back to him.

“The-eh-the Samhain ball…you’re already invited to attend, of course…but I thought maybe you’d like to accompany me as my plus one?” He asked, rocking back and forth on his heels nervously. “Just as-eh-friends or whatever you want.” 

The smile that overtook Ellie’s face could have melted the coldest of hearts. “Yeah, I’d like that,” she said. 

“Great,” Copia said a smile spreading across his face. “Great. That’s great. Well…sleep well and sweet dreams, cara.” 

“You too, Copia. I’ll see you later,” Ellie said softly before slipping into her room. She smiled at him one more time before closing the door. 

Copia practically skipped the whole way back to the house. He was glad no one was wandering the corridors or outside because he knew he must have looked ridiculous. He was just so damn happy and he couldn’t figure out why one woman made him feel like that—one woman that had only just appeared in his life and had already changed it.

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-II

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: (For Future Chapters) NSFW, 18+, unprotected sex, p in v sex, oral sex, mentions of past abuse and domestic violence, references to suicide Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Characters: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia, OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 2921 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church.

Ao3

Chapters: 2/?

Tag list: @sodoswitchimage

Chapter Two

tw: references to past self-harm

The dining hall was filled with an aroma of buffet food. Siblings and clergy members spoke to one another as Copia entered the hall. His eyes scanned the people and ghouls in the room before finding their target. He spotted Ellie with Sister Gemma in a small group of Siblings. He wanted to approach Ellie and talk to her, but the vision of her down on her knees in front of him, looking up at him, well, it did things to him. He couldn’t figure out why seeing her like that affected him so much. Had it been as simple as seeing a beautiful woman on her knees before him? No, it couldn’t be it. There were many beautiful people in the ministry that dropped to their knees before him every week and they hadn’t affected him the way Ellie had. There was something about her specifically and he wanted to find out what it was. 

He was happy to see Ellie interacting with his congregation. He remembered just weeks prior how she stood alone and away from everyone. If she made friends with the Siblings she’d want to come back to visit, and if she came to visit more often there would be more chances to talk to her, he reasoned. 

“So you have your eye on the new girl too,” Terzo said as he came up next to Copia.

His eyes slid sideways to the other man. “I do not,” Copia responded a little too quickly.

Terzo chuckled. “Oh, fratello , you don’t have to lie to me. I saw how you looked at her during communion. I thought you were going to get a hard-on right then and there.”

Copia rolled his eyes at his brother. “Okay, fine, what if I do have an interest in her? What does it matter to you? Are you planning on bedding her? A new woman to add to your tally?” He felt suddenly possessive of Ellie and stomped the feeling down. He had no right to feel that way. Ellie wasn’t his. He didn’t even know her. And even if he did, that didn’t mean he was entitled to her. She probably wasn’t even interested in him. Terzo was just trying to get under his skin. 

“Calm yourself,” Terzo said. “I’m only messing with you. I was thinking about asking her out for dinner, but seeing you all up in arms over her has changed my mind. You’re not usually interested in anyone, so I’ll let you have this one.”

“How gracious of you,” Copia deadpanned. 

Terzo clapped him on the shoulder. “Good luck, fratello .”

XXX

Gemma introduced Ellie to her friends: Sister Brianna, a pretty redhead with a round face, and Brother Micha a short man with dark hair and eyes in his mid-20s. The other two Siblings welcomed Ellie into their little group with open arms, asking her questions about her life and taking interest in her responses.

“Your tattoos are gorgeous by the way,” Brianna said, taking Ellie’s hand and looking at the bits that poked out from under her sleeve. “Can I see more?”

“S-sure,” Ellie said, rolling up her sleeve to show off more of the floral and vine designs that covered her arm. She hoped no one would notice the raised scar that ran up her wrist that the tattoos hid. She wasn’t up for answering questions and bringing up that part of her life. If any of them had noticed, they didn’t mention it, which Ellie was grateful for. 

“I wish I had more tattoos,” Brianna sighed dropping Ellie’s arm after admiring the colorful ink. “I only have the one. Haven’t had time to get more.”

As the conversation turned to other things, Ellie pulled the sleeve of her sweater back down and noticed Copia across the room. He was watching her as he spoke to Terzo. When Terzo patted his shoulder and walked away, Ellie excused herself from the group and walked over to Copia.

“Papa,” she greeted. “The service today was really good. I enjoyed it.”

His lips turned up into a small smile and the sight made her heart beat just a little faster. “Thank you, cara , I’m glad you enjoyed it. It was one of my better ones. I’m glad to see you’re back and that you took communion. Are you thinking about joining our little family here?”

“I don’t know yet,” Ellie said. “I don’t know a whole lot about your religion. I understand and agree with the tenants, but I have a…complicated relationship with religion.”

“Former Catholic?”

“Evangelical Baptist,” Ellie corrected. 

Copia made a face. “Even worse than Catholics, si?”

Ellie nodded. “At least the Catholics wouldn’t tell me I’m going to Hell every time I stepped into church,” she laughed. 

“I can never keep track of what the different denominations believe. Catholics believe one way, Baptists and Lutherns another it’s all confusing,” he said, waving his hand as he spoke. “At least here we are consistent in our beliefs.”

“Well that’s a relief,” Ellie smiled. “I think I need to learn more before I can decide on joining.”

“Of course!” Copia responded with a nod. “Having all the information in front of you before you make a decision is the responsible thing to do. I’m sure Sister Gemma would be happy to help you, and if she can’t, I would be glad to help.”

“Gemma–er–Sister Gemma already offered to be my sponsor,” Ellie said, glancing over at the little group of Siblings that were still chatting to one another. She looked back at Copia, feeling his mismatched eyes boring into her. “But thank you, I really appreciate the offer. I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

“Si, si. Well, eh, I’ll let you get back to your new friends. I hope we get to see more of you here.”

Ellie could have sworn she saw a glint of eagerness in his eye as he said that. It made her smile and nod. “I’m sure I’ll be around more,” she said before giving him a small wave and walking back to the group of Siblings. 

“Making friends with Papa?” Micha asked.

“Yea,” Ellie answered. “He came and talked to me a little the first time I was here. I just wanted to tell him that I really enjoyed the sermon today.”

“Papa Copia is alright,” Micha said. “He’s gained a lot of confidence since ascending to Papa. He was awkward as hell as a Cardinal. Should have seen him. Always had a rat with him. Rode a tricycle around the Ministry. It was weird.”

“Aw, I think that’s kind of sweet. I love rats,” Ellie smiled, glancing over her shoulder. Copia was now speaking with one of the masked figures Ellie learned were called Ghouls. After watching the Ghouls interact with other Siblings, there was something weird about them that Ellie couldn’t put her finger on. When she turned back to the three Siblings they were all looking at her with smirks on their faces. “What?”

“You like him,” Brianna said in a sing-songy voice.

“No,” Ellie said a bit too quickly. She felt her cheeks warm. “I mean, sure, as a person. He seems nice.”

“Oh yea? Then why are you blushing?” Gemma asked a grin of triumph plastered on her face.

Ellie let out a sigh. It would be useless to lie. She was always a terrible liar. “Okay, maybe I find him attractive,” she said as Gemma, Brianna, and Micha all looked at each other and nodded.

“What?” Ellie asked, unsure she wanted to know what they all just agreed on.

“We’re going to get you two together,” Micha said. “Papa needs someone. I heard he hasn’t slept with anyone since he became Papa.” 

“Woah woah woah,” Ellie said putting her hands up. “I don’t even know the man and you’re already trying to get me in his bed? I appreciate the thought, but I’m just…I’m okay with the way things are right now. He’s nice and I’d like to be friends, but anything else…” The thought of nothing more between her and Copia made her a little sad and she couldn’t figure out why. But her life was too unstable—barely just began to start it over. Ellie didn’t know him well, but she knew Copia deserved someone better than her. So friends it would be.

“So,” Ellie said turning to Gemma to change the subject. “When can I begin studying for my membership?”

XXX

Ellie left the ministry with a handful of pamphlets given to her by Gemma. They covered the history of the ministry, rules, beliefs, clergy hierarchy, and much much more. Her first task was to read through all the material and write down any questions she had. She was meeting Gemma for her first study session in a few days. 

As she looked through the pamphlets, she saw Copia’s papal portrait in one of them. It listed him as the current head of the ministry and frontman for Ghost. Ellie couldn’t help but stare at it. He looked regal in his papal skull paints and glimmering blue robes and miter. Gemma, Brianna, and Micha didn’t push her any further on their plans of getting her together with Copia, and Ellie was thankful because if she thought about Copia anymore, a permanent blush would be seared into her flesh. 

As she finished reading through the third pamphlet, her phone chimed with a text message. Ellie froze for a second. No one had her new number. She ditched her old phone back in her hometown before her journey across the country. 

“It’s not him,” Ellie told herself as she picked up the phone and opened the text from the unknown number.

Hey! It’s Gemma! I forgot to tell you that when you come here you’ll have to be buzzed in through the front gate. Just tell them you’re here to see me.

Ellie let out a huge sigh of relief. She forgot she gave Gemma her number. Ellie sent a response to Gemma before saving her number in her contacts. Ellie set her phone aside and willed her heart to stop bounding against her ribcage. 

“It wasn’t him. You’re fine,” she told herself.

But the sick and twisting feeling that was currently churning in her gut didn’t go away. 

She was hypervigilant over the next few days. Every little unexpected noise made her tense. When her boss dropped a large encyclopedia in the store that morning she nearly gave herself a heart attack. Ellie knew she should probably see a therapist and talk about her past and how it was affecting her, but she just didn’t feel ready to dive into all that just yet. She convinced herself that she was just stressed by all the recent changes in her life. Stress. That’s all it was. 

That still didn’t stop her from looking in her rearview mirror to make sure no one followed her on her drive up to the Ministry. 

She stopped outside the wrought iron gates that were normally open for public mass days. Ellie rolled down her window and pressed the call button on the box just outside the gate.

“How may I help you?” A voice crackled over the speaker.

“Hi, yes, my name’s Ellie Moran. I’m here to see Sister Gemma,” Ellie said.

“Come on through,” the voice responded as the gates began to open. 

Ellie drove the now familiar path up the gravel drive and to the small visitor’s parking lot. She sent Gemma a message informing her she arrived before walking to the front doors. Before she could even put her hand on the handle the door was opened and an extremely tall, masked ghoul was standing there. Ellie had to crane her neck to look up at him. 

“Sister Gemma will be right down,” the ghoul said ushering Ellie into the atrium of the church. 

“Thanks,” Ellie said. She stood in the atrium, looking up at the stained glass before looking at the ghoul standing by the door. “I’m Ellie,” she introduced holding her hand out to shake.

“I know,” the ghoul said, looking down at her outstretched hand. “I am called Mountain.” 

When it became obvious Mountain wasn’t going to shake her hand, Ellie let it drop and waited awkwardly for Gemma to arrive.

“I’m here!” 

Ellie turned around to see Gemma coming down a set of marble stairs. She was in the same short, black habit that Ellie saw her in at mass but instead of fishnet tights and pumps, she wore black thigh-high socks and knee-high lace-up boots. 

“I’m so glad you’re doing this,” Gemma smiled before waving at Mountain. Gemma guided Ellie up the stairs to the second floor and down the corridor. “I’m going to take you to the library first,” she said. “We’ll get an account set up for you so you can borrow books. Then I’ll give you a tour of the place if you want. After that, I’ll answer your questions and we’ll go over what we’re going to be working on.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Ellie said as she kept pace with Gemma.

The Ministry library reminded Ellie of the photos she had seen of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England. The dark wooden shelves stretched toward the high arches of the ceiling and were filled with ancient-looking tomes and modern-day novels. The smell of old paper filled her nose as Ellie followed Gemma to the front desk. There was a long row of tables and chairs that ran down the middle of the library and ended at the large stained glass window. There were several siblings at the tables, either sitting alone or in pairs. All of them had their heads in their books and were taking notes on paper, tablets, or laptops. 

Ellie was handed a clipboard by an older, rather severe-looking Sister and was told to fill it out. It was a basic form asking for her name, phone number, address, and other relevant information, and when Ellie handed it back to the Sister behind the desk, she was handed a temporary card.

“Your official card will arrive in the mail next week,” the Sister said before returning to her work. 

“Cool. I’ve never had a library card before,” Ellie said staring down at the simple cardstock that bore her name and an eight-digit number. 

“Never?” Gemma asked looking surprised.

“Never,” Ellie said. “The last time I stepped foot in a library I was nine.”

Gemma’s eyes practically popped out of their sockets. “You’re kidding me.”

Ellie felt her face warm. “I…I was homeschooled and my mother…well she didn’t think public libraries were Christian.”

“Oh,” Gemma responded. “One of those 'information is danger' people. I understand. We have a few Siblings here who have similar stories.” 

Ellie relaxed at that. “I thought I was the only one.”

“Not at all,” Gemma said. “I don’t mean to pry or overstep or anything, but we have support groups here if you ever need to get anything off your chest about the way you were raised.”

“Thanks,” Ellie said, feeling a lump grow in her throat at the suggestion. “Maybe I’ll check it out.”

Gemma nodded and smiled. “Ready to continue?”

“Please.” 

From the library, Gemma showed her the administrative wing, the dormitories, the archives, and the recreational rooms that were filled with everything from video games and board games to movies and comic books. Gemma showed her a few of the classrooms and the greenhouse before stopping outside a small two-story house just outside the main abbey.

“This is the Papal house,” Gemma said. “All five of the Papas live here.” “Nihil, Primo, Secondo, Terzo, and Copia,” Ellie listed off.

Gemma grinned. “Good, you were listening. You know Papas Terzo and Copia of course. Papa Nihil doesn’t go out much anymore. Just for mass and a couple of Ministry events. Papa Primo is always in the greenhouse, and Papa Secondo…well we’re really not sure how he spends his time. He’s always coming and going. I’m sure you’ll get to meet them all at some point.”

Just as Gemma turned to lead Ellie back into the abbey, the door to the house opened and Copia stepped out. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Ellie. Ellie couldn’t help but stare. He looked completely different out of his papal vestments. He was dressed in red sweatpants, a black shirt with baring VVLGARI in white across the chest, and a matching red zip-up jacket over top. His face was devoid of the black and white skill paint Ellie saw him in, and instead, he just had black around his eyes and on his upper lip. 

“Oh, eh, hello,” he said. “Am I interrupting something? Did you need to see someone?”

“No, Papa, I was just giving Ellie the tour,” Gemma said. “Sorry if we disturbed you.”

“No apologies necessary, cara ,” Copia said. “I was just going to see Sister Imperator in her office. His eyes were then once again on Ellie. “So what do you think of our little home?”

“It’s nice,” Ellie said. “Everything’s so beautiful.”

“This used to be some Catholic monastery or something before it was sold off and we bought it,” Copia explained. There was a pause before he shifted almost anxiously. “If you have time before you leave today, would you come by my office?”

“Oh? Um, sure,” Ellie said. “I don’t have anything going on this afternoon.” 

“ Perfetto ,” Copia said, a smile forming on his lips. “I’ll see you then.”

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-VII

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: This chapter contains several CW and TWs. They include mentions and talks of miscarriage, abortion, assault, domestic violence, stalking, depression, and suicide. Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 2639 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church. Ao3 || Masterlist Chapters: 7/? Previous Chapters Tag list: @sodoswitchimage

Ellie was sitting on the stoop outside her building as she waited for Copia. She made sure she could be seen by anyone on the street in case Ethan was watching and waiting to pounce. Copia would be there soon, and in the meantime, Ellie played music on her phone to distract her. 

She was listening through all of Ghost’s albums. She started listening to Copia’s first album, Prequelle. His voice was her favorite of the Papas. She just got to the growly bit of Faith when she heard a chuckle. 

“Listening to my songs, cara?” Copia said as he approached. Ellie had been so engrossed she didn’t even see him pull up and park. She looked up at him. He was in black sweatpants and a red hoodie. His face was still painted making him stand out among passersby. 

“Yeah,” Ellie answered. “Your album might be my favorite so far”

“Might be? Ellie, I’m hurt” Copia teased before sitting down next to her. “Do you know if anything was stolen?”

Ellie shook her head. “I didn’t look, but I doubt anything was taken. He just wants to scare me” Ellie said absentmindedly 

“He? Ellie? Do you know who did this?” Copia asked, his head cocking to the side slightly. 

Shit , she thought. She hadn’t meant to say that aloud. Well, it was too late now. She would have to explain everything. The thought sent terror through her. He was going to think she was pathetic and weak. 

Tell him, the voice in her head insisted. Trust him. 

“I believe it was my ex-fiancé,” Ellie said after a pause. “And now I’m going to have to explain, I guess I should start from the beginning because it’s all gonna come out eventually.” She readjusted her position so she was sitting facing him. She noticed how he mirrored her so they could be face-to-face. “Eleven years ago I was starting my second year of university. It was also the year my mother allowed me to live on campus. It was my first time being away from home, and despite going to a Christian school, I felt free. 

“I got invited to a party off campus and I got super drunk, you know first time experimenting with alcohol and rebelling and all that. At the party, I met a guy named Ethan Rossi. We hit it off. He was nice and also super drunk. We had sex in some back bedroom. It was my first time and I don’t even remember much of it.” Ellie shook her head in shame. “Anyway, we continued to hang out after the party and a month later I missed my period. I got pregnant because we were too drunk to remember to use a condom. 

“I didn’t want a baby though. I was 19. I was thinking about going to get an abortion but the guilt hit me hard, and when I told Ethan I was pregnant and didn’t want to keep the baby, he begged me over and over not to kill our baby or put it up for adoption. He promised to make it work. He promised to take care of me and the baby and provide for us. I was stupid and believed him. We dropped out of school and got a place together and he proposed to me. He went to work full time and left me to play homemaker. My mother was ecstatic. In her eyes, this was all God’s plan. She was planning our wedding and couldn’t wait to be a grandmother. Everyone around me was so happy and excited, but I was miserable. My life was over and there was nothing I could do about it. 

“Things with Ethan were going smoothly until I had a miscarriage at three and a half months. He found me passed out on the bathroom floor and took me to the hospital. They informed us that I miscarried. The ride home was horrible. All Ethan did was scream at me saying it was my fault and that I did this on purpose because he wouldn’t let me get an abortion. I was never more terrified of him in that moment.” 

Ellie took a deep breath and slipped her hands under her thighs to hide the fact she was shaking. “Eventually things settled down, as in he wasn’t screaming at me anymore. He was mean and cold towards me and even got my mother to side with him. They treated me like crap, but I had nowhere else to go and no money so I stayed with him and hoped it would all blow over. Just before my twenty-first birthday, he came home drunk. He kept apologizing to me and saying that we could try again and make another baby.” Ellie closed her eyes tight against the burning tears. “I told him no and he hit me so hard on the cheek that he cracked one of my molars. He let me sit on the floor and cry while he got online and told his friends how much of a bitch I was.”

Ellie cleared her throat, her eyes looking everywhere but at Copia. She didn’t want to know how he viewed her, especially not after what she was about to tell him next. “I tried to kill myself the next morning after he left for work. I didn’t want to live anymore. I was trapped in this relationship with no way to get out. My mother didn’t even care. I wasn’t her daughter anymore. I was a man’s property and he could do whatever he wanted with me. 

“I didn’t care if I was going to hell. It was my only way out. I got in a hot bath and cut my wrist. I was about to cut the other when my mother let herself into our apartment. She was coming to get all the baby stuff she bought so she could return it and get her money back. She found me and called an ambulance and then proceeded to tell me how stupid and selfish I was.” Her fingers trailed over the scar on her wrist hidden by her tattoos. 

“I turned twenty-one in the hospital, and on my birthday a lawyer came to visit me. She was friends with my dad and somehow tracked me down. My dad left me money in an inheritance fund that I could access once I was twenty-one. It wasn’t a ton of money in the grand scheme of things, but it was enough to get me out. Once I was out of the hospital I packed all my things and left. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going. I didn’t tell anyone I was even leaving. I just got in my car and drove until I was almost out of gas.

“That’s when Ethan started stalking me. He somehow found where I was living and would show up at my work. I was able to get a restraining order but he violated it the very next day. The cops didn’t do anything, so I packed up and left again. Sometimes he would find me and I would move again, and sometimes if I knew I was in one place for too long, I’d just go to a new place. I’ve seen a lot in the nine years I’ve been running—did a lot too. I found a doctor who would remove my tubes for me so there was no chance I could ever have kids against my will. I found a tattoo artist who specialized in covering scars and he recreated all the plants I used to see at my grandmother’s before she passed away. I saw therapists to help me through all the shit I went through, and even now I still try to see one virtually.” She let out a breath. Ellie could feel her heart racing in her chest. “But Ethan’s found me again. I saw him the other night while I was at work, and I know he’s the one that broke into my apartment.”

Ellie finally looked at Copia. His mouth was slightly ajar and he had a look of concern and horror in his eyes. “I’m sorry for dumping this all on you. Please don’t think I’m pathetic and stupid and weak.”

“Tesoro,” Copia said with such tenderness that it made Ellie’s heart speed up even more. “You are not weak or pathetic or stupid. You are the bravest person I’ve ever met. You are a survivor. I am so sorry you experienced so much pain and trauma.” 

Ellie was wiping stray tears from her cheek. “Really?” 

“Really,” Copia said putting a hand on her knee and squeezing it. “Thank you for trusting me with your story. I could tell you telling me all that wasn’t easy.”

“I don’t know what to do, Copia,” Ellie sniffled. “I’m afraid of what he will do. I’m going to try to get another restraining order, but I know that won’t stop Ethan. And I can’t afford to move again. I barely have any money left from my dad and I feel like a complete idiot for wasting it all on running.” 

“Answer me, yes or no. Don’t think about it. Do you want to leave and move elsewhere again?”

“No,” Ellie said immediately. “I don’t. I…I like it here and I like the people who are in my life right now.” 

“Then let’s take this one step at a time,” Copia said. “Let’s talk to the police when they get here and then for tonight, at the very least, you’ll come back to the abbey to stay. I’m sure we can find a dorm for you to sleep in or you can stay with Gemma perhaps.” 

Ellie nodded her heart swelling. “Okay, thank you.” 

“Of course, cara, and for the record, I don’t want you to have to leave again either.” 

XXX

Copia never wanted to commit murder more than he did after Ellie told him everything. Copia knew if he ever encountered Ethan the man would not live long after. How could anyone hurt the sweet and strong woman that sat next to him? Copia wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and keep her safe. 

When the police finally showed up, Copia stood aside as Ellie showed them the damage to her apartment. They took her report and then listened to her as she explained the situation with Ethan. Copia clenched his fists when the cops explained they didn’t have enough evidence to investigate Ethan or take him in for questioning even after Ellie showed them the previous restraining order she had against him.

Fucking useless pigs, Copia thought.

After a phone call to her landlord, Ellie packed a bag with a couple of changes of clothes and gathered up anything she’d need to take with her to the abbey. In the morning someone would come replace her door and get her a new set of keys. 

“Do you want to get any of this cleaned up before you go?” Copia asked looking around her apartments. It was sparsely furnished with secondhand furniture. There was nothing on the walls. She had a tiny flat-screen tv sitting on an old coffee table. Hooked up to it was a Playstation, but Copia didn’t know which one it was. He never used a Playstation before. As Ellie shuffled around in her bedroom, he got a peak at some of the games she had, which were all for the Playstation 3 it seemed. He spotted The Last of Us, Portal 2, Skyrim, and Minecraft. He never played any of them before and only ever heard of a couple of them.

“I’m just going to leave it in case the cops want to come back and get pictures,” Ellie said coming out of the bedroom with a backpack. “See you found my games. I noticed you had some nice retro consoles when I was in your room.”

“Si, I like the games I grew up with. Can’t go wrong with a good old Nintendo,” Copia said.

“A bit before my time, I had an N64 when I was a kid before my mother got rid of it. I played a lot of Zelda on that thing,” Ellie reminisced. “Maybe…”

“Maybe what?”

“Maybe once all this nonsense blows over, maybe you can come over and we can play some games?”

His heart rate skyrocketed at that. His lips turned upward into a smile. “I’d like that.” He stared at her and blinked, coming to his senses. “We should get going.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to be here in case Ethan decides to come back,” Ellie said, a slight tremble visible in her frame. 

Copia led the way out and helped Ellie seal the door some some tape the cops left. He then led her out of the building and down the street where his white 1968 Buick LeSabre sat.

“Oh, wow,” Ellie said. “This is a sick car.” 

“Thank you, cara,” Copia preened. “This baby is all mine.” He walked around to the passenger’s side and opened the door for her. “I’ll take your bag.”

“Thanks,” Ellie said shrugging her backpack into Copia’s waiting hands. He put the pack in the trunk as Ellie slid into the seat. 

The drive up to the Ministry was silent. Copia was trying to figure out the best way to help Ellie. Part of him wanted to sick the ghouls on the man making Ellie’s life hell. He glanced at her before his eyes refocused on the road ahead. He was still in shock at how much she revealed to him. She had trusted him enough to tell her story without must hesitation. Copia felt like he didn’t deserve that trust. 

When Copia parked his car in his usual spot, he got out and hurried around to Ellie’s side, opening her door and holding out a hand to help her out. He then grabbed her bag and led her inside the abbey and to his office.

He felt for his bonds with his ghouls, grasping onto a thread and tugging it to bring one of them to the office. Seconds later,  Aether was appearing in the doorway, hands tucked behind his back.

“Ah, Aether, perfect,” Copia said, watching Ellie jump slightly at the sudden appearance of the ghoul. “Could you find Ellie an empty room? She will be staying here for a night or two.”

“Of course,” Aether responded, bowing his head slightly to Ellie. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

When Aether departed, Copia turned back to Ellie. “Can I get you anything? Food? Something to drink? Anything?”

“Thanks, but I’m okay,” Ellie said softly. “I just want to lay down and sleep quite honestly.”

“Fair enough. You’ve had a very long day,” Copia nodded. “Please, let me know if there is anything you need. I mean it. Even if you need to talk after you wake up.” 

Ellie nodded. “Thanks.”

“Found a room,” Aether’s voice once again came from the open door.

Copia looked from Ellie to the ghoul and nodded. “Lead the way.”

Aether took them to a room on the second floor of the residence wing for the Siblings. The room was clean and empty holding a full-sized bed, wardrobe, private bathroom, and dresser. 

“I’ll have someone bring your sheets and towels and all that stuff,” Copia said setting Ellie’s bag on the bed. “Is this okay for you?”

“This is perfect, thank you, really,” Ellie said looking around the room. Her eyes rested on Copia and he could see such gratitude and warmth in them. “If there’s anything I can do to repay you…”

“Bah,” Copia said waving the suggestion off. “You don’t have to repay us. This is what we do. We help those who need help and shelter those who need sheltering.” 

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-XVI

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: none in this chapter Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 1979 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church. Ao3 || Masterlist Chapters: 16/? Previous Chapters Tag list: @sodoswitchimage Fic Divider by @gothdaddyissues

Ellie woke the next morning lying on her stomach, her hands tucked under her pillow. She stretched, reaching out next to her to find the other side of her bed empty. She opened her eyes, sat up, and looked around her room. Copia was nowhere to be seen. Before she could panic, the smell of bacon wafted into the room. 

She slid out of bed and threw on whatever clothes she found on the floor, which happened to be a t-shirt and a pair of blue sweatpants, before padding out of the room. She saw Copia standing at the stove, poking some bacon in a pan with a pair of tongs. He was still bare-chested, clad only in his pants from the night before. Strands of hair fell onto his forehead, and his eye paint was smudged, giving him a disheveled appearance. But he still looked gorgeous, she noted. He was humming to himself as he turned the bacon over, removing some pieces from a plate with paper towels on it. As he looked back to the pan, he caught sight of her and Ellie felt her breath hitch. He was so beautiful.

“Morning, tesoro,” he said. “I thought I’d make us some breakfast before we had to part for the day.”

“That was sweet of you…but I didn’t have any of this stuff.”

“Oh, I went out to the little shop on the corner when I woke up,” he said. “I took your key. I hope that was okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Ellie said, leaning against the counter, looking at the stack of blueberry pancakes, eggs, and bacon. “Everything smells and looks delicious, thank you. Usually, I don’t eat anything or I grab a protein bar from the shop.” She watched as Copia dished out food onto two plates before turning to her.

“Did you sleep well?” He asked, closing the distance between them.

“Very well,” Ellie smiled.

He hummed in response, cupping her cheek and bringing her closer so their lips met. The kiss was tender, but Ellie could still feel the passion in it. She smiled against his lips and was still smiling when they broke. “Thank you for last night,” she said. “I had an amazing time.”

“I’m glad. So did I,” he said, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “Now eat so I can be sure you’re off to work with a full belly, si?”

“Okay, okay,” she smiled, taking a seat at the tiny table with mismatched chairs. “So what all do you have to do today?”

“A meeting with the financial department to go over some costs for the upcoming tour, lunch with a bishop from a neighboring branch who’s interested in becoming a cardinal, and a new sister of sin’s initiation,” Copia listed. “It’s a busy day for me.”

Ellie passed, a fork full of pancake suspended in mid-air between her plate and mouth. She remembered with Gemma had said about the initiation ceremony for the Siblings. “Oh?” She asked, her voice cracking slightly from nerves. 

Copia looked at her, tilting his head. “What’s—” he paused at the start of his question and then nodded. “You know about the initiation ritual for the Siblings of Sin.”

“Gemma told me when she was helping me study,” Ellie said. “That it’s…sexual.”

“It can be,” Copia said. “And I have certainly partaken in the sexual ritual version.”

“Are you going to do that today?” Ellie asked as she tried to navigate her feelings. She knew Copia cared for her and had feelings for her, but were they monogamous? They hadn’t discussed it and Ellie didn’t want to just assume they were. Would she be able to handle it if Copia didn’t want monogamy? She didn’t like the idea of having to share him with anyone else of that nature. 

“No.”

Her eyes flashed up to his. “No?”

“Is that so surprising, tesoro?” He asked with a bit of a smile. “I am only interested in being intimate with you. Unlike some of my brothers, I am a one-partner-at-a-time guy.” 

A tidal wave of relief washed over her and she felt herself relax. “That’s good,” she said. “Because I am a one-partner-at-a-time type of gal.” 

He chuckled and took a bite of a piece of bacon. “We’re doing the symbolic ceremony for today’s initiation. It will be the same one you will go through in a couple of weeks.”

Ellie nodded. She couldn’t believe in only two weeks she’d be a member of the Ministry. Only a month and a half prior, her life had been completely different, and knowing what she knew now, her life would never be the same again. 

Not that she ever wanted to go back to the time before.

“Are you ready?” Copia asked.

“I think so,” Ellie said. 

“Are you having any issues with anything? Is there anything you don’t understand?” 

“No, I think I’m good, but I’m gonna study a little more, so I’m prepped. Gemma said Sister Imperator could ask me anything regarding the tenants, charter, or history of the Ministry.”

“That’s right,” Copia said. “Do you want to come by when you’re done with work? I could help you study and quiz you. I know the type of questions she likes to ask.” 

Ellie smiled. “I’d like that. I can pick up something for dinner. Chinese?”

“That would be great,” Copia said. 

They ate breakfast, and while Ellie got ready for work, Copia cleaned up and washed dishes. When it was time to go, he drove her down the block to her workplace. Before she could get out of the car, he put a hand under her chin and drew her face to his, kissing her tenderly on the lips. 

“Have a good day, tesoro. I will see you later, si?” 

“Yes,” Ellie said with a smile. “I’ll text you on my break.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

She smiled at him and got out of the car just as Charles came to unlock the door. He looked from Ellie to Copia, now pulling away from the curb, and frowned.

“Still running with that devil worshipper I see,” he said.

“Charles, it’s none of your business,” Ellie said. 

“It reflects badly on the store.”

“How? How do my friends and those I date in my private life reflect badly on the store? And who are you to make that call? You are a supervisor. You are not the owner.”

Charles glared at her and stepped aside, allowing her to come inside to start the day. Ellie knew she should have just kept her mouth shut because once she clocked in, Charles instructed her to stock books in the Christian fiction section and reorganize the shelves for the rest of the day. 

“Where were you last night?” Sister Imperator asked at the end of the meeting as members of the upper clergy began to file out of the conference room. 

Copia looked up from his phone. He was just about to respond to Ellie’s text when the older woman interrupted his train of thought.

“Out,” Copia said. 

“Out?”

“Si,” Copia said as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. He would just have to respond to Ellie once he finished dealing with this mother. “Why is it a concern to you?”

“I just don’t want you getting distracted before this tour,” Sister Imperator said, looking him over with narrowed eyes. “Were you with that girl?”

“If by that girl you mean Ellie, then yes,” Copia said. “We went on a date and I stayed the night at her place. Is that a crime?”

“No, of course not, but again, I’m just making sure you’re not getting distracted,” Sister said. “I don’t think you understand how important this tour is.”

“I know how important it is,” Copia argued. “I can have a girlfriend and still do my job.”

“Ellie Moran…her review is in two weeks, correct?”

“Si, why?”

“Oh, no reason. Just a chance to meet your new fixation.”

“She’s not a fixation,” Copia practically growled.

“I just suppose we’ll have to wait and see,” she replied as she crossed her arms and gave him a look that said she knew it all. “Now, don’t you have an initiation to do?”

“I’m going, I’m going,” he sighed, pushing himself out of his chair. He knew this wouldn’t be the last time his mother brought up his relationship. He just hoped she wouldn’t meddle in it. 

Copia made his way to the sanctuary and to the little room off the back to change into his blue chasuble and mitre. He fixed up his paints before sending Ellie a quick message, letting her know he was about to go into the initiation and would get back to her when he was done. He grabbed the blood-red ribbon from a box on the vanity before exiting the dressing room. Inside the sanctuary, ghouls lowered the curtains over the stained glass windows and lit the black candles throughout the space. Sitting in the pews were the necessary witnesses, two of the branch’s cardinals and a retired Papa, who happened to be Primo this time. In front of the altar was a woman dressed in a simple gray habit, the uniform of an initiate. She was kneeling, her black beaded rosary wrapped in her hands in prayer as she waited. 

He stepped forward down the aisle and began chanting in Latin, blessing the space and asking their infernal lord to bear witness. He wondered briefly if the soon-to-be sister would be disappointed in the type of ceremony he chose to perform, but then shook the thought from his mind. 

When he stepped in front of the woman, he made the sign of the inverted cross. “We gather to welcome another sibling into the embrace of our lord in Hell,” he said. “As His emissary, it is my duty to represent His will and desires, and He very much desires to have you, Initiate Morgan, to join with Him in an unholy union. If no one objects, we will begin.” He paused, as though daring someone to speak. “Very well. Rise, Initiate Morgan, take my hand.” Copia held out his hand to her and Morgan took it to pull herself off her knees. She looked toward the altar and then to the ribbon in his free hand. She gave a nod, seemingly understanding that this ritual was coming to be a symbolic ritual of her joining with Lucifer. 

He began to wrap the ribbon around their joined hands, asking her to repeat her vows and to repeat the tenets of their faith. She finished just as Copia completed wrapping the silk ribbon around their hands.

“From this day forward, I declare that you shall be known as Sister Morgan of the Ministry of Ghost,” Copia said, raising their joined hands to the people in attendance. There was a short applause and nods of approval before Copia began to unwrap their hands. It wasn’t the first handfasting ritual he performed for the initiation of a sibling, but it was the first one where he didn’t feel any disappointment performing. He enjoyed sex, and it was his favorite part of the ritual, and there were times he felt bummed to perform the symbolic ceremony.

But that was before Ellie. 

Ellie had changed everything for him. It was the first time he had someone so precious to him that he couldn’t even consider being with anyone else in a sexual manner. There was only her. “Thank you for joining us, sister,” Copia said as he continued to unravel the silk.

“Thank you, Papa,” Sister Morgan replied. “I’m happy to be here.”

Once Copia finished unbinding their hands, he lifted her knuckles to his lips and placed a gentle peck on them. “Come, let’s get your certificate signed and one of the ghouls will get you your new habit.”

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-XI

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: assault Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church.

Ao3 || Masterlist Chapters: 11/? Previous Chapters Tag list: @sodoswitchimage Fic Divider by gothdaddyissues

She was bent over that masked freak when Ethan stepped over the threshold of her bedroom. He holstered the gun he used to knock the freak out. Ethan didn’t want to scare Ellie and a gun would scare her. 

Ethan took a second to look her over. She was just as beautiful as the night he met her at that party. She’d be just as easy too. It’s been almost ten years since she was last with anyone. He was her first and only and he’d keep it that way. It was so easy to follow her for all these years from place to place. Did she forget he was going to school for computer science and knew how to hack? He’d been able to get into her bank account and track down exactly where she was moving about. Despite her stupidity, she would have made the perfect wife and mother if she hadn’t ruined it for the both of them. He would make sure she paid for that before he took her back. He’d make her his perfect woman then.

Ethan pulled himself from his thoughts. He had to be quick now. He leaned over and in a matter of microseconds, grabbed Ellie around the shoulders and pulled her away.

Ellie felt someone grab her from behind and she screamed before a hand came over her mouth to quiet her.

“Shhhh, it’s okay,” Ethan’s voice sounded. “It’s only me babe.” 

Ellie thrashed against him, trying to bite at his fingers, but he squeezed her so tight she felt the air leave her lungs. Every cell in her body was screaming at her to fight as years of memories came flooding back to her. She wouldn’t let him take what she was building there. Her thoughts raced between Ethan, Swiss, and Copia. Was Swiss dead? Would Aether get there in time? How long would it be before Copia realized she was missing? Would Copia look for her? 

“I don’t know why you’re struggling so much. You know you can’t escape. I’ve always been much stronger than you,” Ethan said, sounding irritated as he tightened his grip around her again. “Come this way, babe.” He said leading her toward her bedroom. Inside Ellie saw a black duffle bag on her bed. It was open, showing off the rope, duck tape, and a box of bullets.

Fuck he has a gun, Ellie thought as she continued to struggle. “I’m going to move my hand from your mouth. Don’t scream or make things difficult.” He said hotly in her ear, one hand reaching from the rope in the bag. He then removed his hand and went to grab her wrists. 

Ellie took advantage of being free for a moment and screamed. “Swiss!” 

“You dumb bitch,” Ethan hissed whipping her around and grabbing her face, his finger pinching into her cheeks so hard she couldn’t move her jaw. “What did I just say?”

He heard his name being screamed and it snapped him out of unconsciousness.

Swiss groaned and got up. He felt hot remnants of blood on his neck. Ethan had somehow got the jump on him, posing as a package delivery person before forcing his way into the apartment with a gun. Before Swiss knew it, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and he was out. 

“You dumb bitch! What did I just say?” Came a gruff male voice.

Oh fuck, Swiss thought before sending out an SOS signal through the pack bond. He felt Aether respond and then materialize next to him. The two ghouls looked at one another and nodded.

“Ellie,” Swiss called out as he and Aether charged towards the bedroom. The need to protect their Papa’s mate overwhelmed them as all hell broke loose. 

Ellie saw Swiss and Aether come into the room. She wasn’t sure how Aether got there so fast, but Ellie wasn’t going to ask questions. Everything was happening in slow motion. Ethan turned towards the door upon hearing footsteps. Aether charged at Ethan knocking him into the wall as Swiss pulled Ellie out of the path of destruction before joining the fray. She watched as Aether bent Ethan’s arm in an unnatural angle and there was a snap of bone. Ethan cried out, trying his best to fight back, but Aether was stronger. Swiss pinned Ethan to the wall and let out a menacing growl.

Ellie thought she felt a breeze flow through her apartment. When she looked around for the source of the air, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned back to the struggle and gasped. Swiss had a brown-colored spaded tail that was lashing back and forth. Ellie then looked at Aether. He had a tail too except his was a shade of gray. I’m going insane, she thought. Ethan is torturing me right now and I’m losing my mind and imagining all this.

All of a sudden darkness filled the apartment. It was so dark she couldn’t even see the hand she was waving in front of her face. If her heart wasn’t slapping against her chest, she would have thought she was dead for a moment. There were hands on her arms, holding her gently in place. Ellie didn’t know how, but she knew it was Swiss holding onto her as she heard Aether and Ethan struggling. Then there was a deafening roar and Ellie had to clamp her hands over her ears and clenched her unseeing eyes shut. It felt like her head was going to explode from the intensity.

When silence fell, Ellie opened her eyes and her apartment was light again. She saw Aether standing in the corner where he and Ethan were struggling. The tail that Ellie had seen was gone, but so was Ethan.

“W-where did he go?” Ellie asked, whipping around as though he were going to jump out of her closet.

“He’s gone,” Aether said. “He’s never coming back.”

“Excuse me?” Ellie sputtered. “What do you mean he’s gone? Did you kill him? Why did it go dark? What was that roar?”

“I think you better call Papa,” Swiss said to Aether from behind Ellie. “He’s going to need to explain all this.”

“Explain what?” Ellie asked, eyes wide and panic coursing through her. “What’s going on? What are you two?”

“Papa will explain everything.” 

Ellie wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Swiss had guided her into her living room and sat her down on her orange couch. He went to her kitchen pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge, opened it, and handed it to her.

“Drink. You’re in shock,” he said.

Ellie didn’t remember taking a drink, her mind trying to comprehend everything that just happened. Tails, darkness, roaring, and Ethan was just gone. Poof. Like magic. 

Demons, Ellie thought. They’re demons and Copia is their…leader? But Copia wasn’t a demon. Was he? No, he couldn’t be, Ellie reassured herself. He was human, just like her. 

The next thing Ellie remembered was Copia sitting on the couch next to her.

“Cara, are you okay?” He asked, his voice sounding frantic. “Copia?” She asked, looking over at him, confused as to when he got there. Had she been that lost in her head? 

“Are you okay?” He asked again, more urgently this time.

“I’m fine,” Ellie said. “What’s going on.”

“Grazie a Satana (Thank Satan),” he muttered. “I’m so glad you’re alright. When the ghouls called I thought…well it doesn’t matter. I know you have questions, a lot of questions, and you don’t understand what you saw and experienced.”

“Yeah, I have questions. They have tails and made my ex just vanish,” Ellie said pointing to the ghouls. 

“Yes,” Copia said simply and to the point.

“What are they?” Ellie asked.

“The ghouls are just that, ghouls. They are lower demons the Papas have summoned from Hell to help around the church and with the Ghost project. Every clergy member, every Sibling of Sin is sworn to secrecy about the real nature of the ghouls,” Copia said. “And now I need you to swear you will never tell anyone what they are.”

“I-I won’t,” Ellie said as her mind grappled with what she was just told. “Despite me not understanding any of this, I don’t want them to be captured and experimented on like lab mice.” 

Copia nodded. “Thank you, cara,” he said. “What you saw today, the blackness, the roars, the sudden appearance of Aether, and the disappearance of Ethan, that was all from the powers the ghouls have. They are blessed with infernal magics and use them when needed. They sent your former fiance to the Pit.”

“Hell?” Ellie questioned.

“Si, basically,” Copia answered. “He will never harm you again.”

“But what if people come looking for him?”

“The ghouls are already taking care of that as we speak,” Copia said. “Cumulus and Cirrus are wiping memories and Dew, Aurora, Rain, and Phantom are making it look like Ethan went for a hike and had a tragic accident.” 

“Faking his death?” Ellie asked.

“Si .”

“And that’s it?” Ellie asked slowly. “He’s just gone?” It all seemed to be over so quickly and easily.

“Forever. He will be punished for his abuse towards you.” 

Ellie chewed on her lip. It was over—just like that it was over. She was free. She’d never have to move again. She’d never have to look over her shoulder and wonder if she’d been found. Ethan was gone, never to bother her or torment her. How did she get off that easy? 

You’re welcome, a voice in her head said, and Ellie didn’t understand it.

“I–” Ellie began. “I don’t know what to say…none of this makes sense.” 

“I know,” Copia said. “Do you have any questions?”

“Only a million of them,” Ellie huffed. “You’re human though, right?”

“Si, I am human,” Copia answered. “Just a human that’s been blessed by the Olde One.” 

“Blessed how?” Ellie asked slowly.

“Infernal sight, for one,” Copia said gesturing to his white eye. “We can see into the Pit to communion with our Lord, and we can see the dead, eh, well the ones that chose to be seen that is. And we can summon ghouls, and demons, and all that other shit….You’re taking this surprisingly well.”

Ellie couldn’t help but laugh. “I mean…I already believe crystals can protect me,” she said gesturing to her necklace. “What’s some magic and demons on top of that.” 

“She’s still in shock,” Aether said.

“I know,” Copia responded, glancing over to the ghouls. “You two can go. Make sure everyone is updated on what’s going on.”

“What do you want us to tell Sister Imperator if she comes looking for you?” Swiss asked.

“Just…Just tell her I had to run out and get the rats more food,” Copia said shrugging. 

The ghouls nodded and with a shimmer of light, they vanished.

“Not going to get used to that,” Ellie muttered, her eyes still on the spot where the ghouls stood just seconds before. 

“Between you and me, I’m not even used to it. It’s-eh-kind of weird,” Copia admitted. “Let me go tidy up your room and then I will get you something to eat,” he said. He turned to walk to her bedroom before stopping and bending down to pick up the discarded garment bag. “Your Samhain dress?”

Ellie nodded. She’d forgotten all about the dress and the fun outing she and Gemma had.

He nodded as well before taking the dress into the bedroom. She heard him open her closet to store the dress inside. A few minutes and some shuffling around later, Copia was coming out of Ellie’s room. “Alright,” he said to himself going into her kitchen and looking through the refrigerator and practically empty cabinets. “Right, I will order us a pizza.” 

After a quick phone call to a local pizza joint, Copia was sitting back down next to Ellie. Ellie rubbed at her eyes and sighed. Her head felt like it was going to explode from the amount of information that was just dropped on her.

“So the ghouls are lesser demons,” she said, repeating the information as though it would make better sense to her. “That work for you and the church and they have magic. You and your brothers are blessed by Satan with certain gifts. My ex is now gone and the ghouls just made all my problems disappear into thin air. Am I missing anything?”

“I think you’ve summed it all up,” Copia said. 

“I feel like everything I’ve known is a lie,” Ellie said. “Wait…if Satan and Hell and demons are all real then God and all that is real too then?”

“Yes.”

“Oh…” Ellie groaned. “I’m definitely going to Hell then.” She spent the better part of a decade convincing herself that God wasn't real, that she wasn't going to Hell for her sins, and that everything she was manipulated into believing was false. Now everything she was just told—just saw confirmed that God, Satan, Heaven, and Hell were indeed real. Ellie felt her palms begin to sweat as her anxiety spiked.

“Hell is not a bad place. It’s just another afterlife.”

Ellie put her hands over her face and groaned again. “I can’t deal with this.” She knew she was going to need to talk to her therapist after this. But how would she do that without giving up the church's secrets and without sounding like she would need to be institutionalized?

 She felt Copia rest a hand on her knee and squeeze it. “It’s overwhelming, I know,” he said. “But you just need to take this one step, one day at a time. It’s okay to not understand everything all at once. You don’t have to go through all this alone. I’m here to help you.” 

She was grateful for that, but she didn’t think he really understood how she felt at that exact moment. He had years and years to process all this hidden knowledge that had been dropped on her in seconds. “This is a lot to take in, Copia.” 

“I know.” There was a pause and then he spoke again. “You-eh-Do you want me to go?”

Ellie dropped her hands and looked at him. “No,” she said quickly. “No, please stay.” Despite everything, she didn’t want him to go. She needed him here. She didn’t want to be left alone to deal with everything. Despite everything, so still wanted him in her life and wanted to be part of the Ministry. The feeling of belonging felt too good and too right to abandon everything because of some stuff she didn’t understand. 

Copia gave her a hint of a smile and took her hand. “I will stay then.”

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-XIII

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: none for this chapter Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 2734 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church. Ao3 || Masterlist Chapters: 13/? Previous Chapters Tag list: @sodoswitchimage Fic Divider by gothdaddyissues

Between lessons with Gemma on the Ministry and visiting Copia during her stops at the abbey, the next week flew by. Ellie could hardly believe this was her life now. Now that Ethan was gone, a tremendous block of weight had been lifted and the shadow keeping her down had disappeared. She kept a close eye on the news, and after four days, “Ethan’s” body was discovered on a remote hiking trail in the mountains. According to the newscaster, the coroner ruled he died from exposure. 

It was now the day of the Samhain ball, and Gemma brought Ellie up to the abbey to help her get ready for that night. Ellie sat in Gemma’s room in front of the vanity as Gemma artfully applied makeup and did her hair. 

“You look stunning,” Gemma said as she helped Ellie zip up her dress. “Papa isn’t going to know what hit him when he sees you.” 

“Thanks,” Ellie said, blushing as she looked at herself in the mirror. She allowed Gemma to guide her to sit on the bed and watched as the other woman slipped a pair of black strappy heels onto her feet. “You look gorgeous too.” Gemma was wearing a strapless bottle green dress that hugged her every curve and had a split running all the way up to her waist. 

“Thank you,” Gemma grinned. “Secondo is going to be very pleased that he picked this dress out for me.”

“Secondo?” Ellie asked with surprise. She knew someone was taking Gemma to the ball, but Gemma never revealed who her date was. 

“Mhm,” Gemma hummed in response. “He asked me a few weeks ago and then bought this dress for me.” 

Ellie smiled. “That was sweet. You said he did your initiation. Have you two…you know…since then?”

“Oh, yes,” Gemma grinned but the smile slipped from her face a moment later. “A couple of times…but it was only ever sex. He’s never asked me to any balls like this before as his date. He usually goes on his own.” 

“You like him?”

“I love him,” Gemma confessed. “But he…isn’t one for getting involved with Siblings in that way. It’s only ever hook ups…but I’m hoping because he asked me to this that maybe things have changed?”

Ellie nodded. “I hope so,” she said taking Gemma’s hand and squeezing it.

Gemma smiled and squeezed her hand back before returning to work on Ellie’s hair. “Now, do you want a more casual or elegant look?”

“Do whatever you want,” Ellie said. “I’m sure it will look stunning either way.” 

When Gemma finished, Ellie’s wavy shoulder-length hair was looking more curled and down in a half-up-do with little silver bedazzled gems scattered over the hair that was pulled back. “You really went all out?” Ellie said as she looked over her reflection.

“This is the biggest night of the year,” Gemma said. “Well, besides Ghost album release nights, but there’s not going to be another album for a couple more years.” 

After finishing helping Gemma get ready, the two began the walk down outside to a clearing just beyond the gardens where the Samhain ritual would take place. They stood in a semi-circle around a wooden altar with other Siblings, Clergy members, Ghouls, and local church members. On top of the altar, Ellie could see goblets, candles, some type of bowl, a fancy-looking dagger, and a number of different herbs and crystals. As the sun disappeared from the sky, the four Papas, dressed in their formal chasubles and vestments and donned in papal paint, approached the semi-circle of people. 

Ellie watched in fascination as each of them drank from the goblets on the altar and spoke in Latin. They were contributing items to what Ellie realized was a stone bowl. She watched as Terzo lifted the dagger and pointed it in four different directions before cutting it into an apple and putting it into the bowl. 

“And now we ask each of you to take a moment and reflect upon the last year. Thank the One Below for the good and the bad and let go of the things that no longer serve you,” Primo said in English. 

The already silent crowd seemed to bow their heads for a few minutes. Ellie reflected on the last year and everything that led her to that moment. She thanked whoever might be listening for all the good things that happened, but had a hard time thanking them for the bad. She understood that you needed the bad to understand the good, but the idea of being thankful for negative things in her life was foreign to her. She then released as much of the negativity as she good before looking back up at the altar. Copia was setting the contents of the bowl on fire while chanting something in Latin. She watched as the flames died down before Terzo took the dagger again and pointed it in four directions again before returning it to the table with a simple “Nema.” 

“That concludes our Samhain ritual,” Secondo said. “Please join us for the festivities inside the sanctuary.” 

Ellie walked with Gemma back into the abbey and to the sanctuary. The pews had been removed and it was decorated with red and black streamers, lights, and other decor. A stage was set up where the pulpit and altar usually sat and Ellie could see ghouls setting up instruments.

“The Papas usually sing a couple of songs each,” Gemma said. “Typically ones off whatever albums they’ve done.” 

“So Copia will be singing?” Ellie asked, looking around the crowded room for him. They agreed to meet in the sanctuary, but Ellie hadn’t seen him yet. 

Gemma grinned. “You’re in for a treat.” 

Ellie felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around. Standing there was Copia still done up in his black and white papal paints and wearing his black and gold vestments and bat wing miter. His eyes widened as he looked her up and down and Ellie couldn’t help but blush.

“Sei stupenda (You look stunning),” he said with awe in his voice. 

“I don’t know what you said but I’m assuming it was a good thing?” Ellie questioned with a laugh.

“Si, I said you look stunning,” he said.

“Thank you. You look amazing yourself.” 

“Bah,” he said waving the comment off. “I look like this every mass.” 

“Still looks amazing though.”

“Well thank you, tesoro.”

“Good evening, Papa,” Gemma greeted and Ellie forgot she had been standing next to her. “I was just telling Ellie that you and the other Papas would be performing tonight.”

Copia nodded. “Si, we are,” he said. “I’ll be up last.”

“What are you singing?” Ellie asked.

“Dance Macabre and Twenties. That will get the asses wobbling, no?”

Gemma laughed and nodded. “It will. Oh, I see Secondo. I’ll see you later Ellie.” 

Ellie watched Gemma go to the other Papa also in papal paints and his black and green chausable before she turned back to Copia. Just as she was about to ask when everything was going to get started, music started to play in Ellie recognized Primo on the makeshift stage.

“Do you want to dance?” Copia asked, holding out a gloved hand to her.

Ellie grinned and took it. “Yes!” 

Ellie wasn’t sure how much time had passed and she didn’t care. She was having the time of her life. She danced with Copia while he made jokes and twirled her around. When it was his turn to perform, Ellie got herself something to drink before making her way to the stage. There were a number of sisters standing there waiting and they all looked at Ellie with a mixture of jealousy and delight. She did her best to ignore them and when Copia came onto the stage and up to the mic, the room erupted in cheers.

The familiar beat of Dance Macabre started up and Ellie watched as Copia bobbed in time with the music.

“I want to see each and every ass in here wobble,” he said into the mic as he launched into the first verse.

Ellie could see why so many people claimed Copia was their favorite of the Papas. The way he commanded the stage and audience was awe-inspiring. Ellie couldn’t help but stare as Brianna and Micah joined her.

“Having fun?” Micah asked over the music.

“Yes!” Ellie said as Micah took her hands and danced with her. She didn’t mind. She knew it was all friendly, but when she caught sight of Copia on stage, she could have sworn a look of jealousy passed over his face.

When the song ended, cheers and screams filled the sanctuary before Copia started into Twenties. Ellie hadn’t had a chance to listen to the Impera album in full, so she did her best to pay attention to the song as Brianna and Micah danced with her. When that song ended, she watched Copia leave the stage and the ghouls took over providing music for the rest of the night. Ellie excused herself from the two Siblings and went to find Copia. 

“That was amazing!” Ellie gushed when she met up with him near the refreshments. 

“Thank you, cara,” he beamed. “That was nothing. You should come to one of the shows while we’re on tour. That is quite the sight.”

“Maybe I will,” she said.

“We’re going to start touring again in May,” he said as he poured two glasses of punch. “I’ll arrange for you to come to a few shows.”

“I’d like that very much,” Ellie said as Copia handed her a glass. “Thanks.” She sipped the fruity drink and looked around at everyone dancing. “Not that I’m interested in joining, but when does the orgy start.”

“In a half hour,” Copia said. “Terzo will make an announcement and they’ll start bringing in mats to cover the floor with as well as some furniture pieces. That gives enough time for anyone who doesn’t want to participate to leave.”

“Are you participating?” Ellie asked, almost afraid to ask.

Copia shook his head. “No,” he said. “I have no interest. I’ve participated in past years, but I don’t want to this year. Besides, I have someone I want to spend time with.” 

Ellie felt her face flush once more. “Don’t skip out on my account. If you want to participate-”

“I really don’t,” Copia said, not letting her finish. “I want to spend that time with you.”

Copia led Ellie out of the Sanctuary just as Terzo got on stage to announce the orgy would start soon. They wandered outside to the gardens behind the abbey. There was a slight chill to the late autumn night, but nothing uncomfortable. 

“I had a really fun time tonight,” Ellie said as they walked side by side down the paved path. “I never got to go to dances growing up.”

“I’m glad you had fun, cara,” Copia replied. “Did it live up to your expectations?”

Ellie nodded and smiled. “It did. The only thing that didn’t happen that I’ve seen in movies and TV shows was a chaperon coming around telling us all to ‘Leave room for Jesus.’”

Copia laughed at that. “Nor will you find anyone here who will say that.” 

“I guess not,” she smirked. 

They came to a gazebo at the end of the path that was surrounded by bushes. Copia knew in the spring and summer the bushes would be abloom with colorful flowers, but it was fall so they stood bare. The gazebo was light with fairy lights around the edges giving it a soft warm glow that stood out in the dark, cloudy night. 

“There is one other thing I was expecting though,” Ellie said stepping into the gazebo and leaning against one of the banisters.

“What’s that?” He asked as he followed her inside.

“There was no slow dancing,” Ellie said. 

“Oh, I suppose there wasn’t,” Copia said. “To be fair, I left Dew and Rain in charge of the music with only the stipulation that all the Papas had time to perform.”

Ellie laughed softly and Copia wanted nothing more than to bottle that sound up and keep it forever; listening to it whenever he was down because he knew that sound would bring him joy whenever he heard it. She quieted and looked at him. Copia could practically see the gears in her mind turning. He suddenly felt nervous under her gaze.

“Dance with me?” She asked a second later, pushing herself off the rail and holding out a hand to him.

“There’s no music,” Copia said, immediately berating himself at the stupid comment.

“So? We can just pretend,” Ellie smiled. 

He chuckled. “I suppose we can,” he said taking her hand and drawing her close. Her scent, something he couldn’t make out, was intoxicating and filled is senses as he rested a hand on the small of her back. He began to sway in time with unheard music. She followed his lead and moved within him, stepping back and forth, side to side. 

“Now all my expectations have been met,” she joked with a smile as she looked up at him. Even in the warm, dim light, her eyes seemed to sparkle.

“I’m glad,” he said as he spun her out and then back into him. “Seeing you enjoy yourself makes me happy.” He held her impossibly close, their bodies pressed together as they swayed in place. Copia wasn’t sure what happened next. One minute they were just staring at each other and the next was letting go of her hand and sliding his under her chin, tilting it upward before kissing her.

And she was kissing back.

He kissed people before—many, many people, but it never felt like it had just then. To be cliche, it felt like fireworks were going off. Everything in him erupted and felt so right as his lips moved against hers. Her lips were so soft against his own and they fit perfectly slotted together. His hand moved from under her chin and into her hair, holding the back of her head to him. She let out the softest of sounds, making his brain go haywire. He knew if they continued he wasn't ever going to let her lips leave his.

All too soon they were pulling apart, both of them slightly panting as they stared at one another. “That was…” Ellie began, seemingly losing the words to finish.

Copia chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “That was okay to do?” He asked, needing reassurance he didn’t cross a line.

“Yes,” Ellie said quickly. “More than okay.”

They stood like that for a while before a gust of wind blew through the gazebo and made Ellie shiver. “We should go back inside,” he suggested, wishing he had a jacket he could shrug off and put around her shoulders. He regrettably stepped back from her, already missing the feel of her body pressed against his.

“Copia?” She asked softly.

“Si, tesoro?”

“Where does this leave us?”

“What do you mean?”

Ellie shrugged. “Well…I like you…a lot actually. I know that sounds like I’m some 16-year-old confessing to a crush…but I have feelings for you.”

“I have feelings for you as well,” he confessed. Feelings weren’t the word he’d use though. He knew he loved her but he didn’t want to admit that just yet and scare her away. Slow and steady wins the race, he told himself. 

“So where does that leave us then?” She asked again. “Are we just exploring or what?”

Copia looked her face over. “What do you want this to be?” He asked. “I don’t want you to feel like you’re rushing into anything. You set the pace and I will follow.”

Ellie thought for a moment and nodded to herself before speaking. “I’d…I’d like to explore a relationship,” she said. “I know I don’t have a lot of experience given my history…but I’d like to call you my boyfriend or partner.” 

He felt his heart soar at that. “Then a relationship it is,” he said. “I have one condition though.”

“What?” Ellie asked, looking nervous.

“Let me take you out properly,” he said. “I want to take you on a proper date.”

Her eyes lit up at that. “I’d like that a lot.”

“Then it’s settled. How about two nights from now? I’ll pick you up from your apartment around 7?”

“Perfect.”

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-X

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: none for this chapter Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 2341 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church. Ao3 || Masterlist Chapters: 10/? Previous Chapters Tag list: @sodoswitchimage Fic Divider by gothdaddyissues

A couple of days had gone by and somehow Ellie managed to get the paperwork filled out for a new restraining order and got it into the hands of the local judge. She knew it would take some time between the judge approving the order and the order going into effect, but it was the first step in the right direction. She didn’t feel as worried about Ethan knowing that Aether and Swiss were constantly around. Despite their odd behaviors and presence, she was comforted by them. She talked to them whenever she saw them as she was going to work or coming home. Knowing they were just outside her apartment building or her work gave her peace of mind.

It was the morning of mass and Ellie was dressed in tight black jeans and a black sweater. She put on her tourmaline necklace, giving the necklace an affectionate squeeze before she grabbed her purse, and made her way to her car. She waved to Aether who was standing nearby and wondered where Swiss was lurking. She never saw the two together but knew they were always around. 

She drove up to the Ministry and parked before heading inside to the sanctuary where Siblings were gathering. Ellie spotted Gemma, Brianna, and Micha and sat down with them.

“Any news?” Gemma asked her quietly so the other two didn’t hear.

“It’s going to the judge,” Ellie said. “Won’t know anything else for a few days.”

“It’s something at least, right?” Gemma said. “I really wish you’d just stay here. No one would mind. Well, I’m sure Sister Imperator would say something about the rules or whatever but who cares? But I understand why you want to stay where you are. Don’t want to give the man too much power and all.”

Ellie nodded. “Hopefully this will all be over soon.”

“Hopefully. Okay, happier topics now. What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Nothing. I’m off. I was just gonna do laundry.”

“Well do it another day. We’re going dress shopping at one,” Gemma said. “I know you don’t have a dress to wear so we’re going to go get one. My treat.”

“Oh, Gemma, that’s nice of you but you don’t need to pay for it,” Ellie said quickly. 

“Think of it as a graduation present when you get your membership,” Gemma said gently and playfully nudging her. “Besides, you have to look good for Papa.”

“It’s not like that,” Ellie said but her protests fell on deaf ears as the music began.

Now knowing all the Papa’s were brothers and Papa Nihil was their father, Ellie began to spot the similarities between Primo, Secondo, Terzo, and Copia. She was staring at Copia as he took the pulpit, resting his notes in front of him as he gazed out over the congregation. Their eyes met and he gave her a small smile before launching into his sermon. 

“Today I wanted to talk to you all about the eleventh rule of satanism,” he began. “It is one of the first rules we learn upon entering this faith. ‘When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him,’ it says. Some of you may have heard our Pagan brethren say something similar ‘Do no harm but take no shit.’” He let out a little chuckle. “We all know that it means don’t bother others but don’t stand for it when someone is bothering you.” He went about the importance of not letting a single person ruin how one lived and enjoyed their life, and how it was equally important to not be the villain in another’s life.

“Life is too short and precious to fuck with people who don’t deserve it,” he said looking around the sanctuary. 

Ellie knew Copia had come up with this sermon with her in mind. She knew it was meant to encourage her to stand up against Ethan and take back her life. She was touched. 

When it was time for communion, Ellie joined the line. Today it was Secondo handing out the wafers and Copia serving the wine. Ellie stood behind Gemma as Gemma knelt down in front of Secondo and took the wafer. Ellie could have sworn there was a look shared between them for a moment before Secondo said his blessing and Gemma moved to Copia. 

“Buongiorno , Ellie. It is nice to see you again. I hope you will be back in group with us,” Secondo said before feeding her the wafer.

Ellie nodded as she ate the paper-thin biscuit. “I will.”

“Excellent,” he replied before blessing her and moving on to the next person. 

Ellie then found herself kneeling in front of Copia. She glanced up at him and smiled. “Good morning, Papa.”

“Buongiorno , Ellie,” he said. “I’m glad to see you here for communion this time.” He lowered the chalice to her lips. As he held it so she could take a sip, she felt his fingertips brush her cheek subtly. It sent a pleasant tingle down her spine and she felt her heart begin to drum faster. He gently pulled the chalice away and said his blessing. Ellie thought there was a tenderness in his eyes that wasn’t there before.

“See you later,” Ellie said before getting off her knees and returning to her seat. 

When Copia walked into the dining hall after mass for lunch, he spotted Ellie right away, picking out her wavy dark blonde hair from amongst the heads of veiled and hooded Siblings. It only took a moment for her to spot him, and when she did, she said something to Sister Gemma before walking over to him.

“I liked your choice of topic for mass today,” she said. 

“I thought you might,” Copia said. “I wanted you to know that this faith of ours encourages confronting and winning against the bad people in our lives.” 

“Thank you,” Ellie said. “I don’t know how I’m going to do it, and if I’m honest, I’m terrified, but I need to end this once and for all. I’m so tired of running. I just want to live my life.” 

“I know, cara, I know,” Copia said resting a hand on her upper arm and giving it a tender squeeze. 

He gazed into her eyes and she stared back. Copia was sure and eternity could have gone by and he wouldn’t have known because he was lost in those gray eyes that looked like a summer storm. He knew in that moment there would only be her or no one. 

“Gemma’s taking me dress shopping tomorrow,” Ellie said, snapping him out of his stupor. “I’ve never been dress shopping. Didn’t do the whole prom or dances in school. Too sinful.”

He chuckled. “Oh, I’d hate to know what our balls would classify as if a high school prom was too sinful.”

“Hmmm, probably downright evil and wicked,” Ellie joked. “But I’m looking forward to it. It’s a new experience for me.” 

“I’m glad, cara. I’m looking forward to it too,” he said, his hand finally falling away from her arm. “I can’t wait to see what dress you pick. Sono sicuro che sarai bellissima (I’m sure you’ll look beautiful).”

“What’s that you’re saying?” Ellie asked. “And we’ll we’re on it, what are those names you call me? I never made it past hello and goodbye in Italian.” 

Before Copia could answer, Sister Imperator was stepping up to Ellie’s side.

“Cardi, may I speak with you?” She asked, glancing at Ellie with an assessing gaze.

“I’ll see you later,” Ellie said looking from Sister Imperator to him.  For a moment, Copia wondered if she could see the resemblance between Sister Imperator and himself. Would she figure out what he spent years unearthing in just that short span of time? She turned and walked back over to Gemma and the others. 

“The new initiate?” His mother questioned.

“Si,” Copia answered. “Ellie Moran.”

“You two seem to be getting close,” Sister Imperator said with pursed lips. “I heard Primo say you were taking her as your date to the Samhain ball.”

“And?” Copia asked raising an eyebrow. “I am allowed.”

“Oh, I know. You are allowed to have your dalliances and toys. Just don’t let them become distractions.” She gave him a pointed look. “And before you deny it, this is already becoming a distraction. I never received your budget report like I requested the other day.”

Shit, Copia thought. He meant to do it but then Ellie called about her apartment being broken into and then she told him about her past. He didn’t think the budget report was all that important compared to her. 

“Mi dispiace ,” he sighed. “I will finish it by dinner tonight.”

“Make sure this doesn’t happen again,” she warned before patting his arm and walking away. 

Copia sighed and with one last glance in Ellie’s direction, turned and left the dining hall for his office. 

“This is too tight,” Ellie said as she tried to suck in as much of her belly as she could. The red lace and satin fabric clung like a second skin choking her of oxygen. The dress was beautiful, but Ellie didn’t think it was worth passing out over.

“That’s the biggest size they have of this one,” Gemma frowned. “No matter, we will find something.” She then shoved a black dress into her arms. “Try that one. I think that will be better than this red one.”

Ellie nodded and turned so Gemma could unzip the dress. She let out an exasperated sigh when the fabric freed her and allowed her to breathe properly. She stepped back into the dressing room and shimmied out of the red dress before hanging it back on the hanger and onto the rack with two other rejected dresses. Ellie picked up the black dress and carefully put it on. She turned and looked at herself in the mirror. The dress was floor length with a slight almost up to her hip. The fabric was a sparkling tulle and it had a single shoulder strap that went across the top of her neckline diagonally. Black flower applique decorated the dress. 

It was perfect.

She stepped out of the dressing room and as soon as Gemma saw her, she squealed.

“That one!” She determined. “That’s the one.”

“I think so too,” Ellie grinned. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Gemma smiled. “Okay, I’ll go get this paid for and you get dressed and we’ll get out of here.” 

“Aren’t you getting a dress?” Ellie asked.

“No. I have one already. It was given to me by…well, never mind,” Gemma said taking the dress tag over to the counter.

A few minutes later they were exiting the store with a garment bag folded over Ellie’s arm. They walked over to the ministry-loaned car (being driven by Aether) and hung the bag up in the back before sliding in. Ellie noticed Aether was still wearing his mask. Surely it wasn’t legal to drive like that. She never saw any of the ghouls without masks on and made a mental note to ask Copia about it. 

“Swiss is still at your apartment. I will drop you off then take Sister Gemma back to the abbey,” Aether said as he pulled onto the road. “I will be back later tonight.”

“Alrighty,” Ellie said. “I’ll have some dinner for you if you want to come up.” The last couple of days of being under watch, Ellie got in the habit of making enough food for her guardians. It wasn’t much, some soup or sandwiches, but she felt like she needed to repay them in some way. Less than twenty minutes later Ellie was walking into her apartment building. She knew Swiss was inside her apartment having let him in to keep watch before she went shopping with Gemma. 

She unlocked her door and went inside. Immediately she noticed something wasn’t right.

Swiss was lying face down on the ground with something black dripping out of his mask. Ellie took only a second to process what she was seeing and move into action. She dropped to the ground next to Swiss. “Swiss?” She said gently shaking him while her fingers went to his neck for a pulse. In the chaos she was suddenly plunged into, Ellie didn’t notice the figure step out of her bedroom.

A/N: Inspiration for Ellie's dress here

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-IX

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: stalking Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 2341 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church. Ao3 || Masterlist Chapters: 9/? Previous Chapters Tag list: @sodoswitchimage Fic Divider by @gothdaddyissues

“He asked you to the ball as his plus one?” Gemma asked Ellie a couple of days later. After confiding in Gemma about everything that happened involving her apartment and her history with Ethan, Gemma just held her and soothed her. She felt closer to the other woman and it felt nice to have a friend.

“Yeah,” Ellie said. “He said we can go as friends or whatever I want. Whatever that means.” 

“Sounds like he doesn’t want to presume it’s a romantic thing like a date unless you want it to be,” Gemma said. “But you said yes?”

“Yeah, I said I’d go with him.”

Gemma squealed as softly as possible as they were sitting in the library. “Do you have something to wear?”

“Well, no,” Ellie said. “Formal dresses weren’t high up on my things to pack while fleeing my ex.” 

“I’ll take you dress shopping,” Gemma said. “This weekend.” 

“Okay,” Ellie said. “Thanks, that actually sounds really nice.”

“We’ll make sure it has pockets so you can carry some condoms on you.”

Ellie chocked. “What?”

Gemma rolled her eyes. “For when you bang Papa.”

“I’m not going to bang him,” Ellie sputtered. “This is just a friend thing…”

“And I’m the king of England,” Gemma smirked. “Hey, I don’t care if you use them or not, at least have some on you just in case. Anyway, let’s focus.” She reached for the paper she had read a few moments before. “Where were we? Ah, okay this one, This doesn’t apply to you because you’re not becoming a Sibiling of Sin, but if you change your mind—Upon completion of your intitionary training, the current Papa will complete the initiates induction through way of the ancient rite.” 

“Uh, wait, what,” Ellie said as she registered what Gemma said. “Papa has sex with everyone who becomes a Sibling?”

“Yep. The reigning Papa—so Papa Copia will finish an initiates induction through ritual sex. For me, it was Papa Secondo,” Gemma sighed dreamily. “The best sex I’ve ever had.”

Ellie bit her lip as a pang of jealousy rushed through her. “And you all have to do this?”

“Yes, but if someone doesn’t want to do the sex part for whatever reason, the ritual is done symbolically. We’d never force someone to have sex if they didn’t want it, but there are only a handful of people who have done it symbolically. Everyone wants to sleep with the Papas.” 

“What if the reigning Papa is in a relationship?” Ellie then asked. 

“I guess that would be a discussion for the two of them then,” Gemma shrugged. “I’ve never seen a Papa in a relationship while he was Papa, at least not a monogamous one. Either way, it’s a Papa’s duty as a representative of the Olde One.”

“And I don’t have to do it because I’m not joining as a Sibling?”

“Correct. For you, you’ll have to make your case to Sister Imperator with me and Papa to vouch and then she approves you or not before you have an induction with Papa. It’s like a communion ceremony or something. Super tame,” Gemma said.

Ellie barely heard Gemma continue on the subject of the duties of the Sibling. Her mind was caught up on Copia sleeping with every new Sibling that came to the Ministry since the start of his reign. She understood it was part of his job, but the jealousy she felt disgusted her. She should be jealous. Copia wasn’t hers. He was a friend and nothing more.

When she finished her lesson with Gemma, Ellie packed up her backpack. The door to her apartment was replaced and her landlord had her new keys. She told Copia the night before she would be returning to her apartment. He tried to convince her to stay a little longer, but Ellie knew she couldn’t hide. He refused to send her off alone though. He said he would have Aether and a ghoul named Swiss patrolling the street outside of her apartment to make sure Ethan didn’t show up. Ellie didn’t argue. She was thankful for it.

“And I’ll come by when I’m not needed here,” Copia then told her. “I’ll bring some dinner.” Ellie didn’t argue. She was looking forward to spending more time with him. 

Aether took her to her apartment once she was ready to go. Ellie stopped in the office and picked up her new set of keys and then went up to her apartment. She felt Aether’s eyes on her back as she unlocked the door.

“Do you want to come in?” Ellie asked.

“I should go outside and start my watch,” Aether responded.

“Does it matter if you’re outside or in my apartment?” Ellie asked. “You’re supposed to make sure Ethan doesn’t come to my apartment, and wouldn’t it be better if you were already inside with me?”

“I suppose,” Aether said with a shrug. “Alright, fine, but just for a couple of hours. I should be outside when Papa gets here. I don’t want him catching me not following his specific instructions.” 

“Fair enough.”

Aether turned out to be an excellent helper when it came to cleaning up her apartment. What would have taken her four hours only took two. By the time they finished, Aether was heading outside and Ellie was flopping back on her sofa. She lit a candle and looked in her fridge. She had half a bottle of wine, milk that was souring, three bottles of water, and a pack of cheddar cheese. She grabbed the win and hoped Copia didn’t mind how cheap it was. She poured a couple of glasses when there was a knock on her door.

She glanced out the peephole and saw Copia standing there with red oven mitts holding a foil-covered dish with another foil-wrapped package on top. She grinned and opened the door. “Hey,” she greeted, moving aside. “That smells delicious.”

“Thank you, tesoro. It’s my brother’s lasagna recipe and garlic bread,” Copia said as he made his way to her tiny kitchen to set the hot dish down. “Just came out of the oven before I left, so it’s very hot still.”

“Greet, I’m starving,” Ellie said. “I hope you like cheap wine because it’s either that or water. Unless you’d like to sample some sour milk. I won’t stop you, but I will judge you.” 

Copia laughed. “Wine is fine,” he said, unwrapping the food. 

“Your brother’s recipe huh?” Ellie asked looking at the melted cheese and sauce-covered noodles.

“Secondo is a very good cook,” Copia said. “I get a lot of recipes from him.”

“Secondo is your brother?” Ellie asked.

“Si, I thought it was obvious,” Copia said gesturing to his white eye.

“I…I guess I never thought about it,” Ellie responded. “So all the Papas are brothers?”

“Si, we’re all half brothers. Nihil is our father,” he grumbled the last part. “He isn’t much of a dad though.” 

“And your mothers?” Ellie asked.

Copia shrugged. “Women Nihil knocked up and when they saw the white eye they left us at the Ministry. I think Primo had a relationship with his mother, but the rest of us?” He shrugged again. “It doesn’t matter. We have each other. Even if we do want to strangle one another at times.” 

“I’m glad you have each other then,” Ellie said opening a cabinet and pulling out some paper plates. “All I got is paper, sorry.”

“Hey, it works,” Copia said, putting a piece of lasagna on the plate and giving her a chunk of garlic bread. “I hope you like it, cara,” he said handing it to her. 

“I’m sure I will.”

They sat on the floor at her coffee table. Ellie loaded Netflix up on the PlayStation and put on a cheesy horror movie as they ate.

“This is amazing,” Ellie said around a mouthful of cheese. “I haven’t had a decent meal in a while.”

“I imagine moving from place to place doesn’t allow you to keep a fully stocked kitchen,” Copia said.

Ellie shook her head. “It’s been a lot of frozen meals and instant soups.” 

“You can’t live on that, cara,” Copia said sipping his glass of wine. “Secondo and I will make you some food that you can keep in the fridge and reheat.” 

“You don’t have to,” Ellie said, cheeks flushing. She was touched. No one ever offered to cook for her before, but she didn’t want to become someone’s burden.

“I want to,” Copia reassured her. “And Secondo won’t mind.” 

Ellie nodded. Who was she to deny him that? “Okay,” she responded. “Thank you. I really appreciate it. I’m so sick of eating instant ramen.” She laughed softly and finished off her wine to hide the fact that she was tearing up from his offer. “This movie sucks,” she said, changing the subject.

“I know, it’s great.” he laughed. “I love B-rated horror movies.”

They sat in a comfortable silence for a bit. Eventually, Copia got up and put away the rest of the food, telling Ellie to eat through the leftovers and return the dish when she was finished. “Now, to more serious shit,” he said, sitting on the opposite end of the couch from her. “What are we going to do about your ex?”

Ellie sighed. “I don’t know. I’m going to go down to the police station in the morning and try to plead my case again and see if I can get a restraining order. It won’t do me much good, but it’s something at least. Otherwise, there’s not much I can do. I don’t know what he will do if he confronts me.”

“Are you sure you just don’t want to stay at the Ministry until this is dealt with?” Copia asked. “You’ll be safe there.”

“I know,” Ellie sighed. She considered it, she really did. But she needed to deal with this herself. She needed to stand up to Ethan and put an end to this once and for all. “But I need to deal with this, or at least try to.”

“I understand,” Copia said. “But if you change your mind…”

“You will be the first I tell,” Ellie said

“Well, Aether and Swiss will be around all night. They won’t let him near your building. And if you need anything, call me.” 

“I will.” She watched as he stood, wishing he’d stay longer. “I’ll see you for mass on Sunday.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” he smiled. He reached the door and turned to her, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss. “I’ll see you in a couple of days, tesoro.”

Ellie felt an inferno consume her at the simple gesture. If his lips on her hand did that to her, what would kissing him be like she wondered. “Y-Yeah,” she responded. “I’ll see you. Have a good night.”

“You too. Sweet dreams, Ellie.” 

She watched him leave out the door and make his way down the stairs before she closed the door and locked up. She cradled her hand to her chest and sighed. 

“Shit,” she said to herself. “I like him.” 

He was watching her apartment from across the street. The Airbnb he rented was perfectly positioned to see into her living room. She only had a sheer lace curtain over the window, allowing him to see practically everything inside. His Elenor was so stupid.

He took a drag on his cigarette as he watched the man who had gone into her apartment a couple of hours before leaving. Ethan wasn’t sure who he was exactly. He knew he was affiliated with that damn Satanic church though.

“Oh Elenor, how you have fallen,” he muttered as he watched the man get into a white car and drive off. Ethan tapped the cigarette against the ashtray as his eyes returned to the window. He watched Ellie tidy up her apartment and turn off the light. As if on queue, two masked figures appeared on the street below. Ethan noticed one of them earlier when Ellie had returned to her apartment.

“Freaks,” he muttered. “Playing bodyguard huh? So Elenor isn’t running this time.”

Perfect.

He leaned back in his chair and took another drag. He’d see Ellie tomorrow and have a chat with her. She’d see reason and come back home with him. They’d be together and have the family they were supposed to have.

And if she didn't? Well, he had a plan. 

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-I

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: (For Future Chapters) NSFW, 18+, unprotected sex, p in v sex, oral sex, mentions of past abuse and domestic violence, references to suicide Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Characters: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia, OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 3720 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church.

Ao3

Chapters: 1/?

Chapter One

“How do you even dress for mass at a Satanic church?” Ellie Moran said to herself as she stared into her closet. She wasn’t even sure why she was going to begin with. Ever since she saw a grown man in the coffee shop throw a fit over a flyer for the Ministry of Ghost, a Satantic church located on the outskirts of town, she’d been curious. The flyer was advertising public mass times for the next month. After watching the middle-aged man crinkle the flyer up and toss it in the trash, Ellie retrieved it and took it home. It was now lying on her vanity as smoothed out as she could make it. 

If the church was causing such an uproar among the locals, Ellie knew she had to see what it was all about.

It had been two months since she moved to this new town—two months since she flipped her life upside down to be herself, live how she wanted to live, and finally escape. It had been two very long and lonely months though. Besides her job at the small bookstore on the corner of her street, she didn’t leave her apartment. There wasn’t much to do in the town, and the organizations she checked out, such as the women’s club, were filled with overly chipper, old women who would sneer at the tattoos that covered her arm. Ellie never intended to move to such a small town. She only moved there because it was the last place anyone would think to look for her.

She felt pathetic. At 30 years old she was starting over completely. She had no friends, no significant other, no degree or skills, and was working at a bookstore barely making enough to get by. 

Ellie pulled a black skater dress out of her closet and looked it over, deciding if it was appropriate to wear to a church service. “It’s a satanic church, I don’t think they’re going to care what I wear,” she said to herself and shrugged, grabbing a dark green cardigan to wear over it. “Good enough” She slipped her feet into a pair of combat boots and looked in the mirror to finish her makeup and hair. She squeezed some mousse into the palm of her hand and scrunched it into her shoulder-length, dark blonde hair to help bring out her natural waves. She fixed her eyeliner and put on her favorite necklace; a pointed, wire-wrapped black tourmaline crystal before grabbing her bag and her car keys. 

Her ancient Ford Focus sat mostly unused behind her apartment building, and thankfully, after surviving the drive across the country, it got her up to the church in one piece. She parked in the visitors’ lot and walked up the stoned pathway to the entrance. The church was huge and made of stone. Ellie knew at one point it must have been a Christian church. She could see faint outlines of crosses that used to be displayed on the building that were replaced with inverted crucifixes and pentagrams. 

At the entrance there was a person, Ellie thought they might be a man but she couldn’t be sure, dressed all in black with something that looked like a modified gas mask with little horns on their head. 

“Visitor?” They asked when Ellie approached.

“Er-Yea-I saw the flyer—”

“Straight down the hall, the large black doors on the left. Can’t miss it,” they said in a bored voice.

“Thanks,” Ellie said, entering into the building. She was in awe at all the marble and stained glass. There was so much natural light in the atrium and it created a warm and welcoming environment. It was beautiful and not what she was expecting. She had a vision of walking into some stifling hot building with black drapes all around and only candlelight to see by. 

She found the door the person at the front told her to look for and went through. Inside was the sanctuary. It wasn’t as big as the ones she’d seen in Catholic churches, but it was just as beautiful. Stained glass windows lined the room and dark-stained pews sat among stone columns facing the pulpit. The room was mostly filled with men in black monk robes and women in black habits. There were less than a dozen people in street clothes like she was. 

Ellie took a seat at the end of a pew in the back of the sanctuary. She wrung her fingers nervously as she looked around at everyone talking to one another. Once the sound of an organ filled the room, everyone began to quiet down. A procession of people entered the room from a side door near the front of the space. They were dressed in red and black robes and looked like the pictures of cardinals she’d seen at the Vatican. They took seats in the front two pews.

After the cardinals, three older men in nice suits and black and white skull paint enter followed by a woman in a dark gray skirt and blazer. Behind her, an elderly man with skull paint, a walker, and an oxygen tank was escorted into the room by a woman in a habit. The five of them took seats in the chairs that lined one of the side walls and the woman took a place in a nearby pew. 

The organ music died down and another man with black and white skull paint on his face entered. He was dressed in immaculate black robes with a golden “IV” encircled in a starburst pattern on his chest. He wore a black stole with gold skulls running down its length and the mitre on his head was shaped in what looked like bat wings. His eyes, one of them a brilliant white, scanned the sanctuary, giving little nods to people he seemed to know sitting in the pews, and then his eyes settled on her. 

She couldn’t take her eyes off his. It felt like he was staring right into the dark, deep depths of her soul. It was like a wave of electricity washed over her, making her sit up straight under his gaze. She could have sworn the faintest smirk formed on his lips before he turned his attention from her and back to the crowd as a whole. 

Ellie didn’t know what was said during the sermon. She couldn’t help but stare at the man she now knew as Papa Emeritus IV after he introduced himself to the new people in the sanctuary. She stood whenever everyone else stood, kneeled when they all kneeled and attempted to sing the hymns that were sung. Then it was time for communion. Ellie stayed seated while everyone got in line. She watched as one by one people walked up to Papa, knelt in front of him as he said a few words and placed a communion wafer in their mouth, and then took a sip of wine from a goblet being held by one of the men in the nice suits before Papa made the sign of the inverted cross and they returned to their seat.

She noticed more than once his eyes flicked to her, and Ellie couldn’t help but squirm in her seat as though she had just gotten in trouble. Was she supposed to be standing in line with everyone else? She wasn’t sure if she was allowed to take communion. She wasn’t a member of the church and she wasn’t sure if she needed to do anything beforehand to be able to take communion. In the Baptist church she grew up in, one couldn’t take communion until they accepted Jesus as their savior and became a church member. Did she need to believe in Satan and be a member of the church to take communion here?

Once communion finished and the closing words said, the woman in the gray suit stood and invited everyone to join them for a potluck lunch in the refectory. Ellie wasn’t planning on staying, but when her stomach growled, she followed a group of women across the hall to the refectory. She wasn’t going to turn down free food when all she had in her apartment was a box of cereal and a few packs of ramen. While everyone mingled with their plates of food, Ellie stood along the wall finishing up a small turkey and cheese slider. She tossed her paper plate in the trash and watched as everyone talked and laughed, feeling incredibly left out.

Just go up to someone and introduce yourself , she told herself. You’ll never make friends if you’re standing here like an idiot.

“You didn’t take communion.”

Ellie jumped a little, startled by the accented voice coming from beside her. She turned and saw the Papa Emeritus IV himself standing there. He was still dressed in the same black robes he wore during the service. He was mirte-less now and she could see his mousy brown hair, peppered with the lightest touches of gray. She thought he looked handsome and wondered what he looked like without the paint on his face. 

“I didn’t know if I was allowed to,” Ellie said, feeling his eyes stare into her gray ones once more. “I-uh-I’ve never been here before.”

“ Sí , I know,” he replied, holding out a hand to her. “Papa Emeritus the fourth, head of the clergy. And for future reference, anyone can take communion here. Eh, it’s more of a mockery of the Christian communion than anything of significance. What is your name, cara ?” 

“Ellie Moran,” she said, shaking his gloved hand, the leather warm and soft against her palm. She thought she saw something in his eyes light up when she said her name.

“And what brings you to our ministry, Ellie?”

“Curiosity,” she answered honestly. “I saw someone throwing a fit over your flyer posted in the coffee shop, and well, I got curious. I’m new to the area and haven’t…found a place I fit in yet.” She thought she sounded so pathetic as she talked and wished she never said anything.

“How long have you lived here?” Papa asked with interest. 

“Only two months,” she said.

“And how do you like it?”

Ellie shrugged. “It’s fine,” she answered. “The town is boring but it’s better than where I was.”

Papa was about to say something when the woman in the gray skirt and blazer approached him. “Cardi, we need to talk,” she said, seeming to not notice Ellie. 

“Okie dokie, sister,” Papa responded before looking back to Ellie. “I’m sorry to leave you. Perhaps you will come to our next mass?”

Ellie nodded and watched him walk away with the woman and felt very alone again. Frowning, she slipped out of the dining hall and made her way back to the front entrance and her car, cursing herself that she didn’t talk to anyone else. 

As she drove back into town and to her apartment and promised herself she’d go to mass again and next time, she’d talk to someone.  XXX

Copia returned to the refectory a few minutes after Sister Imperator pulled him aside to talk to him about his sermon. His eyes scanned the room looking for Ellie. He frowned when he didn’t see her and turned to the ghoul standing near the door. “Did the woman in the green sweater leave?” He asked Aether.

“She did,” Aether answered. “A few minutes ago. She looked…sad.”

“Hmmm, thank you, Aether,” Copia said turning back to the rest of the people in the refectory. He had noticed her in the sanctuary sitting by herself in the back. His first thought was that she was striking. There was something about her that captured his attention and wanted to get to know her more. It was almost as if he was being drawn to her by an unseen force. He was a bit disappointed to find that she left already, not that he was expecting her to be waiting for him to come back. He hoped that she would come to the next mass. Next time he’d get to know her better.  XXX

A few days later, Ellie was staring at the Satanic Bible on the bookshelf at her work. She didn’t often get to stock books in the spirituality section, but today she got to and the book caught her eye. She thought back on the mass she had attended just three days prior. She couldn’t remember what Papa was speaking about, but she could remember how he looked at her and how kind he seemed to be when she spoke to him briefly afterward. 

But those eyes, she couldn’t get those eyes out of her head.

She stocked the books on Celtic Paganism in her arms and turned back to the Satanic Bible. She picked it up and flipped through it; it couldn’t hurt to learn something before she went to mass again that weekend.

“If it were my choice, I’d burn this whole section.”

Ellie turned to see her supervisor standing there with a stack of Bibles on the cart he was pushing. Charles was a larger man with a ruddy face and balding head. Ellie didn’t care for him. He constantly talked about his hunting trips and how his wife was the greatest thing since sliced bread. He could be an asshole at times and often stuck her with the shittiest tasks in the store, and because she was a people pleaser, just never complained and just did as she was told.

“Oh?” Ellie said. 

“Freedom of religion is a joke in this country. This isn’t religion. This is evil, satanic bullshit,” he said glaring at the books. “But I don’t own the store so I don’t get a say in what’s stocked here. Maybe one day.” He pushed the cart passed her into the next aisle to stock the Bibles leaving Ellie standing there with a frown on her face. 

Later that evening, she sat on her ugly burnt orange couch with her laptop open on her lap. She spent the last hour scouring the internet for information on the Ministry of Ghost. There wasn’t a whole lot. Their website looked like something that came out of the early internet in 1999, but there was a link to a YouTube channel entitled Ghost. 

There were music videos and videos from concerts on the page of a band performing metal and rock songs. Ellie fell down a rabbit hole from there and learned that Ghost was a side project of the Ministry to help spread their message. Over the years they’ve been active, they were led by a few different men, the previous Papas, and their band of ghouls. The music was good, and Ellie ended up adding a few songs to her Spotify playlist. She then saw the videos of Papa Emeritus IV when he was still just a cardinal. 

“Holy shit,” Ellie muttered as she watched him perform on stage while wearing a red cassock. The man could sing, she gave him that much, but the way he moved enthralled her. She even saw a video of his ascension from cardinal to Papa. At one point she thought she was drooling on her keyboard. There was no way that the man in the video and the one she met over the weekend were the same person. She had to snap her laptop shut because she didn’t think it was right to be lusting after what was the equivalent of the pope, even if he was satanic. 

XXX

The next public mass was two weeks later, and Ellie was the first of the visitors to get there. She was dressed in a similar outfit as before; same black dress and boots, but she switched out her green cardigan for a blue one. She nodded to the man in the modified gas mask at the door and made her way to the sanctuary. As she stood in the doorway, she scanned the room, determined to sit by someone she could talk to. When she saw a woman in a habit sitting alone near the front, Ellie made her way to her. She stood at the end of the pew and cleared her throat a little.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” Ellie asked when the woman looked over to her.

The woman smiled and patted the seat next to her. “Please,” she said. She had dark brown bangs poking out from her veil and bright hazel eyes. “I’m Sister Gemma, but please, just call me Gemma. No need for formalities.”

“Ellie,” Ellie said sliding into the pew. 

“First time here?”

“Second. I came to the last public mass a couple of weeks ago.” 

“Oooo,” Gemma cooed. “You’re the first second-timer we’ve had in a while. Most visitors don’t come back after their times time. You thinking about joining?”

“I don’t know,” Ellie answered truthfully. She hadn’t really thought about it. She agreed with the tenets of santanism, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready to join the church just yet. “I don’t have to become a nun, do I? Are you a nun? I’m sorry I don’t know all the terminology.” She became flustered and hoped she wasn’t making too much of a fool of herself. 

Gemma smiled kindly. “You’re fine. And yea, I’m kinda like a nun. The brothers and sisters here are called the Siblings of Din. And no, you don’t have to become a Sibling to join the church. There are a couple of non-sibling members here. Papa Terzo even had a townie for an assistant for a while.”

“Papa Terzo?” Ellie asked. She knew there were other Papas but she never heard the name before.

“Papa Emeritus the third. He was Papa Copia’s predecessor. It’s easier to say Papa and then their name instead of their whole title. It becomes a mouthful.”

Copia , Ellie thought, liking the sound of his name. She cleared her throat before speaking. “What would I have to do to join?”

“You’d need a sponsor. Everyone who is considering joining the ministry needs to be sponsored by an established member. We act as guides and teachers to help prepare you for membership here. If you consider joining, I’d love to be your sponsor. I have a good feeling about you.” 

“I’ll thank about it,” Ellie said earnestly.

Gemma grinned. “I’ll give you my number after mass and you can let me know.”

Just as Ellie was about to say something else, the organ music started once more. Ellie watched the same procession of people enter the sanctuary, and when Copia stepped into the space, she saw his eyes search the sanctuary. His eyes found hers after a moment and his lips curved upward slightly, giving her a small nod of acknowledgment. 

Ellie found herself smiling in return. She felt Gemma nudge her and saw the other woman had a look of delight on her face.

The service was very similar to the first one Ellie attended. The only difference this time was Gemma was whispering to her, explaining some of the things Copia was talking. Ellie tried to pay more attention this time, but she still found herself focused on Copia. He made her curious and she wanted to get to know who he was. She thought it was strange that she had these feelings. She never felt like this toward anyone before.

When it was once again time for communion, Gemma grabbed Ellie’s hand and pulled her into the line. Ellie remembered what Copia told her last time—that anyone could take communion, and it made her feel less nervous 

“You don’t need to commit to anything.,” Gemma told Ellie. “Papa will say a little prayer in Latin as he puts the wafer in your mouth and you’ll say nema before you eat it and he does the sign of the inverted cross. Then Papa Terzo will offer you the chalice of wine to drink from. Same thing, he’ll say a quick prayer in Latin, you drink and say nema, and he makes the sign of the inverted cross. Then you stand and go back to your seat. Easy as pie.” 

She stood behind Gemma and slowly moved as the line pushed forward. When Ellie realized she was next, she suddenly felt nervous. When she stepped up in front of Copia, he smiled.

“Glad to see you back, cara ,” he said.

She lowered herself to her kneels in front of him and tilted her head upward to look at him. She thought he suddenly looked as nervous as she felt, but then he was holding a communion wafer in his fingers and looking just as calm as before. He lowered his arm to serve her the wafer as he began saying something in Latin. 

Ellie opened her mouth and he gently placed it on her tongue. Ellie had the desire to close her lips around the leather of his gloved fingers but kept herself from doing so. She swallowed the wafer. “Nema,” she said. She watched him make an inverted cross with his hands before taking a step to the side to allow one of the men in skull paint and a suit to step up to her. 

“You’re a pretty thing,” Terzo said as he looked down at her with a smirk. He offered her the chalice and titled it for her to drink from. “That’s it, tesoro,” he cooed before saying his prayer in Latin. 

“Nema,” Ellie replied after swallowing the sip of wine.

After he made the sign of the inverted cross Ellie stood and went back to her seat. “I think he was flirting with me,” she whispered to Gemma.

“Who?” Gemma asked with interest.

“Papa Terzo,” Ellie answered. 

“Oh. He flirts with everyone. And I mean everyone,” Gemma said. “Why did it make you uncomfortable? If you tell him he won’t do it again.” 

“No, it’s fine. I didn’t mind. I just wasn’t expecting it,” Ellie shrugged.

“I’m sorry I should have warned you,” Gemma responded. “You staying for the luncheon?”

Ellie thought it over for a second. She was enjoying Gemma’s company, and if Ellie stayed she could continue getting to know Gemma and maybe meet some other people.

And also maybe she’d get to talk to Copia again.

Translations:

Sí-yes Cara-dear/darling tesoro-treasure

[ghuleh-witch]

And We Are Tied As One Eternally-III

Fandom: Ghost Rating: Explicit Warnings: (For Future Chapters) NSFW, 18+, unprotected sex, p in v sex, oral sex, mentions of past abuse and domestic violence, references to suicide Relationships: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia x OFC Additional Tags: soft!dom Copia, eventual smut, developing relationship, kind of a slow burn, no beta reader Chapter Word Count: 1991 Summary: Ellie Moran just wanted to make a new life for herself. Running to escape the people in her past, she ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that happens to be home to a Satanic church. She never expected her life to change again after she started attending the public masses at said church.

Ao3

Chapters: 3/?

Tag list: @sodoswitchimage

Chapter Three

An hour later, Ellie stood in the middle of Copia’s office. She was told to come in after knocking to find Copia focused on reading papers in a manilla folder laid out in front of him.

“Just one moment, cara, and then I’ll give you my full attention,” he said without looking up. Ellie took the time to look around the office. It was sparsely decorated. The stone walls bore no decorations except for a couple of framed certificates for things Ellie couldn’t make out as well as a couple of award plaques. The singular window overlooked the gardens Gemma had just shown her an hour before. The short fibers of the wall-to-wall carpeting were a deep red, matching the curtains over the window. Copia’s massive, dark wood desk sat toward the back of the room. He sat with his back to the wall, facing the door and the two wooden chairs in front of the desk. To his left stood a tall bookshelf filled with books. Ellie couldn’t read any of the titles from where she stood. Despite the lack of personality in the office, it didn’t feel cold. Ellie suspected that it would have been if Copia hadn’t sat before her. 

“Ugh, sorry about that,” Copia said a minute later, closing the folder and looking up at her. “How was your tour? I trust Sister Gemma did a good job.”

“Oh, it was great,” Ellie responded honestly. “She was really thorough.”

“Good, good. Anyway, eh, I remember you said that you just moved to the area a couple of months ago and you haven’t found your place.” He held her gaze as he spoke, and Ellie, once again, felt as if he could see right into her soul. “I wanted to continue that conversation since I got distracted.”

Ellie was surprised he remembered. That had been a few weeks ago. It hadn’t been a significant conversation. “Oh, yea, I remember,” she said. “I guess there’s not much to add to that. I moved here a couple of months ago and have just been trying to feel…less lonely I suppose.”

“Where did you live before here?” Copia asked, genuine interest shining in his eyes.

Ellie had to be careful with the details she gave him. She didn’t want anyone to know the whole of her past that she was trying to put behind her and forget about. The less anyone knew about her the better. The past needed to stay just that—the past. “Oh, just another no-name town on the other side of the country. I needed…I needed a change.” 

Copia nodded in agreement “Change is good, si? What did you do before coming here?”

“Nothing really. Cashiering, waitressing, and stuff like that. Just dead-end jobs,” Ellie said with a shrug. “Thus the need to move and make a change. I’d save some money and move on trying to look for something new.” 

He hummed in response as he leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk and fingers laced under his chin. “And what are you hoping this move will give you?”

Ellie paused to think about his question. She knew the true reason why she moved and what she hoped being in this new town would give her, but she didn’t want to get hopeful. She knew that in the back of her mind, this might not be permanent, but she couldn’t explain that to Copia.

“Ellie?”

Ellie was pulled from her thoughts and found Copia staring intently at her. He tilted his head in question, and the gesture reminded her of a curious puppy and it made her melt. Despite his position as a satanic pope, he looked adorable. “Sorry,” Ellie said. “Just lost in my own thoughts for a second.”

“It seems like you may have a lot on your mind.”

“I do,” she said automatically. “I mean…”

“Say no more,” Copia said, holding a hand up to stop her. “I understand. Moving across the country on your own is a huge change. Naturally, your mind would be buzzing with possibilities and whatnot.” 

“Right,” Ellie agreed. “Just a lot going on up there. Between work and settling in and trying to be more sociable, it’s been a lot.”

“And joining our ministry here is a stepping stone toward your goals?”

“I want to belong, even if…” she shrugged trying to find the right words. “Even if I decide that this place isn’t where I need to be and have to move on.” She added.

“Well, that won’t be an issue if you do end up leaving us here. We have locations worldwide. You’d always have a place to go for fellowship.”

She nodded. “Thanks.” She was hoping this place would be the last stop for her. For once she felt like she was being seen and that she could lay down roots here. How would anyone find her in this place? The town had less than 5,000 people and was just a blip on a map. This place had to be her last stop. Ellie knew she couldn’t keep running. The little savings she had was running out fast, and she knew running wasn’t good for her mental health. 

“I know Sister Gemma is helping you with your studies and orientation into our faith, but I’d like to help where I can.” His lips lifted in a smile at her. 

Ellie couldn’t help but smile back. “I appreciate it. Not to discredit Gemma, but I’m sure you’re more knowledgable seeing as you’re Papa.”

“Eh, well, I will do my best,” Copia said and Ellie could have sworn he was blush. “Did Sister Gemma tell you about the Samhain gathering at the end of the month? It would be your first holiday with us and you’re more than welcome to attend.”

Ellie nodded. Gemma had been buzzing about it; telling Ellie the significance of the holiday and what the Ministry did to celebrate. “She did,” Ellie answered. “It’s a ritual and a ball?”

“Basically,” he answered. “We do a ritual outside, assuming the weather isn’t shit, and after there’s a feast, dancing, and orgies.”

“O-oh,” Ellie said, feeling her face flush. Gemma hadn’t mentioned that bit to her. Ellie wasn’t a prude. She was all about people doing what they wanted with who they wanted as long as everything was consensual and safe, but she could not picture herself in an orgy, nor did she have the desire to join one. 

“You don’t have to participate if you don’t want to,” Copia reassured her quickly, sensing her distress. “Completely optional. No one will ever force you to participate in something you aren’t willing to do and or ready for.” 

Ellie nodded, relief washing over her. “Not my scene,” she said. “So I’m glad to know I don’t have to join in.”

“It’s an experience,” Copia said slowly as though he were reminiscing. “Anway…” He trailed off before opening a drawer in his desk and pulling out a business card. “I wanted to give you my number in case you had any questions or you just wanted to talk.” He handed the card out to her.

Ellie took the card, and despite him wearing leather gloves, she still felt a spark run through her as her fingers brushed his. “Thanks,” she said looking over the card with his office number, email, and cell phone number neatly printed under his name and title. She looked back up at him and felt a wave of gratitude wash over her. “I really appreciate it.” She never knew someone who seemed so willing to help her without anything in return. 

“Bah,” Copia said waving his hands. “It’s nothing. I want you to feel like you’re welcome here.” He smiled. “Feel free to call anytime. I mean it.”

Ellie smiled and nodded. “I will,” she said. “I should get going. I have work in the morning and a ton of laundry I need to do tonight.”

At that, she noticed Copia’s shoulder sag ever so slightly. “I’ll walk you out,” he said, standing from his seat.

“I’m okay. I remember the way,” Ellie said. “I don’t want to be a bother.”

“You could never be a bother, cara,” Copia responded, his eyes looking her over. “But if you’re sure.”

“Thank you though,” she said again. She tucked his business card into her pocket and smiled. “I’ll see you around?”

“You know where to find me.”

Ever the gentleman, he walked her out to her car anyway and made sure she was safely locked inside and through the ministry gates before turning away. Ellie drove home with only the sound of whistling air coming through her cracked window to accompany her. Her head was heavy with everything Gemma went over with her and with the talk she had with Copia. She didn’t understand it, but she felt like she could trust him with the details of her past and her current present. She could feel herself being magnetically pulled to him like some cosmic force wanted her to be near him. Ellie didn’t know what it meant. It was strange but at the same time, thrilling and terrifying. 

She pulled into her parking spot behind her apartment building and turned off the engine. She sat there for a few minutes, still deep in her thoughts before letting out a sigh and opening her door. She told herself a few years prior she’d never trust another man, and here she was, wanting to trust a man she barely knew.

XXX

He knew she wasn’t being completely honest with him, and that was okay. Copia just hoped whatever Ellie was keeping to herself wasn’t something that was causing her to lose sleep or eating away at her. In time, she’d tell him, he was confident in that as he watched her car roll through the gates and make a left on the road that led back into town. 

“She’s interesting.”

Copia jumped a little when he saw Dewdrop standing next to him. The ghoul hadn’t made a single sound when approaching. “I really hate when you do that, Dew,” Copia said. “But yes, she’s interesting.”

Dew tilted his head at Copia. “She’s different to you than other converts. Why?”

Copia’s eyes slid to Dew and flashed in warning. “I think you should return to your duties, ghoul.”

He could feel Dew rolling his eyes behind his mask. “Fine. You’re no fun, you know that?” Dew said before stalking off. 

Copia watched the ghoul go before turning and heading back to the Papal house. Once inside his room on the second floor, he flopped down on the small sofa that stood at the end of his bed. Soft squeaks came from the corner where a large, multi-tiered cage stood housing four rats. He pushed off the sofa and headed towards the creatures. “I got your treats right here,” he said, reaching into a bag he kept in a container on the shelves under the cage. He opened the door and allowed the rats to swarm his hand to take their treats. “I wonder if Ellie likes rats,” Copia said as he watched them eat and clean themselves. “Why is she different? Why do I find myself thinking about her? I barely even know her.” 

A small white rat, Alfredo, looked up at Copia and squeaked in reply as though the answer were obvious. 

“Of course, I think she’s attractive. I’m not fucking blind,” Copia said. “But I’m too old for her. She doesn’t want an old man like me.” 

Alfredo squeaked again.

“Eh, maybe you’re right, but I still don’t really know her.”

Alfredo blinked as though the solution were obvious.

“You’re not helping,” Copia sighed as the rat scurried back to the others. He watched the rats for a little while longer before wishing them a good night and closing the door to the cage. “I’ll figure her out,” he promised himself.