The Offering (Gavin, Dragonetti, and then Peter)

[to-be-fated.livejournal.com]

After his terrible ordeal in the Scavenger's daughter, Gavin had been whipped and racked, and made to confess his sins again and again until it seemed like Alessandro Dragonetti was satisfied. Gavin had no way of knowing it was all a show. Every single second if it. True, he was being purified in the Lord, and Dragonetti was glad that Gavin had accepted God's grace so easily. But Gavin was not going free. He was never meant to go free. Had he been in his right mind he might have realised. His right mind, however, had been purified right out of him. So when Dragonetti stepped into his cell and threw Gavin's clothes at his feet while saying those blessed words, 'you're free to go' Gavin didn't take a moment to think twice.

Getting dressed was a struggle. Gavin didn't think about the fact that most sinners were treated to a stay in the infirmary after being set free. It didn't enter his mind. He simply fought his way into his clothing, and he gladly accepted Dragonetti's help in leaving his cell.

"Can...could I have some food?" Gavin asked, his voice light and meek.

Dragonetti was in the process of helping Gavin up the stairs, which was never particularly easy in long robes and a mask. It was made all the more unmanageable by having an extra person to schlep up them, tiny as he may be. "You are free to go, Gavin Kincade. Would you really delay your stay here by taking food with us?"

That, itself, was an inner war Gavin couldn't seem to resolve in himself. Stay or go? Go. Go. Maybe this was a test and if he stayed, he was showing he was a glutton. Not having eaten much of anything for five days, notwithstanding. Logic entered in very little to the Templar's way of thinking. Go.

"No...nevermind. I...I'm sorry."

Dragonetti's crocodile smile was concealed underneath his hood as he said, "you are forgiven, Gavin Kincade."

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[father-peter.livejournal.com]

"Oh, Gavin." Buildings whipped by them as Razvan drove. And Peter's heart broke for his friend. He understood. He understood wanting to apologise for anything and everything on the off-chance that that would make it stop. It never did.

The Templar believed their cause to be one of Good Faith, but in the end all they were doing was willing people to go against what was at it's very root, human nature. And when people followed their basest instincts, they were punished for them in secret and sent back to their lives, expected to return to some sort of stasis where they could deny their impulses and be brought closer to God. And for some it worked, simply because the threat of pain and death was enough to drive anyone's base impulses right away from them. Who could focus on making love or enjoying a meal when they were remembering what the thumbscrews felt like when they crushed a finger?

Peter wanted Gavin to know it wasn't his fault. He wanted the poor young man to feel comfort in knowing that he would be safe now. He was so wrapped up in getting to Gavin...in saving him, that he didn't once worry about himself.

"Gavin, it's not your fault. We're on our way. It's going to be alright. You have nothing to apologise for, I promise you." Peter checked inside the glove box to ensure that there was food in there, and then he pointed the turn out to Razvan who actually managed to grit his teeth and keep his sarcastic comment at bay for once. "We're almost there, Gavin. We're almost there."