A chime rang through the central train station of Cologne. “Gleis elf, Ankunft S-neunzehn nach Düren, Abfahrt elf Uhr zwanzig. Bitte beachten Sie den Abstand zwischen Zug und Bahnsteigkante.”
Anne giggled. “I almost missed this.”
“Missed what?” Melody raised an eyebrow.
“German trains. Barely on time, always full and yet I missed them. It was always an adventure taking them to visit the grandparents.”
“Getting here was an adventure alright. I don’t know if I want to blame the German train or the Dutch station.”
“When in doubt, it’s Deutsche Bahn’s fault. At least today we arrived mostly on time. When do we need to be at the hotel?”
Melody looked at the large clock hanging above the platform. “Bit over Half an hour at the earliest. We booked check-in after twelve.”
“Then we have some time for food, I’m starving.”
“Yea, me too. Should have eaten something on the train.”
“Eh, we will find some good stuff here. If there is nothing on the way to the hotel, something with a nice view of the rhine, I’d be surprised.”
While food hadn’t been cheap, it was good. As was the hotel. Money wasn’t the problem for this trip anyway, Melody’s demon parents had happily sponsored the entire thing.
After checking in and leaving their luggage in their room, the girls were now on their way to their first destination, one that Kuria sadly wouldn't be able to experience in person but should be able to enter while within one of her companions’ bodies.
“So, what was the thing about holy ground?”
Kuria, possessing Melody’s body, shrugged. “I don’t fully know. I was warned that it would reveal my true form if I entered it in disguise and that it would essentially serve as an alert system for the angels, just like the fancy protective stuff around the library.”
“And the cathedral is real holy ground?”
“Unlike most of the Christian churches at home, yes. I can feel it.”
“Hm… if it reveals your ‘true form’ then wouldn’t it also kick you out of Melody?”
“I hope not.”
“That’s not very reassuring.”
“I’m sorry, I honestly don’t know. If anything happens, I will just teleport away. Hopefully before anyone notices. So, if Melody is alone with you, you know what happened.”
“Understood.”
There was a short security check just past the main entrance, nothing problematic but something that gave Kuria time to poke the magic that made holy ground holy.
Fascinating, as long as I don’t actively use your body, things will be fine. If I try to talk through you or direct you physically, I will be kicked out of your body.
Melody leaned over to Anne, the girls had found a nice spot to just stand and look at everything, away from the crowds. “Kuria is still here, just can’t be active or she gets revealed.”
“Oh, nice.”
“Entschuldigen Sie bitte.” There was a young man in clerical garb approaching with a palpable sense of urgency.
Melody smiled at him. “Guten Tag, können wir Ihnen helfen?” She just greeted him politely.
“Tut mir leid, ehm, wir haben so ein Warnding… es warnt, wenn… das ist mir so peinlich…” He was quite embarrassed about some sort of warning thing that warned him about something. Obviously, this was about two girls carrying demonic tools and an actual demon in the cathedral.
Melody tried to reassure him. “Ist schon gut, wir wissen, warum Sie hier sind.”
“Sie haben wirklich einen echten Dämonen dabei? Echte dämonische Magie und Zeug.” He inquired if the demon he was warned about was real and if the girls had real demon magic and ‘stuff’ with them.
“Erstmal, wir sind nicht hier, um irgendeinen dämonischen Plan auszuüben, wir sind hier als Touristen. Keine Angst, wir tun nichts. Aber ja, ich trage jetzt grade einen Dämonen in mir. Wir zwei hier sind aber ganz normale Menschen. Wir haben dämonische Wekrzeuge implantiert, aber die werden wir hier nicht nutzen. Wir wissen über die aktuellen Interrimabkommen Bescheid, keine Sorge.”
Melody had told him that he has nothing to fear, neither the girls nor the demon she carried within herself had any bad intentions and that they wouldn’t even use their demonic tools here. They all knew about the current peace treaty, no matter how temporary it was.
“Interrimabkommen? Auch egal. Solange Ihr hier nichts weiter tut als jeder andere Tourist, ist alles gut. Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass ich jemals echte Dämonen treffe… Wie dem auch sei, Ich hoffe Sie genießen ihren Aufenthalt.” Much to Melody’s surprise, the young cleric never thought he would meet an actual demon, but that didn’t matter much right now. As long as the girls behaved, everything would be fine and he wished them a good time.
You know, it might be fun for him to actually meet me. At the very least, it would be fun for us.
“Falls Sie die Dämonin persönlich treffen wollen, können wir uns in anderthalb Stunden draußen treffen. Hier drinnen würde sie zu viel Aufmerksamkeit erregen.” Melody offered him to meet Kuria outside later, in here she would draw too much attention.
“Solange Sie mich nicht abwerben wollen.” He chuckled, it was a joke about Kuria trying to recruit him.
“Keine Sorge, wir sind nicht hier zum Anwerben.” Melody reassured him that this wasn’t the case.
“Na gut, dann treffen wir uns um halb vier vor dem Haupttor.” He agreed to meet at the main gate at half past three.
After the young man had left, Anne giggled. “Trying to corrupt the local clergy already?”
“I don’t think he is that corruptible, but he seemed a little excited at the prospect of meeting a real demon.”
“Who wouldn’t be? Yea, we are a little biased and all that but real-life supernatural stuff and affirmation of his faith? That’s a once in a lifetime chance.”
“True. Anyway, let’s have a look around then, shall we?”
“Absolutely.”
The girls made their way around the massive cathedral. Thankfully, it was a Monday and the crowds weren’t as large as they would have been on the weekend.
“This is gorgeous.”
Anne looked up. “Yea, it really is. We should get a postcard with the interior on it. You know, as a souvenir.”
“Maybe we should get postcards of all the places we visit, put them all in a big frame.”
“Oh yes, that’s a great idea. Maybe put them all relative to each other geographically, our own little map of Germany made from postcards.”
“We shall see if that works out but it would be great.”
“You know, I am happy that our side shares quite a bit of architectural ideas with the catholic church. Well, not just the Catholics but so many religions I suppose. Big, imposing monuments. Theatrics through buildings. I love it.”
“I do too, it’s awesome. I am almost tempted to follow that style in my future home. Not like a big castle or something but a gothic spire of sorts.”
“Hm… why not share a castle? The laws only stipulate that we have to have our own separate living spaces. Each of us gets a wing of their own with a kitchen, living room and bedroom, everything we want and then a shared central area with maybe a library of our own, a big bath, a game room, all the things.”
“We would have to check if that’s okay, but I do like that plan. Maybe in a region with the occasional thunderstorm, so we can welcome visitors by ominously waltzing down the stairs in the entry hall while lightning flashes through the windows behind us.”
“You certainly have the theatrics nailed down, care to practice when we return?” Melody smirked at her girlfriend.
“Only if you dress up again.”
“I have my doubts about the fit of that dress. I did grow a bit in the past years.”
Anne let her eyes wander. “In more ways than one.”
“Anne! This is a church, pure thoughts only!”
“But aren’t we supposed to confess our sins?”
“Only if you intend on repenting.”
“Eh… I like my sins.”
“As do I and I intend to commit a lot more.”
Anne giggled. “But not here, not today.”
“Well, maybe today, but yes, not here. Shall we take a look at the bell tower?”
“Oh yes, let's go.”
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