Behind the Bleeding Veil

It was a sound Regina had never heard before - piercing, screeching, like the sound of a million demons crying out together, ripping her out of her slumber. Her body jerked, her heart pounded; she started screaming before she even opened her eyes. Her eyes opened and she saw she was not in her room. This was a different room, a new room, a different house. Where was she? What was making that noise? She started calling out to God to help her.

"REGINA! CALM DOWN!" a foreign voice yelled at her. It wasn't her mother but it sounded familiar none the less. Her brain reached for why it sounded familiar and foreign at the same time. Then she realized who it was.

"FAUSTINE?" she called out in confusion and terror. She knew where she was now; in her dorm, with her new roommate Faustine Geisel. So while her location and the owner of the voice were now understood; it still left the mystery of the hateful noise which had so violently pulled her out of her sleep.

Regina looked over to Faustine's bed and saw her touch the top of the clock that was beside her. The wretched sound immediately stopped. Regina was even more confused. Obviously the clock had been the cause of the sound but she had no idea as to why. Was it broken? It had to be. Yet the clock looked to be working just fine. Did that mean it was supposed to make that noise? If so, why?

"What's wrong with you?" asked Fluttershy in a mixture of anger, confusion and concern. Out of all the different roommates she had had; none of them had ever reacted to her alarm clock like that. Was this going to be a daily thing? Her amulet told her she needed this girl but if this was the way she was going to react every time the alarm went off; her sanity would never take it.

"Is your clock supposed to make that sound?" Regina asked timidly, knowing that she had somehow upset Faustine.

"Well, yeah. That's the alarm. That's how that works. That's what gets you up at the time you want to get up," Fluttershy said in an overly condescending manner. She couldn't believe this girl was that dumb. Then, with a slowly dawning epiphany, she realized that maybe she really didn't know what an alarm clock was.

"Wait, you don't know what an alarm clock, do you?"

Regina shook her head shamefully. She had never heard of such a device but from Faustine's reaction, they must be common in this world.

"No. We never had one. My mother always woke me up when it was time. I never thought about how she woke up. I just always assumed she woke up naturally. I was never allowed in her room so I would have never seen it if she did." The softness and timidity of Regina's voice seemed to be saying I'm sorry under every word she said.

Fluttershy gave a small, warm, forgiving smile. "Ok. Well, so this is an alarm clock. It has a buzzer that goes off when it reaches a preset time. It's what wakes us lowly sinners," Fluttershy said with an overly goofy smile and voice to let Regina know she was just kidding, "up in the morning. I have mine set for five thirty. I like to jog in the morning before the rest of the campus wakes up. Since I missed last night's workout, I might stop by the gym as well. You know, work off some of that pizza. You can come along if you want. I have some sweats you can borrow. Although, I can't help you out in the sneaker department."

Regina smiled. She was relived that not only was Faustine not angry with her, but wanted her to come along with her on her morning routine. She like Faustine a lot already. There was an innate goodness about her, a warmth that made you feel at home and at ease just in her presence If she could lead only one person to the Lord; Regina was bound and determined it would Faustine.

"All right. I would like that very much. I've never worn someone else's clothes before, so this will be a new experience. Yes. I look forward to this. I'll make do with my shoes until I can buy some proper athletic foot ware."

"Alright indeed," Fluttershy returned with happy enthusiasm. She got out of bed quickly, opened up the bottom drawer and pulled out a sweater and pair of sweat pants. She tossed both onto Regina's bed. "Here. These should hopefully fit. You can get dressed in the bathroom, I'll get dresses out here. It'll save time that way. We'll just do a short, easy one today; save your feet," Fluttershy finished with a laugh.

Regina nodded happily, grabbed the clothes Faustine had given her, got her own underwear, and headed to the bathroom.

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"It feels weird," Regina said in a confused, somewhat annoyed voice as she came out of the bathroom.

Fluttershy looked up at her to see what she was referring to. She had gone back to reading her book while waiting for Regina to get changed. The way in which Regina walked was hard to comprehend, let alone explain if asked. It was a cross between a waddle and a sort of throwing one leg in front of the other. Put some tinkly cartoon music behind it and it would have been the funniest thing ever. But put some dark, atmospheric music behind it and it would have been one of the scariest sights imaginable. Flutter shy just looked at her perplexed and bewildered.

"Uh, haven't you ever worn pants before?" she asked somewhat sincerely, somewhat sarcastically.

"No," Regina responded somewhat flatly. "Men and women are to wear the same clothes. It is forbidden in scripture. Pants are for boys, dresses are for girls."

Fluttershy was taken aback by Regina's answer. How could this person actually exist? Everything this girl had said about herself bordered on the factious. If she were reading a novel and came across a character like this, she would have thrown the book in the trash.

"Oh, well, are you sure you're ok wearing them?" Flutershy asked; searching for and stumbling over her words.

Regina's face grew slightly contemplative. "I did think about it. On one hand, I am crossdressing. I'm wearing pants and pants are for men. However; these were designed to fit a woman's body which means they aren't for men. So I figured it would be ok, but that is where grace comes in at. Also the pants and sweater are lose on me. Maybe not as lose around the waist as I'd like; they do cut in a bit, but they do hide my shape fairly well and allow me to retain a modest appearance so I think that also helps."

Fluttershy couldn't believe what she was hearing at first. The idea that Regina would put that much thought and effort on whether or not wear a sweat suit was unbelievable. Then she thought about how much effort every woman puts into her appearance and finally about some of the in depth debates she used to have with herself back when she lived with her biological mother and wondered if the three were really so different.

"Well I'm sorry they're so tight around the waist for you." It was the only thing Fluttershy could think to say.

"Oh, it's ok," Regina replied with a big smile. "I'm not a round tummy girl, but I'm also not as, um, flat as you are."

"Well, thank you. Anyway, You can have the track suit; I'm just sorry I don't have the shoes to go with it." Fluttershy said with true sincerity.

"It's all right. I'll do my best and stop when I must," Regina replied with the same big smile and good cheer.

"Alright then, let's go."

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The early morning was damp and chilly. A light fog hung around the campus. It's faint mists making it feel as though they were in a very fine shower. Regina shivered, her teeth chattering slightly as Fluttershy went over the game plan for this morning. They would do three short laps around the interior of the campus, sprint to the gym, do a quick workout (if Regina didn't mind), come back, get their clothes and toiletries, and hit the showers. Out of all that; the only thing that gave Regina pause was the showers. The idea of getting naked around anyone filled her full of dread. She knew she didn't have a choice but she still didn't like it.

The jog didn't feel bad at first. Regina's feet didn't protest too much from having to run in footwear that was wholly inappropriate for the task they were being required to do. The wind being generated by the run at first made her feel colder but the heat generated by the increased muscle movement soon warmed her up to the point of a mild sweat. Even the once unnatural feeling of having her legs individually encased in some sort of soft cocoon dissipated as she got caught up in the act of the moment.

As the jog went on, however; her body began to protest. Her feet started to protest loudly. Leg muscles that had not been trained for such rigorous activity began to burn. Her breath became short, her side and shoulders began to hurt. B y the end of the first lap Regina was already praying for God to give her the strength to continue because she didn't want to quit on Faustine. In fact the idea of having to quit on her was more horrible than the idea of having to complete another two laps.

It had only been a day (not even really) since she initially met Faustine but already she had a deep seeded fondness for her. Aside from being physically perfect, Faustine had a good soul and humane heart. Even though she was lost in the Devil's darkness; there was a light within Faustine the shown as bright as the sun. She was so glad that God had lead her to her. She would do whatever it took (outside of abandoning her faith) to make Faustine proud. Try at least. If her body kept screaming at her like it was; it would be hard to imagine how she could continue. In an act of Divine mercy, Faustine saw Ryan and said she was going to stop a while and talk to him. Regina praised God and Followed her over to where Ryan was walking.

Ryan was going wrapping up a night walk. He took these from time to time to clear his head and try to sort things out. Walking alone in the quiet of night helped him think and work through his problems. He first started the habit back when he was 16. He would sneak out his bedroom and walk the disserted streets until just a sliver of light lined the horizon. He would then walk back home and sneak back in to his bedroom. He kept these outings restricted to summer vacations and holidays as to not interfere with his schooling.

This night's (or should he say last night's) walk was inspired by the person whom he now saw jogging up next to him - Fluttershy (or as she went by now, Faustine). Faustine was a year above him and absolutely gorgeous. She was the type of girl every straight man on campus lusted after. Besides that, she had an amazing personality to match. In so much as a perfect girl could exist, she was it. On top of all that; she was clearly into him. This should be a no brainer, but there was something off about her. All he could really put his finger on was that she was too close to perfect for comfort. He thought about ignoring her but decided that would be rude (and since a good portion of him really liked her and wanted to be with her; counterproductive).

"Hey Ryan, what's up?" Fluttershy called out cheerfully as she came up to him with Regina in tow.

"Not much, ya know. Juz' out here walkin' a bit. You know the deal. Clearing the head that's all. So how you doin'?" He tried to sound as relaxed as he could around her.

"Just jogging like usual. Oh, Ryan; this is Regina, my new roommate." Fluttershy motioned to Regina who was on her left.

Ryan held out his hand, Regina first went to curtsy, realized she didn't have a dress on, so limply took his hand instead. Ryan thought this was odd but amusing.

"I still can't believe you still live in them dorms though," Ryan said in good humor but genuine curiosity.

Fluttershy shrugged. "It's like I said; I don't see the point in moving into a dilapidated house some scum lord haphazardly sectioned off into 'apartments' that are twice as much and often no more room than what I have now. Plus I only have one roommate to deal with in the dorms not three or five like in the apartments around here. OR have to worry about transportation from the ones in the city. It's good for what I need now." Fluttershy's voice and tone were light and airy but there was a subtle hint of back the fuck off underneath it.

"Right on, right on, I hear ya. Yeah, me and my roommates don't always see eye to eye as it were ya know. Still, I like off campus life better than on campus. Less privacy, but more freedom." Ryan then turned to Regina. "What about you? First year, first year here?"

"Um, first year. Freshman as we're called." Regina felt awkward around Ryan. She wasn't used to talking to men or males of any sort. The only man she'd ever met before applying to college was her father. Knowing how lustful men could be and how easily they fell prey to that lust; being around them felt like (what she assumed) being around a hungry lion at feeding time. He seems nice enough to be sure but he was still an man first and foremost. Still, as a preacher of the Gospel, she would have to get over that fear lest she forsakes the entire male population out of fear.

Ryan smiled. Regina wasn't attractive. Not superficially attractive, that is; but she had both a cuteness of face and spirit that Ryan liked. "Nothing wrong with that. I'm only one year out from that myself."

The three continued to talk for about half an hour before Ryan said he had to go. He gave Fluttershy a hug and mentioned how he still thought her necklace was one of the best he'd ever seen. Regina agreed with him and shook his hand; this time with a much firmer, more purposeful grip. Even though they hadn't talked much, she had gotten a little bit warmer to him. After he left, Fluttershy said they should just jog to the gym for a quick workout and then back home instead of doing another two laps. Regina agreed enthusiastically.

After they were jogging again; Fluttershy gave a quick look down to her amulet. Soon. It's all about to come together now .