The Stolen Priest and the Convent’s Dark Bargain

Brittish Male

Welcome to the Silver Moon Sisters podcast. Today we're back in New Orleans with Jean Claude and Emesie in the upper Vampire chambers of the Ursaline convent. Jean Claude is sitting next to Emesie brushing her hair.

Brittish Male

You look just as beautiful as the first day I laid eyes on you.

Emesy

Why thank you my love.....Will you lay with me in bed

Brittish Male

Jean Claude nestled up to Emesy. They share a passionate kiss.

Emesy

Darling.....will you prepare a drink for me and read another memoir?

Brittish Male

yes, of course.

Brittish Male

Jean Claude mixes some herbs with a drop of his blood and takes Emesy a drink.

Brittish Male

Jean Claude lights a few candles and cuddles up next to Emesy with one of his memoirs. It was a night of a blazing fire, he begins. Castle stones exploded in the heat of the fire as a mob teared through the castle torching through the ash and blaze. Wren, a tall thin meak looking man crouches behind a tree trembling. His eyes reflect the inferno of the only home he has ever known. But he cannot stay. He did not invite this, but he did not protect it either. "I'm sorry", he sobs, "Master forgive me". With the fire engulfing the castle, he turns and runs.

Brittish Male

Wren runs and runs, until the language changes around him and the ringing of church bells sound different, until a smoky hostel glows on a winter road. Inside, a real priest—Father Grandiouse—is eating a simple bowl of porridge, explaining to the waitress that he is heading to the Ursuline convent in France to serve as their new priest. He asks what time the kitchen opens in the morning, wanting one last hot meal before he departs. Sitting in the shadows behind him, listening to every word, Wren develops a dark plan. Wren waits in the shadows until the tavern falls asleep... In the dead of night, closet hinges creak. A pillow is pressed down too tight. We do not look closely at the struggle, but at dawn, it is Wren who walks downstairs. He is wearing the stolen robes, though his muddy shoes poke out from the hem. The waitress watches him leave, a quiet knot of doubt forming in her stomach. She notices this man of God seems taller now... walking with a hunched back. She calls out, but he does not answer. He boards the carriage and quickly escapes into the morning mist.

Brittish Male

When he arrives in France, the Ursuline Convent emerges from the chilling morning fog like a sanctuary. The stone walls are ancient, and the front garden is a breathtaking expanse of roses. It feels safe. The carriage door creaks open, and Wren steps down, clutching a borrowed rosary. His eyes dart nervously over the grounds. Deacon Charles, pruning shears in hand, greets him warmly. "Welcome, Father Grandiouse. We are so pleased you made the journey safely." The deacon mentions how the prior priest loved horticulture, hoping Wren shares the same passion. Wren blinks, caught off guard, and offers a generic response. "Gardens... feed my soul," he says. It is the sort of line you throw out when you have never held a spade in your life. Thankfully, the deacon only hears the devotion of a fellow plant lover, completely missing the awkwardness.

Brittish Male

But a lie is a difficult thing to maintain. The next morning, Sister Clara walks Wren through the convent life. Chapel first, ministry and community, then the garden. "Father Roux tended these roses daily," she notes, watching Wren closely. Wren smiles just a bit too wide. "Yes I will follow suit, I especially love the roses," he replies. But as he speaks, Sister Clara's gaze drifts downward. She spots his ripped shoes peeking out from beneath the grand priestly robe. A tiny wrinkle of suspicion crosses her brow.

Brittish Male

Wren asks if he can interview the nuns about their duties. The deacon agrees and Wren begins interviewing one nun after another. He sits with Sister Kari, who explains their work with the sick and elderly. "We bring food and medicine," she says, "You preach to those who cannot make it to Mass". Wren pen in hand asks, "And what words precicely?" She stares.. "The Word, Father. Surely you know the scriptures by heart?" Wren quickly scribbles in his notepad, pretending to take diligent notes while actually cramming every verse she mentions. "Of course I did, just wanted to see if there were any differences here, thank you that is all." He said in a dismissive way.

Brittish Male

Next, he speaks with Sister Jenasis about the poverty ministry. She describes their supplies--blankets, bandages, bread. "And you preach," she finishes, Wren asks if the sisters preach too. she gives him a slow suspicious look. "We all do. Didn't the nuns preach with you at your last convent?" Wren replies, "Uh, yes yes they did". There is something deeply unsettling about this new priest, yet his handsome face stirs a quiet sympathy in her. Still, behind his back, the other nuns are beginning to whisper.

Brittish Male

The nuns take him to the hospital ward to care for patients. Long rooms, iron beds, breaths rattling. An old man, weak and pale, looks up from his pillow. "Father, will you give us the sermon? We cannot reach the chapel anymore." Wren has no choice. He opens the Bible, and just reads. Flat, word-for-word, completely devoid of inspiration or comfort. An elderly woman in a nearby bed watches him. "We know that passage, Father," she says gently. "Please tell us what it means." Silence fills the room. Wren stares at the page as if waiting for the ink to transform into a script. Nothing comes. Another nun clears her throat, trying to break the tension. "Perhaps next week, Father. When you are more... settled." As Wren walks back to his quarters, the weight of their growing confusion follows him.

Brittish Male

While Wren struggles to play the priest, a darker shadow is falling over the convent. The nuns are acting strange and the bishop becomes overly protective of the new program he initiated called "Les Filles." The program is meant to take in girls who have lost their parents to the plague and groom them for travel to the new world, New Orleans.. It bears all the markings of a sanctuary, yet there is darkness looming in the shadows.

Brittish Male

One evening while Wren and the girls are serving aat the soup kitchen, a gaunt, desperate father in tattered clothes approaches Wren. "I cannot feed them, and I am getting sicker every day," the man whispers, gesturing to his daughters standing in the cold. "We lost their mum to the plague and I'm barely holding on...I am worried the streets will tarnish them." He steps aside revealing Elodia: stunning dark long hair bright eyes, bare feet on the cold ground. Behind her stands her sister Madeline, a mirror image of Elodia, cousin Olivia with light blonde hair and blue eyes, and best friend Josette with red hair and sparkling green eyes, All stunning: Madeline wide eyed, Olivia curious, peeking at the world: Josette, sharp-tongued.. standing close. Wren, desperate to feel useful and protect these girls, remembers the program. "There is a program," he tells the father. "Les Fillieys. They would be safe there. Together." He promises this, completely unaware of what the program actually entails, and without asking anyone..

Brittish Male

When Wren mentions this to Bishop, the reaction is harsh and chilling. The bishop's face hardened. "Les Fillieys is my program," he snaps. "You are not to interfere. We only admit certain girls into the program." Wren apologizing, realized he crossed a line, but a knock at the door interrupts them. The gaunt father has arrived with his girls. and for a moment the bishop actually stuttered at the sight of their beauty. The man coughing and unsteady asked, "Will you take my girls?" The bishop's cold demeanor vanished, replaced by a unsettling eagerness. "Yes, of course," the bishop says smoothly. "We shall prepare a room for them over the east chapel."

Brittish Male

As the girls are led away, Elodia and Madeline share tears about leaving their father. Before leaving, he hands them a locket with their mothers picture on one side and his on the other. He said "now no tears, you go on and make me proud, I love you all". The girls whisper about their new life. There is a lingering fear, but also excitement about a fresh start. Inside the convent walls, the girls learn scripture, scrub floors and volunteer with the sick and elderly. A sisterhood forms among the stone walls, but beneath the laughter they hear of disturbing disappearance's. The older girls whisper about the "New World" they are being prepared for. "Once you go, you never come back. No letters. Nothing", they said. A cold dread settles over the girls and they make a pact to never be alone in the convent.

Brittish Male

As the weeks bleed together, Wren and Madeline find solace in the quiet of the library and a gentle friendship begins to form. The other girls tease Madeline, suggesting she has a crush on the handsome new priest, Madeline blushes and quickly denies it. "He is kind," she insists. "He loves reading and he helps me find books. That is all." The girls giggle.

Brittish Male

One night while volunteering at the soup kitchen, Wren witnesses a rough-faced man slip an envelope of money to Bishop Dominari. He's confused about the exchange, but makes mental note. The girls are finished cleaning up and are walking back to the convent. Madeline spots a wolf sitting on the side of the road watching them. "Elodia, did you see that? "See what"? Elodia replied "There was a wolf and it had glowing eyes... it was just there". "I don't think there's any wolves in town Madeline", Elodia said.

Brittish Male

Back at the convent, the atmosphere is growing more paranoid and the nuns are acting even stranger. Sister Clara confides in Sister Jenasis about a strange presence she feels. "There is something in the halls," she whispers over cooling tea. "A figure. Like a priest, but wrong. It appears like some sort of a cloth man. When he's near, I feel... strange, like my body wants to do things." Sister Jenasis's cheeks burn. "I feel it too, my body reacts like I am a shameless woman, and it is not me moving it. I am fearful a demon walks with us."

Brittish Male

The next night, Sister Clara makes her way to the girls room and informs Elodia that she is being separated from her sisters, sent to the country to work as a nanny. The news tears through the girls. Olivia shakes with anger, Josette weeps, and Madeline runs to find Wren. She begs him to fix it. "You promised we would stay together," she cries. But Wren can only whisper, "I cannot go against the Bishop's decision." When he tries to raise the issue with Bishop Dominari, the bishop shut him down completely.

Brittish Male

Alone in the library, Wren's hands begin to tremble. The pressure, the lies, the guilt of what he has allowed to happen--it is too much. He looks down and sees a spider crawling across his wrist. He stares at it, his mind fracturing. "Master? Is that you?" he whispers. He lifts the spider to his lips and swallows it whole. In the shadow of the next aisle, Sister Clara stands frozen, watching the man they called Father Grandiouse surrender to the dark.

Brittish Male

The night before Elodia's carriage is meant to arrive, the convent can't quite sleep. Madeline tosses and turns muttering prayers into her pillow. Olivia jokes too loud about handsome farm boys, Josette just stares at the ceiling jaw clenched. When the girls finally fell asleep, Elodia slipped out. Shawl wrapped tightly she heads to the chapel to pray. The fog in the garden pulls her like a rip current. As she passes the iron gate, she see's a tall man in the mist. Cloak dark, voice low. "Elizabeth" he whispers, like a name he's worn thin over the centuries. Elodia startles, "My mother was Elizabeth, I'm Elodia. "He doesn't correct himself. "Come to me Elizabeth" Elodia's hand reached for the latch moving under his control. The metal on the gate bites her finger, a bead of blood blooms. He takes her hand through the bars, breath catching when he tastes her blood, but the crucifix on her neck brushes his skin - there's a hiss and he recoils. the spell snaps; she yanks free and runs all the way to the chapel to pray. Knelt down on the pew Elodia whispers, "Lord if this path is wrong... show me" After she prays she sneaks into the bishops office. the office is empty; she looks around and finds a journal showing entries of dollar amounts the bishop sold girls for. She finds all of their names on the list; with will fetch top bidders. She hears a noise and quickly hides behind a curtain. The bishop enters with the procurer, the buyer of the girls and the they're talking about the next girl... Madeline. Elodia gasps and the men hear her. They grab her, hold her down and douse her with chloroform which instantly puts her to sleep. Meanwhile, Wren bolts upright in bed. "He's here", he gasps. "Masters here".

Brittish Male

By dawn, Elodia's bed is empty, panic erupts amongst the girls. The three of them tear through the corridors: chapel, laundry, and garden searching for Elodia. Nuns give tight answers, they don't know and will have to check with the bishop. The girls find Wren in the library, book opened but unread. He seems disheveled. Have you seen Elodia?, Madeline begs. He hasn't. He looks sick with it. As they turn to go, Madlines foot crunches on metal. It's the locket, with their mother and fathers pictures inside. Elodia would never leave it. The room tilts and Madeline crashes to the floor. clutching it. While she falls we slip sideways --- to where Elodia really is. A carriage ride at night to a house that smells of cheap perfume and stronger drink. Her thoughts are mottled, slowed by opium "for the journey". She is tied to a bed barely wearing a ripped lace chemise. Mens voices circle her like flies discussing livestock., not a girl. She's been drugged and assaulted, but we don't stay with them, we stay in Elodia's drifting prayers, begging for this atrocity to end.

Brittish Male

Suddenly a blow of glass shatters below. The men's laughter stops, one grabs a knife and they run downstairs. At the bedroom window, a shadow hovers in the night. "Elodia", Jok says. "invite me in, precious one". Elodia turns her head, eyes swollen, faith worn raw. His gaze fixes on her, not cruel, just unbearably intent. Elodia fading in and out. "Hurry, they'll be coming back, invite me in". Elodia opens her eyes, "Please come in" she whispers. Wood splinters as the window frame gives. What happens next we hear in fragments: snarls that don't sound human, brief struggles, a choked plea, furniture breaking, then wet quiet. The procurers are no more. When the noise fades only his voice remains, "stay with me", but the opium has already dragged her past where even he can reach. He gathers her body into his cloak and lifts off into the night.

Brittish Male

Back at the convent, sister Gene is walking to the chapel when she she's a man cradling a girl at the gate. His eyes meet with hers and any question melts. "Open the gate and invite me in", he says. She does. he lays Elodia among the roses. Madeline finds her there and the scream that rips out of her sounds like she's been waiting since the plague took their mother. She runs, cutting her leg on hidden stone, and stumbles to her knees. He reaches to steady her and her blood spatters his hand. In that heartbeat of contact, something passes between them, allowing Madeline to see into his thoughts...through his eyes. Ledger pages flicker - girls names beside amounts, mens faces at back doors. The bishop taking envelopes of cash. Elodia at the upstairs window fading from opium. Madeline knows who's responsible for her sisters death. "Take care of him", she whispers. "That demon who calls himself the Bishop" Bones crack, cloth tears, he's a wolf now, eyes burning gold, fangs bared. Coins clink in Dominari's office as he counts. The wolf is there in a flash. The nuns cannot stop him, the door crashes. We don't need all the bloody details -- just the overturned office, the cut off prayer, then a hush settles over the room, so deep it feels like the world itself is holding it's breath. In the corridor, nuns gather, hysteria mixes with something stranger. The dark stranger steps out again in a priest shaped silhouette, and the "cloth man" legend bursts wide open. Some sister giggle, some claw at their habits, some sway like puppets whose strings are all tangles and they seem to be levitating. Townsfolk arrive at the gate and stare in horror. Among them us the tavern waitress, who's been searching for her own missing sister. She points at Wren.. "That man was in my tavern. The real Father Grandiouse died there and he stole his place". The crown looks from possessed nuns to dead bishop, to this strange priest who can't quite preach without a book. The dark stranger points to Wren, "This is no priest" he says "This is Wren, who brought wolves among your lambs. Technically the bishop was the trafficker -- but people don't always burn the right monster. They burn the convenient one.

Brittish Male

Hands grab at Wren, they drag him into the garden he lied about loving. They tie him to the trellis he helped build. Roses brush his cheeks like witnesses. He babbles apologies --to god., to the Master, to anyone listening- as the townsfolk pile kindling at his feet. The crowd is wrestless and shouting, "burn the demon!" A torch touches the wood and flames quickly ignite. Wren's voice breaks from rehearsed verses into raw, terrified screams, and the garden - meant for nurture - becomes his prye.

Brittish Male

We fade from cracking fire at Wren's fate into a single burning candle beside Emesie's bed in New Orleans. The storm outside the present day convent picks up again. Jon Claude closes the journal, eyes dark. Emesie is awake, watching him.

Emesy

... Darling.. Jok saved your life... he tried to save Elodia... and he avenged Madeline... Do you ever.. regret saying yess?

Brittish Male

Jon Claude contemplates.... He takes a long breath... every century, ....and almost never,-- both are true.... He says

Emesy

"If he didn't save you, we wouldn't be here together. "even through all of our struggles... I am so grateful....... you know.. you are the love of my life"

Brittish Male

Emesie reaches for his hand. The candle flickers, throwing his face between love, fear and something darker.

Brittish Male

Tonight we saw how many tiny lies - such as "I love gardening", "I know the word", "you'll stay together", grew into a whole rotten system. When it finally cracked, the community grabbed the nearest scapegoat and set him on fire in the very garden he'd used as a cover. And in the middle of that ... girls who just wanted to stay with their family, nuns trying to name a demon, a vampire who can't quite decide if he's a judge or a savior. Convents, places of worship and blossoming gardens - places that should be safe are never as simple as they seem. Next time we'll stay in New Orleans with Jon Claude and well me, I suppose and hear more of Jon Claude's memoirs. For now we'll let the storm have the last word. Thanks for spending time with us - cheers for walking through the dark bits. Catch you at the next episode, keep your windows latched and your gardens honest. Good night, rest well and we'll meet you back at the convent soon.