Entry Nine-Pillars of the Earth
Title: Complicit Absolution part one (of two)
Author: Quetzal quetzals_nest
Fandom: Pillars of the Earth
Pairing: Phillip/Remigius
Genre: Angst, slash
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1086
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Beta Reader: hexeengel
Author's Note: Major spoilers, more for the mini-series than the book. May insult some people, so read at your own risk. I also know VERY little about Catholicism, so I’m sorry for any mistakes there.
Right, so, it’s safe to say I’m a huge fan of this series, both the book and the mini-series. In the mini-series, Remigius is used as a pawn by the bad bishop, Waleran. See, Waleran was Remigius’ confessor, and Remigius confessed he was gay. His penance was to call-out the other guy, and Waleran would spare Remigius from death. Of course, as long as Remigius did whatever Waleran said.
This is set after Phillip is replaced by Remigius as Prior.
Life was good...when you were Prior that is. Remigius had finally taken back the priory of Kingsbridge, after losing it to that Godless Welsh mutt Phillip. Waleran had been quite right when he said Phillip’s spirit would be broken. He spent his days in prayer, when he didn’t have chores, wondering where he went wrong. Why had God made the roof of the cathedral cave in on all those innocent people? But, God never answered Phillip’s prayers, so he could only blame himself.
Remigius agreed with Waleran, the cathedral had collapsed because Phillip was building it for his glory, not for God. Phillip had always been prideful. Where most monks often committed sins of lust or envy, Phillip had a weak spot for pride.
And Remigius was bent on breaking that pride.
It had started with confessions. Phillip admitted it was his fault-he did feel very guilty-and accepted a penance of a week-long fast, 50 lashes, and numerous prayers. And Phillip did well. Despite quite a few monks trying to sneak him food, he refused every single one of them until the week was up.
Remigius was pleased. Phillip was looking depressed and liked to separate himself from the rest of the priory. God was truly punishing Phillip for his pride, and the depression cut deeper than the lashing. The ruins of the cathedral were a constant reminder of Phillip’s failure. He had been the first volunteer in the triage centre they created within the priory, and for the clean-up crew; maybe in some strange hope that it would help alleviate this guilt.
It hadn’t worked.
Still, he tried. Remigius was somewhat surprised that Phillip was strong enough in his devotion to God to keep going. When he did reflect on it, Remigius did figure that Phillip loved God. The extra work must be to make up for the guilt.
Nowadays, Phillip tended to be the first up for Matins, and the last to go to bed at night. He spent hours studying his Bible, praying, meditating, and of course volunteering for jobs around the priory. Remigius kept a close eye on him. Phillip didn’t seem to notice, or if he did he found it better to ignore him. Remigius had taken damn near everything from him. All Phillip had wanted was a grand Cathedral to worship God and to be Prior of Kingsbridge. Now, Remigius was Prior and the cathedral was in ruins, and only God knew if it was going to ever be finished. They had no master builder: Tom was long dead and Jack was long gone. The money was tight and there were few pilgrims heading toward a cathedral that collapsed.
There had used to be some pilgrims, but the holy relic Kingsbridge housed had been destroyed long ago in the fire, and Phillip had the audacity to lie about it!
But that was old news now. Remigius had forgiven Phillip for lying, and so had the other monks. Now they could go back to the way it was before, before Phillip had been elected Prior and driven everything into the ground.
It was an overcast day, raining on-and-off. Phillip was hauling water to the stables when Remigius stopped him. “Good afternoon Brother Phillip.”
“Good afternoon,” he replied in a snipped, exhausted tone.
“Are you working in the stables all afternoon?”
“No Prior, I am only delivering water to the stable-hands.”
“Brother Cuthbert is looking for someone to help him clean the ovens later on. He would do it himself, but you know how his leg gets in this sort of drizzly weather.”
“I can help.”
“Good,” Remigius said slowly. “Very good. I’ll let Cuthbert know. Do you know how much longer you’ll be out here?”
It had started to rain again. “Not long at all.”
“Excellent. He’ll be waiting in the kitchen.”
Phillip sighed and nodded, working quickly to get out of the rain.
Phillip had been rather relieved when Remigius left to go see Bishop Waleran. Though Phillip was never truly relaxed anymore-and hadn’t been since the roof of the cathedral collapsed-he had let his guard down slightly still. The other monks were still his friends, and they did not seem to hate him the way Remigius did. Phillip tried to give Remigius the benefit of the doubt; maybe it wasn’t hate. Maybe it was more like envy. After all Remigius had never really been thrilled when Phillip was elected Prior. But, was envy any worse than hate? Envy was a sin, a rather large sin, particularly for a monk.
Waleran was quite surprised to see Remigius. He had not sent for him, perhaps something had been going wrong?
“Brother Remigius,” he greeted the prior.
“Bishop.”
“What brings you here?”
“I was wondering if I could talk to you Bishop.” He paused, but then added, “Alone.”
“Of course.” Waleran’s voice was dripping with the faux sincerity he was so good at. “Would you care for a meal?”
Remigius shook his head. “I’m fine.”
The two men walked to a quiet room in the Bishop’s palace. Waleran had told one of his aides that under no circumstances were the two to be disturbed.
“Now,” Waleran settled into a large chair. “How is life in Kingsbridge?”
“It’s wonderful.”
His voice lowered, “And how is Phillip?”
“He is only a shadow of his former self.”
“Good,” Waleran smiled in a sort of mean and snide way. “Very good. Now, what brings you here?”
Remigius took a deep breath. "I want absolution for future sins.”
Waleran laughed. “You can’t be serious.”
“I want to continue to punish Phillip, but I do worry that some of my techniques may push some boundaries.”
“I already granted you absolution for past sins. You forget I was the one that forgave you for being a sodomite.”
Remigius bristled.
“I can still excommunicate you," Waleran stated matter-of-factly.
“I simply want to make sure Phillip understands that he is no longer in charge.”
“Does he cause problems?”
“No...” Remigius said slowly. “But he might. He may be depressed now, but only God knows what he’ll do in the future.”
Waleran sighed, deciding what to do. On one hand, he did want to see Phillip punished; on the other it was a more complicated issue than that. But, he eventually nodded. “I want you to fast for three days, and go for prayer during meal times. Then you may do what you will to Phillip.”
Remigius allowed himself a smile. “Thank you Bishop. Thank you very much.”
Author: Quetzal quetzals_nest
Fandom: Pillars of the Earth
Pairing: Phillip/Remigius
Genre: Angst, slash
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1086
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Beta Reader: hexeengel
Author's Note: Major spoilers, more for the mini-series than the book. May insult some people, so read at your own risk. I also know VERY little about Catholicism, so I’m sorry for any mistakes there.
Right, so, it’s safe to say I’m a huge fan of this series, both the book and the mini-series. In the mini-series, Remigius is used as a pawn by the bad bishop, Waleran. See, Waleran was Remigius’ confessor, and Remigius confessed he was gay. His penance was to call-out the other guy, and Waleran would spare Remigius from death. Of course, as long as Remigius did whatever Waleran said.
This is set after Phillip is replaced by Remigius as Prior.
Life was good...when you were Prior that is. Remigius had finally taken back the priory of Kingsbridge, after losing it to that Godless Welsh mutt Phillip. Waleran had been quite right when he said Phillip’s spirit would be broken. He spent his days in prayer, when he didn’t have chores, wondering where he went wrong. Why had God made the roof of the cathedral cave in on all those innocent people? But, God never answered Phillip’s prayers, so he could only blame himself.
Remigius agreed with Waleran, the cathedral had collapsed because Phillip was building it for his glory, not for God. Phillip had always been prideful. Where most monks often committed sins of lust or envy, Phillip had a weak spot for pride.
And Remigius was bent on breaking that pride.
It had started with confessions. Phillip admitted it was his fault-he did feel very guilty-and accepted a penance of a week-long fast, 50 lashes, and numerous prayers. And Phillip did well. Despite quite a few monks trying to sneak him food, he refused every single one of them until the week was up.
Remigius was pleased. Phillip was looking depressed and liked to separate himself from the rest of the priory. God was truly punishing Phillip for his pride, and the depression cut deeper than the lashing. The ruins of the cathedral were a constant reminder of Phillip’s failure. He had been the first volunteer in the triage centre they created within the priory, and for the clean-up crew; maybe in some strange hope that it would help alleviate this guilt.
It hadn’t worked.
Still, he tried. Remigius was somewhat surprised that Phillip was strong enough in his devotion to God to keep going. When he did reflect on it, Remigius did figure that Phillip loved God. The extra work must be to make up for the guilt.
Nowadays, Phillip tended to be the first up for Matins, and the last to go to bed at night. He spent hours studying his Bible, praying, meditating, and of course volunteering for jobs around the priory. Remigius kept a close eye on him. Phillip didn’t seem to notice, or if he did he found it better to ignore him. Remigius had taken damn near everything from him. All Phillip had wanted was a grand Cathedral to worship God and to be Prior of Kingsbridge. Now, Remigius was Prior and the cathedral was in ruins, and only God knew if it was going to ever be finished. They had no master builder: Tom was long dead and Jack was long gone. The money was tight and there were few pilgrims heading toward a cathedral that collapsed.
There had used to be some pilgrims, but the holy relic Kingsbridge housed had been destroyed long ago in the fire, and Phillip had the audacity to lie about it!
But that was old news now. Remigius had forgiven Phillip for lying, and so had the other monks. Now they could go back to the way it was before, before Phillip had been elected Prior and driven everything into the ground.
It was an overcast day, raining on-and-off. Phillip was hauling water to the stables when Remigius stopped him. “Good afternoon Brother Phillip.”
“Good afternoon,” he replied in a snipped, exhausted tone.
“Are you working in the stables all afternoon?”
“No Prior, I am only delivering water to the stable-hands.”
“Brother Cuthbert is looking for someone to help him clean the ovens later on. He would do it himself, but you know how his leg gets in this sort of drizzly weather.”
“I can help.”
“Good,” Remigius said slowly. “Very good. I’ll let Cuthbert know. Do you know how much longer you’ll be out here?”
It had started to rain again. “Not long at all.”
“Excellent. He’ll be waiting in the kitchen.”
Phillip sighed and nodded, working quickly to get out of the rain.
Phillip had been rather relieved when Remigius left to go see Bishop Waleran. Though Phillip was never truly relaxed anymore-and hadn’t been since the roof of the cathedral collapsed-he had let his guard down slightly still. The other monks were still his friends, and they did not seem to hate him the way Remigius did. Phillip tried to give Remigius the benefit of the doubt; maybe it wasn’t hate. Maybe it was more like envy. After all Remigius had never really been thrilled when Phillip was elected Prior. But, was envy any worse than hate? Envy was a sin, a rather large sin, particularly for a monk.
Waleran was quite surprised to see Remigius. He had not sent for him, perhaps something had been going wrong?
“Brother Remigius,” he greeted the prior.
“Bishop.”
“What brings you here?”
“I was wondering if I could talk to you Bishop.” He paused, but then added, “Alone.”
“Of course.” Waleran’s voice was dripping with the faux sincerity he was so good at. “Would you care for a meal?”
Remigius shook his head. “I’m fine.”
The two men walked to a quiet room in the Bishop’s palace. Waleran had told one of his aides that under no circumstances were the two to be disturbed.
“Now,” Waleran settled into a large chair. “How is life in Kingsbridge?”
“It’s wonderful.”
His voice lowered, “And how is Phillip?”
“He is only a shadow of his former self.”
“Good,” Waleran smiled in a sort of mean and snide way. “Very good. Now, what brings you here?”
Remigius took a deep breath. "I want absolution for future sins.”
Waleran laughed. “You can’t be serious.”
“I want to continue to punish Phillip, but I do worry that some of my techniques may push some boundaries.”
“I already granted you absolution for past sins. You forget I was the one that forgave you for being a sodomite.”
Remigius bristled.
“I can still excommunicate you," Waleran stated matter-of-factly.
“I simply want to make sure Phillip understands that he is no longer in charge.”
“Does he cause problems?”
“No...” Remigius said slowly. “But he might. He may be depressed now, but only God knows what he’ll do in the future.”
Waleran sighed, deciding what to do. On one hand, he did want to see Phillip punished; on the other it was a more complicated issue than that. But, he eventually nodded. “I want you to fast for three days, and go for prayer during meal times. Then you may do what you will to Phillip.”
Remigius allowed himself a smile. “Thank you Bishop. Thank you very much.”