Catch the Devil

An empty room, with beige walls, a single wooden cross hanging on the wall above her new bed. Daphne had only arrived at her grandparents home barely an hour ago. The trip from the airport had been a shocking one, especially when her cab had turned down a little dirt road where only fields could be seen on her left and right. She remembered making a joke about having landed in a wrong turn film, but now, being alone in her new room, Daphne felt scared.

Her grandma had already rifled through her belongings, had taken all of her medications and locked them away, assuring her that she didn't need them anymore. "These are only making you sicker, sweetie, I promise. You'll feel so much better once those drugs are out of your system!"

She had been left alone, instructed to clean up and get dressed. Church was in less than an hour and they just couldn't be late. Her grandma had seemed so on edge, as if it would be the end of the world if they were even a minute late. Daphne wasn't surprised to find the church her grandparents attended was a lonesome building off the side of the road leading out of the town. If you could even call it a town. On the drive there, all they had passed was a little convenience store and an abandoned gas station, rusty old phone booths were deteriorating outside in the parking lot. Daphne found herself missing the city with each passing second, her heart sinking into her chest as she thought about her mother and a couple of friends she left behind.

"This is what you really need," her grandfather laughed as they parked their car. He pointed up at the large statue of a cross in the yard outside the front doors. "Jesus can fix anything, all you have to do is ask him!"

Daphne felt her stomach twist up in knots as she forced herself to get out of the car. There were a few other cars in the parking lot and looking up at the church, the front doors were wide opened and she could see a man greeting everyone as they entered. Following her grandparents up the stairs, her grandma took the man's hands in her own and started offering condolences. Daphne glanced up at the priest, forcing herself to swallow around a lump in her throat.

He was tall, handsome and had a muscular build. Her eyes roamed over his arms and she half expected for his shirt to rip when he shook her grandfathers hand. His dark brown hair was slightly waved, the top a bit longer than the sides and gently tousled. His jaw was strong and with the sun shining on his eyes, she could tell they were blue, though his right eye held a tinge of brown.

"I'm so sorry to hear about your father, Henry." Her grandma frowned, "he was a good man..." She seemed to be recollecting memories and for a moment, Daphne wondered if she could slip past them and forgo the dreaded introductions. Her mouth was dry and she felt sick to her stomach, wishing nothing more than to be able to disappear. She had never been comfortable in a religious setting, and when the man's eyes fell to her, she thought she might turn to stone.

"Oh! And this is our granddaughter, Daphne. She's come to live with us for a while," her grandmother smiled brightly, laying a hand on Daphne's shoulder that caused her to jump.

{i'm struggling with this post so I'm sorry I'm sure it'll get better after the first two or three posts !! also that gif of henry omggg }

Henry hadn't thought that he would lose his father when he was as young as he was - his father had only been in his fifties. He was only in his late twenties. The only thing that he had been dedicating himself to at the moment was the church that he had grown up in, the very church that his father had led for as long as Henry could remember. It was a place of warmth and belonging, Henry knew that he didn't need to worry about anything within the walls of the church. The members of his congregation adored him as much as they had loved his father. Many of them had watched Henry grow up, they would likely never think he could do any wrong. It at least warmed his heart because he knew that he would always have a family, even if his father wasn't on this plane any longer.

The only part that made him afraid was how his thoughts had started to grow darker. He had never thought that he would want to hurt a woman - he was supposed to be a loving man, after all. But he had begun to crave it only a few short days after his father's passing. Henry didn't know why but there were searches on his internet that he was ashamed of. Terms like forced, crying, blackmail, all were listed coming from various websites. It was something that he was incredibly ashamed of, that he would never voice to anyone before and certainly not that he would act on. They were nothing more than fantasy, right? Henry went to bed every night and prayed that was true because he was a man of God.

Standing in the entrance of the church, with the doors wide open, and a smile planted on his features, Henry made sure to shake each person's hand and thank them for joining the service today. It was important to him that he showed them that they all mattered, no member was more important than the next. Regardless of who they were or what the position that they held was. It was simply a fact that Henry would never waver upon.

When Daphne's grandparents approached him, Henry's smile widened. He moved in to hug her grandmother at the woman's insistence, nodding at her condolences. "Thank you, Mariam, but I believe he is with our Lord now. He is happy," Henry spoke gently. His Father's loss was still a painful thought but it was something he had to accept, there was no one on this Earth that could change God's will. He understood that even if he wished that it wasn't the truth.

Henry's gaze softened when Daphne was introduced, his smile still remaining in place as he held his hand out to shake hers. He set his hand on top of hers, brushing his thumb over her skin. "It's wonderful to have you here, Daphne. I'm glad that you could join us today," his eyes swept over her briefly before looking up, to her grandparents then back to her. "Will you be joining us often?"

(you're fine! i was going to skip it along anyways, too! and ikr hes beautiful)

Daphne couldn't help how she froze when Henry took her hand, feeling goosebumps run up her arms. Her eyes were fixed on him, forgetting to breathe when she noticed his run her over. Her mouth opened for a moment as she tried to find an answer. Daphne wasn't entirely sure if she would be joining them often. She wanted the answer to be no, but she assumed it was yes as she glanced towards her grandparents. "Every Sunday," Miriam smiled, resting her hand on Daphne's shoulder. Still too terrified to actually speak, Daphne was relieved when her grandpa motioned for them to hurry inside and find seats.

Neither one of her new guardians wanted to mention the details of why their young granddaughter had been forced to come live with them. Instead, they wanted to market it off as if she had wanted to. If her condition got out to the community, especially in such a small little town, gossip would run wild about how their granddaughter was a psycho.

Daphne sat somewhere in the middle of the room, in hard, uncomfortable pews, listening to Henry preach for what felt like an eternity. It also seemed odd to see such a young man leading a church. Even though she assumed he was in his late thirties, all her previous assumptions of a typical preacher was an older, balding man who liked to shout.

"Did your mother ever take you to church? Maybe that's why nothing else is working." Her grandpa mentioned on their way back to the car after the sermon. The sun was setting below the horizon and Daphne couldn't help but roll her eyes up to the sky. Luckily, she was walking behind them so they didn't notice. She glanced over her shoulder, noticing Henry on the stairs outside, as her grandpa continued to speak about how she needed to remember to say her prayers at night and how that would somehow magically cure everything.

---

Almost a week had passed and for the most part, nothing had happened that Daphne couldn't control. Any hallucinations she had experienced had been minor, whispers around her, hearing her grandparents call for her when they weren't home, oddly enough, hearing Henry's voice, reciting his sermon again. Daphne found that the oddest, as she hadn't even been paying much attention to it in the first place, but still, she heard his voice in the halls of her new home as if he were just down the hall.

They got worse as the week progressed, to the point where Daphne hadn't slept in two days and had been sitting in a chair by her window, as if in some sort of trance. It wasn't until Saturday afternoon that Miriam was able to get the poor girl back into bed. Worried that she might need some sort of spiritual intervention, she called Henry, asking him if he could please come over, that they needed to talk about Daphne. Her grandmother was prepared to speak to him about Daphne's supposed diagnoses, but she was sure he would agree with her instead that it was a demon attacking her mind, and all Daphne needed was to turn to God for help.

@ castle.

Henry couldn't have been more surprised than when he received the phone call from Miriam, asking him to come to their home because of an issue that Daphne was having. Almost instantaneously, his mind drifted somewhere far darker. If she was having issues, if there was a way for him to... Henry shook his head at the thought. He was sure that she was probably just questioning things. She had moved to a brand new town where she hardly knew anyone. It had to be hard as a teenager, to be going through that. That would be all this house call was about but Miriam seemed so concerned that he felt obligated to head on over. He didn't have much else to do at the moment, so why not? The least he could do was help the family out.

Gathering his things, Henry made sure to slide his rosary over his head and a bible in his hand. It was the same bible that his father's father had first given him, it was practically a family heirloom that Henry carried with him basically everywhere that he could. Driving over to Miriam's house, Henry parked at the end of their driveway before climbing out. Not before grabbing his trusty bible from the passenger seat.

Henry smiled as he knocked on the front door, taking a slight step backward while he waited for someone to come to the door. He looked up, smiling gently when Miriam appeared. She looked incredibly worried and that made his heart lurch, wondering what could be going on that Miriam seemed so worried. He nodded at the offer of tea, moving to sit at the dining room table. Henry waited, patient as ever until the older woman joined him with two steaming cups of tea. Miriam then proceeded to tell him everything, from Daphne's diagnosis to what she experienced now - to what Miriam truly thought was going on.

His face grew grim and he couldn't hide it, his brows pulling together as he considered what to say to the worried grandmother. Henry took a sip of the tea, prolonging what he was supposed to say to her. "I will have to speak with Daphne myself, see what is happening to form my own opinion fully before I can confirm your suspicions. It is a bit premature, I know, but I think that you are on to something. And if you are, I will do anything and everything that I possibly can to help you," Henry trailed off, his hand sliding to rest atop his bible. "I swear to it."

"Where is she?" Henry asked as he stood, nodding toward Miriam to show her where Daphne was. Following the old woman up the stairs, Henry held up his hand to stop her when she went to push the door open without so much as knocking. "I must do this alone. I cannot have outside influence on what happens. I assure you that I will get to the bottom of this."

Henry stepped around the older woman, knocking before he stepped inside. His frown only returned when he noticed Daphne was just as Miriam had described. "Daphne?" He spoke gently, moving toward her as his fingers wrapped around his rosary. "It's Henry, the priest," he said, eyeing the young woman. "Can you tell me what's going on? Can you tell me anything at all?"

Miriam had almost felt tears burn her eyes, almost letting out a sigh of relief when Henry hinted towards her assumptions being correct. She knew something else had to be at fault for her granddaughters sickness, why else would she have been suffering for so long? It was only getting worse, to the point where her daughter couldn't even handle the child anymore.

As she stood outside Daphne's door, listening quietly for just a second after Henry shut the door. She could hear him greet her, and then after that, she forced herself to turn away, clutching the cross that hung from her neck. It was in God's hands now.

Daphne was sitting up straight, her gaze fixed down on her hands. She had been listening to her grandparents talk all week about how it was a demon that was causing her to be sick and it had infiltrated her mind. She heard whispers, that slowly turned to shouts, screaming at her that God had forsaken her. Her room had melted away, and all around her was only darkness.

Until Henry stepped into the room. It was like a light had appeared, another voice reminding her that God didn't turn his back on anyone. I don't even believe in God... she thought to herself as she slowly turned her head to look up at the man. "They took my medicine." Her mouth was dry, her voice cracking as she spoke. Still, she couldn't help but be excited to see someone that could possibly help her. Surely, even being a priest, Henry would listen to her? He wouldn't so easily write off her medical needs? Reaching out for his hands, she grabbed at him desperately, "pl-please, they won't stop, the voices won't stop-"

@ castle.

Henry frowned at the way that Daphne spoke, kneeling in front of her. "Your medicine? And what was the medicine supposed to do? Do you know, Daphne?" He asked gently, trying to see just how far gone she was at the moment. If she didn't remember any of it at all, Henry's suspicions would only be further confirmed. He tilted his head to the side as he studied her form, his frown only deepening when Daphne reached for him. He tensed, starting to pull away until she spoke.

"Voices? Can you tell me what they're telling you? Hm?" Henry reached forward, grabbing her wrists gently. He cupped her hands in his, setting the rosary inside of hers. "I will be here with you, Daphne. I'm going to help you through all of this. I promise," he spoke softly, his thumbs brushing over her skin. It wasn't until Daphne continued on about the voices speaking to her.

His face fell, turning far grimmer than it had been even moments ago. "I am afraid that I think your grandparents are right, Daphne. I am a Man of God, however. I will do everything within my power to help you. I swear to you that I will rid you of this demon that is possessing you," he said, lowering his forehead to rest against her hands while he started to recite a short prayer.

Daphne pulled her hands away, no longer trying to cling to him. She slumped in her bed, letting her head fall back slightly as she stared up to the ceiling. Would no one listen to her? "The voices aren't r-real, I-I know that," she tried once more to plead with the priest, shaking her head when he talked about a demon. "There is no demon, please, listen to me, call my m-mom, please, she can give you my doctor's information, he-he'll tell you," her words trailed off, listening to the quiet prayer he recited.

Tears burned her eyes and they threatened to fall when she lowered her head, staring at the man kneeling in front of her. Why did her mother send her here? Why would no one listen? Why did they all think she was possessed when really, she just needed her medicine... The medicine they refused to give to her.

Daphne had a natural aversion to his prayer, having grown up with a mother who had denounced all sort of religion. She shied away from him, knowing nothing he was whispering could actually help her. He's going to hurt you, he won't listen to you, he's going to make it worse, the voices grew louder, taunting her, beginning to tell her she was possessed and that this priest was going to hurt her, that it was going to feel like torture when he tried to help. "P-please, just give me my medicine..." She cried, trying her best not to listen to the voices.

@ castle.

"Daphne, it's important that you address what's happening to you. I know it's scary, that you might not quite understand exactly what's going on and that's okay. It's okay that you're afraid to challenge the Devil but together, we will get through this," Henry encouraged her. He gave her a bright smile, wanting to get her spirits up as high as he could. His hand slid to rest on Daphne's thigh when she broke the contact between them, not wanting the young girl to feel like she was alone.

Henry took a deep breath before speaking again. "Tell me, are the voices telling you that I won't be able to help you? That I might even hurt you?" He tilted his head to the side, recognizing the fear that Daphne so obviously felt. It was a thrill that he hadn't quite recognized at the moment. He leaned closer to her, trying to pretend as if his thoughts weren't drifting even further down a dark path. If he just ignored them... they would go away.

"That's because the demon doesn't want to leave you but it knows that with me, I will help you. I will remove it from you and you can finally live your life fully again. Dedicated to our Lord and saviour," he said, leaning forward as he gave her thigh a gentle squeeze. "You just have to be open to the help and it will come, Daphne. I promise you."

His hand on her thigh felt like little needles, pricking into her skin over and over the whole time it rested there. When he squeezed her, it felt like all of those needles pierced her flesh, cold but a sharp tense pain. It was becoming harder and harder to tell herself that it wasn't real, that it all was just in her head... She looked down to his hand, seeing it resting gently on her leg. Nothing had happened to her.

His words were echoing around in her mind. A migraine was forming in the back of her head and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, trying to force herself to remain calm. "Why won't you listen to me?" Tears streamed down her face, but still, at least he was speaking to her. Trying to force her to understand him. All her grandparents had done was lock her away in her room, shouting and berating her, blaming everything on the devil. At least this priest was trying to talk to her calmly.

Sweat was beginning to bead up on her forehead, though she was chilled. Reaching out for him again, all she could do was try her best to plead with him. Her left hand fell over his that was placed on her thigh as her other gently rested against his chest, her bloodshot eyes peering into his. "P-please help me. It's so loud."

@ castle.

Henry knew it was wrong, he knew that he shouldn’t list after younger girls. And he certainly shouldn’t think about hurting them when they were so innocent. With Daphne all but begging for his help, Henry couldn’t help but let his thoughts drift. Her hand resting on his chest, Henry wondered if she could feel how hard it was beating. Did she realize that it was all because Henry wondered how she would look with tears running down her cheeks?

Swallowing, Henry gave a slow nod of his head. It was evident that her grandmother thought this was the work of the devil and so did he. Or was this an offering from God? Was Daphne places in his life so that he could have what he’d been craving? Henry gave it a decent moment’s thought before he decided that that must be it.

Henry moved to standing, his hand turning so that he could hold hers. “Come. We must pray,” Henry breathed, urging her toward the bed with a nod of his head.

Daphne felt her heart sink to her stomach, the thought of having to force out a prayer causing vomit to come up in the back of her throat. That was the last thing she wanted to do, but how was she supposed to tell him that? Living in her grandparents home, how was she supposed to look at a priest and tell him, no, that she didn't want to pray?

Rising to her feet, she felt her knees buckling underneath of her, his hand holding onto hers being the only thing keeping her up. Glancing towards her bed, she saw the dark demonic looking creatures that hung around the bedframe, their claws and tails poking out from underneath the bed. Her grandparents yelling so much about demons had been twisting her schizoaffective disorder, causing her hallucinations to take on evil elements. She pulled back on Henry's hand, her face grimacing in terror as he forced her towards the bed anyway.

"I-I don't want too, please don't make me, no!" She cried, trying to force her hand away from him, jerking back towards the small table she had been sitting at. It was the reason she hadn't slept in days, the monsters had been clinging to her bed, beckoning her towards them. What if she was possessed, what if she was plagued by demons?

@ castle.

{can we rotate caught by surprise in? yeah, we can. has only done one post or is it two? }

When Daphne started fighting to get back over to the table was all of the proof that Henry thought anyone would need to prove that Daphne was possessed. After all, prayer was such a simple way to prove your dedication to God. Why would she be resisting it so much if she wasn't possessed? His face hardened as he straightened up, slowly shaking his head. "Daphne, unless you give me a good reason to not ask for something so simple... then we're going to kneel and we will pray. The Heavenly Father needs to know that you aren't lost in your ways."

Henry waited for a second or two before he shook his head, turning to face her fully. "How do you expect salvation if you won't even show our Lord basic devotion? How do you expect him to come to your time of need if you won't do such a simple thing for him, Daphne?" He asked, his voice dipping. He reached out, pulling the girl closer to him until he could rest his hands on her hips to keep her planted in speak.

"I want to help you, Daphne. But I can only do that if you let me."

Looking back to the bed, Daphne shuddered, feeling so slimy when she felt his hands on her hips. Should he be touching me like that? The shadow creatures seemed to reach out to her from the bed and all she could do was shy away, leaning closer into towards Henry. "I-I'll pray, j-just not over there, please..." Her voice was barely above a whisper, cringing at his words.

Lost in her ways... She knew better, what was wrong with her was scientific, something that could be monitored, something that could be helped through medications and therapies, not praying to some make believe man in the sky, but what... What could he believe she had done that warranted a demon attacking her soul?

Her hands trembled as they fell to his shirt, her fingers twisting in the fabric as she fidgeted, her lips dry and cracking as she spoke, "I-I've never prayed before, I-I don't know what to say..."

@ castle.

Henry had to bite back a groan when Daphne's fingers wrapped into the material of his shirt. He forced back the initial swell of arousal, knowing that he had a task set out in front of him. His thumbs brushed against the material of her skin and when the shirt rose up a bit, Henry swore that his heart had skipped a beat. "That's why I'm here, Daphne. I will help you with everything that you could possibly need while we defeat the demon that is plaguing your world. Do you understand?" He spoke so softly, that he leaned forward to make sure that Daphne could even hear him.

Eyeing the bed, Henry wondered what was so bad about her bed. He raised an eyebrow as he looked between the bed and the young girl. "Is the bed where the demon visits you often?" Henry asked, cocking his head to the side. Before she could answer, Henry shook his head. "Never mind that. Kneel with me," he said, moving to kneel in front of the window. His rosary clasped in his hands, Henry began to repeat the Lord's Prayer.

Daphne looked up at him, her eyes widening a bit as he asked if the demons visited her in her bed. She couldn't help where her mind wandered, wondering if he had thought the same. She didn't let herself linger there for very long, shaking the thought from her head. He wouldn't think like that... Surely he was to holy of a man to let his mind wander to such dark thoughts? Her hands dropped from him as he moved back to her window, kneeling down on his knees, clasping his hands together.

"Our father in heaven, hallowed be thy name..." His words echoed slightly through her room. She watched the rosary that dangled beneath his hands, his hands tightly clutching the beads. It swayed slightly, and it almost seemed to hypnotize her before she remembered to move next to him. Dropping to her knees, she brought her shaky hands in front of her chest, clutching them together in the same manner he did, before repeating his words under her breath.

"...and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," her lips found it almost hard to form the words, they were so foreign on her tongue. She didn't understand who or what they were praying too, believing in nothing of the sort herself. "A-Amen," her voice trembled, closing out the prayer herself after Henry did.

@ castle.

Henry did his best to focus on the prayer that he spoke, instead of the thoughts that were running through his mind. Daphne was so young and beautiful, innocent surely. How would she taste on his tongue, feel under his touch? He had to bite his bottom lip to keep from saying anything at one point, his eyes closed tightly as he made sure that Daphne was keeping up with his prayer. When they ended the prayer, Henry took several long moments before he turned toward her with a gentle smile on his face. He forced his eyes to remain on her face instead of drifting further down his frame like he was so desperate for them to.

Turning to face Daphne fully, Henry tilted his head to the side. He tried to see how he was feeling but he realized that he hardly knew Daphne at all, he couldn't trust what he thought she was feeling at the moment. "Tell me, Daphne. The voices, are they as loud now? What are they saying to you?" He asked after a moment, raising an eyebrow.

"You can tell me. It will not stop my help, I swear to you. I will help you through this, Daphne."

Daphne didn't want to turn and look at the priest, instead keeping her head lowered for a bit longer. Her hands were trembling so to hide them, she wrapped her arms around her torso and chewed on the inside of her lip, goosebumps running down her arms and legs feeling Henry's eyes on her. The room was dead silent, even inside of her head, instead she could hear his breathing like it was in her ear and feel his eyes on her like they were hands.

"I can't tell," she lied, her shoulders slumping down lightly as she finally forced herself to look up at him. Telling him that she heard nothing sounded like a bad idea, knowing he would take it as his prayer had managed to do something, but she knew that wasn't it. The room felt worse now, heavy and suffocating. Daphne's gray eyes fell on his, the sun coming through the window really lit Henry's up. They reminded her of shiny blue gems, the way they were illuminated. It scared her to think her mind could be tricking her, making them look more lovely than they really were. Becoming aware of how hard her heart was beating in her chest, Daphne pulled her eyes away from his face, "they're just whispers."

Her voice was dry, barely above a hush as she forced herself to speak to him. Daphne glanced back to her bed, seeing the dark little creatures had went back into hiding. Their little tails and claws could still be seen casting shadows but she had to remind herself they weren't real. "M-Maybe I just need some sleep..."

@ castle.