Penance Novels & Stories

The trees outside looked lifeless, frozen in the chill of winter. Not a single leaf remained on their branches. Inside the mansion, flowers bloomed vibrantly, a stark contrast to the dead landscape beyond. After the lavish luncheon, Colin drove to the cave where I was imprisoned. He stood outside, his voice cold and commanding. "Norah, have you realized your mistake yet? Just apologize, and I'll let you out."

Perhaps they were too scared to voice their opinions against their superiors. David saw innocent little pups peeking from behind their mothers, their little eyes filled with fear and uncertainty. David sighed. He can’t. He can’t hurt them. Those little souls were innocent. They certainly didn’t deserve to be punished. “I don’t believe that punishing the reminder of this pack is worth it. Those little innocent children don’t deserve to be punished for anything. They didn’t do anything. I don’t want to hold any grudges against this pack. You are free to go.” He announced and bit his lips.

"If you don't come willingly, I'll drag you there! You can either walk, or I'll tie you up and make you carry thorn branches on your back." Carrying thorn branches on one's back was a traditional act of penance, where an individual who had committed a serious offense would bear thorny branches as a symbolic gesture of remorse and submission. The practice was a way to visibly demonstrate their sincere repentance and willingness to atone for their wrongs. "You wouldn't dare!" Aurora's anger flared, her voice trembling with indignation. "All I did was say a few words—what crime have I committed that's so unforgivable I need to beg for forgiveness with thorn branc

Always waited just long enough that the quiet pressed against my ribs. “I see,” he said finally. “For your penance, three Our Fathers and five Hail Marys. And make an act of contrition.” I recited the words automatically. Voice soft. Eyes on the lattice. I could see the faint outline of his shoulder. The white square of his collar. Nothing more. When I finished he spoke again. “You seem troubled still. Is there something you hold back?” I shook my head even though he could not see it. “No. I’m not a big sinner, Father. Not like some.”

I'll make her die without knowing how. My father looked at me disapprovingly. "You see, Penelope, you're acting impulsively again! Don't make a sound to attract the jailer!" "All right, dad, but I feel really bad!" I propped my head against the iron gate in frustration. "Listen, it's not that bad..." my father whispered, "Charles's punishment for you now is to repent here, and after a while, if you repent seriously, they'll let you out. You know what I mean?"

she pointed out. “He doesn’t want me to get worked up.” “The soft, loving looks and touches,” she countered with more force. I blinked back a few tears. “I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know if I can put myself out there, give myself to him again. How do I trust him with my heart?” “Time. He’s offered himself to you on a silver platter as penance.” Tears slipped down my cheek. “I don’t want it as penance!”

For a long moment, there was only the sound of my ragged breathing and his silent, tense presence. Slowly, I withdrew my hand, bringing my fingers to my lips. I licked them clean, slowly, audibly. “My penance, Father?” I asked, my voice husky and spent. A long, tense pause. When he spoke, his voice was raw, stripped of its clerical calm, down to the naked man beneath. “Return,” he said, the word thick. “Return tomorrow. Same time.” It wasn’t forgiveness. It was an assignment. A slow smile spread across my lips. “Yes, Father.”

Kaelan said, "then I will be having to lie in her face every single day for as long as this takes." You'd be lying in order to protect a decision that is hers and not to cover up one that is yours. Even if it doesn't seem like a very great difference from your point of view, there is a difference. Kaelan gave it a great deal of thought, looking steadily into the embers, and finally chose the second one not since it seemed to him to be a clean option but because it was the only type of penance that a man in his position could still carry out. All the others would have been measures for his own comfort, and having decided at some point during the past few hours

I can still feel the ghost of last night, the way I bit my pillow so the other sisters would not hear, the way I imagined his mouth instead of my own fingers. “Yes,” I whisper. “Good girl.” Those two words undo something inside me. Heat floods low and sharp. I grip the rosary harder until the beads cut crescents into my skin. “Come to my study after Compline,” he says. “We will discuss your penance properly.” He leaves the confessional first. I stay on my knees until my legs shake, then force myself to stand. ☾𖤓☽ ───────── ☾𖤓☽

I said remorsefully. "So the girl..." "Angel..." I interrupted somehow calling her just a girl is not enough. She is an angel and should be called one. "Ok.. you lost your angel who you know for 1 hell year ( equal to 10 human years) and feel responsible for her death and this is your penance for the same. Am I right?" he outlined it in a single line. I stiffly nodded my head. Somehow the hellfire is not affecting him. He sat there beside me comfortably, like we are talking in a park.