**Even Angels Fall**
By: Steffauri516
6/10/10
Synopsis:Sherry Belmont was born into a world of privilege, but just about every paradise has it's dark side. While tracking new mamodo around the world, she and Brago somehow end up back in her native France. When she decides the two need a break, Brago reluctantly complies, but neither of them can fathom the truths, horrors, and revelations that will occur when the nearest place to stay is the Belmont Mansion.
Prologue-A Season of Rain
Outside of the sleekly polished black limousine, scathing rain and blistering winds roared. At the head of the elegant car, Jii drove in silence, sensing the tension between his two charges in the back. Gazing every-so-often into the rear view mirror to see if anything more had developed.
And tension there was; Sherry, her prim white walking gown was torn to shreds at the bottom and she was missing both of her white riding boots, blood and mud-spattered stockings stood begrudgingly in their place. There was a long, thin scratch scaling down the left side of her porcelain doll-like face, and her hair was tangled and matted, also covered in mud and debris. She sat on the driver's side of the car, as she always did. For whatever reason she'd always felt safest behind the driver. Despite her gnarled appearance, Sherry sat up straight, shoulders firmly parched back and weak arms wrapped gingerly around her partner's spell book, which rested at a slant in the lap of her tattered satin gown.
Brago, sitting to the right of her, was also covered in multiple cuts and bruises, but that didn't bother him. A broken ARM would probably never bother him. So long as he won the battle, tasted the bittersweet taste of near-fatal victory, he was unfazed. However, it was not the physical state of he and his human partner that bothered him so, it was the closeness of that rift between flawless victory and shameful loss that was becoming less and less clear as the battles raged on. He could feel her weakening with each passing step they took.
His piercing eyes darted her way, anger boiling in them as he recounted all of the most recent battles, where the calls had been closest and failure had almost overcome them.
On the other side of the vehicle, Sherry's anger wasn't nearly as noticeable, she almost looked as though she was thinking, calculating their next move. But in reality, she was growing just as weak and tired as Brago had declared she was. It wasn't the miles of hiking or the feeling of her filthy clothes hanging limply from her sweaty body, or even the long, sleepless days and nights he forced her to endure; she'd had plenty of practice in that area. As a child, her mother didn't care how early or late it was, Sherry was forced to practice her piano skills day and night, always without sleep, if she failed time was always added, and there was never a compromise. Brago was much akin to her mother in that area-fierce, determined, demanding, and strict. However, Brago did have that faint, glimmer of mercy that she'd never before found in her mother...
"AHHHH!" Sherry yelped in surprise as the limousine abruptly jerked and skidded across the soaked dirt road and smashed right into two of the trees alongside the path.
There was silence.
"Gah...B-Brago! Are you okay!" Sherry patted her head with trembling hands, to check for any blood-she was fine. Next to her, Brago had hit his head hard on the window next to him, the trees were on his side. "Brago..." Sherry repeated softly, reaching out to touch the bloody gash on his pale forehead. Suddenly his reflexes sprang back to life. "AH!" Brago swatted Sherry's arm back, emitting an loud, audible "SMACK!" Sherry's expression turned cross once more and she rubbed the red mark on her forearm. "Wonderful...I'm glad you're alright." She said sharply as Jii exited the car and ripped Sherry's door open.
"Miss Sherry! Are you hurt!" He asked feverishly, looking her up and down to check for wounds. "No, I'm fine." Her voice was still deadpan from shock, but other than that she was fine. The pair turned their attention to the wrecked car, Brago pulled himself out and the three took shelter beneath one of the towering dogwood trees alongside the path. Before gathering with the rest of the small group, Sherry rushed back to the car and seized Brago's spell book, wrapping it with care in her lavender silk jacket.
Jii took a small cellular phone from the front pocket of his jacket, staring at the front and side of the limo. "Oh...what a mess..." Was all he could emit before someone on the other line answered. "You're going to have to get over yourself sometime..." Sherry spat in an agitated whisper, Brago just stared her down, cross armed and brooding as usual. "A tow truck will be here momentarily, Miss. In the mean time, I suggest we find somewhere to wait out this storm..." Jii suggested, walking back to the wreckage to pull a plain, gray-black umbrella from the glove compartment; he popped it open and returned to the side of his young mistress. "Here you are, Miss Sherry." He held the shade over her already soaking wet head, nonetheless she smiled and walked with him, Brago in tow.
The group looked around studiously, although the torrential rain was heavily impairing their vision, they could see enough that there were no buildings in sight. "Where do you suggest we go? The last town we came across was MILES away..." Sherry said, almost on cue, the three found themselves standing before an elegant wrought-iron gate settled in between two towering stone pillars. The trio gathered closer to the dirty golden plaque placed on the center of the right pillar. It was Jii who first noticed the all too familiar Belmont family crest soldered into it.
"Oh...these people won't take us in, let's just wait it out back in the car...it's better than nothing after all." Jii said rushingly as he pulled away, leaving Sherry out in the rain once more, curious as to why her help wanted to leave in such a hurry.
"Oh come now, Jii! Do you want to sit in a crushed pile of metal and glass, or at least ASK these people if we can have a room for the night? After all, I do still hold connections with various-" It was then that Sherry's leader-like attitude faded away quickly, and she stared in silence at the old iron gates with their familiar floral pattern, the familiar golden plaque she could never stand high enough to see properly as a child, and the old dirt road with the dogwood trees planted on either side of one another, each one exactly three feet from the other.
She remembered, home.
Yes, I suppose you could count this as chapter 1, but I just wanted to get this quick explanitory prologue out of the way _ haha, chapter 1 will be up soon :)
Reviews, comments and suggestions please 3