DISCLAIMER: I do not own Rebirth, the Catholic Church, or anything else remotely recognizable in this. No money is being made.

Author's note: My Dragonball Z story "An Angel's Tale" is temporarily on hiatus. This plot bunny bit me in a rather uncomfortable location and wouldn't let go, but I will (eventually) finish "An Angel's Tale." Promise!

The Scribe

After saying their goodbyes to Deshwitat and Lillith, Rett Butler and Father Daniel mounted horses and rode for the border. They managed to avoid pursuit for the first few days, but after dark on the fourth, Rett spotted a scout as they were making camp.

"Hurry, Padre, this way!" he shouted as he guided his horse to dash into the trees. Father Daniel followed the former bandit as he led the horses through the woods. After a few minutes, Rett began to recognize the woods as a place he'd been before.

"Make for the lights of the manor-house, Daniel! If you get there before me, tell the lady of the house that Rett sent you. Hurry!" Rett shouted. He muttered to himself, "Not much chance of him making it there before me anyway."

The two men arrived at the manor-house simultaneously, to find a pair of grooms waiting in the courtyard to take their horses, and a maid rushing them into the house. "Quickly, now, you two! The buggers following you are close, and we have to get you hidden!"

"Anything for you, Annalise, my sweet," Rett said with a half-joking expression.

"Welcome, Rett, it has been too long since you graced my home," a slightly-accented voice said from the bottom of the grand staircase just inside the doors. The woman to whom the voice belonged was a beauty with knee-length, wavy black hair and flashing dark eyes. Her body was barely hidden by the Turkish silk robe she wore, and it appeared as if their arrival had interrupted her as she was preparing to bathe. "I would ask about your choice of companions," her gaze shifted to Father Daniel, "but there is no time now. Annalise will lead you to your hiding place. Don't worry for your friend; I'll see to his concealment myself."

The maid led the Hellraiser off towards the servants' quarters as the lady of the house extended her hand to the nervous priest. "Come on, padre, or would you rather wait for the Sacred Knights to come deliver you to the Cardinal wrapped in chains like a macabre Christmas gift?" Her tone was light, almost teasing, but it held enough urgency to persuade Father Daniel to follow her with only a little hesitance.

Halfway up the staircase, he finally found his voice. "Excuse me, milady, but where am I to hide?" He was very pleased with himself that he didn't stutter, despite the fact that, since he was following her ascending the staircase, his face was so very close to her nearly-bare backside.

"I intend to hide you in the last place anyone would think to look for a priest." It was not to terribly difficult to hear the distaste in her voice at his choice of vocation. "I will be taking you to my chamber. There isn't much time, so please, hurry."

At the top of the stairs, she opened the ornately carved door to admit the two of them to her chamber. She stepped to the side to allow him to enter, and then waved dismissively at a cushioned footstool in front of a lounging couch. "Undress, and put your clothes, glasses, and that book into the stool. The top opens, and unless those oafs have traveled to Tripoli or beyond, they won't know that it is a chest and not just a cushion." She turned around after locking the door to see him staring at her in shock.

It took him three tries to find his voice again. "I…I…I'm sorry, but it wouldn't be…appropriate for me to undress with you in the room. I'm…"

She interrupted him. "Yes, yes, I damn well know you're a priest. It's more than obvious. But, this is also the last place they would expect to find said priest. Here," she untied the belt of the sheer black robe and let it slide down her arms, leaving her nude, "now you won't be the only one undressed." She went to the window, and peered out it. "Damnation," she cursed under her breath. "They're here. Now, I will give you until the count of ten to decide. Either 1) you can undress and stow your things in the box, and do it quickly; 2) I can come over there and cut the seams on that hideous robe and undress you and stow it for you; or 3) you can jump from the window and surrender yourself to the Sacred Knights. The fall will likely kill you, but that is bound to be kinder than what they would let their pet torturers do to you in the Cardinal's dungeons. Choose quickly, or I will assume that you choose option two. One…two…" she began counting, and he quickly began fumbling with the rope belt at his waist.

She lifted the latch on the trunk for him, and held her hand out for his clothes. She folded them carefully and laid them in the secret compartment. "The book, your shoes and glasses as well. Just lay them on top while I set some things out to throw them off the trail. Lucky for us, you're about the same size he was," she said as she turned and opened one of the finely carved wardrobes and began pulling out a suit of men's clothing. After she selected a pair of breeches and an elegant silk shirt, she quickly opened the fastenings on both and threw them to the floor, the shirt near the door and the pants at the edge of the bed.

He closed the hidden trunk gently, and turned around trying to see her. His hands were clasped in front of this groin, trying to preserve at least some sense of modesty. Even without his glasses aiding his sight, he was able to see her lying on the bed, on her side. She was propped up on her left elbow, her right hand beckoning him over. "Come over here and lie down. Let me make you…comfortable." The serpent in the garden could only ever have hoped to sound as enticing.

Twelve members of Cardinal Josimov's contingent of Sacred Knights rode into the courtyard of Hill-Hideaway Manor. There were only a few lights to be seen anywhere about the place, the main hall was only minimally lit, and there was a dim light coming from the master suite at the top of the house. The sergeant of this particular squad went to the door and banged loudly upon it as he called in a loud voice, "Open up in the name of Cardinal Josimov!"

The sergeant continued to hammer his fist against the door until a butler in a housecoat came and opened the door. "May I enquire as to why this Cardinal…Joe-zi-mov, you said…has you pounding on unsuspecting manor-doors at this ungodly hour of the night?"

"Official business. We chased a pair of dangerous fugitives here, and will be searching the premises until we find them," the knight said, pompously.

"Well," the butler yawned, "you're welcome to search the grounds to yer hearts content, but her ladyship will be most upset iff'in yer thinking of searching her home."

"Her ladyship would be far worse upset, I think, if she were to be set upon by the pair of rouges we chased here. Or, if she were to be caught aiding them, and sent to the Cardinal's dungeon," the sergeant placed his hand on the pommel of his sword. "You don't want me to assume the bastards are here and just go ahead and arrest the lot of you, do you?"

The butler stepped aside to allow the man to enter. "Fine, fine, ye buggers. Search the house. But, I'm warning you, her ladyship willnae' be happy 'bout it." But inside, the man was grinning. Everything was going according to his mistress's plan.

The Sacred Knights proceeded to search the entire premises, except for one tunnel they missed, and her ladyship's private chamber. The sergeant insisted on being shown to her door personally, to "search" it. He twisted the knob, and when it didn't open, demanded the butler unlock the ornately carved door.

"Not going to beat upon it like you did the main door?" the man asked snidely. But he did go ahead and produced the key from a pocket in his housecoat. The sound of moans, both feminine and masculine, was able to be heard from within as he opened the door.

When the Knights began banging away at the front door, the woman reached out from the bed and grabbed Father Daniel by the hand to pull him to the bed. Her hand intentionally brushed his groin, sending a shiver through his entire body. "We don't have time for you to play the blushing bride," she said, bringing him onto the plush down mattress. Her face softened a little. "Lie on your back and close your eyes. Just let me take care of you," the last of this was breathed against his lips, as she leaned over him.

He felt her lips brush his, and felt her full breasts dance across his chest. She traced her hands down his arms, and then gently moved his hands with hers away from the center of his body. Her mouth began to move down; faint kisses dusted gently over his chest and body. As she delicately licked the line where his hipbones led to his groin, he whispered, "Please," and was unable to fight the involuntary movement of his body. He thrust upwards, trying to find a relief he knew nothing about.

"Please, what? Please take you in my mouth? Or, please let you taste my body?" she whispered against his flesh, "Perhaps both? Would you like to taste me, padre?" She pressed a kiss to the crown of his manhood.

"Please," was all he could gasp out. He was aware of her movement, and found himself suddenly presented with her nether lips.

"Taste me," she whispered. Her mouth engulfed his organ as he tentatively began to lick her. He was so caught up in the taste of her body and the feel of her mouth that he didn't hear the door open. She did, and made it a point to swallow him to the root as the sergeant barged in. He immediately went red in the face from embarrassment at the sight of the two of them on the bed.

She turned her face enough to look at him with Father Daniel still embraced in her mouth, and it was not a friendly look. "My apologies, ma'am," the knight stuttered as he backed out, trying to hide his own arousal at the thought of being in the other man's place. He and his men left quickly, and it was several weeks before he realized that he hadn't seen the face of the lucky bastard between the wench's thighs.

The butler closed the door to her ladyship's chamber behind the sergeant with a quiet click. As soon as it was closed, she continued to work on the man beneath her. His tongue continued its busy work as well, and was joined by ink-stained fingers timidly exploring her opening. Soon, she was moaning her pleasure around his flesh as she was catapulted into ecstasy. The vibrations deep in her throat sent him over the edge as well. She drank down the salty liquid that spilled from him, swallowing it all.

She then delicately lifted herself from him and turned around to press a kiss to his mouth. Then she pulled the bell rope to call for her maid, and pulled the velvet duvet up to cover the two of them. For a reason unknown even to her, she didn't wish for any other woman to observe him nude.

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Until next time,

MamaJ