Chapter Two - Princess with a Broken Crown

Caterina Sforza was many things - a Duchess with her own estate, a respected Cardinal with a slightly unconventional division, a doting big sister, the Iron Lady with a spine of steel. But underneath all these things was a person hardly anyone knew about, or would even have guessed existed, the princess who still relied on her brave Sir Abel to save the day.

Ever since that day when he had risen from the tomb of the Holy Madonna to save her, to turn into an avenging angel and destroy her attackers, she had been hopelessly in love with him.

He was her hero.

For such a short time it was the love of a child worshipping an idol, a perfect endless summer of playing in a field filled with flowers, childish dreams of knights on perfect white steeds and princesses being rescued from demons of darkness. But all too soon her demons had become more real, and the promise they made together to save the world needed a more concrete solution than dreams and passionate words.

So she had founded the AX, the perfect way for her to administrate her hand on this sword she wielded with Abel, and he could stay with her to keep being her protector and confidant.

Unfortunately, the world seemed to have other plans, and as each year went by Caterina felt that princess slip further from her and become a barely remembered dream. She wasn't that girl any more, she was a woman now and she had changed.

Evolved.

From child to Cardinal.

Her decisions had gone from black and white, to all shades of gray. In the name of good she had done evil, and the child's idolizing love had grown and mutated into a darker jealous possessive adoration. She still loved him, but now she wanted to love him as a woman, and yet believed herself unworthy of his attentions. After all, he was her knight... her avenging angel... and she was a flawed woman who's body was deteriorating already. She could offer him nothing but her darkness, and as evil as she was, she couldn't do that.

Yet she couldn't bear to let him go either, destroying all other chances he had for happiness with a jealous vengeance that was sickening. He was her one weakness, the one place where her frightening intelligence and logic disappeared and her heart ruled her head.

She hid it well, deep behind a veneer of calm collected cool, but it was this almost obsessive love that kept her working long past when she should have given in. It was all she could offer him, for as long as she could, her efforts at fulfilling their joint promise to this world.

The light in her office was one of the last left on in this wing of the Vatican headquarters, but she was determined to complete this stack of correspondence before she turned in for the night. A small card was next on her desk, a cream and crisp thick card with words written in a flowing pen.

"And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? / And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground."

-Isaak Fernand von Kampfer

Of course she immediately saw the coded message in the bold lines of the bible quote, it was far too obvious to miss them, and her blood seemed to run cold. Where is Abel... I know not... voice of thy brother's blood crieth... was he injured? Did the Orden have him? She immediately rose from her seat and left the office, the card discarded carelessly in her worry, hurrying along the empty corridors of the late-night Vatican until she reached his room.

Knock... knock... No answer...

With anyone else logic would have kicked in long ago, and she would be ordering Tres and Sister Kate to be searching, she certainly would not have stepped inside the room where anyone could have been waiting as a trap. She was not that foolish.

But this was Abel, where her heart ruled her head, and before she could berate herself for idiotic actions she was inside the room and staring at the occupant in mute fury. The barest wisp of cigarillo smoke rose as Isaak bowed to her courteously, arms of shadow closing the door behind her and his smile utterly self-satisfied at once more playing the superior move.

"Duchess, I fear our time is short and you have a pressing engagement to attend."