Cim's Note: I do not own any of the characters or weapons used in the following story, nor the universe in which the actions take place. They are all the property of Namco.

And before second chapter starts, I'll like to thank deadly dancer for the positive review of my first chapter – yay, my first review ever! I hope you like next chapter too...

The sun was setting. It's last bright beams lit up the trees of the forest down below the castle ruin, and made it look like it was on fire. Looking at the sight, standing partly covered by a long, wine-red and grievously frayed curtain, was a young girl dressed in a violet dress. Her right hand was only inches from touching the glass of the seven feet tall, medieval window, that was usually covered by the very same curtain, that she now hid behind.

She loved the sun, loved the warmth it created. She had always loved the sun, yet, the being she had become - the evil blood that ran through her veins - hated it. Hated it like a plague.

She was struggling both mentally and physically to push the curtain aside and let the sun embrace her cold body. To feel the dying suns last heat inside her. A heat that could warm up her heart. Things that had appeared so common to her before, was things she now avoided due to the cursed blood. She wanted to do those things again. Wanted to feel the inappropriate feelings that was buried deep within the emotional prison of her heart.

As she stood there, she was suddenly struck by a uneasy feeling of loneliness. She felt so alone and cold. She had finally gained the strength and courage she needed, and pushed the curtain lightly aside, pressing her fingertips against the window's smooth surface. The sun was nearly gone now. Soon the night would take over. Soon he would leave, return again later to say "Hi", check on her and try to live up to his self-appointed duty as her foster farther. She leaned her forehead against the window. She was not a being of night. She didn't want the sun to go away, even if it's light made her tired and weak. That's why the large curtain usually

covered the window and her sight to life beyond the castle-walls.

As the light of the sun disappeared, Amy feel to her knees, settling her hands in her lap and cried silent, unemotional tears. Tears that was a product of the struggle between her mind and the evil inside her. She had won, yet also lost, as neither side of her could be victorious for real. She looked down at her hands and wondered what he was doing. Her question was quickly answered by the sudden sound of footsteps from downstairs. He was, quite unusually, coming to check on her before he left the castle to feed on the outside world.

Amy rose quickly and moved the curtain in front of the window, covering the room in the usual darkness. She turned around just in time to watch as the old door silently swung up and a tall man walked into the room. He was wearing a light, white shirt that – together with his blonde hair and slightly yellow eyes – made him appear more pale than usual, standing there in the darkened room. His normally neat coiffure was tousled and he was sweating and breathing heavily. Apparently, he had been in a hurry to get there.

"Amy," He said and walked towards the silent girl. "How are you, dear?"

For some reason, Amy did not answer him, which was apparently the reaction Raphael expected from her. He continued his walk until she was within reach for him to caress her right shoulder, and she could see the warm smile on his lips. She hugged him, but the stains of evil in her soul made it appear unemotional and fake; a thing that apparently didn't bother her foster farther, as long as she created the illusion of family-ties. Maybe he thought it would somehow help them get better. Amy had her doubts in that regard.

"I've found a solution," Raphael said and turned his back at Amy as he walked towards the fireplace in the room. " A plan which will make everything good again..."

He looked back at the silent girl, as he briefly defied the evil inside him and gave her another warm smile. A smile from the past, created by the man that deep down loved the young girl standing before the curtain. Now, his love had never ceased to exist – she knew that much - but it, too, had suffered greatly from their shared curse. The love he felt toward her had increased, but had taken a turn in the wrong direction; He had turned inwards, become obsessed with protecting her, and thus robbed them of several wonderful hours together. Hours similar to those they've had back in France, just before he had started his search for the cursed sword and left her alone in the large Mansion. The feeling of being a family was gone, so was the true and deep father-daughter feelings they had grown during the most happy part of Amy's childhood.

"You've been looking outside," Raphael stated, making Amy's usually calm eyes wide up slightly, as her right hand reached down behind her and took a firm hold on the curtain. "...Haven't you?"

He raised his face slightly and regarded her with such a penetrating glare, she would rather have knifes cut through her skin and soul. He knew what was going on in her mind, he just always knew...

No answer. She preferred the unsaid truth and looked past him into the fireplace. Then she turned her head down, defeated. Before her, Raphael shook his head and looked just as miserable as she felt herself. He knew she had been peeking at the world outside. A world she would never be able to be a part of – was it so hard for him to understand what she really wanted?

"Amy..." calling out her name to get her attention, she felt how Raphael approached her, until he stood right in front of her again. "You know I am just concerned... Look at me –" placing his left index-finger under her chin, he forced her head upward, so that she was looking at him again "- I am your father. And a father protects his daughter no matter what happens. And soon, Amy... I promise you, so very soon, we won't have to run anymore."

Raphael removed his index-finger from below her chin, now certain she would keep her eyes directed toward him, and turned around as he gestured at the room.

"The world will be like us! Imagine it, Amy..." He turned toward her again, and smiled. Was that... insanity, she saw in his amber eyes? It was the same, frightening glimpse she had seen in his eyes the past months – always appearing in his eyes when he speculated about their future or when he proudly presented her with some new knowledge regarding their curse. Amy, who had no wish of letting Raphael know about her worries, remained motionless before him, as she felt her insides shiver. She was fearing the uncertain thing that was happening to the man she loved and adored. Too, she had a feeling he could see past her mask and read her emotions, as he always did...

To Amy's great surprise, Raphael suddenly reached out and caressed her cheek with the back of his right hand. A gesture she did not dare nor wish to escape from; True, he was by far not himself, but deep down he meant it well to her. And so, the thought itself was great – the act, however, was slightly twisted.

His hand was as a brick of cold, cold ice. It burned into her skin, and left her with the feeling that the touch would leave a mark, as soon as he removed his hand. The movement of his hand was clumsy and rash, without the affection he usually expressed toward her, and the force behind his hand almost pushed her away from him. It was as though the last bit of humanity had left him completely, in exchange for a more monstrous being without control of his soft movements.

But then Raphael smiled at her – his common, confident smile – and looked as though he was himself entirely, unhurt by his last travel and at peace with himself. For a short while she spotted a small glimpse of the 'real' Raphael, and it was as though his whole being was more friendly than usual. Just for a short moment, he looked so much like the man she knew and cared for - and in return, this brought the memory of his last departure to her mind and filled her with a the same mix of despair and fear she had felt back then...

~~ Flashback ~~

The sound of pitiful sobs coming from the girl would see no end. Her black dress, long sleeves and a somewhat tall collar, made her melt into the unlit library's background of book-shelves, as she sat on her father's desk. Her head down in painful despair. Her red cheeks were wet with tears, as an almost endless stream poured down them.

She would not believe it! She simply wouldn't believe the lie! I had to be... a lie...!

Shutting her hands into small fists, grasping a corner of her dark dress in the process, she tried to restrain herself, but in vain. The tears would not stop falling, now, that she realized and accepted the truth; Raphael, her foster father and protector throughout the past years, was leaving the mansion to search for something. Something he hadn't even told her about. And he was leaving her, too – leaving her behind with the oh-so-lovely servants of his.

"Amy..?"

The girl raised her head and gasped, as the light of a candle lit up the man who had entered the room. Blonde hair, strong, determined eyes and the clothes of a noble; Of course it was him, Raphael Sorel. As he stood there before her in the dim light from the candle, it was hard for her to read his face's expression. Instead, the calm tone in his voice revealed the purpose of his visit;

"Are you crying?" He sat down beside her, put down the candle at his side and put his left arm around her. "Why are you crying, Amy?"

What a stupid question! He knew perfectly well why she was crying! He had to know that... right? He was her father now... they had been a family for so long, and now he would just leave it all behind like that. How could he – how could he even think of it? How could he leave without at least giving her a proper reason to do so?

Fresh tears came to her eyes, as she shook her head and turned her eyes away from him. She didn't want him to see her cry, didn't want him to stare disturbed at her with his calm eyes.

"You know I have to leave... don't you?" Raphael turned his head and looked down at the eleven-year old girl beside him, squeezing her shoulder gently in an attempt to get her attention. "You know I'm doing this for your sake... it's for the best..."

She could hear he was having a hard time picking the right words. Too, she could feel the sharp edge in his last remark. Raphael was a lovely man. He cared greatly about her, he respected his servants and was very much the father she had dreamt of in the past. But he, too, had his flaws, as any other human being. And these days, his direct and impatient mind was showing itself once too often for the quiet girl to bear.

The last thing she wanted before the inevitable goodbye, was a roar with the man she loved the most in this world...

Amy nodded, silenced and defeated by his words.

"And I'll be back, you know that!" Rapahael continued his reassurance and rose from the desk. Then he moved a few steps away from her and into the shadows of the library, almost disappearing from her view. "I've asked Mrs. Ladre and Mr. Mondreu to take good care of you in my absence..." He turned around inside the shadows and regarded her with a small, satisfied smile. "You'll have many loyal persons around you, once I'm gone –"

At the word 'gone', the last remains of Amy's dignity had crumbled, causing the girl to leap from the desk and run to embrace her foster father. It took only few seconds for the shocked Frenchman to regain his composure and he quickly reacted and returned the embrace.

Amy was crying helplessly now, as a sharp contrast to her father, who did not even think of shedding a tear in the rather emotional moment between them.

But inside he felt bad for leaving her behind, just like he had planned for weeks – a young girl like Amy was not fit to travel with him into the unknown. Dangers lied ahead, grave dangers. But as long as he travelled alone, he would make it. He couldn't run around and take care of her like he did in the mansion. After all, he was going away for her sake – on a search for a legendary weapon, which would endanger their world, should it fall into the wrong hands.

"You will see," Raphael continued and ran a gloved hand through her long, red hair. To his great surprise, she had not tied it up as she usually did, but had left it loose. Apparently a sign that something was indeed wrong in her world. "When I come back, you'll not even notice me – you'll be too busy, being the house-master. How does that sound to you?"

The though did not comfort the girl in his arms, though.

It was not like Amy did not like the servants in the mansion. Both Mrs. Ladre, the butler Mr. Mondreu and the cook Chatarina were nice to her, and clearly liked the young miss of the house. To them, she was a precious part of the mansion itself, a person to watch and help through life. But Amy did not trust them – she had told her father multiple times, but in vain.

Adults, as well as boys and girls about her own age, had let her down countless times during her life as an orphan. Why trust what was better left in distrust? Why believe in the good of others, when the others had deceived her, abused her kindness and stolen of her personal supplies?

Except for one man, the one who had taken her away from the street and placed her into safe surroundings in this mansion. The very same man who was leaving her together with persons she did not fully trust, while he went out to search for a device of some kind. She did not understand.

But accept his choice, she did...

The memory brought another tear to Amy's eye. In a remarkable display of aggression, the young girl quickly waved the tear away with her right hand. In the very same instant, she noted how the man before her no longer looked like the old Raphael. The noble Frenchman revealed none of his thoughts and made no remark regarding her recent behaviour. Instead, he smiled almost sad at her, shook his head and turned around. As the door shut tightly behind him, Amy sat down on her bed and stared out into the dark room.

Second chapter ends here!

Author's Thoughts: The most interesting thing about this chapter, is the amount of time it took for me to make it work in a way I felt was 'proper' – the flashback at the end was not a part of the original Second Chapter, but was added, re-written, re-written again and finally edited together with the rest of the chapter. The transition from present to flashback was the hardest part, really, and I hope that you are satisfied with it too.