It was soft, and really warm, it smelt good too. She had no real idea where she was, still caught in the medium of sleep and consciousness, struggling to familiarize herself with her current surroundings. Where was she, or more importantly, where had she been?

There had been rain, lots of that and then, the bridge, she'd stepped off of it and then… She quickly sat upright as her eyes spun around the room only to be immediately blinded by the sheer brightness of the room around her. After a moment she adjusted to the change and began trying to verify if she was really remembering the events of the previous night correctly, and unfortunately, she was. Covering her face with a hand she fell back onto the bed, an annoyed groan issuing from her lips, she hadn't killed herself after all. But the real question was why she had not gone through with it; it wasn't as if she hadn't prepared for it.

Yes, that was right. That man she had met on the bridge had saved her and brought her back here so, that must be where she was, wasn't it? Allowing her hand to slid easily from her face she looked around the room. Slowly it was filling with the first rays of light peaking over the horizon, dawn had barely broken; it would be a good hour before the sun reclaimed the sky.

She could hardly believe it, she could hardly believe everything that had happened to her in less than a twenty four hour period, and to think that if that man had never come along, she would be resting at the bottom of the river instead of where she had apparently taken up residence for the night. Sitting up she looked up at the door before slowly tracing the wall to the window, then around the rest of the room to the door again, taking note of the scattered and off subject picture hanging around the perimeter to the wall. It was a nice room.

Now the only question was where she was going to go from here. The longer she stayed here, the more dangerous it was, though it could always be more dangerous on the streets than it would be in a place such as this but it would still be wrong of her to put these people in danger. They were still out there after all, and they had not exactly been thrilled when she had run off. Every now and again, she could see them, looming in the shadows and waiting for her guard to drop enough to move in a strike. She had been careful to not give them that chance.

Slowly rising to her feet she walked with an odd air of silence to the door, listening carefully to see if there was anyone in the hallway outside. Her waiting ear was met with only silence so she decided that she would continue as she had planned. Gently pushing the door open she checked the hall once more before venturing beyond the security of the room. Of course every hallway in this entire building probably looked the same so finding a way out of it would probably not be easy, but not impossible. Taking a finally look at the door she took of the hall in a light run, her feet making absolutely no sound on the stone floors beneath them. All of these years she had been raised to be an expert of breaking and entering, why should doing them in reverse be any different?

She could never stay in one place for any extensive period of time, if she did they would be sure to find her and when they did there was no telling what they would do to those who she was found with. It was better if she just left, no goodbyes would be necessary and if she could manage to get out before anyone noticed her absence it would make things a lot easier for everyone. They wouldn't understand it at first but it was going to be better for the long run if it was like she had never been here, and if she had never met that man.

The thought slowed her body to a slow stop as she remembered the first time she saw him, the first time she had seen his friendly smile turned upon her. she hugged herself at the something as simple as the thought of it, the first act of warmth towards her since long before she could remember.

"She's not a child Abel, I doubt that she wants to stay here to be watched…"

"I would still feel better if we just kept an eye on her for the next few days…"

Annabel could do nothing more than stand lifelessly in the center of the hall, unsure what she was to do now. He…he wanted her to stay? No, that was stupid, who would want to keep her around? Things would be better if she wasn't alive, people would be better off without her. With that, she resumed her course towards the exit, knowing she would feel better once she was out of this place. Yet, as she ran, all she could see was his face, still smiling down at her.

The days seemed to pass more slowly since she had left the church. Every now and then she would catch herself wondering what the silver haired priest was doing, curious as to how he was. He'd been the first to show any form of genuine concern towards her. These thoughts brought their own question to mind: why was she still thinking about that day?

Normally she did her best to forget about the people she had contact with, it made moving on easier. However; for some reason she could not rid herself of the face of the man who had saved her life. It had never been hard to move on and away from other people, it was odd to feel…attachment to someone, even if it was someone she barely knew.

Though it had been a few days since a heavy rain the dark clouds still dominated the sky, blocking out the rays of the sun, casting dancing shadows over the cobbled streets. It was just as cold as it had ever been, the wind seeming to cut through even the thickest clothing and reach the skin. These condition however did not seem to scare the pigeons away from their regular feeding place in front of the fountain. It was here that Annabel now sat, absentmindedly tossing whatever crumbs of bread she held in her hand to the expectant animals on the sidewalk before her.

"I'm glad to see you're doing well."

Her body stiffened as the familiar voice filled her ears. How the hell had he found her a second time?

"I suppose…"

"No more attempts on your life?"

"I'm afraid you're going to appear out of thin air again…"

The older man laughed at her comment…though she had not intended it to be funny. Before too long a silence had fallen over the two, the only sound coming from the feeding birds who would occasionally call up for more bread. Annabel knew talking to him would only serve to further involve him with her, and that was something she could not do. Abel on the other hand simply sat silently beside her, smiling down at the fowl, knowing if she wanted to talk, she would talk.

"How'd you find me?" she finally asked.

"You are a very unforgettable person Annabel," he replied, smile never faltering.

"Why did you find me?"

"Curiosity I suppose, you left so suddenly, I never got a chance to say good bye."

She didn't answer as she kept her eyes on the birds that hopped from stone to stone, picking up whatever piece of soggy bread they could get. That had been the whole reason she had left the way she had. In it, there was no room for 'thank you' or 'good bye'. Everyone was just allowed to return to life as if nothing had ever happened and that was the way it was supposed to be. However; it seemed that the message had failed to reach the priest who was now sitting beside her.

No, she rationalized. It was purely coincidental, like seeing an old acquaintance on the road and saying hello. There was no point in looking into this, it was chance. Something told her that the other was not really capable of a plan more sophisticated than that.

"Why did you leave so suddenly?"

Now she looked at him. Her expression wasn't really once of anger, just annoyance and a bit of skepticism.

"I didn't feel it right to impose," she answered as she threw another piece of bread to the pigeons who had begun to look at her with large eyes and tilted heads. "Besides, I never had any intention of staying."

Abel nodded slowly to this before asking his next question. "You said you had no home, correct?"

Annabel replied with a yes, eyes on the ground once again.

"So, you have no where to stay?"

She affirmed again but now raised a curious eye to the man sitting beside her. Something told her this was going in a direction she didn't want it to go.

"Then, how would you like to live at the Vatican?"

Honestly she felt as if she should have foreseen this from the moment the other sat down next to her, though maybe she had been hopeful that he would see that she was doing fine and simply leave well enough alone. She clearly was not so lucky.

She had no real desire to live at the Vatican. To put it lightly her and god were not exactly on the best of terms and the thought of living with a bunch of people who worshiped him was not an appealing thought. Then again, it was a place to stay and hide. No one would ever expect her to be living so close to the church. But still, it was a church.

"I'm not sure that would go over well…"

"I assure the people you met your first time there are very nice people."

"That isn't the reason," she replied. "I really just don't like the idea of living in a church."

It would be dangerous to let the conversation linger on any longer and so with her final words she rose to her feet, threw what she had left to the birds and began to walk away. She didn't want his charity, and she certainly didn't want the charity of the church. There were plenty of homeless children who wandered the streets of Rome, if he was so inclined he could take one of them back and give them a home. One homeless child was as good as the next.

Abel made no attempt to follow her, but she heard him call to her.

"Come to the church if you change your mind…"

And with those words ringing in her ears she pushed into the crowd and disappeared.

Weaving between the citizens who navigated the street all she could think of was how pointless the conversation had been. Had he honestly thought that she would simply comply and follow him back again like a lost dog? She wasn't even sure why she had followed him the first time, and look what trouble it had brought her. It was easier to just be alone, it always had been. Living with no attachment was far easier than trying to hold something together.

Lost in her thoughts she continued to walk the streets, not sure where she was going and not caring enough to find a destination. As much as she tried to force herself to forget her conversation with the man she found that the more she wanted to forget the more she remembered. No one had ever come after her before. Spoken to her more than once or showed even the slightest bit of interest in her well being. Why was he different?

Pulling herself from her thoughts she found that the crowd was gone, leaving her standing alone in the middle of the street. Suddenly she felt vulnerable and lonely by herself in the open space. Never before had she felt out of place when she had been on her own as she was now. It scared her how insecure she felt, how dramatically different it was from how she normally felt.

Quickly she moved back to the sidewalk, side almost pressed to the buildings in hopes of keeping herself as small and unnoticed as possible. She tried to push the thoughts of insecurity from her head, only to find they held with even tighter resolve. For the first time in years she understood distinctly and painfully that she had no place to go, no one who was waiting for her to come back, no one to miss her. For the first time she realized how alone she really was. The realization was jarring. Not once had she ever been bothered by the solitude, she even went so far as to purposefully surround herself with it. It was easier when there was no one to miss. But now she seemed to understand what that really meant. She could have died on the bridge that day and no one would have known. The sun would rise and the world would turn just the same as it always had. Nothing would stop and take notice.

Before she knew it, she looked up and felt betrayed for where her feet at led her. Standing against the dark grey of the sky was the towering monolith of the Vatican. Her feet had brought her back like some stray dog that had been offered a scrap of meat, hoping to receive a second act of kindness.

This was why she hadn't wanted kindness. Kindness inspired hope, and it was hope that burrowed into the heart and took hold, steadily growing, waiting to be destroyed. It was better to live without either. No one could hurt you when you hoped for nothing and as Annabel found herself wanting nothing more than to walk through the doors of the church and feel as if she belonged, and she was afraid. She had given up ever believing that she would have a place, to be offered one so freely seemed like a dream.

She turned away, using every last rational thought that she had she turned away and didn't look back. She didn't want hope and she didn't want kindness. All she wanted was to be left alone. But even as she told herself this, the small seed of hope had been planted in her heart.

..::*~*~*~*::..

So, it's only been, what, three years?

Time can really get away from you. I feel really bad because I think this thing had some followers, most of which who have probably lost interest by now. (Or are going to have a heart attack when they see this on alerts) I honestly can't believe how long it's been, but I'm going to try to get this thing back on track and get it finished. :)