Chapter 11 Returning to the Vatican City
Abel, Esther, Ion, and Tres stood in the lobby of the inn as they bid their farewells to Jacques and Pierre. "Thank you for everything. We hope to see you again." Esther said with a smile.
"Oh, my fair queen, you shall see us again! For we are the type of men who can't stay in one place for too long! Come by November, you shall see us back in Francia or even Castile." Pierre said. He grabbed Esther's right hand and placed a kiss on it. "Your Majesty, you will always be in my thoughts as well as my heart."
She slowly pulled her hand away from his. "Th-thank you, Pierre." She said nervously. Both Abel and Ion looked at him with eyes full of envy, rage, and death. Pierre smiled and said, "Goodbye Father Abel and Ion. I hope you protect Her Majesty."
"Oh, I will!" Ion said with a fake smile.
"Well, Pierre, Jacques, I think we must be going now. Thank you very much for everything. May the Lord return your kindness with blessings." Abel said with his silly, old smile.
"Thank you, Father Nightroad. Until next time." Jacques said.
Soon all four of them left the inn and bored an airship headed toward Rome.
Abel plopped down in a seat on the airship. "Phew! I'm so tired and hungry. Esther, would you ever be so kind as to get me a sandwich. I'm famished!"
"Oh all right." She sighed and left toward the café area of the airship. She reached it and ordered a tuna sandwich for him and a ham and cheese one for herself. After she received them, she headed back to their room, but when she walked down the hallway she stopped and saw a little girl crying. She walked up to her and bent down her level of height. "Hey, little girl, are you okay? Are you lost? Or did you loose something important?" She asked.
The little girl looked up and backed up a bit startled. She sniffed and nodded slowly with her bottom lip sticking out. "I can't find my mama. She was here a minute ago," she said and more tears flowed down her cheeks, "but now she's gone! Miss, please help me."
"Of coarse, I'll help you. But first could you tell me your name? Mine is Esther." She said as she smiled at the girl.
The girl nodded and sniffed as she said, "My name is Tabitha."
"All right Tabitha. I'll help you find your mama, but first," Esther said and looked down at the plate of sandwiches, "I need to deliver these to my friends. Maybe they could help us as well." She held out her hand so that Tabitha could take it.
Tabitha smiled cheerfully and took it. The two of them walked down the hallway. They had passed eleven rooms when Esther stopped at the twelfth one and knocked on the door. The door opened up to a pale, grateful looking Abel. "Oh thank the heavens! Esther, you're finally here! Thank you! He said and took the plate of sandwiches as he smiled widely.
That's when he noticed Tabitha. He bent down to her level and said, "Well, who do we have hear, Esther? Hello, my name is Abel. Abel Nightroad. What's yours?"
Tabitha looked up at the goofy priest with fearful eyes. Her bottom lip quivered and she broke out into tears. Abel noticed that and fretfully waved his free hand in front of his face. "Oh no. Now, don't cry. It's okay!"
"Abel!" Esther yelled. "I can't believe you made her cry! She's lost!" She bent down to Tabitha's height and she, "Now, now, Tabitha, don't cry. He might look strange, but he's really a good guy."
He set the plate of sandwiches on a table next to the door and turned back toward them as he repeated, "'Strange'?" He clicked his tongue and said, "Esther, I'm not 'strange'. Am I?" He asked just to make sure.
"Oh, Abel." She sighed and looked up at him. "You are in deed strange; you and your milk tea with thirteen spoonfuls of sugar. Abel, just help me find her mother, okay?" She looked back down at Tabitha who was still sobbing.
He looked at the two with compassion on his face and in his eyes. "Sure, Esther. I will." He said and bent down next to Tabitha. "Don't worry. I'll help you find your mother. All right?"
Tabitha looked up at him. This time she didn't see his goofy, childish self, but his compassionate, considerate self. She nodded and sniffed.
Abel gently took her other hand and said, "Well, Esther, Tabitha, let's go." Esther smiled and Tabitha nodded. They all started to walk back down the hallway toward the café area of the airship.
Abel and Esther looked around in the café for Tabitha's mother or father, but no one had seen them. They decided to knock on everyone's doors to ask him or her, but they had no luck.
"Well, where should we look now?" Esther sighed as she held Tabitha in her arms. Tabitha yawned as she rested her head on Esther's shoulder.
"I don't know." He sighed. He stood beside her and said as he looked down at Tabitha, "But it looks like Miss Tabitha here is ready for a nap."
Tabitha yawned again. "I'm sorry Miss Esther and Mister Abel." She said tiredly and closed her eyes. "But I'm...not that tired…." She whispered but soon fell asleep.
He smiled at down at her. "I believe so." He muttered and the looked at Esther. "I think we should take her to our room. It's best if we let her sleep." He placed a hand on his stomach as it growled loudly. He blushed lightly and added as he laughed faintly, "Besides I really need to eat that sandwich."
"Oh, Abel. Yes, let's go." She said and walked down the hallway toward the door. They reached it and opened it with a key that Abel carried. They both walked inside and Esther made her way toward the couch. She set Tabitha down and left to fetch a blanket for her.
Meanwhile, Abel picked up the plate of wrapped sandwiches and brought them to the table where ther he opened them.
Esther came back into the room from the bedroom carrying a big, blue velvet blanket. She walked over to the couch and placed it over Tabitha.
"Emther, mome, amd meat mour manmich. (Esther, come and eat your sandwich)" His voice came from table.
She turned to see him with half of his sandwich in his hand and the other half in his mouth. She shook her head as she walked toward table and sat in a chair. She picked up her wrapped ham and cheese sandwich, unwrapped it, took a bite of it, and chewed it.
Abel was quickly done with his sandwich and got up to get a glass of water. He took a glass bottle out of a small, tin bucket of ice and asked, "Esther would you like some water?"
"Yes, please." She replied and took another bite of her sandwich.
He grabbed two glasses next to the bucket of ice and walked back over to the table. He set the glasses on the table, pulled the top off the bottle, and poured water into the two wine glasses. He picked up one and handed it to her. She took it with a smile. He took his and sat back down in his seat. He drank his water slowly and stared at her lovingly as she ate.
Soon she was done with her sandwich and sipped some of her water. She stared into her glass. "Hey Abel?" She spoke up after a long moment of silence.
"Yes?" He replied, curious to what she was going to ask.
"Abel…you're going to stay with me forever right?" She asked as she still looked down into her glass.
"Esther," he sighed jokingly, "it's impossible for one to live forever."
"She looked up aback at his words. "Abel, I mean as long we live! You'll be with me till then and you won't ever leave me again, right?" She looked her teary eyes into his compassionate ones.
"Esther, I'm sorry." He sighed, "I can't promise that."
A tear fell from her eye and flowed down her cheek where it fell onto her dress. "Why?" She yelled. She had lost her temper and emotions. "Why can't you just promise me that you will?! I don't mean that you will always be right at my side, but at Rome working with the Vatican! You don't have to run away from us anymore to keep us safe from Cain!"
He looked at her surprised at her words as she continued, "Because we will all fight together! You don't have to fight alone anymore!"
"Esther! That's enough!" He yelled back livid at her words. "Esther can't you see? Bringing you into this mess will just end up by your death! Cain is too powerful and he already tried to assonate you twice! Yes, I was there to protect you, but what if I'm not there the next time? I had heard that Cain wanted the Albian throne that is why I brought you along. But I now realize that my decision was wrong. I wish that we could stay together, but it's best if you return to Albion immediately, or at least stay in Rome."
"Abel! I cannot do that! My feelings and worry of your safety won't allow it! I finally was able to see you again after three years!" She yelled back as more tears fell from her eyes.
"Your feelings?" He questioned astonished. "What about mine? Do you know how I would feel if I saw you lying dead at my feet? The girl who I lov-" he stopped. "No, I can't tell her." He thought. "She doesn't deserve a guy like me."
"What?" She asked and he stood his head, "Never mind."
Suddenly a soft, high voice came from behind them. "Miss Esther, Mister Abel; are you mad at each other?"
Esther whipped the tears away from her eyes as she turned around and saw Tabitha. She walked up to her and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Oh no, Tabitha. We're not 'mad' at each other. We just had a little disagreement. That's all."
"Yes, Tabitha. Everything is fine." He lied.
"Okay. Well that's good. I hate to see people yell and fight and hate each other." She proclaimed. Esther and Abel avoided eye contact from each other and Tabitha.
Abruptly, the door opened up and Father Tres and Ion walked in. "Esther! Abel! There you are!" Ion exclaimed. "We were looking for you everywhere!"
"Sorry, Ion. We were trying to help find this girl's mother." Esther explained as she picked up Tabitha.
"Oh! You must be that deceased lady's child!" He shouted.
"Deceased lady?" Abel and Esther repeated in unison. Tres answered, "Affirmative, Father Nightroad, Your Highness. A woman the age of 24 died from a heart attack three hours ago. Her name was Katherine Cromwell."
Tabitha looked at him wide-eyed. "My mommy…my mommy died!" She exclaimed disbelievingly as hot, fresh tears poured down her cheeks. She buried her head onto Esther's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Tabitha." Esther said as she hugged her tightly. "My mommy died!" She cried again as she sobbed and hugged Esther back.
The anger that was in Abel left him and now sorrow and grief for the child and her mother swept through him. He looked at both Esther and Tabitha sorrowfully.
The death of Katherine Cromwell was a natural one but one of grief from her late husband, Christian Cromwell who died three years ago in one of Cain's attacks. Abel and Esther stayed in their room with the sobbing Tabitha while Ion ran some errands for them and Tres contacted Lady Catherine.
Tabitha had calmed down a bit and stared to fall asleep on the couch while she laid her head on Esther's lap. Esther, who sat next to her, brushed her fingers though Tabitha's locks of short copper-colored hair.
Tabitha slowly closed her eyes as Esther hummed a lullaby. All of a sudden the airship jolted causing them both to fly toward the floor, but Abel, who kept his balance, caught them both.
Tabitha held on to Abel's waist tightly and cried again; her tears where that of fright as the airship jolted again from the turbulence.
Esther savored the moment and buried her head against his shirt and jacket. No matter how mad she was fright had always dominated it.
"Now, now it's okay, Tabitha. It's just a little turbulence. It will be over soon." Abel whispered. He felt her head move up and down against his torso and he sighed.
As Abel had prophesied, the turbulence ended after a few minuets and everything was smooth again.
Esther backed away from Abel and sat back on the couch. Tabitha went to follow her. Pain was on her face. Esther had noticed it and asked, "Tabitha is something wrong? Does something hurt?"
She nodded, "Yes, Miss Esther. My ear, it hurts really, really bad!" Tears started to flow from her eyes again as the pain grew worse. "Make it stop, Miss Esther! Please!" She cried as she ran toward Esther.
"Oh, dear! You must have an earache!" Esther realized and went over to her. She placed a hand on her forehead and found it a little warmer then normal. "Oh, dear. You have a fever too."
Abruptly the door open again and Ion came in. "Perfect! Ion, I need you to go and find me some aspirin." She instructed him. He nodded and left the room once again. She looked up at Abel and said, "Abel, would you go to the dinning room and get a glass of ice tea."
"Ice tea?" He questioned. "Esther, we have water here for her."
"Ice tea with aspirin is the best thing to get rid of a earache!" She snapped as she led Tabitha back over to the couch and made her lie down. (A/N It's true that ice tea with an aspirin clears up earaches. I had swimmers ear one time in the summer and nothing would help it until I took aspirin and ice tea together!)
Abel weakly nodded and left the room to get the ice tea. Esther fixed the blanket over Tabitha and the pillows under Tabitha's head. She sat back in a chair next to the couch and sighed. "Abel, why won't you say that you love me? I love you so much, more than anyone in the whole world. I want to kiss you. I want to hug you and never let go. My black-winged angel."
The door opened up again as both Ion and Abel came in. "Here Esther, I brought you the aspirin." Ion said kindly as he handed it to her. "Thank you, Ion." She said with a smile. She reached over and held Tabitha's head up as she said, "Tabitha, swallow this." She stuck it into Tabitha's open mouth and watched her swallow it.
Abel, who stood next to them, gave her the glass of ice tea. Tabitha took it and drank haft of it. She gave the cup to Esther and fell asleep. Ion watched all three of them and thought, "This scene…I remember a scene like this before. It was when I was round the same age as Tabitha. I got a fever from play outside with Radu when it was pouring rain. Radu brought me the medicine and my parents gave me it. How ironic that right now I'm sort of like the old Radu, Esther is like my mother, Abel is like my father, and Tabitha is like me. Even though I love Esther so much. She's the prettiest and nicest girl in the world!"
Ion's stomach growled quietly and he looked out the window. The sky was filled the colors of yellow-orange, pink, and purple filled the sky. "I haven't eating a thing since this morning. I better go and eat some dinner." He thought to himself as he placed a hand on his stomach. "Esther, Father Abel, I'll be right back."
Esther turned her head and nodded. He opened the door and left. She looked back down at Tabitha, whose pain had left her face and replaced with calmness. Esther sighed and stood up. She walked away from Tabitha and Abel and went toward the bathroom, ignoring Abel's confused face.
After she reached the bathroom, she turned on the faucet in the sink and placed the drain stopper inside it. Soon the sink was haft filled with water. She took off her ring and sat it on the counter. She cupped her hands together, scoped up the water in the sink, bent over the sink, placed her hands on her face, and washed her face.
After she was done, she blindly reached for a hand towel on the counter. However, when she was looking for the towel she bumped her ring and it fell on the round and rolled away from her. She picked up the towel and whipped her face dry. She then turned the faucet off. She looked down and stretched a hand to grab her ring and put it back on. But it was not there. She looked into the water to see if she knocked it into it, but it was not there.
She got on her hands and knees and began searching the floor. She looked to and fro around the counter but did see it. She started to search the rest of the floor on her hands and knees when she banged her head into the towel rack and made it fall on the floor with a loud bang.
When Abel heard the band, he looked at Tabitha and saw her sleeping peacefully. Then he got up and walked toward the bathroom to see if Esther was okay. He came up to the door and opened it to find her on the floor as she was fixing the towel on the towel rack. "Esther? Are you all right? I heard a loud noise it here so I thought that maybe something happened." He said.
She turned her head and glared at him. "I'm fine!" She snorted and continued to look for the ring.
"Did you lose something?" He asked confused.
"Yes!" She replied angrily as she continued to search for it.
"What is it?" He questioned again and added, "I'll help you."
"It's just the wedding ring, but it doesn't mean anything!" She proclaimed as she stood up and stomped out of the room.
"E-Esther?" He gasped and held out a hand to stop her, but it didn't reach. He sighed, bent down, and began to look for the ring. "Not important?" He muttered. "Then why was she so desperate to find it?"
Esther sighed and lay down onto of her bed. She stared up into the ceiling and pictured Abel's carefree face. The face that made her fall in love with that first day she meet him when he scoffed down the bread and porridge she had given him. The sunlight from the setting sun that poked through the window had disappeared now and the room had grown dark. She sighed again, curled up into a ball, and placed her hands on her chest where her heart was. "Why does the pain cease to end? I love him so much. Why can't he just return my feelings and replace the eternal pain with everlasting happiness?" She wondered as she lay there in the dark.
The door opened up and let a creak of light in, but some of it disappeared because a body blocked it as it came in. "Esther, I found it." A male voice said. But Esther didn't look up or reply. She just lay there as a tear fell from her eye and onto the blanket on the bed. She knew it was Abel.
His face looked even sadder when he didn't hear he reply or look up. He walked over to her bed and sat on the end of it. He looked at her curled up body and said, "Esther, here." He reached his long arm over to her head and placed the ring right before her face.
"I don't want it." She lied as another tear fell from her eye.
"Do you really mean that?" His serious voice asked.
His serious voice made the pain in her heart and the lump in her throat bigger. She wanted to jump into his arms and hug him as she cried, but her stubbornness stopped her.
"No." She whispered and sat up. She slipped the ring on her finger. "Even though it's fake, I still one it. Silly isn't?" She forced out a laugh, but then tears flowed down her cheeks.
"No, it's not silly." He comforted. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Don't cry. There's no reason to."
"Yes there is." She said in between sobs. "I'm sorry, Abel."
He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. "It's okay." He backed away and said, "Now, get to sleep. We'll be in Rome in a few hours, so you need your rest." She nodded and fell back. He pulled the blankets over her and left the room. She watched him and when he closed the door as he left the room, she closed her eyes.
yay! long chapter to make up last week's short one! i hope you enjoyed it! review please!
notes on countries:
Albion England
Allemagne Germany
Vahna Suomi Finland
Nordrvegr Norway Castile Spain
notes on characters and their names:
Esther means 'star of hope'. She hates roses because around Abel's coffin at the church where he died was roses.
Abel means 'a breath'. Doesn't want to tell Esther that he loves her because he thinks that its best if he doesnt burren her with his Crusnik side. He wants her to marry a Terran and live a happy life.
Ion means 'God is good'. The name 'Ion' is Russian.
Tres means 'three' in Spanish. I believe that he was given this name because he was the thrid version of the 1st one in the very beginning of the 1st episode of Trinity Blood.
Catherine (or Catrina- Spanish version) means pure.
Tabitha means 'a gazelle'. A gazelle is a small graceful swift antelope native to the arid plains of Africa and Aisa that has long ringed horns and black face markings.
Cain means craftsman. Cain was in Vahna Suomi untill he found out that Abel and the Vatican wher coming to him. He escaped to Castile and brought with him a partner whom you will find out later about it the chapters to come...