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Last Time:
Esther was left gasping, and appearing drugged up as she leaned against the Vatican operative's strong toned chest. "…s-sorry…" she gasped out before going completely limp in exhausted unconsciousness in Father Nightroad's embrace.
The AX officer took her nearly weightless body bridle style in his arms. He wanted to smile but found the action lacking as the cause of this outcome came to his mind. Finding his charge secure in his embrace, Crusnik 02 sprang into the air, flying in the direction of the Empire. All the while he flew searching out with his ruby spheres for a place to finally rest. Because this trip just got a whole lot more complicated.
This Time:
Forget Me Not
Chapter XI-Intertwined Bloodship I
With an echoing groan, and the flickering of her eyelids, Esther woke to a dark world eliminated only by fire glow. Her eyes narrowed in confusion at the sight of amber glowing stone above her head.
"So you're awake finally," happily chuckled a voice from somewhere. "And here I thought I'd end up carrying you all the way to the Empire!"
Straining to turn her aching head, the young red and ebony haired girl found a glowing small bonfire near her, beyond it sat a blurry figure. Rubbing her sleep hazed eyes; Esther lifted her sore and throbbing body to a sitting position.
"Abel…that you…" Esther crocked still rubbing her eyes.
A small chuckle answered; one that sounded very familiar. "Who else would be taking care of you while you were unconscious?"
Esther blushed at that fact as she smiled up at her clergy companion. "Thank you for taking care of me Father Nightroad…" the teen blinked at the sight of the priest. At the sight her face turned the same shade of red as a ripe tomato. "A-A-Abel…where's your shirt?!"
The silver haired priest looked down at himself to find his pale muscular chest bare, then the ebony shirt lying on a rock near the fire. It was Abel's turn to turn as red as that certain vegetable. "M-My apologies M-Miss Esther!" he stammered out franticly. "But its still raining and my clothes were wet and needed to dry so…"
Esther turned her eyes away from the well toned and sculpted chest, a strong blush still on her pale cheeks. The young yet old teen found the fact that a priest could be so muscular and so attractive, could also be so damn untouchable. God wanted to torture women apparently with having his followers that gorgeous. Esther mentally groaned at the rather inappropriate thought, Abel was gong to be the death of her; there was not doubt.
"It's alright Father," she murmured looking at her lap, only to find the Father's dry overcoat lying atop her. "I…think this is yours…" she said as she held it up and out to the AX officer. When she held it up though, she found charred punctures and large ripped holes in the back of the heavy garment.
Gazing through it, Esther found a rather sheepishly grinning Father Nightroad. These were bullet holes, Esther was sure of it. And Abel was sitting there like he hadn't gotten shot at all; she hadn't even known he had gotten shot.
"These are bullet holes…" Esther stated aloud, repeating what she knew to be fact. Then she was scrambling toward Abel. "Oh my god Abel!! Are you alright!?! Where are you hurt?! Let me see!!" Esther kneeled franticly by her companion, a hand on his bare shoulder, the other hovering over his pale back. "But…" she trailed, eyes wide and staring. "You're…you're not hurt…"
Abel grinned at her from over his shoulder. "No, I'm not. Guns don't do a lot to me."
Esther's staring continued at the unblemished skin; not a single mark marred the pale flesh of the priest's back. She ran a hand down a shoulder blade struggling to make sure that her eyes were in fact not deceiving her. She couldn't believe it even as she stared at the evidence laid out before her, but it was very true. Esther only noticed what she was really doing and who she was touching when the skin beneath her hands shivered.
Jerking her hands back as if she had been burned, Esther looked up at her companion with a glow to her cheeks. "…sorry…"
Abel smiled as he turned toward her more. "That's alright Miss Esther; your hands are just a little cold."
"That all," she grinned. "That's easily fixed." And spinning around on the cave's floor, Esther sat and held her hands out to the fire. "There, all fixed," she said still staring into the amber flames.
As she stared, more and more did those tongues of flames resemble wings; spread and unfurled. Esther just continued to stare transfixed into fire as she struggled to not think of the Crusnik. However, it was particularly difficult and extremely unfruitful. In silence Esther could not stop thinking of the rumored creature when said man sat right next to her, his eyes burrowing holes in the top of her head. It was uncomfortable and made her task all the more difficult.
"You have a lot of questions Esther, you might as well ask."
Esther spun her head to face Abel, crimson mane flailing. "You…" she started but trailed lowering her eyes hesitantly. "I wasn't sure if you were comfortable with answering my questions, so I didn't ask. But if you'll let me, I do have some questions."
A chuckle came from the glasses wearing Father and Esther finally looked back up at him to see his wrinkle-eyed grin. "Ask away Esther, you're allowed; I owe you a lot. Just be aware that I might not be able to answer all your questions for multiple reasons."
The ¾ Methuselah teen nodded and stared into the flames once more to ponder her first question. It didn't really take long for an inquiry to arise, and Esther finally looked up at her friend. "Umm…" she hesitated as her cheeks glowed pink. "How…how old are you Father Nightroad?"
Abel chuckled at Esther's surprising shyness; she never did come off as a shy girl. "Well…to be honest…I kinda forgot how old I am," he said with a nervous chuckle while scratching the back of his head. Esther gave him a confused look; ruby brow raised. "All I can say is…that I was around before the birth of the Empire, and haven't aged much since. So I'd be around 900 years old, but now I'm sure it's a 1,000 or so."
"You're that old?!! You don't look a day over 25; at the most!"
Abel just chuckled again a glow to his pale face that didn't come from the fire.
Esther looked at the ground, she was barely pushing 100, and she didn't even look her age. When she ever said she was eighteen (in terran years), people looked at her like she was joking. Did she really look that young? Guess that was something Abel and her had in common.
"So what do you eat…I mean…do you need something special…" she trailed, thinking the inquiry a very stupid question, but unable to keep it from spilling from her mouth.
The smile on the priest's face faltered, but soon came back stronger. That fact didn't go unnoticed by an ever observant Esther though, but she did let it go. "That's something I'd rather not talk about," he said softly with a smile.
The teen nodded in understanding as she continued on. "This really isn't a question, more of a compliment. But your scythe and wing are remarkable and very beautiful."
"Thank you…" he answered sounding surprised and uncertain.
Esther gave Abel her most warming smile to reassure him. "You're welcome. But where does that lightning come from? Do you conjure it out of nowhere or create it?"
"It comes from my wings actually. I can create the lightning and manipulate it at will."
The redhead made and "O" face, but it soon become somber and hesitant again.
"Something wrong Esther?" he asked worried at the sudden change in his young companion.
Nibbling and abusing her lower lip, the ten hesitated further to ask her question; her more serious questions. So engrossed in thought Esther never noticed herself biting down on her lip till she tasted blood. Now sucking on it, the redhead looked back up at a confused Abel Nightroad.
"I'm alright," but the smile she gave never reached her eyes and was very fake to Abel's eyes.
"You sure Esther? You looked very serious there for a moment."
The teen nodded her head, letting her sapphire eyes fall to the fire. "I thought of question, but it would be too personal, and I know you wouldn't answer it. So I won't ask." The young woman smiled fondly up at the clergymen. "I couldn't ask him that," she thought.
So dispelling the unwanted inquires, Esther kicked up meaningless chatter. She used this opportunity to get to know Abel Nightroad as a person, not the legend. Esther asked what some of his favorite things were; they consisted of tea with 13 cubes of sugar, food in general, favorite color was blue. Then there was his dislike of the number four; his unlucky number apparently. Abel even spoke of his old AX members and friends without a hint of grief. All the while the Methuselah girl and priest smiled exchanging stories of happiness long past.
The evening continued on in the same fashion; the endless rain still pouring down in heavy sheets.
Esther gazed out at it as she stood at the cave's mouth. "It's really coming down. It's been at if for a day or so now; we can't wait much longer."
Abel came to stand by her side, adorning his overcoat against the chill he didn't feel. "There's nothing we can do about it so you might as well go rest Miss Esther, I'll be there shortly."
Shrugging, the blue eyed teen turned back to the fire lit cave and curled up on the dirt floor already cleared of jagged rock. With the sheer down pour continuing, it lulled the young Methuselah girl to sleep in no time. Leaving Abel to watch Esther's slow and deep breathing that combined with the sound of rain.
Taking his place by the slumbering girl-child, Abel sat and leaned against the caves wall. He sighed; things would become more difficult in the future. Without her pills Esther would have to relay on local wildlife to survive. However, she could not live off of animals indefinitely; Esther needed terran blood to do that.
Looking to his wrist Abel sighed again. "My blood is no better," he said to himself so not to wake the young lady.
Though the Nanomachines wouldn't kill her, there would or could be deadly side affects. Abel couldn't risk it, yet the redhead could get sick off of animal blood just as well. Esther was not in a good situation, either way she risked her health.
Then there was Abel himself. He had fed on the blood of the Auto-Jagers; as disgusting as it was. With that blood he would be able to last a week, at best. And all the while his food source was sleeping and walking right at his side. Tormenting, and mocking him as her replenishing life source beat in her body to be heard constantly by him.
"God is being cruel," he thought as he threw more wood on the fire before leaning back against the wall of their shelter. "O Lord, give me the strength I need," was Abel's final thought before sleep came up to claim him.
- - -
A thunderous crack shook the air, to be simultaneously followed by a blood curdling scream of terror. These were the sounds that tore Abel from his restful slumber.
Jerking forward, eyes blinking form the constant flashing of lighting and the roaring thunder, Abel searched for the source of the screaming. And he found it, kneeling with her arms wrapped securely around her like a security blanket. Leaning so far forward that her brow nearly touched the dirt, was Esther; sapphire orbs squeezed shut in what looked to be pain. Her whimpers rang in Abel's ears as the light show outside continued. The silver haired Father didn't know what to do till Esther clamped her hands over her ears in a desperate attempt to drown out something as she screamed again.
"Esther!" he cried out and took the screaming girl into his arms. "What's wrong Esther?! Come on, talk to me!!"
Her screams settled to loud whimpers and moans, but through clenched fangs she didn't answer. Soon though, those cerulean pools looked up at him, but they were unseeing, wide in a fearful craze. Esther stared up at Abel, not seeing him as she spoke so softly, that if he didn't have his keen hearing he'd never had heard her speak through the rolling thunder and crashing rain.
"The explosions…like constant rolling thunder shacking walls, floors and shattering windows. Fire was everywhere making breathing difficult…blood was all over, flowing like rivers. Everyone was screaming for help or screaming with pain; running ground frantic. Oh God…the very air seemed to chill and become thick with fear at the name…RosenKreuz they screamed…RosenKreuz…"
The traveling priest stared on in shock, just as shaken as the girl he held. The thunder storm was causing Esther to relive the night Albion fell to the Orden.
"I ran…" Esther wheezed out as she clutched to Abel's robes. "…I ran crying for mother…grandmother….anyone that cared. But they were dead…lying dead as he stood over their broken bodies laughing…" crocked the distraught teen into the priest's robes. "…I hear him now…his laughter haunting me ever minute of every day…"
Esther's sobs and cries grew louder as she tossed her head. This was quickly becoming more then Abel could handle. The once strong and determined girl was falling apart right in front of him and it was beyond agonizing. He tried yelling her name and shacking her slightly to bring her out of it, but nothing worked. Her nightmare only continued on, becoming his own.
"…stop it…" she sobbed out into Abel's chest so brokenly it was heart wrenching. "…stop it…stop it…stop it Von Kampfer!"
So it was Von Kampfer that shattered his little Esther's world in a single night. The manic magician made Esther into who she was today. Broken and fragile, untrusting, hollow, but making her stronger for the even harsher future.
Hugging her closer as she sobbed, Abel then let her go to hold the pale tear streaked face in his gloved hands. "Esther…" he whispered with as much as emotion as he could; her whimpers quieted, it was working. "I'm on your side; remember…I'm here for you…"
Those softly spoken reassuring words got the desired reaction. The whimpers slowly came to a halt, as the sapphire pools Abel stared into blinked to fully take him in. Esther gave him such a broken look as her brows furrowed, tears sparkling in her eyes anew he nearly cried. There was so much in her eyes that Abel saw as she stared so openly up at him. Every barrier she had built had grumbled to his feet revealing a very distraught, broken and burdened young woman. To the very old man, he could not think of such a beautiful yet saddening sight, and it was he who held it in his unworthy hands.
"You're alright Esther; you're safe," he whispered again softly still peering into the jeweled spheres. "…I won't let Von Kampfer hurt you again….I promise you that."
Esther squinted further struggling not to cry, but she did any way. "Abel," she sobbed and clung to him anew, burying her face in his warm and strong chest wetting it with her salty tears.
"Shh..." he cued, but clapping thunder shook the sky and the girl the Crusnik held cringed, gripping his robes till her knuckles were white. "It's alright Esther…I'm here…" he soothed. "You're safe; I got you."
And through the rest of the night, Abel Nightroad continued to soothe and comfort Esther till she fell back into slumber. He too was soon to follow the mixed breed girl into the rejuvenating act of sleep; never letting go of his treasured prize.
- - -
Slowly rising from the world of dreams, the traveling Father woke to a bright and glistening world. The brightness caused Abel to blink excessively to banish the white dots from his vision. However, once done, he found the forest foliage glistening as if nature had decorated itself with thousands of diamonds; casting rainbows on everything. It was a breathtaking sight in a world stricken with war and suffering.
"Esther…" Abel said. "Look outside; it's beautiful."
No answer was forthcoming.
Turning his head about, Abel Nightroad found that he was alone in the cave that had been their shelter for the night. The young red and ebony haired Methuselah girl was nowhere to be seen; she wasn't in his lap where she had fallen back asleep, nor on the ground as if she had moved herself. No, Esther was nowhere to be seen. There was only the priest and the still smoldering fire pit.
"Esther?!" Abel cried out as he sprang to his feet and bolted out of the cave. "Esther!! ESSSSTHEEEEER!!!" Abel screamed again to the surrounding forest, forcing birds from their branches, and grazing animals to bolt in a flurry of leaves and dancing rainbows.
"Jeez Abel, don't wake the whole forest," exclaimed a voice playfully.
Spinning about so fast that his silver ponytail whipped him in the face, Abel gazed up and behind him. The morning sun glared into his eyes, forcing the AX member to hold up a hand to block out the morning sun and address the silhouette standing atop the small cliff the cave resided in.
"You disappeared on me Esther! I was worried sick about you! I thought you were kidnapped; so waking the forest was the least of my worries!!"
Esther was taken back by Abel's sharp clipped tone, but chuckled none the less. Stepping off the cliff to plummet to the ground, the redhead landed gracefully bent down on a knee. Standing gracefully with bags in all, she gave the legendary priest a warm smile.
"Good morning Father Nightroad; got you breakfast," and from one bag she pulled two apples.
Abel gawked, drooling at the mouth at the pieces of fruit; his stomach growled its joy at the sight. "Oh Esther, you're a miracle worker! Where did you get these!?"
The smiling face fell to a solemn frown, as sapphire pools dodged arctic ones.
"Esther?" questioned Abel concerned.
She sighed unshouldering several other bags. "Where do you think Father…the wreckage of course."
Abel stiffened instantly, staring seriously down at the young woman as he came to stand over her. "That was dangerous Esther; the Orden could still be around…tracking us. That was stupid and reckless of you."
The redhead flinched at the hard tone Abel used. It had been a while since she had been reprimanded, and a scarily stern priest didn't make it better; she sighed. "I'm sorry; I know it was stupid, but we needed supplies! I needed to see if I could find my pills; if I could find those it would make this trip easier and less threatening. It was well worth the risk," she stated sternly, defending herself.
"I greatly disagree. You could have woken me so I could've gone with you as protection; that would have made the venture better."
Esther growled in her throat, forcing herself to keep eye contact with that icy narrowed stare. "Fine, see if I get you food again, and maybe I won't mend you robes while I'm at it," she huffed trying to make the argument less tense.
Abel didn't fall for it, his glacial eyes narrowed making Esther flinch and taking a step back as she dodged his eyes. "It's not a joking matter Esther. IF you had been seen, let alone caught, everything would have been lost. I understand you're reasoning, but you still should have told me! I'm trying to help you Esther, so trust me!"
Giving a small nod, Esther stared at the ground. Abel spoke true, if they got into trouble with RosenKreuz, it was Abel who would get them out of it. She had no right not to tell him, even if he did look so adorable sleeping that she hated to wake him up.
Still staring at her booted feet, the teen didn't notice the priest move till, a sudden hand landed on her head starting her out of her muses. Esther's looked up to find a warmly smiling Father Nightroad.
"Please, tell me next time you wander off. I may not stop worrying, but it would help Esther."
"I'm sorry," she whispered and held up the two apples like a token of her apology. "Here's your breakfast."
He took them with a smile, but not before that gloved hand skimmed through silky crimson tresses. "Thank you Esther, but don't you want any."
Stepping back the teen forced a smile. "I'm fine; I've already had breakfast."
Abel silently cursed Esther's and his bad luck. By her stating that she had gotten breakfast, told the traveling Vatican operative that the blood pills were lost; whether unfound or destroyed. This left the young ¾ Methuselah girl to hunt the wildlife and no doubt become sick. He was no better off though, sooner or later he would need nourishment, and who else to feed on but the closest Methuselah possible. And Esther just so happened to be mostly Methuselah. This once simple and slightly unthreatening journey was steadily going from bad to worse.
"O Lord…help me…"
A/N: OH MY GOD!! I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING BEFORE THIS!! Things led to another and I had less and less time to update, and I was hoping to scramble out several chapters. Talk about a loud of crap; I'm such a lousy author. But here's this chapter and we finally get to hear what happened in little snippets, there however, is much more you all don't know (evil grin) BWAHAHAHAH!!!
Don't forget to review; and you are allowed to bit my head off for the very late update.
BLAZE
