Hello all. Me again. I hope you enjoy the latest installment of Annabelle's journey through life. Thankfully, this chapter is shorter than the last two have been. Happy reading and remember, I own hardly anything.

Chapter Fourteen

The next morning was far from a good one for Annabelle. She had stayed awake all night by her master's side as he sang the same demented song over and over again. When the sun had risen to greet the Earth, she'd watched as General Yeegar's soul left it. And even after he'd gone, she'd sat there, knelt down before his bandaged old body, crying until they'd taken it away.

She felt arms around her after a while. When had those gotten there? How long had they been there? She did not know. And yet, there they were, strong arms comforting her in her time of need.

She turned to see who it was, for they were behind her, and found that it was a tall, red-headed young man wearing a black eye-patch over his right eye.

He smiled to show her his sympathy. Annabelle was surprised by this. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.

As she watched him, she saw a look of seriousness wash over his face as he said, "I couldn't stand to see a pretty girl like you grieving alone." The smile returned, "So I came here to let you know that you're not alone."

Annabelle looked at him in confusion, wondering what the smiling young Bookman meant. Seeing this, Lavi began to explain. "You aren't the only one that's lost him Red," he said, "The entire Order's lost a great man. We've also lost nine pieces of Innocence. True, you were the man's apprentice, but Yeegar didn't just influence your life. His teachings enriched the lives of so many others as well." He smiled sympathetically at her again. "I bet that, once the whole Order hears about his death, everyone will grieve almost as much as you are right now." Then, the one-eyed boy's smile changed from one of sympathy to one of mischief. "Besides," he said, looking her in the eye, "I couldn't resist the opportunity to wrap my arms around such a beautiful girl."

If she hadn't been so surprised by this comment, Annabelle would have probably hit the young Bookman, but she wasn't in the mood for violence. So, she just sighed and accepted Lavi's embrace.

They had remained in that position for a good twenty minutes, in complete silence, when Annabelle finally spoke.

"Lavi, wasn't it?" she asked him.

"Yeah?" Lavi replied.

She smiled slightly at him. "Thanks." she said quietly.

Lavi looked stunned by this comment. His face became as red as his hair and Annabelle could feel his heart begin to beat faster. Slowly, he regained his composure.

"Just promise me you won't stop fighting." he said softly.

At first, Annabelle wondered why Lavi had asked this of her, when he didn't even know her very well, but then she realized that it was because he didn't know her all that well that he had asked. He didn't know that even though she had lost her mother, her adoptive father, her nursemaid, and now the man who had been her teacher; that she would never stop fighting until she got her revenge. She had secretly vowed to herself, that night, that she, and she alone, would kill the Earl and Road Kamelot and avenge her family and her master. Yet, Lavi couldn't know that, for he knew almost nothing about her.

So, voicing the vow she'd made just a few hours ago in secret, she said to him, "I promise. For my master, for the Order, for my family, and for myself, that I will never stop fighting."

"Your master would be proud," Lavi said smiling.

Annabelle almost began sobbing again. "It's just so hard sometimes," she said, "You know? I've lost everyone I've ever considered to be my family and yet I know I still have to fight..." she paused. "Sometimes...sometimes I wonder if I'm really the right one. I wonder if that prophecy was really for me. And if so, then why?"

Though he didn't know this girl whom he held in his arms very well, he couldn't help but feel bad for her. He knew how she felt. When he became the Old Panda's apprentice he had had to give up his entire identity in order to preserve the secrecy of the Bookman clan. In fact, Lavi had changed his name so many times now that he wasn't sure what his real name was. He no longer remembered if he'd ever had a family in the first place. He'd been with old man Bookman for so long that, though he hated to admit it, the Old Panda was the closest thing to a father he'd ever remembered having.

"Just remember," he told Annabelle, "You don't have to fight alone."

Annabelle nodded her head.

But I do have to fight alone, Lavi thought to himself. Relationships, whether romantic or not, were forbidden to those of the Bookman clan. He'd gone his entire life pretending to be friends with people simply for the sake of collecting information.

He knew that he was only supposed to be an observer, but sometimes he couldn't help getting involved, no matter what his Bookman instincts told him. He knew he was growing attached to the people of the Order, and he felt as if he were betraying all that he'd ever been taught, but he figured that it was just some Higher Power telling him that maybe the ways of the Bookmen were wrong.

Even now as he held this poor, disheveled, down-hearted girl in his arms, he began to feel something within him stirring. Yet he wasn't quite sure what it was. His instincts told him to let go of her, to walk away now before it was too late, but his conscience wouldn't let him leave her. For the first time since he'd become a Bookman, Lavi was conflicted, and it was all because of a single, fragile, fiery-haired girl whom he'd only just met not ten days ago.

The girl in his arms began to stir and he let go of her. Annabelle stood and thanked Lavi again for his comfort. She then turned toward the door and stepped out of the room. Lavi waited a few minutes before following her.

Annabelle entered the room in which she and Lenalee were supposed to have shared and found that it was now occupied by not just Lenalee, but Allen, Komui, and a short, elderly man who did, in fact, look vaguely pandaesque. He was bald except for one long, twisting ponytail that stood up unnaturally and he wore the black and silver uniform of an Exorcist.

"Annabelle," Komui said to her, "This is Bookman." he gestured to the short old man. "He's the one who patched up General Yeegar before he..." the Branch Chief let the sentence drift away. He simply couldn't say the word, couldn't face the truth of the matter.

"Before he died," obviously, Bookman had no trouble stating this fact as his face didn't reveal an ounce of sorrow. "I am sorry for your loss, but there was nothing more I could do. His body and mind were beyond repair."

Annabelle was a bit peeved by the emotionless way in which the man said this, but, since she knew nothing about the man, decided to hold her tongue in respect. She didn't need her emotions causing trouble on this sad day any more than the others did. So, she just nodded and said, "Thank you for your attempts."

Komui cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone," he said, "Now that the Earl has made it clear that he is doubling his attempts to retrieve the Heart by whatever means necessary, we must do what we can to protect the rest of the Generals." he looked at Allen, "All of them. Including General Cross."

"But we don't know where he is." Allen said.

Komui smiled. "That is why I'm sending you to find him." Allen started. "Worry not," Komui said, "I'm putting all of you, as members of Cross' team, to the task." he glanced at Annabelle. "Including you Annabelle."

It was Annabelle's turn to start. "Why me?" she asked.

"Well," Komui began, "In the first place, you're now without a general. In the second place, you're Cross' only known biological relative. So it's only natural that I place you on his team." he smiled again, "You do want to find your father don't you?"

Annabelle looked at the man, eyes wide in surprise. The opportunity to accomplish her own personal goal was staring her in the face. She couldn't just turn it down, even if it meant being on the same team as Lenalee.

"Of course I do!" she exclaimed.

"Then it's settled," Komui said, "Starting tomorrow, you'll all begin scouring the world for General Cross."

Everyone in the room nodded an affirmative and then, one by one, began to exit the room to go look around town a bit.

As Annabelle turned to go, Komui stopped her.

"Annabelle," he said, "There's something I want to talk to you about."

Annabelle turned to face the man. "It's about the prophecy isn't it?"

Komui nodded. "I've received a call from Headquarters about the girl you brought back from Scotland."

"Hikari?"

"Yes." Komui confirmed. "Hevlaska has identified her as the Storyteller in the prophecy."

Annabelle hardly belived him. "She's sure?" she questioned.

"Yes," Komui replied, "Her synchro-rate is eighty-three percent, which is unusually high for someone who's only used their Innocence once. Even without that data, Hevlaska is never wrong."

Annabelle smiled, "I half expected you to say that it was because her weapon is a book and then call me stupid for asking," she said, regaining some of her good cheer.

Komui paused, unsure of how to respond.

"It's a joke Chief," Annabelle assured him.

"Ah," Komui said, "Well then," he adjusted his glasses, "As I was saying, it took you nearly thirteen years to find her. Remember what the prophecy said. You have-"

"You have to find all seven of the others before the solar eclipse," she finished for him. "Relax Komui, I know."

"Do you also realize that you've less than four years left to gather the rest of the Holy Octet?"

"Is that what they're calling it now?" she asked with a grin.

"Annabelle, be serious." This sounded odd coming from a man who owned a giant drill and built large, destructive robots for fun.

"I know Komui," Annabelle said, "I'm running out of time. But trust me, I'll find the other six. I have to," again she smiled, "I am the Hunter after all."

She turned to leave when Komui spoke again.

"Annabelle," he began, "I'm going to ask you to put the prophecy as your number one priority."

"Above finding my father?" she shouted at him.

"Which is more important dammit?" Komui shouted back at her, "Your family or the rest of the world?" Annabelle was startled. She'd never heard Komui yell like this before. "It's time you learned to stop being so damn selfish and learn a little patience."

Annabelle was speechless. She remembered how, when she had first started out, General Yeegar had tried to teach her the very same lesson on their first mission together. Funny how I never learned it until after he died, she thought bitterly.

She sighed. "You're right Komui," she said, "I'll focus on the prophecy. Hey," she smiled, "Who knows? I might find him while I'm looking for the other six. Now, I found the Storyteller. So which one's next on the list?"

Komui looked at the ceiling, trying to remember the order in which the eight warriors were supposed to be gathered.

Finally, after a few moments, he spoke. "I believe that the next person you must find is the Warrior."

Annabelle put on a confident look to mask the turmoil inside of her. "Then I guess I'd better get going," she said as she left the room.

Thank you for reading. I warn you now, school has just started for me so I may not be posting as much as you or I would like. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for all your reviews, I truly appreciate them. I hope to finish this story by the time I graduate high school in June, but I don't know if that'll happen. We'll see though won't we? And if you want to check out what I imagine Annabelle to look like, check out my gallery on DeviantArt at .com/. Thanks again.