Trinity Blood: Emperor's Mask
Chapter 5: Reason for Trust
Abel sat watching the forest with his bowl held in one hand. He didn't eat, stomach churning as he felt Ion and Asthe both casting him glances. But that wasn't what was bugging him or what kept him from eating. The feeling of complete emptiness had fallen over him since leaving the Vatican. Every night he'd closed his eyes to the same dream. The same nightmare as Asthe had put it.
"I failed," he whispered the words as his hand closed around the hilt of the sword. A familiar tingle ran through his fingers at the feeling the hilt. No comfort came from it. All it did was make his stomach churn faster.
"You will if you don't eat, my friend."
Abel had been so lost in his thoughts he'd not heard William come up to him.
"Playing my keeper, Professor?" Abel asked, but he bent to the food.
"You're not a monster," William told him and took a seat on the rock near Abel. "We've been friends long enough for me to know that much. Not many could withstand what you do."
Instead of replying, Abel turned his gaze on the sky. The sun was starting to rise in the distance. He winced and turned his eyes away from it.
"It still burns you," William's voice dropped a little. "Yet you endure the pain."
"It doesn't burn, annoys, but never burns," Abel replied in just as low a voice. "I can never feel the temperature change, never enjoy the light of the sun. This and so much more tells me, no matter how hard I try I'm not human." But he wished he was. For years, he'd watched those around him grow old and die. Humans and Methuselah a like, both had passed before his eyes. His granddaughter, great-grandchildren, and soon even Caterina would follow as well. "I'd hoped to finally…" he trailed off and closed his eyes.
"For an end?" William asked. "Peace meant more to you than anything else in this world. You solid the Vatican your freedom to enforce it, eight centuries ago," his voice had dropped further and he'd leaned closer to Abel.
Abel's eyes narrowed as he looked at the man. "How did you know that much?" he whispered back.
"I saw the original contract. The signatures of each holder it's passed to and the deals on it. The Pope and Caterina needed someone to witness it and since—"
"I trusted you, they chose you. You've not spoken of it for thirteen years, why?"
"Oh, I've wanted to ask, but if you wanted to talk about it, I knew you would. What I didn't know was what you gave up outside of your freedom. You had a family, a sister that you left behind." There was question in his voice that even William's attempt to hid couldn't.
"Why?" Abel asked the question for the man. He turned his gaze on the empty bowl before he sighed and looked up at the sky. "One in the Vatican as a slave bound only when there is peace, the other in the empire close to the empress. For peace to be enforced, it was necessary. I couldn't let my little sister… Before my kind fell from all knowledge, we weren't the most welcome. Even after that people could always tell I wasn't human until the act. I couldn't let her live a life that was isolated, to walk a path where no matter what she did no one would trust her. When the time came, I went because of this and because out of the two of us the Vatican was more likely to take me over her."
Abel didn't look at the man. He didn't need to, to know the question he was dying to ask.
"To know why, would to be reveal something I can't anymore. The person I was long ago isn't someone I want to unbury or think on." With that Abel stood and moved back to the fire.
"You'd better be getting a second bowl!" William called after him.
Abel waved to show he'd heard, though he already knew there hadn't been enough soup for many to have seconds. He could survive longer than others and knew his limits. He'd been able to make it through the trip to the empire without feeding. He could do both now. There was no way he could take more than his allotted ration and he couldn't harm either Methuselah. For more than just the reasons they were his sister "children," but for who their ancestors had been.
"Looking for more?" Asthe asked as Abel approached the pot. "I think the count got the last of it."
"I wasn't," Abel stated. He knelt before the pot and placed his bowl into it. "When you're done eating place the bowls and silverware into the pot," he instructed those around him. He stood and moved over to where Caterina was still eating. Astharoshe was still seated next to her. Abel knelt down on Caterinas other side and watched the others from there.
"Was there any trouble last night?" Caterina asked instead of a greeting.
"No, it was silent for the most part. Francesco seems to focusing the search closer to the city than we are."
"That won't last long."
"Another night if we're extremely lucky," Abel told her, though he knew she already knew this. "We'll have to cover more distance today than we did yesterday."
"Agreed." The young woman kept her eyes on the Esther, Ion, and William who'd just joined the two of them at the pot. "How long will it take us to reach Istavan at the very least?" she asked him.
"Roughly?" Abel sighed. "I don't know. Talk to Tres if you want an estimate on that, Caterina."
She managed a weak smile at this. "How much trouble do you expect?"
"There are former agents they can use against us, ones whose loyalty to you were determined by convenience or otherwise: Leon and Monica for the most part. Outside of the AX the largest threat would be Francesco himself. There is also no telling the status of Hague, Kaya, and Kate," Abel named the three agents who remained loyal to Caterina who hadn't been in Rome outside of Monica and Leon. All three of them had been in the field or in Hague's case just off doing what he did best.
"At this point we can count Kate out," Caterina closed her eyes as if saying this caused only a little pain. If Abel hadn't known her so well he would've taken it as such, but Caterina and Kate were extremely close in age, both had been William's student at the same time and were good friends. Though, Abel did admit Kate admired Caterina and held her high regard while Caterina had always viewed her as a good and dear friend.
Abel bowed his head in agreement though he wished he didn't have to agree with this. In all likelihood Kate had been disconnected from the Iron Maiden which meant she wouldn't be able to do anything for them at all.
"If Kaya still lives she'll try to rejoin us," Caterina continued, "but she wouldn't be too happy about heading for the empire."
"It is also a factor between her loyalty to you and her loyalty to the church. She also hates all Methuselah with a passion," Abel dropped using the term "vampire" seeing no need in keeping that part of the act at all. He'd never approved of the term and had always disliked using it. "Vampire" in his mind was something like Dracula and pop culture from pre-Armageddon, not the people of the empire.
"Then there is Hague," Caterina said with a barely contained sigh. "He'd be more inclined to help if we knew more about his sister's whereabouts. Without the AX he'll just continue searching for revenge and his sister, the resources of the AX gave him only a helped a little."
"True," Abel agreed, "and I don't want that man near the empire, personally speaking. He's more likely to kill everyone there than Kaya would've been."
Silence fell between them, grim and almost depressing as Abel watched Esther, William, and Ion around the small fire. William was starting to gather the items to be cleaned before they'd be packed back up.
Abel was about to stand to help him when Caterina broke the silence, "Abel, scout ahead. See if there is anything to avoid on the route you have in mind. William can handle matters here and Tres is on guard."
"I will do as you ask." Abel stood and raced off without a second's pause.
x – x – x
Caterina watched Abel vanish into the distance. Near her Asthe shifted a little. The Imperial Duchess had something on her mind she wasn't telling Caterina. She had no doubt in her mind that it was about Abel.
"You don't seem shocked in his change in behavior or sudden need for no glasses," Asthe spoke at last.
"No," Caterina confirmed. "The man you knew as Father Nightroad, the klutz and goof at the very least were all part of an order he was given."
"An order you just released him from?" Asthe asked. "I find it unlikely."
Caterina took a deep breath and turned to the Imperial Duchess. "The man I met thirteen years ago was sullen, depressing, and kept to himself for the most part. Skilled in tactical thinking, political fields, combat, and more. But before he served the AX, before it was even founded, Abel was the agent to the pope. From what he's told me and I read, he was used on missions that couldn't involve the Inquisition or public face of the Vatican. Missions that would avoid all out war with the empire."
"That would make him far older than in his twenties." There was suspicion in her voice now, but Caterina couldn't read anything else since her face was now covered by the protective gear.
"Francesco gave away his age already," Caterina stated. "If you didn't hear him, it's not my place to tell you. Abel has never been," she hesitated, "forthcoming about anything related to himself. It took me months to even gain his trust and I doubt I have his complete trust after years."
Asthe didn't reply to this. Silence pressed down on them broken only by the soft chatter between Ion and Esther. The sun wasn't even above the closest tree when Abel returned. He nodded to Caterina in a signal that told her the path ahead was clear before he moved to gather up the tents. He worked quickly and was done backing the two tents, the blankets, and other items into the first bag by the time William returned with the dishes. Without a word Abel took them from William and finished packing the bags while William went to get Tres.
Not even an hour after dawn, the group was on the move once more. Caterina stayed close to William while the group moved. She, Esther, and the two imperial nobles were more in the center of the group while Abel was at the head; William was next to Caterina but on the outside of the group while Tres brought up the rear. The killing doll was keeping an eye out behind them.
Abel set a grueling pace, stopping only to let them rest for a few minutes before they were off again.
"This is ridicules," Ion started to complain near midday, "we could move better at night than like this. These clothes trap the heat."
Abel's only response to this was to pass back a canteen to the Imperial noble. He didn't stop for him or slow the pace. There was a schedule in Abel's mind to where they should arrive by nightfall and Caterina wasn't going to argue against it. Out of the three agents here, Abel was the one who could keep them alive and get them to the empire. What he thought best for the walk was fine with her.
"My lady," William passed her one of the canteens he was carrying. "Drink," he advised.
Caterina didn't argue, she drank some of the now warm water gratefully. "Has Abel had any?" she asked as she passed it back to William.
"Doubtful. He'll push himself without water until the next break like he's been doing all day," William stated. He moved in closer to Caterina and dropped his voice, "In all honesty I'm rather worried he's going to push himself too far. He's not taken seconds at any meal since this started. If he continues like this he's going to need to feed and the only source of blood are the two nobles."
"I agree that it's not good," Caterina whispered in reply, "but I don't think he'll be too happy about you forcing the issue, William." She frowned and looked out of the corner of eye at Ion. The noble had stopped complaining since Esther had pointed out that the clothing was keeping him alive and now the two of them were in deep conversation once more. Asthe was walking a little ahead of the two of them. "See if you can draw some blood every few days from the two imperials, try to be discreet about the why and be certain Abel drinks it."
"He won't like it, but it's better than having him weakened if we're attacked."
Like her William knew the strength of Abel's "other" form was their only trump card in this whole mess. William was a good fighter, but knew more about lost technology and inventing new devices while Tres was good with ranged combat and eliminating threats on smaller scales. Abel was really a one man army in himself. A crusnik no matter what form they were in were stronger and faster than any vampire. Place him into eighty-percent activation and actually in control and his powers were on a level that no amount of lost technology or power could match.
"It is for the best," Caterina agreed. Her eyes were locked onto Abel's back. From experience she knew he would've heard every word they'd whispered. But he didn't show any signs of hearing them and kept walking forward.
x – x – x
The soft whispering between Caterina and William were only just audible to Abel. He tried to ignore it even though they were discussing him and kept his attention locked on the open area around them. So far he couldn't hear any airships or vehicles, but this didn't mean they weren't nearby, only just out of the range of his hearing.
"Tovarish," Asthe started as she stepped forward to join him in the lead, "I've been thinking about this for a time now, but if this is really you, why didn't you act this way back in Venice? We could've had Endre in custody in half the time."
Abel looked at her out of the corner of his eye. For several long moments he didn't speak until at last he asked, "And what would you have taken away from such a quick capture? That humans are still uncivilized or so very different from the Methuselah?"
She just looked at him for several long moments. "Your mission was to aid me in detaining an imperial fugitive, what I took away from it shouldn't have matter. And your pope wouldn't have ended up threatened back then or all those people dying," she growled this bit at him.
"You don't know that those people wouldn't have died. And the pope was never in real danger. You're also assuming that the capture of Endre was my main objective on that mission when it wasn't."
"Than what was?" Asthe demanded.
"To open the door for negotiations between the Vatican and the empire," Abel replied. It no longer mattered if this girl knew the truth or not. "That was the only reason I had been chosen for the mission. If Caterina had intended to only capture Endre then she would never have had reached out to the empire and would've just sent an agent in to focus on his capture."
"You're saying, I was only allowed into Venice as a puppet for peace negotiations," she snarled, seeming to take this the wrong.
"Pretty much," Abel gave a small shrug. "I doubt her majesty was unaware of what Caterina was doing which is most likely why she agreed to it in the first place. Endre was my secondary objective. My main objective was to gain the trust of the imperial agent assigned to that mission."
"Is that what being my Torvarish means to you? A means to peace," she demanded, almost shouting this.
Abel sighed. "Am I your Torvarish, Astharoshe?" he countered. "You told me to be a torvarish was to place your life fully into one another hands, a trust that is unshakable. And yet, you've never once treated me as a friend, someone to be barely held in contempt, yes. Ally, perhaps. Friend, let alone trusted friend is stretching it."
"So you think that I don't trust you?" Asthe demanded. "And why are you suddenly calling me by my full name?"
"I thought you disliked the nickname?" Abel looked at her with both eyebrows raised. He turned his attention back the landscape. "And it's not so much you don't trust me as you don't know me. Also to be a torvarish is to place trust both ways, for me to also trust completely with my life. To state that I would trust you with my life would be an insult to you."
"I didn't like the nickname, but it's just strange having you call me 'Astharoshe' all of a sudden. And what do you mean by insult?" she growled. "It's more of an insult to know that you don't trust me with your life now than anything else."
Abel smiled and said, "Let me put it this way, since the end of the Human-Methuselah War I've not placed value on my own life. I don't care if I live on or die within the next second. And if someone doesn't place value on their life it is an insult to the person they say, 'I trust you with my life' to. Get it now?"
"So what do you trust me with?" she demanded, but then stopped in her tracks. "Wait, since the war? As in the Terran-Methuselah War?"
Abel didn't stop. "Yes and I trust you to do what is right for the empire."
Asthe raced forward to be at his side once more. "Just how old are you?" she demanded. "I heard that idiot in the Vatican say you were the oldest living person, but that's impossible. The empress is the oldest living person."
"Close to it," Abel stated. "Augusta says she's in her eighth century. Let me put it this way. I've lived through two wars and seen the founding the original empire, more than that I'd rather keep to myself."
"Two wars?" Asthe didn't seem able to wrap her mind around this. "That's not an answer. How old are you?"
"Old," Abel retorted in as even tones as he could. "And I still would rather not say just how old I am."
"Then how can we trust you if you don't even give out your age? How the hell do I even know Abel Nightroad is real name?!" she demanded.
"You don't."
"So just about anything you say I should view as a lie?"
"No, that is far from what I am saying. But if you take it that way, so be it."
Asthe dropped back from him seeming to not want to continue the conversation. Abel knew he'd antagonized the girl, but the truth would have eventually come out about much of what he'd told her. He didn't mind if she believed him or not. If she trusted him or not. There was only one reason to trust him and that was to get her and Ion safely to the empire. Nothing else.
(Author's Note: I'm alive! I swear I am. Sorry about the lack of updates as of late, a lot's happened and I just wasn't in the mood to write anything.
I have nothing against Hague (or Hugue or however his name is spelled) and Kaya but I did need to explain why they're not coming into this really right now or down the line. Leon and Monica might appear… might.)