Kida: Ah so you DO find Black Rose's story interesting…you've made it to
chapter three. Congratulations to you, for surviving her bad writing this
long...*ducks under Black Rose's fist* Newayz...I repeat that Black Rose is
only borrowing the Weiss boyz. Yes, BORROWING them...*eyes them hungrily*
Omi: *gulps and steps behind Ken*
Ken: What are you hiding behind ME for??? *Hides behind Yohji*
Yohji: wha-? *Takes one look at Kida's teeth and hides behind Aya* hide me!
Aya: …*eyes Kida*
Kida: *grins at Aya*
Aya: *turns to the three hiding behind him and smirks, showing pointed eyeteeth*
Omi, Ken, Yohji: *shriek and hide behind Black Rose* they're all over the place!!! Good god, woman, what are you thinking-letting them all in here???
Black Rose: *warningly* Kida, Aya-kun...
Aya: *looking innocent* what'd I do? Wait...scratch that. What have I done LATELY?
BR: *sweat drops*
Kida: *sighs* one of these days I WILL feast on them! Them and their little...readers...too...*eyeing Baka-Ryu and Dessa Rhiannon again before leaving*
BR: *shakes head* maybe I shouldn't have put HER in charge...*muttering*…Aya's much more responsible, but that only goes so far...if Norris was here I could put HIM in charge, but then he could be worse…and then if he kills off…*remembers her audience* oh! Sorry everyone! Here's the next chapter! I've been trying to make the chapters longer for you all as my way of apologizing for not getting around to updating as soon as I'd like. Well, enjoy:
~*~*~*~ Chapter 3 ~*~*~*~
I have just awakened in the church. I'm not sure why I even bother coming here anymore. The crucifix still stares sadly at me the way it always does. The stained glass windows cast the same shadows on the floor as they ever have. The altar is still as pristine and calmly awaiting mass as always. Maybe that's why I come here. Everything in my life changes, except this place. Here things are always the same. I suppose it's a good thing to have some stability in one's life.
However, I hear footsteps on the marble near the door. One of the priests is walking this way. I give a faint smile. I recognize this one's aura. He is Father Maurice. He's an older priest-much older than the others, with white hair and kindly, but intelligent brown eyes-but unlike the others he does not question my right to be here when I wish.
Sometimes he talks to me. He does most of the talking; I simply listen. I listen and learn from him what I can, adding the knowledge he passes on to me to what I have gleaned from his predecessors. I have acquired much knowledge about the world-and human nature-this way: simply listening to those who wish to speak. And I love the sound of his voice-rich, and gentle and low.
He approaches the pew I am lying on. I have been here since after my last kill, and only now realize that I have been asleep. I am still covered in blood, but that shouldn't be a problem.
"Elizabeth? Is that you?" he asks, taking in the blood and my overall- appearance. He rushes to check on me. Silly man, he really should know by now that the blood is not mine. I have been here many times before with blood dripping from me-rarely my own; my Kind heals very quickly and mortal weapons do little damage. I have only been injured by a few. And of those few, only one still lives. I have not seen him in nearly three centuries, but he sent his messenger to find me...
"Yes, it's me," I reply, propping myself up on my elbows to look at him. Of course, my name is not Elizabeth, but I tell him it is so he has something to call me by.
He does not touch me, but merely looks me over with an eye crucial to detail. "You are well, then?" he asks, still casting a crucial eye at me.
"Yes, Father."
"Then the blood is not yours?" he inquires. His tone of voice suggests that he really does worry about me. Odd for a human, I think. Most humans worry only about themselves-they are so consumed with their greed, and their own self-preservation that putting another's well being into the picture is usually not something they do. Father Maurice, however, always surprises me. He is not like other humans I have encountered. Not at all.
"No, Father, the blood is not mine."
He nods, as if I have confirmed what he had already discovered. He has a broom in his hand, and he turns quietly to sweep the floor near the altar. I lie back down on the pew and close my eyes. He always has this effect on me-that benign, watchful presence that calms me, puts my mind at rest.
I decide to sleep some more. Father Maurice will wake me, as he has always done in the past, when it is time for me to go. Somehow he always knows. He is human, but he is very much like me-like my Kind-in the respect that he can sense the presences of other people.
Some time later, I am gently roused by the sound of father Maurice's voice. A deep, melodious sound; pleasant to listen to. He knows not to touch me in sleep-my aura is unguarded then: I could easily kill him without knowing it. It is easy enough once I have awakened, but my subconscious mind does not function that way. I yawn, and look up at him.
"Elizabeth," he says quietly, "It is time for you to leave, child."
He always calls me 'child', even though he probably knows I am far older than him. I nod, and rise. Then he turns and walks through the door behind the altar; it is hidden from the public by a heavy wall tapestry. He unlocks it for me and bids me farewell. No sooner has he closed the door again, do I hear voices in the church. It was a good thing he woke me when he did. Any later and I would have been seen, covered in dried blood, by someone I do not know so well. Oh. I wonder what Father Maurice will do with the blood I probably left on the pew? I don't doubt that he'll clean it up, later. He always does.
When I walk outside, I find myself in the central courtyard of the place. The church itself is not very large, but the grounds have recently added new buildings to keep up with the changing times. There are quarters for the nuns and priests, a recreational building, and now a basketball court and a pool for the kids in the neighborhood. Everything is built around the church and the gardens.
The gardens are the most expansive of any I've ever visited. They are like a maze, with high hedges that obscure your vision, and enough twists and turns to confuse even the most avid of its explorers. I know this place like the back of my hand, and I know which paths will take me where I want to go.
I wish to go home. There's nothing as disconcerting as bloody clothing when you're out and about in a city. People tend to give to strange, frightful looks. I'd just as soon avoid being seen altogether, so I take the more concealed of paths to reach my house. I am still tired. Strange, I think, usually I feel energized after taking blood. Sometimes, however, if I take from one stronger than I, or one bonded to one stronger than I in this case, I feel sleepy, kind of drugged, like one who has had a bit too much wine to drink.
It hardly matters, just now. I want to get home. I just want to rest for, oh, perhaps a day or so. I'll sleep off the drugged-feeling, and be back to normal in no time. Well, whatever normal is for me. ^_^
~*~*~* Author's Notes:
Omi: Hey! WHERE IS EVERYONE??? Um…uh-oh. Where's Black-Rose?
Kida: *appears behind him* far enough away that she won't hear you scream...
O: *screams* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *Runs for life*
K: *catlike grin* this could be very fun...
O: *yelling as he runs* IF YOU GUYS WANT TO SEE ME ALIVE AGAIN, GIVE BLACK ROSE 15 REVIEWS!!!! PLEASE!!!
Omi: *gulps and steps behind Ken*
Ken: What are you hiding behind ME for??? *Hides behind Yohji*
Yohji: wha-? *Takes one look at Kida's teeth and hides behind Aya* hide me!
Aya: …*eyes Kida*
Kida: *grins at Aya*
Aya: *turns to the three hiding behind him and smirks, showing pointed eyeteeth*
Omi, Ken, Yohji: *shriek and hide behind Black Rose* they're all over the place!!! Good god, woman, what are you thinking-letting them all in here???
Black Rose: *warningly* Kida, Aya-kun...
Aya: *looking innocent* what'd I do? Wait...scratch that. What have I done LATELY?
BR: *sweat drops*
Kida: *sighs* one of these days I WILL feast on them! Them and their little...readers...too...*eyeing Baka-Ryu and Dessa Rhiannon again before leaving*
BR: *shakes head* maybe I shouldn't have put HER in charge...*muttering*…Aya's much more responsible, but that only goes so far...if Norris was here I could put HIM in charge, but then he could be worse…and then if he kills off…*remembers her audience* oh! Sorry everyone! Here's the next chapter! I've been trying to make the chapters longer for you all as my way of apologizing for not getting around to updating as soon as I'd like. Well, enjoy:
~*~*~*~ Chapter 3 ~*~*~*~
I have just awakened in the church. I'm not sure why I even bother coming here anymore. The crucifix still stares sadly at me the way it always does. The stained glass windows cast the same shadows on the floor as they ever have. The altar is still as pristine and calmly awaiting mass as always. Maybe that's why I come here. Everything in my life changes, except this place. Here things are always the same. I suppose it's a good thing to have some stability in one's life.
However, I hear footsteps on the marble near the door. One of the priests is walking this way. I give a faint smile. I recognize this one's aura. He is Father Maurice. He's an older priest-much older than the others, with white hair and kindly, but intelligent brown eyes-but unlike the others he does not question my right to be here when I wish.
Sometimes he talks to me. He does most of the talking; I simply listen. I listen and learn from him what I can, adding the knowledge he passes on to me to what I have gleaned from his predecessors. I have acquired much knowledge about the world-and human nature-this way: simply listening to those who wish to speak. And I love the sound of his voice-rich, and gentle and low.
He approaches the pew I am lying on. I have been here since after my last kill, and only now realize that I have been asleep. I am still covered in blood, but that shouldn't be a problem.
"Elizabeth? Is that you?" he asks, taking in the blood and my overall- appearance. He rushes to check on me. Silly man, he really should know by now that the blood is not mine. I have been here many times before with blood dripping from me-rarely my own; my Kind heals very quickly and mortal weapons do little damage. I have only been injured by a few. And of those few, only one still lives. I have not seen him in nearly three centuries, but he sent his messenger to find me...
"Yes, it's me," I reply, propping myself up on my elbows to look at him. Of course, my name is not Elizabeth, but I tell him it is so he has something to call me by.
He does not touch me, but merely looks me over with an eye crucial to detail. "You are well, then?" he asks, still casting a crucial eye at me.
"Yes, Father."
"Then the blood is not yours?" he inquires. His tone of voice suggests that he really does worry about me. Odd for a human, I think. Most humans worry only about themselves-they are so consumed with their greed, and their own self-preservation that putting another's well being into the picture is usually not something they do. Father Maurice, however, always surprises me. He is not like other humans I have encountered. Not at all.
"No, Father, the blood is not mine."
He nods, as if I have confirmed what he had already discovered. He has a broom in his hand, and he turns quietly to sweep the floor near the altar. I lie back down on the pew and close my eyes. He always has this effect on me-that benign, watchful presence that calms me, puts my mind at rest.
I decide to sleep some more. Father Maurice will wake me, as he has always done in the past, when it is time for me to go. Somehow he always knows. He is human, but he is very much like me-like my Kind-in the respect that he can sense the presences of other people.
Some time later, I am gently roused by the sound of father Maurice's voice. A deep, melodious sound; pleasant to listen to. He knows not to touch me in sleep-my aura is unguarded then: I could easily kill him without knowing it. It is easy enough once I have awakened, but my subconscious mind does not function that way. I yawn, and look up at him.
"Elizabeth," he says quietly, "It is time for you to leave, child."
He always calls me 'child', even though he probably knows I am far older than him. I nod, and rise. Then he turns and walks through the door behind the altar; it is hidden from the public by a heavy wall tapestry. He unlocks it for me and bids me farewell. No sooner has he closed the door again, do I hear voices in the church. It was a good thing he woke me when he did. Any later and I would have been seen, covered in dried blood, by someone I do not know so well. Oh. I wonder what Father Maurice will do with the blood I probably left on the pew? I don't doubt that he'll clean it up, later. He always does.
When I walk outside, I find myself in the central courtyard of the place. The church itself is not very large, but the grounds have recently added new buildings to keep up with the changing times. There are quarters for the nuns and priests, a recreational building, and now a basketball court and a pool for the kids in the neighborhood. Everything is built around the church and the gardens.
The gardens are the most expansive of any I've ever visited. They are like a maze, with high hedges that obscure your vision, and enough twists and turns to confuse even the most avid of its explorers. I know this place like the back of my hand, and I know which paths will take me where I want to go.
I wish to go home. There's nothing as disconcerting as bloody clothing when you're out and about in a city. People tend to give to strange, frightful looks. I'd just as soon avoid being seen altogether, so I take the more concealed of paths to reach my house. I am still tired. Strange, I think, usually I feel energized after taking blood. Sometimes, however, if I take from one stronger than I, or one bonded to one stronger than I in this case, I feel sleepy, kind of drugged, like one who has had a bit too much wine to drink.
It hardly matters, just now. I want to get home. I just want to rest for, oh, perhaps a day or so. I'll sleep off the drugged-feeling, and be back to normal in no time. Well, whatever normal is for me. ^_^
~*~*~* Author's Notes:
Omi: Hey! WHERE IS EVERYONE??? Um…uh-oh. Where's Black-Rose?
Kida: *appears behind him* far enough away that she won't hear you scream...
O: *screams* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *Runs for life*
K: *catlike grin* this could be very fun...
O: *yelling as he runs* IF YOU GUYS WANT TO SEE ME ALIVE AGAIN, GIVE BLACK ROSE 15 REVIEWS!!!! PLEASE!!!
