Tears of innocence

Chapter 7: Palace of Shadows

Chrno just smiled to himself, watching Remington as he looked at the winged figures at the horizon with a hard face. He simply turned to look at Rosette, not wanting to miss the opportunity of talking to her without the minister hearing him. "Don't listen to anything the priest says about me, alright?" He said, in a low voice, though he knew that the minister couldn't listen to his words. "I will protect your life much better than the Magdalan Order gives me credit for." Rosette nodded in silence, and he stepped out of the car, slamming the door after him and standing outside, in a calm, confident stance.

Let the Pursuers come... nothing could really calm his anger better than proving to the stupid priest just who Rosette belonged to. He stood there, watching the Pursuers coming closer and closer, no doubt having sent there to kidnap his contractor after the apparent failure of the first group of demons that had attacked the orphanage... great. He looked at each of the attackers, their aura giving them away as no more than middle-class demons... mere cannon fodder for him. Excellent.

He waited until he could identify who their 'leader' was, and then he shot forward into the air, taking advantage of their confusion at the sight of another demon suddenly attacking them. Chrno had thought about it before, but now he could see exactly what a major advantage he had over his former allies, simply by being considered 'dead' by them. He had everything on his favor... the advantage of being stronger, and at the same time, the advantage of being the hunter, rather than the one being hunted upon.

His claws ripped off the heart of the largest of the demons of the group, in one quick motion, before any of the others were able to do something to stop him. He immediately turned and attacked the demon closest to him, even before the body of the leader turned into mist, baring his fangs and growling menacingly. His long metal tail whipped around him, blocking the attacks of any demon that came to him from behind, as he moved from one demon to the other, killing them all with deathly speed and accuracy.

Remington just stood by the car, gripping his sword while looking upwards at the fierce battle over him, frowning. Chrno showed no mercy to any of his attackers, tearing them off one by one, resisting their attacks to battle several of them at the same time, proving exactly why he was so feared in the past... and why he was still considered as a powerful enemy. He turned to look at Rosette, who was still inside the car, looking at the battle taking place in the sky with wide eyes. Her gaze, however, did not have a trace of fear in it... just wonder at the amazing power her demon 'friend' had.

It wasn't long until Chrno killed the last of the Pursuers and landed softly on the ground, in the middle of a red mist, as all the blood covering his body began to evaporate, which gave him a rather surreal look against the setting sun.

Rosette threw open the door of the car then and ran towards Chrno, nearly jumping on him, though she tried to control herself and just jumped excitedly, smiling. "Wow, you were great, Chrno!" She exclaimed. "You saved us again... are you alright?"

Chrno reassured her, saying that he wouldn't allow anybody to harm her, which made her smile warmly at him. Her cheeks took on a rosy color upon hearing his words, though she tried to cover it up by saying that she knew Chrno was going to protect her anyway, to which Chrno just shrugged and said nothing, as they both returned to the car.

Remington watched all of this without saying anything, and just returned to the car and turned it on, wanting to return to New York as soon as possible so he could report his findings to Sister Kate, his superior at the Magdalan Order's headquarters. They would have a long conversation about this, no doubt, and she would not be happy... he would have to use everything in his power to convince her to let Chrno to stay at the order, and it wouldn't be easy.

His eyes strayed to the front mirror, watching Rosette with a slight frown, as she continued to talk about how Chrno had 'saved' them. Remington and Chrno's eyes meet for a brief second, before the demon spoke. "Do you still want to seal me? I expect plenty of Pursuers to come her looking for Rosette, minister... wouldn't it be better to let me unsealed so I can fight them using my own abilities?" His voice was calm, but the tone on it conveyed his real thoughts better than anything else.

Remington gripped the steering wheel, but didn't answer him directly. "We'll see about that once we get to the convent. I still need to talk to my superior about this." He said, and quickly changed the topic, asking Rosette about what she knew about New York, and telling her a bit of the city's history.

Chrno leaned back on his chair, and tried to relax, listening to the minister's talk. No matter what the priest said, he knew that the Order couldn't afford turning off his offer of help. The minister had seen for himself what he was able to do... having him as an ally was not something they could refuse so easily, especially if the war, for what he heard, was getting a turn for the worse...

They arrived at the Magdalan Order's Headquarters late in the night, but neither Rosette, who was deeply asleep on Chrno's shoulder, nor him, got off of the car until Minister Remington informed everybody of their arrival, and got a special permission to allow Chrno to enter the premises, after almost an hour of discussing the matter with the Order's strict headmistress.

Rosette opened her eyes, blinking at her new surroundings for a few moments, before she looked up to stare at Chrno. "Whatimeisit?" She murmured, rubbing her eyes and standing up, looking around her in confusion. "Where are we? Have we arrived yet?"

Chrno just smiled at her, a bit amused at her antics. "Yes, we're finally here." He said,just as an armed Militia Team came from the building, surrounding the car to escort them into the premises. Chrno tensed, but before he said anything, he felt Rosette's small hand taking his own one, and he relaxed a little. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, before turning to look at Remington, standing outside, who only nodded

He got off the car, followed by a very sleepy Rosette, and stood in front of the gates, looking at the tall building with slight apprehension. For him the place evoked some of his worst memories... even if he had never been there before, for him the entire building was nothing but a monument of hate against his kind, and he had little desire to stay. His eyes narrowed for a moment, before he felt Rosette's hand taking his again, and looked down to stare at her face, thoughtfully.

Rosette and him walked into the building then, as the big iron gate of the front door closed behind their backs with a loud resounding noise. Remington spoke after a while, as they walked through the wide corridors towards the headmistress' office. "Sister Kate Valentine, my superior, wants to meet with you two immediately. I spoke briefly to her about this situation, but I think it's better if you explain your situation yourselves. Don't worry, she is a very strict headmistress, but she's also a reasonable person. I don't expect her to refuse to give shelter to you, Chrno, just as long as you follow the rules."

Chrno only nodded in silence, but Rosette protested loudly. "Do we have to meet with her NOW? I'm starving!"

Remington smiled at her. "Sorry Rosette, but that is just standard procedure. I'll try not to make the meeting too long, though." Rosette frowned, but said nothing, and just sighed as they finally stopped in front of a large door, which Remington opened for her with a gallant gesture.

Sister Kate Valentine, a stern-looking woman, greeted them politely, yet coolly, throwing Chrno a distrustful look, though her eyes softened almost unnoticeably at the sight of the young girl next to him. "Welcome." She said, after introducing herself to them, in a carefully controlled voice. "Father Remington has informed me about your situation. It is a very rare case for us to deal with, so I ask your cooperation in this matter. Are you aware of this, Miss Christopher and Mr. Chrno?" At their agreement, she continued, in the same calm, matter-of-fact voice that indicated that she was not happy with this, just as Remington had warned them. But she was at least willing to negotiate, which was a plus for them.

"Before you can join our organization, however, a few rules are in place, which you must comply with and that are fundamental for the discipline of every member of the Order, both old and new, human and demon. The rules are as follows..." She said, taking out a bunch of papers that had the official seal of the Order in them, and adjusting her small glasses on the bridge of her nose.

She began to read the many rules of the place to them, but Rosette had long stopped paying attention to anything she said, since the moment Sister Kate referred to her as 'Miss Christopher'. Her voice was slightly monotonous, and she was so tired... she just nodded at everything she said, though her curious child's eyes continued tosurvey the woman in front of her. How old was she? 30? 40? It was hard to tell with a nun's habit and with those glasses...

Chrno, on the other hand, listened attentively to everything Sister Kate said, determined to follow each of them to the last letter. It would not help his situation in the least if he protested against anything the Order established for him in order to let him stay. It was only a matter of discipline, and he would not stay too long in there anyway... he could afford to 'behave' from time to time.

"Do I make myself understood?" Sister Kate asked at last, to which both of them nodded. "Very well... it is late already, so I'll just ask one more question before I allow you to go. Do you, Mr. Chrno, agree to have all your powers sealed while you remain in here? This is important for me to know before I take my decision and talk to the Council tomorrow."

Chrno was just about to answer, when Rosette suddenly spoke up, coming out of her sudden stupor to stare at the woman, frowning slightly. "No way! Chrno is my friend, he doesn't need to be sealed again. He won't do anything bad, he's not as evil as you think!" She said indignantly, making Sister Kate frown.

"I believe, Miss Christopher, that this is a matter of discipline. We cannot have a demon loose around our premises, unless he agrees to our conditions." She said, in a calm voice.

"Baloney!" Exclaimed Rosette, as both Remington and Sister Kate's eyes widened slightly and Chrno turned to look at her, surprised at her strong reaction. "Sealing him is unfair! I'm Chrno's contractor, and I say he stays like that. I will answer to him if he doesn't behave." She said, crossing her arms defiantly. Sister Kate's face was almost red with indignation, as she stood up to point at the insolent child menacingly. "I will not tolerate that kind of behavior. If you want to join our ranks you will have to learn some discipline first!"

"But I know more about him than you do!" Rosette protested, even louder. Sister Kate was about to reply, then Remington intervened.

"Now, now, Sister Kate, let us not lose our heads over this." Said Remington in a calm, soothing voice, just as surprised as she was upon hearing Rosette's words, yet still trying to hide his amusement. To think that the girl would go as far as to try to negotiate with a Militia Commander, and that she would make the normally calm Sister Kate act like that... it was almost funny.

Chrno put his hand on Rosette's head, as she was about to say something else to the stubborn Sister. "It's okay, Rosette." He said calmly. "I don't mind if my powers are sealed, just as long as we are allowed to be together." Rosette looked at him pleadingly, a bit calmer upon hearing his words, but still annoyed.

"But this is not fair!" She said stubbornly. "You're not evil, and you should be your normal self so you can fly."

Chrno had to smile at this. Rosette loved to fly, and had often commented about how great it was for somebody to have wings like his, and how nice they were. But seriously, he could understand the Sister's reluctance to have him inside the Order's premises in his true form. It would make him too notorious, and he could imagine the frightened and hateful stares he would get at every step he gave inside the place. "Listen, I will accept to be sealed, but only if you are the one controlling the seal. That way, if you want me to fly, I would still be able to, just as long as we are outside the Order's gates. What do you say?" He ruffled her hair, in an almost friendly way, as she nodded in silence and he turned to look at the fuming woman behind the big oak desk.

"I accept to be sealed." He said calmly. "I will obey all the rules of this place and cooperate with your cause, just as long as Rosette and me are able to see each other everyday. I we cannot, then we will look for another place for us to live, no matter how difficult it is." There was a moment of silence then, as Sister Kate's hard stare met his. If the Sister didn't approve his own conditions in the matter, then the 'great Magdalan Order' was not a good place for them to stay. But he was almost sure that the woman would not turn down his offer of help, or the opportunity of having an Apostle's sister among their ranks.

Sister Kate frowned, crossing her arms, and stared at the both of them for a moment. Rosette's gaze was as hard as hers was, and they both glared at each other for a few moments, until she finally sighed in defeat. "Very well." She said then, adjusting her glasses on the base of her nose. "Then you will stay here on our premises, if you behave according to the Order's rules." She was looking directly at Rosette when she said this, however.

"Minister Remington." She said, looking at him. "Please accompany them to the Elder's lab. Once Mr. Chrno is sealed, then please take him to his room. I will send somebody to take Miss Christopher to her room later."

Rosette looked at her with incredulity. "We have to do this NOW?" She said, frowning. "I'm hungry!"

"You two can eat afterwards, it won't take that long." Said Sister Kate, a vein popping on her forehead. If Rosette was her pupil, she would give her a good spanking... but fortunately, or unfortunately, she was not, so she continued speaking in a tight voice. "Dinner is served at 7 PM each night, but we will make an exception for you this time." Rosette nodded, yawning, and Remington excused the three of them, and they left the room.

The Elder's lab was a lot less impressive than Rosette had imagined from reading Joshua's rather enthusiastic letters about the Order. It was still very large, however, but she was so tired, that she didn't say anything, and just looked up at the minister and at an old white-haired geezer he introduced as Mr. Edward Hamilton, known by everybody in the Order as simply 'the Elder'.

"Nice to meet you." She yawned again, leaning a bit on Chrno. Darn, she was so sleepy... why couldn't this people wait until tomorrow?

"Why, nice to meet you, young lady." The Elder said, looking at her with barely suppressed interest, looking up and down at her as if she was a doll in display. "Oh, I can tell that youwill be a very pretty woman when you grow up." He said, while Remington just rolled his eyes.

"Thank you..." Rosette said, a bit confused by the man's strange gaze and enthusiasm in his voice. Chrno, however, didn't appear to be too happy about this, andonly said a brief greeting as the Elder introduced himself. He was way too friendly with them, which made him slightly suspicious, but he said nothing and tried to relax.

The Elder talked for about 15 minutes, commenting on how strange their situation was, and how surprised he had been when he received news of their arrival to the Order, but Rosette and Chrno just nodded in silence, both too tense to even pretend to be polite.

After a while, the Elder finally went to a nearby drawer and took out a strange device, which looked a little like a old brass pocketwatch, placing it on a table before them. Heclaimed it to be his newest invention, though it looked quite old and slightly rusty...

"This, my friends, is an Astral contention device, as I like to call it." He said, while Chrno, Rosette and Remington looked at it with hidden interest. "It will block this lovely girl's Astral energy from flooding over to Chrno. It's a prototype model only, so I'm not sure if it's going to be 100 percenteffective, but it will act like a seal for the time being. You can also 'open' it like this... and it will release your Astral energy to him again."

"Whoa..." Rosette said, takingthe watch between her hands. "This is so nice. But why do you have something like this?" She asked curiously, forgetting her sleepiness for the moment. "Have many people like us come to the Order before?"

"No, not really... but that was a good question." Said the Elder smiling. "This device was actually designed by me on a whim, wanting to experiment with Astral energy on humans. I have been waiting for an opportunity to use it for a long time."

Chrno looked at the device with open suspicion, doubting the old man's words and attitude towards him. He took the pocketwatch from Rosette's hands to study it carefully, before giving it to her again. Ah well... it shouldn't be difficult for him to break the pocketwatch's barrier, if worse came to worse... and if Rosette was the one who would keep it, then all the better.

"So how does it work?" Rosette asked. "Do I simply put it on?"

"You need to open it and put a drop of you blood inside, right in the center, do you see? Once you do it, it will automatically start working. It's very simple." The Elder said. "Simplicity it's the best thing about my inventions. Otherwise nobody would be able to use them." He nodded.

What a strange man. Both Chrno and Rosette thought. No doubt he hid a lot of things from them, and it was hard to guess his real intentions. But Chrno knew, just by studying his aura, that he didn't really had malicious intent towards them, at least for the moment, so he just shrugged and nodded at Rosette, who frowned a bit.

She extended her index finger towards the Elder, closing her eyes. Darn, she hated needles... The Elder took her hand and prickled her finger, making her wince, as a small drop of blood fell on the center of the pocketwatch's mechanism.

Nothing happened for a moment or two... but just then, the hands of the watch started swirling, until they finally stopped, and the clock closed with a small metallic noise. A light glow enveloped Chrno, whose physical appearance began to change. "Perfect. It's done." The Elder said, turning to look at Chrno, who now looked exactly like he was when Rosette had first found him inside the grave. He could easily pass for a human, except for his red blood eyes and purple hair...

The Elder smiled. "Perfect!" He said, taking the watch to show it to Rosette. "This device also shows how much Astral energy you have left, you see?" Rosette nodded, looking at it. So it would tell her how much time she had... she was grateful that she still had several years in front of her. That device sure was useful!

Rosette then took the watch and put it around her neck. It was a bit heavy, but not enough that it bothered her. "So, can we go eat something now?" She asked at last, making everyone, even Chrno, smile just a little. Well, it was done now...

None of them knew at the moment, but that would be the instant they were officially accepted into the Order... for better or worse...

To Be Continued

Once more I apologize for the lack of updates. Next chapter will be posted next Friday, I swear! (sweatdrop) Thank you everyone for all you wonderful reviews, it makes me so happy to read them! As always, constructive criticism is always welcome! (toothy grin)