Chapter 9
June 2009
"You have done well," the priestess told him, while they were walking over the grounds.
"Thank you."
"However, there is one thing that still puzzles me."
Mansfield raised an eyebrow in a silent request for her to continue, but when that didn't immediately work he voiced his question. "What is it that puzzles you?"
"In all these years that you've hunted this woman. Whether she called herself the Soldier Hunter or Noir, why is that you never managed to discover her real name? She is after all a mere human."
That had been the same question that had plagued him for the past years as well, and he had to admit that he didn't yet have a satisfactory answer for it. "I don't know. One of her earlier targets speculated that she was the victim of a magical attack that gave her a level of skill that exceeds even that of the Phalanx."
"She is human." The priestess' words were curt and harsh, no mere human could be compared to a Familiar. Nothing on earth came even close to them. Just because there were some demons that were physically tougher didn't matter.
"I realize that, and I had no intention of using that as an excuse. Nor will I use the excuse that I was forced to work with mere humans. But there is no doubt that for a human she is very capable."
"You want her," the priestess said in a tone that came close to wonder.
What? "How do you mean?"
"You believe that she would do well in the breeding program."
"Yes," Mansfield admitted, "in fact I believe she would be excellent for the program."
"This has already been discussed by the Conclave. It has been our decision that the woman calling herself Noir will not be used for this purpose."
"Why not?" This was strange, normally the Conclave was all over someone that had genes as good as Noir obviously had. "She'd be excellent for it."
"You've already said so," the bald woman replied, while walking deeper into the woods that surrounded the school, "but the Conclave has deemed her too dangerous."
"Too dangerous? But you said it yourself? She's only human. In fact, if you'd need a volunteer, I would be willing to try." Man, would he like to try. A beautiful well-trained woman like Noir… He would be more than willing to impregnate her.
"Yes, she is a mere human. But the Conclave too has reached the conclusion that she might have been influenced by magic. There have been attempts in the past to use those capable of magic, and almost none of them had a positive outcome."
Mansfield felt his brow crease in confusion, what did she mean by that? Before asking he moved a branch so that the priestess had an unobstructed path. "May I ask what you mean by that?"
"So formal, Jonas?" the priestess asked him with a slight smile, "but yes. I will tell you about it"
A short silence followed that statement, before she started to tell him about these earlier attempts. "We have existed for thousands of years, a history that no other existing civilization can claim. And during all that time we have recorded what we've been doing, how we tried to improve ourselves, and our children. It is exactly for that reason that I must confess to being surprised that the same mistake has been made over and over again."
"Mistake? What mistake?"
"Slayers." Once again a short sentence spoken in a harsh and uncompromising tone told him more than he would have believed possible.
"There have been attempts to take Slayers into the fold?" Mansfield couldn't hide the surprise he felt at that possibility. Sure, it made sense in a way. Slayers were after all physically more powerful than any other human being, including Familiars, but most of the time they were willing to throw away their lives for the most unworthy of causes.
"Yes, the last attempt was a mere three hundred years ago. Once again the Watchers had failed to locate the newly called Slayer, and the Conclave decided to take advantage of that. It wasn't the first attempt, but without going into the specifics this time it was yet another spectacular failure. The girl had not even conceived before she started giving trouble, and the Conclave was forced to order the Phalanx to kill her."
Damn, he had a very good idea of what was going to be said next. "How many did she kill?"
"Most of them, setting back the Phalanx program almost an entire century," the priestess sighed in regret as she told him this.
"Okay, I can understand why you wouldn't want to try again with a Slayer, but why not Noir?"
"It wasn't only the Slayers that gave trouble. One other attempt at roughly the same time was with witches, this took place in a town called Salem. I'm sure you've heard of the actions that needed to be taken to quiet the people there."
Of course he had, the Salem witch trials weren't something you could ignore when it came to the history of the country he was now living in. "I take it there were even more, less well-known events as well?"
"Many, including attempts to breed with demons."
"Demons?" This time Mansfield was completely unable to keep the horror and disgust at such a thought from his voice. But come on! He shivered in disgust at such a horrible thought.
"That was a long time ago, and the Conclave at the time was removed because of it."
Nothing less than they deserved. By now their walk had taken them back onto the grass again though, and he suddenly missed the smell that came from the small forest. "Alright, I understand now why you don't want to take the chance."
"Indeed." They continued walking in silence for another couple of minutes until the priestess spoke up again. "There is something else I would like to know."
Oh, this couldn't be very good, could it? "Yes?"
"How did Noir find out your name?"
Because some annoying agent had followed his orders to the letter, and then done what she wanted. He had no intention of admitting that a mere human had managed to circumvent the spells that had been supposed to keep her loyal though, so he chose another explanation. "I think it happened when I directed her against the committee. The soldier, Finn I believe, probably lived long enough to add to my note."
"It was my understanding that you'd tied him up."
"Somehow he must've gotten loose."
They were both silent for a while, before the priestess spoke again. "But she never went after you, did she?"
"I have a feeling she believed me to be part of the Committee."
"A mistake like that doesn't sound like something she would make."
Mansfield shrugged, he didn't have a better explanation about that either. And besides, with Noir out of the States he could finally get away from that silly team of incompetents that helped him hunt her. They made for good cannon fodder, but that was all they were good for. "I'm not sure what else it could be. Unless you think she's keeping me for last."
"No," the priestess shook her head in denial of that possibility, "everything points to her having left after killing the last Committee member. She's left this country, and I doubt she'll return any time soon."
"Do you want me to continue hunting her?"
A slight smile appeared on her face when he asked that question. "No, that will not be necessary. I'll order some other familiars to look into any women leaving for France."
"France? Yes, although you might want to check Japan as well."
"Very well, you're the one that's been hunting her." Before she could say anything else though she suddenly turned towards the east. "What is that?"
Looking in the same direction Mansfield had no doubt that his actions were repeated by most American citizens on the eastern shore. The Pulse itself didn't seem that impressive to him, all that he could see was a sudden lightening of the night sky. As the EMP pulse raced towards his location though, he discovered what it did when suddenly all power seemed to switch off. The two of them stood quietly waiting until the diesel generators kicked in, and the lights came back, but once that had happened the priestess was quick to dismiss him.
"I have to talk to the Conclave about this. See what you can find out, and report back to me later."
Driving up to the small village, Dawn could hardly believe her eyes. It actually existed, and came so incredibly close to what she remembered of it. Parking her car in the town center she got out, and started walking. There was the bell tower from which the mayor had been sniping. There was the church where they had prayed for her. To her.
But the one thing she really needed to see was still a ways off. Following the slightly twisting path that led to it, she couldn't help but be surprised at the children playing with a ball. Didn't the similarities ever end? It made her even more afraid that she might actually find what she didn't want to see.
There had been no proof that Soldats existed, nobody in this world seemed to believe Noir was anything but an Anime series. At least, until she started openly using the name. But what if it did exist? What if she was going to find the irrevocable proof that her counterparts did exist? Or had once existed? What if it was all real? What if they only used other names? Names she hadn't tried?
Despite the warmth of the sun, Dawn shivered at that thought. If there actually was another Noir she would never feel safe again. She would have to spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder. And when had she become so scared of death? She was Death, she was the Grim Reaper. She couldn't resist the soft smile when she remembered why she no longer wanted to die. Yes, that was a very good reason.
Her musings had brought her to her destination however, and she couldn't help but feel the nervousness return. A small stone monument at the end of a winding road. The monument at the end of the village. And in her world, the monument where her predecessors were honored. She remembered the shock of first seeing it, irrevocable proof that the villagers' only purpose in life was to help her.
But now, now it could be so much more. Yes, she was afraid of what she might find, and she was more than willing to admit that. What if it was real? No. She had to stay calm. There was no reason for her to expect anything. Nobody had bowed to her so far, nobody had taken off their hat in reverence simply because she walked past. Steeling herself, Dawn took those last few steps and peered inside the monument.
Only to let out a big sigh of relief. This chapel was dedicated to some king or another. No half-naked women here, no swords, no priestess giving them their blessing. And to her, this was the final proof. Noir did not exist in this world. She was the only one. Thinking that didn't make her all that happy though. Sure, it meant she didn't need to be afraid of being hunted by yet another group, but it would have been so wonderful to have a partner. Someone who she could talk to, someone who understood what she had gone through.
But it wasn't to be. She was alone, never to find that perfect partner who understood her every action. A partner with whom she could go out for dinner along the Seine. No partner who could provide some of the information she didn't have. No Mireille. No Chloe. Nobody.
Shaking her head she stopped that train of thought. She shouldn't be thinking about this anymore. It was enough to know that before her there had been no Noir. Her curiosity had been quenched, and she could go home now. Back to her apartment in Paris, back to start living a normal life. No more killing, everything above board.
She'd had her fill of killing. There was no reason to start over again, the people responsible for the deaths of her friends had died. Xander had been avenged. Jane could now rest in peace. Sara would know that her friend had taken care of everything. Oh yes! It was over! It was all over! For a moment she felt as if she could burst from happiness.
Until that same happiness came crashing down again. She would never see any of them again. They were dead, and if there really was an afterlife she was certain they would be living in Heaven. Whereas she, Dawn snorted at the realization, she would go to the place that had been reserved for her at birth. A maiden with black hands had only one destination after she died.
"Noir, it is the name of an ancient fate. Two maidens who govern death. To the depths of hellfire, their black souls lure the lost children." It was only one of the statements made about her, and her predecessors, but it was the one that fit the situation best.
From her thin jacket, she then took her most prized possession. The link to her past, the one thing left that reminded her of her partner. Opening the watch she was half-disappointed at the lack of music coming from it. But she had consciously made the decision against either making this one work or buy a functional one, and now that would make it easier to put the past behind her. With a snap that seemed louder than it was, she closed the watch and put it behind the small statue.
"Farewell." She whispered the word, but it was enough for her. With the short ceremony over, Dawn stepped back out of the small building. And froze when she felt something small hit her legs. Fearing what she was about to see, she looked down. It was yellow. Why did it have to be yellow? Bending down she picked up the ball and only then did she look at the children who it belonged to. "Mireille."
"That's not my name," the blond little girl said while stretching her arms in a silent demand for the ball.
'I killed your parents,' was what she had said to the similar looking little girl on the other world. Now she was in a better frame of mind, and managed to stop herself from doing so. "Do you know who I am?"
A pealing laugh came from the happy girl. "Of course I do, silly."
Dawn once again felt her heart speed up. It wasn't possible, they couldn't really know. There was no Noir here, she was alone and none of the people here could possibly know who she was. She tried not to show her panic, although she had a feeling that if she hadn't been wearing sunglasses it would have been futile. "You do?"
"Yes, you're the woman from the car. Everybody saw you coming."
The woman from the car, thank the gods. "That's exactly who I am. Before I give you back your ball, and let you play, could you help me with something?"
"Sure," the girl answered, looking as unconcerned as a child that age should look.
"I'm getting a bit hungry, could you tell me where I can go to eat something?"
"Of course, there's a croissanterie close to where your car is. Their croissants are even better than mama's." The last part was whispered in her ear, and Dawn felt her mood lighten from the child's actions.
"Merci. Now, go and have fun." Giving back the ball, she watched the children for a moment. A small group of children playing this unconcerned seemed almost impossible for someone who had spent most of her life in a big city like Los Angeles, but these children didn't have to concern themselves with either gangs of humans or demons that might terrorize the neighborhood. And they'd probably never know how lucky they were.
When she walked over the square in the center of the village, Dawn wondered how she could have missed the croissanterie the first time. Even from a distance of fifteen meters she relished in the delicious smell emanating from the shop. Her stomach made itself known, by loudly protesting the fact that she hadn't eaten anything the entire day. But she had just been too nervous to even contemplate doing so.
Opening the door she was greeted by several curious, but friendly faces. This truly was an out-of-the-way town, wasn't it? Even in the most remote areas of the States had she encountered more suspicion than pure friendliness. Not to say there weren't friendly people, but this was the first time that everyone was nice. And she couldn't help but be nice back. Besides, she had just given up her profession and there was no more need for her to shield herself from others.
"Bonjour," she greeted them while taking of her sunglasses.
Obviously this was considered a good sign, as the smiles got even bigger. "Bonjour madame."
"I got a bit hungry, and when I asked a little girl she told me that this place made even better croissants than her mother. And I just had to see if this was true."
Her words brought a loud laugh from most of the guests, as they began calling to one man. "Hey Jacques, why do I think she's met your little girl?"
"Jacques, when are you going to tell Mary that your daughter spreads these tales around?"
The ribbing went on a bit longer, until the owner of the croissanterie, a solid looking older woman, called a halt to it. "Stop it, don't you see the poor dear is hungry? Let her order her food without having to shout."
"Excusez moi, ma belle."
"Oh, and you can stop the false flattery as well, you old grouch," the woman told the man who'd just called her beautiful.
"But it wasn't false flattery! You know I would never lie to you," the man told her with an innocent look on her face.
The woman ignored him however, and turned to Dawn. "Now dear, what can I do for you?"
"Those sandwiches look pretty good, and a croissant would be wonderful."
"Strawberry jam?"
"Perfect."
The woman gave a contented nod, obviously feeling that her tastes were up to par. "Why don't you sit by those old men. They could use someone pretty to clear up the environment. And that way you won't have to sit alone either while I prepare your order."
With a laugh that came remarkably easy, Dawn agreed to that and moved to sit with the men. "Hello pretty lady. You look even better this close up." Oh yes, this would be a fun lunch.
"Oh, you don't all look so bad either."
"If only I wasn't married," one of the men sighed in obvious false regret, "I'm Pierre, you've already met Jacques' daughter I believe. The blond fellow on your other side is Antoine, Thierry is next to him, and that only leaves Marc and Pascal. Now that you know our names, why don't you give us yours, so that we can make our wives jealous."
"As if Bernadette would feel jealous about you," the owner said from behind the counter.
"Oh, Véronique! You wound me."
"Pah," the woman smiled back, "if you can't take the truth."
Instead of going against her, Pierre leaned closer to Dawn and, while making sure everyone could hear it, told her. "Don't pay any attention to her, she's jealous Bernadette got to me first."
The resulting laughter didn't stop with the men, Véronique joined in as well, and Dawn couldn't remain behind. Once everybody had calmed down again though, she spoke up. "My name is Dawn."
"Dawn? You're English? But you don't butcher our beautiful language like the English do."
"Non, I was born American, but don't hold that against me. Coming to France felt like coming home, and I don't intend to ever leave again."
Once again her statement was accepted by the men, and when Véronique then not only brought her lunch, but also came with a fresh bottle of wine, they even raised their glasses. "Viva la France."
"Viva la France."
"So, Dawn," Véronique asked while she joined them, "what brings you here?"
Before she could answer though, Thierry spoke up. "Isn't it obvious? She's come to see the Manor."
Dawn had been in the middle of dipping her buttered croissant into the jam, but froze when she heard this. "Manor?" The whisper was all that she could get out of her mouth. The Manor existed after all? Without the village to protect it she hadn't believed it could exist, but what if it was still the place where Noir was trained?
"You don't know the Manor?" Her discomposure had been perceived wrongly, but she had no intention of correcting the assumption they had made.
"Of course she doesn't. Nobody knows about the Manor, except for us," Antoine told Thierry, before turning back to her. "Or do you?"
By then she had been able to collect her thoughts again, and did what she had hoped wouldn't be necessary again. She lied. "I don't think so. I was actually around here to explore the country a bit. Why don't you tell me about it?"
And so they started telling her about the Manor. The building itself had been built about a thousand years earlier, a time frame that was enough to make her feel even worse, but had been abandoned shortly after. "Sometimes somebody comes around to start living in it, but aside from madame Claudine nobody stays for long."
"Madame Claudine?"
"Yes, she lived here for almost fifty years, until she died about a hundred years ago."
"But nobody has lived there since?"
"Nobody. Do you think you might want to live there?"
It wasn't exactly her first choice, but on the other hand she also had quite a number of good memories of the place. "Maybe, how do I get there?"
Unsurprisingly, the route they gave her to the Manor, that was hidden between the mountains, was the exact same one she had followed when she'd gone to meet Altena.
Dawn stopped the car the very moment she had her first view of the buildings. Looking over the sprawling estate she had a moment where she believed herself to back in the past. Half-crazed after walking across most of France, and finally being ready to make that final step required to accept herself for what she truly was.
Not even driving through the woods where she had slipped into her emotionless persona had had this effect. But then again, while that had been an important event, it basically came down to killing those who tried to kill her. And if the memories of such a thing would stop her from acting normal, well… there wouldn't be many places she could go to.
Taking a deep breath she steeled herself and managed to dispel the ghosts of the past. This was another world, there was no Altena here; Chloe would not be waiting so that they could do their preparations for the ritual together. And Mireille wouldn't be coming either. No, this was a different place, and now that she was finally admitting this to herself she started to notice the differences.
The vineyard alone was completely different. Instead of the ordered and well-cared for yard that Altena had maintained, everything had grown rampant. She wasn't that well-versed in knowledge about these things, but she did know that it would be several years before there would be grapes here that could be used to create wine. Which, she had to admit, was a shame. The wine that came from the Manor had always been exceedingly good. Of course, she had grown up drinking it, which might influence her opinion on that.
The next thing she noticed was the small arena, which proved to her that, despite the villager's words, this Manor already existed during the time that the Romans still ruled most of the world. Sure, there were obvious signs of additions that had been placed there during the Renaissance, but in those days nobody would have built an arena like that. She had seen the Circus Maximus in Rome, and this had been built to a similar model, although on a far smaller scale. What exactly differed from the one she knew, wasn't something she could say but it was obvious that the maintenance had been done by different people.
Skipping several of the other ruins that only served to give an abandoned look to the place, Dawn searched for the pond. That tiny lake where the final confrontation had started, that place where the end finally began. Starting there, her eyes traced the path through the ruins where the running gun battle with Mireille had taken place. Pausing at the various spots either of them had almost managed to hit the other.
How serious had that fight been? Even now, having had years to think about it, she wasn't entirely certain. There had been three saplings where only two had been allowed, and she had wanted to restore the balance. The memories of the close misses were so sharp that they were hard to avoid, but she really didn't have time for that. Okay, she had the time. She just didn't want to waste that time on things that she couldn't control anyway.
So, Dawn hardly spent any time looking at the centerpiece of the surrounding buildings, the place where once maidens had vied with one another for the title of Noir. Only the best could be chosen, and while many might consider it a harsh way of determining who was the best, a battle to the death did never leave more than one winner. But there was only one building that truly mattered to her now. Only one where she could see if this world had once held her counterparts.
The Manor itself didn't differ much more from what she remembered than the outlying buildings had. Some parts of it looked better maintained, even after a century of disuse, but the crumbly looking outside had mostly been a pose. Something to hide what was inside.
Dawn realized that it hadn't just been the building that had looked unassuming. The people it sheltered, hid, never quite seemed to be as deadly as they were. The nuns whose purpose was to make her Noir, the kind mother—who in her own right was deadly as well—and of course, the children. It had been Chloe who spent most of her time at the Manor, but Dawn still remembered times she had been here. Memories of this place had taken a long time to return, and even now she had a feeling that some of them were still hidden within the recesses of her mind.
But they were unimportant. She had now seen of the place what she could from this distance, and it was time to go closer. Time to face her demons. Figuratively speaking.
Walking back to the car she mulled her options over. Should she drive closer, or go for a more stealthy approach? In itself the place was well enough situated that it was nearly impossible to approach unseen, but that was only if you didn't know the surroundings. She was more than capable of approaching unseen, but why should she? Without really paying attention to her movements, she began strapping on a harness for her guns. And it was only when she realized what she was doing that she made her decision. If she felt this uncomfortable about going there, there just had to be a reason for it. Dawn trusted her subconscious, in fact she sometimes trusted it better than the information she'd gathered.
Whether it was a side-effect of the spell, or simply Kirika's well-developed sense of danger that sought to inform her of what was going on, was once again something she didn't know. But, like with so many other things, she didn't really care either. The feelings were there, she could trust them, and they had probably saved her life several times before. So, if her instincts told her she would need weapons, she would take weapons.
Gearing up for battle, Dawn never even noticed the inconsistency in her behavior. Only a couple of hours earlier had she told herself it was over, no more killing, all that would matter from now on was to be living a nice life. She even had a plan ready for it; the money that she'd made would be used for setting up a business—or maybe simply taking one over.
But instead of setting up a business proposal, she was once again pulling on straps so that they wouldn't hamper her movement, checking the sights of her guns, and placing her knives within easy reach. Slipping an extra gun in the small of her back, Dawn wondered where she could hide the car, before deciding that the chances of someone stealing it here were exceedingly slim. After all, she smiled grimly, this was a place forgotten by time.
The first part of the journey was one for which she took her time. She was still elevated quite a bit over the Manor itself and used this opportunity to scout more of it. Only this time she wasn't looking for memories, this time she was trying to find signs of habitation. If someone was here, and if that someone posed a threat to her, she needed to be prepared.
But even when she had ended up at the base of the mountain, she hadn't seen anything dangerous. Except for the memories, but by now she was actively suppressing them. This place was dangerous enough, even without anyone else present there was enough danger to go around. Below the Manor itself, in a temple-like room there was an open pit that reached deep into the earth. And at the bottom there was lava, rocks that had been heated until they reached a liquid state.
Or that's how it had been in the other world, Dawn admonished herself. In this world the situation might be completely different, although a free source of heat like that was unlikely to be discarded. Whatever the case, even if there were no people here it would be unwise to let her guard down.
Quietly she stalked through the vineyard, making sure she couldn't be seen by anyone in the Manor itself. The wild grapevines did help with that, as they were high enough that she didn't really need to duck. Even moving silently it didn't take her long to cross the sweet smelling yard, and it wasn't long before Dawn stood with her back pressed against the wall next to the hole where a only the remains of a door were still visible.
That at least was a clear difference, but if it was true that nobody had been here for over a century it made sense. She was calm now as she held her guns next to her head; her mind running on cold logic instead of the emotions that she had once again shut down. But even in this state of mind she couldn't stop a hissing breath from escaping her mouth when she noticed the butt of a cigarette lying next to the door.
Somebody had been here recently, the Manor might be reasonably shielded from the environment, but that didn't mean a cigarette would survive lying on the ground for long. Had it been there for longer than a couple of days, a week at most, it would have been carried away by the wind. No, somebody had come here recently and she had a feeling that they wouldn't have left.
But why? And even while asking herself that, Dawn already knew the answer. To hunt her. Someone had assumed that she would go here, and now she had walked straight into whatever trap they had set up. But who? The agents? No, that was unlikely. They might have been able to think of something like this, but they were Americans and it was unlikely that they'd received permission to come here.
Reporters then? Or vigilantes? Neither made a lot of sense. Reporters would never want to face her as directly as this, and vigilantes… well… vigilantes were usually a bunch of incompetent fools that would never have been able to get this far. On the other hand, fools were unpredictable so it could very well be them.
"Come in, miss Summers," a cultured voice suddenly broke through her musings.
And for a long second all her emotional control proved useless as a hatred, that was so pure and focused that it managed to purge her mind of all thoughts, washed over her. It was THEM. Only one group knew her real name, and while it had always surprised her, never had they exposed her true identity to anyone. In fact, it had been so long that she'd last had contact with any of them that she'd mostly forgotten they existed.
But now the knowledge of their existence was once again at the forefront of her mind. "Terakan," Dawn whispered, not caring if he could hear her or not. The murderers of her mother and sister were here, and they wanted something. Before going in to see what they wanted she took another ten seconds to compose herself, or at least make it so that she appeared composed. Letting these people see a weakness wasn't something she could afford, and unadulterated hatred was definitely a weakness.
But she couldn't afford to wait very long either. With an abrupt movement she both took a step towards the ruined door, and turned on her axis until her guns were pointed steadily inside the building. The darkness inside made it a bit more difficult to discern any shapes, but with one gun aimed at the man who had probably spoken and the other scanning around the room, she felt pretty safe.
Or at least as safe as she could be when she was in the presence of people who, while not quite at her level, were still pretty good at what they did. "Good afternoon, miss Summers."
Dawn still refused to answer the man, even after this greeting, and instead stepped over the rotting remainder of the door. Once she was inside she immediately stepped to the side, so that she was no longer highlighted by the sun behind her. Nobody had attacked her yet, but she was certain that would only be a matter of time. Once more she scanned the room, going so far as to walk around it and examining every hook and cranny.
Once Dawn was finally satisfied that the two of them were alone in the room, she focused on the man. Despite her reservations about the organization he belonged to— something that had been confirmed by the ring he proudly displayed on his hand—she was impressed. He hadn't shown any sign of nervousness; and that while a gun had been pointed at him the entire time. Pointed at him, in fact, by someone who was both more than willing and able to pull the trigger. "What do you want?"
Yes, the man looked very calm as he was sitting there at the table that had been set for two. Noticing that tiny detail she raised her eyebrow in a silent question. Did he really believe that she would eat something with him? "Ah, you're wondering about the arrangement of the table? I just thought that you might be hungry once you arrived, or maybe you'd like a glass of wine? I understand that wine is one of the few vices you indulge yourself in?"
"What do you want?" She wasn't here to play silly games like this, she wanted to know why he was here.
A regretful sigh was uttered by the man, and for a moment Dawn almost felt compelled to take him up on his offer. But there was no reason for her to feel sorry for someone like him. "Are you certain?"
Yes, she was damn well certain. What was this? Twenty questions? "What do you want?" This time she ensured the words came out so cold that they wouldn't have been out of place on Antarctica. Maybe that would make him realize how much she liked talking to him.
"It's always business with you, isn't it? Don't you realize that it's so much more useful for you to relax once in a while? That would stop the stress from overcoming you. And why don't you put that gun down, I'm sure that your arm must be getting heavy by now."
Once again the words seemed to trigger an emotional response within her, the feeling of loneliness that she had learned to live with so long ago, and indeed the urge that it might not be so bad to put down her gun. No, she shook her head, never letting her eyes of the man. Her arm was indeed getting heavy, which surprised her a bit, but instead of simply putting it down she waited with doing so until the gun in her other hand was aimed at him.
"What do you want?" This time it was harder to remain as business-like as she wanted. The man was being awfully nice to her, so why shouldn't she act a bit nicer to him as well? In fact, it was so bad that she almost bit her tongue to resist from thanking him for the suggestions. As if she needed something to relax.
The man—she still didn't know what to call him, nor did she actually care—shook his head. "As you wish. We'll go down to business."
Once more the urge to maybe have a glass of wine, and relax a little in the company of this nice man grew stronger in her. He was rather handsome, and wouldn't it be nice to spend some time with someone who understood her? Wasn't that the thing she had been thinking about earlier? And he really looked good, didn't he? And when he looked at her like that, didn't her heart speed up a bit? Wouldn't it be nice to find out what his lips tasted like? Yes, that would be nice, wouldn't it?
Slowly but surely Dawn started walking closer to the man, until in the end she was standing next to the table. No matter how much she suddenly wanted to join him for a drink, and maybe more, she wasn't about to sit opposite him. He was facing the doorway, and if she'd place herself where her chair was waiting for her, she would be in far greater danger. Not only would he be able to see her far more clearly than the other way around, she wouldn't be able to see what was behind her either.
Her left hand continued pointing a gun at him, but they both knew that it was there more for show than anything else. Even while dragging the chair to the side of the table the hand never wavered though, ensuring that he wouldn't try anything. The man had been silent the entire time she had walked towards him, only staring at her with those expressive eyes of him. "Are you sure you wouldn't like a glass of wine?"
Dawn realized that earlier she had refused the offer, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember why. "Yes, I'd love that," she purred. Purred? Why was she purring? What was she? Some kind of cat? Did it matter?
"That's good to hear. It might not be from the vineyard here, but I made sure to bring a couple of bottles of the finest wines. And yes, they're still unopened so I can't have done anything to them."
She blinked at that. Oh yeah, that was always a possibility. She'd completely forgotten about that though, and besides the man she was talking to right now would never do something like that, would he? "Thank you."
Oh look at that smile! Once again she felt her heart racing because of his expression. "For a beautiful woman like you, this could never be a hardship"
Did he just call her beautiful? Dawn couldn't hide the pleasure she felt at that compliment. He had called her beautiful! Oh, this was almost too good to be true. Oh no! She was blushing like some silly schoolgirl, she couldn't let him see that! Quickly she turned her head away from him, until she felt the heat in her cheeks dissipate again. And when she turned back he was already pouring her drink.
It was strange, but she couldn't remember the last time she had felt this at ease. Sure, there had been moments in the past, but to have such a relaxing moment with someone she had for some reason despised was surprising. And when he handed her the glass of wine, Dawn didn't even have to think about putting down her gun. If she didn't she couldn't possibly take the glass, and that would just be rude.
"I propose that this first glass will be in honor of your beauty."
He did it again. For a moment she thought that there might be more to his flattery than appeared at first glance, but that thought was dismissed almost as quickly as it had appeared. Just because the man had a good taste in women didn't mean he was up to something. So, after first smelling the bouquet, that identified it clearly as a superior wine, she took her first sip. "Thank you."
"No need to thank me. But now that we are so much more comfortable, don't you think it's a good idea to talk about us?"
"Us? Well, I could think of a couple of things that would involve us…" Dawn hinted coyly, while imagining exactly what she would do to him once she had him at her mercy in a nice comfortable bed.
"Now that does sound interesting, but it isn't quite what I wanted to talk about right now. We'll come back to that later."
"Great," she once again purred, before her mind suddenly switched gears in mid-thought. Where before she had felt mostly lust while she looked at him, now she really wanted to help him with anything he desired. Especially if it would concern the two of them naked, no, first things first.
"Indeed, now this may come as a surprise to you, but the Order has been interested in you for a long time."
What did she care about the Order? All she was interested right now was his interest in her. Bad Dawnie, answers first, fun later. "Oh? How nice."
"But there's one thing that has continued to surprise us," he continued—she still didn't know his name, what was up with that? "is the fact that we have never been able to track your movements completely."
Immediately she felt ashamed that she had been hiding from him. Who knew what she could have done before today if she hadn't done so? Maybe they could have skipped this conversation and gone straight to be- No! Answers first. Once again her mind interrupted her thoughts. Huh? What kind of strange thought was that? That didn't matter, her mind was right though, she really should be answering the handsome man. "How do you mean?"
Even while she said it, Dawn knew that it was the wrong answer and the disheartened feeling grew even worse when her companion spoke in a slightly disappointed voice. "Of course you know what I mean. I refer to the fact that you've somehow managed to hide yourself from magical oversight."
Magical oversight? What kind of ridiculous term was that? A new wave of sudden lust stopped that thought cold, and almost made her jump the man in an attempt to quench her mounting passion. But she managed to control herself—barely—and concentrated hard to give him an answer. "I'm not sure actually. I think it has something to do with the spell that made me who I am."
No, there was more to it and she should tell him. Why hide anything from this wonderful man? Panic started to mount as she thought about that, there wasn't anything else about it that she could tell him. How could she tell him things she didn't know? That would mean she'd have to lie, and she couldn't lie! She felt torn between what seemed at that moment to be the two most important objectives of her life. Luckily her future lover changed the subject when he noticed her panic. "Easy, my love. Don't worry about it. Let's talk about that spell instead. I take it you refer to the one cast by Ethan Rayne during Halloween of 1997?"
The panic had disappeared almost immediately after he told her to calm down, and Dawn was now once again capable of thinking about it. "Yes, that one," she bit out, but even her normally extreme hatred of the mage seemed muted.
"Yes, there have been speculations about that in the Order. Is it true that you actually turned into the character you dressed up as?"
She only nodded her head, not wanting to be reminded of that terrible night, but not wanting to disappoint him either. Luckily, he placed his warm hand against her cheek so that she had something to concentrate on, aside from the memories.
"That must have been terrible for you, a young girl who was suddenly confronted with the true horrors of the night." He really was wonderful, it was almost as if he could read her mind, so well did he know her. What if he actually could re-. Once again a thought was abruptly interrupted, but Dawn didn't care, and to thank him she turned her head in his hand so that she could kiss it.
"But somehow you managed to regain the abilities of your character, do you know how that happened?"
While she didn't really wanted to talk about it, the urge not to disappoint him was greater. "It had something to do with how Kirika was an actual character. And then our minds merged when…" Dawn suddenly trailed of as she was reminded of her reason for hating people like the man.
"Oh yes, the unfortunate incident with your mother and sister. I'm truly sorry to hear about that." Ahhh, that was so kind of him. Of course, he hadn't been able to do anything about it, and realistically she understood that he couldn't have done anything, anyway. It had been a mission, and she had orphaned her own fair share of children. So, it really was a bit ridiculous of her to remain so angry about a business transaction.
The man continued speaking however. "I would really have liked to meet them, you know. While I doubt they could possibly be as beautiful as you, they must have been impressive merely because of their relationship to you."
Dawn threw a wide smile at him. "You really say the nicest things, you know."
He smiled back, while using his hand to once again caress her face. "Only for you, my beautiful little assassin. Tell me, what would you think about joining the Order? I'm sure I could convince my bosses that we'd make a great team."
While her first reaction to the thought of joining the Order had been one of disgust, and disapproval, the possibility of being partnered with him was wonderful. "Together? Always?"
A slightly regretful look appeared on his face, and she feared for what he might say. "Maybe not at first. You'd probably have to undergo some of the basic tests and training first."
Training? What would she need that for? Oh, probably because they had some silly rules she'd have to follow. Well, if it meant staying with him she was more than willing to put up with that. But that still left… "What kind of tests?"
"Nothing major, there are just some things that we would like to know that might be useful later."
Okay, that didn't sound so bad. "I think I'd love to."
This time the smile that graced his handsome face was one of obvious joy and her heart fluttered at how it made him look even better than he had before. "Really? You'd do it? For me?"
She ducked her head so he wouldn't see the blush that once again adorned her face. "Yes, for you."
Raising her head he looked at her with a slightly toned down smile, but it still made her want to look away. "Don't hide. I think you're beautiful when you blush."
Oh gods, she could feel her cheeks heat up even further when he said that. "Don't lie."
"I'm not lying, it's the truth. The whole truth, and nothing but the truth, just like they say in an American courtroom. A room, I'd like to add, you'll never need to visit now that you're one of us."
Already? "You mean all it needed was for me to say it?" The surprise she felt had to evident in her face, because he smiled before explaining.
"No, not entirely. Like I said before, there are a couple of things that you still need to do, but I'm certain you'll set a new record for how fast you'll be accepted."
"And then we can be together?" Dawn asked timidly.
The smile that had never left his face, once again broadened. "And then we can be together."
Not bothering to hide her joy at that prospect she threw her arms around him, and started to kiss his face. He tried to stop her from doing so, but his attempts were half-hearted and only succeeded in removing the weapons she didn't need anyway. Somehow she had ended up on his lap, and she had to admit that she rather liked it there. Oh, he was trying to remove her harness. Well, that was impossible while her hands were busy, so she stopped her onslaught for a moment and sat straight up so that he could take it off her. "I've been so looking forward to this," he murmured while he did that.
"Really? I'm honored," she breathed back, only waiting until the harness was no longer restricting her arms before attacking him once again.
"Ah! Yes, that feels good," he sighed in reaction to the kisses she was now bestowing on his neck. Well, if that was how he reacted to something like that, she wondered how he'd respond to her using her teeth. Now wanting to wonder for long, she quickly moved to find out and from the reaction she got it was obviously well-received.
"Like that, don't you?" Dawn smirked at him when she took a short break.
The man no longer looked as neat as he had when she entered, instead his clothes rather disheveled by now. And while she liked the look, what she really wanted to know was what would be beneath them. "Definitely."
A thought occurred to her then, and she felt the need to ask it. "Why did you come here anyway?"
The adoring smile already told her most of the answer before he even opened his mouth, causing her to feel even more special. "I came for you, I'd heard about you and decided to come looking for you. It took a long time, but in the end I managed to find this place. And I knew that you'd come here, so I waited until you'd arrive."
How sweet! Not waiting another moment she kissed his forehead. "I love you."
"I know." Oh goody! He liked Star Wars! As a reward for his good taste in movies she moved so that she could kiss the tip of his nose.
"Tease."
"Maybe, but you like it."
She giggled at that. "Maybe."
"Now who's teasing who?"
Immediately she was contrite about doing so. Or at least pretended as if she was. "I'm sorry. Why don't you let me make it up to you?"
"And how would you do that?" he asked, and as he couldn't possibly have missed the mischievous glint in her eyes he was smiling broadly.
"Well… We are still wearing our clothes, and I think we could have so much more fun if we got rid of them. It's warm outside, so we could lie down on the grass, or we might look for a bed inside?"
"There's no bed inside that hasn't fallen apart years ago. But the other suggestion sounds great. But would you mind doing me a favor first?"
Another one? No, she shouldn't be thinking bad thoughts like that. He'd offered her a future, she should be grateful. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm pretty sure that you love me, but could you maybe prove it by telling me something you haven't told anyone else? Something you don't want anyone to know?"
Instead of answering the question she assaulted his lips for the first time, putting hers against them. And when he opened his mouth in reciprocation, she sent her tongue on a quest to discover what he tasted like. The wine they had been drinking was there, but the dominant taste was that of himself, and there was absolutely no taste of cigarettes whatsoever. "Wasn't that proof enough?" Dawn breathed once they'd disengaged.
"Wow." He shook his head as if to wake up out of a doze. "That was certainly something, but I'd really rather have the answer."
"Spoilsport," she pouted. He hadn't tasted like cigarettes, why was that important? Yes, why was that important? She should enjoy him, answer the question and take him outside. "Are you sure I can't convince you otherwise?"
"Dawn…" he said in a slightly more menacing tone, and she felt a shiver of delight go through her body at the more dominant behavior he was suddenly exhibiting. But he hadn't tasted like cigarettes.
What was it with those cigarettes? She didn't like them, shouldn't she be happy he didn't smoke, and move on? "Oh alright, I have a-" Wait a minute. He didn't smoke?
"I have-" This time she was reminded of the cigarettes even sooner. Why couldn't she simply answer the damned question, once that was done she could have her wicked way with him. As a prelude to the wonderful years that were to come. "I-"
"Yes?" he demanded. But this time when she looked at him she could see a sudden stiffness in his behavior. What was his problem? No, what was her problem? Why did she keep focusing on those damned cigarettes?
And then it suddenly hit her, once again she saw the cigarette but lying on the ground next to the door. If he didn't smoke… "You lied." And if he'd lied about that…
"Dawnie? Love?" the man tried to salvage the situation, but it was almost as if the sudden realization had thrown a switch in her mind. Her behavior didn't make any sense.
Why had she suddenly agreed to drink with him? How come she had suddenly been so attracted to him? The realization hit her hard, it was suddenly there and she reacted without thinking at the intrusion of her mind. Her hands, that moments before had been lovingly cradling his face, suddenly turned back into what they really were. Weapons honed to perfection. Her grip firmed and with a powerful twist she snapped his neck, ending the magic user's sorry excuse for a life.
"NOOO!"
The scream of despair came from behind her, and Dawn didn't wait even a moment before diving from the corpse's lap and behind the relative cover of the table. Not a moment too soon either, as a pressure wave toppled the chair they had been sitting on. Another damned magic user! Wasn't it enough for her to be abused by one of them?
"I will kill you for that, you insignificant little bitch!" Wow, this girl had serious problems didn't she? How could anyone be so desperate about seeing that guy die? On the other, she suddenly realized, five minutes ago she would have tried to kill anyone who'd want to do him harm as well.
In other words, whoever her opponent was, she had probably been seduced the same way she had. But hadn't had the strength of will to break free. Making a break for the passage that led deeper into the Manor, Dawn did admit that she wouldn't have had the strength of will either, if it hadn't been for the cigarette. Well, she thought while another shock wave impacted the wall behind her, at least now she knew who did smoke.
"How dare you kill him!" Man, she really didn't know when to quit, did she? And all of that because she'd killed a mind rapist, whose name she still didn't know. Oh well, she shrugged while diving into a room with several high pillars, at least it had reminded her that she wasn't completely done yet. There was one other enemy that needed to be destroyed before she could really stop killing.
And talking of killing, why had she allowed that bastard to strip her of all weapons. Now did she not only feel dirty where he had touched her, she was defenseless as well. Or was she? She hadn't remembered it while she was with the bastard, which was probably the reason he hadn't taken that away either, but when she moved her hand to her back she did indeed feel the small gun hidden there.
Now it was a last resort weapon, but back when anything larger hadn't fitted in her hands, the Glock 26 had been her first gun. And while this wasn't the original—that one had been lost over the years—it was still a weapon she was very familiar with. Taking it out, Dawn hid behind a pillar. It was unlikely that the witch, or whatever, would be able to take out something this big with one spell but a single shot would be all that she'd need.
If there had actually been a door, Dawn was pretty certain that the witch would have blown it to tiny bits when she entered the room, and indeed a shock wave preceded the woman. "WHERE ARE YOU! Come out and face me, you bitch!" The language that the woman used was truly shocking, Dawn thought while shaking her head in disapproval. Of course, once upon a time she might have said similar things, but during the past couple of years she had managed to tone it down.
Suddenly she could feel the pressure building in the room. She was about to turn around the column she was hiding behind to shoot the target, when the column next to her suddenly burst apart. Oh. That wasn't good, she thought while immediately freezing.
"One down. Five to go," the witch said, and this time the tone was no longer one that belonged to a half-crazed woman. Powerful witch + sanity + angry at her bad. See? Math was useful for things, although she had a feeling poor mister Grainsworth would have been shocked to know what she used it for.
No doubt the witch was paying attention to all the columns that were still standing and if she showed where she was… Well let's just say that Noir would probably be present in the Manor for a long time, a lot of Noir, liquid Noir.
Uh oh. She suddenly realized her pillar was next in line to be destroyed. Quickly she let herself slide to the ground, but even then it was almost too late. The witch destroyed the column by simply blowing away everything between about the height of Dawn's knees and head. And for now the roof held up the upper parts, but she doubted that would last long. That however, was not an immediate concern so she could forget about it.
Making herself as small as possible Dawn hid behind the tiny portion of the pillar that she hoped would survive the onslaught. When the rest flew over her though, it scratched her back badly, destroying her clothes and leaving a deep wound. She did her best not to cry out from the sudden pain, something that wasn't made easier by the gristle that made its way into her wound. But she had survived, and as far as wounds went, she'd had worse. At least this wasn't immediately life-threatening.
"And that makes two! You can't hide much longer, you little wannabe assassin." Wannabe? Now that was insulting, only one of them was a wannabe anything, and it wasn't her.
But the fact that the witch believed that she was hiding behind one of the other columns was useful. It meant that she wouldn't pay as much attention to this one. All she had to do now, was wait for the chance to strike. Once more did she feel the pressure rising, and the same moment that the pillar on her right was blown up did she roll out from behind her pillar. Not paying any attention to the destruction of that pillar, Dawn was completely focused on the witch.
She was blond, pretty, but looked older than the man had. But maybe that had been a good application of glamour. It wasn't long before the witch noticed her, but her way of fighting obviously needed some time between shots. Time she would never have. The witch's mouth was half open, probably to shout another challenge, when a single nine millimeter bullet destroyed her brain.
Once more Dawn stopped the car at the center of the small village. And once more the first thing she did after getting out was to walk to the monument. Stepping inside she felt behind the statue, until she held the watch she'd been looking for. It seemed that people would continue to hunt her no matter what she did, and if they wanted to play, who was she to deny them that pleasure?
The two rings that were now in her pocket proved that she was still capable of defeating Terakans, but the memory of her initial failure told her that she could never let her guard down either. Aside from the assassins, there was still the other enemy. Magic. Filthy magic, the stuff that destroyed lives. That changed people against their will, took them from what little peace they had found, and turned them into something else.
For far too long now she had allowed others to determine her actions, always had she been reacting to the events around her. But no more. She would not allow that to continue any longer. Her life was hers to determine. And anyone standing in her way would be removed from that path, no exceptions.
With this new determination in her heart, she walked back into the village. Where was everybody? That morning the streets hadn't exactly been busy, but now she didn't see anyone. Instead of trying to figure it out for herself though, she walked to the croissanterie. Only this time it wasn't a merry group of people waiting for her inside.
They were the same men, which was a bit strange since she'd expected them to have gone back to work by now. Or maybe they were back already, she wasn't entirely certain how long she'd been at the Manor. But the thing that she noticed most was the sad look each of them wore.
"What's going on?"
They hadn't even noticed her entrance, and when they looked at her, their face blanched. "Oh Dawn, we're so sorry."
"What? Why?" They didn't have anything to do with the Terakans, did they? No, that couldn't be.
"We only heard about it after you'd left. Why didn't you tell us?"
What were they talking about? When she asked that, they seemed surprised, but it wasn't long before one of them, Jacques, explained. "I'm sorry, belle, we thought you already knew. Otherwise we would have tried to break the news more gently."
Break the news? What had happened? "What's happened?"
"You must understand, we don't have a lot of contact with the outside world. Aside from the mailman there aren't many outsiders that visit us. We live a bit out of the way, I suppose."
"Jacques, I don't blame you for not knowing earlier, but what's happened?"
"Oh Dawn, it's terrible. Merde," he cursed before composing himself, "there were terrorists, they exploded a nuclear bomb above the ocean."
"EMP," Dawn whispered in sudden understanding. The actual damage depended on a huge number of factors but the effects were obvious. "Where, and how much has been affected?"
"The Atlantic, the entire American east coast. There was even some effect here in France, but not like there. It must have been terrible there, thousands probably died when it happened, elevators that no longer worked, trapping people eighty floors up. Airplanes that crashed into the ocean." He shook his head in obvious disbelief that anyone could do something that gruesome. "Maybe the rumors have been exaggerated, but I don't doubt there will have been many casualties."
The States, for a moment she felt relief that at least her beloved Paris had been saved from the worst of the attack, a relief that was immediately replaced by disgust at that same relief. How could she be happy when so many had died needlessly? No, this was incredible. Without thinking she sat down on one of the chairs, only to immediately stand back up as she screwed her face at the sudden agony.
"Dawn? What's wrong?" The men wanted to know, while coming over to her. But it was only when one of them, she wasn't certain who, stood behind her and noticed the fresh blood that had managed to seep through the bandage. "You're bleeding."
"It's nothing."
"Nothing? That isn't nothing. Thierry, go fetch Amanda, she'll know what to do."
"I don't need help." The disapproving looks from the men told her that she didn't have a choice about it, and when Véronique joined them, she didn't stand a chance at all.
And so it wasn't long before she found herself naked, lying stretched out on a bed, and staring at the wall in front of her, while some strange woman was stitching her back. "How did you manage to do this?"
"A rock fell on me, and I wasn't fast enough to evade it."
"But you did clean the wound."
"There was a pond, I went swimming."
There was a moment of silence where Amanda was concentrating on her job, before she spoke up again. "Yes, I can see that you're used to dealing with wounds."
That comment was enough to tense her up, of course the woman had seen the other scars, it was impossible not to. "I lived in a dangerous part of the city."
"Of course you did, dear. Now don't be so tense, that will only aggravate the wound."
She wasn't entirely certain that the woman had believed her, but as long as she didn't give her any more trouble that didn't matter anyway. She hadn't wanted anything resembling an anesthetic, so whenever Amanda pricked her skin she could feel it clearly. So in an effort not to notice the pain too much, she focused on other things. A focus that was so complete that she didn't even noticed when Véronique entered the room.
"Are you done?"
"Almost, why?" Amanda answered.
"I need to talk to Dawn for a moment."
That didn't sound very good. What could she possibly want right now? "Well, if you give me a second I'll tie this and she'll be all yours." The strange feeling at her back continued for a moment longer, until Amanda spoke up again. "There, all done."
Unselfconsciously Dawn sat up, exposing her breasts for all to see, but as there were only women in the room she didn't even think about covering herself up. Well, not before accepting her clothes from the owner of the croissanterie. "Thanks for cleaning them."
"You're welcome," was the answer, but Dawn didn't really hear it. All her attention was suddenly focused on the items the woman was still holding in her hands. She didn't have any weapons on her, but she was sure that she could kill the two of them with her bare hands. "Don't, please. We mean you no harm."
She wasn't sure what the woman knew, although it was obviously too much, but for now she decided against taking any action. She didn't speak either though, if the woman wanted to live she had to do so on her own merits.
"You are her, aren't you?"
Yes, but that didn't mean she was going to admit it.
"We knew that you'd come."
Okay, this was far too familiar. That's what Tristan had said back then. No way was it coincidence if the same sentence was spoken in the same village on different worlds. But she still refused to open her mouth.
"The Manor is the one where you were trained isn't it? Not on this world perhaps, but on your own."
They really knew too much, how could she possibly let them live?
"I understand that you don't have any reason to trust us, but if you're going to live in the Manor, we can help you."
Live in the manor? She didn't want to… although there were possibilities there.
"We know you must be good if you managed to kill two Terakans. If we'd known they were at the Manor the men would never have sent you there. But we believed it necessary for you to go to the Manor. And now that you've accepted who you are, we want to help."
"Help with what?"
"Destroy the Terakans, change the world for the better. We might not be the Soldats that you remember living in this village, but we're not all that different from them either."
Post-fic comments: A little early because I'm away for the weekend, but I'm sure you won't mind.
I've heard rumors that reviews are good for the soul, why don't you see if it's true?
Thank you Bob from Accounting for your review. And while it might sound a bit conceited I actually feel the same way about the lack of reviews.