Chapter 1: Chats and conversations

Lara was sitting on the ledge of her bed in her motel room, with the tape in her hands. Now, she wasn't that sure that she wanted to watch it. What if it was the proof that the worst had happened…? She sighted and got up knowing that not watching it would not solve the problem. After turning on the TV, she returned to the bed. Half an hour later, she hurried out of the motel and stopped a taxi.

"To the airport" she told the driver

Kurtis watched the room surrounding him, if it could be call a room. He was lying on what look like a hospital bed. However, the place was much darker and gloomier than any hospital might have been. He tried to get up but a sharp pain in his stomach made him gave up. He then noticed the bandages around his waist and remembered his fight with Boaz. After he had got himself stabbed, the only thing he was able to remember was he lying on the floor of the arena. Someone must have brought him there. The door opened. A man entered into the room, and approached Kurtis.

"How are you today, Mr Trent?" said the figure. "You've been sleeping for a long time."

Kurtis immediately recognised him as Joachim Karel, one of the cabal members and wondered what had happened. As he remained in silence, Karel continued talking.

"You must be wondering why we took you from the arena and brought you here. Well, I'll not try to convince you that you are here because I want to undo my wrongs, but because we need you. Have you ever heard about the four keys of Aslene?"

"Why do you exactly need me?

"Because each key is related to a different kind of … "place" and one of them can only be obtained by a Lux Veritatis member. As you are the only one left… let's say that you come in handy."

The man parked the car and looked at the building in front of him. Despite being probably one of the newest buildings in the city, it was really difficult to find one's way around it. He walked through a corridor full of classroom and laboratories, till he reached the department of palaeontology. After having gone through it completely and not finding what he was looking for, he approached a pair of women talking near the entrance.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where Doctor Illsay is?"

The two women looked at him and then at each other. It was the first time someone had come looking for her. It wasn't the fact that she didn't receive visits, but that most people knew where to find her.

"She is probably in the gardens in the entrance." Answered one of them.

"Thanks" replied the man, slightly bowing his head.

The two women couldn't help staring at him a he walked out of the corridor and the building. He found her where he had been told, sitting on one of the benches, reading a book

"Milady" he said, as the woman looked up to him from where she was sitting and smiled.

As soon as he was sure he had caught her attention, continued. "The members of the council have been gathered together. They want you to contact them as soon as possible. She told me to remember you how complicated things are getting"

She sighted." I knew these "Holidays" wouldn't last long" and without losing her smile she added. "Tell them that I'll arrive tomorrow."

She then stood up, bowed slightly her head as the man had done before and left. The man kept watching here as she went into the building, surely to pack some of her things.

After having left the Parisian airport, Lara managed to find a taxi. While she was sitting there, she started to think about the videotape. If she hadn't seen it by herself, she would have never believed it. Karel was still alive and he has taken Kurtis. She guessed that they must need him, if they were trying to save him. As soon as she had watched how they had taken him out of the room on a stretcher, she had turned of the TV an exited the motel room.

She had found a plane ticket to Paris in one of the pockets of the man that had tried to kill her back at the Strahov. So she had taken the first plane to Paris hoping to find there a trace of where they could be. She told herself that she must stop Karel before he managed to carry out his evil purpose. However, she knew that it wasn't the main reason why she would follow him.

The taxi stopped in one of the streets of the Parisian ghetto. She didn't know if it was the best place to find out what would be Karel's next step, but it was the only one she had been able to think about.

IsisDeiyan got of the taxi and paid the driver who had brought her here from the airport. She wondered why the Council had decided to make that place one of their meeting points. She smiled and made a mental note to ask someone about the matter and then entered the building. After reaching the floor she had been addressed to she pushed the doorbell.

An old woman opened the door and smiled as she saw her.

"They are all in the living room. I'll lead you there." She said and started walking. Before reaching its door, she added "I'm glad to see you again, milady"

"It's always good to see old friends" replied IsisDeiyan, preparing to come into the room. As she opened the door, she felt everybody who were sitting there, turning they heads to see her. They immediately stopped talking, and greeted her

"Good morning everybody" she said and looked at then until she spotted a blonde woman. She stood up and they hugged each other. "I see that even elder sisters may learn from the younger ones"

"You know that I've always liked this city since I came here with you. I must say that I strongly advised the council to establish here."

"Erel, we must say that, in these years as our queen, it has been your only 'whim'." said an elderly man sitting in one of the armchairs. He then turned to IsisDeiyan and said. "Maybe we should start talking about important matters. As you already know, princess Ellein managed to leave the palace with some artefacts, 2 years ago. We haven't been able to find out exactly which artefacts she has or where she is, until yesterday morning"

"So I guess you need someone to prevent her from using them. Someone who has lived her whole life in the world Ellein is threatening" added IsisDeiyan.

"Yes, but things are now a bit complicated" continued the man." We know that she has one of the keys of Aslene"

"And she is forming an alliance to obtain the other three. First, they need to get some kind of map with the location of all the keys, so we supposed that they still don't know where some of the keys are." said Erel.

"Where is the map?" asked IsisDeiyan.

"Our contact told us that it is believed to be hidden in an urn, in the Louvre. They will try to steal it during some kind of inauguration held there tomorrow night."

"I've heard about it. I can manage to be invited. Once there I'll try to stop them, if the council approves"

"You have our approval" said another man "We have already voted it"

"I don't know why I'm surprised" she said.

"If we didn't know that you are willing to ct in such a way, we would have never accepted you as a princess."

She smiled and looked at her sister "Don't worry. I won't let Ellain see me."

"That would be safer. If she doesn't know that we are after her, she would be more confident. And, Isis, be careful. I don't want to loose another sister."

"Don't worry. I already knew what I was signing up for when I accepted becoming a princess. By the way, do we know who she is helping?"

Joachim Karel was sitting in his office, checking some of his notes, when someone knocked at the door.

"Come in" he said and Marten Gunderson entered the room. "Gunderson, have the man you sent back to the Strahov returned?"

"No, Sir. I'm afraid he would not return. He was found by Miss Croft and I'm afraid she now has the tape."

"Well, then I supposed that we will have a visit sooner o later. Be ready. Anything else?"

"Yes, Sir. Princess Ellein has arrived."

"Tell her to come in."

The café metro was completely empty and, as Lara entered, the owner, Pierre greeted her as if she were a long lost friend. Lara, knowing that the kinder she behaved with that man, the more information she would obtain, from him decided to behave politely, or a least more politely than the last time she had been there.

"It's nice to see you, Pierre."

"What brought you here? I guess that you aren't here to pay a courtesy visit."

Lara smiled "I've heard that someone is ruling a very bad organization and I'm sure that you know something. After all which place would be better to 'overheard' conversation than a café in this part of the city?"

Pierre expression immediately changed. "I don't know what you are talking about. Do you think that I spent the time eavesdropping my customers' conversation?" he said as he raised his voice.

"Shut up! Believe me that you don't want to attract anyone's attention" said Lara as she forced herself to fight the urge to blow his head off by remembering that she needed that man to get to Kur…Karel. "So, you have heard something, haven't you?"

"Look, I'm risking my life if I tell you something. They might kill me!"

"I'll kill you, if you don't tell me what you know."

"Ok, I heard some people talking, two days ago. All I know is that something called the agency are going to break into the Louvre tomorrow night. I don't know who they work for but they can't be up to anything good"

"Thanks, Pierre. And remember that we wouldn't want anyone to know about our little chat." said Lara a he left the café. She had plenty of time to prepare a little 'excursion' to the museum. She would watch them and steal from them whatever they were looking for when she had the chance. But right now, she needed some weapons. And she remember where to find them, as she thought that the safe box in the pawnshop was likely to have survived the explosion, a few days ago.

Princess Ellain entered the room and sat in one of the chairs, before being invited to do so. Karel lifted up his head from his papers and studied the woman in front of him. She wasn't tall, but still managed to looked to most of the people over her shoulder She had red hair, brown and green eyes and

She started talking with the same decision she had entered the room with. "I've come here to close our agreement. I've put my key in a safe place, so that I could take it when the time comes."

"Fine. We'll our search for the keys tomorrow evening. Are you coming with us?"

"And risking myself to be discovered by my 'dear' people? No thanks."

"I thought that you didn't fear them"

"I don't. But I wouldn't like any of my remaining sisters to come after me. Do you think that if they discover what I am up to, they wouldn't try to stop me?"

"Well, I understand that, after betraying them, being responsible of the death of more than the half of the people you were supposed to protect, including several sisters and stealing some artefacts that can lead to the destruction of the world, you are not in very good terms with them. I would have never though that one of you would fall for power so easily. You would wait here till we return from the Louvre."

What do you think of this chapter? I have though about introducing a new character that would drop from time to time and that would give the whole story a pinch of fantasy. Personally I like her very much.

Thanks to everyone that has reviewed the beginning of my story. By the way, Lady Lara Croft thanks for the piece of advised. I didn't' even know that option existed…