Angelique and Dominique

They walked to the edge of the village and found a home that had partially collapsed; Soeur explained that Calamity herself blasted the home because she didn't wish Croix to somehow recognize her and thus try to regain himself. But after passing the destroyed hall and living room, they found one bedroom intact. It had all the appearances of a little girl's room with its bright pink walls and yellow trim. There were two beds, both made to fit a five year old, one with a purple comfiture and the other with a red one. Strewn about were many stuffed animals; a few bears with a puppy or two and three floppy bunnies.

"It's still a mess," Soeur confessed, "Angelique never liked cleaning up; she was quite a stubborn girl. And Dominique did whatever her big sister did; they were close. As a spirit I cannot interact with the physical world. Thus, I am unable to clean up the mess those two left behind here."

Prier looked around the room. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her head. Though she had never exhibited these sorts of talents before, a vision began to form. In it, she saw a pair of little girls. The one was wearing a purple dress while her sister had on a red dress. Both of them resembled Prier greatly; well, a four or five year old Prier. The one in the red dress was crying into her sister's arms. They spoke to each other, but Prier was unable to hear their words. She could, however, sense pain

"Are you ok Prier? You look tired," commented Francoise. She shook her head and denied it; claiming that it was probably fatigue brought on by the blood loss. However, she felt as if she'd seen this room before. And Soeur…she looked familiar as well. What was going on? Was there a secret to her?

After the group had become comfortable, Soeur stated, "I guess I should tell you all my story. As I told you earlier, I fled to the mainland after Claude's murder. Right away, I sought out a church to lend my services to. Because I was a decent healer and powerful fighter, I was then sent to protect this village. A few months later, I found out I was pregnant. But then, I had a vision. In it, I saw my sister hanging from a pole; then she was killed in the same manner that my beloved died. Just then, I saw a cage of darkness hanging over Croix as he stood in pain. A black aura rose from his body and incinerated the area. I felt afraid; what was happening there? Being all the way here, I couldn't help"

Culotte saw the ghostly woman sweating. She was obviously upset over what had occurred in Fatima. But he also could tell that she didn't blame Croix one bit; instead, blamed the darkness that had taken advantage of his weakened and fragile heart. He watched her clear her head a little before continuing. "Anyway, I knew there was nothing that I could do. So I spent all of my time and energy into the twin daughters in my womb. When they were born, I could tell that they were both special. But unlike normal twins, their powers were different. Angelique, the older, had powers of Light. Dominique, the younger, had powers of Darkness. However, that did not matter to me; they were both still my precious children. And for five years…we were happy. I raised them to be kind little girls who would help others."

"Then Calamity came," Prier added, "It was three in the morning on their fifth birthday. The twins were too excited to sleep so they'd been playing in their room to a light Angelique had created with her powers. Suddenly, they smelt smoke and rushed to wake you. But once you'd looked out and seen what was going on, you herded the girls into their bedroom. 'Do not worry; it will be all over in the morning. I will let nothing happen to you,' you said as your hands began to glow. Then, there was a flash of light and both children succumbed to blessed unconsciousness; awakening in what they thought was the morning but in reality it was many years after the fact. And doing the math would make my head hurt."

"Well put! I sensed it from the moment you walked into this village. After all these years, one of my daughters has returned. Angelique, where did your sister get to? Was she not with you as you left? Judging from the look on your face, you don't remember; you believe that all of your information is from a vision. However, you are definitely my elder daughter. You were also the reason for the raid. You see, I had a dream that night. In it, you were unlocking the cage of darkness that surrounded Croix; first I saw you as an adult and then it shifted to you as a child. I believe that Calamity sensed this as well and aimed to kill you. I sealed her in the Dark World and then used what little I had left to knock out the Dark Prince for a couple of years; knowing I could never kill Croix. Afterwards, the sole survivor of our village buried me and told the church. They honored me in ways that I didn't think I deserved," Soeur finished.

Culotte exclaimed, "How can Prier be your daughter! She is my older sister. We grew up together on Mt. Tarte, went to Pot au Feu when our parents died, and later joined the Church of the Holy Maiden and trained for La Pucelle. Why is it then that you say she's your child?" He looked confused; as did Francoise and Jacques. Croix, who had a better grasp of the situation, began reaching for his cigarettes in a painicked state at what Soeur would say about this. However, Angie didn't seem phased; looking at thie situation with child's eyes.

However, it was not Soeur who spoke next, but Prier. "I find…I can remember vaguely. Culotte's family came through this town when we woke up. They took me in when they saw I was all alone. But when I went back to look for Dominique and bring her along…she was missing; gone from the village."

"That is quite strange," Soeur remarked, "Dommie never did anything without her big sister; she was quite the introvert. Something tells me that you all have your work cut out for you now. I sense a horde of Demons wishing for your destruction; vengeful for the loss of their Dark Prince. Also, I can feel a tiny aura of power in a different type of danger; a child's aura fighting to prevent Demonic enslavement."

"Me! That's me! I've got a question though. So my name is Angelique, my mommy's real name is Angelique, and her aunt's name is Angelique and she's my namesake. Is that what the story is getting at?" Angie inquired. Prier nodded and Croix reached for the emergency bottle of aspirin; this was giving him one killer headache that made a hangover seem like nothing. Everything was way too complicated.

Soeur stated, "So you two have already brought a child into this world. I can sense her powers; they are stronger than most due to their duel nature. Protect her; she will be a blessing to the both of you in the future. Well, it won't do you any good to stay around here. Return to your church and whatever lives you were living. I regret not being able to do more for you as a mother. However, if you manage to find Dominique somehow, tell her all about this and bring her here. I wish to see her one last time before I can be released into Heaven; my concern for my daughters has left me bound in the mortal world."

Prier nodded. Then, she allowed her mother one final embrace with her ghostly arms. But she also had to move forward; Angie's life was still at stake. However, one day, she would return with news of her sister. Though Prier wasn't trained as a psychic and visionist, she knew it would soon happen.

S...S

Javelot woke up suddenly in the middle of the night. 'That dream again. The fire, the blood, the death. And I wasn't taking part in it either. Why was I cowering in the corner; a fearless Demon such as myself would never hide from battle? Is there something wrong that Mommy and Daddy won't tell me?'

Rutee's Otaku Board

I'm filling in for Teefa; who is currently trying to think of the last few characters for the sequel. Well, this idea wasn't the original. The story had three incarnations on how to deal with the whole Prier and Angelique look alike thing. First, she was going to be descended of Soeur's daughter; no story to the daughter, just that Prier was a descendant. Second, the idea to make Prier Soeur's daughter came up as an inside joke that turned into a serious plan for Teefa; she's always coming up with corny ideas that get thrown out. The third idea to make a twin kind of came as a last minute release and only because of Teefa's serious obsession with twins; read her Wild ARMs 3 stories for an idea…the heroine has a long lost twin brother and her two children are twins.

And yes we thought about how badly Croix's head would hurt right from the start…if I were him, I'd go crazy. We will again revisit the reason why Prier doesn't use any strong holy powers in La Pucelle; she remembers things in the next chapter. Plus...high fluff factor.

Considering how Prier is Miss tough girl, we figured she wouldn't really be throwing her feelings for Croix out in public besides mentioning it; since everyone knows she didn't have to keep a secret. Teefa thinks, and I agree, that they would have kissed had the others not shown up in the ending scenes. If you look at the rest of the chapters as they come out, you'll see the only times they get real fired up, other than in battle when one tries to protect the other, is when they either are alone or think they're alone; as in someone is spying or enters later.