Author's note: I do not own Trinity Blood or its characters. This is set five years after the end of the anime.

In Which the Planning Begins and the Earl of Memphis Hides from His Grandmother

The closet on the second floor of the guest quarters in the Palais Royal was actually a rather popular place. Abel had originally retreated there after the treaty signing ceremony to try and collect a sense of calm. The end of the ceremony had brought the end of his reprieve from questions. Everyone wanted to know what had happened in the five years he had been gone, and Abel found that after several years of semi-isolation, he needed some breathing space. He'd only intended to take a few minutes.

However, Ion had joined him shortly after that, and he was refusing to let Abel leave the closet for fear of giving away his hiding place. Apparently, Esther had been called off to deal with some matters of state, and Ion had been left at the mercies of his grandmother. Given that Esther had no living family, Mirka had been put in charge of planning the wedding, and she wanted to get started right now. Some of the details were already obvious like the Pope officiating the ceremony, but there were plenty of other things that needed to be dealt with. It was understandable why Ion had fled.

Then Leon had joined them along with Wordsworth after the later had done something to offend Sister Kate. The closet was beginning reach capacity. Leon had playing cards however, and he decided that Ion needed to learn how to play poker. Abel was considering making his escape. There was much more room in here, and if things continued this way, there would be more asylum seekers arriving any moment now. He'd been edging towards the door when it flew open.

Cardinal Sforza stood there hands on her hips. "The maids would like use the linen closet so they can finish their duties. If you must hole up some where, I would suggest your rooms or some place that won't inconvenience the staff. Earl Fortuna, your fiancée is looking for you."

There were complaints and grumbles, but the closet was vacated. Caterina caught Abel's arm before he could disappear on her.

"I have a better hiding place. Besides, I need to have a private word with you, Abel."

She led him through the corridors and into a small music room. Caterina sat down on the piano bench, setting aside her cardinal's miter. "No one thinks to look in here. How are you, Abel, really?"

He sighed and took a seat opposite her on one of the windowsills. "I'm good, Caterina. It wasn't as satisfying as I thought might be, but with his death, there is a burden lifted. It's easier to remember who he used to be now, but that Cain was dead before any of this began."

"You're healing?"

"Yes. Finally." He smiled at her. "And no guilt on your part either. You did what you needed to, Caterina. Lilith would have probably told you to do the same thing if it had been up to her."

She ducked her head a little, hiding her expression. Abel reached out and caught her hand in his own. He squeezed it gently. Caterina met his eyes, and he had to wonder at what she was hiding. He knew her well enough to know that something was amiss. And the fact that she hadn't told him worried Abel slightly. He had been her confidant for years, and for her to feel uncomfortable telling him something was a rarity. They had very few secrets from one another.

"Has anyone told you much about what's been going on since you left?" she asked.

"Some. It sounds like you've been busy. How long did it take to get this treaty arrange?"

Caterina sighed. "The better part of three years. Thankfully, his experience in Londinium made Alessandro much more in favor of it. It took us a while to wear Francesco down, but we managed. Then came all the political wrangling on all sides, but it all worked out, mostly. There are still a few things that haven't been addressed, but at this point they're mostly minor details."

The treaty itself was a pretty major accomplishment. And it would explain why Caterina seemed so worn. If she was the one coordinating all of the negotiations, she probably hadn't had much of a break at all in the past three years. There was also the fact that as the face of the Vatican's diplomatic corps, Caterina would be a target for anyone who wanted to put a stop to the treaty. Another reason for her weariness.

Abel kept a hold of her hand. "What has the security issue been like?"

She grimaced. "There are a number of people who are not happy about this. The population of Albion took it the best. I'm afraid we've angered people both in the Empire and in the Holy See. I haven't been allowed to go any place on my own for over a year now. Not since my trip to the Empire."

He raised an eyebrow at that. They had allowed her to visit the Empire? She had to be the highest ranked Vatican official to do so in at least a century. Caterina smiled wryly at him.

"I met your sister. She was interesting."

Abel cringed. He could just imagine that meeting. Both women knew far too much about embarrassing things he had done to be left alone together. He could only imagine the stories Seth had decided to share. He was most likely doomed.

"She thanked me." Caterina's voice was soft and puzzled. "She seemed to think that I had done something incredibly important by making you a part of my life and my plans. I tried to explain that you were the one who had saved me, and it was I who was in your debt for all your support and guidance over the years. She wouldn't believe me though. And then--"

"There you two are," Mirka bustled into the room. "We need you two for the wedding planning. Now come along."

Their moment broken, Caterina returned to her normal businesslike manner. Abel let out a sigh. He wanted to get a little farther in their conversation, but it seemed that would need to wait. They were dragged along to a comfortable sitting room where Ion, Esther, and Alessandro were already waiting.

"Now to business then. We have a lot to get done in six months." Mirka beamed at all of them. "The wedding will be held at Westminster Abbey of course, and Alessandro will officiate. We have the bride and groom, but we still need attendants. Given that this is a Royal wedding, you should each have at least six attendants. Twelve would be better, but if you can't come up with twelve names, that's fine. Oh, also, I think it would be best for Father Nightroad to give the bride away."

Abel blinked. Mirka moved on. "Now, Cardinal Sforza, I understand that you are the Duchess of Milan?"

"Yes." Caterina answered hesitantly.

"Wonderful. I'll put you in charge of the bridal party's gowns then. The fashion shopping is much better in Milan than in Byzantium or Londinium." Mirka sailed on, "Now about the reception…"

The Duchess of Moldova continued in this vein for at least another two hours. Caterina had started to take notes, and Abel was just struggling to keep up. To his surprise, Alessandro was almost as involved in the planning as Mirka was. Ion and Esther simply looked rather stunned. It was an utter relief when the Duchess finally announced that they had done all they could do for now. Abel felt drained when he walked out of the room. Perhaps now he could finish that conversation with his cardinal.

Unfortunately for him, Caterina was almost immediately called away to deal with some Vatican matter, and Abel was left on his own. Though not for long. His fellow agents soon found him and dragged him off for a 'debriefing'. It was dinner before they were done with him. When Abel finally sank into bed, he found himself glad that they would only be in Paris for another two days.

Hiding soon became his modus operandi. However, Abel was not the only one doing so. Mirka was determined to get as much of the planning for the wedding done while all three parties were present and almost everyone was avoiding her, Ion especially. Esther at least had the excuse of pressing state business, but not everyone else was so lucky. And to add to Abel's frustration, he hadn't had another chance to talk with Caterina alone. He was fairly certain that something had happened while he was gone, but she wasn't willing to talk about it around the others, and he couldn't get her alone.

So that conversation was on hold until they could get back to Rome. At least when they got home they would be safe from most of the wedding craziness. Mirka was acting like a woman possessed. While it was true that it wasn't everyday that one's grandson married the Queen of Albion and his own true love, some of the woman's ideas were more than a little extreme. Thankfully, Alessandro was helping keep some of the more insane ideas, like carrying Esther in on a litter covered in flowers, in check.

Still, hiding was the best option when it came to the Duchess. Closets were the best place. The sanctuary of the music room was no longer safe, and the gardens were hit or miss at best. Abel was just as excited about Esther and Ion's wedding as anyone, but he really didn't want to know every single little detail of the event, and he especially didn't want to be the one who had to sit there while Mirka made decisions about which flowers went where and what music should be played. Especially when he was expected to pay attention. And so Abel wasn't coming out of the closet until it was time to go home.