A/N: All right! I got a good review. I'm happy. Anyway, the reason Tres doesn't call Abel "Father Abel Nightroad" in these next few chapters is because they are traveling incognito and it wouldn't sound right for a normal person to be called "father"
Disclaimer: I do not own Trinity Blood or any of the characters.
Abel had gone back to his room to find his luggage packed and clothes set out on the bed for him. It disturbed him slightly to know someone was intruding on the slight privacy that a priest was allowed, but he shrugged it off and changed.
The shirt was a plain white button-up long-sleeved shirt. The black pants were made of a slightly stiff material. Abel checked his appearance in the mirror. He looked like a completely normal citizen, ignoring the fact that pants were about an inch short. Oh well. That was the problem being tall. Ax saw no reason to find him clothes that actually fit.
Abel shrugged and grabbed the small suitcase. He met Tres and Leon in the main hall. Both were wearing similar clothes to his, but Leon's shirt was black. They silently regarded each other and were off. Abel was getting excitement butterflies. He couldn't wait to be on the train and off on some chase again.
An hour later, the excitement would come back at random times as Abel stared at the walls of the compartment, searching his tired brain for something to say. Leon had left a little while ago to 'explore the train' which meant that he was terrorizing someone. Priest or not, Father Leon found his brand of fun was completely harmless, and his favorite saying was, "the greatest sin one could commit is to not enjoy life." That left Tres and Abel alone in the compartment and the android did not exactly provide the best of conversations.
"So… er…." Abel was not sure what he could say to the android that he hadn't said in the past few minutes. Besides that, his quietness from over the past year and a half had completely abandoned him.
Luckily for him, Tres felt the same way or at least didn't want to talk anymore. "Abel Nightroad, it seems that you are more talkative today. Quiet and rest is suggested until the first part of our journey is complete."
Abel nodded in silent agreement. He rested his head against the window, watching the scenery rush by. His head was at an angle that gave him almost double sight. A few minutes of this and his eyes and head began to hurt. Sighing dramatically, he sat back in his chair and closed his eyes.
"Abel Nightroad. We are at required destination. It is requested that you wake up." Tres's monotone voice broke through what Abel was sure was a nice dream.
"Wha?" Abel sat up. Tres was standing over him, holding two suitcases. "Oh yes, of course!" He got up too quickly and managed to fall over while trying to grab his bag. "Eh… hehe?"
"Ach! Nightroad, you're a hopeless cause!" Leon said as he smacked himself in the head.
"Status report, Abel Nightroad."
"I know." Abel said, hanging his head. He took his suitcase.
"Now then, where are we going?" Leon said, looking around at the city.
"It seems we are to get right on the boat that will depart in... ten minutes!!!"
"Well, let's get going!" Leon, who had never gone on a serious mission from the Ax, had a rather unnerving optimistic outlook on the whole affair.
They ran down the street and ended up having to jump the last few feet from the dock to the ship, but they ended up all right. Of course this was after they showed their passports when they were nearly detained by the captain.
Eventually, they made it to their room. As was customary on that particular ship, they were allowed the first meal on the ship free. As Abel and Leon shoveled food into their mouths, the captain ordered new flyers and brochures be printed up and the sign in the window of the navigational room.
And thus the days went. The voyage lasted three days and nights beyond the first. The days were painfully dull and allowed a lot of thinking time. Unfortunately, when Leon left to bother people, Abel was left alone with no one to talk to, so he came dangerously close many times to lapsing in a deep depression. He thought about Esther so much, he felt as if his heart would break time after time. Luckily, Tres noticed his physical symptoms and immediately ordered Abel to do something more constructive.
Unfortunately, these more constructive things often required him to be out on deck more than he would have liked. He got much unwanted attention from women on the ship. He vaguely recalled once or twice in her earlier years when Lady Catharine would tell him that many women would find his long hair, blue eyes and tall stature very alluring. She was completely right and he received as much, if not more, attention as he did a few decades ago.
So the three days on the ship were spent between trying to mend his heart, preventing it from breaking again, and trying to disentangle himself from the arms of the eligible women on the ship, especially a particularly persistent one named Lonnie.
When the ship came into port the third day, Abel nearly lost his companions in his efforts to get off the boat and away from Lonnie, who had wanted a rather affectionate good-bye.
It seemed that people were stopped at random and asked why they were coming to the country. Apparently, terrorism and stacks were not a worry. There were no disease checks either. It seemed that the country was completely lax. That is, until they entered the actual city and away from the docks.
The sight that Abel beheld convinced him that Sister Kate had been right. The people there were certainly not happy and the lord of this country could not have been anything but a tyrant.
A/N: All right, I hope you guys are happy because it has been hell with this chapter. It wouldn't leave me alone and every time I pushed the little purple button to read a chapter of a really good story, I ended up feeling guilty. And I feel even more guilty for taking an entire day when I'm getting hits on this story so fast and I have two faithful reviewers that both like my story.
Whew. All right, I'm done with my rant. Read and review! I hope you liked the chapter. The next chapter will have a little more action in it, I think. Okay, it will be like comparing a kitten and a tiger with these more gentle chapters and the next one.