A/N: Okay, I've been at this desk all night, and now I'm here only 10 hours later, trying to get a good chapter out. And it seems I haven't generated 1 bad review. Whohooo! I have a huge headache that seems to go away when I'm sitting here, so I'll take this as a divine sign from above.
Disclaimer: I do not own Trinity Blood.
The girl stopped moving eventually; Abel thought she had finally passed out from the pain. He shifted slightly to see her face, and she whimpered. She brought her face up to see his, the pain of her wounds evident only in her eyes.
"If you must move, then please do it quickly. It hurts for something to move across the cuts." She said quietly.
Abel nodded and took his hands off her shoulders. She settled back so her back was just slightly off the wall. She was breathing heavily. Abel looked around and found more trash and places where bacteria could breed than he would have liked.
"Perhaps, Miss, perhaps we should move." He offered.
"Can't." She panted out.
"Do you want me to carry you?" Abel asked. She didn't look as if she weighed much and he really did want to get back to his friends so they could help.
The girl shook her head and seemed to read his mind, because she croaked out, "if you need to go somewhere, go. Because it doesn't look like I'll be going anywhere until morning, at least."
"Please, I can get you out here, I can help you…" Abel's voice trailed off as she shook her head again.
"No. If I move, it'll start bleeding again." Abel must have looked confused, because she motioned to her side and moved her arm away.
In this spot the whip had actually torn away the cloth of her clothing and bit deep into her flesh. For now, it had stopped pouring blood out, but if she moved at all, it would begin again.
Abel sat down; he was sure Leon and Tres were capable of finding him. "I'm Father Abel Nightroad." He said putting out a hand. He didn't drop the father thing because he was sure that they would be going home tomorrow, with this girl in tow. "You don't have to be brave in front of me, because I am your friend." Abel breathed in sharply as he felt the sense of déjà vu.
The girl managed to lift her hand halfway before having to drop it. She settled for a grim smile, instead. "I'm Stella…" she wavered and had the blank look of one trying to remember. "Stella..." she had the look of one who remembered, but she bit her lip.
"It's all right, you don't have to tell me." Abel said softly.
He looked up. He heard boots running on cobblestones. He was sure it was his friends, but he didn't want to take any unnecessary chances. He stood in front of the girl and waited.
Tres came into view first. He didn't so much as bat an eye at the cowering girl behind Abel. "Status report, Abel Nightroad."
"This girl is hurt. We are going home as soon as possible. And we are taking…" Abel wavered. He didn't even ask the girl if she wanted to go with them. He turned his head over his shoulder. "Stella, do you want to accompany us back to the Vatican?"
Her eyes widened, then she hung her head in a rejected was and said in a sigh, "There is nothing for me here. Yes, I will go with you to this place called the Vatican."
Leon, who had finally caught up, said between breaths, "Abel… who… is this?"
"Michael, her name is Stella, she will accompany us back to the Vatican." Abel said, all traces of his usual feather-brainedness gone.
"Abel Nightroad, please complete status report." Tres's voice cut through the night air.
"Right, Stella is hurt. We'll need to carry her. One particularly bad wound will have to be careful of."
"Acceptable." Tres walked around Abel and scooped the girl up as if she weighed nothing.
Stella looked up fearfully, but seemed too busy with stemming the flow of the open wound to sheik with fear. Abel looked to make sure she was going to be all right, and then led them out of the alleyway and onto the street. He stopped the closest person, an old crone.
"Excuse me, but do you know the next time The Marilee will be sailing out?" Abel asked, recalling the name of their ship.
The woman smiled kindly, "Yes, it should be in about thirty minutes."
"Thank you." Abel returned her smile and started to walk down the street, but was stopped as the woman's shriek rent the night air.
"Ahhhh…. It's the killer! Somebody hurry!" She cried out. There were loud calls and sounds of people running.
"Run!" Abel yelled. He had no wish to fight these men.
"Acceptable." Tres said behind him as the started off.
They lost the men quickly enough and returned to the small inn they were staying at. When they got there, the woman behind the front desk saw Stella immediately and narrowed her eyes.
"We have no place for her here." She said coldly.
"Fine!" Abel barked out. "Just get our bags!"
The woman called a small boy, who carried out the three bags. Leon and Abel grabbed them and once again they were running through the streets. Luckily, they met no one lese on the way and were five minutes early to the ship's sail. The captain greeted them warmly, knowing he would make a profit from Abel and Leon's bottomless stomachs.
"Hello, sirs. You seem to be back soon!" He commented.
Abel waved him off. "There was a complication." He handed him money for four passengers.
The man frowned as he counted out the money and it didn't take long before his eyes fell on Stella. "Oh no. I'm not taking that demon aboard!"
Abel fixed him with a piercing glare that Leon didn't know was capable of what was yesterday, a scatterbrained, fun loving priest. "Then give us our money back. We'll find somewhere else to go."
The captain was a money-loving man and once he had some in his possession, he was not likely to let it go. He swallowed, and then said through a gray moustache, "All right, she can stay, but she's not coming out of that room. If she does, I won't hesitate to through her overboard."
Abel nodded to show his understanding, and then let Tres pass with the girl. Abel took the keys to their room from the man and followed silently. When he had locked the door, he noticed Stella was wriggling defiantly in Tres's arms.
"All right, dude. Let me down now. I need to sit down."
"Negative. You are in no condition to know what you need." Tres moved his arms slightly upward to cause Stella to stop squirming.
Realizing her trying was futile, she settled for crossing her arms and glaring at Tres. Leon laughed softly.
"Father Abel Nightroad, as you are in charge of this mission, what do you propose we do?"
"Ummm…" Now that he felt safe, Abel had allowed himself to be scatter-brained and to tell the truth, he had no idea what they should do for the injured girl.
Stella took advantage of Tres's momentary indecisiveness and jumped out of his arms, landing neatly on the floor. She still seemed weak, but at least she was getting used to the pain.
She looked at Abel. "May I suggest, Father Abel that you get me some bandages or let me tear up the sheet so I can stop the bleeding?" She motioned to the wound by her side, which by now was belching blood out at an incredible rate. Stella swayed slightly.
"Uhh… sure?" Abel guessed.
They watched as Stella took an incredibly white sheet and turned it into a bloody mass trying to stem the blood flow. Sighing, she wrapped a piece around her torso. Abel frowned when he looked at it. The blood was still pouring out and Stella was growing pale.
"Umm… Father Tres? Father Leon? Why don't you two go get dinner? I'll come get you when it is time to come in again."
"Acceptable." Tres started out the door.
"What? What's going on?" Leon seemed confused.
Abel gave him a look and he left. Stella looked suspiciously at Abel as he dug through his bag. He tried to smile reassuringly as he found what he wanted.
"Listen, Stella. That wound won't stop bleeding and it will take three days before you can get medical attention. I need you to trust me."
Stella looked doubtful for a moment then nodded. "Abel, you trusted me not to hurt you in the alleyway. I trust you to do whatever you think is best." She said softly.
Abel held up the needle. Stella stiffened and her eyes widened. She started to shake violently. She dropped to the floor. Abel was at her side in an instant.
"Stella! Stella? Are you okay? Stella, answer me!"
Stella didn't look at him. She stared at the floor in front of her. She whispered something. Abel only caught the words "no", "medical", and "so many needles." A few seconds after, she looked at Abel's blue eyes. Abel felt like she was searching for a reason to not trust him, to pull away.
She found none and said softly, "I trust you, Father Abel."
A/N: So… likee? No likee? Read and Review!