A/N: Oh, right, I'm supposed to talk to you guys. Erm…. Look over there! It's a monkey.
Quick important note: Stella's hair was always worn down, but it was pushed back and covered by the wimple. (The thing that goes on the head.)
Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Trinity. Blood.
Abel got up early the day of their departure. He had packed a bag the night before and after he got dressed, he grabbed it and went downstairs. When he got into the Main Hall, he noticed two things. One, it was way too early for him to be up because even the nuns who did morning chores weren't up yet.
Two, there was only two people in the hall. The first was Tres, he seemed to be listening to the other's quiet talking. The 'other' was a short figure with her back to him. Her close-to-black hair went down to her mid-back in waves. In a few places, Abel could detect a strand or two of red hair, like veins. It gave the dark mass an almost alive look to it. The person was wearing black pants and a jacket modeled after his own priest's garb. Upon hearing his footsteps, the figure turned around.
"Oh, good morning, Father Nightroad."
Abel gaped. In front of him was Stella who seemed to transform overnight from a girl to a woman. The two red streaks that were always curled around her face were straight, only curling at the end as if to cup her face. She wore a white shirt under the jacket that matched the bordering on the breast pockets. Her necklace gleamed eerily against her chest.
Stella raised an eyebrow when he didn't respond. "Ooookkaaay." She turned back to Tres. "Father Tres, I'll make nightly reports to you. If you do not hear from me in eight days, then let Catherine take whatever course of action she deems necessary."
"Acceptable."
Stella turned to Abel, looking depressed. "I guess we'll be off now."
Abel nodded. Then, trying to add some humor to the moment said, "What, no breakfast."
Wham! Stella had thrown a very large pastry at him. "Eat while you run, we'll have to hurry if we are to get to the morning train."
"Eat while we run? My dear, I do not think you understand the meaning of a hea…"
"Ready! Set! Go!" Stella shouted as she ran through the doors.
Abel looked surprisedly at Tres, who quirked his mouth up in an almost-smile. "Perhaps Father Nightroad should get going, Stella has already had a six point seven head start."
Abel looked at him aghast. "I thought you were on my side!" he had to admit, though, the android's sense of humor had improved over the years, even if it was still a bit dry. "Hey! Wait for me!"
"Well, we're on the road again." Stella said, trying to fill the awkward silence.
"Yes, though for a traveling priest, being 'on the road' doesn't hold much significance anymore." Abel said solemnly.
"I would think that it would hold much significance to be one the road, considering it's your job." Abel saw a glint in Stella's eye and knew that she would argue whatever point he made on the topic.
"Yes, well, it does and it doesn't."
Stella surprised him by changing the subject suddenly, "Abel, where did you grow up?"
"Huh?" Abel asked unintelligently.
Stella smiled without opening her mouth. "Well, it just occurred to me that you know more about me than I know about you."
Abel blinked. He didn't know anything about this girl! More than that, he really didn't want to answer the question. "Well, I… er…. I don't know much of anything about you!" he responded a little too loudly.
Stella crossed her arms. "So we are two complete strangers about to change an entire country's fate together? Doesn't that sound a little ridiculous?" A bit of a chuckle managed to worm its way into her last sentence.
Abel thought for a moment, tapping his chin with a finger. "Yep, I guess it does!" He answered, smiling goofily.
Stella sweat dropped and grumbled, "Really Father Nightroad, you are a complete nitwit."
Abel remained grinning. "I know."
They entered the ship later that night, and Stella went unnoticed by the busy captain. They were in a slightly better room than before, and Stella guessed it was because the captain didn't know who she was. Shrugging off the unintended insult and her jacket, Stella looked around the room.
There were two green-blanketed beds and a small writing table. There was also a wardrobe where Father Nightroad had already dumped his clothes out into a messy jumble in one of the drawers. The room wasn't as cold as the other one, but it was still enough to make Stella rub her unprotected arms and pull at the turtleneck collar.
She sat around the room, bored for a few minutes, and then heard the dinner bell. She grabbed her jacket and slipped it on. When she found the table he was seated at, Abel was already making a fool out of himself, eating everything on his plate. Rolling her eyes, Stella took the seat across from him. She waved away the waitress and leaned forward to talk with her friend.
"It seems that no one has noticed me yet. That's good, at least the troops won't pay attention." Stella said quietly.
Abel, his moth filled with spaghetti, nodded a slurped it all into his mouth. When he was done, he wiped his moth daintily on a napkin and leaned forward as well. "You should eat, and then go back to the room. No reason to set off any alarms early."
Stella nodded, and grinning, swiped a roll off his own plate and left, nibbling on it.
The next few days were spent in the same way; Stella woke up each morning and found Abel shoving down his breakfast, stole something off of his plate and left for an early morning walk (in her case, run) around the deck before anyone woke up. When the breakfast-goers came ambling up from below, she would find her way to her room and sleep for a few hours until dinner. Then she would once again steal off of Abel's plate, much to his dismay and would go up on deck and run, do pull-ups on one of the many rails or would freeze water below the ship. If she felt a pair of eyes watching her, she would return to the room and continue to work out with sit-ups until Father Nightroad returned. When he asked what she was doing, she would say 'going to bed' and then do so.
She followed this pattern until, on the third night, a huge spire seemed to rise out of the wall that surrounded the city. She woke Abel immediately and they gathered their things. They were entering the country that they would change forever.
A/N: All right we got another chapter, which, sadly only brings us closer to the end. There is a big twist coming up, can anyone guess what it is? Prepared to be shocked.