A/N: Oh um…. Look over there!

Disclaimer: all I own is my writing.

"So he died because his throat was slit, and the blood-sucking was just a bonus." Stella said, once again in front of the Cardinal, this time Abel was with her.

Kate nodded. "I wonder why…"

Stella took over. "We'll do what we can in the meantime, but Virgil's reports are crucial to our investigation. We can't make any arrests because it is impossible to match the holes with the fangs because the holes are all the same size and Methuselah have such similar teeth that we could incarcerate someone who is innocent."

Kate nodded. "Fine. Do what you must." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Stella? Isn't it time you head home?"

Stella blushed. "Well… er… do you mind if I stay for dinner, there are a couple of things I am waiting for Tres to get to me and all I have to eat at home is Leon's cake."

Kate seemed surprised. "Of course you can stay, we always have more than enough food and you can stay whenever you like."

Stella inclined hr head. "Thanks, come on, Father Nightroad, I'm sure you are hungry."

Abel beamed. "You got that right."

They went downstairs to the slightly crowded dinging hall. They found seats next to Leon. Stella took some of the beans and bread. She hesitated before eating as the Fathers uttered a short prayer, then began eating.

"So Leon how's your father?" Stella asked politely. In her time there, she had never had a chance to meet Leon Sr.

"Fine. Dad's getting on, but he's tough. Did I ever tell you about the time that destroyed a tower and took away a bunch of fairies' powers?"

"Hey! I was there too! And I fought them!" Abel yelled indignantly. At Stella's confusion, he explained. "We were sent to an island where a man doctor had adopted a bunch of kids. He preformed strange tests on them and eventually they took over the island. They were artificial vampires, or fairies. We eventually beat them and got them off the island. They are now all in Albion, though I imagine that they are quite a bit older." He sighed. "I couldn't eat for a month for all that ship cost."

Stella chuckled. "You? Not eat? Now I know you're making this up."

"Hoe cruel. Why am I doomed to endure such scrutiny?" Abel moaned at the sky.

"Miss Stella Iceheart"

"Tres."

"Stella, here is the proper paperwork you required."

Stella, taking another bite of the beans, grabbed the paper. He wiped her mouth and said, "Take care of this." She pushed the rest of her food towards Abel and walked out.

It was dark out when she got home, but thankfully her talkative neighbor wasn't there to greet her. She walked inside without bothering to pretend to unlock her door. She had put up a whistle that would blow when someone else's aura came close to the room. The whistle was a high pitch that only she would hear. She put her stuff on the table and flipped onto the couch, thinking hard. What is with these vampire attacks?

Stella got up and sifted through the report. She signed her name in a few places, not having the energy to actually read the report and write what she knew. Afterwards she took a shower and changed into a nightgown. Her hand had barely grazed the surface of the doorknob of her room, there was a knock at the door.

Sighing inwardly she looked at the clock. Who the hell would bother someone at eleven o'clock at night! She walked briskly to the door. Opening it, she found Mr. Onigoma.

"Hello, Miss Iceheart. I was just making sure you got in all right today, I missed you at your usual come home time." He smiled charmingly.

Stella, in her agitation, ignored his charm, but smiled sweetly herself. "Yes well, it was a long day at the office. I have a lot of work to do. And if you don't mind, I think I would like to collapse on my bed."

"Of course. But…"

Stella pretended not to hear the last 'but' and slammed the door in his face. Going to her room, she did exactly as she told Mr. Onigoma she was going to do and collapsed on her bed.



Abel returned from his confession happily; there really had been nothing too terrible to confess other than his gluttony. He caught up with Stella, who was walking alone in the rose garden.

"So how did you like the service?" he asked cheerfully.

"It was…" she started.

"Yes?" Asked Abel, prompting her.

"It was so boring!" Stella exclaimed.

"What! What was boring?" exclaimed Abel.

Stella pouted and her eyes gave Abel that I'm-going-to-spell-it-out-for-you-whether-you-like-it-or-not. "One, it lasted forever. Two, whoever was reading was reading so slow that I read an entire page before he read a paragraph. (A/N: I actually do that.) Three, I had nothing to concentrate on…."

"Wait a minute, you had plenty to concentrate on."

"Yes, that's my point."

Abel was the picture of confusion. "But you just said…"

Stella waved it away. "A Titan has a heightened sense of smell, taste, feel, sight and hearing. Because I could not focus on one thing singularly, I had to focus on everything all at once." Abel gave her a look of confusion. She rolled her eyes and bent to pick a red rose. "This rose smells like sweet water." She plucked a piece that was half the size of a pinkie nail off of the rose and placed it in her mouth. "However sweet it may seem, it actually has a sour and slightly bitter taste to it." she closed her eyes and ran her fingers over the surface of the flowers. "I can feel the veins and the cell blocks." Her hand moved t a thorn. "Even though the thorn is sharp, it curves gracefully." She opened her eyes and squinted at the rose. "I can see the cell blocks and every fleck of pollen. I see a bee's footprint where he accidentally left some behind." She looked at Abel a smile curling her lips. She said just loudly enough so that anyone close could hear, "I can hear Father Leon's breathing behind that bush over there." She pointed to a yellow rose bush.

Stella started walking and Abel followed. When he was sure that no one is around, he laughed lightly. Stella looked at him strangely.

"And what is it so funny?"

"Do you realize that just now you've revealed to me almost everything that you've tried to hide?"

A look of realization crossed Stella's face. She gasped and spoke lowly. "Listen Abel, please don't tell the Cardinal. I know that is against the rules, but please, do it for my brother and me. We don't need anymore time in a lab."

Abel smiled kindly. "I'll try." And I'm going to have a lot more things to confess next week. "Why are you so secretive? You know that Cardinal Kate would not allow anyone to hurt you and your brother is the leader of an entire country. You really have nothing to fear."

Stella sighed and sat on some steps that led to the infirmary. "Leon told me on the train that the Inquisition is here. I've read about that. Before Armageddon, the Inquisition was for the most part ruthless. There was a great scientist, Galileo Galilei, he was one of the first people to ever observe another planet, and he did it through this tiny spyglass that he had modified. The things this man did were amazing, but because he said something against the Inquisition, they were going to torture him, murder him, even." Stella's eye met Abel's. "Here me and my brother are, and our very being goes out against the Inquisition. Nowadays it is worse, from what Leon told me. They are obsessed with old technology and finding out more about things they do not know about. When they find out how dangerous we are…" she shuddered and hung her head. She turned towards Abel again. "Do you have any family you would do anything to protect?"

The question hit Abel like an icy spear. He tried to keep the sadness away from his eyes as he answered, "yes."

Stella nodded, and Abel thanked god that she didn't ask about his family. She stood and, not looking at him said, "then you know the means I would go to, to make sure that no one disturbs my brother's peace or my freedom." She half-turned and smiled, "besides, you haven't even figured out our biggest secret yet."

A/N: this chapter is slightly longer. Everybody be thankful!