Hey!

Just wanna let my readers know that this fanfic will be slightly based on what has happened in the anime. Only that it is set two years after the crowning of Esther as the Queen of Albion.

Enjoy reading! And do let me know what you think about this fanfic! :)

Chapter 1: The First Day

"I wonder why I have to go to this stupid town," Leon muttered. He looked about the place, hating it even more. He preferred cities compared to such a dreary old town. There were no tall buildings around and there did not seem to be any life in the town.

Above all… Leon thought. There was a loud crashing sound as a man tripped down the stairs from the railway station, the luggage bags he was carrying flew up in the air before landing on his head. Leon turned around and shouted at the man, "Why must I be stuck with you?" The people that were walking nearby looked at them with an odd look on their faces.

Leon grabbed his bag from on top of Abel and walked off, muttering curses under his breath. Abel quickly got to his feet and hurried after Leon. Leon hated the situation he was in. But as long as he could shorten the amount of time he was to spend in prison, he would try to bear with it.

"Wait up!" Abel called to him, running after him. "We are going in the wrong direction! The church is the other way!" Leon stopped in his tracks, letting Abel catch up with him. He scratched his head for awhile before he huffed and dumped in bag into Abel's arms. The sudden weight of the bag nearly caused Abel to fall down again. "Hey!"

"You should have told me that earlier," Leon muttered, walking back the way they came.

The reason why they were sent to this town that was in the middle of nowhere was because of a report of people going missing and of people claiming to see shadows disappearing in and out of the forest that surrounded the village. The Vatican suspected that the Rosenkreuz Orden might be involved so Lady Caterina decided to send in two of the AX members to investigate. Stupid people… They were most probably high on something when they made such claims… Leon thought.

"Leon, please don't walk so fast…" Abel called after him. "Do you know how heavy your bag is?"

"Don't complain so much, four eyes!" Leon growled at him. "It's because of you that I am caught in such a mess!"

"You did not need to accept the mission, you know," Abel reminded him. "Lady Caterina said that she could always find someone else to join me."

Leon ignored him. The sooner they finished the mission, the better. He wanted to be back in Rome as soon as possible. After all, he wanted to see his daughter and make sure that she was alright. He was so deep in his thoughts that he did not see a ball soar through the air, towards him. He only realized it when it hit him square in the face. The ball dropped to the ground, leaving a round red mark in the middle of his face.

Abel ran up to his colleague and was frozen to the spot when he saw the murderous look on Leon's face. They heard footsteps coming towards them and Abel turned to see a young woman in a nun's uniform, running up to them. She stopped before Leon and bowed, saying, "I am so sorry, sir! I didn't think that anybody would be coming down this road today! I am really sorry!"

Instantaneously, Leon's expression changed. He said, "Oh! It's alright, young lady. Though, if you really are sorry, maybe we could go out on a nice walk around town." Abel pushed him aside when he saw the surprised look on the nun's face. Leon landed face down on the ground beside them.

"Forgive my partner," Abel said, sheepishly. "He must have been hit so hard that he forgot his manners."

"It's alright," the lady smiled. "I am Sister Victoria Summers. You both must be from the Vatican, am I right?"

"Why, yes!" Abel answered. "I am Father Nightroad. Abel Nightroad. My companion would be Father Leon Garcia de Asturias."

"We have been waiting for your arrival. Come with me." Victoria grabbed the ball from where it lay on the ground and tossed it to a group of children, telling them to behave themselves. Then, she walked on ahead towards the church. Abel dropped Leon's bag onto the man who still lay down on the road and hurried after the nun. Soon, he walked beside her and recalled what she had said earlier.

"You say that you were not expecting anyone to come down that road," Abel said. "Why is that so? Isn't that road a direct access to the town from the church?" He noticed the emotions that flashed across Victoria's face.

"The road you came by has been abandoned months ago ever since people started disappearing," Victoria replied. "Yes. It is a direct access from the town to the church and a shorter road at that. But ever since the disappearances, people prefer to use the brighter and longer road compared to that road. Before the disappearances, a couple of the townsfolk would come by and give things to the church. Now, people don't dare to make the trip unless it is to attend the Masses or for services on Sundays. Even then, they go in large groups."

"You say months ago," Abel murmured. "Why were there no reports until just recently?"

"Because everyone thought that it was just wolves that were causing the disappearances. We are a town in the middle of a forest. Game in the forest has depleted because of the harsh winter we had. Of course, anyone would expect that the wolves got hungry and dragged off a few people to eat. After all, the maximum number of people that went missing was only two every two to three weeks. Nothing alarming. Until a month ago when a group of ten hunters disappeared. We found one of their bodies a week later when another five of the townsfolk had disappeared. There were bite marks on his neck, similar to that of a vampire's bite. That was when the mayor of the town decided to report the disappearances to the Vatican."

"What about the children?" Abel gestured to the young ones who played in the church yard. A few more appeared from inside the church. "As I recall, the church does not run an orphanage."

"It does now. The people who disappeared are adults. Most of them are married or have children. When their parents disappeared, the church was forced to take them in. The townsfolk have been gracious enough to donate food to the church. But there is still not enough to feed everyone. So, we do a food rationing system here."

"Sister Victoria! Thank goodness I have found you!" an older, chubbier woman appeared from another road. She was running as fast as she could.

"Is something wrong, Sister Martha?" Victoria asked.

"Another one…" the nun panted. The expression in Victoria's face hardened. "There has been another…"

"Where?"

"The Wilsons' house."

"I will be on my way." Victoria bowed to Abel and Leon. "I am sorry. But I have to go now. Sister Emma would show you to your rooms."

"I will come with you," Abel said. "At least then, I can get a better understanding of the situation here." Leon looked like he was about to say he wanted to come too. But Abel cut him off, saying, "Stay with Sister Martha. In case anything happens here, at least we can lessen the casualties."

"As you wish. Come! We must hurry!"

"Move aside!" Victoria elbowed her way through the crowd that had gathered outside an old-looking house. Abel followed her example, murmuring an apology at the same time. Soon, they were close to the house. Abel saw men going in and out. He looked about him, registering his surroundings.

Victoria ignored him and went inside the house. A few moments later, Abel went in and stared at the sight before him. Blood stains all over the house. From drops on the floor to hand marks on the walls. Furniture were thrown about. Vases and photo frames all broken. He saw Victoria inside, talking to two men. On the floor were three bodies, black cloth covering them. Abel could see a puddle of red under one of them.

"Where are the children?" Abel heard Victoria ask the men.

"Upstairs with a young woman that the Wilsons had found in the woods two weeks ago," one of the men answered. "She and the children are safe. We checked on them as soon as we got the news." Abel's ears pricked up when he heard the young woman that was mentioned. He felt suspicious. Was the woman a spy?

Victoria turned and noticed the look on Abel's face, she said, "No. The woman is not a vampire. We checked to be sure. She was apparently with a group of merchants that were coming to our town when they were attacked. She is the only survivor. Poor girl was covered in blood. Though, she did manage to take down one of the vampires on her own."

"This was not in your report to the Vatican," Abel said.

"I know. We did not want people from the other towns to know about the true situation here. We are a trading town. We depend on the goods that the traders, trappers and farmers bring in. Without them, the entire town would starve."

"What about the families of those merchants? Won't you tell them the truth that their loved ones are dead?"

"We will tell them when the time is right! Once the Vatican have managed to solve the problem here."

Abel sighed. "Let me see the young woman."

"Of course," Victoria lead Abel upstairs to the second floor. She knocked on the door that was opposite the landing. It opened to reveal a pair of twin boys, a little girl and a beautiful young woman. Abel stared at the young woman, seeing something familiar in her dark eyes. "Ahem!" Victoria coughed.

"Oh! I am sorry!" Abel said, sheepishly.

"Father Nightroad, this is Ashlyn Roseworth. Ashlyn had just started her training as a nun in her town. We decided to take her in for the time being and will send her back once this entire mess has been cleared up."

"I am really sorry for troubling everyone…" Ashlyn murmured. "It seems that it would have been better for everyone if I just stayed back home…" A tear rolled down her face. "Now… Papa's gone. And I don't have anyone left…"

"Shhh… Don't cry," Victoria shushed her. "Did you manage to see anything?"

Ashlyn shook her head. "I was upstairs with the children. Alvin and Andre had gotten colds, so I was here to help nurse them back to health. Then, I heard screaming downstairs and rushed from the room. Alice was in the room next door. While I was walk pass, I saw shadows moving downstairs. But I was afraid that I did not stay to look. I grabbed Alice and put her into the room with the boys and stood guard. It was all over as fast as it begun."

"They must have sensed our presence then," everybody turned to see an old man walking up the stairs with a younger man following behind him. "I came here to call on Mr Wilson. I was going to see how his kids were doing when I heard the commotion. By the time my boy Clyde here had gotten the door down, they were gone." The old man looked at Victoria. "When will the Vatican send help? It seems as though they are taking forever."

"Help from the Vatican have just arrived, sir," Victoria answered. "I beg you to be patient."

"And this is the person that is suppose to help us?" the man demanded, looking at Abel. "Scrawny fellow if you don't mind me saying. Those monsters could snap him into half without must effort. Are you sure he is from the Vatican?"

"Yes, sir, I-"

"Those Vatican people must be making fun of us. I never did support their idea of befriending those vampires! And now look at what is happening! My entire town is getting killed by those filthy blood-sucking monsters!" The man turned and went back down the stairs, not listening to anyone.

"I am really sorry…" Clyde murmured. "Do forgive my father. He has been going through a lot lately, being the mayor and all." He hurried down the stairs after the other man.

"Ignore what Mayor Vermont has said," Victoria told Abel. "Like what Clyde has mentioned, the mayor is going through a lot of stress at the moment. With the town not having enough food and now the attacks from the members of the Rosenkreuz Orden, it is not a wonder he has not collapsed yet." To Ashlyn, she said, "Pack the little ones' things. They shall be looked after by the church until their relatives from other towns are notified of what had happened here."

"Yes, Sister Victoria," Ashlyn murmured.

"Seen enough on your first day?" Victoria asked Abel.

"Yes," Abel replied. "I will discuss with my colleague about what we can do to solve this problem."