Author's Note:

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Disclaimer: Own I do not. I am not a jedi yet.

Vendolius Abbatia

I remember feeling a dull ache swell in my left shoulder and near my ribs, but being too out of it to adjust to my current state or position. I made a motion to caress them that only resulted in me falling back to the healing slab with a loud groan of pain. My stomach ached and my mouth tasted sour with vomit, but I could safely say I probably had an odor a fate worse than death. One whiff of the putrid stench emanating itself from me could send Ave Satanas falling into his own pit of hell, preferring to burn there rather than be subjected to any more of my silent torture. I wanted to be washed – desperately. Yet, when my eyes finally sought to take in my surroundings, I realized that I was alone. I was bandaged up pretty tightly, and was that garlic stuffed in the creases of the bloody cloth? Of course, garlic was a natural remedy used by our nurses since our clan's birth. The awful odor that nearly brought me to tears suddenly made sense. Burgundy curtains were draped along the walls, most decorated with an inky handprint – our insignia. There was a warm fire in the stove across the room, but the dungeon itself was too large and naturally chilly for me to feel its warmth. I shivered and clutched at my arm as footsteps forced my eyes to the foot of the stone steps where my friend Kiku lingered.

"Roderich didn't care to come see me?"

"He caught a glimpse before you came to," Kiku answered quietly, his ebony bangs shielding his expression. I stiffened as he came closer and hesitantly stretched an arm out, making a move to touch my wounds. I gritted my teeth as his hand reached in between a bandage to a very tender area and stuck another chopped clove of garlic. His nose wrinkled in disgust, I imagined more from the smell than the blood.

"Did you hear of our triumph?"

"Of Yao's triumph, yes."

I snorted and turned my head, refusing to look him in the eye as an angry blush stained my cheeks. I could have handled things myself if Yao hadn't of put himself in the way. It was my battle to win – my kill. Yao was weak, taking prisoners when we were born to deny all hostages and end fights with a swift cut of a blade. The thought that he was such a high-ranking assassin made me want to puke again – that, and the horrid smell of garlic that grew stronger with the new clove…courtesy of Kiku. Kiku, surprisingly, looked up to Yao. Though, they didn't get along any better than he and I did.

"Shoulda been mine," I muttered indignantly. He smirked and patted my head, brushing my bangs out of my face. I longed to reach out to him and do the same, but was stuck in the same damn position I had probably been in since I arrived. "Did you hear about the captive?" His smile vanished, and I shivered again. I strained my neck and saw him nod. Satisfied, I lowered my head back to the slab and closed my eyes with a sigh. "Do you know him?"

"Feliciano? Yes, I trained with him. It's no surprise to me that he was captured."

Kiku had been born into our rival clan, though a few disagreements with their leader and his serpent of son had pushed him into betraying his clan and joining ours. Kiku was the first to ever do such a thing – and the last. Fearful that more members would trade loyalties, the clans created a law that any member who longed to leave or join a different clan would be swiftly executed without trial. It was a fair punishment, although the softer side of me was always glad that Kiku made the transition without consequence. He had always been a good friend to me.

"Although, it did surprise me that Ludwig managed to take you down." I could hear the playful taunting in his voice and revealed my own smirk.

"It won't happen again. Trust me."

"I always do." I didn't miss the sentimental note hidden beneath those words, the words that almost brought me to tears each time he uttered them. Kiku was my most loyal companion, and I his, and it occurred to me all at once in that moment that I had nearly left him for Lupe. Lupe was my queen, the one I served with every fiber of my being, but Kiku came a close second. I would never wish to leave him without backup. Though it was true my instinct forced me to protect Toris and despise Gilbert, it drove me even harder to be on equal ground with Kiku. We protected each other, even if it was viewed as weakness among our clan. What else could we do?

He finally brushed his bangs aside, and I had to muffle a gasp as his eyes, warm like chocolate, reflected the flickering firelight. Although, I imagined mine probably did the same. Though my emerald didn't shine so warmly nor so naturally as his earth-like ones managed to. Then I had to muffle a groan as he took my hand and pulled me into a sitting position, draping an arm over his shoulder and moving me off the slab and onto my feet. "I imagine you're well enough to join in the festivities. Everyone is getting drunk off their asses without you," he snickered while we pitifully limped in unison.

"They're missing the life of the party, then. Very well. However, I am still feeling quite a bit woozy, so if I vomit on your uniform, I sincerely apologize."

"Just don't get too hammered in there."

I only smiled as we passed through the shallow corridor. Many of the nurses were already passed out on the floor, wine bottles shattered and half-empty. It was true that when our clan threw a party, everyone got involved. Sometimes even the tots could be seen stumbling drunkenly to the nursery or the classroom, and then you could hear the sound of retching and….I do not believe I have to finish that comment.

We managed to make it up a few more stairwells, and I often cursed the infirmary for being so damn close to hell's gates, before I was finally able to support my weight without Kiku holding onto me. I still trembled as I moved and things still ached, though I imagined those aches would quickly disappear the second a spot of bubbly found its way to my needy lips. A loud roaring from the banquet hall made it obvious where the heart of the celebration was located, and upon entering the hall my eyes and ears were hammered simultaneously with outrageous sights and sounds. There were bodies simply dangling from the chandeliers, wine bottles raining their contents over those who managed to stay on the floor. Children were running and screaming, pointing daggers at each other jokingly and falling over in fits of hiccups. There was vomit all over the floor, and the occasional baby playing in it. Suckling pigs and other foods were being thrown off the tables and used for target practice in the far corner of the room. Music was blaring from a couple of sober clanmates nearby, though they didn't seem to mind the unruly atmosphere of the hall.

Toris skipped over to where I stood, my face probably a blank slate and cleverly hiding my distaste…or so I hoped.

"Arthur! I'm so glad you're here. Quick, have a turkey leg!" And with that he stuffed the blasted turkey leg in my slackened mouth. I grabbed the leg and ribbed a piece off, chewing and swallowing quickly before tossing it aside. It was clear that Toris was still fairly sober, and I felt proud of him for a brief moment. All pride vanished when Elizabeth strolled over…Gilbert not too far behind. They were obviously drunk off their asses, just as Kiku had said. Gilbert was hung over Elizabeth lazily, staring at nothing really. The albino looked so…out of it. Elizabeth was the same ole' Elizabeth, however, though with a slight concubine side added to her normal persona. Half of her dress was hanging off, revealing a naked breast. Her eyes were a dull olive, also unfocussed, but somehow lusty as well.

"A-thurrr," she slurred, coming closer to me than I would have like. Gilbert remained on her shoulder like a hawk. "Baby, I'm sooooo glad you're okay. Let'sss'ss have some fun! Shall we, lurve?" My eyes travelled downwards to where her thigh was exposed, and I noticed a white substance trailing down the inside of her leg from underneath her dress. I raised my eyebrow at Gilbert, who had momentarily occupied himself with fondling her breast, and it didn't take a second before I realized what that "substance" was. I could only hope, for her sake, that he hadn't impregnated her.

"No, ummm, love, I think you've had a little too much fun for tonight." I shooed her away and limped my way to the front of the room, occasionally passing over an unconscious body or two. At last, I saw Roderich sitting at the end of the large banquet table, sipping a chalice of wine gaily. He was surrounded by a few assassins still masked, obviously unfazed by the beverages as well. I approached consciously, and one by one every figure raised his head to stare me down through the black cloth, though Roderich still had yet to notice my presence in the chaos. Each of the cloaked figures bowed to him silently and backed away, allowing him to sip from the golden chalice in peace. I nodded and stepped forward.

"Lovely celebration, sir," I coughed awkwardly when he refused to acknowledge me.

"Indeed, Arthur," he sipped again before glancing up at me with a sly smile. "I'm sure it's just the same for the Rouen as well."

"Oh, most definitely. How's your daughter?" I brought up suddenly, praying to Lupe he wasn't aware of Gilbert's stains on her gown. Though to my astonishment, he only smiled and raised a hand to point to where the two were swinging each other around, screaming the chorus to a sea-chantey with little inhibitions.

"She's having the time of her life," he then gestured to the rest of the merry folk, "as everyone else is. I imagine you have realized as I have that her flower has been plucked from its stem tonight. Though, I have no complaints. I hope to Lupe that Gilbert is blessed with a child. We could always use another strong hand to shed blood."

I stared at him in what I thought was obvious shock, but he never seemed to notice. Instead he handed me a wine bottle and winked. "Have your fill, Arthur. Those wounds look pretty nasty, still. Numb them."

I stared at the bottle for a few seconds, unsure of whether to trust this man now that he revealed to me that he was pleased his daughter had lost her virginity in such a misused fashion – drunk of all things. The contents of the bottle looked ever so tempting, though. And everyone else was celebrating…who was I to purposely leave myself out? True, Kiku would not be very happy with me. I was known to be unable to hold my liquor, yet at this moment all thoughts of refusal left my mind and went to Luna. I took the bottle and allowed myself a deep swig of the stuff. The wine bled down my throat in the most pleasurable manner, and I was reminded of earlier that day when I had been out training with Toris. I received the exact same thrill. It urged me to take in more of the intoxicating liquid, and my breath left me as my senses were pushed to the side in favor of pleasure.

I came to realize that we had overestimated the enemy, as both myself and Ivan had noticed straight away that the entire abbatia was left unguarded. We made it past the forest without being attacked, but didn't really think anything of it. Then as we crept closer to the gate we came to realize that most of the assassins who would usually be standing watch were completely drunk, lying on the floor like they were just relaxing. It made me snicker to myself until Ivan decided to just up and ruin my fun, flicking me once behind the ear.

"No time for fun and games," he chided. "We must find Feliciano. By the looks of these two, it'll be no problem."

I nodded and prepared to open the doors, laughing inside at how we were planning on strolling right along into the home of our rival clan, before Ivan's arm moved in front of my chest and prevented me from opening the two very large doors. I quirked an eyebrow at him and received one back. He nudged at my flintlock, stored safely away in the wrappings of my cloak and greaves. "Shoot them." My eyes widened and my eyes met with an equally blue pair as one of the men sitting peacefully began to come to his senses…more or less. He smiled up at me and offered a hand, slurring something along the lines of "join the party". I closed my eyes and position the pistol at his head, then fired. The man fell to the ground by his buddy who had remained unconscious. I was secretly grateful for that. It was hard enough taking out someone who had offered you a kind hand a welcoming word…I didn't think I would be able to do it again. I imagined Ivan probably thought it hypocritical of me, longing to prove myself a good assassin and yet being unable to take certain lives. I tried not to think much of it.

When both men were dead we stepped quietly inside, the floor making out footsteps echo, though no one seemed to hear. There was a faint roaring sound in the background of the spacious common-place we now crept into, and I glanced to my left at Ivan when I heard his familiar snicker.

"They're celebrating – how pitiful." Listening closer I could pick up traces of stringed instruments engaging in a joyous melody, men and women laughing, footsteps running all over the place, and then the voice of the leader himself addressing the cheering assassins, most of which I imagined were drunk as well.

"It's a shame they didn't invite us," I whispered with a snort. Ivan cracked a wry smile and patted me on the back – stunning me for a brief second. It was unlike Ivan to appreciate any good joke or wise retort I made, so this was a pleasant turn on events. Perhaps we were becoming more united than I thought.

"Go join them. I can lay waste to you as well," he cracked in return. My smile faltered. So he still wanted to kill me? So much for us becoming friends; though, I would probably leap on his throat the second I had a chance, as well. The guy really annoyed me sometimes. I made a mock laugh and we took a sharp right into an unlit corridor. A few men danced in the darkness, most of them naked, and Ivan instructed me to shoot them all quickly. I fired as fast as I possibly could, reloading occasionally, while Ivan tackled some of the runners to the ground. Alexander always explained that you had to handle your victims like chickens – shoot one and the rest would go running in panic. Ivan checked all the rooms as we continued down the hall, occasionally entering one and coming back out with a bloody knife and gleaming eyes. I could only imagine what was actually going on in those rooms, because Ivan seemed to love killing the mood, no pun intended.

"Are you sure we're going the right way? Surely the prison wouldn't be in a section so public," I commented as I reloaded my flintlock. Ivan glared back at me from his leave and I gasped as a crumpled piece of parchment was tossed in my face. I unwrapped it carefully and examined the map legibly printed on the front, obviously freshly crafted. I could see the main hall where we entered, and traced my finger along the corridor to a secret passage that led to the entrance of the prison. How my clan received this information, I would never know. I hardly cared to find out. The banquet hall, where I assumed the "party" was being held, was tied to the prison with a more public entrance nearby. This made me uneasy. With so many people gathered near the main entrance, it was almost certain that we wouldn't leave without a gruesome battle. Although, with Ivan as my rescue partner it was almost certain that we wouldn't have left without one anyways. "Any idea what might trigger the passage?" I asked as we came to a dead end.

Ivan examined the hall silently, leaning his ear against the stone of the wall and knocking repeatedly. He smiled as one knock seemed to please him, and as he turned his eyes rested on the golden statue of a wolf/woman hybrid that I recognized as Lupe, King George's goddess. It gleamed in the moonlight streaming from the adjacent window, and its paws were outstretched in a funny manner. I noted that it almost looked as if she was performing a sexual act and clasped my hands over my mouth in an effort to hold back my immature giggle-fit. Ivan didn't seem to notice and instead revealed a golden dagger from inside his cloak and placed it in Lupe's paws. It settled in place with a click and all at once the wall behind us seemed to crumble apart.

"Retrieve the knife while I enter the passage, then follow behind me and don't look behind you. We need to get Feliciano and get out of here before they realize what we've done." And with that, he rushed down into the darkness. I waited until his ominous footsteps had vanished before I turned to examine the knife and statue closer. Placing my hand around the grip of the dagger, I pulled slightly and nearly screamed when Lupe's eyes flashed a fearsome green. It left me blinded and I fell backwards to the floor, clutching my face and groaning with pain as black and white spots clouded my vision. Rubbing my eyes repeatedly, I dragged my hand along my face and finally found the will to return my gaze to the statue, though the eyes had returned to their natural gold hue. The dagger fell to the floor with an obnoxious clatter, and officially stupefied, I grabbed it quickly and made haste to follow Ivan.

My "companion" had already located Feliciano heavily chained in a cell nearest the other entrance, though no one entered nor had been in the prison with him to begin with.

"Alfred! I'm 'a so glad you came to rescue me, but you don't happen to have any French bread on hand, do you? My poor tummy could use a snack…Oh! Ivan, how is Ludwig? I tried to stop him from going further but then they spotted me and my pathetic self had to run, and oh, it was so terrifying! He's okay, right? I don't want to die but I know that if I'm responsible for his death I would probably kill myself before Alexander could get to me…"

I tuned out when Feliciano started talking, understanding immediately that it would probably be awhile before he stopped. Instead I distracted myself by examining the chamber in which he was placed. There were a couple of rusty cells next to Feliciano's, though they were completely barren. The room itself wasn't too bad, and contained a pretty nice fire place on the farthest wall with a rustic, wooden table in the very center, possibly for guards to just sit and relax. This clan had always been somewhat lazy. A metal helmet in the shape of a wolf's head hung from the fire place's mantle. It was obvious whom it represented. There was a flickering light coming from deeper within the chamber, in another corridor, they had a ton of them, that I assumed led to the torture chamber. The bloody streaks and handprints on the walls made that pretty obvious.

Ivan had managed to get Feliciano unchained and out of his cell by the time I actually started paying attention again, even though I still had no idea how he managed to. Perhaps those knives of his were sharper than I originally assumed.

"…and they were planning to kill the virgin too!" Feliciano finished with an anguished cry that was quickly hushed by Ivan. I could feel the hair on my neck and arms rise as a couple of voices were heard outside of the iron door only a few feet away.

"Shit," Ivan cursed under his breath, dragging Feliciano away with him. "Alfred," he turned to face me, ignoring the drool spilling from our clanmate's mouth. "Fire at whoever comes through that door and follow the path we took to get down here. If you don't see us, go ahead and return to Rotomagense Abbatia. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," I nodded as the two disappeared up the stairs, holding my weapon to the ready and hiding in a dark corner behind a barrel of wine. I could hear the voices of two assassins mutter to each other from behind the door, one was clearly drunk. I still couldn't decipher exactly what they were saying. I held my breath as the voices became clearer.

"Come on, Arthur. We really need to get you to a bed.."

"You're not my mas'er, Kikuu. Come on! Loos'n up a li'l! *hic* All I wanna do is *hic* spit in 'is face!"

I could hear the man named Kiku sigh, and momentarily brushed aside the familiarity of that name.

"Very well. I'm going to talk to Roderich…just try not to do something stupid while you're in this state."

I heard the sound of retreating footsteps, and then the room was engulfed in light as Arthur opened the door, stumbling down the steps in a drunken stupor. I shrank behind the barrel when the room was darkened once again, 'cause I hadn't missed that gleam of the dagger tucked away in his boot. He was bandaged heavily, the smell of onions and what could only be described as "man" following him around, making me gag. I held my breath as he drew closer, and realized that he must have been too drunk to notice that the prisoner was gone.

"Well where is 'e?" he groaned, stumbling past each individual cell. "Where are ya, bloody wanker?" I snorted at his accent, and his foul language. Arthur didn't seem all that intimidating, but that was probably why he kept a spare dagger hidden away. He had tousled golden hair and a fairly thin face, though his eyebrows were nowhere near thin. I chuckled to myself in the realization that he could pass off as a wolf himself with eyebrows that large, and the way he stalked around like some kind of predator – it gave him a bizarre charm that I found myself instantly drawn to. For a moment I forgot that I was supposed to be hiding, and simply entertained myself with watching him. He continued to look for Feliciano, startling me when he cursed loudly and pulled the knife free from its former encasement. "I know you're here somewhere," he hissed threateningly. It was at that moment that I remembered what I was there for, and I hesitantly drew a bead. Yet, I was unable to fire. I made the excuse that I needed a better aim, and so I took a deep breath and stood from my hiding place – catching his attention instantly.

We simply stared at one another for the longest time, and although I knew my purpose and what I was there for, it almost seemed like he had forgotten. His face was startled, blinking, unfocused. That quickly changed when his expression of bewilderment turned menacing and he pounced like a carnivorous animal. He swung his knife ferociously, unwilling to take a break even though I could tell from the look on his face that he was in pain. I would put him out of that pain soon enough.

"What the 'ell did you do with him, Rouen bastard?" he snarled, moving us so that we were now tumbling on the floor. I had dropped my gun and was unable to reach from where he had me pinned. Instead, I focused my energy on keeping the knife at bay, though he manically tried to force it down to my throat. Finally, I managed to get a good grip on him and forced him off. The knife clattered as it fell to the floor and skid out of reach, though I was able to take it within my own hand. Meanwhile I had pushed Arthur into a couple more barrels of wine, succeeding in knocking them over. He slipped on the spilt wine and fell on his ass, mumbling a curse to himself as he desperately squirmed and gasped in pain, unable to find his grip and stand again. He really was hopelessly drunk. It almost made me regret that this would be his last fight – a pitiful drunkard desperately trying to protect his clan.

I positioned my flintlock at his forehead, preparing to make it as quick and painless as humanly possible. I had his knife in my other hand, making him completely defenseless. He seemed to turn sober for an instant and realizing his current situation, he bowed his head and frowned despairingly.

"Good to ya lad, I never thought someone would be able to take Arthur Kirkland down, let alone a Rouen," he spat. "What's your name?" he peered up curiously at me and our eyes locked for the first time.

I don't believe in love at first sight. To put my emotions during that moment in simple terms, I found the wine far less intoxicating than the viridian orbs that flickered in the firelight, seemingly capturing my attention and my attention alone.

I must have died and gone to Lupe's embrace, must have been dancing with Luna already, for I was lost in the sky. The deep blue sky, so dazzling, despite the fact that it was still night. Or perhaps I was drowning. But how could that be? Was Hell located in the deepest depths of the seven seas? Or perhaps it was neither. Perhaps I was more sober than I gave myself credit for and actually was staring into the brilliantly blue eyes that belonged to the man who was currently holding me at gunpoint. As ridiculous as it sounded, it was hard not to be swept away in the moment.

"I'm Alfred. Alfred F. Jones, to be precise."

Alfred, huh? I tried to laugh at this young man's foolishness, but found myself inhabilitated . I could only gape at him in my awkward daze. This man – had taken me down. I was going to die. He was going to end me. And I was drunk too. Father always told me my drinking would get the better of me, as did Kiku. Kiku. I debated trying to call for him, but it would have been too late anyways. I would be gone the second a whimper was emitted. Not that Arthur Kirkland actually whimpered, just to make things perfectly clear.

"I should pull this trigger," he mused "and end it all for you." Then why wouldn't he? What was stopping him? It must have been the same thing that was preventing me from fighting for my life. I felt more than sober now, more than aware. So…so why did I still feel as if I was drowning? "I don't want to, though. I killed many of your assassins when I came here. Shot them all dead. But I don't want that to happen to you. You're different." What in Lupe's name was he going on about? How was I different? The bastard didn't even know me!

…but it felt like we were supposed to meet.

"I-," my eyes widened in shock at his low sobs. "I-I can't. I don't know what I'm doing." He dropped his weapon then. He even dropped my knife, though I was still too numb to take action. I opened my mouth without even thinking about it, and scared myself with what I uttered.

"This is meant to be." My voice was no higher than a whisper, but the words echoed loudly in my brain and gave me a migraine. Our eyes met again, except this time I was prepared for the rush of emotions that surged in my veins. I was growing weaker every second he looked at me. Then it occurred to me – this must have been a ruse. He was distracting me with these random feelings of security and warmth only to take me down when I let my defenses fall…which I had. I quickly corrected myself. "I mean," and I forced myself to my feet and grabbed both the fallen dagger and the flintlock, pointing both at him. "This is meant to be. I'm supposed to live and continue to serve Lupe and Luna. You must die by my hand." He seemed shocked at first, but it quickly wavered into surrender. He fell to his knees and threw his hands in the air, eyes now closed in defeat.

"Do what you must," was the last thing I heard from him.

I never really understood why it had become so hard for me to pull that damn trigger. I couldn't thrust my own dagger into his chest either. I couldn't attack him anymore, not when I was aware that I would only be closing those dazzling eyes for all eternity. I couldn't find the heart to hurt him. So I didn't. I let out a groan of frustration and dropped his blasted flintlock, kicking it so it landed near his feet. I could feel his gaze on me, probably one of the questioning sort, but wisely chose to ignore it this time. "Leave," I ordered.

He shuffled away quickly, out the passage from which he had came, though I remained in the cell even after his departure. I fell to the ground with a sigh, letting the wetness of the wine comfort me and stroke the soft flesh of my cheek. Panicked screaming began to echo from outside in the banquet hall, intermixed with occasional curse word or loud shriek to Lupe. I ignored everything. I chose to act like I was still drunk, though I had left that feverish stupor hours ago. I ignored Gilbert's annoying chides, Elizabeth's caresses of concern, and Kiku's embraces. Toris was trying to get me to talk, but I ignored him as well. I let them drag me to my bed, and I allowed a nurse to put a cool washcloth on my forehead, though I attempted to explain that I was cool enough. All I had to do was imagine that I was swimming…in the sky…Alfred still by my side. I would see him again if it killed me – or him. Even if we met on the battlefield, I would see him again.