A/N: DataAndrd here now, with my first chapter of the story. Hope you all like it... and thanks to Miss V, my co-writer, for making sure my Maltese was correct! :)
CHAPTER TWO
Elsewhere, Miley, Lilly, Oliver and Jackson began their exploration of the fascinating country of Malta. At Lilly's insistence, they decided to try some of the local cuisine first.
They stopped at a small sidewalk café not far from their hotel, called the Café Cordina, and ordered some pastizzi inside. They were small pastries filled with what looked like cheese, or as they said here, ricotta. Looking around as Lilly and Oliver started to take pictures of the cabbie parking nearby, Miley spotted a rather familiar face.
It was a girl about her age, sitting about three meters off. She sat with another four or five girls, and they were playing some sort of card game. She had curly brown hair and a chocolate tan. She was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans and a pair of sunglasses was propped on her head as they sat under the umbrella. She slammed her cards down on the table, stood up and started to do a sort of happy-dance.
"Trent'uno! I beat you! I beat you all!" Another of the girls sighed and slammed her cards down.
"I can't believe you beat us at Thirty-One…for the tenth time today! I've already lost all my money in the bets, Vicky!"
"Vicky!" Miley rose and waved frantically. The brown haired girl turned and her eyes widened.
"Miley!" They ran to each other and embraced, jumping up and down.
"I didn't ever think I'd run into you in Malta!"
"Didn't I ever tell you, I'm Maltese!" Vicky smiled and looked at her friends. "Tell me where you're staying and I'll come say 'hi' some other time. I'm spending some quality time with my friends."
"OK. We're at the Queen Victoria. Ask for Miley Stewart, OK?"
"OK!" Vicky let go of her friend and smiled. "It's a wonder to think that our friendship started when we met for the first time at that golf course in San Diego."
"Yeah, pretty weird huh?" Miley laughed. "I'll see you later?"
"Sure!" Smiling, Miley walked back over to her table, where Lilly and the others were staring at her strangely.
"Who the heck was that?" Lilly asked her.
"A friend of mine," Miley explained with a grin. "Her name's Vicky. I'll introduce you another time. I met her when I was in San Diego once."
"She lives here?" Oliver asked.
"Yup," Miley replied. "Small world, huh?"
"Y'know, she's kinda cute…" Jackson commented, looking over at the table where Vicky and her friends were still playing cards.
"Forget it, Jerkson, she's not your type," Miley teased him. "Now, where do you guys want to go next?" As they continued to talk, no one noticed a dark-haired woman watching them from a table of her own nearby, her features partially hidden by her long hair and a pair of dark sunglasses…
Meanwhile, in another part of the capital city of Valletta, Maximilian and his men had finished their gracious tour of the Casa Rocca Piccola and now met in a dark and disreputable bar. The wooden sign over the door referred to it as 'Raġel tal-Baħar' – or, as Maximilian translated it, 'Man of the Sea'. They found a table in a secluded corner and sat down to talk.
"Fascinating, no?" he asked his associates in his thick French accent. "The rarest and most hallowed artifacts in all of Malta, all stored in one convenient place – and open to the public."
"You have a plan to steal them, then?" one of the other men asked. He was big and muscular, with a bald head and a thick, dark moustache.
"I most definitely have a plan, Ivan," Maximilian replied. "We will not be stealing them, however."
"What are you saying?" another of the men asked angrily "We came all this way for nothing?"
"Patience, Louis, patience," Maximilian soothed him. "We're not going to take them from the museum… the Marquis de Piro is graciously going to give them to us." Louis frowned.
"Why would he do that?" he asked, not understanding. Maximilian, however, had no intention of sharing his plan just yet.
"You will know soon enough," Maximilian promised. "We have only to wait until Melita joins us. In the meantime…" He motioned a waitress over to their table and ordered drinks for everyone.
"Let us enjoy a drink together, and toast the wealth of Malta – for it will soon be ours!"
"What do they call these things again?" Lilly asked, staring at the small walkie-talkie like device in her hand.
"An audio guide," Jackson answered her. "There's supposed to be different places in the Cathedral where we can stop and hear audio recordings about its history and significance."
"Wow," Miley replied. "I'm impressed. You're really getting into this tourism stuff, Jackson!" He shrugged and gave one of his goofy grins.
"You never know, maybe I can impress some cute Maltese chicks!" Miley rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Yeah, good luck with that," she muttered. Jackson, as usual, ignored the remark.
"C'mon, let's check this place out," Oliver interrupted. The others nodded, and together they walked into the imposing St. John's Co-Cathedral. From the main entrance, they walked through a short passageway that led them into the incredible Main nave, the central approach to the church's high altar. Everyone's jaws dropped at the towering, vaulted ceiling high above them and the beautiful marble arches that lined the walls. Even the floor was amazing, completely covered with marble stones.
"Can I just say, whoa?" Lilly quipped.
"It's called the Main nave," Jackson said aloud, audio guide to his ear. "Those arches lead to different chapels, each assigned to one of the different groups of Knights from each province, according to seniority." Noticing him doing so, the others began listening to the audio tour as well.
"Wait a sec," Lilly announced a few moments later. "We're standing on a bunch of tombstones?!"
"Take it easy, Lils," Miley responded with a smile. "It's not like we can see the Knights who are buried here."
"I know," Lilly muttered. "It's still kinda creepy."
"Tell you what – if it'll make you feel better, you can hold my hand, okay?" She had only intended it as a joke, but to her surprise, Lilly reached over and took her hand anyway. Even more surprising was the tiny jolt Miley felt as Lilly's fingers entwined with her own.
O-kay… where is this coming from all of the sudden? She thought to herself. I mean, it's perfectly normal for best friends to hold hands, right? So why can't I stop thinking about how nice it feels to have Lilly's hand in mine?
"I did not just think that," Miley chastised herself. Too late, she realized she'd actually said it out loud.
"What did you not think?" Lilly asked her curiously. Miley groaned inwardly.
This just keeps getting better and better…
"Nothing," Miley lied. "My inner monologue just became an outtie for a moment, that's all. Don't worry about it." Lilly arched a curious eyebrow, sensing that Miley wasn't being entirely honest, but she decided not to press the issue.
"Okay," she responded slowly. "Can we please leave the lovely room of death now?"
"Lilly!" Miley tried to suppress her laugher. "C'mon, show a little respect!"
"All right, sorry," Lilly sulked. "How about, can please continue our tour of the church now? Preferably in a slightly less creepy part of it?" Miley grinned and shook her head.
"Lils, you are one of a kind." Lilly smiled.
"Darn straight," she replied with a straight face. "You're lucky to have me, you know!"
"I know," Miley said, still grinning. "Now, shall we continue our tour m'lady?" She swept her arm out in front of her to encompass the breathtaking church around them. Lilly squeezed her hand.
"We shall," she said playfully.
As Miley, Lilly and the others walked into another part of the cathedral, a woman with dark glasses surreptitiously watched them go, from her hiding place in the shadows of one of the chapel arches. She focused on Lilly in particular, seeming to take in every aspect of the blonde teenager. Then, when she was certain no one was watching, she darted out of her hiding place and quickly left the cathedral.
Fifteen minutes later, the mysterious woman joined Maximilian and the others at their table in the small bar.
"Ah, Melita," Maximilian greeted her, standing up as she approached. "So good of you to join us, my dear." He kissed her quickly on the cheek, then eased out a chair for her to sit in. Finally, he waved the waitress over to their table again and ordered a drink for Melita as well.
"I trust your mission was a success?" he asked her. Melita removed her dark sunglasses, revealing ice blue eyes, and nodded.
"I checked out the girl, like you asked." she answered simply. "She's one of the heirs of the de Piro family, there's no question."
"Excellent," Maximilian said, grinning. "Then our plan can proceed. Does she have any… protection… we should be aware of?" Melita shook her head.
"She travels only with a group of other children her age," she replied. "Friends, I suppose."
"We should have no problems, then," Maximilian told her, finishing off the last of his own drink. "Tomorrow, we will wait for the opportune moment… and then we will strike!"
It was nearly dinnertime when the gang finally finished their tour of St. John's Co-Cathedral, and they decided they'd better hurry back to their hotel to meet Robbie Ray.
"See?" Miley said aloud as they walked back towards the main entrance. "That wasn't so bad, now was it Lils?" They were still holding hands, and in fact had done so throughout the entire tour. Neither of them said a word about it, either.
"Nah, it was pretty cool," Lilly admitted with a smile. "Especially the Sanctuary. It was so beautiful."
"Yeah it was," Miley agreed with her. "The whole cathedral was beautiful."
"You know what'd be even more beautiful?" Lilly asked.
"What's that, Lils?" Miley answered.
"Dinner!" Lilly exclaimed. Miley laughed.
"Soon as we meet daddy back at the hotel, that's what we're going to do." She heard Lilly's stomach growl and smiled. "Think you can contain the beast that long?"
"I'll do my best," Lilly quipped. "Any delays though, and I won't be responsible for my actions!"
"Excuse me?" another voice interrupted suddenly. Miley and Lilly turned to see an older man, wearing the vestments of a priest, beckoning to them.
"Pardon my intrusion, but I must speak with you," the old man said, his voice heavily accented. "It is a matter of great importance." Miley and Lilly looked at each other, neither sure just what was going on or what they should do.
"What do you want?" Oliver asked, positioning himself protectively between the girls and the old man. Jackson did the same.
"Forgive me," the priest replied nervously. "I am sorry if I frightened you. I come only to warn your friend."
"Warn who?" Jackson asked, puzzled.
"She who wears the face of the de Piro family," the priest answered, gesturing at Lilly. He dropped his voice and looked around furtively, as if afraid someone might overhear him.
"You are not safe here," he whispered. "They will be coming for you." Lilly swallowed, suddenly feeling very afraid.
"I… I don't know what you're talking about," she managed. "Who's coming?"
"There is no time!" the priest said hurriedly. "You must remain safe, for all our sakes! When he was sure no one was watching them, he reached into his robes and pulled out a small cloth bag.
"Take this," he told Lilly, pressing the bag into her hand. "Take it and find a place of safety, before it is too late!" Then, before Lilly or anyone else could say another word, he was gone.
"O-kay," Oliver said at last. "That was way beyond weird. Anybody know what he was talking about?" Everyone shook their heads.
"Okay, good; I don't feel so lost now," he said lightly.
"He must've though I was someone else," Lilly said uncertainly. "That's the only thing that makes sense."
"Yeah, that's gotta be it," Miley agreed. "What's in that bag though, Lils? The one he gave you?"
"You think I should look?" Lilly asked her.
"I don't think a priest would give you anything dangerous," Jackson reasoned. "Besides, whatever it is, maybe it can help us figure out what the heck is going on!"
"All right," Lilly said quietly. "Guess you've got a point. Let's take a look." Very carefully, she loosened the draw strings on the bag and reached inside. Pulling her hand back out, she held up a set of ornate and beautiful silver earrings. The Virgin Mary was prominently engraved on them.
"Are those what I think they are?" Jackson whispered.
"I think they're silver," Lilly replied quietly. "They also look really, really old."
"As in, worth a lot of money?" Oliver asked.
"I'm thinking more along the lines of priceless," Lilly replied, her voice tight. "Guys, I think we're in a lot of trouble…"