Okie-dokie, just re-read the last chapter (because, yes, I do often lose my train of thought - the station moves damnit!). So~ from my gathering Antonio's been a proper gentleman for about 50 seconds, Francesco's still horribly scarred and Abel's sleepy. I feel I should fore-warn you all now - there's a rather 'experimental' chapter coming up soon where I'm testing your tolerance and my ability to turn graphic images into prose (don't worry, it's nothing too bad, I'm not completely crazy... yet).

Anywho - moving onto the next chapter - thanks to all the reviewers and a special thanks to tatsumi-hime who reviewed my other Trinity Blood ficlet 'collide', and told me to get my butt in gear and come back to the pretty-ness that is A Messy State of Affairs~. Sorry it's kinda short, but I'm gonna try and update again sometime this coming week - I have History homework again, and we all know how much I'd love an excuse not to do it XD

Caterina sighed, her gaze falling for the upteenth time to the ring on her finger. All day each of her appointments with various members of high society had fawned over it, most with awe and supportive cheer, some with sadness (although that had come from a select group of her political supporters she rather disliked so not really much of a loss there)1. However, as she looked at the blue-green stone imbedded into it, twisting her hand slightly so it shimmered in the light of her office, she thought back to several hours ago, when Antonio had formally proposed. When he had pulled her aside, she'd had her suspicions, but really, she hadn't thought it would make that much of a difference and was only doing what his mother told him.

"Yet those words..." Caterina found herself smiling and shook her head softly. She must be going soft - was she really beginning to like the Hispania male? Surely not, just days ago the man had been top of her list of people she would incarcerate should she ever possess the power and backing to do so.

Getting up from her seat, Caterina opened one of the large windows and leaned on the wall beside it, enjoying the warm summer breeze floating in. Eyes closed, hands clasped loosely behind her back, with her long blond hair, now out of its curls, swaying softly around her lithe form, Caterina looked the image of a beautiful angel, the moonlight catching her skin and giving it an unearthly glow.

The sight took Abel's breath away, and all he could do in that moment was gaze at the stunning woman.

"You know, one day I really will mistake you for an angel come to whisk me off to heaven. Surely it's illegal to look so pretty," he commented lightly. Caterina started and snapped her eyes open to look at him before smiling and shaking her head and chuckling.

"You're such a tease, Abel. What are you doing here anyway?" she asked, pushing off the wall to approach him.

"I was having a peek through Her Majesty Sofia's plans and I noticed a mistake."

"A mistake?" Caterina blinked, also curious as to how Abel had seen the so called 'plans' but figured she probably didn't want to know what Abel had done.

"Yes, it appears there's no one to escort you down the isle - Lady Sofia seems under the impression her husband should do it," Abel answered smoothly, raising a hand to push some of Caterina's hair behind her ear so he could see her face more clearly.

Caterina raised an eyebrow, "Is there anything wrong with that? The father of the bride traditionally does it, yet my father is dead. I'd say she's being logical, Abel."

"Oh how you wound me, Caterina!" Abel exclaimed, pulling a face and placing his hand over his heart as though her words had been a lance.

"I'm afraid I don't follow," Caterina shook her head.

"Me! I wanna do it!" Abel said childishly, losing his earlier seriousness which subsequently also ruined the mood.

Caterina blinked a few times at the outburst before a smile bloomed across her lips, "It's almost as though you're upset for not getting to do anything but sit around and eat while I'm married off to Cardinal Borgia."

"You say that like you don't want me to had you over to the man, rather someone you know than an old fart who does whatever his wife tells him right?"

Caterina laughed, "Oh, Abel, you know I'd love for you to give me away." She reached out and took the man's hands gently in her own. "I shall ask Her Highness if it's possible - as long as you don't pick your nose around her I can't see the switch being too much of a problem," Caterina added with a smirk, making Abel chuckle.

~~~For some reason it feels like I'm missing someone... Oh muffincakes! We've forgotten Tres! *grabs a Tres chibi and tosses it into the playpen with the other messy affairs chibi* Haha! Fixed!~~~

In the far off land of Germania, a young looking male priest seemed to be patiently waiting for a train, the evening paper in hand. In reality, Tres Iqus was becoming rather impatient and longed for the 1863 seconds before his train would arrive to be over soon, even if that was a mathematical impossibility - he needed to get to the Duchess of Milan, something awful seemed afoot!

Unconsciously, Tres' fingers tightened around the article he had re-read a further three times since buying the paper originally. Upon the front was a sketch of inside Rome's cathedral, with two people in clerical vestments standing to the side of the alter, one kneeling before the other. Tres hadn't needed the caption above to recognise the figures as Antonio Borgia and Caterina Sforza, but that didn't make the Killing Doll any less confused. He had to get to Rome and uncover the meaning of this!

1) Felt I should point this out - in RAM V Caterina has a meeting with a load of fat, old, wealthy and perverted buzzards, one of which won't stop looking her up and down, particularly enjoying her legs. They're awful and Caterina knows it, but she needs their money and political influence and so has to put up with them.

Also... yeah, for an obscure reason I can quiet easily imagine Abel, Tres and everyone else as little chibi's (they look like toddlers in height but still wear their normal clothes) that are trapped in a playpen with a big cartoon sign saying 'Messy Affairs' on it XD Caterina's playing with building blocks, Tres is very confused, Francesco was playing snap with Abel (Antonio's now explaining strip poker to them) and Professor's blowing bubbles out of a fake pipe. Ain't they cute? XDD