Come As You Are
Chapter Five- The Lion, the Party, and the Oncoming War
Disclaimer: I do not own Trinity Blood or any of its canon characters; they belong to their owner/creator respectively. I do own Ruth, Claude, Claudia, any other original characters that pop out of my brain.
Ruth was growing impatient. The prison warden had told her they could bring him in ten minutes. It was already two quarters into the hour, and the nun decided she wouldn't wait any longer. "Why does Cardinal Sforza even keep that fool anyway?" grumbled Ruth.
A raspy laugh and the clinking of chains greeted Ruth from beneath a carbon glass window.
"Because I do things the fast way." The man that answered was a tall, tanned man with a wild, dark mane.
Father Leon winked and the nun scowled in response. "That's why you're here in a Roman prison."
Leon's smile slid off his scruffy face. "Still cold and harsh I see
Ruth ignored the jab, and slid a file beneath the glass. "Cardinal Caterina is sending us on a mission. Father Nightroad is preoccupied elsewhere, so I'm working with you; that is, if you choose to accept it." Ruth's stomach coiled as she spoke. Compared to Leon, Able was tolerable.
Said shackled priest smiled his sly smirk.
"What's the reward for my service?"
Ruth resisted the urge to punch through the glass and strangle him.
"Twenty years off your sentence." She replied as calmly as she could. "Twenty? Sounds good! When do we start?"
"The day after next. We still need to process your papers."
Leon nodded, his smirk growing. "So me and you get to have a little fun?" His tone was a form of playful, but it made Ruth frown.
"Not in the least. Cardinal Sforza gave me permission to put a dozen holes in you if you even consider breathing near me with inappropriate thoughts."
Leon frowned at Ruth's calm tone and blank expression.
"You wound me." he said in false pain.
"I'm sure."
Ruth stood from her stool, and Leon raised a brow.
"Leaving so soon?" he asked.
"Unlike you, I have work to do. Be ready when I come to pick you up."
Leon watched as Ruth left the room; he couldn't help but smile.
"Did we just have a bonding moment?"
Later
Leon enjoyed his priests robe. Unlike his prison uniform, it didn't scratch and irritate him. He wished he could wear it more often.
The priest frowned as he ran a large hand through his mane.
He should have been there….he could have saved her…and his daughter-
Snapping fingers brought him back to reality.
"Stop daydreaming and let's go. You'll have plenty of time to waste when you're back in your cell."
Ruth looked very unhappy.
Leon growled, giving him a fierce lion-like look.
The nun ignored it and began to walk.
"We are inspecting rumors of an anti-Vatican cult. It's reported to be a small meeting; a group of powerful vamps who aren't very nice."
"So it's a little get together?"
"You could put it that way."
The two clergy members walked up to a train, tickets in hand.
"It's not supposed to be an attack, but Cardinal Sforza likes to be certain."
Leon followed Ruth to the entry way onto the train and snorted.
"Of course she does."
Later
The city resembled all the other cities Ruth had ever been to. To the nun, however, it smelled worse than the other cities. This was a haven for the wealthy and the lazy.
She turned to Leon.
"Here's the plan. We-"
"Go undercover and see what we can find. Am I right?"
That earned the priest a glare.
Said man chuckled and put his arm around the nun.
"Relax, Ice Queen."
Ruth said nothing as the train stopped. She was glad to be off the train, and even happier when they found the hotel they were to stay in.
Walking into her room, Ruth threw her things on the floor.
She was tired and unhappy, but then again, she was always tired and unhappy.
Ruth walked to the bathroom and splashed water onto her face.
Dark circles were forming under her brown eyes, and her complexion was paler than normal. It looked as if she hadn't slept in days, but she knew it wasn't lack of sleep that made her look this haggard and sickly.
"Backlash." She mumbled under her breath.
Exiting the bathroom, Ruth pressed the comlink into her ear.
"Sister Kate?"
"I'm here."
Ruth sighed.
"It's getting worse."
There was a long pause on the other end before the kind voice on the other end responded.
"The Cardinal wants the mission to continue."
"I see."
The nun rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, and she nodded to no one.
"The Cardinal had requested that the Professor hurry his efforts to find the-"
"I understand."
Another pause.
"Sister Ruth?"
"We leave soon."
Sister Kate hummed; the noise sounded like electric static over the comlink.
"Alright."
Ruth pulled the device out of her ear and threw it on the floor. Able would have reprimanded her for that. She snorted; wondering why she was thinking about that idiot. Picking up the bag that she had thrown down when she first entered the room, she carried it into the bathroom.
Slowly, Ruth changed from her nun's attire and into the clothes for the mission. Simple plain clothes made for a servant. The nun pulled her hair into a small ponytail, and fitted a cap onto her head.
"Still ugly." She spat.
Walking out of the washroom, she saw Leon sitting on her bed.
"How did you get in here?"
"The doors have simple locks."
She grunted and pulled on a pair of white gloves.
"Not even going to threaten me? Or attempt to rip off my limbs and beat my torso to a bloody pulp with them?"
"No time."
Leon barked in laughter.
"Guess not."
Ruth clipped the suspenders to the band of her pants and gave herself the once over before moving for the door.
Leon followed after her.
For once, he was silent.
Making it down outside to the streets, the air was warmer than expected, which made her sigh. It was warm air like this that made Ruth feel…somewhat normal.
They continued to move to their destination, not really ignoring the surroundings, but focusing on the task at hand as well. The night was lit by the warm glow of shop lights and street lamps, and the gentle chatter of the pedestrians was a pleasant comfort.
Ruth glanced at a boy and his parents leaving a candy shop, and the faint bitter sweet smell of chocolate filled her nostrils.
The Sister had never thought negatively for being abandoned for the church to save, but she did wonder, mostly from curiosity, what it would be like to be truly normal. To be a frail regular Terran woman who wore fancy dresses and doted on her handsome husband.
Ruth thought of Able.
"No."
Leon glanced at the angry nun and gave her a confused look.
"What?"
"Nothing."
That was that.
The priest decided if the soldier wanted to talk, she would talk. He doubted, however, she would even if she wanted to. She would never talk to Leon.
Ever.
Ruth quickened her pace, not really caring if Leon was catching up or not.
This slowness was giving her too much time to think.
Eventually the two church workers found the carriage that would take them the rest of the way.
Ruth climbed in.
Leon followed suit and gave the driver the code word.
She felt her body push forward due to the abrupt start of their ride, and her mind began to wonder back to her previous thoughts.
Why were her thoughts leading to Able?
Ruth frowned; a trademark for her.
It was because of the rumor she had heard. That made sense. Rumors always intrigued a person's interests.
Even if that was the reason, she didn't like the anxious feeling that bubbled in the pit of her stomach when she thought of that moron. It almost felt like she missed him….
"Hm…." She grunted.
It wasn't a good feeling; it was one built from stress or nausea.
Leon gave Ruth a sideways glance.
What was she so focused on?
Ruth wore a stoic almost pensive look.
He smiled to himself and fixed the fancy looking cufflinks on his expensive jacket.
"We're here."
"Hm?"
Ruth looked almost surprised, but recovered quickly as the carriage rode past a huge gate.
Loud music and chatter could be heard even inside the carriage, and when the two clergy members glanced outside their windows, they saw a dark sky lit orange from the bright lights of a huge mansion.
"Whoa….."
"Too bright."
The carriage came to halt as it joined a line of transportation waiting to empty rich guests to the lavish party.
They waited for what seemed like forever when their carriage finally pulled up to a set of steps.
A young boy in servant's clothes opened the wooden door and allowed Ruth and Leon to step out.
"Names?"
Leon pulled a piece of embossed paper from his jacket and handed it to the boy. The boy in turn took the slip to another man waiting at the end of the steps.
After even more moments of waiting, the boy returned.
"You may enter."
"Why thank you!" Leon boomed.
Ruth rolled her eyes and followed the priest up the stairs.
Turning to see other guests pile out of their rides, Ruth slowed a bit to see if any of them were the targets.
"Come servant boy!"
Ruth ground her teeth together and decided Lady Sforza wouldn't miss the priest.
She moved inside and brushed past two guards at the front doors.
Ruth had to admit she was surprised that they had gained entry into such an exclusive party.
It showed the power of Lady Caterina's connections.
Inside only a few guests near the entrance even noticed that Leon and Ruth had entered.
Leon gave them a smile and the ladies responded.
The overdressed priest smirked; he was enjoying the attention.
"Stop enjoying this."
"What? Why?! I've been locked up for-"
"Do I look like I care?"
Leon glanced at the stoic nun and made a pouty-like face.
"No…."
"Right. Look for the target. If you see the target, do not initiate. Contact me and I'll handle it discreetly."
Ruth tapped her ear lobe, signaling her electronic ear piece.
"Let me know."
"Geez mom, I will. Will you relax?"
Leon smirked and winked at a noblewoman behind Ruth.
"We're at a party. Have some fun, would ya?"
Ruth glowered at the man, and tried not to correct his common slang.
He may have looked the part, and smelled MUCH better in the expensive garments, but he was still the same criminal from the Roman cells.
Ruth supposed the saying about changing a hog's nature was true, and the evidence was currently swaggering over to seduce some wealthy Vampire whore.
The nun narrowed her eyes and began to move through the crowd.
She should have stayed with Leon, as Methuselah custom demands the servants were to be by their masters at all times, but she didn't plan on doing that.
Even if she was surrounded by the leeches; she was NOT staying with the moron.
'Screw their customs' was all she could think.
Ruth would rather have been tortured in the pits of the Inquisition before she'd watch the lion drunkenly attempt to mate with one of these creatures.
Ruth was pushed by velvet coats of different colors, and was forced to hold her breath to avoid the overwhelming stench of perfume.
All she could hear was the 'quiet' mumbling of the Methuselah's wealthy whilst they talked over war, politics, and matters that Ruth found valueless.
"Where are you?" she thought.
The target was supposed to be flamboyant and loud….or that's how his description in the file basically described him.
"Hm."
She was shoved very harshly by a vampire with clear skin.
She watched as he stalked away cursing loudly.
No one seemed to notice or care.
Music played and people talked.
That seemed to be all that really happened.
Ruth continued to look around to no avail.
Her target was somewhere among the crowd, but she wasn't used to Caterina's 'quiet' way of handling things.
If Ruth had her way, she'd put silver bullets in every member of this party and slaughter every one of these leeches.
"You're being rash Ruth."
The nun stopped in her tracks and the music seemed to dull in her ears.
Her eyes stopped on one party goer, and the guest across the sea of velvet met her eyes.
'No…..he's in Istvan.'
The man smiled at her and moved on.
Ruth continued to stare for another moment before quickly swiping her eyes with the back of one of her hands.
It couldn't have been him; the smog created by a mixture of musk was getting to her senses…or that was what she was telling herself.
She moved past a talking couple and tried to find her way back to Leon.
Despite the uncanny guest's appearance, it was the way he looked at her that worried Ruth.
There was something very ominous about it, and it was almost taunting.
Ruth ground her teeth together; did the vamps know that the Vatican was on their trail?
How could they know?
This mission was assigned secretly by the Cardinal herself; only her and Leon were the only others to even know it was assigned.
Thoughts of an impending trap motivated Ruth to move more quickly, and soon Leon was in her view.
She thought of calling out to him, but decided that would cause too much unwanted attention.
clink clink clink CLINK
A gentle sound of metal on glass silenced the hall.
Leon finished his loud whispered promise of a better night and looked up to see what was going on.
A vampire stood on the highest step of a grand stair case and smiled at the crowd.
"Attention!"
Leon gave the vampire a look that was a mixture of annoyance and anger; he was two kisses away from convincing this lady back to his hotel.
He gave the vamp a look over and turned back to the girl.
The vampire in question wore a purple silk coat with matching trousers, and had a gold shirt tucked into the coat. The gold buttons that lined the front of his jacket shone brightly in the lights of the chandlers, and they helped accentuate the gold lapel handkerchief stuffed into the front pocket of his coat. His shoes were made with what looked like fine purple velvet with gold adornments of the front.
Across the hall, Ruth sized the leech up and scowled.
He reeked of wealth and a pompous attitude.
The rich vamp tapped his spoon against a crystal chalice and made sure he had everyone's attention.
"Attention!"
Ruth was amazed that this male Methuselah could even move his mouth with the amount of powder that was caked on his face.
"The Marquis of Hungary is making his announcement!"
A radio was moved beside the man, and was then adjusted to a specific channel.
Static filled the air and took the place of tense silence.
And then a voice spoke through the static.
Everyone in the hall listened as the Marquis foretold the end of Rome.
Ruth stood still and felt the nerves on the tips of her fingers tingle.
That was an act of war: for a vamp to declare sovereignty on a neutral state and then to announce that he was going to destroy the largest and most powerful Human stronghold on Earth.
That was more than an act of war; that was suicide.
Leon stopped his seduction and began to frantically search for Ruth.
He was starting to see where this little shindig was headed.
The vamp in purple moved towards the radio and smiled.
At the end of the broadcast, he clicked the radio off.
"Fellow evolved citizens!"
So 'Plum' was their target.
Ruth moved back to an open corner as Plum began his speech.
She frowned at his drabble that was supposed to convince the wealthy leeches of this city to join Gyula Kadar in his mission to rise against Rome.
Across the crowd, Leon was rudely pushing past other guests in search for Ruth.
They were supposed to find a target; simple and easy.
The job wasn't to quell a rebellion!
They needed Gunslinger or Crusnik to do something like that.
Leon didn't exactly read the file he was given, so he desperately needed to find Ruth.
She'd know what to do.
Ruth had found a good spot that gave her some space to move, but had enough people to hide her from any suspicious third parties.
Slowly maneuvering a small handgun into her hand, she briefly wondered why the guards from earlier hadn't even considered to frisk either her or Leon for weapons.
"Arrogant sods." She mumbled under her breath.
The vamps probably thought they could handle any human, Vatican, or any other threat that came to the party.
Ruth had filled the gun to capacity with silver bullets, but taking the vamps natural abilities against her own at this moment, she figured she'd only get about two good shots. Or at least one usable shot while she still had surprise on her side.
Pressing the gun against her thigh, she snaked her hand up to her chest and waited for the time to shoot.
The nun didn't feel the nausea from nervousness, nor did she gain an excitement from stress of this level.
Her mind was clear and her goal was mere moments from being accomplished.
The only distracting thoughts were of Leon.
Would he be ok? Did he know how to escape when she fired the shot?
Ruth narrowed her eyes and willed the thoughts away.
She'd been around Able too long, and his stupid was rubbing off on her.
Ruth pressed the gun against her chest at the junction between her tiny breasts.
Her heart was pacing at a normal speed, and her adrenaline was only slightly raised.
The vamps would never know what happened until Plum was bleeding from a scorching chest wound.
The stoic nun swallowed.
She'd have her opening any moment now; the news of war was not new, but the declaration of a massacre had blind sighted the partygoers.
And what more, was that they were being asked to finance the Marquis of Hungary's conquest.
Everyone in the lavish mansion was at a loss; they only expected a party.
Ruth narrowed her gaze, slowly pulled her arm out, and aimed the gun at the still ranting vampire on the top step.
The purple-clad leech opened his arms in a dramatic gesture when Ruth pulled her finger against the trigger.
BANG
The sound did not come from the barrel of the nun's silver gun.
Instead Ruth's body crashed to the floor as something taller and heavier threw its weight against her.
Ruth cursed under her breath and pushed herself onto her knees, only to have her back collide with something hard.
"What's wrong with you?" she whispered harshly.
She turned and saw something extremely unexpected.
Behind her, a man hovered over Ruth; a confused expression on his face was quickly replaced by one of embarrassment and shame.
"I am SO sorry!"
Ruth wanted to curse at this man, to yell at him for his stupidity, and curse at his mother in ways that would make a sailor blush.
Her mind, however, was at a loss as she simply stared at the man who made no move to end his hovering over her.
"Father Nightroad?"
The man blinked, and then blinked a couple of more times before his face broke into a silly smile.
"I think you've mistaken me for someone else, little servant boy."
'But….how?'
As she stared at the man, Ruth was assured to herself that she couldn't be mistaken, but….something about this man was off.
How could he…
"You're not the Father."
The man chuckled, and Ruth blushed at the stupidity of her revelation.
"I don't believe I am."
He leaned onto his knees and held his hand out to Ruth.
"Hello little Servant Boy! My name is Cain."
Hey guys!
I'm super sorry about the long update, and how the chapter seems really slow!
I've been busy with some unexpected life circumstances that came up last year, but now that I've powered through, I should be able to post and update more often.
Also there were some really good predictions as to where this story is headed, and a good review about where some want the story to go.
As for reviews, I'd like to thank BlueWings900 for sticking with me this far, and SummoningShadows18 for the nice review as well.
To animefreak653, I hope this chapter gave you a little more AX fun. :)
Thanks to all who read and I hope you guys have as much fun reading this chapter as I had writing it.
Till next time,
Shadow.