A/N: ACK! I'm sorry I didn't update in like two months! I had a REALLY bad case of writer's block for a while and I had to take a break from TB. You ask: "What did I do during this break?" I read The Odyssey by Homer, watched Seirei no Moribito/ Moribito: Guardian of the Sprit, the Black Butler manga by Yana Toboso and the fist six episodes of the subbed Kuroshitsuji Anime, and I went to... MEGA CON! Now that I'm back, I'm also working on a (even though Jedi Skysinger and I think this version of her is a BEEEP) Manga Caterina x Tres FF as well that takes place after the Lady Saint Arc. Well here it is: CH VIII!

Chapter VIII Part I: Death on the Thames

Give them all breath,
These clamourous harbingers of blood and death.

- William Shakespeare, Macbeth Act V, Scene VI

A decision had to be made.

Not only was the Count of Memphis in danger, the world was on the brink of war at the hands of human terrorists.

More importantly the star that bound him to this world was threatening to go out. Again.

Her life had been threatened the few times before. The first time was when the mad Marquis of Hungaria had tried to take her life because she held a faux deactivation code for his late wife's "legacy," the Star of Sorrow and it took every ounce of his being not to activate the Crusnik in him to 80% capacity. The second time the traitorous Baron of Luxor, Radu Barvon, an Infrit, threatened her than attempted to murder her with the Inquisitorial tank, the Goliath, while she attempted to protect Ion's unconscious, battered and bloodied body. That time Abel went insane and used the Crusnik to full capacity and destroyed, not only Radu, but the tank and the two five star Inquisitorial battle airships; the Raquel and the Raphael. However, that was the first time Esther saw the Crusnik and she nearly fainted from the horrifying sight. He saved her many other times, once from the Earl of Memphis when he was forced into bloodthrist and from that Auto-Jäger in the Ghetto, but now he feared that he would not make it to her this time.

The silver haired priest couldn't have it end that way. He wouldn't fail her as he failed so many others, not only Noélle, but also Lilith.

There were only two options Abel Nightroad could take: either the he had to stay and wait for the Queen to arrive at Parliament and warn her there, or run off to the Palace and warn her ahead of time. He was not indecisive, except over what treats to indulge in, but the weight of the decision held him in his place. He knew they were coming to Parliament and he was already here. But where would she arrive and where would they try to take her life? That question alone decided for him.

"To the palace," he murmured as he sped towards his love.

The Queen of Albion readied herself, not only for Parliament, but for the upcoming attempt on her life, if the mysterious Sybil was correct in her prediction. Esther trusted her word and it was her word that revealed to her that Abel was still alive.

As she steeled herself, Sarah garbed her in a rich black velvet dress with multiple strings of pristine pearls. Esther had to admit her new wardrobe was indeed spectacular, but she preferred simpler garments from her humble life as a nun. However, this was a session of Parliament, so she had to look her best. The reason she had opted for black instead of the usual white was to show that she mourned the wounded and the dead from the incident at St. Paul's Cathedral, and it would be at Parliament where she would discourse with the House of Lords and the House of Commons regarding the ones responsible for all this bloodshed, the Knights of Tudor.

The black dress was a low cut, princess style, but not too low, with a corset-like bodice, narrowing into a deep v-shape at her hips with white and gold vertical lines and golden beads in gleaming rows. The sleeves puffed out at the shoulder and revealed white silk in the diamond-shaped openings, then narrowed to the black sleeves that covered her slim wrists and were buttoned up with golden pearls, while the rest draped to her knees. The skirt was an Elizabethan style hoop skirt lined with white and gold to match the bodice. The collar of the dress was made of white lace which opened to reveal her slim neck and her collarbone and flared out around the shoulders. Suddenly, while her handmaidens encased her in her sartorial splendor, Esther was reminded of something. Did not the Sybil state that the "Bloody Rose" had sided with him? The Enemy of the World, the one who had caused her two years worth of pain and heartache.

"Bloody Rose," she murmured as she pondered, then it struck her. The symbol for the Tudor Knights was a white and red rose, one that looked like a white rose covered in blood with a sword slicing through it. Of course! The Contra Mundi was too clever to kill her outright with his legions of Rosenkreuz agents and expose himself to the world. Rather, he would use those who naturally hated her to carry out his plan of killing her. However, the Albian Queen wouldn't give him the satisfaction that he desired: her death. She would fight the fate he placed upon her and she would make it out alive because she knew now that Abel was out there somewhere and he needed her.

When Sarah had finished checking the last crease, Naomi draped an Elizabethan collar over Esther's neck, complete with a white silk ruff that caressed her jawline. The collar was covered in more pearls and sported a ruby pendant that matched her hair. After that, Naomi completed the ensemble by adding the royal ring to Esther's right hand and draping her sliver rosary onto her shoulders. To her left was Mary, garbed in her ceremonial uniform holding a crown in her strong hands and to her right was Virgil. Covering his usual suit were the white and black robes of a Lord of Parliament, replete with a chain of gold.

"I do hope that you know what you're doing, Esther," Mary said somberly.

"So do I, Mary... so do I…" Esther sighed "I only hope no one will have to die, should anything happen to me. If the Knights try anything…" Esther bit her lip as she remembered what happened to the Old Bailey and those five victims, all of which were priests.

"Esther, we won't let that happen. You are too important to us and to your people. If you die, it will not only be a personal loss to us, but the whole nation will mourn you as well. You've changed everything within Albion for its own good. Those who oppose you wanted Albion to stay as it was, that is why they have rebelled against you. You are the Star of Hope. You can bring about the era of peace that Queen Bridget prophesied. We are on your side," Vigil stated.

Esther couldn't help but be reminded of Abel's words, of his first promise to her. She smiled at the memory and she tightly clutched the ebony feather in her hand.

She turned to a red robed Vanessa who stood guard just outside the doorway with Erica, another handmaiden, "Are the necessary precautions in place?"

Vanessa smirked, "Wouldn't have it any other way."

Mary stepped forward and placed the crown upon Esther's head as Naomi weaved a few last strings of pearls into her ruby tresses.

"Let's go finish this," Esther declared, a gleam in her eye more in keeping an AX agent or the Partisan warrior than with a monarch.

If ever in my near-immortal life did I ever believe in hell, then I was in it now.

This wasn't the first time.

About three years ago, I nearly drank the blood of the one I held close to my heart. That accursed Puppet Master shot me with a bullet that caused me to burn with the thirst. Never before in my life until that moment did I ever crave the blood of another Terran. Even when that vile monster in Terran skin offered her a chance to kill me with a silver sword, she didn't take it. That amazing woman offered up her blood to me, saying I could have her blood, it wasn't my fault and that I shouldn't cry. I still remember the fierce scent of her blood when my lips nearly touched her beautiful, white throat. Before I could commit the sin the Terrans called "theft of blood," I stabbed myself with the sword and nearly took my own life to save hers. Fortunately, Father Nightroad saved Esther and myself and even gave me a vial full of Aqua Vitae to sate the thirst.

However much that memory forever burned in my mind like that terrible thirst, this hell was a thousand times worse.

I was poisoned with silver, the very substance that could kill a Methuselah if hit in a vital region or cause us to become as weak as a Terran. Not only was I poisoned by the foul substance, I was bound by it, making my escape from these Terran filth impossible. They didn't poison me enough to kill me, only enough to keep me weak, keep me like them. "We need this beast alive," they had agreed among themselves. If their insults were not enough, their casual conversation about killing my closest friend kept my rage, however impotent it was, burning in my chest. I was helpless to save her, helpless to save myself, though the former mattered more than the latter. I burned with my hatred of them as they planned to use me to start a war with my Empress and plunge the world into Armageddon again. If only there were some way to release my fury against them, some way to wipe them out of existence as they planned to do with my people.

The one who looked down upon me as if I were mere trash was the devil in this personal hell. Lord Chancellor Sutler, Lord Speaker or Duke of Cornwall, as his subordinates called him. His Albian titles reminded me of the traitorous Süleyman, the late Duke of Tigris, the Vice Prime Minister and Assistant Privy Council Director. Even though he hated the Empress and tried to have her killed, as well as my Lady Grandmother and myself, he couldn't bring himself to end Her Majesty. Even in death, Süleyman was still the most noble Boyar of the Tzara Methuselute.(1) However, this scum and the rest of his accomplices were nothing more than treasonous dogs, who wanted power for themselves and would use any means necessary to get it and they would not hesitate to kill, even their liege.

"Is everything set?" the bronze-eyed man asked those named Mr. Heyer and Mr. Ethridge.

"Yes, my Lord," Mr. Ethridge proclaimed. "Though we were set back a bit, due to Mr. Dascomb's grievous wound by that vampire…" He shot me a murderous glance, but I didn't even flinch, "and our missing Lord Chief of Justice, Mr. Creedy."

Sutler raised an eyebrow. "He's not back yet? I thought for sure he would love to see the flaming demise of the witch."

"Mr. Creedy didn't know what he was up against when he fought Father Nightroad and no doubt he has met his match," I snarked, smirking.

"S'UT YUR GOB, YA FILT'Y LEECH!" Mr. Heyer stormed up to me and kicked me in the face with the heel of his shoe.

"HOLD IT, MR. HEYER!"

Another face emerged in the catacombs beneath Parliament where I was currently being held captive. What was this traitor's name again? Mr. Stone? He grabbed Mr. Heyer by the arm, holding him back.

"Remember what the Lord Speaker said?" he scolded Heyer, "We MUST NOT, under any circumstances, leave behind ANY form of evidence! If our DNA appears on this vampire, we have signed our own death sentences! So think about what you're doing before you bloody act!"

"He is right, Mr. Heyer," Sutler replied. "Right now, it is absolutely necessary to control your temper. We need to make it look like the vampire killed Her Majesty, not us. Understand?"

"Yes, Milord," Heyer apologized, then shot me another murderous glare and growled, "Ef any ot'er bloomin' word escapes yer fool mout', leech, once yu've been sentenced to deat', rest assured, Ie'll be th' one to put a staeke in yur bloody 'eart."

"Ooh, we're so scared." I returned sarcastically. "The Kingdom of Albion, the Vatican and, more importantly Her Majesty the Empress Augusta, won't be so fooled as to believe we, the Earl of Memphis, caused this crime. They will know you shameless curs have tried to kill the Albian Queen."

"'Tried'?" It was Mr. Ethridge's turn to raise his eyebrow. "Oh, little leech, this plan has been crafted for over ten months. Her Majesty will die and we will purify this country once she is gone."

"If the Queen is your target, then why did you destroy St. Paul's?" I questioned. "They were innocent bystanders! They were not involved in your vendetta against the Queen!"

"To answer your questions, little vampire," Sutler leered, "we destroyed the cathedral because not only is the Queen our enemy, but the Vatican. We destroyed the St. Paul's was so that the Vatican would call the Inquisition to our land and place Albion under martial law. Once that's happened, we will show the people the true hypocritical nature of the Catholic Church and they will rise up against them with us. As for 'bystanders,' there are no bystanders in war, the people are either with us or against us!"

"We want to awaken these people that peace with enemies isn't the way to exist. You vampires are the number one enemy of all humans and the Vatican wants to control all humans as well. You vampires drink our blood whenever the urge hits you and you wish to conquer all of us humans and assimilate us into your Empire to become your livestock. The Vatican uses its Inquisition as a tool of conquering all other nations that disagree with its views and it kills all those that won't submit. Before that fate befalls our country, we must fight all enemies, even if that enemy believes they are God's representatives on Earth!"

"If you have displeasure with how Her Majesty rules over Albion, why didn't you all speak to her? Share with her your wisdom! My lost Tovarås made that very mistake, and it cost him his life! You think murdering your liege is anything but treason?"

"It is not treason to stop witchcraft," Sutler spat back "It is not 'treason' to save the Albian people from a queen who allies herself with her country's own enemies!"

"If the Vatican and the Empire are your enemies, how will it help your cause to kill Esther?" I protested, realizing a second too late the error I had made.

"'Est'er?'" Mr. Heyer questioned. "W'y do yer call 'Er Majesty so informally?"

"There!" declared Sutler, a maniacal gleam in his eyes. "That is what I am talking about! Did you do hear, gentlemen? This leech thinks himself worthy to call the Queen by name, a practice she no doubt encourages! This is why we must be committed to stopping our enemies at all costs before they can destroy this country from without and from within! Come, gentlemen, come! We must complete our plans immediately! Mr. Ethridge, is the device ready?"

"Yes, milord," Ethridge replied. "The bomb won't go off until the Queen arrives to the Gates. It's programmed to respond to her DNA. When she arrives, it will explode and then it's... Auf Wiedersehen to the witch."

"Good. I'll have to give a personal Danke Schöen to Mein Herr once I'm Lord--"

"Mein Herr?" My mind raced. They couldn't possibly mean... "You don't mean-"

"S'UT IT, LEECH!" Mr. Heyer screamed.

"It's none of your concern," Mr. Stone declared.

"IT IS OUR CONCERN!" I shrieked "You who call yourselves 'pure humans' associate with the Enemy of the World?"

"'The ends justify the means,(2)" Mr. Ethridge stated flatly. "Even if we must sell our souls to a devil, we will end the witch. He wants her dead, so do we."

Blood hath been shed ere now, I'th' olden time... It will have blood, then say; blood will have blood. (3)

"Damn, damn, damn, DAMN!"

"Idiot!" Abel cursed to himself. He was just en route to the Palace when the royal motorcade passed him going the other way. The throngs of people had already begun to gather along the route, multiplying exponentially as the minutes grew shorter. Now he could not turn through the mass of Terrans and Methuselah that blocked his path. As the line of cars sped away, Abel leapt over the crowd, his robes flaring like wings, to run along road behind Her Majesty's security forces in their troop trucks.

It was an early morning, a chilly morning as last night's snow flurries decorated the ground with a glittering white sheet and still Esther's subjects turned out by the hundreds to greet her. "Queen Esther, the Star of Hope, the Lady Saint of István," they chanted. Abel would have appreciated their loyalty except for the fact that they were in his way! Not only throngs of well wishers, but every bloody media outlet on the island was there covering the event. Why hadn't he stayed here?

The motorcade arrived. Abel tried pushing his way through, but the guardsmen swarmed from their troop trunk and surrounded him. He leapt over them as well, now landing in the crowd as it surged forward against the barricades. He knocked over a number of people, but didn't spare a moment to apologize. There! She was climbing out of the lead car, another quick jump and he would be at her side…

Then it happened. Rolling flames like the fires of Hell itself burst from the doors of Parliament. The street rocked and people screamed as they were pelted with debris. As the smoke began to clear, people began screaming.

There... Her charred form lying the street, smoldering still... a fallen star come to Earth...

"The Queen is dead!" a girl screamed right next to him, but sound seemed very far away... everything seemed very cold and distant and not real... because if it were real... he felt his heart begin to splinter into a thousand shards, his mind come undone from its moorings... he was adrift in a river of denial, unable to move, unable to process anything. It could not be real... there had to be another explanation... there had to be!

The epiphany hit him.

Esther was dead.

The star that bound him to this world was no more, like a pulsar, she became like ash after the supernova.

There was nothing he could do. No mechanics of Lost Technologies could save her as it saved him, no healing powers of the Saints could bring her back from this state.

His decision of leaving her for two years, letting her think him dead, thinking it would save her, had brought her into the arms of Death.

"It's too late... it was all... too late. For both you and me. I... I killed you... as I killed…" his voice cracked, "I had failed you... my love… as I had failed her…"

Tears of blood then streaked his face as he cried out, his voice holding every sorrow and every pain in the world.

He cried those pitiful tears, blood, salt and water mingled together in his eyes and fell down his cheeks, leaving crimson streaks down his face. One tear landed upon his white gloved fist.

Sorrow then turned to anger and that anger then turned to something he could not contain...

Rage.

Revenges burn in them, for their dear causes/ Would do bleeding and the grim alarm/ Excite the mortified man... (4)

The Crusnik nanomachines in him demanded freedom... demanded full control... demanded to destroy...

And for the second time in his life... he was willing to accommodate their demand.

Then it hit him. The smell... but it wasn't the smell of blood... but the smell of burnt subcutaneous circulatory fluid...

"What?" How could that smell be here? Surely he should have smelled burnt blood and flesh, not this scent.

He looked over at her fallen body, and sure enough, the scent was emanating from it.

Then he realized, this wasn't a dead human, it was a broken machine.

Esther was still alive!

Next Chapter: Before Parliament
Avert not thine eyes

A/N: HA-HA HA-HA HA! Made ya look, didn't I? I thought so. (Giggles evilly) Sorry I left you all in suspense, but that is one of the things a good author does. Keep the reader guessing. We know now that Esther-chan is still alive, but here's the next questions: where is she? Are the Knights going to take over? What will happen to Ion? All these questions will be answered in my next update. ^^

(1) Indirect quote from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. The original quote was by Marc Antony who described Brutus, the man who murdered Caesar, as "the most noble Roman of them all." I thought this quote would be perfect to describe Süleyman.

(2) Quoted from The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli. He based this book as a guide to gaining and maintaining political power by justifying the judicious use of ruthlessness and deceit. One of those he studied was the Cardinal I mentioned in Chapter V. This is a BIG hint to those who are fans of a certain beautiful poison.

(3) Quoted from Macbeth, Act III, Scene IV by William Shakespeare.

(4) Quoted from Macbeth, Act V, Scene II by William Shakespeare.

Anyway the dress Esther is wearing to Parliament was inspired from this artwork by this beautiful baroque opera artist THORES Shimbamoto: link

Read and review! I will greatly appreciate that. And many thanks to SayanXDii and Nikki/koroluna33 from Mega Con for the recent one. :)

Mysteriously Yours,

ObsidianEmpress

(Note: This update was on the fifth day of the week (Thursday), the fifth day of the month and on the fifth month (May) :) ) V for Vendetta