Disclaimer - I do not own DGM

Chapter Two - Intrigue

As the Noah of Praise traveled the familiar path back to the mansion of Lord Millennium he couldn't seem to keep his thoughts from wandering back to the two newcomers who had attended the meeting. He was still slightly annoyed over the fact that Cross had broken his word but Nicholas didn't really think that the two Exorcists posed much of a threat.

And that had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they were women. Having come close to death at the hands of a girl on numerous occasions during his first days as a Noah, the Musician had developed a healthy respect for women and the power that they had.

No, he didn't view them as a threat because the Exorcists really were a pathetic group. They didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell in the war against the Millennium Earl and yet they continued to fight.

This train of thought was derailed as Nicholas felt something thump against the side of his top hat. His gaze shifted up and he saw that Timcanpy was fluttering around, seemingly agitated over something.

Nicholas quickly surveyed his surroundings and was soon all to aware of what Timcanpy was upset about. Standing at the gate of the manor, looking haughty as usual, was Serafina. The statuesque Italian woman, who had black hair and cold green eyes in her white form, ironically enough held the memory of Wrath. And she was one of Nicholas' least favorite members of the Clan of Noah.

And the one most likely to cause him trouble.

"And where have you been this fine evening my dear Nicholas?" Serafina asked, her gaze focused on the Musician as he walked toward her.

Nicholas was slightly concerned over the fact that he had been caught returning to the mansion but of course he would never show this fact. The Noah of Praise was confident in all things and it was this façade that Nicholas reverted to as he walked up to his 'sister'.

Reaching out he took her hand and kissed the back of it, although the act was wholly without emotion. His eyes revealed nothing as he reverted to his Noah form and gazed at Serafina without flinching. For some reason that he would never understand Nicholas was better able to hide his feelings while in his 'black' form.

But perhaps that had more to do with the fact that he had less emotion while in this form.

"I merely went for a walk Sera," Nicholas replied, using the nickname that the others used when referring to the Noah of Wrath. He was well aware of the fact that she didn't like for him to use it since in her eyes he was beneath her.

Which was of course the main reason why he chose to do so.

Serafina looked less than convinced by the Musician's words but of course she had no way to prove otherwise. She had never trusted this newest member of their family despite Lord Millennium's belief that he would be vital to their cause.

This boy who held the memory of Praise, a memory that had not been reincarnated since the first generation of Noah.

In the Earl's eyes the fact that Nicholas held this long lost memory made him special but Serafina was convinced that Nicholas was beneath them. Less a member of the Clan of Noah than the others.

And nothing was going to change her mind about that.

"If you'll excuse me Sera," Nicholas said, bowing to the tall woman with the cold eyes. "I'm exhausted and would like to rest a little before we dine with Lord Millennium."

"Of course," Serafina said, inclining her head to the Musician even as she cursed his very existence.

Walking past Serafina, Nicholas continued on toward the manor. He would have preferred to have entered the house unseen but it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Luck was on his side since Lord Millennium favored him due to his ability to control the Ark.

Should the Noah of Wrath say anything to Lord Millennium the chances were good that he would merely shrug it off. And should he question him, Nicholas was certain that the Earl would take his word for what he had been doing.

"It's not a problem," the young man thought to himself as he entered the manor and made his way, not to the suite that belonged to him, but instead to the Ark.

As one of only three people who could control the Ark, Nicholas knew that the chances of someone else coming were exceedingly slim. And he had another measure in place to make certain that he wasn't disturbed.

"Tim."

At the word from his master Timcanpy left his perch on the Musician's top hat and flew into the air, opening the portal to the room that was known only to the two of them.

The secret room of the Fourteenth.

Timcanpy was the key to the room that he had added to Noah's Ark without the knowledge of any of his 'family' and thus the only one who could gain entrance was the Musician himself. The room was rather plain, completely lacking color. A sofa was positioned along one wall, white, and a piano stood in the center, also white.

Except for the keys.

Unlike the keys of a normal piano the keys on this one were reversed, black where they should be white and white where they should be black.

This was the true Heart of the Ark although Lord Millennium was unaware of it's existence. Not that it would have done him any good. As the true master of the Ark, Nicholas was the only one who could make the Heart respond.

And he could also use it to make certain that the Ark would never move again.

Walking across the room Nicholas sat down upon the sofa while Timcanpy flew to perch on the piano, where sheet music was meant to be kept. Nicholas had no need for such things so this position was reserved for Timcanpy.

It was the golden golem's favorite perch.

Nicholas removed his top hat and tossed it beside him on the sofa, once again running a hand through his hair. It was charcoal gray now, due to the fact that he was in his 'black' persona, and was only a shade darker than his natural eye color.

Nicholas detested the look.

As he sat on the sofa the Noah of Praise thought about the evening meal that still loomed ahead of him. He would just as soon skip the whole affair however Lord Millennium insisted that they all gather as a family whenever possible.

Nicholas would just as soon retreat to the parlor where he could play the piano but he wouldn't dream of openly defying the Earl's orders. Finding a way to avoid them without getting caught he would do but point blank refusal was suicidal.

Even for one of the Earl's chosen children.

Not that such a thing would even matter were it to be discovered that he was meeting with an Exorcist. That fact alone would be enough to earn him a death sentence despite the fact that Nicholas was merely using the man.

"What have I gotten myself into Tim?" the Musician asked idly, his golden eyed gaze shifting to the golem that was seated on the piano.

In response to this question Tim launched himself into the air and came to hover in front of the Musician. Opening his mouth impossibly wide Timcanpy displayed a picture of the three Exorcists that he had met with earlier.

And then, after only a few seconds, the clip focused on the young woman named Lyssa.

Reaching out Nicholas snatched Timcanpy from the air, forcing the little golem to cease with the display. "When did you even record that?" Nicholas demanded as he held Timcanpy, making every effort to keep the little creature from biting him. Timcanpy didn't like it when his master grabbed him in such a manner and Nicholas had learned the hard way to guard against the little creature's razor sharp teeth.

He had thought that Timcanpy had been hiding in the inside pocket of his coat however the little golem had somehow managed to record footage of the meeting.

Footage that he could now use against his master.

"I didn't even know you were capable of blackmail," Nicholas muttered to himself as he released his grip on the little creature. "You aren't going to show that to anyone are you Tim?"

A few seconds passed before Timcanpy shook his body, which Nicholas took to mean the same thing as a person shaking their head.

"That's a relief," the Noah thought to himself as he slumped over on the sofa. It would be very bad should that little clip fall into the hands of one of his 'siblings'. "I somehow doubt they'd believe that I'm just using the Exorcist."

At that moment an image of Lyssa flashed into Nicholas' mind, completely unbidden. The Noah still couldn't put his finger on exactly what was different about this woman; what was it that made her so intriguing to him?

He'd been approached by many women, mostly at the parties that Lord Millennium hosted on occasion, but none of them had made an impression on him.

And they had all been throwing themselves at him in an attempt to get his attention.

Maybe that was what caught Nicholas off guard about the young woman who was Cross' apprentice; except for that one moment when their eyes had met she had completely ignored his existence.

That was something that the young Noah wasn't used to.

"I wonder how exactly she ended up as Marian's apprentice," Nicholas thought to himself idly. "Perhaps a punishment or something."

Pulling a gold pocket watch from his vest pocket, Nicholas realized that this thought was going to have to be put on hold. He had less than half an hour to return to his room and prepare for dinner.

And there would be hell to pay should he arrive late.

Getting to his feet Nicholas stretched, grabbed his abandoned top hat, and then turned his attention to Timcanpy once more. "Come along Tim. You can hide out in my room while I have dinner with the family."

The irritation in Nicholas' voice was audible as he walked over to the white piano. Reaching out he tapped a familiar key with the tip of his gloved index finger. A clear note rang out, followed by the sound of a door opening.

With a sigh Nicholas left the sanctity of the room that was solely his and left Noah's Ark. Returning to the gloomy manor that he had grown accustomed to the young man made his way down the long corridor, traveling in the direction of his room.

And as he made his way along the barely lit corridor Nicholas hoped desperately that no one would bother him.

Which of course made it a certainty that someone would.

"Nicky-pon!"

The Noah of Praise visibly cringed as he heard this obnoxious nickname shouted out for all the world to hear. He turned toward the sound and barely had time to catch the small body that was sailing toward him.

"Road," he said as he placed the girl on her own two feet and stepped away before she pounced on him again. "I've asked you not to call me by that name."

"I know," Road said, golden eyes focused on her favorite 'sibling'.

"And yet you persist."

"Yep," Road said, offering Nicholas a broad smile. "So Sera told me that you went out today without telling anyone where you went. What were you doing Nicky-pon?"

Nicholas sighed; he really should have known that Serafina was incapable of keeping her mouth shut. He should be grateful that she had taken her problems to Road and not the Earl but as it was he was just annoyed. "I didn't feel the need to bother any of you with the trifling information that I was going for a walk."

"A walk…" Road repeated, eying the Musician. For a moment Nicholas thought that she might see through the deception but then the young girl rolled her eyes. "That sounds even more boring than playing the piano."

"It was," Nicholas said, nodding his head. "Mind numbingly boring."

Road laughed as she grasped Nicholas by the arm. "So are you going to get ready for dinner?"

"I was," Nicholas said, sighing and allowing her to hold onto his arm in a vice-grip. "Until you accosted me. Can't you find someone else to annoy?"

"I could," Road said, reaching a hand up toward the golem that was flying along behind Nicholas.

"Freeze!" Nicholas snapped. This was one of the few things that caused the Musician to lose his temper with his 'sister'. He knew her penchant for torturing things and refused to allow Timcanpy to fall victim to her sadistic whims.

"Fine," Road said in a whiny voice. "I'll leave it alone… but only if you promise that you'll play with me after dinner."

Nicholas wasn't really happy about the demand but knew that there wasn't really any choice in the matter. He would have to meet her demands or risk her doing something to Timcanpy. Because, while he could protect the golem now, Road would find a way to get to him should the Musician chose to anger her.

"Very well," Nicholas said, not really making any effort to keep the note of displeasure out of his voice. "I'll play one of your silly games with you but only if you promise not to lay a finger on Tim."

"I promise," Road said, now completely happy. She wasn't really interested in the golem anyway but knew that threatening it was the quickest way to gain compliance from her brother.

Blowing out a frustrated voice Nicholas continued on his way down the corridor toward his room. This day had been filled with one annoyance after another; first Cross had brought company to a meeting that was supposed to be private, then Serafina questioned him upon his return, and now Road was being a complete pain.

"Cheer up Nicky-pet," Road chimed up, skipping along beside her brother and humming a creepy little song under her breath. "Lord Millennium's plan will soon be put into motion and then the incessant boredom will finally come to an end. The humans will meet the fate that they deserve."

For some reason that didn't make him feel any better.

As always when Road spoke of the eventual destruction of the human race Nicholas' thoughts flashed to his brother. He hadn't seen Mana since he had joined the ranks of the Clan of Noah but that didn't mean that he didn't still care for his brother.

He could see Mana's face plainly in his mind's eye however, after a couple of minutes, it was replaced by the face of an angel with chestnut hair.

That Exorcist girl.

Lyssa.

Nicholas shook his head, in an effort to rid himself of these completely unwanted thoughts. He couldn't deny that there was something intriguing about the girl but he would have to stop thinking about it.

Because even if he did want a relationship with anyone, which he didn't, they were from completely opposite worlds. He was a Noah and she an Exorcist.

"That's a match made in hell if I ever heard of one," the young man thought to himself as he extricated himself from Road's grip and opened the door of his suite.

Road ran off giggling, leaving Nicholas alone with his thoughts. Which he was grateful for because they were confusing, to say the very least.

A/N- here's chapter two and it was Nicky-centric. '14th gives death glare to author' Hope that you enjoyed, please be kind enough to leave a review and tell me what you thought.