Chapter 8: The Stars in my Eyes

Walking down the hall towards my room, towards the last place that I had seen Father Nightroad, I almost had to hold my breath. Afraid that I had been away for too long, and that Abel had woken up only to find that I was absent. I feared the possibility that he might have been worried about me. Yet with Terina on my left side and Elma on my right, I somehow managed to keep my calm composure within check. All I truly wanted was to be with the one person that I felt I really knew.

As we got closer to where my room should be, Terina said, "It has to be around here, right?" She didn't look at me when she spoke.

I thought back to the moment I had first entered the room. "Uh, to be honest...I'm not really sure. It's all kind of becoming just one giant blur." A nervous laugh escaped me.

There was a quiet sigh, then Terina muttered under her breath. "It seems that you're just like him."

"I'm sorry?" I had barely understood the words that she had said.

Her response was fast, and to me she sounded slightly annoyed. "Forget it."

My gaze drifted down to the ground at my feet, the speed that I walked remaining even. The remaining bit of the short journey was made in silence, and turning one final corner I saw the very person that I was hoping to find.

Abel stood in the center of a long stretch of hallway. He had his back turned to us, but as soon as I saw him, I could immediately tell that he was searching for something. Or someone.

Most likely me.

I could hear him sigh and then sounding anxious, pleaded. "Dear Lord, where has she gone off to? She's my responsibility, and if she gets lost or hurt...then I won't be able to forgive myself. So Lord, hear my one request. Help me find her, please?"

A gust of air whooshed out from between my slightly parted lips. "He's worried about me..." The words had hung in the air for a moment, when I suddenly felt a pair of hands gently pushing me forward. Looking behind me, I saw that it was Elma. A broad smile stretching across her young face. "Elma, what are you doing?"

He held up a finger to her lips. "Just go on. The sooner you do that, the sooner that he'll be back to normal." With a slight wink, she gave me a single push and turning around, she ran after Terina who was already several yards away. Waving her right hand above her head as she walked.

Circling back around, I watched Abel continue to stand and look defeated. So with a deep breath, I began running towards him. "Father Nightroad!"

He spun on his heel at the sound of my voice. Relief washing over his face when he saw that I was okay. I could hear him saying, "Thank you!" With a smile, he took long strides down the hall. "Jonah! Thank goodness! Where have you been? I woke up and you were just gone."

When I was an arm's length away from him, he held out his hands and placed them on my shoulders. I could see he was making sure that I hadn't gotten hurt. "Don't worry, Father. I'm okay." I smiled, hoping to further ease his needlessly burdened heart.

Rolling his shoulders, Abel whispered. "I'm sorry I fell asleep. But, Jonah, where did you go?"

"It's okay, Father. You needed sleep. After all, you fought hard last night." His winter blue eyes thawed, and he casually draped one of his long arms around my shoulder, escorting me back to my room. "But when you fell asleep, I made the decision to go off and explore by myself."

Abel laughed. "And? How did that go?"

"Father Nightroad, are you by any chance being facetious?" I joked as the door to my room finally came into view.

"Oh, Heavens no."

"Well then. It went about as well as it could have." I watched as Abel's hand gripped the handle and twisted it open. "I got lost." We entered the room, everything was as it had been the first time I had seen it. I heard the door shut behind us, and walking over to the bed I laid down on my back. Looking up at the ceiling, I whispered. "Father?"

"Hm?"

I looked in the direction that his voice had come from, and saw that he was leaning against the wall next to the door. His kind eyes were on me, and suddenly feeling self-conscious I sat up on the bed. "You're not mad at me are you, Father?"

Standing up straight, he strode over to the side of the bed and sat down. He was no longer looking at me. "No, I'm not mad. I was just scared." I sat in silence, watching as he clasped his hands together. A few moments passed, and feeling the silence start to get to me, I moved to sit next to Abel.

Seeing the stark contrasts between him and myself were apparent. His feet touched the floor easily, while mine dangled a few inches from the ground. "I'm sorry, Father Nightroad."

He exhaled slowly, his words coming easily. "It's fine, Jonah. But next time, please let me know where you're going." Out of the corner of his eye I saw him look at me, a faint smile etched onto his face. "Okay?"

"I promise." As I spoke, I leaned over and gently rested my head on his shoulder. I heard Abel chuckle quietly and felt him gently wrap an arm around me again. An action that seemed to be becoming second nature between the both of us. "Father, thank you. For everything that you've done for me. I know that I've already thanked you, but believe me, I really mean it. I feel like I can trust you."

The arm around me squeezed gently. Nothing was said, but I could tell, simply from his actions, that my words of gratitude had touched him. And that was enough for me.

We sat in silence, with my head on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around me for a few more moments. But just as my eyes were beginning to feel heavy, I felt the weight from where Abel had been sitting lift. Opening my eyes to see where he had gone, I saw him standing in front of me. His hand extended out for me to take. The light in the room had dulled and I realized that the sun was once again setting on the world of the living. "I know that you're tired and that it's a lot to ask. But do you remember the courtyard you saw earlier?"

I nod my head yes.

He smiled. "Do you also remember how I said that you'd have to wait until the sun set to see the true beauty of it?"

Again I nodded, and reaching out took hold of his expecting hand.

As Abel effortlessly hoisted me back to my feet, he continued to beam excitedly. Seeming to be more aware and full of energy now that his mind had been cleared of its momentary worry. "Jonah, you're going to love it! There's a fountain and throughout the garden that you saw there are lights. It's truly one of the best perks of working with the A.X." I quietly followed as he led the way back out into the hallway, the daylight having nearly vanished from its walls.

Within the dark, I found that I was having difficulty seeing and grasping out in the darkness, I grabbed hold of the back of Abel's overcoat. Holding onto it gently, I could feel my face becoming flushed. "Sorry, Father, I can't see in the dark all that well."

We stopped moving, and I felt Abel turn back to look at me. "I guess I forgot that I've got slightly better night vision than most others do." He chuckled, adding onto his statement. "Despite the fact that I'm practically blind in every other aspect." With another chuckle, placed his hands on my shoulders and quietly whispered. "Just take my lead, okay?"

I nod and held onto his hands with my own. I felt like a small child. "Ready."

Father Abel then whispered, his voice directly in my ear. "Okay. We're going to take a step with our left foot." I nod my head in understanding, and together we simultaneously took our first step. "All right. Now our right foot." Again we both took a step in unison. Once we had found our rhythm, we continued taking steps in this manner until we eventually reached a door. When Abel spoke, I jumped a bit in surprise. "This should be it. Sorry, Jonah. Didn't mean to startle you."

Feeling my heart racing, I quietly whispered. "It's okay, Father. Where are we?"

"Do you see that door knob that's right in front of you?" I could, so I nod my head. "Good. Could you turn it open for me?"

"Sure." I took one of my hands from Abel's and reaching out, I grabbed hold of the faint outline of the door knob and twisted it. When I heard the lock click, I slowly began to pull the door open. The cool night air greeted me the more that I opened the door. Yet instead of becoming cold, the coolness was a welcomed change. Invigorated by the outside temperature, I started opening the door a little faster than I had been before.

But before the door could be opened all of the way, Abel whispered. "Actually. On second thought, here let me open the door." He guided me so that I was standing behind him again. "The view is just so enchanting and I want to see the look on your face as you take it in for the first time." He began humming softly to himself, and I heard the sound of the door knob gently run into the wall's surface. From over my shoulder, Abel spoke into my ear once more. "Now if you could close your eyes for me?"

I did as I was asked, and shut my eyes. "This had better be as great as you're making it out to be, Father Nightroad."

Sliding his hands over top my eyes, he chuckled. "Oh, it is. Trust me." I nod my head, noticing that Abel's hands smelled faintly of soap. "Okay, Jonah. We're going to take a step backwards this time. Starting with our right foot." Together we began to step backwards. "Just a few more should do it. Okay, left foot this time." We both took another single step backwards. "And right, left and last one...right."

The faint sound of running water drifted over to my ears, but other than that, there was silence. "Can I open my eyes yet, Father?"

"Not yet." I could feel him turning me around so that I would be facing him, my eyes remaining closed all the while. A few seconds went by before Abel spoke again. "All right...you can open them now."

At his command, I opened my eyes. Not seeing much at first but as I slowly became accustomed to the soft lighting, I saw that Father Nightroad had spoken the truth. Looking around I saw the same scenery that I had seen earlier in the day, only now, beneath the light cast by the twin moons up in the sky, the beauty of the landscape was unmistakable. Chrysanthemums of various colors were planted around a fountain, the source of the running water, were several yards away from where we stood. A few marble statues had been set in front of the walls that encompassed the majority of the courtyard. Turning around, I noticed that there were multiple lamps, which had been dispersed intermittently throughout the entire area. Then finally, set back in a corner, and below the fanning branches of a small palm tree, was a smooth stone bench.

As I stood and marvelled at all that stood before me, Abel quietly laughed. "What did I tell you? Simply breathtaking, isn't it?" He tilted his head and looked towards the stars as the twinkled above us, forever out of our reach, and inhaling the night air he sighed. Sounding content with the world around him. "On peaceful nights like this, I like to just come out here and take in as much tranquility as I can. And considering what happened last night..." I could feel him return his gaze back onto me, and glancing over at Abel, I watched as a sorrowful hue drained away from his eyes. Taking its place was an understanding tone. "We uprooted you from your life. So I can only imagine that you need the tranquility that is offered here for more than I do."

Finally finding my words, I said. "It's okay, Father. Really." It was my turn to look upon the stars, all of the emotions that I had felt since the start of my journey began to wash over me. "To be honest, Father Nightroad, right before you and Father Tres arrived, I had prayed for my life to become a bit more interesting. So please, don't think of it as though you've uprooted my life. Think of it as if you've helped to answer my prayers." Smiling at him sincerely, I lifted my arms into the air on either side of me. Quiet giggles floated from between my lips. "I've never felt more alive than I do right now!"

With a grin, Abel strolled over to the stone bench and eased himself down onto it. His lanky legs stretching out before him. Strands of silver-white hair dangled on the bench's smooth surface, the color of his hair iridescent within the light of the moons. The perfectly circular glasses that he wore, perched on the tip of his nose. "I'm glad to hear that you feel that way, Jonah. So tell me, what did you do today while I so carelessly fell asleep?" He laughed as he spoke.

Going over to where Abel was seated, I sat down beside him. My mind quickly recounting everything that had happened during the day. "Well...as you already know, I got lost. And while trying to find someone who would help me get back to my room, I ran into two interesting people." I chortled uneasily, going on to explain myself. "I literally ran into them..."

Next to me I heard the sound of him choking back laughter, then as he cleared his throat, he asked. "Did you remember to apologize?"

Feeling my face growing hot, I muttered. "Of course I did. I'm not a child, Father. Anyway, I ran into these two people. Terina and Elma Duval." I took a glimpse in Abel's direction out of the corner of my eye, trying to see how he'd react to the names that I had just said.

It was a moment before he responded, but nodding his head, he whispered. "Those two are indeed interesting. And you probably couldn't tell that they're sisters just from looking at them. But they really are good girls. Elma's as sweet as could be. Sincere. Well in a lot of ways, you two are very similar to one another. Terina, on the other hand..." His words trailed off, and lost in thought he laid his hands in his lap. "Terina's complicated. She's strong...physically...but emotionally she's faced her fair share of demons." He closed his eyes, and sighed. "They've both been through so much."

"What happened to them?" I thought back to my own current situation and when it hit me, I asked. "Was it the Order?"

Looking at me, he replied. "We actually don't know. It was about three years ago that they just showed up here at the Vatican. Originally, they're from the city of Byzantium which is the capital of the New Human Empire." He rested his elbows on top of his knees and propping his chin in the palms of his hands, he continued. "Allegedly, both of their parents were murdered within their home. We're not exactly sure about how true their story is, but it isn't like we'll simply deny them a safe haven and call them liars. That wouldn't bode well for the Vatican. Since it was the Empress herself, Augusta Vradica, who suggested that the two girls come here in the first place." He lowered the volume of his voice, and continued to speak in a hushed tone. "No one knows this, apart from a select few within the A.X. but her Eminence, Cardinal Sforza, wishes that one day we'll have open ties with the Empire. But Jonah..." At the mention of my name, I looked up and saw Abel staring at me, an undeniable urgency were present within his eyes. "You must never let anyone know that you're aware of this matter. You must never tell a soul any of this. Do you understand?"

I nod my head, whispering the reassurance that he needed to hear me say. "I promise, Father Nightroad. I won't say a word about it." With my oath he smiled and looked away. "But Father, it never occurred to me to ask this...but...what is the A.X.? What exactly that you wish to achieve?"

Taking a deep breath, he recited. "The A.X. is short for Arcanum Cella ex Dono Dei. Or if you prefer the Secret Chamber in Virtue of the Gift of God." His eyes turned upwards, and following his gaze, I saw the faint twinkling of a star in the farthest reaches of the Heavens above. "As for what our goal is...we hope for peace. Peace among all nations of this bereft world. Yet..." He let out an inaudible sigh. "With every goal comes a series of obstacles that try and stand in your way..."

"The Order."

"That's right. But we have to persist onward. That's why we fight. With every passing day we come that much closer to realizing our dream. Does that answer your question?" When I didn't respond, I heard Abel chuckle quietly, and feeling his hand gently smoothing out a few stray hairs that were on top of my head he whispered. "Sleep well, Jonah. May you have good dreams. And when you wake, may you feel rested."

I was vaguely aware of the fact that Abel was now back on his feet, and was carefully scooping me up into his arms. I could feel the gentle rocking of his body as he carried me to my room. Yet as the seconds passed, I fell deeper into my slumber. The world around me melted away, leaving only enough space for a sea of stars to fill the void. And plunging in head first, I dove directly into the hopes of tomorrow.