Chapter 11
For the past one and a half month things have been quite eventful. Rosette and Chrono continued on with their missions with Azmaria coming along to help set up the crucifix barriers. Maria however, stayed at the Order, helping out Father Remington with his Order duties. The last one and a half month had also been a busy time with planning the search for Joshua. During that time, Rosette formed an inseparable sisterly bond towards Azmaria and Maria and she had also started to look up to Maria as if she was her older sister. One night, when Thanksgiving was shortly approaching, Maria was having trouble sleeping as she was dreaming something that contained troubling past events. In her dream, Maria was in some kind of eerie dimension while also being in the nude. The atmosphere of the dimension became creepier as the space around her became gloomier and gloomier. Just then, hellfire appeared right in front of her and began to surround the entire dimension. "What's going on? Why have the fires of hell come to get me?" Maria said in a scared tone as she looked around and had a feeling that something bad was going to happen to her. "My child, I can see that you have sinned quite a bit! Tell me Maria, why did you do this?" God's voice asked Maria disappointedly. "I didn't do this out of my own free will." Maria said out of desperation. "I know, but that doesn't matter. You helped the Sinners with their goals, and for that there shall be no forgiveness!" God said with an uncaring tone. "What you've done was irredeemable, and as punishment for your sins, I shall condemn your soul to the flames of hell for all eternity!" God said to Maria angrily and the flames from hell intensified to the point that it began to swallow Maria up. "Aaaaahhhh!" Maria screamed in agony as the flames caught her and she began to burn. She suddenly found herself in yet another dimension which was pitch black. Maria began to look around her surroundings. "Where am I now? Why is everything so dark?" She asked herself out of curiosity. "Hey Maria, over here!" One girl's voice called out from behind Maria and she then turned and saw Rosette. "Rosette, it's great to see you!" Maria said with overwhelming relief. "Great? More like a disgrace if you ask me. How can you think about helping the Sinners with their crazy goals?" Rosette asked in a demeaning tone. "Yeah, I thought you were on our side Maria. How can you do such a thing?" Chrono said from behind Maria. "Chrono, you don't look at me as a sinner too, do you?" Maria asked nervously. "Oh my, what a shameful thing you have done Maria. How are you ever going to atone for your sins?" Azmaria asked terribly disappointed. "Yeah, and I thought that you hated demons? What a liar you are!" Satella said with obvious disgust. "Stop it! Stop putting me down like this! I am not at fault. I was forced to do this. How can you not understand?" Maria yelled at them as she was kneeling down and covering her ears. The harsh rejection she was supposedly receiving from Rosette and her friends was too much for her to bear. "Maria!" A man's voice called out towards her which caught her attention. Maria turned around and saw Father Remington walking towards her, much to her joyous relief. "Father Remington!" Maria called out and ran towards him. Once she reached him, she then hugged him tightly. "I am so happy to see you Father Remington! You have no idea of the pain I was going through." Maria said in a broken tone and tears began to fall from her eyes. "Get your hands off of me you sinner!" Father Remington said cold heartedly and aggressively pushed Maria away from him. "But Minister, why? Why are you turning your back on me? I thought you cared about me." Maria said in a heartbroken tone as she couldn't believe that the minister would reject her coldheartedly. "It was all just an act. I only pretended to care about you!" The minister said in a heartless tone. "This can't be happening." Maria thought to herself as she looked at the minister with heartbroken eyes. "No matter how hard you try to gain sympathy from me, you are nothing but a sinful demoness unworthy of any redemption!" Father Remington said to her harshly and his body then suddenly vanished. "Father Remington!" Maria called after him. Realizing that the minister was gone now too, Maria began to cry out of loneliness and rejection. Maria had never felt so ashamed and disgusted with herself in her entire life. "Maria! Don't cry! A beautiful maiden like you shouldn't have to cry her heart out over something so petty." A voice said to her. "Who's there?" Maria asked as she looked around. Just then, Aion appeared in front of her, much to her anger as she hated the sight of him. "Aion, what do you want, you bastard?!" Maria asked vehemently. "I want you of course! You are my favorite toy after all!" Aion said as he walked towards her. "Since no one, not even God himself will forgive you for helping us with our plans, I think it is time for you to become mine!" Aion said with a creepy tone. He was fondly touching her bare shoulders and face from behind. He then came in front of her and saw Maria's terrified look. Just then, Maria woke up from her intensely terrifying dream and began to take a deep breath as she was shocked from her nightmare. "Oh my God, what a hellish nightmare that was." Maria commented out of fright. "I can't believe that he is haunting me even in my dreams." She said out of disbelief as she looked out of her window at the night sky.
The next morning, Rosette, Chrono and Azmaria went to Sister Kate's office as they were summoned by Sister Kate. "Here are your train tickets to San Francisco!" Father Remington said as he handed them out to Rosette. "Thank you Father Remington! So I guess we shall be heading to the West Coast the day after Thanksgiving?" Rosette contently asked. "That's right! Your train will be leaving in the afternoon. Without further ado you must know that during your travel to San Francisco, you will be stopping by the Magdalene headquarters in Chicago." Sister Kate explained. "Wait a minute. How come there are four tickets?" Rosette asked surprised. "Speaking of which, I had also booked a ticket for Maria to come with you three. After all, she does know the place where Joshua is currently residing in, and Aion's goals. She was also involved with all the planning that we have done." Father Remington explained. "I see. Does Maria know anything about this?" Rosette asked. "I'll still have to tell her since we made the decision last night. But don't worry. I don't think she will have any objections coming with you!" The minister said. "That's good to hear. Besides, I actually wanted her to come with us to San Francisco. I believe she would be very helpful in finding Joshua!" Rosette optimistically said. "Very well then, you three are dismissed now." Sister Kate said and the trio walked out of her office. "Alright, I better be on my way as well!" The minister said as he made his way out of the office. "Where to if I may ask?" Sister Kate asked surprised. "To the dining room. I shall meet with Maria there." Father Remington answered and left the room. A little while later, Father Remington was in the dining room waiting for Maria to come. Maria walked into the dining room carrying a tray of hot tea with milk and sugar along with chocolate chip cookies. "Good morning Maria!" Father Remington said with a smile on his face. "Good morning Minister. Here, I brought you some tea and cookies that I made myself!" Maria said. "Thank you, how very thoughtful of you!" The minister smiled as she placed the tray on the table. "Maria, there is something I need to tell you about." Father Remington said. "About what exactly?" Maria curiously asked. "On the day after Thanksgiving, Rosette, Chrono and Azmaria will be heading to San Francisco to find Joshua." Father Remington started explaining. "I see. I guess this means that I won't be seeing them for a while." Maria said disappointedly. "However, I have a little surprise for you. You will be accompanying them on their travel to the West Coast where you will help them find Rosette's brother!" The minister explained. "That's great! But that means you won't have any assistance for a while Minister." Maria said both happy yet disappointed at the same time. "Don't worry about me. I am more than capable of managing my duties for the time being!" Father Remington reassured her. "Alright, if that's the case, I will be more than happy to help them out." Maria accepted. Once they were both done drinking the tea and cookies, Maria decided to take her leave. "Alright, I better be going now. I will need to meet up with Rosette and the others." Maria said as she stood herself up from the chair. "Very well then, see you later Maria." Father Remington said and she then left the dining room. Meanwhile, Rosette, Chrono and Azmaria were outside by the fountain as they were enjoying the fresh, crisp air. "Ahhhhh, isn't Fall such a wonderful season?" Rosette asked cheerfully while she was stretching. "Yes, it sure is! I really love the colored leaves that the season has to offer. It's just so beautiful!" Azmaria said in agreement. "Yeah, and speaking of Fall, this will be your first Thanksgiving with us in the Order Azmaria!" Chrono remarked. "That's right, and this will also be Maria's first Thanksgiving with us as well." Rosette stated. "Speaking of which, there she is!" Chrono said as he saw Maria walking towards them. "Well, I can see that everyone is looking forward to the festive holiday tomorrow." Maria said as she was walking towards the fountain. "Hi Maria! Are you excited for Thanksgiving?" Rosette asked excitedly as she loved Maria's company. "Yes I am! However, to be honest I never really celebrated the holiday while growing up." Maria admitted. "What? You've never celebrated Thanksgiving before?" Rosette asked surprised. "That's right. It just wasn't something my family and I celebrated amongst our people, so I guess you can say that this will be my first year celebrating it." Maria explained. "So I see. Well in that case, be prepared for a bountiful event, because we are going food shopping! " Rosette announced enthusiastically. "You mean for the Thanksgiving feast tomorrow?" Maria asked. "Exactly, now let's get going!" Rosette answered. "Before we go, I want to tell you all how happy I am to be able to accompany you to San Francisco!" Maria said excitedly. "Yeah, we are all happy about it! It's about time we made a move on in finding Joshua which will make this Thanksgiving even more meaningful!" Rosette concluded and started walking towards her car while the other three followed her. Once they got to the city, they went to a few grocery stores and a market. They bought several huge turkeys, three sacks filled with potatoes, a sack full of corn as well as lots of cranberries and baking supplies for the pumpkin pies! After they had bought all of those things, they went to put the purchased foods into the car. "Oh my, we sure did buy a lot of food." Chrono commented as he placed the turkeys in the trunk. "Yep, but that's one of the things what Thanksgiving is about, right!" Rosette exclaimed. "I do hope you're not excited about tomorrow because of the food Rosette?" Chrono asked suspiciously. "Don't be ridiculous, I am not only excited for the food. I am also excited for the fact that we will all be spending quality time with each other!" Rosette answered enthusiastically. "Are you also referring to me Sister hothead?" A woman's voice said as she approached Rosette from behind. "Satella, what are you doing here?" Rosette asked out of surprise once she turned around. "Nothing really. I was only taking a little stroll when I all of a sudden bumped into you four." Satella answered. "Happy Thanksgiving Miss Satella!" Azmaria greeted as she came closer to her. "Happy Thanksgiving to you too liebekind!" Satella greeted back. "So, will you be joining us for the Thanksgiving dinner at the Order tomorrow?" Azmaria asked. "Well to tell you the truth, I don't really celebrate that kind of thing. Thanksgiving is not something that I take any particular interest in. But if it means so much to you liebekind, I could make time for your little celebration tomorrow!" Satella said softly as she accepted the offer. "That's great! I was hoping you would be able to spend some time with us before we head off to San Francisco the day after." Azmaria said as she was overwhelmed with joy at Satella's acceptance of their invitation. "You're going to the West Coast the day after Thanksgiving?" Satella asked. "Yes, that's correct." Azmaria confirmed. "What are you going to the West Coast for?" Satella asked again. "To find my brother Joshua. The Order said that's the place where he is currently residing in." Rosette stated. "In San Francisco, you don't say?" Satella commented curiously. "Yeah, however it's only a possibility. Regardless of that, we really hope that this journey will help us find Joshua as soon as possible!" Rosette explained. "Well then, I guess I'll be seeing all of you tomorrow! And Chrono, there's something I would like to tell you!" Satella said. "Yes Satella?" Chrono asked. "Make sure that Sister hothead doesn't gobble up everything in sight tomorrow, okay!" Satella teasingly advised Chrono. "What? Why you little bitch!" Rosette angrily fumed as she walked closer to Satella. "Now Rosette, be nice! She is our friend after all." Chrono said as he prevented her from charging at Satella. "Oh my, this sure is quite a commotion. I guess I better leave before Sister hothead gets all worked up!" Satella amusedly said to herself and walked away. After Rosette calmed down, they all drove back to the Order where they carried the Thanksgiving groceries into the entrance hall. "Wow, we sure did buy a lot of food for tomorrow!" Azmaria commented as she looked at the food items on the floor. "Yeah, but one thing for sure is that we'll all have one hell of a bountiful, festive meal! I can't wait for it to happen!" Rosette exclaimed cheerfully. "Well, I can see that you have returned. Judging by the looks of it, you have been out food shopping, haven't you?" Father Remington remarked as he was walking towards them. "Hi Minister!" Rosette greeted him as she blushed. "I just wanted to let you know that you didn't have to go out of your way to buy all of this food for Thanksgiving! The Order already has more than enough food for tomorrow's feast!" Father Remington revealed. "Oh I see. But the good side is that we'll have extra food for tomorrow! That's always a bonus, right?" Rosette said nervously while looking at the other three. "What? I thought we were actually sent to go food shopping!" Chrono looked at Rosette with a disapproving look. "Well, I never said we were sent in the first place." Rosette tried to justify her gluttonous behavior. "There's never enough food around for you, is there?" Chrono said unamused. "Alright, let's bring this food into the kitchen. Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day and we better do our best in preparing for this grand meal!" Rosette commanded enthusiastically while changing the subject. "I just hope you won't be helping out with the cooking." Chrono cringed. "What did you just say Chrono?" Rosette sternly asked as she walked over and pulled him by the shirt. "Nothing! It's just that whenever you cook something, it always ends up being a total disaster." Chrono nervously stated and Rosette punched him in the face. "I can cook well, damn it! It's just that nobody gives me the chance to do it!" Rosette yelled as she denied her terrible cooking skills. "Now then, shall we be heading to the kitchen?" Rosette asked as she suddenly calmed down. "What about Chrono?" Azmaria asked as Chrono was lying on the ground. "We'll just leave him there for now! We don't want the food to get spoiled, do we?" Rosette said heartlessly. "No, I guess not." Azmaria answered. "Alright now, pick up some of the food items and follow me!" Rosette ordered as the three girls picked up the food and walked their way towards the kitchen. Once the girls had left the entrance room, the minister walked towards Chrono to see if he was okay. "So, are you feeling alright Chrono?" The minister asked as he kneeled down. "No, does it look like I'm okay? I can't believe how violent Rosette can be sometimes." Chrono groaned while he felt as if his eyes were rolling. He then got himself up and stretched. "So what will you do now?" The minister asked. "I better go and help Rosette and the others. They'll probably need my help." Chrono answered as soon as he was done with stretching and ran his way towards the kitchen.
After they were all done organizing the food in the kitchen, Maria went with Father Remington to the indoor shooting range that was just recently rebuilt. Maria was practicing on how to shoot with a gun properly, with the goal of her being able to defend herself if she gets into a dangerous situation. While in the room, Maria shot at the target wall several times until she ran out of bullets. "My, I must say, it looks like you have been improving on your shooting skills!" Father Remington said impressed as he walked towards her. "You really think so Minister?" Maria asked. "Yes, you have proven to be quite competent with using a gun. I am proud of the progress that you have made lately!" Father Remington said with satisfaction. "Based on your progress, I would like you to keep this gun for your protection!" The minister said as Maria looked at him in disbelief. "But Minister, this is your gun. I can't possibly keep it!" Maria said. "Of course you can! I would be honored if you take it!" Father Remington softly said. "Thank you so much! I will take good care of it." Maria said gratefully. "You're welcome." The minister replied back. "There is one thing I would like to tell you Maria." Father Remington said. "What would that be?" Maria asked. "From now on, please call me by my first name, Ewan!" The minister asked her. "Sure, no problem!" Maria said and she along with the minister walked out of the shooting range room. They both decided to spend some time in the dining room. While they were having their dinner, something was occupying Maria's mind, which the minister quickly caught on. "Is something bothering you Maria?" Father Remington asked. "Nothing. Well actually, there is something that has been bothering me lately." Maria reluctantly admitted. "What would that be?" The minister concernedly asked. "As I am going to San Francisco after Thanksgiving, I somehow fear the possibility of being captured by the Sinners again." Maria revealed as her voice became weaker. "I know this is hard for you to talk about it Maria. But remember, I am here for you and you can tell me anything that is bothering you!" Father Remington encouraged Maria. "Lately, I have been having some very bizarre dreams in which I am being captured by Aion. Those dreams feel so real and terrifying, as if they are implying that something terrible will happen to me. After all, Aion already showed an unwelcome attraction towards me." Maria continued explaining. "Also, I just can't stop thinking about those poor children called Apostles whom I was forced to help capture." Maria said with a sad tone of voice as the minister dropped his fork in shock. "Are you saying that you have seen the other five Apostles?" Father Remington asked in disbelief. "Yes, I didn't have any choice in this. Aion was the one who forced me to help them with their abduction. He told me that they would spare the lives of the children's families if I agreed to help kidnap them. They didn't want to draw too much attention to themselves and as I was the only one who was actually a human, the Sinners needed me to help lure the children. I only agreed to help them in order to prevent any deaths from happening." Maria further explained as the minister was just sitting and listened to what she had to say. "I can never forgive myself for what I have done." Maria said in a broken tone. "Tell me Ewan, do you view me as a sinner, a sinner with no chance or hope of redemption?" Maria asked as she looked at the minister with a sad look on her face. "No, I don't! What makes you think you don't deserve any forgiveness?" Father Remington asked. "Because I believe that there are sins so great, that they cannot be forgiven nor atoned for." Maria said. "I don't think you would have been chosen as the Holy Woman if you truly aren't worthy of forgiveness and redemption. Even though we are technically all sinners, if we do good in this world then we can redeem ourselves." Father Remington further explained. "How can you be so sure of that?" Maria asked surprised by the minister's compassion. "Because I can see the goodness in your heart, even if you yourself don't acknowledge it because of your sense of guilt." Father Remington said in a gentle, nurturing voice. "Thanks for telling me that Ewan!" Maria said with a soft voice as they both continued eating. Once they were both done with their dinner, Father Remington walked with Maria to her room. While they were walking along the hallway, Maria felt her heart pumping fast as she was feeling somewhat nervous. "What is this strange feeling? Why do I feel so warm around that man?" Maria asked herself as she had a feeling that she was becoming more and more drawn to the minister. "Well, here you are Maria." Father Remington said as they reached the door to her room. "Thank you for being there for me Ewan!" Maria said gratefully as she smiled at him. "No problem. Just remember, whenever you feel sad, angry or depressed, please be sure to always come to me." Father Remington advised. "Yes Ewan, I will keep that in mind." Maria agreed. Just then, the minister wrapped his arms around Maria and began to embrace her, much to her surprise as she began to blush. As Father Remington stopped embracing her, he looked at Maria affectionately. "Good night Maria! I hope you will feel better tomorrow!" The minister said softly and then walked away. Maria opened the door and walked into her room. "I can't believe it. Why am I having those feelings? Those feelings filled with joy and warmth. Could it be because of him?" Maria asked herself with curiosity as she walked over towards her window. She gazed at the night sky while having all these unanswered questions in her head. She could not understand why she was having those feelings and if the minister felt the same way about it.
The next morning, Rosette, Chrono and Azmaria were having pancakes with tea for breakfast, which made Rosette extremely excited. "Oh my, these pancakes look so tasty!" Rosette said enthusiastically as she looked at them with hungry eyes and began to devour them, much to Chrono's embarrassment. Just then, Maria walked into the dining room and saw Rosette gobbling her pancakes. "Good morning everyone!" Maria said slowly, which caught Rosette's attention. "Ahh, Good morning Maria!" Rosette greeted. "So, I guess this meal must be really tasty. Mind if I join you?" Maria asked. "Not at all Maria! On the contrary, we're actually quite happy that you have decided to spend some quality time with us." Rosette said cheerfully. "Speaking of quality time, I wonder when we will get to meet with Satella today?" Azmaria asked. "We can drive to her place and bring her to the Order this afternoon!" Chrono suggested while Rosette spitted her tea out on Chrono out of surprise. "What? You're actually suggesting us to pick up that snooty bounty hunter so she can spend time with us here?" Rosette asked Chrono out of disbelief. "Well, she is our friend now, isn't she? Besides, Azmaria invited her, remember?" Chrono defensively said. "I guess you do have a point. Besides, I can tell that Azmaria enjoys having Satella around!" Rosette admittedly pointed out. "Alright, it's settled. We shall pick Satella up from her mansion in the afternoon and bring her with us to the Order for our Thanksgiving dinner tonight!" Rosette announced, much to Azmaria's relief and joy. "Here you go Maria, have some pancakes!" Rosette said and placed a stack of pancakes on her plate. The portion size left her somewhat speechless but she helped herself with the pancakes and began to eat. As soon as Rosette and the others were done eating their breakfast, they started helping the Order with preparations for the Thanksgiving feast. Later in the afternoon, they all headed to Satella's mansion. Once they had reached her mansion, Rosette ringed the doorbell. Steiner opened the door and saw the four standing in front of the doorway. "Good afternoon, what brings you here at this hour?" The butler politely greeted them. "Good afternoon Steiner, we are here to pick up Satella. Do you know where she might be?" Azmaria asked. "She's right here!" Steiner said and Satella walked towards the door. "Guten Tag meine liebekind!" Satella cheerfully greeted. "Good afternoon to you too miss Satella! Are you ready for today's Thanksgiving feast?" Azmaria excitedly asked. "Of course liebekind! Today is a special day, isn't it?!" Satella happily confirmed. "And since today is a special day, that means I can play with Chrono for a little bit!" Satella said in a smothering tone and began to hug Chrono to death which made Chrono feel uncomfortable. "Alright, that's enough! Chrono's mine, so keep your hands off of him!" Rosette sternly said as she cut them off. "Mein Got, when are you ever going to stop being so possessive over him?" Satella irritatedly asked. "For your information jewel witch, he's my contractor!" Rosette explained crossly. "Just because he is your contractor, that doesn't mean he belongs to you!" Satella answered back defensively. "Come on Rosette, let's not get into a fight again, okay?" Chrono said as he intervened in their little fight. "My, this sure turned out to be quite funny, right Maria?" Azmaria asked as she obviously found the whole situation to be hilarious. "Yeah, but why does she flirt with a demon? Especially when a demon was the cause for her family's death." Maria remarked as the situation made her cringe. After the minor commotion by the mansion, they all then drove to the Order to get ready for the feast. "Well, here we are Satella. The Order of Magdalene!" Rosette said as they walked onto the Order's property. "Wow, the area looks so spread out. It's amazing to see that this is how the typical Magdalene Order looks like!" Satella commented on the architecture visibly impressed. "Well then, shall we get in?" Rosette asked. "Yes, of course! What kind of a question is that?" Satella answered. "You do have a point." Rosette admitted and they all entered into the hallway entrance. "That's strange. It appears that nobody is here." Maria said as they all could see that the building was as quiet as church mice. "Yeah, where is everybody?" Rosette asked curiously. "Maybe I could be of help!" A voice called out. All of a sudden, the Elder appeared in front of them, and lifted Rosette's gown, much to her frustrating annoyance. "Damn it Elder, when do you ever leave well enough alone?" Rosette yelled as she kicked the Elder in the stomach. "Come on, I was just trying to have a little fun. It's Thanksgiving after all, so please don't ruin the fun!" The Elder said in dismay. "Well it's not fun when you lift my gown all the time you old pervert!" Rosette said crossly. "In any case, I just wanted to let you know that the Thanksgiving meal will be served at 5:00 in the afternoon. So, we'll have plenty of time for preparations and for me to do some nice breast fondling!" The Elder said mischievously, obviously enjoying Rosette's reaction. Just then, the Elder saw Satella taking off her brown coat. As the Elder saw Satella's giant breasts, he became so overwhelmed with excitement, that he couldn't resist his urges. He also ended up with a nose bleed. "Hello there you sexy lady!" The Elder said flirtatiously while he walked closer to her with captivated eyes. "Who might you be old man?" Satella asked. "My name is Elder Edward Hamilton. The scientist and weapon inventor of the New York Branch." The Elder introduced himself. "I must say, you have such amazingly beautiful breasts!" The Elder commented and he then buried his face onto Satella's open cleavage. Such an act on his part outraged Satella so much that she grabbed the Elder's body and threw him towards the wall in front of her. "Mein Got, what the hell is this place? Why didn't you tell me that there was a pervert running lose in the Magdalene Order?" Satella furiously asked Rosette. "I'll explain everything later. For now, let's get ready and help everyone prepare the banquet room!" Rosette said to Satella as she tried to avoid further commotions.
When 5:00 came, all of the food was prepared and placed on the table with everyone taking their seats. Once everyone was present, Sister Kate stood up from her chair and decided to make a speech. "My dear fellow Christians, as you already know, today is a special day. It is a day where we give thanks to the Lord for having a bountiful harvest. However this year in particular is a special one, as this will be Azmaria's and Maria's first Thanksgiving with us in the Magdalene Order! Without further ado, we shall now pray to the Lord as an appreciation for the bountiful food that we are about to eat. Let us all now join in a prayer!" Sister Kate announced in front of the whole room and everyone began to pray silently as not everyone was part of the same Christian denomination. After prayers were over, the Thanksgiving meal began and everyone was putting food onto their plates. The meal consisted of several baked turkeys, mashed potatoes with gravy, several plates of corn, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pies. Red wine was served along with grape juice for those who did not drink. "So, are you enjoying your food Maria?" Father Remington asked Maria who was sitting beside her. "Yes Ewan, and I must say, this food is really delicious! It's definitely different from the food that I ate while growing up, but different in a good way!" Maria explained. "Well I'm glad you're enjoying it. After all, you and Azmaria are a part of us now, so it's great to see that you are enjoying yourself here!" The minister told her gladly while Maria was drinking the wine from her cup. "Mmmmm, this food is incredible Azmaria! I never knew that American food can taste this good!" Satella remarked enthusiastically while eating her food. "Well, it is Thanksgiving, so the food has to be good!" Azmaria stated. "Thank you so much for inviting me to this feast of yours liebekind. It truly is a joyous occasion!" Satella thanked Azmaria gratefully. "Sure Satella, I am glad you like it!" Azmaria replied. Meanwhile, Rosette was busy stuffing her mouth with food that was on her plate as if the food will disappear anytime. "Don't you think you should slow down a bit?" Chrono nervously asked as her eating habit was embarrassing him. "Shut up! This is Thanksgiving, so I'm going to be stuffing myself whether you like it or not!" Rosette brushed Chrono off and continued eating. "It would be so nice if Joshua were here with us now, wouldn't you say so Rosette?" Chrono asked. "Yeah, you're right! It would be nice indeed. Who knows, maybe next year that would be the case!" Rosette agreed as she so badly wished Joshua was with them right now. "I do hope we succeed in finding Joshua soon. Then we can finally be able to celebrate all of the holidays together!" Rosette said with great optimism. "I am sure we'll be able to find Joshua eventually Rosette. I am sure we will!" Chrono commented as he had a feeling that they will succeed in finding him.
