Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

"Mom!" Lilith cried, rushing into her mother's arms.

"Lilith! Vincent! Thank goodness you're okay!" Esther said, hugging her son and daughter.

"Virgil, are the Rosenkreuz gone?" Abel whispered.

"Yes, it would seem that they only sent two agents. However, we may want to go to a safer location until we know for sure whether they were the only ones or not."

"So, it’s true, then..." Lilith said, letting go of her mother. "The Rosenkreuz Orden still exists?"

Abel sighed. "Yes, it would seem that they were not destroyed."

"But Father! How can that be? I thought all the Orden's leaders died 25 years ago. How can they still exist?!" Vincent shouted.

"I'm not sure, all we do know is that we can't stay here for much longer. We have to get to a safer location. I think we should head to St. Michael church and hide in the underground passageways until all the excitement dies down."

"But Dad, how do we know if the Rosenkreuz haven't found that place yet?" Lilith asked shakily.

"We have to try," Esther said, "Virgil, prepare a car to take us to the St. Michael church."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

--

"Ow!" Lilith moaned as she laid her head against the car window. Every now and then, they would hit a bump in the road and her head would bang against the window. The back roads of Londinium, the capital of Albion, were notorious for their bad conditions.

"Hey twerp, why don't you just move your head from the window? You're going to have a million bruises on your head if you keep that up." Vincent said.

"But I'm so tired..." Lilith murmured, yawning.

Esther, who was sitting next to her, giggled. "Why don't you just lean your head on my shoulder and sleep?"

"Because it’s too hot in here for that!" She whined.

Esther laughed again. "I'll make sure to talk about the conditions of the back roads at the next meeting."

"Thank you!"

"Don't worry, we should be at the church in a few minutes. You can sleep plenty there," Abel said, smiling.

They reached the small church about ten minutes later. The St. Michael church had been used many times in the past as a refuge for the nobility when things became dangerous. Under the church there were many underground tunnels, once part of the old Londinium slums. They were now sealed off, however, leaving only one entrance.

"Here we are. A sister should be here shortly to lead you underground," Virgil said, stepping out of the car.

"Thank you, Virgil," the queen said.

"Your Majesty! Is everyone alright!?" A young sister of about 17 shouted. She held a small candle in her hand.

"Jill!" Lilith shouted when she finally saw her face. She rushed to hug Jill, almost knocking her over in the process. "Everyone's okay!"

"Sister Jillian, take them to the underground passageways and find a place for them to hide. I have to return to the palace," Virgil said.

"Why isn't Virgil coming with us?" Vincent asked Abel.

"He and Vanessa have to go and secure the Ghetto. We have to make sure that the Orden doesn't infiltrate it."

Vincent nodded. The Ghetto was an underground city of Methuselah that developed Lost Technology for Albion. If the Orden captured some of the technology that they had been recently developing, then they would be in serious trouble.

"Alright! Your Majesty, please follow me," Jill said.

They headed inside the church. When they stood next to the chapel's alter, Jill lifted up a board concealing a trap door. She opened it and they clamored down into the dark tunnel.

The tunnel was pitch black and smelled strongly of mildew. Every now and then a rat was heard, scurrying across the floor. The hard rock floor was broken in many places, making it easy to trip if you weren't careful. Large spiders wove webs in small holes in the walls and on the ceiling.

"Eeep! I think I felt something crawl over my shoe!" Lilith shouted, "This tunnel is so gross!"

"Sister Jillian, how much longer do we have to walk?" Esther asked.

"Not much longer milady, the room is just up ahead," Jill said.

They soon came upon an iron door. The door creaked loudly as Jill pushed it open. Inside was a sparsely furnished room. It had some beds, a large, old table, a moth eaten couch, and other various furniture.

"Forgive the meager accommodations, it hasn't been used in a while and the church doesn't have the money to fix it up."

"This will do fine Sister, thank you very much," said Abel.

“I’ll be staying here with you, in case anything happens," the young nun explained, removing a small handgun from a holster on her thigh, concealed by her blue habit.

"Uh...Jill? Can I ask you a question?" Lilith asked.

"Sure, what is it Lilith?"

"Um, do you actually know how to use one of those?"

"Well, to be honest...no." Jill said, smiling sheepishly and scratching her head.

"Wonderful," Vincent sighed.

--

It was chilly that night in Rome. It was two in the morning, most of the citizens were in their beds sleeping peacefully.

However, there would be no sleep that night for the AX.

Cardinal Caterina Sforza patiently waited at her desk for Sister Kate to return with more information of the attack on the royal palace in Albion. She had word that some of the palace guards had revolted and attempted to assassinate the queen and her family. And she had also heard much more disturbing reports on who had started it...

Caterina rubbed her temples. She hoped dearly that it was merely angry palace guards and not something more.

A hologram of a middle aged nun materialized in Caterina's office. "Lady Caterina, I have more news on the attack on the palace."

"Thank you, Sister Kate. Is everyone safe?"

"Yes milady, no one was harmed. I hear that they've been moved to a safer location until the danger has passed."

"Good. Do you also have word on what may have caused the revolt?"

Kate's face took on a pained expression. Caterina could tell that she was not going to like this.

"I'm afraid that the rumors were true. It would appear that they have resurfaced."

Caterina sighed. "Twenty five years of peace. Twenty five years. Do we know if any of their agents are still in Londinium?"

"I'm afraid not. It would seem, however, that they are no longer in the palace."

"I see, keep an eye on the city. If anyone tries to invade the palace again, send in Gunslinger and Sword Dancer."

"Yes milady," Kate said. The hologram disappeared and Caterina was once again left alone in her office.

"Damn,” said Caterina. All the hard work that she and the other members of the Vatican had done to make peace between the three nations was going up in flames. Once her older brother, Cardinal Francesco di Medici, found out about this, he would use it to convince the Vatican to go to war with the vampires.

“This will not end well,” she thought.

--

Lilith tossed and turned in the tiny bed. Since there were only two beds, she was forced to share a bed with her brother Vincent. She tried to sleep, but every time she almost fell asleep, the day's events would play through her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about it.

“Hmm, I wonder if Jill is asleep yet,”she thought. She slowly crawled out of bed, trying not to wake Vincent. She then tip-toed over to the couch.

Jill was sleeping contently on the couch, snoring softly. “Awww, she looks so cute when she's sleeping. I almost hate to wake her.” Lilith reached over and began to shake her softly. "Hey, Jill, wake up," Lilith whispered.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly eat anymore chocolate Vincent. I've had too much already..." Jill was talking in her sleep.

Lilith covered her mouth and snickered. "Oh my gosh, she's dreaming about Vince. This is too funny!"

Jill groaned softly and sat up. She rubbed her eyes and asked, "Lilith? Is that you? Why aren't you asleep?"

"Hehe, hey Jill. I couldn't sleep. Do you think we could talk for a bit?"

"Mm, sure," Jill said sleepily.

Jill moved her blankets and made a spot on the couch for Lilith to sit. "I can't stop thinking about what happened today...it all seems so unreal."

"I know what you mean," Jill said, "We've had peace for so long, it’s hard to believe that something like this could've happened."

"Not only that...but I feel so stupid!" Lilith whispered loudly.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"When the Rosenkreuz entered the palace, I was captured by one. I didn't even really put up a fight. If Vince hadn't shown up...I'd probably be with the Rosenkreuz right now. I feel so useless."

Jill sighed. "Lilith, don't be so hard on yourself. Remember who the Rosenkreuz are, they're not just your everyday vampires. They're very powerful."

"I know, but still! I was the only one who got captured, and the only one who didn't really do anything!"

"You know Lilith, you're right. You are just a burden."

Both the girls jumped. Behind them was a very groggy, very angry Vincent.

"Oh! It’s just you Vince," Lilith laughed nervously. "Why are you up? It’s three in the morning."

"Well, I would be asleep if some bratty little twerp knew how to whisper," he replied, tucking some of his frazzled silver hair behind his ear.

"Oh, sorry about that," Lilith whispered.

"Well, now that I'm up, I might as well sit with you guys. I doubt I'll be able to sleep now either, thanks to you," Vincent said, glaring at his sister.

Lilith scooted to the end of the couch, making a spot for Vincent to sit between them.

"Umm, hey Vincent?" Lilith said, twiddling her thumbs.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for saving me earlier..."

"No problem. Despite the fact that you're a bratty, loudmouthed twerp, you're still my little sister," Vincent said, tousling Lilith's hair.

"Vincent! Cut it out!" Lilith hissed.

Jill giggled. “Even though they fight like cats and dogs, they still care about each other,” she thought.

"Anyway, Sister Jillian is right. Even I would have been captured if Virgil didn't show up."

"I know, but still!" Lilith grumbled, "Grrr, I wish there was a way I could meet that crazy blond vampire again. I wanna give her a piece of my mind! My neck still hurts from when she grabbed me!"

"Jeez, if you’re so mad about it why don't you just join the church and go after her, or something," Vincent laughed.

Lilith froze. "Vince...that's not a bad idea!"

"What?"

"Joining the church! If I joined, then I'd be able to go after that Rosenkreuz chick!"

"Lilith, you do realize that I was joking, right?"

"No Vincent!" Lilith said, standing up, "I'm tired of always being the one who needs saving! Whenever there's trouble, I'm always the one who needs to be rescued! Like whenever there's a spider in my room, or whenever that stupid dog on West Street decides to chase me because I like to cut across its yard to get to that awesome bakery, or when-"

"Lilith!"

"What!?"

"Just how are you, the princess of Albion, going to get permission to go and risk your life to pursue a very dangerous terrorist organization?"

Lilith's face dropped.

"See, just let it go twerp. Your place is here, not in Rome or anywhere else. Let’s just get back to bed," Vincent said, rising from the couch and heading towards the bed.

"Yes, it’s getting late Lilith. Try to get some sleep," Jill said, smiling.

"Alright," Lilith grumbled, "Goodnight Jill. Goodnight Vince."

"Goodnight," they both said.

Lilith crawled back into the bed next to her brother and closed her eyes.

“I will find a way…” She thought before finally drifting off to sleep.