Broken Wings

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The warm sun shone down from the crystal blue sky, encouraging the roses on the bushes to open and fill the air with their delicate scent while birds sang merrily, and the vague murmur of voices and the occasional bout of laughter mixed to make a beautiful June day. Windows were open to allow the occasional stray breeze to wander the hallways and various offices, teasing long hair and longer robes of office and evoking the occasional startled squeal from a nun.

But Catarina was blind to the beauty of the day, her gray eyes dark with concern as she worked slowly and methodically through the papers on her desk. The French doors in her office were open to the day, but she ignored all of it as she had for the last month since Brother Petros had helped Father Leon rescue Abel from her insane half-brother. Carefully applied make-up hid the dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep, and she stared at the pages before her as her thoughts drifted back to her friend whom she hadn’t seen in almost four months.

Was Abel all right? Had he even survived his injuries? Had they found help or were they living like refugees from both the humans and the Methuselans? Was Francesco searching for them or had he taken the rescue of Abel as her silver haired friend finally managing to escape? Would they be able to contact her safely to let them know their status or had she seen the last of her wonderful friend and personal guardian angel?

A hand came up to rub at her temple to ease the headache that was building again as she reached for the coffee that was slowly cooling on her desk, and she swallowed the bitter liquid, managing to hide her grimace of distaste. She honestly preferred tea to drink, but these days, she needed the caffeine from the coffee to keep herself going through the day. Part of her had to wonder if Abel’s thirteen sugars would make the bitter brew any more palatable or if it would just make her even more wired on sugar instead of caffeine.

The knock at her door startled her out of her musings, and she raised her head as the Professor poked his head through the door. He smiled at her but there was worry in his brown eyes, and she knew that it was only going to get worse until she started sleeping regular hours again. “Yes, Professor?”

“There is a messenger from the Empire here to see you, Your Eminence,” he stated, moving farther into the room but still keeping the door mostly closed, apparently to keep the messenger out of the office until Catarina allowed them in or dismissed them entirely without an audience.

There was no way that Catarina was going to turn a messenger from the Empire away, not after she had been working for so long to get a peace accord hashed out between the human kingdoms and the Methuselan Empire. “Send them in and remain as well.”

The Professor pushed open the door to allow the messenger in, and Catarina examined the young girl that almost skipped in. The messenger looked to be about fifteen or sixteen with black hair cut straight at her chin and framing a heart shaped face while emerald eyes danced around with mischievousness dancing in their depths but there was something about her that caught Catarina’s attention. Something that she had seen before, a step carefully taken, a hand carelessly waved, a toss of the head, but she just couldn’t remember where.

The girl stopped in front of Catarina’s desk and curtseyed gracefully, her red skirt held in delicate hands as her white shirt and red vest made her appear like a peasant girl out for a stroll instead of a messenger from the Empress. “I bring greetings to her Eminence, Cardinal Catarina Sforza of the Department of Foreign Affairs, from Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Augusta Vradica, the Eternal Mother of the Empire.”

“I thank you for the greetings,” Catarina stated, waving a hand to one of the visitor’s chairs placed before her desk as the Professor moved over to the French doors and quietly shut them against the outside world. “Please, have a seat so we may discuss your message civilly. Do you mind if my subordinate remains?”

The girl’s grin somehow managed to grow larger as she practically bounced over to the chair and plopped down in it, her skirt billowing slightly as if she had been wearing petticoats under the simple skirt, but it didn’t hang right for that. “The Professor’s more than welcome to stay.”

Instantly, Catarina’s eyes flickered over to the Professor who was staring at the girl in shock. It was a rule that any of the AX Agents who introduced themselves to strangers did not use their code names when doing so since it was the code names that were used in the mission reports and official communications. Casually, Catarina leaned back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap, ready to move out of the way if it became necessary. “Why did you call him that?”

Innocent green eyes blinked up at her. “That’s his code name isn’t it as well as what everyone else in the AX calls him, right?” She turned to shake a finger at the Professor, her young face stern. “You know secrets that you weren’t suppose to know, and if you tell, it’ll hurt people who thought you were their friend.”

“What secrets could I possibly know, young lady?” sputtered the Professor, his brown eyes large as he placed a hand on his chest. “And why would I tell anyone?”

The girl sniffed and folded her arms across her chest as she turned back to Catarina. She reached into the pouch at her waist that Catarina had missed before and pulled out a small white box with a button on it. Pressing the button, the girl placed the box on Catarina’s desk before sitting back in her chair with a smug look on her face like a cat that had gotten into the cream.

“The Empress wishes to start negotiations towards the possibility of signing a peace treaty between the Empire and the Terran Kingdoms,” the girl stated, resting her hands on the arms of her chair, and Catarina was suddenly struck with the idea of the girl sitting on a throne instead of the visitor’s chair. “However, Her Majesty realizes that there are those who would rather watch the world crumble in chaos than build itself up in peace.”

“And just how would these negotiations start?” asked Catarina, shoving the girl’s odd behavior aside for the moment as she concentrated on the present situation. “Does Her Majesty have any suggestions in her written missive?”

The girl shook her head slightly. “There is no written missive, because Her Majesty wished to speak to you directly which she can through me,” she explained before closing her eyes. There was a faint charge in the air around her, like her body was giving off static electricity, and her hair rose around her head as her skin took on an almost white coloring. Catarina felt like smacking her forehead as she realized just who, or rather what, was sitting across from her. It was no wonder the girl’s actions had seemed so familiar since the blonde cardinal was use to seeing them in her missing friend’s movements, and she relaxed back in her chair, waiting to play along with the charade being spun out before her.

Sister Esther had provided a very detailed report when she had returned from the Empire after all.

Eyes opened to reveal glowing red had replaced dancing emerald, and there was a more commanding air about the girl as she sat there. “Greetings Cardinal Sforza. I have been looking forward to speaking with you for quite a while.”

“I am honored you have taken this time to speak with me, Your Imperial Majesty,” replied Catarina, a small smile on her face. This was going to be interesting because she was willing to bet that the Professor hadn’t clued in to the fact that the so-called messenger was in actuality a Crusnik, and the Empress of the Methuselah Empire. “Your messenger stated that you wished to start negotiations towards a peace treaty?”

“Yes. It is past time for the Terrans and Methuselans to put aside their petty differences and unite in the face of a much greater evil that threatens both races and the world,” stated the tiny Empress, and Catarina felt her blood run cold. The Contra Mundi. That was who the Empress was talking about. “To present a united front against this evil would be a large step in permanently stopping them.”

Catarina frowned, slightly. “How would we be able to get the details of a peace treaty hammered out to the satisfaction of all involved parties?” she asked, her mind already planning and sorting through the available means of secure communications. “A messenger would be easy to waylay in mid delivery and it is possible for a message to go astray or change in the wrong hands.”

“But harder should all the involved parties be in the same room, discussing it,” countered the Empress, not batting an eyelash at the suggestion. “What I propose is that the leaders of the Terran Kingdoms gather with myself in a secure location and discuss the peace treaty until it is agreed upon by all sides. Then we would sign it then, preventing anyone from changing it later.”

“With that many important leaders in one place, what is to stop someone from assassinating any or all of them?” Catarina countered, desperately trying to think if there was some way this could be avoided, but there was no way that she could see that would allow for a communications system that was fool proof and tamper proof.

The Empress shrugged a shoulder. “Each leader would be allowed to bring a party of guards, assistants, and helpers equaling to twenty people, and I would ask that your Iron Maiden provide air support as well as a way to evacuate everyone should an attack happen.”

Catarina frowned as she thought about what the Empress was proposing. With that many people including the various leaders wandering around, it would be easy for the Contra Mundi to slip a person in to poison the leaders even with their guards everywhere. So why allow each leader such a large party instead of narrowing the number of people?

“A trap,” breathed Catarina, her gray eyes large as a large rock settled in her stomach, and her head snapped up to stare at the Empress. “You’re setting a trap for the Contra Mundi in the guise of a peace conference.”

“If we set the conference for late October, all of us should be in better form then,” continued the Empress as if she hadn’t heard Catarina’s accusation. “Crown Prince Alexi is looking forward to meeting everyone, and it would probably take that long for people to agree to meet as well as find a spot for everyone to gather.”

It was only the knowledge that the apparent fifteen year old girl could easily break her in two without thinking about it was the only thing that kept Catarina from lunging across her desk to throttle some answers out of the Empress. “If you think I’m going to let my brother walk blindly into a situation where the Contra Mundi is practically handed all of the leaders on a silver platter, then think again,” she growled. “That monster has taken too much from me already and I won’t just hand my brother over to him to kill at his leisure.”

“So you think I am that cold, to sacrifice all that I hold dear, just for the possibility of destroying the most vile creature to ever breath the air,” countered the Empress, her voice taking a deep growl and her hair seemed to fluff up even more with her anger, but Catarina met those burning eyes squarely even as fangs flashed in the sunlight. “My brother is still recovering from that thing’s manipulations that left him severely injured and broken in more than one way. He might never recover in some ways before you die, Duchess of Milan.”

Catarina’s eyes widened slightly at the verbal slap before they narrowed and flickered over to where the Professor was still standing by the door. “You’re dismissed, Professor.”

“Are you sure, your Eminence?” asked the Professor, his brown eyes wide as he took a step towards them.

“Dismissed, Father Wordsworth,” she growled, glaring at him and almost daring him to disobey her a second time. Instead, the Professor bowed and slipped out the door, closing it firmly behind him. Catarina turned her attention back to the Empress. “Abel means as much to you as Alessandro does to me, Seth.”

That got a blink and a snort of disgust. “Someone’s been telling tales out of class again,” she sighed before returning her attention to Catarina. “You’ve been battling the Contra Mundi and his Rosen Kruenz Order for almost your entire life. There’s not a member of your department whose life hasn’t been changed by his manipulations in one way or another. Yes, I want this peace treaty to happen, but if we also managed to lure Cain out and take him down, then I won’t hesitate to sacrifice everyone to do it. But I know I’ll already be too late because Abel will have already taken him down.”

Catarina sat down in her chair, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders again. She hated that feeling because it reminded her of all the things she had done in the past that had brought her close to that line that Francesco had merrily danced over.

“I don’t want to end up like Francesco.” The confession slipped out of her and she swallowed hard as she felt the grief and frustration over Abel’s disappearance rise up, causing tears to appear in her eyes. Catarina slumped in her chair, hands clasped uselessly before her in her lap as she stared at the top of her desk, watching as tears fell on the paperwork scattered there, leaving patches of flesh colored splatters on the pristine white paper where her tears were washing away her makeup. “I’ve done too many things in the past to work towards peace between humans and vampires that forced me near that line he has willingly crossed. I’ve lost everyone that’s close to me, leaving only Alessandro for me to protect.”

A bitter laugh slipped out of her as she looked up at the young girl sitting across from her. “Would you believe me if I said that I was jealous of you? You can go out and do what you wish, have gone out and done what you wished, but I’m stuck here, working towards peace that will probably never happen in my lifetime and protecting my little brother from my older brother.”

Years of frustration, broken dreams, and putting everyone else first combined with her lack of sleep and the fear over Abel, and Catarina buried her face in her hands, knocking the monocle to the floor, as the tears coursed down her cheeks. It had been years since she had last cried, but it was all too much. Abel had always known what to say, what to do, to make the burden she carried seemed much less than it truly was, but Abel wasn’t there any more thanks to Francesco’s insanity. Her heart was breaking because now, the only way she would be able to help her silver haired friend end the threat that the Contra Mundi and the Rosen Kruenz Order represented was by placing her gentle little brother in the line of fire.

Catarina didn’t think she could do this anymore, not with this latest sacrifice being called for. Not without Abel there to be her silent pillar of unwavering friendship and support.

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For a few minutes, all Seth could do was stare at the quietly sobbing blonde behind the desk before she walked around with her handkerchief in her hand. Bending quickly, she scooped up the round piece of glass and placed it on the desk before pressing the square of cotton in the pretty cardinal’s hands. This was not what she had been expecting when they had started their little spat, but apparently things had been building for a while, leading to this emotional breakdown. Of course, the tears had washed away some of Catarina’s makeup, revealing the dark shadows under her eyes that shouted about her lack of sleep.

It was a few minutes later before Catarina managed to get a hold of herself, and she wiped her face with the borrowed handkerchief before grimacing at the makeup on the white cloth. “I will get your handkerchief cleaned before I return it,” she said, her voice slightly hoarse from the silent crying.

Seth waved it off as she wandered back to her seat and plopped down on it, all traces of her Crusnik form gone. “Keep it as a reminder that you’re not alone, no matter how heavy the burden.” She crossed her legs and patiently waited for the blonde to collect herself, and reapply her makeup to hide the shadows under her eyes, before starting again. “Abel’s getting better by the day thanks to a steady diet of blood and increased food. He is training again, determined to be good enough to take Cain down permanently this time. Leon is getting better as well. He twisted his knee when their ship crashed and then compounded the injury by hauling my brother’s dead weight around the capital.”

She shook her head. “What is it about men that makes them do the silliest things at the strangest times but it all works out for the best?”

“We should talk about this peace conference,” Catarina stated, replacing the monocle in her right eye before she raised reddened eyes to stare at Seth.

“Abel, Leon, and the Duchess of Kiev are training to be able to take out the Contra Mundi and his two main operatives, Dietrich and Isaak,” began Seth, resting her hands on the chair arms after making sure her white noise generator and bug jammer was still working. It wouldn’t do to have someone overhear their conversation this early in the game. “With the Iron Maiden available for evacuation and with each ruler allowed guards, we should be able to get everyone out if a problem were to arise, and I will be the last line of defense between the rulers and any problem.”

“That sounds reasonable, Your Majesty,” murmured Catarina, her hands folded on her desk. “I can find no fault in your plan.”

Seth nodded before hopping to her feet and grabbing Catarina’s wrist. “Good. Now let’s go outside and enjoy this day before you go to bed and sleep yourself out.” She pulled the pretty cardinal towards the French windows with a smile on her face. “You’ll be no help to anyone if you collapse over your desk from exhaustion.”

Before Catarina could protest or even think about pulling away, Seth had hauled her out into the sunshine and into the elaborate garden in the center of the Vatican. It was too nice of a day to waste it inside bickering over petty details of a plan that was still weeks away from coming together, and she still needed to hear back from her other messengers to make adjustments.

Besides, she could hear someone crying in the garden, and she was willing to bet good money that it was someone whom Catarina needed to talk to.

Rounding a corner, she spotted a figure wrapped in his white robes of state sitting in a shadowy gazebo crying, and she pulled Catarina over, pushing her to sit on one side of the teenage boy as Seth plopped down on the other. Calmly, she sat there, waiting for the young teen to acknowledge their presence. It was a few minutes later that they boy stopped crying long enough to look up at them, wary gray eyes reddened from his tears, and Seth pulled out another handkerchief from her skirt, pressing it into his hands as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Who are you?” whispered Alessandro, scrubbing at his face with the white cloth in a desperate attempt to remove his tears and any evidence that he had been crying. He looked to his other side and jumped to find Catarina sitting there, not saying a word and looking very tired. “Sister?”

Catarina smiled but it didn’t reach her tired eyes. “Yes, Alessandro?”

“What are you doing here?” he asked before his gray eyes widened in realization at how that could have been taken. “Not that I don’t appreciate your company, but you’ve been distant lately.”

“I have, haven’t I?” she murmured, looking down at her hands that were folded in her lap. “I apologize, Alessandro, but I’ve been worried about a good friend of mine.”

“Are they all right? What happened to them?” the young pope asked, his eyes filled with concern.

Seth smiled at the worry for someone that Alessandro didn’t even know. That spoke a great deal for his ability to care for other people. “My brother’s getting better after a mad man kidnaped and tortured him.” She held out her hand. “Seth Nightlord. Pleased to meet ya.”

Hesitantly, Alessandro shook her hand. “A pleasure,” he murmured, a faint frown on his face. “Are you any relation to Father Nightroad? I haven’t seen him around lately, and he’s really good at offering advice without sounding preachy.”

She nodded. “He’s my brother, and he’ll be delighted to hear that you are concerned about him,” she said. “It’ll help him get better to know that there are others who care about him.”

“If he’s injured, why isn’t he in the Vatican infirmary?” asked Alessandro, the frown deepening as he stared at Seth. “That’s where everyone else ends up when they’re hurt or sick.”

“Because he’s not safe here,” Seth confessed, her voice soft. “Here, the man who kidnaped him the first time could easily get to him again, but at home, it’s harder with everyone around who are already wary of strangers.”

Alessandro nodded but his face fell at the information that one of his friends was hurt in the Vatican. “Where is home by the way?” he began only to hold his hands up in a placating gesture. “You don’t have to give me details. I was just curious to know if it would be possible to write to him, send him good wishes at getting better.”

Seth grinned, her green eyes sparkling. “He would probably like that a lot,” she admitted, digging into her skirt pocket again to pull out a slightly crumpled envelope and hand it over to Catarina. “Speaking of which. A letter to you from my brother. Feel free to write him back, the address is listed in the letter along with the name he’s going by while at home.”

She returned her attention to the young pope. “As for where home is, I’ll be happy to tell you if you promise not to tell the secret.”

“I promise,” agreed the young man, his gray eyes dancing with excitement.

“Home is the Imperial Palace in Byzantium, the capital city of the Empire,” Seth whispered in his ear, before she pulled back with a giggle. “I’m a special messenger for Her Imperial Majesty right now, trying to get things started for possible peace talks and a hopeful treaty sometime in the coming months.”

Alessandro nodded, turning to stare out at the sun drenched gardens. “It would be really nice to have a peace treaty between the human kingdoms and the Empire,” he sighed. “So what seems to be the problem with starting them? There must be something if you’re talking about it taking months instead of weeks.”

“The problem, Your Holiness, is that a very evil man who wants to take over the world would see this as a possible threat and do his best to stop negotiations,” explained Seth with a shrug of her shoulder. “It wouldn’t take much to disrupt negotiations with a missing messenger here, a replaced message there, and if he did it right, everyone would be at each other’s throats, allowing him to topple various governments by getting another world war started.”

“Then the only way to get this peace treaty argued out and signed would be for everyone to meet in person,” agreed Alessandro with a slight nod of his head. “But that would make us a target for this man as well.”

Seth grinned as she leaned back on the bench. Apparently Alessandro wasn’t as concerned as Catarina was, but the blonde had a better idea about what lengths Cain was willing to go to. “Her Imperial Majesty thought that with a party of twenty people for each ruler and the Iron Maiden for an emergency evacuation, there would be sufficient security. The only thing left would be to find a neutral spot to hold the conference.”

Alessandro shrugged. “Then we’ll just have to find one and hope the others can come as well,” he replied, his gray eyes focusing once more on Seth. “So tell me a bit about yourself. I miss having someone my own age to talk to.”

“A pleasure,” replied Seth before starting to talk about the human life she had constructed for herself. It wouldn’t do to give too many secrets away yet.

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