Naptime!

This just has to be an very elaborate prank... Right?

The day that the world as I knew it ended began quite innocently.  Alexandria Jacobs, one of my closest friends, dragged me off to the mall for spirits only knows.  Probably something from Victoria’s Secret again. 

 

…That always made me feel awkward that I, a female who was to turn sixteen within the month, would much rather be exploring with my family in their expeditions or excavations, then dress up and party like Alex and her friends.

 

In any case my first destination was the bookstore.  A new volume of Trinity Blood was calling my name and I just had to add it to the collection.

 

About an hour or so later, we reunited at one of the restaurants in the mall and promptly showed off our purchases.  Well, at least Alexandria did.  She pulled out a white blouse and a very short miniskirt from one of her many bags.

 

My mind barely registered what she was talking about as my whole attention was wrapped into the story before me.  Something about this series made sense to me and I only wished to know if all this was possible.  Mind you my bones would long be mere dust if all this actually came to pass.

 

Still, it would be most interesting.

 

A shadow blocked out the light causing me to turn my head to see a robed and hooded figure holding his hand out to me.

 

“I have come for you, Emily Seren.”

 

What the hell? 

 

“What exactly are you talking about?  Screw that, how do you know my name?!”

 

“If you desperately wish for adventure and to learn what you are truly capable of then take my hand.”

 

My mind was screaming for me to run the hell away from the freak.  Too bad my body didn’t get the memo.

 

Once he held my hand, he began to speak mostly to himself in a strange language that I heard a many times thanks to my parents who thought I should learn other languages.

 

Latin?

 

All of a sudden my body went numb and fell sideways on the booth. 

 

“You will be known throughout the realm as…”

 

I never heard what he said for I had to have fainted.

 

 

 

  

Father Abel Nightroad rapidly awoke from his darkening dreams to see a young woman looking out of the window.  She was dressed in some bizarre many pocketed pants and a white top that covered all that it needed to.  Her skin was fair and her visible eye was a brilliant green with gold and brown flecks.  Oddly enough her long jet black hair had white bangs, highlights, and tips.

 

Something about her was familiar.  “Who are you?”

 

The girl apparently didn’t hear or even notice him.  “This can’t go on for much longer.”

 

Ever so slowly, Abel stood up and headed over to her side though he wasn’t even a foot away when the girl vanished.

 

 

A short time later, Abel and the rest of the major AX members were brought to Cardinal Caterina for an important meeting.

 

Without raising her eyes from the book that she was holding, she began to explain why they were summoned. 

 

“The reason I have brought you two here today is that we were asked to investigate a strange finding of a cave system near the human village of Kibbe.  Supposedly there’s a tree that has been there for around a thousand years or so, if the legend told is true.  This tree in question is dying and only recently has the strange sightings of a young woman been reported.  When the caves were discovered, some of the curious locals went in and said it was as if time had stopped in the entire area.  Artifacts ranging from ancient mechanical mechanisms to countless journals dating back centuries or longer were all around them.  Continuing deeper revealed a window looking into a room filled with still working scientific items.  There in the middle of the room was an altar and on it was the young woman that has been spotted outside.”

 

Caterina handed the book over to Abel.  “This is the image of the girl as the writer of this journal saw her.”

 

Abel’s eyes widened at seeing the exact young woman from earlier dressed in a loose pure white dress, her hair swaying in an unfelt breeze.  Her head was tilted downward so her hair covered much of her face while a mischievous grin showed on the visible part.  She stood in the middle of two very different scenes.  On one side was a peaceful scene of a prospering city and the other side had the same city though it was enveloped by a whitish-blue fire.  Finally there were markings on her skin.

 

“Her name is Emily Seren and if what I have read so far is true, we have to bring her here for protection.”

 

For the first time Tres spoke up, “If she is too dangerous do I have the order to terminate her?”

 

“No.  I very much doubt it will come to that and if anything she’ll be the one needing help.”

 

“You expect trouble.”

 

Caterina nodded before looking at the oddly silent Abel.  “I would like for you to personally watch over her.  Emily will need someone who can help her adapt to her new life here.”

 

Without looking up from the picture, Abel agreed.

 

 

 

Several days later around midday the two Fathers arrived in Kibbe and were immediately brought to the tree where the Elder met with them.

 

“I know that you are here to see the guardian of our region and to take her away.  I can understand your fear of her falling into enemy hands but you must understand that we would then be targets without her protection.”

 

“Can you go into more detail?” asked Abel.

 

“For as long as this area was populated it was unknowingly under the protection of the Tree and it’s Mistress.  There have been no attacks, no violence, and no real life-threatening situations.  This entire area has abundance in crops and harvesting.  Even the livestock are usually healthy.  We, or at the very least I, view her as a blessing from God.”

 

“Is there anything we can do in exchange for taking Emily?”

 

The old man sighed before saying to bring her back once she wakes up so she can bless the land.  With the assurances of the AX members they entered the cave and followed it to the room where Emily was seen.

 

There trapped in a death-like slumber was the girl that they were sent to find.  Her breathing was barely noticeable and she looked like any other human.  Still something about her drew him in like a moth to a flame.

 

“Father Nightroad, status report.”

 

With a blink, Abel turned to Tres with an apologetic smile.  “I’m fine.  I just can’t believe that she was undisturbed for so long.” 

 

He walked over to the door and opened it before heading over to her side.  Abel stared at her slightly smiling face and wondered to himself on how long that will remain.  He picked her up and images ran through his mind consisting of shadowy figures, a book, and various creatures that he never saw or heard of before.

 

They left her ‘cell’ and headed outside while discussing on the material from the cave being sent to the Vatican.  Once outside what appeared to be half of the town were waiting for a glimpse of their guardian.  Many people began to say their farewells though grew quiet out of respect when the elder approached with a necklace that had a sun with a crescent moon within it hanging in the middle.

 

“This was passed down through the town for countless generations.  Long ago a scientist made this to help control the various powers that flow through her body until she could control it on her own.”  He quickly put it on her and the Fathers left the town of Kibbe.

 

 

 

  

Visions of various people ran through my head though they thankfully stopped when I heard someone loudly gasp before running out the door.  A female voice was calling…

 

“Father Nightroad!”

 

…

 

What the hell?

 

I sat up, glanced around and immediately realized that I was not home but actually in a strange bedroom.  And it wasn’t just because I didn’t have my manga collection.

 

Before I could figure out how I got here, out of breath panting was heard just outside the door.  After a moment the door opened and a tall figure with long silver hair walked in. His blue eyes were cheerful and the smile he had was calming.

 

“It is nice to finally see you up Miss Emily.  My name is Father Abel Nightroad.  Please call me Abel.”

 

This guy takes cosplaying to a whole new level.  “It’s nice to meet you Abel.  You can call me Em or Emi.  Can you tell me how I got here?”

 

“I brought you here from the caves near Kibbe.  You were in a deep slumber and some of us had doubts that you would wake up anytime soon.  For some reason I knew you would.”

 

“What do you mean I was asleep?  For that matter, how long have I been ‘asleep’?”

 

‘Abel’ paused in thought before hesitantly asking what year it was and I promptly answered with, “2012.”

 

He nodded his head in thought.  “I am to be your …guide to Rome and the Vatican.  If you have any questions about anything just ask me or Father William Walter Wordsworth.”

 

My stomach roared and I scratched my cheek.  “Do you know where I can get something good to eat?”

 

Abel helped me up and offered to take me to a nearby restaurant.  How can I possibly say no when someone else is paying.

 

And so we left the room and sneaked off to get some grub.

 

 

My mouth practically watered at seeing the various food options before me.  In the end, I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and fries and my ‘guide’ just had some tea.  Mind you it was with damn near endless amounts of sugar.

 

Neither one of us knew what to talk about so we remained quiet.  After a few minutes I couldn’t take the uneasy silence much longer.

 

“How did you know my name?  What else do you know about me?!”

 

Abel gave me a reassuring smile and I knew that he was hiding something.  “I read something that had your name in it and that’s all I know.”  He took a sip of his tea then continued.  “No one really knows much about you or where you come from so why don’t you tell me about yourself?”

 

My food came then and I thanked the waiter. 

 

“It’s no problem.  If there’s anything you might want, don’t hesitate to call me.”  He then walked off.

 

A shiver ran down my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck rose in warning.  Someone was watching me intently.  Discretely looking around revealed nothing at first glance but something moving out of the corner of my eyes caught my attention.

 

It looks like a human though something feels off about it.

 

“Is something the matter Emily?”

 

Abel’s voice brought me back from the freaky thoughts running through my head.  “It’s nothing.  Just thought I saw something strange.”

 

At that exact moment my stomach demanded to be fed and the meal disappeared in what seemed to be mere seconds.

 

“Regarding your question about getting to know me there’s not much to tell.  I was born on June 19^th 1996 in Miami, Florida which is in North America.  Well, more precisely the United States.  My favorite colors are dark red, black, and white and my favorite animal is either a wolf or a fox.  Hobbies include learning new things, drawing, reading, and exploring new places.  I’m a big fan of mythology of all types and thanks to my parents also love creating new things.  My mother came from a family whose members were usually in some sort of science field while my father’s was the more historic side.”

 

My ‘guide’ grew silent as if comprehending those facts.  “How old are you?”

 

“I was about to turn 16^th that month when my friend…”

 

The memory quickly slipped from my fingers and the more I tried to capture it, the more it faded to the back of my mind.

 

“Your friend?”

 

“I’m sorry but I can’t seem to recall.”

 

We paid the bill once it came and left.  I began to walk back to the Vatican when the feeling from before started up again.

 

“Abel…”  He looked down at me curiously.  “I think we are being watched.”

 

Then again it doesn’t help that the nearby citizens were watching our every move and gossiping. 

 

Different place same habits…, I thought with a sigh.

 

Without any more problems, we reached our destination.  My eyes widened as I actually took in the beauty of the gardens and of the brilliantly crafted buildings.

 

This place truly transcends time. 

 

As I was in my own little world, someone called my name and after getting no immediate response said, “Earth to Emily, Come in Emily.”

 

For some reason I was embarrassed to be caught totally zoned out like this.  There standing next to Abel was the smiling face of a William Walter Wordsworth cosplayer.

 

“I take it you are Father Wordsworth.”

 

Both were understandably shocked and I couldn’t help but circle and study them.  Mostly because I was bored though I won’t deny that I hoped it unnerved the two ‘Fathers’.

 

“I am, but how did you come to that conclusion?”

 

I stopped in front of them and folded my arms.  “It’s not that hard to figure out.  Abel told me if I had any questions or whatnot to either seek him out or you.”  I looked him up and down and he looked right into my eyes.  “Besides you look like the intellectual type.”

 

Abel chuckled before asking what I considered him to be like and so I told him…  Well one version at least.

 

“I’m not clumsy!”

 

We just stared blandly at him until William said that the cardinal wishes to see me.  The way he said it in such an urgent tone actually freaked me out.  And so I was pretty much dragged deeper into this place. 

 

With each step I took, a panic slowly took hold over me.  Abel gave me a gentle smile before whispering to me that everything was going to be okay.  I knew that he meant to help me calm down but that didn’t help at all.  All too soon we arrived in front of the doors supposedly leading to cardinal Caterina’s office.

 

I entered the room half expecting everyone to say “Fooled you Emily,” but when that never came I grew nervous.

 

“Emily, please take a seat.” A female voice said.

 

Ever so slowly my eyes moved from the calmly smiling FEMALE cardinal to the chair surrounded by AX members.  I sat down and folded my hands in my lap.

 

“You are probably wondering how you got here.”

 

“No…  I was wondering when this bizarre dream will end.”

 

She chuckled though I saw nothing funny about this.  Even more so when she added the following, “I would think you’d have enough sleep to last a lifetime.”

 

An exasperated sigh from yours truly.  “What exactly do you mean?”

 

“You were in a forced slumber for a very long time.” Said Caterina

 

“Define a very long time…”

“About 1,000 years give or take a decade.” Came her calm response

 

My mind shut down completely then.  “Okay?  First off that’s impossible.  Second my bones should long be dust if what you just said is true…  Which it isn’t.  Finally why would you care about me?”

 

“I do not know how you survived the ages without aging or becoming dust nor do I know much about the technology we found there.  What I do know is that it is better to be protected then to be captured by those who would abuse your potential.”

 

Nothing I could say would properly represent my confusion.  “Let’s say you are telling the truth then everyone I knew and cared for is…”

 

Everyone looked away from me and I knew that something was wrong regardless of what they were saying beforehand.

 

William patted my shoulder.  “I’m sorry for your losses, but it does no good to fret about what ifs and things that happened in the past.”

 

I was silent for several minutes before I was told to wait out in the hallway.  With a nod of my head I practically ran out of the room and leaned against the wall next to the door.  I slid down to the cold ground and stretched. 

 

This whole thing just seems like it’s happening to someone else entirely.  Heh, it’s probably just my way of coping with all this bullshit.

 

“Are you Miss Emily?”

 

I looked up to see a young brown haired nun who was holding a wrapped gift.  “My name is indeed Emily.  Is there something I can do for you?”

 

“When I was cleaning the room you were in I found this on the bed.  The window above the bed was open as well so perhaps it’s a secret admirer?”

 

Right…

 

“Thank you for bringing it to me.  Since you know my name, may I know yours?”

 

“It’s Christine.”

 

“It’s nice to meet you Christine.”

 

I opened the gift and saw a diary and an old tome.  Without much thought into it I opened the letter and paused at what it said.

 

Lately I’ve been strange woman in my dreams.  Her green eyes stared straight into mine and I felt like if we ever met she’d have me under her spell.  I told this to Isaak who told me that he had the same person in his.

 

Do they mean Isaak from Rosen Kreuz Orden!?

 

I’m usually the one pulling the strings and not the other way around.  I hated that feeling of being even somewhat controlled by someone who might not even exist.

 

One of our informants reported a cave being located near Kibbe.  The locals said that a girl resembling the one in my dreams was sleeping deep within.  I imagine the Vatican is already aware of this and sent some of their operatives to ‘rescue’ her from our clutches.

 

If that is the case then I will leave a gift for her… Nothing dangerous mind you.  Just something to pique her interest. 

 

I just have a feeling that if she was on our side, we’d be truly unstoppable.

 

 

Wow…  What a bunch of bullshit.

 

“Are you ready for me to take you to your room?”

 

I nodded at Abel and followed his lead.

 

 

Hours passed and night had arrived along with a feeling of uneasiness bubbling up inside of me.  Luckily Abel’s room was only down the hall so in case of an emergency I can scream bloody murder and he’ll come. 

 

Lost in my thoughts, I looked out the window and saw a man dressed in black looking at me from the rooftops.  Terrified, I simply watched as he vanished before my eyes.

 

Suffice to say I had a hard time falling asleep that night. 

Author's Note

Yeah... My dreams are very odd. Still I loved the idea of a semi sleeping beauty scenes and you can't say that you wouldn't feel like this entire thing was an prank or something if it happened to you. I REALLY don't care for the reviews since I mostly write down random things and usually just for my own enjoyment.

Reviews

[The Cute 1]

wow i love this