When Victoria stepped outside, she wrenched her hand from Roman. “You’ve got to show me around, not the other way around…” she said, as he voice trailed off. Truth be told, she still felt a bit odd about holding his hand. It was nice, really, but she wasn’t sure why he kept insisting on it. Roman nodded his head sharply; saying nothing, and instead, began walking down the sidewalk. For a brief moment, Victoria thought she saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes, but it was gone before she could be entirely sure of what she saw.
Victoria followed Roman down the street until the two of them happened upon a lonely looking diner. Roman strode forward and held open the door for her. “I thought we’d have some brunch before we really get down to business.” Victoria let out an involuntary giggle, and then clapped her hand over her mouth and hurried through the open door. She didn’t know what was getting into her lately, but it was quickly getting out of her control.
The inside of the diner was a marked change from the cozy café they’d visited the day before. Instead of the small, homey tables, the tables were long and wide, with stainless steel tops. In the back, where Victoria assumed the kitchen would be, she could hear the hissing sounds of frying food. The diner was semi-crowded, so she and Roman took a wrap-around booth in a corner near the back. After a waitress stopped by to take their orders (Victoria ordered a hamburger, and Roman ordered a roast beef sandwich), she crossed her arms and leaned back into the plush, red booth. “So…is this one of your favorite places?” Victoria ventured forward, awkwardly. She wasn’t sure why everything had suddenly become so uncomfortable. Granted, it was always a bit awkward at first, but things like that tended to fade away over time, didn’t they? “It’s only been a week”, the familiar little voice in her head piped up, “Give it time.” Give what time? A friendship, was a friendship, was a friendship, Victoria wondered.
“—Yeah, Rita’s has the best sandwiches. They have pretty decent hamburgers, too.” Roman answered, and Victoria shook the conflicting thoughts from her head. Although the tension in the air was palpable, and she couldn’t for the life of her, figure out why, there was no harm in getting to know him a little better. It seemed like forever since they could actually sit down and have a conversation without daggers being drawn, but in reality it had only been a day.
“So, what’s your family like?” Victoria froze. She had planned to keep conversation light, and make a wide berth around any serious topics, but Roman had just shattered that plan in the first five seconds of their conversation. But, it wasn’t his fault. She too had assumed everyone had the same family situation as herself.
“Well, I’m not sure. I’ve never met them, you see. I was raised at the convent all my life.” Victoria watched Roman’s eyes widen momentarily, and look down, as if he was trying carefully not to offend her.
“All your life? I thought you might have been cooped up in there for a couple of years at least, but I had no idea it’s been that long.” Victoria grimaced. “When you put it like that, Roman, it does sound very tragic.”
He laughed, and the skin around his eyes crinkled a bit. Victoria smiled in spite of herself. His smile was so friendly. More than pleasant, really. “I didn’t say it was tragic, just a bit stifling, I think.” “What about your family? Do you have one?” Victoria leaned forward in her seat, suddenly feeling very interested.
Roman ran his fingers through his curls, and shook his head. “Yeah, I have one. Just my mom, though. My dad died when I was younger, so my mom sent me to the monastery because she thought I could use some fatherly ‘direction’." Victoria laughed as Roman used air quotes, and then rolled his eyes. “So, you don’t like it there?” “No, no, don’t get me wrong. I have a good time. As much of a good time as you can have in a monastery, really. It’s like having a lot of brothers, and Brother Ammon is kind of…” “A father figure for you.” Victoria finished for him. “Yeah, yeah he is.” Roman smiled, and opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by the approaching waitress.
“A roastbeef sandwich for you, sir. And… a classic Rita’s hamburger for you!” Victoria stared down, wide-eyed at the plate that had been placed in front of her. It was huge. She cupped the air with her hands, trying to figure out the best way to attack the thing. She decided on one, giant bite, and as she struggled to chew after she realized she’d bitten off a bit too much, she noticed Roman, out of the corner of her eye, desperately trying to cover up his laughter.
When Victoria finally managed to swallow, the bite of hamburger slid down her throat like a brick down a narrow chimney. She chased it down with some water, and exhaled. “That…was a tough one, wasn’t it?” Roman said solemn-faced, but the subtle wavering in his voice was evident. “I’m not eating anymore. You’re laughing at me.” Victoria pushed her plate across the table, and crossed her arms for emphasis. At this, Roman burst into laughter. “Oh, come on Victoria. I’m just kidding. Eat up." When she didn’t budge, he steered the plate back over to her. “It’s like this, see.” He used his knife and fork to cut the hamburger into small, bite-sized squares, and speared a piece on the end of his fork. “Here, open your mouth.” Victoria opened her mouth obediently, and as Roman slid the fork into her mouth, she smiled.
“Better, right?” She nodded, and swallowed before she opened her mouth to speak, “Food is always better when you’re not choking.”
After finishing their meals, Roman announced that he was taking her on a tour of the city. Several hours later found the two strolling leisurely down the sidewalk, heading back towards the exit of Gracelia, with dusk rapidly approaching.
Upon Roman’s insistence, they’d visited the Gracelian river, and gone dolphin spotting. Victoria had spotted a few, but for some reason, Roman seemed to be having all the luck. When Victoria jumped for joy after spotting the tail fin of what she thought was a dolphin, Roman was already pulling her by the hand in another direction, where a herd of dolphins were jumping out of the water, making delighted clicking noises.
Afterwards, they’d visited the city’s central park and sat on the park benches spreading feed to the pigeons. It was there that Roman felt compelled to tell her more about himself. To her surprise, she wasn’t opposed to the idea, and as scary as it was to admit it, she couldn’t help but want to know more about Roman. When they’d settled down on the bench, she fumbled around for something to say for a few moments, before Roman brought up the monastery. Victoria had always wondered if life there was similar to life in the convent, but as Roman’s description wore on, she realized, with a grimace, that life in the monastery was lavish, compared to the convent. She gasped when he told her that they didn’t eat slop on a regular basis. Instead, the monks had actual meals, and occasionally (Victoria had fumed at this), food was brought in from the city. “So, we eat well” Roman had said, and he rubbed his stomach impishly.
“Not really. You’re a bit thin” Victoria replied, and before she knew her hand was on his stomach. When her hand came into contact with his stomach, she almost jerked back. Roman’s stomach wasn’t rock solid, but through his shirt, she could feel his lean muscle, and the soft contours. She realized with a start that she had been unabashedly rubbing his abdomen; she drew her hand back and stuffed it in her robe pockets, and tried to will away the rising color in her cheeks. Shortly after, as the tension in the air grew to be nothing short of painful, Roman muttered “Guess I should be getting you back. I’ll show you the way.”
Victoria had followed behind, feeling strangely unsatisfied that she would be leaving so soon. When they reached the familiar toll booth, Roman slipped in two quarters, and watched as Victoria passed through. As she was making her way down the asphalt path, she heard him calling her name. “Victoria, I almost forgot. I’ll be seeing you soon!” At his words, a strange thrill tingled up her spine. He would be seeing her soon? But why? As Victoria headed back towards the convent, she pondered this, feeling her early disappointment fade away along with the daylight.
Upon arriving back at
the convent, Victoria found that the nuns were still working tirelessly. She ambled over to Grace’s area, to find the big nun, as usual, wrapping the leg of yet another injured orphan. Grace looked unusually haggard, but her eyes still harbored the same gentleness.
“I’m guessing you had a good couple of days in the city.” Grace wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and then slapped the arm of the orphan she was working on. “You’re all good to go buddy.”
“I really did.” Victoria said, as she settled down on the edge of one of Grace’s tables and watched Grace pack her bandages into a small box. When she finished, Grace called out to her “I’ll be wanting to hear all about your time in the city, but first, I need a pick-me-up. You’ll need one too.” Before Victoria could ask why she might need such a thing, Grace disappeared into the convent. A few minutes later, she reemerged, bearing two steaming mugs of tea. Victoria accepted hers and took a deep sip. “Now, where were we?” Grace asked, after taking a deep sip of her own.
As Victoria was feeling unusually giddy, she launched into her story with enthusiasm, but leaving out Roman. She knew Grace wouldn’t say anything about it, but if it ever got back to Sister Katherine, she wasn’t sure how she would react. “It sounds like you had a good time. A really good time.” Grace wiggled her eyes suggestively once more, and Victoria was sure that Grace knew exactly what she had left out.
“Drink up, though. You’ll need your strength for the night. We’ve got a meeting.” Victoria’s jaw dropped. “We, as in the Other Sisterhood, have a meeting tonight?
But why? It’s been so long.”
“I know” Grace said darkly. “It means that this meeting might be pretty important.”
Grace stood up, and returned to packing and folding the bandages, as Victoria sat there, sipping her tea, and fantasizing about the night ahead.
VII.
As dusk turned to nightfall, Victoria waited anxiously in her room. It felt like it had been so long since she even thought about the Other Sisterhood. Her dagger, which she held in hand, felt slightly dull. In reality, it was likely as sharp as ever, but it had been a few days since she had run her hand along its tip, just for the fun of it.
After twirling it around a bit, in frustration, Victoria sheathed her dagger and headed towards the door. It was nearly eight o’clock, and the sun had gone down over an hour before, so what in the world was the hold up? As her hand made for the doorknob, it turned of its accord and the door inched open. Expecting to see Raela’s offensive gap, Victoria took a step back, but to her surprise and relief, she saw Grace’s warm brown eyes peering back at her. “Come on, girl. It’s time.”
Victoria felt her heart skip a beat, as she followed Grace from the room and into the main hallway. The main hallway was eerie looking as it usually was at night, and looked as if it was bathed in thin coat of blood. Victoria liked to believe it was only the reflection of the crimson torches on the wall, but she couldn’t be sure. She followed Grace down the familiar cobblestone pathway, and her breath quickening with every step. Victoria had forgotten how much of a rush this type of activity could be. She gripped her dagger in anticipation, and willed Grace to move faster. Speaking of Grace, Victoria thought, as her thoughts turned to the large nun, she was being rather quiet throughout this whole ordeal. Victoria couldn’t see her face very well, only the outline of it, courtesy of the wall torches, but she could swear Grace was wearing a scowl, and Victoria couldn’t imagine why.
Grace was a part of the Other Sisterhood by choice, wasn’t she? Victoria contemplated, as her feet hit the grass. You’d think that when someone had a choice to be a part of something, they would be happier about it. When the cobblestone path ended, Grace took a sharp right, heading towards the area where the campfire had been last. As they neared, instead of hearing the chanting that Victoria had become so accustomed to, she heard a flurry of noise. She couldn’t see anything yet, but she could feel the tension buzzing about in the air.
When she finally arrived camp side, she found the atmosphere to be as tense as she expected, but as to why it was that way, she couldn’t say. The Other Brotherhood was there as well, but instead of the laughter and merriment from the time before, anxiety permeated the air.
Victoria stepped near the fire and rubbed her hands together to warm them. As she did, she felt a soft touch on her shoulder and a presence to her right.
“Hey.”
Roman was dressed completely in his Other Brotherhood attire. Like her own robes, his were black and blended in seamlessly with the night. He had his hood up, so the most Victoria could see of his face was his nose and chin, illuminated by the fire light. He inched closer to her, so that their shoulders were touching. Grateful for the warmth, in the midst of the frosty night air, she huddled closer. “Hey. What’s going on?” Roman held his hands over the fire, and leaned closer to her.
“Something big, I’m guessing. Political, too. I’m not really sure, to be honest, I just know that before tonight’s over, somebody’s going to die.” Victoria shivered at his words.
Victoria and Roman stood by the fire, gazing into the flames for what felt like hours before she felt a gentle tug on her hand.
“Come on, Victoria. The meeting is starting.” Victoria let him lead her to where a circle of nuns and monks were gathering. She and Roman squeezed into an open space, and looked expectantly over to Sister Katherine, who with Brother Ammon, was waiting for the commotion to die down before speaking.
“Attention, Sisters and Brothers. It is good to see you all again. I know some of you have been out enjoying all that life has to offer, and I cannot blame you for that. But the time has come again, for us to come together and make a decision regarding our purpose in this changing world.”
“What is she going on about?” Victoria whispered, to no one in particular. Sister Katherine was always solemn, but if possible, she seemed even more frigid than usual on this night. “Just listen” Roman replied, as Sister Katherine continued.
“We have been asked, by a reliable source, to carry out our most high profile assassination to date. The assassination of a Mr. Alexander Gloucester, otherwise known as the Crown Prince of Gracelia. A collective gasp rose from the audience of nuns and monks.
Victoria elbowed Roman in the side to get his attention, producing a faint “oww” from somewhere next to her in the darkness. “Why is this a big deal? Don’t we assassinate people all the time?” “We don’t assassinate people who have done nothing wrong, Victoria. I know it’s hard to believe, but even assassin monks have morals.” Victoria rolled her eyes.
“As I’m sure you can understand, this assignment is one that brings our very morals into question. If we accept this assignment, the compensation that comes along with it, will be extraordinary. With the money received, we will be able to entirely renovate our respective facilities, and purchase a plot of land, on which to expand. While the majority of our reward will go towards the facilities, a substantial amount will be offered to individuals who are willing to help us complete our tasks.” Sister Katherine cleared her throat, and looked down, apparently done speaking for the time being. Brother Ammon stepped forward into the circle, and began to speak.
“In addition to the actual assassination of Mr. Gloucester, there are several other jobs, relating to it, that need doing. We need several volunteers to deal with technicalities, to insure that the assassination goes smoothly.” Brother Ammon rumbled in his deep voice.
“What are technicalities?” Victoria whispered. “Just simple things, like intercepting mail, observation, etc. We should volunteer for that. It’s pretty easy. But we’ve got to hurry, everyone will want that job.” Roman whispered back, nudging Victoria as he did.
As Roman predicted, there was a sudden scramble towards Brother Ammon, from both nuns and monks alike. “Come on, Victoria. Let’s do this one. It’s easy money, really. We could just—what are you looking at?” He stopped short, and looked into her eyes. There was something particularly unnerving, about t
he way she was staring at Brother Ammon, who had gone on to ask if there were any volunteers for the actual assassination.
“Victoria, what are you doing?” Roman grabbed her forearm and held it in a vice-grip. “Let’s do the assassination. That’s easy money too. Lots of easy money.” “Victoria, no. Stop. Just leave it to someone else. You heard what Sister Katherine said. We don’t do that sort of thing. YOU don’t do that sort of thing, remember? If it’s thrill you want, I can show you other ways. What are you trying to prove?” Roman asked, with a hint of rising desperation.
Victoria ripped her arm from Roman’s grip and strode forward. “I will. I volunteer.” The chattering of other nuns and monks in the background ceased immediately. Her eyes darted back and forth between Brother Ammon and Sister Katherine, who were staring at her, with open disbelief. “I said, I accept. Tell me what to do.” Brother Ammon opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
“I’ll do it too!” A voice rang out from the darkness, and Victoria turned around to see Roman striding forward. “I’ll partner with her.” “What are you doing, Roman?” Victoria whispered, and she felt the sudden urge to kick him as hard as possible. “I’m not going to let you do something this stupid. You’re just going to get yourself killed.” “Victoria, just—She ignored Roman’s protests, and stared back at Sister Katherine. “I’m going to do this. Tell me how.”
Sister Katherine stared back for a moment, and pursed her lips. Finally, she sighed, a sigh that sounded strangely like rattling bones, and she said wearily, “Fine, Victoria. It is done. You can see me tomorrow for more details. Meeting adjourned.”
Slowly, nuns and monks began drifting away to their respective homes, leaving behind only Victoria and Roman standing together in the center of the campfire.
“I can’t believe you just did that. Why, Victoria?” Victoria shrugged. “I just wanted to, I guess.” “But why? What happened? I thought you were over that.” “Over what?” “This..this need to thrill seek in the most dangerous way possible.” “Who told you I was over that?” “No one. But I remember, when I first met you, it seemed as if your penchant for killing scared you, almost.” “Maybe it did.” “But then why would you do this, Victoria? I know what it’s like, looking for a thrill, looking for something to complete you. I’ve been there. I AM there. And I thought, I just thought that perhaps we could find some other way…” Roman trailed off and looked down at the ground, the anguish on his face more evident than ever before.
Rise Page 8
