Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Fine." Rosette said before taking a deep breath," It all started about a year and a half, two years ago. It was a little while after... my brother was kidnapped. And it was after we'd met Satella and Azmaria. We'd been traveling around for a bit... Mostly because I was looking for Joshua. We ran into many other people like us who'd been going after demons for various reasons. There was talk of joining together, but it was a plan that was never executed. Satella masterminded part of that. She's actually from an extremely wealthy family. We turned their old, abadoned house in the mountains into a base of sorts. It worked well. Since we had Chrono, do demons could mistaken sneak in, he could tell. We could shelter those capable, but untrained to fight demons, and were a home to those who openly hunted them. I don't remember where the name the Black Order came from. Possibly since a majority of the better demon-hunters chose to wear black and hunt at night. For a while, things were working fine. Since I was the one who brought the Order to live, persay, I was named leader of it. I turned fifteen shortly after. Then... something happened..."

Rosette stopped at this point. Still holding Chrono's hand, she squeezed it tightly.

"We'd left the base for a while. I always did when I heard word of anything remotely related to my brother. I'd go back and visit the old orphanage too if the chance struck me, but nothing could be salvaged from there...

"We were lured out of there with false information, we were idiots. We survived as long as we did on pure luck. They were waiting for me to leave. They wanted to teach us a lesson. There was at least two hundred people there... All dead. Every last one of them... women... children...elderly. All of them had their hearts cut out, and her strung upside down with whatever was laying around. Ropes, chains, there were even some who were strung up with their own... guts.... They left a message on a wall, huge letters painted there with blood. 'You can never stop us, even with the Ignoble One.' We tried to bury a lot of them, at least the children, but we were afraid that they'd come back and finish us... After a few days, Chrono could sense demons coming there, so we had to leave before we could finish with the burials..."

~*~

Bane had wished he'd arrived in time to greet Algren before the question of the Emperor's death was brought to light, but, alas, he was preoccupied by other things at the time. He waited patiently behind the group of Church Leaders. His bodyguard Viede was a very tall and large man, and no doubtedly stood out among the Churchmen's finery. Bane himself was dressed simply yet elegantly. His tiny glasses sat jauntily on the end of his nose. He regretted leaving the battle with the Foresters so soon, he could have seen much more.

"For a time, I believe so. It's an isolated area and it has some protect against other that would do us harm. For anything stronger, we have Chrono, he can sense and smell them coming." Rosette assured her.

"Satella proposed we go there... because there are weapons we can use. Especially for you, Kaden, Booker, and Loque. You really don't have anyway of fighting the demons, so we'll need to... salvage from there what we can." Chrono added,"You'd be helpless against a strong demon without them."

Chrono looked at Rosette, whom was now staring out at the forest with an almost vapid look in her eyes. She looked tired, and much older. Thoughts of the good times, and the faces of the dead haunted her. She looked like a vetran of war, not a girl who was son to turn seventeen...

"I think we'll stay out here for a while longer. Why don't you go back and inform the others." Chrono told her, ignoring her earlier outburst,"I'm sure they would be thankful to hear some good news as well."

"By all means, be my guest." Chrono said, looking at her peculiarly. He really had no clue what she was talking about, but it couldn't do any harm, could it?

Chrono sat back and watched Blaise carefuuly. Since Rosette had settled into an unusually pensive silence, he was content with sitting by her side. She was no doubt reflecting on their recent conversation.

"Chrono..." She said very quietly,"Do you think they'd forgive me... the Order...?"

"I know they would." He told her, wrapping and arm around her shoulders,"You gave them a home, hope, and a fighting chance. I don't believe they couldn't forgive you."

Even Rosette, who'd been draw into her own dismal memories, stopped to watch.

"What the hell was that...?"Rosette asked staring at Blaise,"WHat did you just do?"

"Was that lightening?" Chrono asked,"When did you learn to do that?!"

The sound of lightening drew the attention of some of the others inside.

"Zhe rain is getting vorse. You should come inside." Satella said, poking her head out,"Hurry or you all vill catch colds."

Rosette and Chrono couldn't help it. The timing was just too perfect. The two of them began to laugh. After such a somber tale, they could use a bit of humor.

"Oh... that was perefct timing..." Chrono said, shutting his eye. Rosette was laughing even harder, and with good reason. She REALLY needed to laugh, and even now she had a stitch in her side.

"Ah.... Maybe he's right Blaise! Maybe you should give it a rest for right now."

"We're coming! We're coming!" Rosette said, leading Chrono by the hand as they ran back into the house.

"I must say, you three are in better spirits zhan ve expected. Zhe two of you are running around more like zhe happy lovers you should be!" Satella joked.

"Quiet you." Rosette replied against her teasing.

"I think it's cute! You two never held hands so much before..."Azmaria added.