The countryside should have been nice this time of year.
The rolling hills shone the fair green of spring grass after the last of the winter snow. Though a slight chill rose from the ground, the morning sun warmed the extremities. An old, cracked road stretched from the south and divided the land in two: on the eastern side was a shining sea of grass upon which herds of cattle grazed, leading to a row of white-topped peaks in the distance, and on the west side was a pine forest. The road wound around gentle hills and disappeared behind trees, yet one was not likely to get lost, for as long as one kept to the path there was sure to be a rustic village tucked behind some corner, ready to receive any traveler too weary of nature to continue.
The west bank of the road was taken up by a wall of tall pines. While it was ultimately a harmless wood where one might wander for hours without meeting anyone save perhaps a solitary hunter taking time away from civilization, it did not look the part, greeting those who approached with sharp needles and spiderwebs and a dark chill where the canopy swallowed up the sunlight.
It was this side of the road upon which the women had chosen to walk.
It should have been a wonderful place to wander through. The strange pair traveling along the road should’ve been able to enjoy the fresh air and calming view. To them, the French countryside held memories of running and playing as children, though they’d never gone so far inland as the depths of Aquitaine. Yet those memories were locked away, too tied up in misery to recall, and so they walked silently, each occasionally remembering and then doing her best to forget.
On one such occasion the taller of the two uttered a “tch” and switched off her phone, the exhausting of its final charge having rendered it useless as a distraction. She cast her gaze elsewhere. The hill they’d just crested reminded her of the one by her hometown. The woods reminded her of playing hide and seek after dark. The light breeze blowing through her blouse reminded her of running for her life. The road signs reminded her of the busy intersection by the bakery. The mountains in the distance reminded her of sharp teeth biting into the sky. The girl to her left reminded her of everything else she would rather forget.
“Oi,” she said.
The girl – Ciel she was called for this mission – twitched like a hare, surprise writ clear on her face as she turned her unblinking eye up to the woman. “Oui?” she replied.
“Oh please. I’ve had enough of French,” the woman said, choosing Japanese instead. “The travel charger, give it. I’m out of batteries.”
“Noel-sensei, it’s empty,” said Ciel quietly, wincing as Noel loudly clicked her tongue in annoyance.
“Your phone, then. Haven’t been using it, right? Must be all factory default, just like they gave it to you.” Noel extended a hand. “C’mon.”
Ciel obediently handed over the device, whilst mumbling something about how they needed to preserve their lifeline, which Noel made a point to ignore. The taller woman swiped through menus, fake nails clacking against the screen, her expression growing sourer by the second.
“Hey… this thing’s a piece of junk,” she swore. “What century did you get it from?”
“It – it’s a satellite phone. It has GPS and reception from anywhere on the planet…”
“It can’t even play Snake!”
With a petulant cry the phone was lobbed in Ciel’s direction. She reached for it and fumbled with the device, feeling it nearly slip through the fingers of her left hand.
“We… we’ll need it to reach our destination,” she said. “Or call for… um. Supplies? We still have access to the armory at least…”
There was no reply. Noel’s gaze had turned to the far-off mountains, glum as could be. They’d just touched on a fact of reality even more unpleasant than their respective childhoods. Ciel looked away as well, and for a time they exchanged no words, simply walking along the road. Just as happiness could be found in a storm, the misery they carried between them flourished even on a bright day. The silence between the two women was broken only by the occasional car speeding by, or the chirping of a particularly brave bird. At one point a motorcyclist drove by them on a bright red bike. The engine’s low growl left nature silent in its wake.
“One of those might be good,” Noel said without thinking. Her eyes tracked the machine until it disappeared over the horizon. “Fast, trendy, nice and loud. Better than walking, too. Hey, call for a bike. Something blue – no, pink.”
Ciel stared at her partner as if she’d grown a second head. “We can outmaneuver any regular vehicle, as can our foes, especially once we leave the road. Executor Noel, there is no tactical advantage to–”
“Does it matter?” Noel said. “Really? What’s the harm? Someone has a little too much fun?” She stopped in place, arms crossed, elegant nails tapping in rhythm against her forearm.
Ciel said nothing at first. It came as a surprise to her (though it shouldn’t have) that Noel met her gaze and held it until Ciel could no longer bear to see her reflection in those glossy brown eyes.
“I’ll… ask them to drop it off at the next town over,” she said quietly, flipping open the phone and typing out a number one-handed. “Is – is there anything else you’d like?”
“Hmph. Toiletries. A better phone. Hiking shoes. And an extra pair of contacts. The good ones. These ones suck. Must be defective.”
A breeze blew between them. It was still spring, yet it managed to find some fallen leaves, dry and crinkly, to loudly rustle against each other as the wind sent them past the incompatible pair.
Ciel started, “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather just order a pair of–”
“I don’t need glasses! It’s just eye strain from reading all that scripture!”
Once more the gulf between the two widened, and as the silence stretched on, Noel looked away again. The sight of her partner, a perpetually despondent walking Kick-Me sign whose most notable traits were the eye patch over her left eye and an empty sleeve where her right arm should have been, never failed to ruin her mood. For how long had it been this way? Their relationship, once tense yet respectful, had fractured completely within the span of a few months.
Ciel, for her part, dialed the number as she stared at the ground in front of her.
“Hello? Yes, this is Yumi. No, no emergency,” she said. “We’d like to request armaments, delivered on-site. Yes, this is for an operation. Is the GPS tracker working – okay. Yes, we are en route and will arrive by sundown. It’ll be a day’s wait? We can’t delay for that–” Noel’s murderous glare told a different story. “Yes, we’ll stay there. My student – partner will relay the request.”
She held out the phone to Noel, who wordlessly took it.
“Hello? Hi? Oh hey, isn’t this Nico?” Noel’s voice melted, becoming sickeningly sweet. “I remember you! The cute guy with the nice taste in vests, was it? We’re so lucky to have you on duty. Marco’s so stingy, but you get a girl’s needs, right? Oh you do? I just knew it! Alright, listen closely…”
Ciel’s missing arm throbbed as she watched Noel butter up the quartermaster. Phantom pain was a common symptom, but she’d lost so many limbs so many times that it should’ve been a non-issue. For the first few weeks it been fine, and she’d swiftly grown used to it once the wound healed over. Yet more and more often it felt as if that which was dead wanted to be alive. Like somewhere, separate from her, there were raw nerve endings searching for something to connect with.
“I know, it’s such a bold fashion line,” Noel continued. “Donatella’s been killing it. What I wouldn’t give for one of those dresses – oops, forget I said that! Nuns shouldn’t be wearing designer! Eh? You think I should get one? Oh, but dear Nico, there’s no way I’d look good in that… oh? You want to see me in it? My, my, my, I’m getting flustered. But a working woman’s bank account must be meager by the Lord’s decree… or so it would be! We just happen to have a blank check with Bestino’s name on it, so go wild! Get me one in pink! Yes, yes, mark it down as for infiltration. Oh, my three sizes? How daring… check the records. Just don’t look too far. You can help me with fine-tuning if – once we get back. So you’d better send only the best over. After the dress I want a motorbike! Pink, with a good engine!”
Noel paused as the voice on the other end said something. Her expression soured. “…huh? A Vespa? Like, the scooter? Really? Is that the best you can – okay, yes, yes, absolutely, dear, we’ll take it. It’s fast, right? And loud, right? Alright, okay, send it… and an extra shipment of Black Keys. And I want a spare halberd. One of the clockwork cherubs as well. No of course I’m not using it in town; we’re headed to somewhere hidden from civilization, it’s fine. Hey, you want anything?” she snapped to Ciel, who blinked and shook her head. Noel scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. Now about those contacts. Listen, they’re not prescription, alright? My eyesight’s perfectly fine! Sometimes a girl just wants to switch it up…”
Ciel stared at the sky as Noel chattered on, wondering if a certain someone else had ever had a chance to see the sun again, or if he’d perished under the light of the moon. If he’d regretted anything, or if he hadn’t thought of her at all in the end. Knowledge wouldn’t help her, but then, nothing could anymore.
The two women continued their long walk down the country road. Neither could properly enjoy their return. They had once called this place home. Soon it would be their cemetery.
Spring, 2015. After the Souya Incident, Executors Ciel and Noel were reprimanded and pronounced guilty by the Holy Church. The sentence was one last mission: kill a certain vampire, or else die trying.
Chapter 1: Country Roads
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Originally Posted by Leftovers
