Eden woke up to the morning bells at the church. She sat up cautiously and clutched the cross to her chest but squinted at the bright sunlight. With a small smile, she looked around the garden. Eden lifted her eyes up towards the statue of Mother Mary and held the cross up to the statue matching the rosary to the statue's. "Hmf. St. Maria's Garden always has a wonderful welcoming feeling."
The bells continued to ring and she stood up on the bench looking around the maze-like garden area. She stopped and realized the bells were not the daily bells, but once again a panic bell. Eden snickered and started to wander around the garden ready to leap away in case anyone hostile came towards her. She thought of how they possibly changed their mind about letting her go. How she didn't know if she wanted it to be true or not ate at her mind.
Nearly an hour had passed, or what she had thought to be an hour as Eden wandered around the largest garden on the Vatican's land reliving certain memories as she passed through. Her body didn't seem to want to leave the area. In the past, this garden used to be a square where they would have sellers, beggars, and men on their soap boxes yelling about the news. Eden remembered the area where she tripped over some rocks but a boy she would play with, since he was able to be around her, helped check out her knees. Seeing not much blood besides a scrape, he would pat her knee and say she would be fine. It comforted her to know that there was someone always watching her. Be it his father, or the boy, she liked knowing she wasn't alone. "Where are you now Esdras...?" Eden let a smirk cross her lips, but also dropped it after thinking of his father.
The thought that made the pit of her stomach churn just ever so slightly more.
Soon she saw the old sales booths around her, a few textile sellers and even a few of the food vendors. Eden remembered herself giggling as she ran around the courtyard's cobblestone pathways. Even when she would get caught in the way of important visitors that didn't care to move out of the way for any child. Nor did they care to find out who anyone else was if they weren't wearing any jewels or a crown. Like the flashback that it was, Eden moved to the edge of a lattice with vines growing on top, she realized the area would've been what was the stable. The accident that changed her life happened right here. In this spot. She became a different person than she is now. She was kind and compassionate, now she is very much not those things.
Eden kept wandering, keeping herself hidden, but still enjoying the view and smells, her thoughts wandered more of the past. Occasionally she heard a sound that pulled her back to reality. There was no sign of anyone that she could see, but Eden was determined to find the source. She found a canopied area but closed in on it carefully as she listened to the whimpers of another in the garden. The sound grew louder, signaling that she was in the right area at least.
Stepping around the corner, Eden eyed the young boy clutching his knees to his chest. Eden stepped closer only for the boy to give out a louder wail at her. Eden held up her hands carefully, "Hey, I'm not here to hurt you."
The tear streaked face of the young Alessandro nearly lit up as she stepped closer, "I... I'm sorry. I d-didn't mean t-to... Uhm, I m-mean."
Eden knelt down in front of Alec and shook her head, "Don't worry about explaining anything to me. Your face should never be terrorized by these tears."
Alessandro sat up a bit straighter, confidence starting to stiffen in his spine. "Oh, you think so?"
"I don't think so, Your Holiness. I know so." Eden shuffled her way next to him and pulled Alec into her arms then watched him almost melt into her caress. She carefully stroked his hair with one hand as her other wiped away his tears. "You deserve better. You don't deserve to cry."
"W-why do you say that, miss?" Alec's breathing steadied as he nestled himself into Eden's arms starting to shift his body and lay his head tiredly in her lap.
"Well, you are the heart and soul for this place. If you are sad then the land and country will be just as sad. But when you're feeling better then everything has their souls uplifted. You are the most important person in this land. You might not think you are the brain of everything going on, but the body cannot think and do it's work if its lungs are not well. Think of it as this, your siblings giving out ideas are the brain. You are the lungs. Everyone else like the inquisition are the arms and the other priests are the legs. The whole clergy would be considered the body."
"But, Brother is just so angry with you. I feel like I'm torn between what I believe is wrong and what is possibly right." Alec sighed and closed his eyes gently, the brushing of his hair calming his crying.
Eden watched the youth's face, her stomach in pain as she stroked his soft cheek. Taking note of his features, Eden smiled at his light dusting of freckles. Carefully she slouched enough to lay her cheek over the top of the boy's head, "I can't tell you what to believe, Sir. But I know that I've lived too long to not be blessed with death. But you might have to jump through a few hopes in order to get that one to work out correctly..."
"W-wait. You want to die?" Alessandro turned his head enough to look up at her.
"If that is what it will take for Francesco to get off of his high horse then I will gladly take it as a gift from you. But if it is his ill will then I will fight it tooth and nail. My heart is too empty to choose myself over your success." Eden pulled the Pope tighter in her arms, "Don't let him walk all over you. You are the rightful heir to that seat more than him."
"And so are you, Miss." Alec held his hand on top of Eden's, pulling it down he looked at her long almost deadly and what could be claws.
Closing her fist tightly, Eden stiffened up a bit of anger fueling her muscles to flex, "How can you think that?"
"Abel and Sister brought me the books of your birth and history that follow your heritage. Plus there's a diary of your mother's as well. And a book that goes over..." Alec stopped and swallowed hard, "A book that goes over how your mother and you were tortured by the church. Not the church exactly. By the knight lords and mercenaries paid by the church. Brother has been leading excavations of the halls and hidden rooms that they found following Father Nightroad." Alec looked up to Eden as she froze. All the things that he could be doing to her safe haven, and there was nothing she could do to stop him. Even her emotionless expression froze as Alessandro spoke. "I'm sorry. I can't do anything to stop them. Brother still will do what he wants."
"He better beg for forgiveness from Jesus to Christ when I'm done with him." Eden looked around and started to stand up leaving the young Pope alone. "Let's meet here the day after tomorrow. When do you think you'll be able to get a break from your studies? After your lunch and before Latin classes? Or maybe after?" She stepped backwards almost out from under the vine filled canopy.
"You know what my daily schedule is?"
"Of course. I took the same ones when I was about your age. After all these years, nothing much has changed. I already looked at your schedule, they keep almost everything backed up online so others can keep you on a strict regime. It'll get easier as you progress. These classes I'm sure have gotten more in depth with the times now. We didn't have a lot of history back then..." Eden let a smile slip, her mind lost in thought of her own learning days and being a young girl. "Then again, there wasn't as much evil in the land as there is now..."
"I see. That makes sense I suppose. How about before Latin class then? It's hard for me to follow in that class. I can say what I've memorized, but I cannot form sentences on my own. Putting together the mix of words sometimes I put them in the wrong order. Maybe you can help? You know it well I hear." He smiled sitting up and placing his cap in his lap.
"Of course I can. All you have to do is just ask. Anything you ask of me I will be sure to complete it. It is your word that we should listen to. If others don't, then they are not staying true to their vows."
"You really are a marvel of our time..." Alec looked up to Eden, he saw her soft features relieve him of all discomfort. "I see why people traveled all the time to visit you and receive your blessing."
Eden's face soured, returning to the cold stern look. Memories flooded her mind, the good and the bad. With a deep, almost regretful sigh, Eden looked away. "I'll see you then, Sir." After her words, Eden quickly leaped away from view. She made her way to the roof tops watching the guards down below begin to escort the Pope back inside.
His eyes lifted to the scenery around him till he spotted Eden high up next to a statue. A small smile escaped his lips as he felt more confident whenever he spoke with her. He even gave a small wave to her as he passed the building's edge. His head was much higher as he walked back indoors.
Back inside, Alessandro was escorted to a meeting room as the museum council stood waiting for the Pope to arrive. "What's going on?" He pulled his hands to his chest starting to become worried something was to happen that he was unsure what to do. His mind thinking of having Eden next to him might be something of a support person. Someone to ask questions who thought differently, she had no want to rule over his ideas, but provide more care than his brother would and more information than his sister would. Alec might look into having her for certain meetings with others. Maybe then he wouldn't feel walked all over with her at his side.
"Your Holiness, one of our relics has gone missing in the middle of the night. The cameras show nothing of anyone appearing. Just that the camera skips a few seconds almost as if no one would notice. But the object is gone without a trace."
"Well, what object was it?" Alec found his seat centered in the middle of the group with his back towards a large stained glass window depicting an angel holding a chalice presenting it to what looked to be a Pope wearing all the vestments.
Some of the men shuffled forward holding photographs of the relic when they first discovered it. "Forgive the state of the pictures, but it is the most that we have of it. We wouldn't assume anyone would steal such an old relic."
The pictures progressed from a marble like coffin that was opened to show a decayed skeleton with her arms crossed over her chest. Her pure white outfit was a multiple layered outfit of silks and lace fitted with a white veil covering most of her face. Placed in her hands was a gold cross with jewels embedded in the cross. Surrounding the cross were gold carved roses. As the rosary crawled up and around the body's neck, Alessandro noticed the thorny chain and the shield with the ten angel wings. The next picture had shown it off of the body and on a surface where they labeled it and had the measurements written out. He studied the rosary as long as possible then closed his eyes softly, his mind wandering to his memories. "How old is it?"
"Well, that would be one of the hardest guesses that we have only thought it to be from around the 10th century all the way to the 11th century. We have never been able to fully test it's structure and components. It is made entirely from gold with a chain that was made from Iron and dipped in gold. The jewels themselves make the rosary majorly expensive. We have found paintings of some women wearing it but not many before I assume the woman in the photograph was buried."
Alessandro nodded, holding a picture of the cross out in front of him. He was sure of it. Eden had been wearing that cross earlier when he saw her. There's no doubt about it. "It's from around the 11th century."
Some of the men started to jot down notes as Alessandro looked over the picture. "Are you sure? From just looking at the picture? We have some paintings with the woman wearing the rosary, but we are unsure if anyone before here wore it or not."
"Who's the woman?"
Another man stepped forward, "Your Great Holiness, this is the grave that we found on site buried beneath the statue in the Saint Maria Garden. Presumed to be the late Mother Maria who the garden was named after. She was the founder of the garden we all see every time we walk out to the courtyard."
"Saint Maria's Garden... She was buried there?"
The men nodded, but the one spoke back up, "Yes, Your Holiness. Underneath the statue we would walk past if we went to the middle of the courtyard with all the benches to rest."
"I was just there... I-I would like to speak with my sister. You men are dismissed? Uhm. But, you also can have people question the others that work here and send out people to search. Don't make such a huge deal right now, please."
The two men bowed and the one took the pictures back, "Of course. We will start right away."
Alec looked up to a clock then to a guard, "I'd like to speak with my sister right away, please."