Warrior Nun: The aftermath

Chapter 11

It had been about two weeks since Beatrice had last seen Ava. Most of her time was spent unusually recovering. Otherwise, she sat for hours with Mother Superior at lessons or countless books to which she had not previously had access. Before the stress and pressure was clearly the marriage. To be responsible for the entire OCS at some point was an enormous honor. Only the sisters in her immediate environment were incredible, the knowledge that there were several thousand out there again made Beatrice a little proud.
She was sitting in the library with Yasmine reading a book about the founding story of her order when Camila stormed through the massive door.

"You should come quickly! We have just received an extremely interesting message from Beatrice in Rome!"

Confused, Bea exchanged a glance with Yasmine to make sure they understood the same thing. She looked just as surprised.

"I'm here. How should I send a message from Rome?"

"That's what I meant by interesting."

With an excited grin, the young nun disappeared just as quickly as she had come. Without hesitation, however, they followed her. How was it possible that a stranger could send a message from their follower? To focus her thoughts, Beatrice placed her hand on her chest, where the jewel should normally hang and wondered when it could have fallen into other hands. Only one person immediately jumped into her mind. Ava. Was now the time when she let herself be helped and finally came out with the truth?
In the office of the Mother Superior the closest circle of the OCS was gathered, including Vincent.

"Beatrice! Who could have used your communicator to send us such an urgent message?" Mother Superior stood expectantly before her.

"I don't know."

"Are you sure?" asked Camila with a hint of an undertone.

Beatrice immediately hissed back: "Yes, definitely."

Somewhat unexpectedly, Vincent stepped forward.

"There are some inconsistencies lately that affect you Beatrice. You still haven't reported what exactly happened to you."

"You're certainly not the one I'm going to enlighten first."

Beatrice was furious. A few minutes ago she was still in a good mood and Vincent managed to destroy everything within seconds.

"In my opinion, he should never again be enlightened about our concerns."

Apparently, Camila hadn't forgiven him yet.

"Please, we don't have to fight this argument now. The message is of far greater importance."

Lilith stepped out of the corner and said what had been on Bea's tongue all along: "If you don't stop your pierced language soon and finally say what exactly the news was, no one else here will be able to argue."

"I'm really sorry if I interrupt this, but I think Lilith is right. We should concentrate on the essentials and can still discuss later."

Everyone seemed surprised by Yasmine's courage to speak so openly and to the tense round. Especially Camila's proud and astonished look caught Beatrice's eye.

"You're right," Mother Superior agreed. "The message is addressed directly to us, we should bring the sword to the coordinates and meet with whoever there in two days."

Camila stepped out with a notepad. "I have to admit, I miss the internet at Jillian. Nevertheless, with some effort I was able to determine the coordinates. It's an old empty school just outside Rome."

Rome. Again, Bea wondered what Ava would want there. The Vatican had still not been rebuilt and, according to their information, nothing extraordinary had happened there. It was also a bit strange that she suddenly invited everyone to her. Beatrice had perhaps secretly hoped that Ava would only contact her and finally open up the opportunity to get closer again. Well, wrong thought.

"We have no idea who we're going to meet, so pack everything up and prepare for an upcoming battle. Since only members of the OCS know our communication, one of us must have sent it. Whether with good or bad intentions, we comply with the request and come as requested. That means Beatrice, Lilith, Camila, Yasmine and myself will embark on this journey. Vincent and Dora hold the position as long as we are gone. We'll leave tomorrow morning."

Everyone nodded in agreement and immediately got to work packing up their equipment. Under Vincent's critical gaze, Bea also left the room and went to her room. Surely it was not easy to handle this whole situation somehow.  Her last encounter with Ava had been a disaster that only brought additional pain. Beatrice had wished so much to be able to hold her lost love in her arms again and finally do these things for which she had lacked the courage before. But as fate would have it, these wishes would not be fulfilled in the near future. It didn't take long until Beatrice duffel bag stood packed next to the wooden door and only her weapons were missing. She hoped she wouldn't have to use her against Ava, but since nothing was safe, Beatrice just couldn't take the risk of walking around unarmed. All night she curled around in bed, thinking about what would await her in Italy in a few hours. Bea went through all sorts of scenarios over and over again. Whatever happens, time will pass and their clash will come, no matter what she comes up with.

It was still about an hour to the given destination. Every kilometer they had traveled, Beatrice could not get rid of her tension. Beatrice had driven the first half of the route, now Mother Superior and Yasmine sat in front. Lilith had chosen the seat at the very back, so Beatrice was sitting next to Camila. Every ten minutes, Lilith complains that she should have flown herself and wasn't always a hand's breadth away from vomiting. Again and again Bea noticed how Camila looked at her a little strangely from time to time. Nevertheless, they sat there in silence until the van finally came to a stop in front of the said building. With practiced movements, she distributed the knives on all the halters on her body and waited until they were all finished. Lilith had extended her claws in seconds with a mischievous grin. Camila set up a small thermal imaging camera and scanned the building.

"I can only see one person. But it radiates more heat than any old light bulb."

Orderly and coordinated like a SWAT team, they entered the abandoned building. They had checked every room, except for the sports hall, from which the heat signature also came. With a short nod, Beatrice made sure the others were ready before opening the door. As Beatrice had expected, Ava was standing in the middle of the room with her back to them. When she turned around and the others recognized her, Yasmine let out a small scream.

"Ava!"

In shock, everyone stood in front of her warrior nun and did not even dare to breathe until Ava finally said something.

"I think we have a lot to talk about." 

Thank you for your support! I hope you like this story so far and are curious how it continues. Feel free to give me feedback on what I could do better, or what ideas you have;)