Somewhere only we know

Chapter Six :3

Chapter Six :3

Hotel Buble Meeste was another modernistic building within the chain of metropolitan beauties in Geneva, with its glass floors, transparent walls, and see through roofs. Under the glass floor was a semi-frozen pond, where there lived the rare Greenich freshwater shark. There were also occasional penguins swimming and slamming into the glass top, and then slowly sinking lifelessly into the abyss below >3<.

Michaelle waited in the lobby, running her hands over the chic upholstery. James was still talking to the concierge at the front desk. Sarah was at his side.

Since when were THEY all buddy-buddy? Michaelle wondered.

Then again, she DID leave them alone together.

The thought of blossoming love brought back bittersweet symphonies.

His name brought anxiety to her heart.

Jaydin Klement.

They were both smart. They were both swimmers. They were both simply and undeniably incompatible.

Jaydin always wanted to be right while Michaelle never wanted to be wrong.

Fire+Fire= Bigger fire.

Jaydin and Michaelle didn't have to be perpetual geniuses to realize that.

She ended it right after he pushed past her borderline.

Like a Canadian set loose on Wyoming. Not that that was bad.

Michaelle sniggered at the thought and asked a bellman to help her with her glossy Harijuku Lovers luggage.

Upon arriving room 7305, the bellman put out his hand for the tip.

Michaelle dropped a penny onto his eager white-gloved palm.

The bellman stared at it, confused and somewhat disappointed.

“That penny is more than 15 francs,” Michaelle said slowly, crossing her fingers behind her, hoping she said the right currency.

The bellman's smile spread like the Grinch on Christmas.

Then he was off his merry way.

Michaelle laughed and set her luggage down. She went to sit in the balcony, overlooking the beautiful city of Geneva.

Laughter drifted from the doorway, and Michaelle turned to see James and Sarah enjoying each others company.

Michaelle would have teased them if she wasn't so angry with James.

But something unexpected happened:

James walked up to her and said, “I'm sorry.”

Michaelle stared into his dark eyes.

“Huh?”

“I said I'm sorry. For the way I acted earlier. I guess I just tried to cover up the fact that I didn't know what I was up against.”

Michaelle smiled and said, “You know, James, you look a lot like John Lennon in his younger days. You can be the 5th unknown Beatle.”

James flipped his pop star, boy-band hair.

“So,” he asked, “what IS the Illuminati anyway?”

"You don't know?!"

Sarah cleared her throat and said softly, "Be polite."

Michaelle sighed and recalled everything she learned in art history class.

“Centuries ago, there were scientists and astronomers making breakthroughs, advancing in their field of play. This was especially popular in Rome, during the Renaissance. During Christendom, after the Church defeated the Turks and Muslims fighting for the Holy Land-”

“-the Crusades,” James interrupted. Michaelle nodded,

“Precisely. After the Crusades, the Roman Catholic Church ruled. The Church, however, contradicted scientists and astronomers. Therefore, they assumed that science and religion were enemies.”

Michaelle looked up at the sky, which was starting to get dark. Then she continued.

“The scientists formed a secret society, like an underground, to conduct meetings and do research. They called themselves the Illuminati, meaning the 'Enlightened Ones'. They weren't satanic at all. They were no worst than scientists in hiding.

There came a time, though, that some scientists wanted to strike at the Church. They planned an operation. But there was one revere man who voted against it. He thought that Religion and Science can coexist harmoniously if they opened their eyes. He was, and still is, respected in the field of science and astronomy. That man is Galileo.”

“THE Galileo?”

“The one and only,” Michaelle answered.

“Galileo was an Illuminatus, and a devout Catholic. He was a man of Religion and Science. His daughter was a devout nun, I think, but I can't remember. Anyway, he proposed his idea of a heliocentric universe to the Church, and they went completely ballistic! They had him under house arrest and stuff and he wrote three books in his imprisonment. Then he died in 1642. Some say blindness, some say palpitations of the heart. One thing's certain though: the Enlightened Ones were outraged. Four scientists thwarted the Church and rebelled. They were brutally murdered and branded with a cross on their chests, and their bodies were hung all over the streets of Rome, serving as a warning.”

She stopped to clear her throat.

“So the Illuminati fled Rome and hid underground. Dangerous enough, they grew bigger and bigger, with Muslims and slaves and many others. Soon, they ran into the Bavaric Free Masons, who took them in. It was a secret society within a secret society. But some Masons broke away and founded their own lodges. These were the White Rose and the Red Rose. As you have learned from history, the Dutch Red Rose claimed York and the British White Rose claimed Lancaster in Philadelphia.”

“The noble duke of York and the grand earl of Lancaster! Of course!” James exclaimed, “See when I grew up in Paris for a while, the professor made us sing! 'The Noble Duke of York, he had a thousand men! He marched it up to the top of the hill and he marched them down again!' I learned it from Barney! 'The Grand Earl of Lancaster, he surpassed a thousand masters, he founded most of the colonies, to establish and look after!'”

James concluded with a conceited grin, as if pleased with himself and his singing.

Michaelle nodded, “Okay?”

Sarah spoke now.

“I descended from Sir Lancaster of the White Rose. My ancestry line passes through several colonial heroes: Betsy Ross, Alexander Hamilton, Roger Williams, Nathan Hale, and Robert Livingston.”

Michaelle stared off into space. Then there came a knock at the door.

James went to answer it.

“Hello!”

It was Madame Olga.

“I hope I have not disturbed you?”

“No, not at all, madame! So.. uh, why are you here?”

“Oh it just frightens me, how you kids are chasing after the Illuminated Ones. It came to my attention that you need a body guard, shall I say?”

Behind her a tall man walked in.

He had a bushy uni-brow, mild acne, and dark hair that looked like it survived an electric shock. His smile exposed canine-like teeth. He wore a leather jacket, and clutched a camera in his messenger back-pack.

“Meet Raoule Chiao. Half Italian, Half Vietnamese.”

“Hey.”

He shook hands with them.

Madame Olga left, and James and Raoule slept in their separate rooms while Michaelle and Sarah shared a room.

They needed a lot of rest if they were to kick ass tomorrow.