Thief's Honour

Chapter Nineteen- The Vatican

Madeleine hadn't brought anything with her to Damien's hotel, wherever the hell it was, so she went shopping in the afternoon, buying a suitcase and the type of clothing that Zena Fay, her new alias, would buy. Zena was upper middle-class, with enough money in her pockets to look nice but not enough to afford first class.

Because why on earth would Damien let her fly first class, when he could be cheap and make her fly economy? Aric was flying first class. Damien wanted the four of them to be separate, so Madeleine was stuck in a peasant seat while Aric got plenty of space, delicious food and on-flight alcohol and Damien and Ayden were on a different flight altogether. Ayden was forced to fly economy, too. The two of them commiserated that fact, with annoyed glares at Damien behind his back.

The plane ride itself wasn't too bad. The food was pretty bland, but what could you expect from economy? Also, the middle-aged tourist lady beside her wouldn't stop talking for three seconds, and she was trapped in the window seat. At least the view was okay, even though all you could see were clouds.

Eventually, it was over. Madeleine sighed with relief, as the lady bade her a cheerful farewell and she walked out of the plane to join Aric in the airport.

"Did you enjoy your flight?" Aric asked.

"It was peasant class," Madeleine grumbled, "Obviously it was shit."

"I never fly economy, so I don't really know what it's like." He shrugged.

"Lucky for you. I wouldn't have either, if someone hadn't made me."

"Let me make it up to you. You bought all those nice clothes for your cover. Wear one of them, and I'll take you to a nice place. With better food than the airplane," He offered, as they collected their luggage.

Madeleine looked up at him. "Like- a date?"

His face turned slightly pink and scratched the back of his neck, all traces of arrogant self-confidence gone. "If- only if you want to."

She considered for a second, and then nodded. "I'd like to."

He smiled. "I'll come to your room at 7:00 tonight. Be ready by then."

She nodded, and they found seats to wait for Damien and Ayden, who would be joining them in a couple hours.


When they finally arrived, Damien led them to a black limousine that was waiting just outside the airport.

"Good service," Ayden muttered.

"Better than the plane," Madeleine added in agreement.

"I thought the service on the plane was wonderful," Damien smirked, climbing into one of the leather seats in the back.

"That's because you spared no expense as far as your own comfort was concerned," Madeleine snipped.

"We couldn't all be in first class," Damien replied, "It would be too obvious."

"Whatever." Madeleine gave up. There was no shaming him.

Their destination was just as posh as their previous hotel, although it had a medieval feel to it. The marble floors echoed as they walked across it.

"Do you own this one, too?" Madeleine asked innocently.

"No." Damien shook his head. "But I paid an unreasonable sum for the owner to house us and keep his mouth shut." He threw her a stern glance. "But that doesn't mean you can take what you like. We're trying not to draw attention to ourselves. Understand?"

Madeleine nodded. "Whatever you say, Your Highness."

Damien threw an assessing glance in her direction, as if trying to decide whether she was serious or mocking him. He didn't say anything, though, and led them through an elevator to the sixth floor.

He directed Ayden, Madeleine and Aric to rooms 667, 668 and 669, before disappearing into room 666.

"It's like a thing with him," Ayden muttered, "he always takes room 666."

Madeleine smirked. "Maybe he's the only one who will."

Ayden shrugged, and Madeleine went into her room.

No one bothered her for the rest of the day. She took a long bubble bath with a cup of chamomile tea and some music, before getting ready for her date with Aric.

After much self-debating, Madeleine donned a crimson dress with a single strap over her right shoulder, that hugged every curve and reached down to her knees. She wore gold eyeshadow that drew attention to her eyes, and a gold pendant with a single diamond in the center. She completed the ensemble with four-inch black high-heeled sandals.

True to his word, Aric knocked on her door at 7:00 sharp. He was wearing a black tuxedo, and gave her dress an approving glance. "You look lovely," he complimented.

"Thank you. So do you," She replied.

Aric gave her a look, as they walked to the elevator. "You think I look lovely?"

"Why not?" She shrugged. "Guys can be lovely, too."

He wrinkled his nose, as they entered the elevator and pressed the down button. "Lovely sounds too feminine," he complained, "I could be devastatingly attractive. Or stunningly handsome. Or incomparably sexy. But lovely? That just doesn't fit."

Madeleine laughed. "You sound completely smitten with yourself. Is it possible that I have competition for your attention tonight?" She teased.

Aric shook his head soberly. "You're the only one who gets my attention tonight."

Madeleine blushed slightly, unsure of how to respond.

Aric hailed a cab, and they rode to a beautiful restaurant with valet parking and a fountain in the median in front of the entrance.

Someone stopped them at the entrance. "Reservations?"

"Ah, yes... Stromoff?" Aric replied. Stromoff was the alias that he had used to get into the country.

He checked a list. "Sorry... no Stromoff."

"Are you serious?" Madeleine demanded, faking annoyance. She threw a wink at Aric when the other guy wasn't looking. "You made the reservations how long ago?"

"Are you telling us that you lost our reservations?" Aric demanded loudly.

"I'm sorry, sir..." the guy apologized hurriedly, noticing several people beginning to stare. "we do have a table available. If you could follow me, I will get you seated."

"That's more like it." Aric smirked.

They were ushered to a table with a full view of the entire restaurant, set for two. They were each given a menu, and Madeleine immediately ordered red wine.

"How are you planning on paying for this?" Madeleine asked quietly, "or are you expecting me to cover the bill?"

Aric gasped in mock horror. "No gentleman would leave a lady to pay for a very expensive meal."

"So I am paying?" Madeleine teased.

Aric rolled his eyes. "Funny."

"Seriously, though..."

"Seriously, Damien gave me a credit card for my cover. It's got more than enough on it to cover the costs." He winked.

Madeleine smirked. "Of course."

The waiter came with their drinks, Madeleine's wine and a martini for Aric. They ordered their food, and sat in silence for a few moments.

"Who are you, really?" Aric asked quietly. "Damien told me nothing except the name you're using, that it wasn't your real name, and your address."

"I have no 'real' name. Madeleine is as close as it gets," she replied. "My birth name died long ago, and my past is sealed with it."

"You could at least tell me something. Please?" Aric pushed.

Madeleine sighed, and told him as much as she had told Damien.

Aric whistled, when she told him about stealing from her foster family.

"I wasn't proud of it," she finished. "When I started, I wasn't proud of any of it. I did what I needed to in order to survive."

Aric nodded. "And now?"

"Now... I allow myself a thrill of excitement when I complete a particularly difficult heist." She shrugged. "But easy stuff like pickpocketing is nothing to be proud of."

Aric nodded. "I can respect that."

"What about you? You haven't mentioned a thing about yourself," Madeleine pointed out.

Aric nodded. "That's true... okay, I'll tell you about my past since you told me yours. I grew up in a colony of vampires that were constantly at war with werewolves who lived in a nearby forest. I learned to shoot things early on. I used silver bullets, mostly, because silver was their weakness. My father taught me everything he knew about guns, and taught me to make my own bullets. It wasn't perfect, or even completely safe, but it was a good life. I was content.

"Until there was an argument that couldn't be resolved. One of our people had killed a werewolf. They swore it was an accident, but truth or lie, the werewolves wouldn't buy it. They demanded the vampire be handed over to them. Our leader refused, knowing that they would rip him apart ruthlessly. Late at night, the werewolves attacked."

Aric was staring at the table in front of him, lost in memory. "My parents and I escaped... we fought our way to freedom. No one else made it.

"A demon was sent to assess the situation and judge whether the werewolves needed to be punished for their crimes. I was hoping that he would give us justice. I was wrong. He decided the werewolves had acted in defense of their kind, and they were given no repercussions. No punishment, for slaughtering my people."

Madeleine reached across the table to take his hand. "I'm sorry," she sympathized.

Aric nodded silently, but squeezed her hand gently.

They were then interrupted by the arrival of their food. Aric had a rare steak with potatoes, and Madeleine had ordered a paella.

They ate in silence for several moments, until Madeleine spoke up quietly. "Did you hate all werewolves? After the deaths?"

"At first, I did," he admitted, "but then I realized that's how my people died in the first place. With the whole group blamed for the actions of an individual. I've always hated that particular group of werewolves, and I still hate werewolves as far as the long-standing race feuds are concerned, but I don't blame the entire race of werewolves for my village's deaths."

"That's really brave of you," Madeleine told him.

"Thanks," Aric replied. There was silence for a moment. "Can we... talk about something else now? I haven't talked about this in a long time."

"Of course." Madeleine thought for a moment. "Big day tomorrow," she commented.

"Yeah," Aric agreed. "It'll be interesting."

"I have no fucking clue of how I'm supposed to steal something without knowing what I'm stealing!" Madeleine complained.

Aric nodded. "He'll probably tell you at the last minute. I get the feeling he needs us, but doesn't really trust us."

"Still. I need to know if I should be bringing a small backpack to carry the prize, or a huge duffel bag."

Aric smirked. "You probably don't need a duffel bag. Whatever it is, it probably won't be that big."

"Maybe there's a lot of it."

"We're not stealing cash from the angels!" Aric laughed. "And your test was a heavily guarded jewel. It's not going to be that big, whatever it is, but it'll be well-guarded."

"Touché," Madeleine admitted. "I hadn't considered the test to be anything but Damien trying to test my skills while giving me the shittiest time possible."

"Maybe there was a method to his madness," Aric shrugged.

"Maybe."

When they were finished their meal, a waiter came and asked if they wanted dessert. Madeleine was just about to order cheesecake when Aric's phone rang.

"Just a moment, please," he told the waiter, who nodded and left. He answered it, but had to hold the phone away from his ear as Madeleine distinctly heard the person on the other side shriek, "WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU? WHERE THE FUCKING HELL IS THE THIEF?"

It sounded like Damien. Madeleine suspicion was confirmed when Aric replied, "Hello, Your Highness. Madeleine and I are just enjoying some dinner."

A beat. Indecipherable orders.

"We're on our way, Your Highness." Aric rolled his eyes and hung up. "We have to head back now. Check, please," he called to a waiter.

"That sucks." Madeleine sighed, standing up. "That cheesecake looked really good."

Aric paid, and they took a cab back to the hotel.

"After the heist... would you like to go on another date?" Aric offered.

"Yes," Madeleine replied, "I think that sounds lovely. But this time, I want the cheesecake."

"Of course." Aric smiled.

Damien was beyond pissed. He yelled at them for leaving for a good fifteen minutes straight, drinking from a bottle of Scotch he was holding every time he ran out of energy. Madeleine desperately wanted to point out that getting drunk the night before was worse than leaving the hotel for dinner, but she wanted to get out of the situation more and kept her mouth shut.

Finally, he was done, and he staggered back into room 666, leaving Madeleine and Aric to retire to their separate rooms for the night.