The Guardians Ch. 04

NB: As always… do read the previous chapters first before reading this. As for those who have left comments and sent me emails, I hope you'll like the following chapter. Do keep on voting and commenting =) You all make my day!

Chapter Four

Beatrice…

What was so special about her… until the four guardians let Dante through the gates into Inferno? No one was powerful enough to overcome them- not even himself when he tried to walk down that path again…

Oh… but Dante had walked through… unscathed through the depths of Inferno, guarded by the four horsemen. He had read Dante's work of course. Impressed as he was with the accuracy of the description that matched his own experiences, he was still unsatisfied not knowing how the poet had done it.

He had tried… in 1337; almost a millennium later to visit that ninth circle in Hell. He had laughed of course when the four horsemen stopped him at the gates. How dare they? They were his knights!

"You are not worthy to enter beyond these gates," said the first rider, on his white horse. He recognized that face and that voice from anywhere and proceeded only to be stopped by the sword of the second rider, aimed at his chest.

"You have been judged not worthy. If you proceed, you will have to overpower us first," said the second horseman. The first horseman had already drawn his bow and arrow and both faced the man who wanted to enter the gates of Hell.

"My knights… Abben, Aqurico… I have walked this path on my own and I will do so once again. I command you to step aside you blistering fools!" he had shouted. The first arrow went to his chest and the sword aimed at his throat.

"LEAVE!" the voices of the two horsemen echoed loud in his ears.

When he woke up, he was back, in England; bounded and dragged by the red horse of Aqurico. Aqurico had brought with him war and rivalry on earth. It was punishment for humanity for daring to seek entrance into the afterlife before their time.

Dante had warned in the first few pages of his book "Abandon hope all ye who enters here!" and was a fair warning to the likes of Olybrius who was greedy enough to seek favors from the Devil for the second time.

The hundred years war between England and France raged with no mercy; rampaging the lands and sacrificing lives for the nobility. He had watched many of his royal descendants die. Though the war was a struggle for land and resources, he knew who had instigated the intense desire for rivalry in the nobles and it had increased his anger and spite towards the four of them even more.

He didn't care much for the silly lives of his descendants. If he could bear killing his own daughter, what significance do these other lives mean to him? Olybrius had once again tried to walk through the gates of Hell in 1348, but this time, he was only met with one horseman- Adrian, on his black horse.

He had known Adrian as the imperial physician and mentor for his children. The man was gentle as he was kind and spoke only the kindest words. He felt more confident this time of overpowering the third horseman. What worst could come after 10 years of war?

Oh… he had underestimated Adrian. The horseman did not say anything to him but had let him walk through the gates. But after 10 steps, Olybrius had felt his legs growing weaker, unable to carry his weight further into the Inferno. Looking down, he saw boils and blisters the size of saucers eating into his flesh. The pain knocked him unconscious and in 1948, Adrian had descended to earth bringing the Black Death with him. Diseases killed not only humans but plants and animals too- causing widespread famine and deprivation for humanity. This time, with himself inflicted with the pain and suffering brought about by the Black Death, Olybrius had pleaded with Adrian to stop and he will return no more to seek access to the Inferno.

Adrian's massacre killed more than half of the world's population, within a shorter period of time than during Aqurico's descent. Olybrius had begged Adrian to spare his life in return for his promise to safeguard their secret and to protect all of them from the last descent of the fourth horseman. Adrian, who could not judge the truth and sincerity of a man's words, had called Abben and Aqurico down to decide Olybrius's fate.

"I promise! I will safeguard all your secrets! I will not hesitate to kill anyone who comes even an inch close to finding out about us! I promise! Please, please Abben, my most trusted knight! Please believe me!" he had pleaded.

"If you or anyone arrives at the gates of Inferno again, Apocalypse will be doomed on humanity. Remember that, Flavius Anicius Olybrius," said Abben.

Then the three brothers disappeared and the world began to heal; Olybrius had commissioned a young painter to paint his portrait in case he was to die and in his solitary suffering, he had confided to him. No church would accept him for his sins were too great and he had no family left… After Juliana, all he ever craved for was power.

He had given her everything; she was his child and he loved her so much. But she had been ungrateful to him even after he had married her off to Dagalaiphus, who was a royalty and wealthy. He had given her a privileged life she should have been thankful for but she had threatened to reveal his secret and find a way to destroy him.

He had been weakened from his trip down the ninth circle of Inferno to see the Devil; happiness and joy sucked out from his soul as payment for their deal. He now lived, barely alive and lifeless among the living. He had returned to bring with him his four knights for their last journey and had come for some of her possessions.

"Don't go digging into things you cannot understand…" he had said when she asked him why he was doing this.

"Why can't I Papa?" Juliana had challenged as she sat at the edge of her bed. Beside her were weapons that looked far too powerful to be wielded by a woman.

"Because I say so. Now give me those!"he had yelled at her.

Juliana eyed him with great disdain and distrust. His skin were crackled and stripped close to the bone and his face no longer bore resemblance to the man she called her father. It was sunken as if all blood had drained from it; leaving the skin flapping on bones. He had demanded for her hunting bow and her scales which she had used to weigh the herbs and leaves for her studies. They were embalmed with the royal mark and were her precious belongings.

The woman looked at the man who called himself her father and knew that there were no traces of humanity in him left.

"Please Papa… let Abben go… and I will give these to you. Please just spare him!" she had pleaded. But had only growled in anger and pointed his sword at her.

"I will kill you Juliana if you do not give them to me,"

"No! Please Papa!"she had screamed. "I will tell the world what you've done, you beast! You're a monster! And I will find a way to your end Papa, I promise!"

"Juliana!"

He could still hear her screams…

He closed his eyes and tried to forget them all. He took his eyes away from the painting of Beatrice Portinari and left the vault, entering his code to seal it shut.

****

Ella opened the window of her father's study. He had fallen asleep over his stack of student assignments. Gently touching his forearm, she coaxed him to wake up.

"Papa… it's almost nine in the morning…" she whispered. However, he continued snoring, even as he pushed her hand away. It was then that she accidentally moved his mouse and the blank screen saver on his computer went away revealing a photo of an old artifact.

Ella thought it was strange that her father would be interested in such an archaeological finding since he was a linguist by profession. With her curiosity piqued, she began reading…

"Mmmm… My head hurts… owww…" moaned Rafael as the morning sun started to blind him.

"Papa, there you go… rise and shine! This looks interesting… is it a new research you're doing?" she asked.

"Oh… that… that's nothing my dear…" Rafael replied quickly, switching off the screen of his computer

Ella gave him a hurt look and started to pout. She probably hadn't done that since she was eight but it produced the desired effect on Rafael for he started to sigh and switched the screen back on.

"It's an excavation of an ancient Roman bath-house," Rafael said as he stroked his daughter's hair. She had grown up to be such a beautiful woman and his heart ached knowing that she was now of the same age as Annabella when she died.

"Oh, that's interesting! Why are you researching on it?"

"My Bella… why don't you go and make a cup of coffee for me? And I'll share with you a little secret for my new thesis when you're back," Rafael offered. Ella smiled and started to skip downstairs to get breakfast for both of them.

10 minutes later…

Ella was sitting down on the rug in front of her father's desk while she listened raptly to what he had to say. She had always admired her father and his work.

"Remember the other time we were at The Chiesa di Santa Margherita de' Cerchi in Florence? While you and your grandmamma were engaged in your affirmation ceremony, I had explored the church myself. I didn't want to just sit and wait. Anyway, on the wall near the nave where I was sitting, there was a drawing of a family tree of sorts that traced all the women affirmed to that church. It had traced down all the way to your mother and you of course.

I had looked all the way up and saw that you are a direct descendant of royalty my Bella… The Anicii family was one of the Roman royal families- very powerful and respected at that,"

"Oh… actually I already knew that… I had seen her tomb remember? I did my own research too and I'm guessing some of the names you saw piqued your interest?" said Ella.

"Of course! Would it not be coincidental that Portinari and Donati are on that very same tree? If every mother had to bring her daughter to The Chiesa di Santa Margherita de' Cerchi, I am guessing that they must have passed down verbal information about their history! Perhaps someone had documented it?"

"Oh Papa! That's a very interesting theory! But where do you reckon you will find it? Oh… my… you think it's at that roman bath?" the excitement in Ella's voice undeniable. "Oh! Do you think Professor Martin would know anything about this?"

"Abben? In fact, he does. He was rather upset though when I told him about it. So I suggest you not talk to him about it to upset him further. But he had told me that the Romans used to hold public baths for the nobles; a place to exchange ideas and socialise within their echelon," Rafael continued. "There is no available record of this family tree so far Ella… but I am guessing that the documents would lie either in the church or in that public bath."

"But why that particular one Papa?' Ella asked.

"It was the only one built in the area now called England… If you wanted to hide something important, you would make your private spaces further away from the main court don't you think? Most of the other public baths are located in Italy but this one… this one certainly was geographically too remote," said Rafael, the excitement clearly in his eyes.

*****

Rafael wasn't sure if he was pushing Ella in the right direction by telling her all that. Lately, since he heard the news that Lady Margaret had passed away, he began to grow fearful that he would lose his daughter too to this strange guardianship of the horsemen. It wasn't that he had no faith in them, but he wanted her to at least be prepared for anything; should something happen to her.

Ella had followed him to the university that day and he had advised her to start thinking about her research question if she was planning on doing her masters in the new semester. Lately, he was also having strange premonitions that something bad was going to happen to her and it made him all the more worried. As much as possible, he wanted her close by so he could keep watch.

Leaving her in the library, he started towards his lecture hall. He knew that she would be safe as long as he was nearby to protect her. Plus, Abben would also be in school if there was anything she would need. Rafael grinned thinking about his old friend. 'Old' would probably be an understatement. Abben would be almost two millennium old. He didn't know if it was amusing or insulting to allow his daughter to date someone like that.

Ella was really at a loss over what to research about for her mind was thinking about what she and her father had discussed earlier that morning. She knew that he was busy with his students right now, so she started walking towards the Faculty office, hoping to find Ben.

He was seated at his desk, swarmed with stacks of student's assignments, just like her father had been. She supposed that the end of the semester was always harder for the lecturer than the students; all those assignments to grade.

"Hi," she said softly, knocking gently on his open door.

"Oh! Oh my… you surprise there Isabella… oh… close the door will you? I almost forgot that I had left it open," said Ben, the startled look on his face unmistakable.

Ella remembered the first time she had been alone in his office with him and how he had stared at her with his intense eyes, scaring her half to death. Perhaps back then he was trying to act austere for he was her teacher after all and she, his student. But now, he was smiling more and his eyes were always a light shade of grey that seemed to twinkle with his laughter. Right now his medium long blond hair was tied up in a ponytail. Ella couldn't remember any other time where he looked more appealing. He probably had stayed up the night marking as well for the stubbles on his face looked more than a day old.

"I'll make you some coffee. No arguments Ben. You look worst than Papa when he has a hangover. And he's a real Italian prick when he's having a hangover; all the curses and tantrums," said Ella, as she walked towards the small pantry he had by his bookshelf.

Ben closed his mouth for he was in no mood to argue with her. He didn't expect to see her today but felt a strange sort of comfort when he saw her knocking at his door. The winter chill was beginning to give way to the sweet spring and she was just that… like the calm after a storm. She was wearing a simple blue frock with a white belt and white heels. He didn't remember her looking so beautiful when she was still a freshman! Laughing in his head, he heard her chide him as if she heard his laughter.

"Ella?" he asked.

"Huh?" she replied. Both stared at each other and started laughing. Ella passed Ben his cup of coffee and started to hug him from the back. She pressed her cheek to his and tried to look at the paper that he was grading.

"Are you going to continue to distract me like this hmmm?" Ben muttered as she started nuzzling his neck. He loved the way she always subtly smelled of soap and lavender. When his gaze moved to the left of his desk he noticed the picture frames and faced them down.

Ella laughed. "You don't think they'd blush seeing us kiss do you?"

Ben nodded. "If it's not them who are blushing, then it's me," he added. Ella was still laughing as she gave him a peck on his cheek.

"I don't remember you being bashful at all a few nights ago…" she teased.

"Oh, I vaguely remember… why don't you refresh my memory Ella? Perhaps you can tell me if I am still bashful?" Ben replied back cheekily. He couldn't stop grinning and that earned him a playful slap on his arm.

"Professor Martin! You naughty, naughty boy! You should be spanked for having such naughty thoughts!" said Ella in a mock reprimanding tone.

"Are you going to punish me then?" he challenged; his eyes gaining intensity as he spoke. Ben felt rather excited just from all their bantering and he could sense Leukós's mating need rising.

Still laughing, Ella released her grip around his neck and turned to sit on his desk facing him.

"Let's see… maybe you can put that tongue of yours to good use instead of saying the naughtiest things!" chided Ella in mock anger.

"Yes ma'am. I have been a very bad boy. I promise I will only use my mouth for the best results only," replied Ben, his eyes twinkling with mischief. He had seen Ella spread her legs slowly and he felt his cock lurch in anticipation.

When her legs were fully spread eagle in front of his face, he almost choked back on his saliva.

"Ella! Where is your underwear?!" he exclaimed. Ella closed back her legs and hopped off the desk. Ben could almost hear a whine rising from his throat.

"Looks like you're not ready to be punished today… Well… we shall continue with work then," said Ella nonchalantly as she sat at the chair opposite him and started to leisurely read one of his student's essays.

"No… please… please punish me now…" Ben pleaded.

"Well… since you asked so nicely…" said Ella, opening her legs and resting her feet on top of his desk. Ben's eyes widened with lust at the feast in front of him.

He didn't say anything more but unbuttoned his shirt and pulled down his pants. Walking towards the door, he locked it, hoping that they wouldn't scream too loud and attract attention. When he turned to face her, his mouth fell open as he watched her fingers playing with her pussy.

Ben started to jerk himself slowly as he watched the show in front of him. She was looking into his eyes with lusty look on her face, moaning as she started to finger herself. Ben could now see the moisture on her fingers each time she pulled them out before thrusting them back in. He could smell her already and wanted her.

Ella crooked her fingers and signalled him to come to her. Immediately she got to her knees and started to put his cock into her mouth. Ben had to remember not to moan too loud but she was sucking him so good. Ella licked the sides of his cock and looked up into his eyes. Just looking at her licking his cock like that made him even harder. He didn't know why she was so bold today but he liked it. It was at that moment that he felt her taking his cock all the way into her mouth and his head touched the back of throat.

"Oh God… your mouth feels so warm Ella…. Yeah… suck me more… yeah like that baby…" he moaned, holding on to her head.

Pulling her mouth off his dick, Ella gave him a sexy grin and licked his cock all the way from his balls to the head without taking her eyes off him. Ben moaned when he saw how lustful she was and surrendered to the intense sensation on his cock.

"Stand still," she instructed as she started to rise from her position. Ben was unsure what she had in mind and boy was he surprised when she gripped his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. When he started to open his mouth, she covered his mouth with hers and kissed him, exploring the recesses of his mouth with her tongue. All the while, her pussy rubbed teasingly at the head of his cock. Each time he wanted to thrust into her, she would slap his chest so he had to learn to stand still and endure the agony of being teased.

With one hand holding his neck, Ella used the other to position his cock just under her pussy and gave a light thrust. Hearing him take a sharp breath, Ella had to burry her face at his neck to prevent her from screaming out loud. Was he this big the last time? He was so thick and incredibly hard right now that she had to keep still letting the pain ebb away.