Timelines: What if Spain Failed to Control the World?

[General_BT]

Hmm Isabella in the shower and Antonio a dirty voyeur

Aww... he wasn't a voyeur... he was just helping out! You know, watching to "make sure she was clean."

Wonderful to see Season III starting up. I've finally caught back up again - Grubby, your special was fantastic! Kudos to you!

[Grubnessul]

Haha, of course she has no experience with showers!

And thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[Judas Maccabeus]

Well, I'm not the voyeur type, but I suppose I certainly can't complain about Isabella cleaning herself.

[Grubnessul]

I'd say be a gentleman and aid a damsel in distress.

[Capibara]

Showers scenes are back! haha, very good prologue (II), canonized, eagerly awaiting for more

[canonized]

Gah!

<covers eyes...while still trying to read>

ANOTHER SHOWER SCENE!!!

SOME of us are trying to maintain our virginity!

Canonized you are the devil!

TheExecuter

P.S. Nice to see Isabella and Antonio 'hooking up' once more...

Haha I couldn't help it ! New beginnings need to be inaugurated with a baptism I always say XD

robou: ROFL are you alright there , buddy ? XD

Grubnessul: Well , the glass is distorted so you can only see silhouettes XD

Judas Maccabeus: ROFL oh JM , how we've missed your comments !

Grubnessul: Haha , well Antonio is being a good gentleman ! And that's definitely going to pay off !

Capibara: Thank you sir XD And i seriously can't get enough of your avatar . Every time I see it , I have to smile

[Kurt_Steiner]

ANOTHER SHOWER SCENE!!!

SOME of us are trying to maintain our virginity!

Canonized you are the devil!

Canonized you are that, and you are this...

Sigh... no one seems my dark influence on those events...

[Grubnessul]

Canonized you are that, and you are this...

Sigh... no one seems my dark influence on those events...

*Sigh* And noone will ever notice my dark influence on your dark influence on those events

[Kurt_Steiner]

*Sigh* And noone will ever notice my dark influence on your dark influence on those events

Erm.... I was dark even before darkness was created...

[Grubnessul]

Erm.... I was dark even before darkness was created...

Being dark before darkness was created is overrated, and does not logically imply that I cannot have a dark influence over you

[canonized]

Canonized you are that, and you are this...

Sigh... no one seems my dark influence on those events...

Haha , Oh your dark influences work quite fine , I just try to find ways to turn them into good things XD

Grubnessul & Kurt: Oh you guys XD

Another update coming today !

[canonized]

Prologue Part III

“We haven’t heard from them for a while,” Nia mused while looking out into the subdued darkness of the cityscape from the waiting room window.

“Perhaps they got lost,” Jakob replied with a huff although his attention was preoccupied with the various papers laid out in front of him. The rigidity of the words inked on the paper talking about statements of “liability” and insurance clashed with the refined stroke of the young German’s writing. At first the young man had been skeptical about writing on the paper itself, but Jakob provided the best answers he could in those areas laid out for him.

“Sweet isn’t one to get lost,” Nia spoke mostly to herself. “and it will be morning soon…”

“Have you slept at all?” Jakob asked in between trying to figure out what an “allergy” was. Jakob had that quaint doctorial style of reading over his notes while asking questions as if he was talking to his chest. Nia didn’t answer at first, and after three or so seconds, Jakob looked up from his work to the back of the lady’s frame. Jakob wanted to say something; his first instinct was to diagnose the problem, but the stillness of the woman eluded his detection. It was only when he looked at the faint reflection of her face on the glass could he understand.

Nia’s dark eyes were scanning the horizon of orange-white light and black shadow in front of her intently while her arms cradled her body protectively. Jakob began to understand but felt a little bit ashamed simultaneously: he had been too caught up in the most recent events to fully take in what had just happened—they would never be able to go back. Their lives—those things they were trying to save this whole time now assumed a confusing haze every time Jakob attempted to think of the idea. Their lives were still there, but it would be different from here. It was as if someone had brought them to the moon.

“I’ve been someone who’s used to the night,”[1] Nia whispered almost nostalgically, lyrically. “I’ve even walked through the rain… I’ve walked through whole cities until their torches and fires were far behind me… I’ve seen the sad beggars crowding the alleys… I’ve sneaked past patrols with my eyes turned away from them hoping they won’t stop to ask me questions… There was even one time when I would silently listen for anyone approaching only to hear the cries of people from their homes; people I don’t know—people who weren’t calling for me. But now that we’re so far…” she took a breath, “so far…” she paused again to look up towards the murky image of the moon, “I know we’re here for a reason… that’s how the Timepiece works—but… I don’t know anymore if this right...” She let the last few words hang in the frigid air of the room while looking out into the night. She felt that it was like a mysterious acquaintance that had followed her forward through time.

---

Cardinal DeWitt was not unused to the tensions of a jail cell. Despite being stripped of his armour, his imposing figure was deterrent enough for the other inmates to give him some distance and respect—and, perhaps, it was also because this man, who looked like he could break even the toughest criminal in half, was ironically wearing the garb of a clergyman. The others in the cell looked at him with the utter suspicion that something was wrong—that this person did not belong here. A man of the cloth built for fighting—it was alien to even the most depraved of criminals in the square.

The Cardinal himself stood against the concrete wall with a stout defiance. He leaned against the unpainted brick heavily and held his arms across his chest. His expression shot coldness to the others in the cell and he tensed his muscles every now and then to radiate an uneasy anger. He did not, for example, want the others to know that he was still attempting to recover his balance—hence why he was leaning against the wall. He did not want the others to see that he was biding his time to recover his strength—hence why his arms were protectively across his chest as opposed to limping at either side. He did not want the others to notice that his body was still suffering from the spasms of the ordeal he received earlier that night—hence why he tensed his whole body every now and then. The Cardinal was a man not unused to the dangers of the criminal cell; he would not become vulnerable for any of them.

The “police” had questioned him earlier and had repeatedly asked questions about where he had gotten his armour and weapons. He remembered he gave nothing to the interrogators except his insistence that if they checked his ring, it would verify his identity as a Prince of the Church. The only responses he got from his two inquisitors were poorly hidden snickers. It was only when he demanded to see the local bishop and invoked the protection of the Church did the interrogators flash a bit of anger. One of them leaned back in his seat and dropped his writing utensil while the other turned his head bitterly. At first, the Cardinal was confused by the expressions, but he did not give away his curiosity to his jailers. Perhaps it had something to do, he thought, about the “rights” he had been told when he was first awoken in the infirmary:

“You have the right to remain silent,” they had told him, “anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney; if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you for your defense. You have the right to consult a canon lawyer or any lawful ecclesial authority to apply for ecclesial protection and asylum.”

He had not thought about it much, nor was he completely listening at that point after recovering from his ordeal, but perhaps it was mostly because of the other words that the men told him that caught his attention the most: “You are under arrest…”

--------
1. This portion of the narrative was inspired directly from Robert Frost’s “Acquainted With the Night.”

[Grubnessul]

Hmm well the police would have a hard time to believe someone who claims to come from the past :P

Maybe call in the help of someone who know about the timepiece?

And it would seem that you transport the main characters from every season to present day for an epic battle against the naughty ones?

[Judas Maccabeus]

As always, what really makes this is the details (such as in the Miranda warning as provided). And the good Cardinal shows why we like him so much yet again.

[General_BT]

I agree, the modified Miranda warning definitely makes the Cardinal's predicament come home! Well done once again!

[Kurt_Steiner]

Well, let's look on the bright side. Cardinal de Witt is on a prison cell, not on the "dead man walking" short run, so to speak.

Hmm well the police would have a hard time to believe someone who claims to come from the past :P

Not to mention those who claim to come from the future...

[canonized]

Hmm well the police would have a hard time to believe someone who claims to come from the past :P

Maybe call in the help of someone who know about the timepiece?

And it would seem that you transport the main characters from every season to present day for an epic battle against the naughty ones?

Well the LAPD wouldn't know about the Timepiece unfortunately XD

Judas Maccabeus: I try to get the little changes in our world and theirs every now and then XD It's very fun to see something shifted slightly !

General_BT: Thank you , sir XD

Kurt_Steiner: haha correct

I plan on another update later on tonight if I can manage it in between my paperwork XD

[robou]

So many story lines... my head hurts. I can't remember half the stuff iv'e read before. I should check out the sumaries! Great descriptive writing canonized, although it practically goes without saying

[comagoosie]

Caught up! Read the past 2 prologues, and I can't wait for the real thing to come if this is only the preamble!

A beefy cardinal = the biggest gangster

Haha, if one of my classmates would see the Miranda tampered with, boy would he throw a fit, well, good thing he isn't in on our secret little party

[canonized]

So many story lines... my head hurts. I can't remember half the stuff iv'e read before. I should check out the sumaries! Great descriptive writing canonized, although it practically goes without saying

Thank you very much , sir XD

comagoosie: haha , well it goes along with the whole 'slightly tweaked world' motif . Glad to have you as always , sir XD