A Love Born Of Friendship

5. Talking To Cardinal Jinette and Becoming Partners

Anna pulled away after five minutes. "Lets go talk to Jinette. I think you know why." She said.

"Of course. I could easily use you as a partner. You ARE my equal."

"Yes. There's that. But I also want to talk to him about us as a couple. I don't want him to be surprised by catching us in the middle of something intimate."

Van nodded. "Good idea." He replied and led her out of the training room into Cardinal Jinette's office. "Jinette."

"What is it, Van Helsing? I'm VERY busy at the moment." The old man replied.

"We need to talk to you." Anna said. "It's SUPER important."

The cardinal looked up. "Ah. I see. And you need to tell me what?"

She looked at Van who nodded to continue and looked back at Jinette. "Well, first and foremost, we're now courting each other."

"Courting?!?"

"Yes. And there's nothing in this world you can do to stop us." The princess replied.

"Fine. And the second?"

"We want to be partners. I've joined The Order myself already and I'm just as good as Van Helsing. Papa would want me to help if I could."

"But what about his reputation? He's the most wanted man in Europe right now."

"I don't CARE! I LOVE him and I will do EVERYTHING in my power to help him rid of the world's monsters as well as help him to regain his memories."

Van wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side in an attempt to calm her down. It seemed to work as she relaxed instantly. "And I have been thinking myself for the last two years that I could use the help. However, I could never partner with someone other than Princess Anna."

"Alright." Cardinal Jinette sighed. "You can be partners. But I expect you to do your job correctly from now on. If I say to capture the creature, then you capture it. If I say to kill it, kill it. Otherwise, I'll have to fire you in order to keep this organization a secret. I won't hesitate to do what is necessary to keep The Order from being exposed."

"You will NOT!" Anna shouted. "MY father would do ANYTHING for me. If you so much as harm a hair on Van Helsing's head, I won't hesitate to have my father replace you. HE is the reason The Order even exist."

"You WOULDN'T." Jinette said glaring at her.

"You really want to test me? I'm not one to be underestimated." She replied raising an eyebrow.

The old man sighed giving up. "Fine. Your first assignment as partners will be to go to London to capture a mad scientist by the name of Dr. Jekyll. However, he goes by the name of Mr. Hyde. He's wanted for the murder of two men, four women, six children, and a bunch of poultry."

"When do we leave?" Van asked.

"The day after tomorrow. I suspect Anna will want to spend Christmas with you alone. Dismissed."

The couple turned and left. Anna smiled at the fact that she knew she won the argument.