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[center][h1][color=D3D3D3][b]Dominika Kovač Pignatelli[/b][/color][/h1][/center]
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Forcing herself to breath, Dom felt the room spinning around her. It was as if all her fears had been realized in one fell swoop of uninvited horror. To live in interesting times was bad enough. The bloody celebration that haunted them all, even months later, was painful memory enough. Dom had barely registered anything following the related prophecy. Bits and pieces had reached her, beneath the blanket of fear that had enveloped her. She knew nothing of the new Scion, save his name. She had paid no heed to the rumors, whispered as they were. All the same, the newest Scion advocated a reasonable course that seemed mercifully underdeveloped in terms of violence. Sara's fervent faith struck a familiar chord, an unexpected response from the steadfast Templar. There was steel in her words, and Dom wished she possessed such confidence and certainty in her own beliefs. 

She had always held onto a dutiful piousness, a simple, childlike view of religion, rooted in the long recalled superstitions spoken of by sailors as they crossed the seas. She had attended services regularly at the simple chapel buried in a corner of the dockyards. She had donated appropriately. She had carried Incepta in heart with boundless love and given the same affection to the Church. She had listened unquestioningly and without much thought. To be a Scion, to be so touched by the hand of the Goddess herself, had made it impossible to deviate from this course. And yet, she found no relief in the prophecy Lucas offered, only a new horror, now named, that loomed beyond the horizon.

[color=D3D3D3]"We are in this together, then, we must protect the Princess,"[/color] Dom said, discovering to her own surprise that she was speaking, her voice steady and clear as she rose to her feet. She met Holly's eyes gratefully, finding some comfort in her manner. Her Templar offered hope and Dom sensed the truth in Jannick's words. Still standing, she reached gracefully for a portion of the gift ham that Holly had once again brought to the forefront, selecting a modestly sized slice and placing it on her plate. The dearly departed pork was something simple, something she could understand, and something she could measure.  

[color=D3D3D3]"We must set aside our differences and dedicate ourselves anew to this holy task,"[/color] Dom said, sitting down and burying her hands in her lap as she cast a desperate glance at Jannick, Sara, and then Holly, looking for any reassurance, any indication that she had not gone too far, that she had no said too much.