Blood is thicker than water or... [M] {Damonique x Panu} (IC)

[Panu]

------ London, March 1837------

The weather was cloudy in the early morning, as it usually was this time of year. You could slowly start to hear London waking up to a brand new day, as the people started to get up and out on the streets to begin their cores of the day. The wheels from the carriages could be heard running over the cobbles of the street, as also they began their morning like the rest of London.

By the port, there were large numbers of ships, all sailing to and from London, some in the hope of finding a new life, some in the hope of selling goods, like textiles, spices or some even more exotic goods from the East. Everything there were having a purpose, whether they were going or arriving to this mighty port of London. Not far from the port, the bigger area filled with factories, producing all kind of things to the people of London. The high chimneys creating a thick smoke, which would spread over the sky, cover it in a gray color.

In the area close to Hyde Park, a mansion, two stories high, surrounded with associated buildings, the family of Grigorov lives. The mansion loomed proudly behind a tall iron gate, at its yard center stood a refined fountain, the water softly running down the side, creating a calming sound. A small rose garden had been planted in the front. As the doors open, a great wide hall would greet the guest of the house with a long green carpet, following by a great staircase, splitting into two and guiding up to two long hallways filled with rooms. In the hallway, a doorway was on either side of the hall, one leading into the kitchen area and the rooms of the servants, the other, into a grand dining room. The walls were decorated with large paintings of some of the great men, who have ruled London in the past.

In the back, a big yard had been established with trees, flowers and green plants to create and form an imagination of life.

The corridors on the second floor, were filled with wooden panels along the side, leading into each on of the room, occupied of some of the members of the family.

As there were knocked on the wooden door, a deep sigh was heard from under the blanket on the bed over at the end of the room. Rana Grigorov the daughter of the house, hated to put it lightly, to get up early, especially if she had been running around the city in the night, like she sometimes would do for fun, to explore the city in the night. She would love to roam around and particularly sometimes in the wooden area, just on the outskirts of London. The night before had not been any different, as she had explored some of the forest not far from the Northern part of London.

“You should not be here yet Violet, it is way too early” Rana’s head peaked out from under the blanket and looked with tired green eyes at her maidservant. Her silver hair covering most of her face, as she clearly had been turning a lot in her sleep. Even though it was not that early compared to when servants had to get up, Rana had only arrived home 4 hours before. She softly rolled out of bed as Violet was preparing a warm bath for her. She pulled and twisted her hair up in a messy bun and walked out to the bathroom to Violet and smiled tiredly “have you at least slept well? I’ve heard that my father has some kind of announcement today, not really sure what to expect, hope it has something to do with Adrian and not me” she just smiled before pulling off her white nightdress, reveling a big scar covering most of her lower back, a scar Violet had seen multiple times, but something that has not been shown to other in the world.

Rana lowered herself into the hot water and after some time, she stood up again, grabbing a towel Violet were holding for her “Please don’t tell anyone I sneaked out again last night, but I seriously found a great area in the forest, I need to show you some day” a sweet smile just appeared on her lips. In the evenings when Rana would sneak out, she often had help from Violet to cover up from her.

While Violet would do her hair, Rana was sitting, considering what kind of deal her father would be planning now, what kind of things he would do to change their daily life around. Alwah Grigorov indeed was feared in the household, sometimes even Rana feared him, however she was raised to obey his words, at least until she once would be married of to some sort of family, that would give her father more power and at that time, she would have to obey her new husband. Sometimes the thoughts of her own life, own rules ran through her head, it would be amazing to be able to decide things on your own, rather than running around, hiding the things she liked doing the most.

Rana zoned out and when she finally came to herself, Violet was closing the last of her buttons on her dress. “Thank you Vi, for always helping out” Rana smiled sweetly at her before walking out in the hallway, making her way to the grand hall for the announcement of the day.

[Damonique]

Violet held her tongue while Lady Rana complained of the early hour, and held it some more when she was asked how she had slept, giving only the barest nod accompanied by a meek 'Yes, Mistress' in response. Truthfully, the maid had hardly slept a wink. From her own small bedroom, hardly more than a closet, adjoining Rana's luxurious suite of rooms, she heard the familiar creak of the window heralding another of her Mistresses night-time escapes, the third this week.

From that moment, the maidservant had waited anxiously to hear her return, and for the the shifting and shuffling to subside, before she tip-toed through the rooms, disposing of any evidence she had ever left. The 'borrowed' boys' clothes she'd worn out were washed, dried, and hidden away in the back of the closet, her supple doeskin boots, which smelled of dirt and brush were cleaned, polished, and set away.

By time that was done, there was no time to get back to sleep before attending to her usual duties, closing and shuttering all the windows well before the irritating sun rose, lighting the many oil lamps and candles that lit the room in it's stead, drawing her mistress' a bath and setting out an acceptable ensemble for her to wear. Rana had to know those things didn't just magically get done, the undue burden and risk her escapades forced upon her maidservant....but Violet bore it all without complaint.

The redhead knew well that she had gotten lucky with her placement in the household, the domestic tasks she were set to a much gentler imprisonment than what faced many of the other girls in service to the Grigorov household...Violet had heard stories of the fate earned by those that Master Alwah, and the tales told of what happened to girls that drew Master Adrian's attention sent a shudder down her spine. Instead of dwelling on such grim thoughts, she paused to consider Rana's question about the days proclamations.

"You'd have to ask Master Alwah yourself, he doesn't share his intentions with one so low as myself, he only asked for you to be ready to attend him. There are rumors in the lower household, there always are. Most of the talk is about what happened to Anne last month, that the Night Court hasn't given him permission to take vengeance on whoever did it. If that's true, I'd imagine he's quite wroth." Violet answered as she finished filling the basin with hot water from the kitchen...at least hauling the buckets wasn't the difficult chore it would have been for a human. Even small, frail-looking Violet was three or four times stronger than she had any right to be, following her change. It had taken weeks to learn how to manage her newfound strength and stop breaking things she only meant to grip. Each such mishap had earned her a whipping, so she'd learned quickly.

Remembering such punishment drew the maids attention immediately to the long scar that marred Rana's back, easily visible from where she sat on a stool behind the tub, rinsing and brushing the older girls lustrous silver hair. Violet knew she was staring, and was sure Rana knew she was as well. Whatever wound had left it had surely been gruesome, and painful, to leave such a mark so long, but the redhead was still afraid to come out and ask her about it. She told herself it was because it wasn't her place, but truly, Violet was afraid to hear the answer. This family had secrets...the sort that it was safer not to know.

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Janus had slept little himself, too consumed by anticipation as he sat up on the uncomfortable straw mattress that was the only furnishing in the converted cellar that served as his prison. There were no windows, nor a candle or lamp for light, but that hardly bothered him. In fact, the utter darkness was almost comforting, it reminded him of his first home, the dank sewer he made his lair before his 'mother', Anne had found him, brought him here to serve the family that she served, the living gods that went by the name Grigorov.

He heard the sound of hobnailed boots clicking on stone past the door, and could tell who it was just from the gait....the weathered, ancient soldier called Jax, short for Ajax, his principal tutor. Janus waited with what would be bated breath, if his body had any need to breathe, for the sound of the heavy bolt sliding out of the door frame. This imprisonment was his own doing...when he'd heard her body had been discovered, left like trash in an alleyway, the world had gone red, and a rage had taken him.

Next thing he remembered, he was being dragged down to the cellars and shoved in a cell, where he had cursed and screamed until he was hoarse, and fought the air and the walls until his hands were bruised and bloody. It was only after three days without a feeding that he calmed enough for Jax to explain what had happened. Apparently, Janus had nearly killed two servants and wounded a half-dozen guards with only his teeth and nails before he had been brought under control. Rather than upset, he was almost proud of the accomplishment...just more proof that he was stronger, faster, better than all the Grigorov's other servants. He was sure that was why he was still alive. Lord Alwah still had a use for him yet....and today he would find out what it was.

The thick oaken door creaked open slowly to reveal Jax standing in the frame with a torch, and Janus snapped to attention, his back straight and arms at his sides, face a mask of determination and competence, though the sudden introduction of light to his empty world strained his eyes as they tried to adjust. Once they did, he realized that Ajax was not alone....there were two women with him, marked for maids by their outfits. They both looked him over with clear distaste tempered by a healthy dose of fear...Janus didn't know why until he looked down and assessed himself in the light. He was filthy, arms caked with dried blood up from his hands to his elbows, and his clothes were little more than torn rags.

"Well, hurry it up, best not keep Master Alwah waiting..." Was all Ajax said, spare with his words as always, and turned to lead the way down the hall, gesturing to Janus to follow. Together, they meandered their way out of the cellars, up the two flights of stairs into the lower floors where most of the domestic servants lived and worked. They took him to a small room off from the laundry, containing a large, steaming copper tub, a large mirror and several racks of clothing.

Janus felt like little more than a piece of meat, and not in a good way, as the maids stripped him bare and began to poke and prod him, taking measurements and discussing with one another how to make him presentable. They spoke about and around him, but never to him, so Janus said nothing, instead studying himself closely in the mirror. He truly as a ghastly sight, reminiscent of how he must have looked when he was found, filthy, bloodied and wild-eyed.

The serving girls shoved him into the tub and gave him a good scrub and rinse, the drained the basin of the blood and grime that had washed off of him, refilled it and did it again, this time using some sort of fragrant soap.His unkempt mat of raven hair was the next thing for them to despair upon, but when one produced a pair of scissors to trim it, but Janus turned and practically snarled at her and the idea was abandoned. Instead, they washed and oiled until it shined, and tied it all back from his eyes with a silver ring, and deftly weaved in a braid that trailed down well past his shoulders.

Next up was the clothing....there were several items of high fashion, vestments of silk and velvet and samite with too many ruffles and buckles to be practical and were too ostentatious for his station. Instead, they settled on a white shirt with half-sleeves to display his toned forearms, and a black vest with a deep vee of crimson embroidery about the neckline. This was joined by a pair of tight black pants and tall, sharp-toed boots of oiled leather. Once it was all fitted and arranged, Janus observed himself in the mirror....hardly recognizing himself.

Nothing could be done for the raw wounds and ugly bruises covering his hands and forearms, yet, but a fresh drink would get them healing again, and otherwise....if he hadn't known better, he could almost have mistaken himself for a member of the High Household, those trusted servants and retainers that had earned the right to walk the upper halls and attend their masters at court and leisure. And then his heart soared, as he realized what this meant....finally, he would join their ranks. A giddy smile spread across his usually-somber features as he turned to Ajax, who simply raised an eyebrow and indicated the door.

[Panu]

It was quiet as Rana and Violet walked down the hallway on the first floor. Rana was walking a slow and calm pace, not really feeling the need to hurry down to hear the new idea of the day, that her father has gotten. Thinking about it, it would definitely not be something she would jump of joy over, knowing her father and his ideas. The two of them often had a hard time agreeing on something, well on the other hand, Rana just had to follow the rules… and how good was that going, with all her nightly adventures.

“No matter how much you stare at my scare Violet, it will not disappear, trust me, I have tried multiple times staring at it” Rana said in a soft voice, not looking back at Violet, but not sounding angry at all. She knew the younger girl had been staring earlier, knowing it was something she would do occasionally. Rana could not blame her at all, even though she hated the staring. She had always been hiding it away, not telling anyone about it, unless they were her personal maids, like Violet was now. Even the few male acquaintances she has had, had never seen her without clothing on. Her smile disappeared for a short moment, as Rana remembered how she got her scar, but she quickly pushed the memories aside.

“The whole situation with Anne is sad, I really liked her a lot, she was always a helping hand and a smile of the day – as far as I know, she stood my father dear…. I’m guessing you might be right about my father; he will be quite wroth if there is not any news from the Night Court”

A few serving maids were cleaning and dusting off in the hallway, dusting off the dust on some of the paintings covering the walls. Rana would smile at them as they walked by. Suddenly she stopped up, looking concentrated at one of the girls, before walking over to her and corrected the bow on the back of her uniform, making the maid startled, which caused her to drop the small duster. Rana just smiled and continued correcting the bow “remember to correct your bow, before leaving your chamber, there would have been consequences if it had been someone other than me seeing this” Rana said in a soft but assured voice. “Yes miss” the serving maid whispered in a nervous voice… avoiding eye contact, looking down at the ground and just focusing on looking at her feet. As Rana continued down the hall, the maid shortly got eye contact with Violet, knowing she had got lucky this time for not being punished.

“They need to be careful Violet” was all Rana said this time in a low voice. She could not start to imagine if it had been Adrian discovering this instead of her. He would absolutely not have been nice about it and even though Rana knew the serving maids in the house was taught the hard way, some of the ways Adrian did things, she could and would not accept the way he was treating the serving people. The two of them would often never agree on anything.

As they walked down the stairs, Rana spotted Ajax and Janus, her eyes resting shortly on Janus, observing him for a short moment, his toned arms being one of the first thing she noticed… she did not recall having seen him in the household before. She let her eyes slide over to Ajax instead, trying not to take any interest in Janus. “Good Morning Ajax” Rana said in a soft voice and walked next to him through the living room, on the way to Alwah’s office “I have heard the Night Court has not decided on anything yet… anything new?“

Just as she asked this question, a heated and loud voice was heard from within the office, a voice known to the whole house… Alwah’s angry voice… “I HAVE TOLD YOU NOT TO COME BACK BEFORE THERE WERE ANY NEWS FROM THE NIGHT COURT… LEAVE!”. Rana had her hand on the doorknob, clearly hesitating with whether or not she would like to enter. Just few seconds after, a guy walked out in a hurry, clearly anxious.


After he had hurried off, Rana looked after him and whispered "I guess no news" she turned to face her father. Rana walked determined into the office and just by her appearance, Alwah’s mood clearly changed “Good morning my daughter” he said and softly placed a kiss on her forehead. Rana smiled “Morning father”… In the office, Adrian was sitting over in the far corner in a big armchair, nevertheless he was keeping up with everything happening in the room. He had been joining in on the meeting earlier and was following Alwah, learning more and more about the family business. Alwah gestured some of the men, not referring to Ajax, Adrian and Janus, to leave the office and close the door behind him, not needing to say any words at all.

Rana took a seat in one of the other armchairs, waiting patiently for her father to speak his ideas. “It is good to see you here Ajax” Alwah stated and walked around the table, sitting down and moving some papers around in front of him “I have read your rapport Ajax… and I do see a lot of potential in this guy… Janus was his name, correct?” He glanced up in their direction where they were standing. “As you know, my daughter Rana is very precious to this family, she will one day be the source of more power to the family… and considering the latest riots in town, I see no other way than to protect her even further...” Alwah scanned through some of the papers in front of him, the rapport about Janus, taking notice of the details “I want Janus to be the guard for Rana” he said in a now almost cold and authoritarian voice as he leaned back in his chair.

“You can't be serious, I do not need a guard, I know how to protect myself” Rana interrupted her father and stood up in a flash. "Sit down Rana" Adrian said in a dark and clearly not friendly voice, looking over at her from the other chair.