As Adelaide scurried to and fro, collecting her belongings a deep sigh escaped Marienna's lips. Her eyes periodically glancing over to see what she was doing. How soft, and delicate the girl was Marienna thought. Marienna could see the countless hours stretch out before her eyes, like a most unwelcome mural. Hours upon hours upon hours of training it would take to make this girl into something new. To transform her into a mere shadow of former self. It was in that moment Marienna had come to a decision, she would break Adelaide, if it was the last thing she ever did.
Marienna turned her full attention to Adelaide as she approached the remains of the vampire, she could hear the inane questions hitting her ear and all she could or would muster in reply was a swift roll of the eyes. "Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust." Marienna spoke in a hushed, low tone, mostly to herself. From which they all came, they were destined to return. This was the way of the world. Marienna had long come to terms with the fact that despite all she saw around her, all she knew to exist, her view of the world remained fairly narrow. There was good, there was evil. There was certainly an in between, but this was not a space she chose to exist in. Life was a gift, to be cherished, to be protected. Death was an end, the ultimate end and was something to be embraced, not feared. A welcome end to suffering, to pain. Something that should it befall her in this instant, she would welcome with opened arms. Such was her own anguish, yet the road before her promised to be long.
The supernatural corpse disintegrated, an ominous wind swept through, carrying the remains off into the unknown darkness all around them. The remnants of the creature's existence would return to nature, to be born anew. There was an honest poetry in it. Adelaide, having concluded her business finally got into the passenger side seat, and Marienna could feel it. The girl eyes so clearly staring at her, like two lasers boring a hole into her, trying to figure her out. "Stop staring, girl. Didn't your mummy and daddy teach you that its impolite? Oh right. You didn't have any of those." Marienna meant every ounce of unkindness she could provide, the joy it provided her was nigh on endless. The truth is, Marienna hated to be looked at, she hated when people tried to piece together who she was, as though she didn't live her life plainly and in full view of those around her. What you see in her case, is exactly what you get.
Marienna sighed, shaking her head she put her foot on the gas, the vehicle pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, she began driving north, listening intently as Adelaide asked her questions. Though she was thoroughly annoyed, Marienna understand why she had so many questions, and why she was desperate for answers. "Why doesn't the world know? Here I was, hoping you had some kind of meaningful question. I'm honestly surprised you've lived this long with so little happening in that brain of yours." Despite her words, Marienna's tone had briefly softened, she took a few moments to contemplate how to answer appropriately.
"People... fear the unknown. They fear what they can't understand. Fear is dangerous... Fear starts wars, fear gets people killed." For the first time, since they had met, Marienna was somewhat soft spoken, though frank in her own way. A rare comment where she had not chosen to add an insult for her own personal gain. "If the world know that their bedtime stories, and nightmares were real... there would suddenly be a witch in every kitchen, a vampire in every mausoleum. People who imagine themselves braver than they really are trying to kill what waits in the shadows, only to be killed first... Governments deciding to wipe out entire groups of people in the name of protection. The stories... they give just enough awareness for people to quell their own fears when they see something just out of the corner of their eye... something they can't explain." Marienna trailed off slightly toward the end of her response. Fear, both savior and murderer.
As the two drove, Marienna kept her eyes on the road, they had now moved away from the large public roads to back roads, roads she knew like the back of her hand. Gone were the lamp lights to guide one's way, gone were the faint buildings passing by like shadows, there was now nothing just them, the light of the headlights, the moon and the road ahead. "Thomas... you really are going to have cut that shit out before I beat it out of you." Marienna straightened up in that moment, biting her lower lip, she could feel the anger rising and she had no realistic choice but to push it down deeper, an action which ultimately would only compound her feelings, worsening them slowly over a period of time. "I'm not supposed to talk about how you killed him, not supposed to rub your face it in like you would with a dog whose done their business on the carpet... something about... being sensitive to your situation." Then again, Marienna never could help herself much. "It seems I've already disobeyed that directive. Do be a dear and keep that to yourself, alright?" She turned her head to face Adelaide, flashing that signature smile. The smile of a woman who had perhaps lost pieces of her mind.
Along with uncomfortable staring, came the even more uncomfortable speculation. Marienna felt like an animal in the zoo, something to watched, poked, prodded. It was a distinctly uncomfortable feeling. "I've been doing this long enough to know you won't make it..." Her answer, once again was matter of fact. At present, this was the truth, but with training there was hope. Perhaps the snap in her response was merely a reaction to how she felt cornered, nearly caged. Or maybe, she simply didn't care. It was that one, she thought. Little did Marienna realize this was just the prelude to what she would deem were uncalled for comments.
“Death is not just death. All life is worth something, even… the life of beasts, or creatures we don’t understand. Respect for the dead spans cultures and millennia, and I don’t see any reason a stone in a mouth would make you so…”
Marienna felt her jaw tighten, her hands gripping painfully against the steering wheel as though she were holding on for life itself, or strangling a helpless victim. "Makes me so.... so what?" Marienna asked, almost sweetly, a wild firey look setting in her eyes. Now Adelaide had poked the bear. "Incensed?" So cold? Unfeeling? Inhuman? So... what, dearest Addie?" Slowly her voice descended into the darkness. "Manners, dear girl. Manners. When you start a sentence, you must finish it." Leaving only a single hand on the wheel, in a single moment, the blink of an eye, her free hand reached down for the same baton that had slaughtered the vampire, it was extended, the point of the stake now finding itself resting against Adelaide's neck.
"You can't kill as much as I have without appreciating life. That thing was not alive, that was not life. That was existence coming to a shocking end, an end that seeks only to satiate an insatiable hunger. A creature so devoid of humanity that it kills without thought. Life is worth something, and that was not life. That is not life. Death itself was the respect, death itself was the kindness, death was the mercy. An end to an eternity of suffering. Does that mean nothing to you?" Marienna pressed the tip of the stake harder against Adelaide's skin, enough to draw blood, a simple puncture, superficial wound. Letting the baton drop from her hand at that moment, catching herself now in her own action. "You cannot comprehend my cruelty, nor can you comprehend my compassion. Think me a monster if you will. These rituals? They aren't for the dead. They're for the living. The dead don't care. It just makes a horrible event tolerable for those who remain... She scoffed then, the road was drawing to an end. They were almost there.
"Its for you... do you feel better? Putting a stone in its mouth? It's for you. There was a long sigh, almost a sigh of defeat. Marienna steeled herself, noting a perceived distaste in Adelaide's voice when she used the phrase 'someone like you.' Of course, had she waited a second longer, there was a helpful qualifying statement. "Not like me. At least not in that sense." He was nothing like her, he was kind, understanding, filled with sage wisdom, knowledge beyond what she could ever hope to know. He was the man who raised her, the man who trained her to be the very person she was now driving. She loved him, and he destroyed her. "And yes... he is in charge."
The vehicle shrouded in darkness with headlights blaring like a glowing set of the eyes was finally slowing down as they took one last turn, finding themselves before an imposing metal gate. Having rolled down the window, she reached out, fingers deftly entering a code and with a significant creek the gate opened slowly before then, allowing them passage.
Trees flashed in the highlights, slowly, as they lined the long drive up to the house. The air out here was clean, fresh, the night sky so clear that the stars shone bright overhead, the light pollution of cities and towns long behind them. It would have occurred to them that it had been some time since any sign had been seen it at all. They were alone in the wilderness, isolated. As they came to the end of the drive, an imposing Tudor style mansion appeared on the horizon, a handful of the front facing windows were illuminated, whereas others sat in darkness, or only a sliver of light shining from drawn curtains. The massive structure sat cloaked in trees older than the home itself. Pulling alongside the door, Marienna turned the ignition off. The front doors of the house flung open, as if by clockwork, an older man in a black and white butler's uniform emerged, light from the entryway spilling out illuminating the walk. Behind the butler, who had now stopped, another man in similar attire moved swiftly to open the door for Marienna, offering a hand to help her exit.
Taking the gloved hand into her own she stepped out, and walked alongside him, a smile highlighting her face, the man now moved to the passenger's side before being stopped. "No, no. She can help herself. You can park once she's brought herself inside." Her tone was calm, almost sweet, there was a respect she held for the staff that kept the house running, a deep respect that she certainly did not feel toward Adelaide. It was night and day. "Hurry up girl. This no hour of night for dawdling." Marienna had thrown her arms into the air, as if in defeat, and moved swiftly inside the house.
The entrance hall was grand beyond all measure, the old house boasted marble floors, a thick red red carpet from the entrance to the grand staircase, massive portraits, largely of men hung along the walls. Standing in wait was a man that Adelaide may recognize, the one standing beside Marienna at the funeral. With outstretched arms, Marienna met him with a warm embrace, and a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Welcome home." he spoke, his voice warm, kind, he looked beyond the woman he knew to see Adelaide behind. The kind smile remained on his face as she bowed his head in acknowledgment. "You must be Adelaide. Welcome to Heatherbell, we have been waiting to greet you here for some time." He added, before making a expression of discomfort as Marienna had driven her heel into his foot. A sign of her disapproval at his congeniality, though it would not phase him.
"I trust that Sauveterre has been on her best behavior." he spoke, in something of a jest. He knew full well that there was really no chance of Marienna showing any kind of kindness.
"Adelaide, this is Dmitry... He will show you to your room. Surprisingly, my idea of shoving you in the basement was rejected. Get some rest. You'll need it if you hope not to make a fool of yourself in the morning." Marienna sighed, and nodded before disappearing off through one of the several sets of double doors that dotted the wall of the great hall, wishing to escape this living hell as fast as she could. That left Adelaide with Dmitry, several others had emerged positioned themselves along the balcony at the top of the stairs, all whispering, loud enough to be noticed. All figures clad in dark clothing, just watching, waiting.
"Shall we, then? I can also arrange for some food, I don't imagine Sauveterre made sure you had eaten anything before coming all the way out here. Best not to let all of this overwhelm you, some rest ought help clear your mind." Dmitry remarked.
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