[M] Un/Chosen [Hannelorian x MaskedBee]

[Hannelorian]

Three weeks prior to the beginning of our tale...

Lightning threatened to cleave the heavens in twain, thick heavy drops of rain beat hard against the cool grey stones that lined the cemetery. Thunder clapping with sinister overtones, it was everything a funeral should be. A proverbial sea of black umbrellas held in the weary hands of black clad figures crowding around an open grave as a single wooden coffin was lowered into the gaping maw. The sobs of mourning and sighs of disbelief were lost amidst the downtrodden weather.

There stood two figures many feet removed from the devoted mourners under a single similarly dreary black umbrella. A tall man with dark hair clad in a smart black suit, and a slightly shorter woman with hair neatly tied up adorned into a sleeveless black dress. She was remarkably pale, though a striking vision of beauty. The two remained with neutral expressions on their face, their eyes covered with dark sunglasses despite the overwhelming lack of sun.

"I fucking hate funerals." remarked the woman. The words escaping delicate lips painted with a dark red lipstick. The comment was followed in some moments by a single sigh. "I'm not digging him up once this whole thing is done." The woman, pale as the moonlight turned her gaze upward to the man standing beside her, the man whose face now bore something of a smile.

"Oh no?" The tall man asked in a rather deep voice, the question coming in advance of a small laugh and a nod of the head. "He was our friend you know." He continued, looking away from the crowd, attention solely focused on the woman now. "And he's gone. He deserves the dignity of salt and flame." There was truth in his words, a truth even the woman could not deny, for all she would like to.

"This is what happens when we don't follow the rules. Thomas knew what he was doing, and chose this fate with blatant disregard." The woman let her words sting, she let them burn for they too were the truth. People like them, members of their organization followed a code for a reason, to keep them alive and the world safe from what hides in the shadows. "And for what, Dmitry? For her?" The woman asked, almost insulted by her own question, her arm outstretched now, leaving the safe boundaries of the umbrella she pointed to one of the mourners, a young girl. The "one." The woman shook her head, allowing her arm, now coated with several drops of what should have been soothing rain, drop to her side.

"Jealously isn't a good look for you, Sauveterre." The man remarked as the two now turned together and began to walk toward the road, far from the madding crowd.

"Bite me." was the woman's only response as the two finally faded into the distant uncertainty of night.

Present Day

The hour grew late, the darkness had long since fallen, the only light from the stars above and the lamps that dotted the aisles of the nearly deserted car park. A single, solitary vehicle remained, and of course, there was the question of the young woman who owned the car. The woman with bags in hand slowly walked across the lot, resting fingertips on the cool metal of the handle.

The sound of heels clicking against the pavement would reach her, perhaps prompting her to look out over the hood of the car. The silhouetted figure of a woman, the same woman from the funeral would become clearer, and clearer, as she drew closer and closer. The pale lamplight barely illuminating the features of her face, just before the lights began to flicker with no apparent pattern. "Dear girl..." the woman called out, her voice almost sickeningly sweet yet dripping with mockery. The woman's dark hair lay down about her shoulders, a black blazer over a white top, jeans on and of course heels. A woman can do almost anything in heels were she only to try, her mentor used to remind her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you..." The woman made a clicking sound with her mouth and nodded her head toward the interior of the vehicle.

In her right hand was a small, but heavy looking baton. With a smile, she outstretched her hand and in a swift motion the baton expanded itself. the final expanded section was unlike the rest of the device, it was an uncharacteristically well carved wooden point. The woman was very much aware of how threatening this all likely seemed. But not without reason, for in the back seat of the car in waiting for the door to open was one of the classic villains of the age, the vampire. Dreadfully overdone, but still quite annoying. This one had been following the protagonist for quite some time, waiting for the right opportunity.

"Come now Adelaide, you couldn't possibly be this stupid, could you?" The woman followed again, taunting, shaking her head and sighing she drew ever closer. "Step aside. Let the grown-ups do their work." Marienna all but commanded. Would she put the pieces together? Or would Marienna need to explain the whole thing.

[MaskedBee]

Three weeks of him being gone, and Adelaide felt the shift in her life like the water of the tide pulling back into the ocean, a dangerous wave forming, or the heavy weight in the air that came before thunder cracked the sky and shook the earth. Thomas had been her mentor, her greatest supporter, but his loss came with consequences she blamed on sadness, on shock, because what sensible person would blame it on anything else? When people asked her how she was doing, she gave them the obvious answers. She was disoriented, weighted by his loss. She was sad, mourning, but she’d be alright. It was sudden and tragic but he wouldn’t want her to linger on the negativity so she did her best to honour him by remembering him at his best.

Those were the answers they wanted, and the ones they accepted. What she didn’t tell them was how the shadows grew longer before the moonlight bid it of them, how the darkness felt like a physical thing, a barrier hiding watching eyes. She didn’t tell them that Thomas being gone, for reasons she couldn’t fathom or understand, somehow made the world feel… dangerous.

Grief did odd things to people, and she knew that, tried harder to convince herself that that was all this was, though no funeral had ever left her this uneasy. There, there had been a whole crowd of people she’d never known, that he’d never mentioned, mismatched against the backdrop of the life Adelaide knew of his. Maybe that confusion was manifesting itself in her tired, caffeine-run brain. The lack of sleep, the crying, the loss--it made her suspicious and uncertain. He’d always been so sure of himself in a way that inspired her, and without him, she’d lost her footing, that was all. The shadows would return to being just that, unthreatening and unbothersome, as soon as she learned to carry the weight of his passing.

And how better to honour him than to throw herself into her thesis?

It was a distraction laced with memories of him, but she focused on her work well past the university library’s usual hours. It felt good to be sure of something, for doubt to be something she could soothe by looking through her references or an old tome she hadn’t catalogued yet instead of it feeling like some looming danger right outside her periphery. Time had slipped away, but she was glad for it--it wasn’t like she’d be sleeping much tonight anyway, not with the hairs on her neck always rising. Not with the cold sensation twisting in her gut that she was being watched.

Which really was silly, wasn’t it? Adelaide wasn’t special enough for any kind of stalker. Her papers weren’t renowned, or even published in any of the scientific journals she wanted them to be in. People like her didn’t garner attention, especially not maliciously intended, and she told herself this once, twice, again and again, as she tried to ignore the cold sweat forming making her hair stick to the back of her neck, tried to ignore the clenching of her stomach as it sunk to her bowels, tried to ignore the tremble in her hands as she reached for her car keys and held them tight in her hand as she walked across the university’s empty parking lot, totes of books slung across her shoulders, staring resolutely at the pavement to avoid her mind playing tricks on her.

And as she reached for her car door, ready to end this too-long day, she shut her eyes tight against the sound of steps, forcing her imagination to calm itself, except--no. She wasn’t imagining it. Those were actual steps, followed by an actual voice, and she let out a relieved breath, laughter laced right at the edge of it, before reality came crashing down and she remembered--

Things outside of overactive grief-addled imaginations could be dangerous, too.

There were a lot of things she wanted to say when her eyes fell upon the mysterious woman. Adelaide blinked, wide and afraid, clutching her books tightly to her body as if anyone but her would think them valuable enough to steal. “Girl?” she echoed, nose scrunched and face clenched in disgust, in outrage, because of all the things the woman said, that’s what stuck out to her the most. “Who are you calling--”

Her voice trailed off, the insult turned to fear when the baton was displayed, when the weapon was revealed, when her eyes followed the mystery woman’s to car’s window.

The bags dropped to the ground, books spilling onto pavement, her body lurching back from the car instinctively in fear. There was someone in her car.

And then it came to her, a realisation that should have made her vision tunnel in terror but instead left her a strange shade of excited. There was a mysterious woman, a mysterious weapon, and that--that wasn’t a person in her backseat, and that meant this woman wasn’t just any woman, and--

“You’re a vampire hunter,” she exclaimed, whispered it, eyes alight with a strange shade of giddy that bordered on highly inappropriate for the situation. “Because that’s--that’s a--in my car--” The laugh bubbled right out of her. Oh, how many nights had she dreamed of this, of the focus of her research to be more than just cultural stories, lore and history, fantasy and legend? How many theories had she supported that were exactly this--the occult real but simply not believed and now there was a vampire in her car--

Wait.

There was a vampire in her car. It was a horrible crashing whiplash, the giddiness turning to panic, her skin slick with nervous sweat, her heart pounding in her throat. Think. She had to think. Adelaide’s thoughts came faster than words, all emotion and images, and between the realisation that she recognised the woman from somewhere, that the woman knew her name, that there was a vampire in her car, her eyes fell on the stake once more and she bristled, finally standing taller despite the way she trembled from a cold that was bone deep. “You can’t kill it--are you out of your mind? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Maybe not for a vampire hunter, I’m sure you just slay them all willy-nilly, however you please, but this is--this is revolutionary. This is going to change the world. We need to communicate with it, see what it wants. See if it’ll teach us anything about its culture, its very nature.” And of course, despite the woman’s condescending tone, Adelaide wasn’t stupid. She was already on the ground, rummaging in a frenzy for her notebooks, standing and flipping through pages in the flickering lamplight once she had the one she needed. “We’ll just… we’ll make a moat around it. Multiple stories across varying cultures about that, the undead being unable to cross a body of water, or--or if we can figure out its name, remind it of who it used to be, maybe it’d be more willing to talk, to connect, or maybe it’s more spectral than that, with unfinished business, and--would you put that stake away? Honestly, you’re going to scare it off before we get answers!”

And it seemed that this was the emotion her body settled for, a mixture of excitement and fear, her life’s work here, real, practical, and despite the awful danger it posed, the hard reality she’d have to face once her brain finally really absorbed it and processed it, right now all she saw was this: an opportunity to learn more.

[Hannelorian]

The hunter had to admit this was not the response she had hoped for. Was there that characteristic fear that she so desperately longed to feed off of? Yes. But there was something else in the way the girl responded that got under her skin like nothing else could. There was a hint of excitement. Normally, this is what Marienna would look for an ideal candidate, excitement. But here? Now? No, this emotion did not resonate well with her and was met with something of an internalized disgust that nearly, nearly broke her icy exterior.

"Oh dear sweet summer child..." Marienna began, once again mocking in her tone, her eyes darting quickly to and fro between the creature who was remarkably cooperative and the girl who was unseemly. "A vampire hunter?Is that the best your feeble mind can draw to surface?" Again with the questions that required no response. Marienna shook her head and wagged the index finger of her free hand. "Tut. Tut." she continued, entirely unaware of how enraged she was about to become.

Yes, Marienna did have the ability and drive to hunt for Vampires, but how small minded the girl was to assume that she had such singular a purpose in this life. As though Vampires were the only thing hiding in the shadows. If there was one thing she couldn't stand it was a limited outlook, a small mind. How could it be that this girl, this normal looking thing could be the chosen one? So unruly, so dimwitted, so driven to meet her own death. It was pathetic, it was laughable and indeed Marienna would be compelled to laugh were she so blinded by her own rage.

"I beg your pardon little girl. Did you just tell me that I can't kill it?" Marienna's tone was one that demonstrated only a hint of her outrage. The girl had a death wish. "Hmm... an interesting notion. This unfinished business thing. You really must have done your homework." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "I think you're right about that. Quite right." Marienna continued as the girl scrambled on the ground riffling through her belongings that she had so inconveniently dropped moments ago. "For all that rule breaking Thomas did, in teaching you about the mysteries of the dark. My god what a weak little man he was, pathetic really. Either he was a very poor teacher, or you are just that much dumber than I thought." There was an odd happiness in her tone as she disparaged the man, something about it seemed to bring her great joy.

Marienna stood now directly before the girl, and without much effort she raised her right leg and using the side of her foot she pushed the girl aside, knocking her over as she were a domino in a chain, at the same moment she rested her hand on the door handle, looking down at Adelaide smiling. "You want answers? I can give you answers, dear girl." Marienna opened the door with in a quick motion and reached her hand in even faster. Her reflexes were second to none and within mere moments she had drawn the creature out, holding it in the air by it's neck. Once more in a demonstration of her own might, her own strength she threw the creature back several feet and watched it land, slowly beginning to push itself off the ground and move back toward them. Marienna sighed and turned on her heels beginning to move away from the girl on the ground and the creature which was now approaching the object of his desire.

"You're asking the wrong question. The right question would be, why is there a vampire waiting for me specifically in my car?" Throwing her hands up into the air in a false sense of exasperation she continued to move, swiftly, as quickly as she came. "Good luck, Adelaide. You're going to need it if you want to survive." That was likely the first sincere comment Marienna had bothered to utter. The vampire now broke into a sprint quickly closing the distance between himself and Adelaide, and in a matter of moments would be upon her, restraining her, bearing those signature wretched fangs, moving ever closer to the girls neck to consume all that she was.

Of course, Marienna had no intention of allowing the vampire to kill the girl. Not that such a notion wasn't amusing to her, but rather it would stand in defiance of her own orders. Bring the girl into the fold, prepare her for what is yet to come. Protect her. Those were her orders and that was what she would follow to the letter. With the light of the moon over head, once more she turned back to watch the events unfold. How unoriginal, uninspiring it was. Letting just enough time pass to ensure the girl would get a proper fright Marienna broke into a run.

With the baton extended she had a singular focus, and reaching the creature she struck it swiftly on the side of the head ending it's grip on the girl and knocking it over, sending it to the ground. Stepping over the creature she knelt down until she was sat upon it's legs, raising the stake into the air she came down hard, driving the wooden tip straight through its blackened heart ending what remained of its pathetic life. Searching only for blood, attempting to quench the great never ending thirst. The wildest of smiles crossed her face as she slowly came to a standing position, a hand reaching down for the handle of the baton extracting it from the remains of the creature, she turned her attention now solely to Adelaide.

"It's nature is to feed. It's nature is violent. While you would have a chat, it would kill you. And if you think a vampire is scared of me, you best think again. But you on the other hand. You should be very scared of me." Marienna's tone had somewhat softened, she remained standing there, now with a neutral expression. Now that the creature was disposed of there was no need to rush. There was such joy to be found in taking one's time. "Any questions?" Marienna concluded.

[MaskedBee]

This woman was rude, condescending, arrogant. There was a lot Adelaide wanted to say, the whole of this stranger making her blood boil--the insinuation that she was a child, that she was naïve, that she hadn’t spent her whole academic career researching the impossible only to be confronted with it. That couldn’t be a coincidence. It had to mean something. The world couldn’t possibly be so random as to connect a researcher with the product of her research, as impossible as it might have been.

But then the stranger mentioned Thomas, and suddenly Adelaide remembered where she recognised the woman from. It made her blood boil to hear her mentor be spoken to like this, the very essence of his memory being soiled with the dripping glee in the woman’s tone. Adelaide’s rebuttal was on the tip of her tongue, the words defending his honour despite not fully understanding the whole of the situation right there at the back of her throat, but just as she parted her lips to set the woman straight, Adelaide was confronted with a horrible reality.

Marienna was right. She was not prepared for this.

The door opened, and the world tunneled, focused only on two things: danger and survival. She knew the world still spun, the lights still flickered, could hear the voice still speaking, but her eyes had gone wide, her skin ashen and sheened with a cold sweat, her mouth open in a scream that was held hostage in her lungs, no sound escaping her. The vampire was a grotesque thing, an echo of past humanity, too fast for anything natural, its eyes too hungry to be compared to any predator. Adelaide was frozen in place, unable to move in that small moment when the vampire was released, when their eyes met, when they assessed each other from the short distance. It was a force she’d never seen when it screeched and flew into movement, the very look of it startling her and knocking her back in her haste to react. Everything that followed was instinct: she dropped her book and leapt backward, her hand moving to clutch the pendant of blessed water dangling from her neck, ready to throw it at the creature, or throw it at her feet, or throw it somewhere, all in the hopes that a gift given to her decades ago might protect her somehow.

In that moment, with a beast’s mouth stretched unnaturally wide, she stared into desperate, inhuman eyes, certain she was going to die.

But just as fast as the creature had raced to her, the stranger acted with calculated ease. Adelaide tried to focus despite the dizzying whoosh of blood in her ears, despite the horrible trembling that had overtaken her, making it hard for her to sit up.

It was over almost as quickly as it had started, the vampire dead and the stranger a reality just as terrifying as the creature had been. Her smile was almost feral, a hint of her supernatural prey right there laced at the edge of the stranger’s grin, and Adelaide knew she couldn’t trust her despite the fact that the woman had just saved her.

It took the young woman a long time to stand. She was unsteady on her feet, her dark skin grey and pale in the moonlight. The books were left scattered on the ground, but she clutched her cardigan tighter around herself as if it could possibly protect her from the bone-deep cold the fear still instilled within her.

Questions. Did she have questions?

It took Adelaide a few tries to speak, but eventually the night air made it into her lungs for a proper breath, her eyes moving slowly from the corpse on the ground to the woman that claimed to be (and had, in fact, proven to be) worthy of Adelaide’s fear.

“How did you know it would be there?” Her voice was quiet, soft and rasped, and she swallowed thickly to try and return it to any semblance of normal. “You said… you implied it was waiting for me, but… but so were you. Or you were waiting for it. Or…?” Nothing made sense, and the disorientation was a physical weight that made her knees buckle—though the altercation with the vampire might be more to blame for that. “You mentioned Thomas’ name,” she whispered, eyes on the dead vampire as she took a tentative step toward it, then another, drawn to it in morbid, horrified curiosity. “You know mine.” More puzzle pieces that she had no idea how to fit together, but as she verbalized her questions, her confusion, she knelt by the creature, trembling hands moving slowly, so very afraid it would burst back to life again, before finally settling on its jugular, checking for a pulse.

And then she looked around the parking lot, scanned it quickly, almost frenzied, until she came across a piece of gravel and reached for it, only to place it in creature’s mouth.

“A stone between its teeth,” she said, though it was unclear if she was telling this to the stranger, or to herself, or just reciting her research. “To sate its hunger in death.”

She stood straighter then, picked herself up, tried to square her shoulders and brush the dirt from her jeans despite it taking her a few tries to resemble any shade of normal. And then she met Marienna’s eyes, and though the whole of Adelaide’s body was still shaking, her gaze was unwavering, her eyes bright despite the horrors of the night.

“Why was it in my car?” she asked, more firmly than she’d spoken earlier. “And why were you here, ready to help me? Who are you?”

[Hannelorian]

The Hunter standing there never let that twisted smile fall from her face. How she enjoyed watching the girl scramble to come up with her little questions, the fear that had set in was divine. Marienna intended to devour every last morsel of that feeling. It was all the fuel she needed to endure this, this situation which as time marched on was proving to be her very own personal hell. Yet, there was an element of disbelief that plagued her, whether or not she found this troubling or amusing she could not say.

Marienna stood in silence as Adelaide moved with purpose now, checking for a pulse. In it's "life" there would not have been a pulse, nor would there be one in the creature's final depth. Then of course there was the matter of the stone between the teeth. The girl knew her old rituals, she showed an unusual respect for the dead. This was a trait that Marienna would typically find endearing, but here, from her, it was nothing but an undesirable nuisance. Though Adelaide had revealed the quality of her character and the purpose which she strove toward, there was an inherent clumsiness, a frenzied way of behaving, disorganized, sloppy Marienna thought.

"One question at a time my delightfully dull child." Marienna spoke as the wave of questions that she knew was coming finally spewed forth. Marienna took several steps forward, her hands now clasping the baton behind her back, she stood straight, tall and proud. Good posture was important, or so she had been told so many times over the years. "Do you think I was waiting for you?" Marienna asked in a tone that bordered on laughter. "I followed it. Here. To your car. Not exactly the stealthiest things in the world." Marienna would be hesitant to admit the truth, that she was in fact waiting for the girl, that her sole assignment now was to keep her alive.

"Thomas. Odd Thomas." Marienna spoke once more, the smile now fading from her face, there was a deep sigh that poured through her lips as she craned her neck upward, staring off into the heavens. "I wonder how you must feel. Being responsible for the death of the one person who ever gave a shit about you." Marienna spoke plainly, bringing her gaze back down to the girl. "But yes, I had the grave misfortune of having known Thomas for many, many, long years now. I would tell you he's in a better place now... but I think we both know that isn't true." As Adelaide stood now, having completed her little ritual Marienna approached her and rested a hand on her shoulder, squeezing, not hard enough to hurt the girl, but enough to cause a solid degree of discomfort.

"Many people know your name. Little Adelaide. Or tell me, do you prefer Addie? Isn't that what he called you, pet?" The smile had returned as her eyes gaze directly into Adelaide's now, she continued to derive and obscene amount of joy from her continued tirade against the man. Thomas was a good man, Marienna had known this nearly her whole life long. He was misguided, but a good man who served valiantly on the field of supernatural combat. Few could rise to meet the call in the way he had.

Marienna sighed once again, she noted how Adelaide trembled, that was the fear and adrenaline, it would come to fade quickly. Marienna mentally remarked that at last the young woman physically responded normally to the events that had just transpired. She would work to remove this response. "Your rituals mean nothing. Death is death. There is no honor in preying on the innocent. Surely you understand this? I suppose it doesn't matter much." Letting go of Adelaide's shoulder, Marienna used her free hand to almost pat Adelaide down, reaching the pockets of her jeans, Marienna nodded her head and fished the car keys out of the girl's pocket.

"It was in your car because it wanted to kill you. In fact, it may surprise you but there are a great many things that want to see you dead. Myself included." Marienna raised the keys into the air and shook them with glee, taking a moment to laugh at her own remark. "Alas, I won't be killing you. I'd get in trouble for that. Even you aren't worth that price." There was a sincerity in her voice just then. "Isn't it obvious whyI'm here? To save your pathetic, weak little back side. I suppose there is a bit more to it... but all in good time. Too many spoilers and you'd lose interest." Marienna began to move toward the driver's side door of Adelaide's vehicle, resting a hand on the cool metal she opened it and turned back around to face Adelaide.

"My name is Marienna Sauveterre. I'm here to bring you to someone who very much wants to meet you. Contrary, I'm, sure to what you've believed about yourself your entire life... you know, that you're worthless, nothing, not particularly special... You are indeed very special. You are chosen, some might say." Marienna felt herself nearly choke on her words, how she hated to actually acknowledge the reality of the matter. It was that much more painful, yet another dagger to her heart. "Thomas was family. While I loathe the man to my core, it is my sworn duty to pick up where he left off. So, in this very moment you have two choices and two choices alone. Choose wisely." Steeling herself up, Marienna smirked and lowered her head looking toward the ground, she could barely believe she was going through with this.

"You can come with me of your own free will. No harm will come to you so long as you remain in my company. We'll go for a drive, upstate. To my home. It's exactly what you're expecting. Creepy old mansion, lots of corridors and intrigue. There you will meet a truly great man and we can answer your remaining questions. But, you must come willingly. I cannot force you." Marienna outlined the first choice and now prepared for the second. "Or you can walk away, return to your life as you knew it. However, I should warn you that you will no longer have the protection of my little organization, and most assuredly something will find you, and it will kill you, and I will dance on your grave." Marienna shook her head, perish the thought.

"So, darling little idiot, what will it be? Don't take too long to decide. I bore easily." Turning her back to the girl Marienna stepped into the vehicle, sitting herself in the driver's seat putting the key into the ignition starting it, as though Adelaide had already chosen. She waited in silence.

[MaskedBee]

The insult was laced so effortlessly into Marienna’s words: “dull” and “child”, as if Adelaide had asked to be involved in any of this. Not to mention the insult in her tone, like somehow Adelaide should have known better, should already have all these answers to such an impossible, terrifying situation. Even through the trembling, her eyes narrowed, her distrust of the woman before her clear in the way her face scrunched up in dismay.

Her expression softened at the mention of Thomas, but only for a moment, because the cold, dismissive nature of Marienna’s voice brought a hardness to her—her shoulders straightening, her eyes stony, anger and indignation making her hands clench into fists at her sides. There was so much she didn’t understand, but even with the mystery of all this, even with her whole world’s reality crashing down and leaving her vulnerable and terrified of what life would be like now that she knew the things she researched were real and dangerous--even with all that uncertainty, all this cognitive dissonance, she could never let herself think something so outrageous as Thomas’ name deserving to be slandered--

But… despite the certainty that Thomas was in a better place, that that was all he deserved, Adelaide found herself too afraid to ask what Marienna meant by implying she was the cause of his death.

There was so much information, so much adrenaline and fear still coursing through her, that her mind spun and her legs wobbled unsteadily under the weight of it all. Her body, overstimulated and not at all trained for any of this, gave up temporarily, causing her to lurch forward and almost fall, though luckily she clutched the still-open car door to keep herself from hitting the pavement.

Marienna was here to save her. Vampires were real. Thomas was somehow involved in this. She’d almost died only moments before—

“Special?” she echoed, brows furrowed. “I--I'm not--I mean, I suppose everyone is special, you know, when you get down to it, but it’s--this is--this isn’t--”

Despite all her daydreaming of adventure, of thrilling new discoveries, of her life’s work being more relevant than it was in scientific circles, Adelaide didn’t think she wanted to be special in any way that meant vampires were waiting for her in her car, or that snooty vampire hunters had to protect her from them and insult her in the process.

But here it was, the culmination of everything impossible: a choice.

Marienna looked so unbothered, unhurried, unworried. In another life, maybe it would have been reassuring for this to happen around someone so calm, but the air of distrust wasn’t something Adelaide could shake off. But her footing became less wobbly, her knees stopped buckling, and the weight of her research bore down on her.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

It was hard to say if it was pure curiosity, if it was a sense of duty, or if the fear of being left alone after such an ordeal had something to do with this, but Adelaide gave a firm nod, sealing her fate with this decision. She moved away from the car momentarily to collect all her fallen notes and old tomes that had spilled from her bags as she’d dropped to the ground earlier. In that time, she eyed the corpse of the vampire, not sure what to make of this fever dream. Eventually, she said, “Should I…? Should we carry it into the trunk? Bury it?” She approached it, hovered nearby, but as she hesitantly reached for an arm so she could start dragging it, the corpse began to change: the whole of it went stiff, the vampire’s chest heaved, and while she scurried back, afraid of it coming back to life, its skin crumbled in an unnatural way, the corpse turning to ash under the flickering light of the lampposts.

Oh. Well. That took care of that, she supposed.

A moment later, Adelaide was in the passenger seat of her own car, looking as out of place as she felt, her bags clutched in her lap as she watched Marienna openly, trying to make sense of her.

“Why doesn’t the world know about this? I’ve studied these types of phenomenon extensively and all of it is… stories. Legends. Fables. Fiction. But now you’re saying there’s an organization, that I’m chosen, and Thomas--” Thomas had something to do with this, somehow. Had monsters always been lurking? Had he been keeping her safe? She shook her head, not ready to entertain that thought.

So they would be heading to a creepy mansion to meet another stranger who seemed to know something about her. Adelaide tore her gaze away from the other woman and pulled out a notebook, already scribbling the facts of the evening before they slipped her mind or her brain convinced herself it didn’t happen. She was an academic, though, and though her handwriting suffered for it, she could write while looking up, while still speaking, while still trying to make sense of all this. “How long have you been doing… this?” she asked, because despite being promised answers at this person’s home, her mind burned with questions now. “Long, if your brazen attitude is anything to go by. Training must have started early on, definitely not self-taught…” she mumbled, more to herself than anything else, trying to piece together this puzzle.

And then she remembered something Marienna said earlier and she bristled, only now remembering to be offended, when the terror had softened into anxiety and uncertainty. “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…” So what? Did Adelaide dare insult the person who just saved her life?

She shook her head and released a heavy breath, deciding to drop it.

“Is this person we’re going to meet someone like you? Who… fights supernatural creatures? Is he the person in charge?” Adelaide hoped he’d be easier to talk to.

[Hannelorian]

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.

[MaskedBee]

Adelaide’s nerves meant she wanted to ramble on this very uncomfortable car ride, but her fear and uncertainty of Marienna, especially after the sharp warning not to stare (followed by something unnecessarily rude about Addie’s parentage), she kept her mouth shut. Her hesitance and discomfort with Marienna, though, was small in comparison to the overwhelmingness of this new reality she found herself thrust into. Instead of asking all the questions she wanted to, she turned them over in her mind, her brain spiralling as she held a whole conversation with herself, complete with snarky replies in a mental voice that sounded an awful lot like Marienna—and honestly, Adelaide hoped that little voice didn’t stick around, thank you very much.

Fear is dangerous... Fear starts wars, fear gets people killed.

She knew that from her research. With lore and legend of dangers came witch-hunts that destroyed townships, whole forests burned down to save children from imagined fae. It was clear how the masses knowing about vampires, or whatever else existed that Marienna hinted at earlier, would lead to chaos. But it didn’t explain vampire-hunters, or Thomas’ involvement, or Adelaide’s involvement, and the more she tried to piece this together, the heavier tonight weighed on her shoulders. The fact that Marienna’s tone had shifted, softened, only imprinted the seriousness of tonight further upon her.

This new knowledge laid out before her was terrifying, but it was still ethereal, still hard to wrap her mind and emotions on and fully grasp. But Marienna’s words, painful and confusing, gripped her heart like a vice, making it hard to breathe. “I didn’t kill Thomas,” she said weakly, first words in a while, but it was clear she wasn’t sure anymore if that was true. But this pain was far more real, far more tangible, the threat of its truth something that she carried close enough to her heart that the barbed wire of the emotion was a constant reminder that maybe Marienna was right.

She said nothing else for the duration of the ride, too lost in thought to remember to rise to the driver’s goading, too afraid of the implications of tonight to engage in this petty, strange discourse she barely understood.

When they arrived, the awe Adelaide should have felt at this intimidating, imposing home was dulled by her confused state. She stepped out of the car despite someone approaching (and then backing away, respecting Marienna’s wishes to not help her) and took it all in, the impressive acreage of the land, the well-manicured shrubbery, flowerscapes, all of it enhancing the power and prestige this building held, and all Adelaide could think about was vampires, was stones in mouths, was Thomas.

Had he been here before? Did he really know these people? …did she really kill him?

She was led as if in a dream, staring doe-eyed and obviously not quite sure about what was going on. She looked as disoriented as she felt: dark skin a pale, ashy echo of its usual shade, her limbs still unsteady, hands still trembling.

Dmitry. She did recognise him, another strange face from a strange funeral. And he’d been waiting to greet her there for some time? The formality of all this made her feel the need to curtsy or bow in awkward greeting, but luckily before she could embarrass herself by doing so, her legs gave way and she stumbled in her exhaustion, catching herself against the wall before righting herself again.

“You’ll still be here in the morning?” Adelaide said, far more abruptly and unhappily than she’d meant to, and unfortunately she was not too tired for her face to heat up at her own rudeness. If solving this mystery meant more time with Marienna, she wasn’t sure it would be worth it, but after what she’d seen tonight, after a lifetime of studying and research and dreaming, she knew the woman’s prickly attitude wouldn’t be enough to keep her from the answers she desperately needed to know.

She was being led by Dmitry before she knew it, and she found herself sticking close to the first friendly face all night, especially with how the others seemed to watch and whisper, making her blood cold. “Marienna was…” fine, she wanted to say. Polite, she wanted to say. It was clear Marienna held a lot of respect for this man, and it wasn’t in Adelaide’s nature to stir the pot, but with Sauveterre’s threat of not giving her rude demeanour away still fresh in her mind, Adelaide didn’t have it in her to give her a glowing review. “She was,” she settled for, because any other descriptor of her saviour that night would not be positive. “I’m—that’s kind of you, Dmitry, but I’m not very hungry. But some rest would… yes, I’d like that.” Sleep in a strange bed in a strange house with strange people. What had her life become?

Maybe the morning would clear some of the fog from her brain.

There were clothes laid out for her in this grand guest room, and all of it was dark and grandiose—a too large bed with too thick curtains, plush rugs, a fireplace. She thanked her strange host for his hospitality and only hesitated a moment before deciding against asking him to stay, simply because she was afraid to be alone. In the end, she shut the door after bidding him good night and thanking him for something she didn’t understand yet again, and fell onto the bed fully-clothed.

Before she could wonder how she’d ever get rest in this house that felt so imposing and ominous, unconsciousness took her without her consent, the day’s events having taken too big a physical toll on her for anything else.

#

Adelaide woke up afraid and disoriented, so really, not all that much different than how she’d been before she slept. It took a moment for the debilitating panic to cease and allow her to breathe properly.

Okay, recap: vampires were real. Terrifying. But on the plus side, she was in a creepy house with people who knew how to get rid of vampires, so. That was a win. Another terrifying point: life as she knew would be forever different. On the positive side, her research was no longer speculative and maybe she’d get a chance to study live specimens of the creatures she’d only considered legend until now.

And as Adelaide got up and made her way to the adjacent bathroom to get as much of a morning routine done as she could in a strange place (the panicked, terror sweat of last night had made a mess of her hair, and there was only so much tying it up could camoflauge), she tried not to think of the most anxiety inducing aspect of all this—

Thomas’ involvement. Thomas’ death. Thomas, the only parental figure she’d ever really had.

It was early in the day, dawn only barely peeking over the expansive view outside her window, but Adelaide was restless. Dmitry had said they’d talk today, there’d be answers today, and so her body denied her more rest, eager for that to happen. She paced in the guest room for a while before the curiosity became stronger than the anxiety, and then she left, trying to convince herself she was ready to take on the day.

There was a maze of corridors she navigated, wondering what anyone needed with so many rooms, but she mapped what she could in her mind in case she got lost. Eventually, she came across grand doors that led to a courtyard. Before Adelaide could appreciate the decorative, if creepy, statues, or the rows of well-manicured rose bushes, she saw a figure training on the grounds that made her tentative smile stop short.

Marienna.

“Good morning,” she called, hesitating only a moment before she began approaching. Adelaide wanted to assert herself and not appear as intimidated as she actually was. And honestly, she could use the company, even if it was bad company—this house was new and big and imposing and kind of gave her the creeps. With anyone else, she’d attempt small talk—ask if Marienna had slept well, ask if this was her home, ask how long she’d known Dmitry. But, remembering all their interactions yesterday, she decided that that was more hassle than it was worth. “Do you know if Dmitry is awake? He said something about… explaining all this, mentioned having waited to see me, and I… I think the sooner I understand, the sooner I can be out of your hair.”

Oh boy. If only she knew.

[Hannelorian]

Marienna found herself alone now, standing atop an elegant Persian rug that dated back centuries in the dim light of her bedroom. She could feel the frustration, no, not frustration but anger rising within her. Her fingers curled themselves inward with her nails digging into the flesh of her palm. A prolonged and exasperated sigh passed from her delicate and pale lips, she released her fingers at long last, now welcoming the sensation of warm liquid flowing from her palms, down the same fingers which inflicted the wound, droplets falling to the floor. "Shit..." Marienna spoke with a tone that was more annoyed than anything else. Casting her eyes downward there was a second sigh that found its way to freedom. Blood wasn't likely to come out easily from this, she thought. Perhaps she should have taken this as an opportunity to take a step back and think about the physical impact her emotional state was having on the world around her. Then again, that would be too convenient. Her concentration broken by a knock on the door. "Come." She spoke firmly, turning her head to glance back as the heavy wooden door opened. Dmitry.

For a shining moment Marienna could feel the corners of her mouth pull upward into a smile as the man closed the door behind him and approached. "Quite the day you've had, Sauveterre." He spoke plainly, calmly, almost as if there was a serenity in his voice. Dmitry had a way of speaking so simply it truly felt as though he always knew something you didn't, something greater almost mystical. Taking her injured hand into his own he had withdrawn a handkerchief and slowly wrapped it around the punctures, holding onto her hand gently until Marienna withdrew it.

"Is the little beast off to bed?" In her typical fashion Marienna had found herself avoiding his questions and substituting them with her own. The smile now gone from her face she simply stared up at the man who always seemed to be smiling at her. "She has a name, and yes." He replied kindly, maneuvering himself behind her, arms wrapping around her delicate frame. Marienna could feel her body begin to relax, letting herself lean against him. Something she had done as long as she could remember, always leaning on Dmitry for support. "This is going to be hard for you, isn't it?" He had asked intending to force her to answer if necessary. "Yes. But we both know how this ends." Marienna's words had become softer in tone, almost a tremble in her voice at the latter part of the sentence. "Don't we?" The question she posed was not a real question, they both knew the answer and knew enough not to speak more on it. Prophecies were sacred, and seldom wrong. What tended to be wrong was the way flawed humans interpreted them. A mistake she was all too familiar with.

"What does she know?" Dmitry asked, still standing there, standing as long as he was needed. "That vampires are real." Marienna responded, turning in his arms to look up at him as though she were trying to unravel some great mystery. "Not much else. Though she seems to think they are poor misunderstood creatures who are worthy of mercy. She's not like us and she's going to die if she doesn't learn to listen." There was some truth to her words, by now the actual exhaustion of the day was settling in. "She's not the only one, Sauveterre. You too. Now off to bed..." Sleep was something that always came easily for Marienna, never bothered by the horrors she confronted on a daily basis. As of late, sleep was her only refuge, the great escape from her sudden fall from grace.

Each morning the estate roared to life well before the rise of the sun. Servants shuffled about silently working to light the fireplaces or tend ones almost gone out overnight. Curtains drawn open in each of the drawing rooms, the library and other "common" areas. Each one preparing to meet the needs of every last resident, a sizeable population always in flux. Some residents were here for but a day, others weeks, a handful were permanent fixtures. This place was the headquarters of their little organization, the place each would return to at one point or another as they went about their business. The smell of baking bread would permeate the air all around the kitchen. Similarly, morning's were Marienna's favorite time. They were largely quiet and uninterrupted. There was seldom a day where she would not bask in the full glory of the sunrise.

The faint pittering and pattering of Marienna's bare feet could be heard as she walked through the array of corridors between her chambers and her destination, only muffled when hitting assorted sections of rug or carpeting. A pair of worn black sneakers hung off the fingertips of her right hand, careful now as she had always been to avoid scuffing the floors. Her dark hair in an impossibly neat bun stood out against her hauntingly pale frame, adorned in a black tank top, a loose black sweater over it, and black athleisure shorts that she couldn't quite recall their origin. This morning would begin as all of her mornings were meant to, training, honing her craft. Marienna found herself contented in the simple truth that above all she was a weapon. When household staff saw her approaching, they too did as they always would, stop their tasks and bow their heads. "Lady Sauveterre." they speak in hushed or low tones, returning to their duties when Marienna had moved far enough ahead of them. Yet that would not stop the endless whisperings which always found their way to her. The whispers that she was no longer the golden child, the chosen now. Now she was just like them, ordinary. It was their pity that Marienna truly detested above all.

The sound of small feet running down the hall was enough to catch her attention before she could even turn around to look for the source the arms of a child had enrapt themselves around her legs, stopping her dead in her tracks. "AUNT MARI!" the young boy cried out jovially. Even she couldn't help but smile, and reach down resting a hand on the boy's head, ruffling his hair gently. Reaching down with both arms, dropping the ratty shoes, she picked the child up and held him close to her, pressing her nose into his cheek. "Little one!" It wouldn't be much longer before an exasperated, older man would catch up, catching his breath all the while. "Hey Mari... I guess he found you." His face and frame bore features strikingly similar to her own, though he was by appearances at least older than she. "Milo. The rare trip home and you didn't even tell me?" Marienna's voice would be unrecognizable to Adelaide, it was filled with happiness the kind of levity that came with love. Her elder brother had grown up as steeped in hunter tradition as anyone, yet he had opted out of the family business. Now only making infrequent visits, often unpleasant. He embraced his sister, and his child, biding his time. "Just a few days... I've got some stuff Dad needs to sign and..." Marienna nodded her head softly. "No explanations necessary. I'm just glad to see you. Even at this hour of the morning." Marienna laughed ever so slightly and shook her head again. "And Grace?" She began to ask only to have her question answered before she could complete it "Mommy doesn't like it here..." the child said. Marienna nodded and moved to put him back down. "I have a thing... find me later? Dmitry will be over the moon to see you." Milo nodded, and waved his sister off. Marienna began to move away, glancing back at her nephew to give him a wink and like that she was gone, finally at the courtyard.

With her sneakers now on, Marienna approached one of the training dummies that lay hidden amongst the greenery and began to practice her usual hand-to-hand routine. The trick was to land each and every blow as if it would be the only thing between one and certain death. It wasn't, however, until the moment she felt her foot come in contact with the neck of the dummy that she heard it. The deeply unsatisfying sound of Adelaide's voice. An entire house to explore and she ended up here? Marienna lowered her foot and glanced down to the dagger she had extracted from one of the storage chests at were cleverly placed along the grounds. She said nothing to Adelaide, instead she stood silent and motionless for a few moments before turning quickly on her heels. With the young woman in her sights, she felt the smile return to her face. This one, however, was a cruel smile. Marienna took off into a run, moving as fast as she could, like the proverbial bat out of hell toward Adelaide.

Stopping just short, Marienna delivered a swift punch to the woman's stomach, followed by a forceful push sending Adelaide to the ground where Marienna now sat over her, the cool steel of the blade pressed to the girl's neck. "Correction, my dear girl. It was a good morning. You ruin mine, I ruin yours. See how this works?" Marienna asked in a self aware mocking tone. Marienna was equally aware the Adelaide would be in an extraordinary amount of pain and struggling to breathe at this particular moment. "You make this so easy... can't even attempt a defense..." The mocking tone continued followed by three distinct click sounds coming from her mouth accompanied by the wag of a finger and eventually a withdrawal of the knife as Marienna backed away. Reaching her hand down she would offer Adelaide genuine assistance in getting up.

"Dmitry?" Marienna asked, now recalling the second half of Adelaide's pesky morning salutations. "How should I know? I don't track him once he leaves my bed." Her tone was more matter of fact. She was not his keeper, nor had she ever been. If anything, he had been hers. "But yes... we've all waited to see you, dear stupid girl." There it was again, slight mockery combined with a put on sense of exasperation that culminated in a deep sigh. Marienna now motioned to the windows that lined the courtyard walls, in several of them stood figures, all just watching, staring. It was as though they were waiting for something, some kind of grand display. "Take a look, you have an audience." Marienna let the acid drip from the sarcasm in her words, she hated the notion that they were all watching Adelaide as opposed to her. No one was curious to see what she would do, not anymore.

"There's one very easy way out of my hair, Adelaide." Once the girl had righted herself with or without her help, she remembered some of what Dmitry had said, the girl had a name. It was important to use it, or something. "Would you like to get into the body bag now or would you prefer I kill you first?" The offer was genuine, there was little hesitation in her speech. She wanted out, there was a way out and there was no denying it would be to her extreme benefit in the short term. A part of her relented, knowing such an action would betray humanity, and that was something at the end of the day she could not abide. "Unfortunately, neither Dmitry nor I can tell you what you need to know. There's only one person here with that authority. But worry not little one... it won't be much longer." In reality she was waiting for the summoning. The moment when the word would come from on high and that it was time to bring them both in.

"I don't think you appreciate the gravity of the situation. I gave you a choice, to come with me or live your life. You made your choice. There is no turning back now. The sooner you understand that your life is not your own anymore, the better it will be for everyone. Especially you." Again her tone imparted honesty, and a degree of softness. There were in all likelihood many of Adelaide's questions she could answer, but it was not her place to do so. Marienna knew where she stood, she knew where the lines had been drawn and above all she knew there were consequences for crossing those lines. Dire consequences. "In the mean time, I will answer what I can for you. Dmitry, should you encounter him, will do the same." In this moment, she hated that about him. He was kind, accommodating. He wanted everyone who passed through these halls to feel as though they belonged, that this too was their home. "The High Commander. Our leader. He'll call on you later this morning. He will explain your situation, and answer your more specific questions. You may do this alone, or you can have me at your side. That choice is the only one you need to think about right now."

Turning her back to Adelaide, Marienna quickly and quietly made her way back to the doors inside, slipping her shoes off in the process. "Come now. Even a fool can't survive on an empty stomach." Marienna called back, sighing once more, not long after she had stepped inside, a young man handed her a piece of paper and made himself scarce. Opening she rolled her eyes and waited to give Adelaide the good news. "Good news my lovely idiot. The High Commander has called for you. Eat something, change your clothes into something more presentable. Think you can do that? Or do I have to spell it out for you?" Marienna concluded, having herself to choose now, to choose whether or not she could accept this path. A supporting role, destined for nothing but death.