With a bated breath, Elizabeth slipped a nail under the wax seal which let go with a soft crack. Despite Edwin's reassurance her hands were a little shakey as she unfolded the parchment nestled inside the envelope. As she read her eyes dragged across the page and she mouthed each word as she read, her sire tried to peer around the side of the letter to read her lips but a warning glare had him looking the other way quickly.
"See? Nothing too bad" Edwin said, jovial warmth returning to his voice now that his job had been done. "Nothing too bad comes by letter, it's when they don't send a letter you need to be worried. Well?" He asked as he saw Elizabeth look away from the paper.
"I... I don't really know how much I can say" she replied, stumbling over the words slightly. There was something about the letter, the way it was written, that unnerved her, that made her feel threatened almost. "It's nothing, I think." she lied, "someone just wants to speak with me".
A derisive snort let loose from her sire's nose. "And this is why I don't like them. A secretive note here, secretive meeting there, and then someone ends up with a dagger to the back. Bastards. Let me guess, 'destroy all contents'?" Elizabeth glanced down at the envelope then nodded. As she stood processing the information Edwin slunk quietly into the kitchen, almost immediately the sound of running water could be heard throughout the flat.
To double check her understanding, Elizabeth reread the letter in it's entirety. For the moment she seperated the business card from the parchment, leaving the former on her bedside table as she passed through the doorway to join Edwin, where she was met with a full sink of water. Throwing a bemused smirk he explained that the water would soak some of the ink away and simultaneously turn the parchment to mulch. "Surely burning it is the easiest method, no?" she replied innocently.
He shook his head in silent disapproval. "No, not for us. Especially not for us" he exasperated, gesturing wildly with his arms. "Our conscious minds may be fine with flame, but our deepest instincts now are to flee or lash out at the sight if a single tongue. We've been through this!"
"I'm sorry" she replied sheepishly, sounding dangerously close to crying, as she placed the parchment into the sink to soak for the time being. As Edwin proceeded to sink into her sofa, Elizabeth stood transfixed staring into the water, watching the ink bleed out from the note.
With the actual words of the letter fading Elizabeth stepped back from the sink. She was left with an address to memorise and the envelope. Ignoring those for the moment, she sat next to Edwin; resting her head on his shoulder and feeling a supportive hand on her back drawing her closer. "How do you deal with these... games" Elizabeth asked, voice raw with a mixture of emotions.
"It can be hard" Edwin admitted, pulling her a little closer, "just go through the motions and it's over soon enough. But it's one of the reasons I fight, this way of life just isn't sustainable or right". Edwin pulled her slightly tighter before letting go and standing up. "Unfortunately love, I need to get home before sun up. It'll be fine" he added, once again trying to be reassuring. "I'll see you again soon okay?" He said in goodbye as he showed himself out.
Elizabeth returned to her bedroom, perching on the foot of the bed before lying backwards, reaching over to the nightstand to pick up the business card. The time was simple enough, but the address just seemed to be some place downtown that she didn't recognise. With a sigh filling the room, she threw it to the floor, hoping that she'd memorized enough of the address to remember it the following night. When she woke up she'd get around to disposing of this piece too.