Trash Panda

~Bonsoir~

For half a second, Vail was uncertain if Victoria would take his side or not. He held her gaze as she glared at him, tensed to run if she chose to let her emotions get the best of her and allow the Saints to continue their hunt. After a moment, he had his answer when she signaled to the two men to stay away, but the tone of her voice was as cold as ice, and he disliked the way she referred to him as ‘this vampire.’ Despite how close they had gotten over the past few weeks, it seemed she had become convinced that he only saw her as a plaything. He wasn’t going to leave until he expressed just how wrong she was.

Once the Saints had left the kitchen and closed the door behind them, he relaxed his shoulders against the wall. Victoria was armed, but he didn’t expect her to attack him without a reason. He tracked her with his gaze as she propped herself up on the table, reminded of why he had found her so enchanting when they’d met as she squared up to him across the room. Even though she was clearly hurting, there was no fear in her brilliant blue eyes, and every motion of her lithe body had an underlying sense of cockiness that made his blood run hot. It was a good thing he hadn’t actually led her on, because she wasn’t a woman he would have wanted to make an enemy regardless of their romantic involvement.

At her rather masochistic question, Vail frowned. “I wouldn’t know,” he answered, folding his arms loosely over his chest. As much as he would have liked to close the distance between them, he was smart enough to stay put by the edge of the kitchen while she was emotional and armed with a silver weapon. He’d already had more than enough of the wretched metal after he’d burned his hand on the barrel of Ray’s gun. “I don’t have any interest in finding out either. The woman I was with was Lady Sylvia Macey, the partner my father chose for me. We spent the day together because our parents had arranged for it, but I swear to you nothing happened beyond that. I don’t want to be with anyone other than you, my love.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Thanks! And me too ^^ I think the next big event is the kidnapping, right? Do you want to have that happen the next day or a different time?

Cirque du Sombre [Siaya Dragalorn & Summer]

When Lune retorted to his nickname for her, Rayth had to stop himself from pointing out that she could have had her pick of ‘village boys’ too. She had already nearly run off once just because he had fangs. He didn’t want to make her think the vampire that she didn’t want to come within an arm’s length was flirting with her—even if he really did believe she was effortlessly beautiful. Her blue hair was intriguing, and she had a great smile when she stopped scowling at him long enough to show it.
Expecting her to waver after he offered to show her to the train, he wasn’t offended by the distrust that etched itself into her face. At least it didn’t last long this time.
“Actually, I thought you’d be tired of mine,” he grinned back at her. “Putting a show like this together is grueling work, and I, unfortunately, didn’t take after my mother when it comes to being able to do heavy labor without breaking a sweat.”
Really, the jest was only true in part. He did sweat like a human when he worked his body, but no one had ever accused him of having an odor. His best guess to explain it was that he’d inherited some sort of genetic compromise between his human and vampire parents. Whatever the case, he wasn’t going to complain about being able to run a marathon without smelling like he hadn’t showered in a month when he was done.
“But seriously, that’s a terrible idea,” he shook his head. “Eau de Smurf would be more like Eau de Déchets, and trust me, that would never sell.”
He followed her to the exit, keeping a subtle watch just in case she noticed anything upsetting outside the big top. The troupe never picked up the bodies of the people they fed on—it was easier to leave them behind when they moved on—so the scene in the backyard probably looked pretty gruesome right about now. Of course, none of the humans were dead, but they definitely looked like it after they’d been drained of blood, energy, spirit, or whatever else they had been unfortunate enough to lose to the creature of the circus during the after party.
“If you insist, Blue’s Clues,” he quipped as he stepped outside.
Now that the effect of the incense had been wearing off both of them for a while, he knew it could be more difficult to keep her eyes off the more startling scenes in the backyard, so he attempted to keep her attention on him with some friendly conversation.
“So, are you from around here?” he asked, falling in step beside the runaway. “You look like the big city type to me.”

~Bonsoir~

The reply to the door took far longer than Vail had anticipated. He shifted his weight between his feet as he waited for someone to let him enter, growing more restless with each passing second that he had to stand near so many Saints. The pervasive scent of silver put him on edge, and he fought the urge to stiffen anytime one of the men spared him a fleeting glance. None of the hunters seemed particularly eager to pick a fight with him, but he wasn’t dumb enough to trust a group of people who killed his kind for a living. Until he was beyond their line of sight, he would be ready to defend himself or flee if any of them decided to take advantage of the fact that he’d turned up by himself.

At last, the door opened, but instead of a maid appearing to lead him to Victoria’s bedroom, he was greeted by an unfriendly face. The Hygrace heir narrowed his eyes as Ray attempted to turn him away. Although the Saint’s heart didn’t seem to palpitate when he asserted that Victoria didn’t wish to see him, Vail didn’t buy it for a second. Lady Crest had been happy to spend any length of time with him when they’d met before, so he was sure that her protective friend was just inventing excuses to prevent him from getting to her that morning. He opened his mouth to call Ray’s bluff, but before he could get a word in, he was distracted by Lady Diana’s abrupt interruption.

Baffled by her hostility, Vail held his ground but leaned away from the widow as she jabbed her finger in his face. Her accusations only deepened his frown, and he puzzled over any possible reason why Victoria’s mother would think he had done something to hurt her. They hadn’t even seen each other since two nights before. “Another woman?” he echoed bemusedly. There was no ‘other woman,’ and as far as he could remember, he hadn’t given any of them a reason to think there was. He had continued to put Victoria first to the point of nearly losing claim to his inheritance. That wasn’t something he would have done for anyone other than her.

However, as soon as Diana went back into the manor and Ray spoke again, the realization struck him. Somehow, they must have found out about his outing with Sylvia the day before. He swore internally. The Crests had learned about the engagement Peter was trying to force upon him and sometime between his last visit to Victoria and now, she had been convinced that he was dallying with a vampire behind her back. His hazel eyes darted between the Saint standing in front of him and the nearest group that had begun to stare since the elder Lady Crest had raised her voice. He couldn’t leave without rectifying the situation, but if they had been given orders to keep him out of the manor, it would do him no good to stand on the porch and keep arguing with Ray.

“I’m aware,” Vail said dryly, turning back to the man blocking his path. “I suppose I’ll have to come back when you aren’t so busy.” Keeping the Saint’s gun in the corner of his vision, he took a step back and turned around to leave, walking as if he was returning to his own estate. He kept up the act just long enough to sway the human to let his guard down before he suddenly whirled back around and sprinted toward him, tearing the weapon roughly out of his hand. The silver casing seared his skin, and he curled his lip in a pained snarl, quickly dropping it on the floor as he pushed past Ray into the building and slammed the door behind him. The barrier wouldn’t buy him much time, but it was enough for him to track Victoria to the kitchen before he could hear Ray bursting in behind him.

Heart pounding, he ran into the kitchen and pressed his back against the wall to the right of the doorway. He wasn’t sure how many Saints had taken chase, but if even one of them got a clear shot at his heart, he didn’t have many options left to get away. “Call off your guards,” he said urgently to Victoria, curling his burned hand into a fist at his waist. “Quickly. I want to talk, and we can’t do that if I’m dead.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

That post ended up being so long xD

Pretty much the same. I think I'm caught up, but I still have a lot of work to do just because the projects are so huge.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

No one spoke as Jacob led Caspian to the small hanger where the royal family housed its private planes and hover cars. The guard was listening to his team coordinate security measures at the center square while the prince silently reviewed his speech in his head. He had the paper copy in his pocket, but it was bad form to read off a sheet in front of a live audience, so he wanted to memorize as much as he could in the short time he had left before he stood behind the podium. Plus, if he knew the majority of the address by heart, he would be less likely to botch it in front of the entire city… he hoped.

For the duration of the ten-minute flight, he alternated between skimming over the speech and watching the tall, city skyscrapers drift by beneath the vehicle. The sight reminded him of the importance of the address he was going to be making in his father’s place. It was his duty as the next king of Aspiria to ease the people’s fears about the Scourge and assure them that the monarchy was just as strong as it had been before the attack. Focusing on that, he took a steeling breath and climbed out of the car behind Jacob and another guard when they reached their destination.

Just walking up to the stage felt like a show in and of itself to Cas. Cameras flashed around the perimeter that the soldiers had set up, and he was surrounded by beefy bodyguards on all sides the instant his shoes touched the ground. The team of men kept the paparazzi at bay with the sternness of their faces and the holstered guns that were visible at their waists, wordlessly warning everyone to keep their distance or suffer the consequences. The display felt over-the-top to the prince, who didn’t believe he was in any danger among the capital citizens, but he couldn’t tell them not to do their jobs. The royal family was the glue that held Aspiria together. If anything happened to him or his father the kingdom would unravel, so they always had protection when they stood before large groups of people.

He kept his head up and eyes straight forward as the procession made its way toward the podium, knowing from past experience that if he didn’t ignore the reporters, they would swarm him like bees. There were still fifteen minutes left before he was scheduled to speak, but he couldn’t leak any part of his speech to the press before he formally revealed it to the citizens, so it was smarter not to say anything to them at all. Rather, he stepped up to the stand and pulled the folded paper from his breast pocket to set up without talking to anyone while Jacob and the other guard took up watchful posts on either side of him.

Without looking up, Cas could feel thousands of eyes burning into his skin. He’d stood next to Atlas when the king had delivered speeches before, but it was the first time he had been the center of everyone’s attention in a situation like this. His heart pounded so hard that he could hear the roar of blood in his ears, and his mouth suddenly felt dry. It didn’t matter how confident a person was; there was something about oratory that could make even the bravest man weak in the knees, especially if he had never done it before. As one who had never considered himself above average in courage, it took all his focus not to tremble and to remember not to lock his knees so he wouldn’t pass out.

“One minute until broadcast,” Jacob alerted him with a sideways glance. The guard studied him for a moment before he reached into his jacket and pulled out a steel flask. “Here,” he said, holding it out. “Have as much as you want.”

“I didn’t know you drink on the job,” Cas stared at the metal container in surprise.

Jacob smiled, “It’s water.”

“Oh. Well, in that case…” Cas mirrored the expression and took the flask from Jacob’s hand to down the contents. The water was still cool and felt soothing as it traveled down his throat. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have finished off someone else’s drink, but he swallowed every last drop to cure the dryness that threatened to make him stumble over his own tongue. “Thanks, Jacob,” he dragged the back of his hand across his mouth as he passed the empty flask back to its owner.

“You’re welcome, Your Highness,” the guard bowed politely. “Are you ready to begin?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Cas sighed. “You can tell the soldiers to quiet the crowd.”

Jacob nodded and lifted a hand to the side of his face, cupping it between his mouth and ear as he gave the order. Within the next thirty seconds, the audience hushed as signals were passed back and forth for everyone to pay attention, and Cas took a slow breath. He just had to get the next part over with, and then he could go back to the sanctuary of his home. He could do that. Trying not to lock eyes with any of the council members sitting in the front row, he started as strongly as he could:

“Thank you all for your patience. I know everyone both here and watching at home has been affected one way or another by the ongoing war against the Scourge, and that learning of an attempt on your king’s life may have shaken your faith that our city is still safe. I want to acknowledge your fears and tell you that I understand. The king is my father, so I, more than anyone else, have every reason to ensure that he’s shielded from the rebels who want to see him dead. That’s why I’ve been working closely with the military for the last twenty-four hours to see to it that he—and all of you—will never have to worry about these terrorists again.

“Our security team has apprehended two of the culprits and interrogated them thoroughly. We’ve since learned some vital information that will help us take down the man behind the rebellion and bring peace back to this nation. With this new intel, I can tell you with certainty that we’re leaps and bounds closer to winning this war. It won’t be much longer until it fades behind us as a minor setback in Aspiria’s steadily strengthening history.”

He paused as the crowd applauded their approval of the bold statement. The sound was bolstering, and a half-smile appeared on his lip as he continued with renewed fervor: “The Scourge tried to weaken us with this attack, but in doing so, they may have just given our military the key to our victory. My father’s heart is still beating, the terrorists are in secure holding, and plans are already underway to make our enemies regret ever lifting their hands against us. The first of which is the decision of what to do with the two men in custody.” He paused briefly to collect his breath before he declared clearly: “For the safety of everyone in this city and to make the rebels understand that we will not allow them to walk away without consequences if they ever try to attack us again, the prisoners are to be executed by firing squad tomorrow morning.”

Again, the crowd roared their approval, and Cas stood up slightly straighter. They seemed to be just as pleased with his speech as they had been with Atlas’s in the past. His initial anxiety had been replaced with a newfound confidence and even a bit of powerfulness as he concluded the message: “There are still two other terrorists who’ve been evading the military.” Two headshots of the missing rebels appeared on the massive screen behind him. “Thomas Howard and Ethan Williams are both still at large. The soldiers are working tirelessly to bring them in, but if any of you spot them first, there is a sizeable cash reward available for real leads.

“In the meantime, I encourage you all to have peace in knowing that we’re putting your well-being first and taking every precaution to prevent something like this from happening ever again. The Scourge will never get the best of our military or your king, and soon, we’ll all be celebrating our triumph over the enemies who thought they could tear this country apart. Aspiria will never fall to them or to anyone else—not as long as I have something to say about it. That’s my vow to you.”

The crowd applauded one more time, and Caspian grinned happily. The address had gone far better than he’d expected, and now he could rest easy knowing that he’d won the worried high borns back over to his side. Following his guards back down the steps to the landing pad, he wondered if his father had been watching back at the mansion. Would the king be proud of the speech he’d given? Either way, he knew for sure that Iris had been supporting him from her bedroom. He couldn’t wait to see her again and find out what she thought.

~Bonsoir~

Vail paced restlessly in his bedroom. He had just finished reading the message that Victoria had sent to him about an hour ago, but instead of sleeping afterward like he had planned, he was kept awake by the discovery that the Wynters would be arriving in London much sooner than anyone had anticipated. His eyes fell on the glass bottle that she had given him, which sat untouched on his bedside table. Knowing now that she had likely drawn her blood to give him strength if the rival clan attacked the Hygraces, he was concerned that the Wynters would be here so soon that she believed they wouldn’t see each other again until after the battle. Aside from the fact that he disliked the thought of waiting to make sure she was okay, it also meant that he only had one or two more days left to convince Peter that there was a threat at all. Even if his mulish father finally realized the danger was real, they wouldn’t be able to pull the clan together in time to fight back. Time had run out.

Frustrated, he stopped pacing and dragged both hands over his head with a low groan. It felt like he had been backed into a wall. He had done everything he could to convince Peter that they needed to bolster their defenses or even just stay alert if nothing else, but the patriarch had refused to compromise. Now, there was no telling what the Wynters would do to them, because they weren’t ready to protect their status as the ruling clan in England. He couldn’t bear to watch his relatives get slaughtered by the other vampires in a second massacre. He had to try to persuade his father to listen to reason one more time.

The sun had set not long ago, but Vail knew that Peter usually stayed up to read and unwind before he turned in for the night. If there was ever a good time to approach the elder vampire, it was now. He headed to his parents’ shared room down the hall and knocked on the door, determined to give it one more shot. His cousins had made it abundantly clear that they wouldn’t listen to his orders, so he had to win the clan leader over or come up with some other way to cut the Wynters off before they could reach their home.

After a pause, his mother answered the door. “Vail?” she frowned at him in surprise. He was an independent spirit who rarely stopped by their quarters without a good reason. “Is something the matter?”

“Potentially,” he answered, not waiting for permission to come inside. Peter, who had been sitting in his reading nook, looked up at his son with furrowed brows. His cryptic reply seemed to have piqued the clan leader’s interest, at least. He turned to his father with a serious expression, “The Wynter clan is gathering forces in Southampton as we speak. This is no longer a distant threat, father. It’s a declaration of war, and we need to treat it as such or they’re going to run our family into the ground before the end of the week.”

“This again?” Peter pinched the bridge of his nose. “The Wynters are not gathering to attack us, Vail. They’ve made enemies of the Order. If they really are plotting to fight, their targets are the Saints who’ve been curbing their attempts to gain power.”

“And you don’t think they’ll use this opportunity to dethrone the dynasty that has prevented them from securing dominion in England for the last four hundred years?” Vail challenged, taking a slow breath to control the anger that colored his voice. He was losing his patience after repeating the same reasons and warnings to the patriarch for a week. “You said it yourself. They’re after power, and they’ve always seen us as an obstacle. In their eyes, we’re weak for compromising with the Order and letting our prey live. The Wynters want to instate vampires as the apex species, to enslave humans as nothing more than a food source for our kind, and to have dominion over the country. We both know that their utopia will never come to pass. They’re just going to cause even more bloodshed, and we’re the only clan still standing in their way. Why the hell wouldn’t they attack us?”

Peter was quiet for a long moment before he looked away. “Because we haven’t stood in their way for quite some time now,” he finally answered. “I’ve decided to let them play out the rest of their foolish game and make war with the humans. We will continue to stay out of it, as we have for the last century. I trust that the Saints will put them in their place faster than you think.”

“What is wrong with you?” Vail stared at Peter incredulously. “Are you really willing to put our entire family at risk because you don’t want to stand up and fight? This isn’t what uncle wanted when he chose you to succeed him.”

“There is far more risk in fighting than there is in keeping our noses to ourselves,” the clan leader insisted with a finality to his tone that told the heir he wouldn’t be changing his mind.

Vail clenched his fists at his sides, trembling slightly with fury. He could see now that there was no getting through to the stubborn vampire. Peter wouldn’t see the danger even if it slapped him across the face. Too frustrated to keep arguing with his father, he took a step back toward the door. “Coward,” he spat, spinning on his heel while Peter barked his name angrily behind him. He ignored the demand to come back and returned to his own room before either of his parents could stop him. Certain now that he was on his own, he would just have to take matters into his own hands. He just hoped his efforts would be enough.

--

For the rest of the night, Vail got what sleep he could until he rose again when the sky outside began to slowly lighten with the approach of dawn. He had come to the realization that if he was going to stand up against the Wynters, he was going to need allies. So, he’d reversed his resting cycle for the day in preparation to leave the Hygrace manor during daylight hours. As he slid his arm into the sleeve of his coat, his heart hammered in his chest. Seeing Victoria against his father’s wishes had been rebellious enough, but this time, he was going to be participating in a war that the clan leader had expressly forbidden him from taking part in. It was open betrayal, but he couldn’t sit by and do nothing just because Peter was too afraid to step out of line. He had to do what he knew was right.

Ruminating on the thought so his resolve wouldn’t waver, he slipped out of the manor before the rest of his family had risen and walked briskly to the Crest estate under the cover of twilight. The trip itself was easy, but when the familiar building came into view, he slowed to a stop beyond the gates. There were far more people about than there had been the last time he’d come by, and the odor of silver hung thickly in the air. He hesitated, feeling like a stag approaching a pride of lions. Even though he was strong in comparison with others of his kind, he was no match for a small army of trained hunters. If Victoria hadn’t told him that he was welcome in her home, he would have turned back the instant he’d seen the numerous carriages outside the manor. Instead, he squared his shoulders, adjusted his top hat, and strode onto the property to knock on the door despite the way his skin crawled at the stink of Saints.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

No worries! I've been doing more work on my projects ^^ How have you been?

~Bonsoir~

Sylvia may not have been the kind of woman Vail desired as a wife, but she had always been good at lifting his spirits when he was hung up on something. Throughout the afternoon, she kept him distracted with pleasant conversations and enjoyable activities when they left the carriage, so that it was nearly impossible for him to keep brooding about Victoria. Having not seen each other in at least two decades, there was plenty for them to talk about as they visited a garden to have a picnic and then went to the tracks to watch a horse race. He noticed with quiet appreciation that she seemed to purposefully avoid the subject of their engagement. Instead, she filled the silence by reminiscing about the past and asking him questions about his life since they’d last caught up. The casual atmosphere she injected into what was supposed to be a formal jaunt eased his tension. He was glad that she placed their friendship over the marriage that their parents had arranged for them and was considerate enough not to try to persuade him to accept it right away. By the time they returned to his family’s manor at sunset, he was in a far better mood than he had been when they’d left.

“Well, here we are, my lady,” a playful grin lit up Sylvia’s porcelain face as she stepped up to the door with Vail. They had just arrived by her hackney, and naturally, they couldn’t part ways before she teased him about their role reversal.

“No one asked you to pick me up,” he pointed out blandly, stopping at the top step to speak with her for a moment longer before she left. After a long day during which he would usually be fast asleep, he looked forward to taking a nap in his room, but he wouldn’t leave her without having a proper goodbye first.

“Actually, your father did,” the vampire lady revealed. “And now that I’ve seen your aversion to marrying me, I know why.” He winced, and she chuckled melodically. “I’m not upset, Vail, but I do hope you’ll come around. You told me yourself that Lord Peter doesn’t approve of this other woman you’ve grown attached to, so it would do you good to let her go sooner rather than later. I’d hate to see you heartbroken on our wedding day.”

“We’ll see,” he said curtly, insinuating with his lack of agreement that he hadn’t given up on his love yet. There were still options left to try. At this point, he was even willing to compromise with his father and marry Sylvia after Victoria’s mortal life was extinguished by old age. He doubted Peter would take the deal right away, since the clan leader was still hell-bent on keeping him away from Lady Crest, but it was the best idea he could think of in which they would both get what they wanted.

“You’ve always been a stubborn thing,” Sylvia chaffed, idly reaching out to pluck a stray hair from his coat. A coy smile played on her lips. “Are you sure it wouldn’t help if I came inside for a tiff? You might just change your mind…”

“Good Lord, Sylvie, I’m starting to wonder just how long you’ve been thinking about sleeping with me,” Vail’s dour expression was broken with a smirk, and he shook his head. “No, I think it’s best if we call it a night.”

“Pity,” she flashed her fangs in another wide grin as her shoulders shook with a laugh. He knew she enjoyed being able to coax smiles out of him with her humor. However, in the next moment, the lighthearted mood disappeared as the direction of the wind changed, and they both caught the unmistakable, acrid scent of silver.

Reflexively, Vail tensed and peered past Sylvia’s shoulder, catching sight of a figure ducking behind a tree beyond the edge of the property. The female vampire frowned concernedly but didn’t follow his gaze. “That’s far too much silver to be jewelry,” she noted, her tone calm even though he could hear the increase of her heartbeat. “Is there a reason why a Saint would be prowling around your home tonight?”

“Not one that I’m aware of,” he turned back to her and shrugged. “It could just be an inexperienced hunter hoping for an easy target. The Order has its code of ethics. Whoever it is shouldn’t aim at us when we haven’t touched any humans, but if you’re worried, I’ll wait until you’re in your carriage before I go inside.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Sylvia nodded. As sharp as her tongue could be, she wasn’t the most confident fighter. He remembered that she preferred to avoid confrontations alone by hunting with a partner whenever she went out to feed. “I suppose I’ll see you soon,” she went on, suddenly more eager to leave. “Goodnight, Vail.”

“Goodnight, Sylvie,” he said, leaning down to give her a friendly kiss on the cheek. As promised, he waited on the porch for her to climb safely back inside the waiting carriage and take off before he stepped into the manor. As soon as he closed the door behind him, a broad yawn stretched his jaw, and he headed for the stairs, quick to get back to his room before either of his parents stopped him to inquire about how his day with Sylvia had gone. He had barely made it back before he heard a visitor at the front door, but, not recognizing the smell of the person on the other side, he decided it was a situation for the servants to take care of.

Vail shrugged off his coat and vest and was halfway through the process of unbuttoning his shirt when a knock resonated on his own door. He exhaled with mild frustration, beginning to lose his patience with all the people who insisted on preventing him from sleeping, and strode over to the door without bothering to redo the fastenings he had already opened on his white, collared top. “Yes?” he prompted with a frown as he held the door aside, looking down at the short maid standing outside his bedroom.

The girl flushed scarlet at the sight of the vampire in a beginning state of undress and bowed her head to keep from staring at the bare skin that could be seen through his open shirt. “I-I have a delivery for you, Lord Hygrace,” she stammered, holding out what he would have thought was a bottle of wine if not for the aroma of blood that emanated from within the glass—familiar blood.

He furrowed his brows confusedly and murmured a brief ‘thank you’ to the maid, taking the package into his room. The handwriting on the tag confirmed that it was from Victoria, but he couldn’t think of a reason why she would give him a bottle of her own blood in between meetings in which he would feed on her anyway. Swallowing the saliva that had coated his tongue at the tantalizing scent, he sat down on the edge of his bed and untied the ribbon. The white rose that came with the delivery was a thoughtful touch, and he placed it gently on his nightstand before he unraveled the parchment to read by candlelight.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Sure! I can just gloss over Cas's trip to the square and the lead up to the speech ^^