- “My Sire?” Derek asked, trying hard to keep his voice from shaking and from showing the panic he was feeling right now.
- “Yes, the one who made you,” Vincent said, “I would have thought that he would have accompanied you here?”
- “He is gone” Derek said flatly
- “Gone? He just made you and left?” Vincent asked.
- “Yes – he stayed for a few days to show me some things but one night I awoke and he was gone.” Derek said.
- “Hmmm” Vincent said as he turned around and slowly walked back to the chair at the head of the table. He sat down and looked back at Derek, he tilted his head to the side and said, “how odd – what did he tell you about us?” he asked Derek.
- “He said he made me, that I was Ventrue, and he taught me how to hunt Deer.” Derek said feeling confident in what he was saying because he wasn’t technically lying.
- “I see.” Vincent said looking at him, “You wouldn’t be lying to me, now, would you?” He said looking at Derek intently. Derek could tell he was trying to do something but Derek couldn’t tell what. He stared back at Vincent for a while, feeling like the man was trying to intimidate him. He more he felt that, the angrier Derek got and the more resolute he was that he would not be bullied or intimidated by this man no matter what he did. The staredown between the two of them went on for about two to three minutes, in complete silence. Finally it was broken by Vincent bursting in laughter.
- “Haha!” He said, “I am glad to see another Ventrue with spirit!” he said with a smile.
Derek was getting tired of these games. All he wanted to do is leave and go home before Vincent’s meal arrived, but this man continued to try his patience.
- “So your sire has left you – so you are on your own now – what have your learned about your abilities so far?” Vincent asked.
Derek felt he was on dangerous ground. Claude’s words kept echoing in his mind about how other Kindred would covet his blood for his power. This Kindred was trying to size him up almost like one would a meal or a piece of property.
- “I have not had time to meddle with such things,” Derek said, ” As you can imagine, after the tragedy that fell upon my family, I have had to take on responsibilities that I did not have before, and this alone has been been difficult. I am sure once I am able to settle into my new life so to speak, I will have more time to discover such things.” He said to Vincent in an aggravated tone.
Vincent gave Derek a broad smile which made Derek even more upset. This man was toying with him – every question was nothing more than a test to gage his reaction. He was quickly reaching the point of just telling the man he was leaving and he did not care what else there was to it. Derek could feel his anger boiling up inside and he did his best to contain it. The last thing he needed was to lose his temper here.
- “So what killed your family?” Vincent said, “I have a feeling the story I heard of a plague is not based on facts?”
- “No.” Derek said, keeping his anger in check now was getting more and more difficult, “I am told that it was a group of vampires – much like you and me – who tore through my lands, slaughtered my family and everyone in my household. And from the rumors I heard on my way to London, I believe that my lands were not the only ones hit.” Derek said with a clenched fist at his side.
Vincent saw the complete change in body language from the boy. The anger that welled inside of him as he spoke of his family’s death was apparent. Vincent recognized the hatred and the drive for revenge that the child would probably have. This amused him – young angry Kindred were always amusing to say the least.
- “Ahh yes, I take it you heard of our young Prince Edward then?” Vincent said, “a pity really, for I had planned to take him as my own childe but someone killed him before I could.”
- “Yes.” Derek said between gritting his teeth, ” I heard about Edward.”
- “And you wish for revenge now?” Vincent said in playful tone with a smile, “For your family and for your friend?”
- “Yes.” Derek said angrily, “I will have justice and those guilty will pay.”
- “That is bold statement for one as young as you,” Vincent said still smiling, “how do you plan to achieve this justice?”
- “I do not know yet,” Derek said trying to calm down – he knew the man was goading him into getting angry – although being aware of this and not falling into the trap were two separate things. “I plan to learn about my abilities – as you put them – first. Then I plan to track them down and kill them”
Vincent raised an eyebrow at Derek. It was obvious that this kindred knew very little of Kindred society and of their ways and this amused Vincent even more. It had been a long time since he had seen a childe abandoned by their sire, and he wanted to watch in delight as he stumbled through centuries of protocols and customs.
- “Well, I wish you luck in your endeavor, my young Lord.” Vincent said with a smile. Just then the door in the back of the room opened and Phillip arrived with a palace guard. The guard had a young peasant girl in chains that he dragged into the room. The girl was wearing a simple white cotton dress, she had long brownish hair and big blue eyes. Derek put her age around 17 or 18. She was struggling against the guard, who upon dragging her inside the room, slapped her so hard and in so doing, knocker her to the ground. Derek’s rage exploded and he rushed to the girl’s side to help her up.
- “STOP!” Derek said as he yelled at the guard. The young guard looked back at him and Derek could see pure terror in the man’s face who dropped the girl and ran out of the room screaming as he ran back the way he had come in. Derek bent down and helped the girl to her feet. She looked up at him and smiled and for a minute Derek forgot the purpose of why she had been brought here. Derek heard a clap from behind him and got a sinking feeling in his stomach. He turned around to see Vincent mockingly clapping at him.
- “For someone who has not been working on their abilities, you surely seem to have some natural talent!” Vincent said smiling at Derek, “You are very much like your father, my young lord. always concerned of the welfare of others. It is a noble sentiment.”
Derek managed a weak smile, “Thank you, My Lord – that means a lot coming from someone who knew my father. Now, I really must go and I should leave you to your… meal.”
Vincent felt this meeting had been very informative. He smiled at Derek and looked at Phillip and said, “Please, Phillip, escort our Young Earl of Kent out.” he said and then turned to Derek, “I expect to see you here again tomorrow, for the second half of the council’s meeting.”
Derek smiled and nodded. He would have done anything and agreed to anything just to get out of there. He nodded at Vincent, turned around and followed Phillip out of the room. Once they were out of the room, he took a deep breath and immediately started to feel himself calming down. They started to walk down the large stone hallway and Derek remembered the hatred he had seen in Phillip’s eyes.
- “Phillip, why are you here?” He asked Phillip as they started to walk out, “why are you acting as a servant?”
Phillip looked at Derek with disdain. He stopped in the middle of the hallway and finally said, “I was chosen – it is a great honor to serve here.”
- “Honor? What honor is there in serving the needs of creatures like this?” Derek said.
- “Like this? You mean like you?” He asked Derek, “My reward is that I will one day, be like you – I will be gifted with the power of Kindred if I do my job well. It is well worth the sacrifices I make now. The gift you so casually dismiss is what I am hoping to attain one day.”
Derek was stunned. The boy actually wanted to become a monster – he wanted to be a vampire. Derek at first thought that he was out of his mind and then he became angry with the boy.
- “You wish to kill people to survive? You want to become a monster?” Derek asked angrily.
- “They are only peasants, and there are plenty more where they came from,” Phillip said to Derek, “the real question is why do YOU care?”
The boy’s casual attitude towards killing peasants upset Derek more than he thought possible. His instinct took over for a split second, and he grabbed Phillip by the throat and slammed him against the stone wall in the castle. The boy was gagging at Derek’s grip around his neck, which was quickly tightening. The thought he would have killed Phillip made him snap out of it. He loosed his grip but got really close to the boy and and said in a very low and angry tone, “They are people and they do not deserve to die – you are an embarrassment to your family.”
Derek finally let go of Phillip and who fell to the ground coughing and gagging. He stood up and looked at Derek and now instead of hatred and disdain, Derek saw fear. Derek felt remorse when he saw he had gripped the boy so tight, that he left the mark of his hand on the boy’s neck. He didn’t know what to do – every time he saw a display of his own power, it scared him.
- “Go” he said to Phillip, “I do not need an escort.”
Phillip reached up to his own neck with hand hand rubbing the area that Derek had grabbed trying to sooth his cough. Derek couldn’t even bear the sight of the boy.
- “GO NOW” Derek yelled at the boy and pointed back the way they had come. Phillip turned around and started to run back. Derek’s thoughts were racing. Claude was right – coming here was a bad idea – Kindred were terrible people and he had no desire to return here ever. He did not care what he told Vincent – he would not come back.
He managed to walk back to the front of the castle. Once he was there the stable boy brought his horse back to him. On the way back to his family’s house, Derek was lost in thought. He wanted to leave London as soon as possible and go back to the countryside. There was nothing left for him here – he knew this now.
He arrived back at his house, put the horse in the stables, brushed him down and gave him some feed. As he turned around to go inside, he saw Claude standing at the doors to the stables.
- “So, you are still alive – that is a good sign,” Claude said to Derek with a smile.
- “Yes.” Derek said and pushed past Claude into the house. Claude came up behind him.
- “So how did it go? What happened?” He asked Derek.
Without looking back at Claude Derek walked into the house and up the stairs.
- “I do not wish to discuss it – we leave tomorrow to return to Kent.” he said as he disappeared upstairs.
Edward who was sitting in the library reading, came out and looked at Claude, “So he wasn’t burned or dismembered – what happened?”
- “I do not know, Lad” Claude said, “But we should leave him be for tonight.”
———————————————————
Phillip’s neck was sore as he made his way back to his master’s room. Derek could have broken his neck easily and that only made him hate that uptight ass even more. Phillip’s father had always told him that the Kent’s would bring problems – they gave the people ideas – and now – it seemed that Derek had been handed the gift that Phillip was working so hard for, with absolutely no effort. Oh how he hated the Kents! He had heard the whole lot of them were dead, he was sorry to see that one had survived.
Not only that, but it seemed that Vincent had taken a liking to Derek, which upset Phillip even more. It seemed that the more time he spent with Vincent, the more he wanted Vincent’s attention for himself only – and the thought of sharing it with someone – especially with a Kent, made his stomach turn. He walked back into the room to see Vincent dropping the body of the dead girl on the floor, after draining her. Phillip couldn’t help but smile when he saw that – to know that he would one day have this power, made him feel as if his insides were warm and glowing.
- “So, Phillip, what did you think of our Young Lord Kent?” Vincent asked with a twinkle in his eye. He had seen the hatred in Phillip’s face and couldn’t help but to toy with the boy.
- “I think he is an arrogant ass, My Lord – just like his father.” Phillip responded as he walked up to Vincent.
Vincent saw the marks on Phillip’s neck and pulled the boy closer to him by the shoulder to get a better look. “Did he do that to you?” , Vincent asked Phillip with a grin.
- “Yes,” Phillip said flatly.
- “Why? What did you say to him?” Vincent asked – this was probably going to be better than he had expected.
- “He was upset that said I said something about feeding on peasants. He is a madman – you should kill him and take his power before it grows, My Lord.” Phillip said – he could feel the hatred welling up inside of him.
Vincent’s smile quickly turned sour and he grabbed Phillip by the neck, pretty much the same way that Derek had earlier, and pulled the boy close to him. His fangs came down and he stared into Phillip’s eyes stirring fear in the boy.
- “You are a servant in my house – do not presume to tell me what to do.” Vincent said to Phillip between gritted teeth. Then dropped the boy on the floor and walked away from him for a moment towards the table and took his seat at the head of the table once again. He could hear Phillip coughing and gagging behind him. That made him smile once more.
- “You are young and foolish, Phillip” Vincent started, “that is why I brought you here, to teach you” he said without looking back at the boy, “Derek is may be young and new but his blood is old, powerful – I could sense it – I could feel it. He was not afraid of me, this tells me he has spent time with a kindred more powerful than I – most likely the one that made him. His sire would not have left him out in the open all alone. Even if the story he tells me is true – which of course, I do not believe – even if his sire abandoned him, he still watches from the shadows. Of that I am sure.”
Vincent turned around to look at Phillip who was slowly getting to his feet. His choices for new kindred as of late had become worse than they used to be and this child was hardly worth his time. Unfortunately he was the best of what the latest crop of Lords had to offer. He had considered going to France to make his choice but felt that the trip would hardly be worth it – the quality of their crops were probably just as bad. The new dutch royalty that had moved into the castle was even worse than the nobles. He had waited too long to take Prince Edward and he missed his opportunity – which was regrettable. But now he wondered, if Derek was not dead, perhaps Edward and the others may possibly be still alive. If so, he would take one and bind it to him and get rid of this useless child in front of him.
- “What you fail to understand, Phillip, is that young kindred are foolish like you – they make mistakes. This one has a powerful sire watching over him, so all I have to do is wait for him to make a mistake and create a situation where his sire will have no choice but to come out of the shadows to save him. Considering his temper and pride, this should be too difficult. To bring a kindred this old into the light will earn me great prestige within the clan,” Vincent said with a dreamy look in his eye, “and to have a boon from such an old kindred, will be even better.”
Phillip hated Derek even more now. Not only was he given the gift without having to work for it – but apparently the one that gave it to him was more powerful than Vincent. Phillip couldn’t wait until he was embraced as well so that he could put that Kent in his place once and for all. He could not understand why his master would allow Derek to live. If his blood was that powerful, surely it was worth more than prestige and a boon. Surely.
- “And how exactly do you plan to trap him into making a mistake, My Lord?” Phillip asked with a raspy voice.
- “Me?” Vincent asked with a laugh, “I will not have to do anything, lad – Young Lord Kent is a volcano waiting to explode – all I have to do is be there when he does …” Vincent said with a broad grin.
———————————————————————————–
Derek awoke and came downstairs eager to be out of London. He went into the stables, hoping to see Claude already half-packed. If they were quick, they could be out of the city within the hour. He found the horses in the stables as they had been left the night before – nothing was packed or ready. He remembered quite clearly telling Claude they were leaving. He didn’t particularly like having to repeat himself – especially in the mood he was in. Derek closed the door to the stables and stomped back inside looking for Claude. He found Claude reading in the library.
- “Why Are we not packed yet?” Derek said angrily, “I thought I was quite clear last night, we are leaving London.”
Claude looked up from his book – he saw the anger in the child’s eyes looking back at him.
- “What happened last night, Lad?” Claude asked.
- “Nothing that I wish to discuss” Derek said, “now we must pack and go.”
- “Not until you tell me why you wish to leave.” Claude said calmly.
- “I will not justify myself to you or anyone else.” Derek said angrily, “We are leaving and that is final.” he turned around and started to walk out of the room.
Claude moved quickly and stood in the doorway in front of Derek. He knew this would anger the boy more, but he needed to know why the boy had decided to leave the city so quickly. This young one may not understand how kindred society works, but Claude did and he was afraid that the boy may have started something and leaving so quickly would make things worse.
- “Lad,” Claude said, “I know you are angry and upset – but I need to know what happened for your safety and ours.” He continued, “You wanted to come to London and present yourself – and so you have. There are protocols that must be followed, there are customs that you do not know about or understand and leaving in a fit of rage can end up making whatever situation you encountered, worse.” He stared at Derek intently for a while, “now, tell me what happened.”
Derek stared back at Claude, and saw genuine concern in his eyes. He did not want to talk about what happened – he just wanted to forget that kindred existed and go back to his castle in Kent and live out the rest of his life in peace away from all of this. He should have listened to Claude before, and stayed away from Kindred society. He would never admit to Claude that he was wrong to come to London, of course – but now that he had met Kindred and seen that Claude was not wrong, he valued his opinions a little more. Derek sighed – nothing was working out the way he had wanted it to.
- “Fine.” Derek said finally and walked over to the chair behind the large Oak desk. He sat down and with a resigned look in his face, told Claude everything that happened the night before.
- “He was horrible, Claude – and Phillip – there is something wrong with that boy.” Derek said after he finished telling what happened the night before.
Claude started to pace and think in the room. So the trap had worked – he was sure that Vincent was going to try to bait Claude out of hiding now. In order to do that, he needed for Derek to stay alive. In the end, it was all about keeping the child alive and he was relieved the Ventrue took the bait.
- “Alright and so he said he expected to see you there tonight then?” Claude asked.
- “Yes,” Derek replied, “But I am not going – I am not going back ever, Claude.”
-”You must, Lad” Claude said, “If nothing else, to keep up appearances. One more night cannot hurt – and then we can go home.”
- “Why?” Derek said, “what appearances am I keeping up?”
- “He is the regent of this area, Derek – which means this is his domain and he runs it however he wishes. You are part of his domain – not going would be a large act of disrespect that could prompt him to come after you to kill you or give him rights to imprison you.” Claude said.
Derek sighed, “Fine” he said, “I will go one more night – but we leave tomorrow.”