RP LOG with histhornedrose | Welcoming party
[Follows THIS]
The night was only young when Emmeline's stretch limo pulled up in front of the palace. She collected her purse from where it was resting on the seat beside her, and she climbed out of the back seat when the driver came around and opened the door for her. She was dressed in a long, midnight blue silk dress with diamond straps and looked more like she was going to a socialite party than just having stepped off a plane. Her long wavy hair was hanging loose around her shoulders, and as always, she walked with the purpose and confidence that came from many years of people watching her. She was scaling the steps with her two suited assistants in tow at a respectable distance away, but it was only as she was nearing the top that she spotted three unknown people sitting on a wall at the top of the stairs, looking like they were just chilling out. A blonde woman, a brunette man, and a girl with gorgeous red hair... a Kindred. Emmeline sensed it immediately. Toreador, no less. Very interesting. She wasn't sure what to make of the two non-Kindred sitting beside her, especially not when she locked eyes with the blonde and proceeded to challengingly hold the gaze. In fact, when Emmeline reached the top step, she literally paused, tilting her head as she analysed the blonde and afforded nothing more than a mere glance at the other two. There was something about her that had Emmeline's senses piqued... perhaps in warning.
She didn't get a chance to approach them, though. The front door opened and Juliette appeared, so Emmeline's attention was expectedly drawn elsewhere. She breached the gap between her and her dear friend, smiling. "Mon cherie. Je t'ai manque beaucoup." She reached for Juliette's hands and then kissed both her cheeks, and then her lips... the final lingering probably a lot longer than it would for just standard friends, their affection more than evident.
"Tu est magnifique," Juliette murmured after the kiss as her green eyes took in Emmeline and her beautiful dress. She afforded a glance to Buffy, Xander and Airlie and slipped one of her hands from her friend's as she indicated them. "Buffy Summers, Xander Harris, and Airlie Mackenzie. They are guests. Mes amis, this is Emmeline Laurent, a dear friend of mine. And I hope you can forgive me for being rude, but I must steal her away for myself for a little while." She gave them a small smile before she glanced back at Emmeline and started to pull her in the direction of the door. "Forgive me, but there is just too much to explain. I do not want to do it on the front steps. Are you hungry?"
Emmeline had to force herself to look away from the three guests. She wasn't done sizing them up yet, and her gaze was intense, to say the least, even if her exterior remained cool and collected. She didn't say anything to them, nor did she greet them. She would have to know more about them before she did anything like interact with them. She was the epitome of a rich snob and made no apologies for it. She wouldn't grace them with any interaction until she knew they weren't a threat. Their presence wasn't enough to convince her, even if Blaise would have had to authorise it. She turned away, tucking her handbag under her arm and entering the palace with Juliette. "Merde!" she cursed with a huff of annoyance at being rushed on. "Why are they here? Who are they? Where is Blaise?"
Juliette almost smiled at Emmeline's impatience. Sometimes it was worse than her own. The older Kindred was dressed in an ivory white dress, the trademark red she usually wore nowhere to be seen in the absence of Blaise. It was perhaps also a signal they were in the middle of a fight. She was going to waste no energy on the colour that he preferred if he wasn't even going to enjoy it. Her dark hair was pulled back into a perfectly styled ponytail that exposed her porcelain neck, and perfect throat. She took Emmeline's hand as they walked through the palace. "They're here because they are friends of Rory Buchanan, the Scot I sent you a brief message about. We were still in Scotland at that stage, nothing had gone wrong... Buffy is a friend of Rory's, and a romantic interest for Blaise. Although that particular road has been rocky at best. It does not help that she is the Slayer. Blaise is still at the military base watching over Rory. Emmeline, it's been horrible. C'est catastrophe! Rory was attacked by Brujah and to say the shit has hit the fan would be so very much an understatement. I have never needed you around more." Juliette waved a hand to try and fruitlessly pass on everything that had happened through a gesture and not through words before she just huffed out a breath of annoyance. "I've just been enjoying the most lovely of poets, please share him with me. He won't mind. Besides, it might help my appetite more to eat with a friend."
Emmeline offered an indulgent smirk. "Mmm... magnifique. I always did love Scottish blood," she couldn't help but comment, running the tips of her fingers through the ends of her curls. But she soon gave her hand a small, dismissive wave. "Do not get your gorgeous panties in a twist, mon chaton. I will be of no threat to you and his affections. You know that. Not without permission." But her face soon twisted into a horrified gape and she gapsed in disbelief. "Non, non, non.. Blaise would never be romantically interested in that. Surely not? This is what happens when I go away to be fabulous. I can never leave you two alone. You always end up squabbling or some other disasters occur. Now, it seems, all of the above. This is a tragedy. She is not his taste at all. I do not even know what she was wearing. Mon dieu.... C'est catastrophe, indeed. Slayer. Pfft. She should work on annihilating her fashion sense before she starts on living, breathing creatures." She paused and sighed before she went off on too much of a rich bitch tangent, but gave a slight shake of her head. "Non, merci. I had a fine white Italian on the flight over here. Always was fond of our fellow Eurpoeans. But it was a long flight. Perhaps later? Tell me, how on earth did all of this happen? It seems... uncharacteristic."
Juliette took Emmeline up the stairs as she ascended to her wing of the palace, and more importantly to her private chambers. The poet would still be there, but she was sure he could amuse himself in a different area of the large estate. She did have to wonder if Airlie thought anything of Juliette's behaviour given that she was supposed to be pining for Rory, but a fellow Kindred had to understand. She also considered sending the budding artist to the redhead, give her something to eat other than her mortal lover. Juliette tried not to let the jealousy shine through at her friend's comment, all too aware of what Blaise already thought of her uncontrolled emotions. She didn't need Emmeline thinking the same. "He is not mine to get in a twist about, mon ange. I have damaged things far too much for that. Blaise has him under his control now. I am only waiting to see if he'll decide to go through with his threats after all... Perhaps he will decide I am better off without the Scot, and make him hate me just like he said he would. Oh, Emmeline... Blaise drained him to save him. I didn't exactly react that way, though. It was just... It was too much watching Blaise sink his teeth into Rory when I had yet to do the same, when I knew just how Rory felt about Kindred feeding from him." An amused smile graced her lips briefly. "Some things will never change, hm? What would you expect her to wear in her line of work? You would be crying over a destroyed designer outfit, but you're annoyed with her for wearing 'normal' clothes. She is American, mon cherie, what would you expect? You know they will never have that much class to them. Everything has just exploded. I don't even know where to start. And you know as well as I do that if Blaise feels like he could find love, it does not matter who that person is. She's made some mistakes, but it seems as if she has finally stepped up to the plate to be what he needs. At least, that's how the Americans would put it. Ridiculous sports metaphors..."
"Under his control? I do not understand. He did not Embrace him, surely? I thought that was to be avoided? It was just a drain, oui?" Emmeline's fine feature fell into a troubled frown. She couldn't remember the last time Blaise had resorted to such drastic tactics, and even then, it wasn't like this. This was different for some reason. When they reached Juliette's chambers, she was still restless at the information being given to her and started to pace slowly, toying with the diamond necklace around her neck in thought. "You were jealous. You wanted to be the one to perform the drain. It was very little to do with the fact the Scot did not want Kindred feeding from him, because in essence it was not feeding, it was a matter of life or death. This is why you are fueding. Indeed, I understand now. Merde... now he will think you disrespected his wishes, which is going to go down about as well as a teenage prostitute's blood. Have you spoken to him since this occurred?" she asked, glancing at Juliette. But she gave a small roll of her eyes and fanned herself as Juliette elabortated on the blond. "Americans. A race that will never know what truly to do with themselves. So much inbreeding. There is a reason most of the world's top designers and artistes are European. Americans wouldn't know culture if they wiped their derrieres with it. This is terrible! None of this should have happened. If I could get headaches, I would have one right now."
Juliette gave the naked poet an apologetic smile as she approached him slowly, giving him a gentle kiss as she urged him in English to get dressed and to give the women a moment of privacy. She would send the guards for him when she needed him back. The man was some traveller from London that had been staying in France for a few months. He had also tasted delicious and appealed to her Toreador sensibilities. But he wasn't Rory. She waited until he left before she even began to try and answer Emmeline, a hand pressed against her stomach as she considered pacing before she just decided to drop down onto the window seat. Her room had a perfect view of the gardens, something Blaise knew she would enjoy. She pressed her lips together briefly. "I realise Blaise wasn't embracing him, but Rory should be Toreador. I can feel it in the very core of my being, just like with you. Only he has traits that appeal to Brujah, and Ventrue as well. I know it was saving his life, but I couldn't help it. I just reacted. Then of course Blaise and I had a massive fight afterwards. How could we not? I said some things that were harsh, but I am not sure I regret them," she admitted. "Perhaps just regret the fact I accused him of enjoying it... Of wanting it. Rory has been in true love, see? Blaise has wanted him since we both first saw him. Only Buffy had caught his eye first. She has not been in love, though. He cannot feed from her. There have been... misunderstandings all around. He claimed her, see. He did so even though he knew he would not be able to stomach her blood. She was apparently claimed by another, lesser, vampire. Blaise could not stand knowing that. He wanted to free her."
Emmeline nodded and paused in her pacing to check her appearance in Juliette's full-length mirror before she perched on the side of the bed, crossing her legs over at the ankles. "Interesting to find a person with versatile traits like that. Often people breach two Clans, but three is a lot more unique. He must be an interesting person, to say the least. But Toreador? Are you sure? I got hints of a randy Scotsman from what you had been telling me, but like us? But I see... you were blurring lines, amour, because this was not an Embrace, and Blaise was not making him Ventrue. He was merely giving him but a taste. Soon enough, the Scot will return to his normal self and he will not come out of it blaming you for feeding on him when he requested you did not. Blaise has been unwell lately. I can only imagine your words will have hurt him, if he was doing this for you. I know him... he would not have done this to hurt you. He would as soon as kill himself than that. I am saddened that you thought he may have done it for his own selfish reasoning, cherie. Have your own judgments been faltered in the face of your feelings for this Scot? I cannot believe the mess you have both gotten yourselves into. Now you are not talking. It is like 1931 all over again." She shook her head, sighing as she listened closely. All she could see from all of this that Blaise was going to be the one who got hurt above all else, and she wasn't sure how she should take that. Her own protective and possessive instincts were trying to kick in. She knew she had a strange feeling about that blonde. "And what of this poisoning? Has he risen since it occurred? I tried to call him from New York before I left, but Jacquelynne was beside herself. He was unable to even take the call. Now you tell me of these strangers gracing our home? Is it wise in his weakness?"
Juliette looked back out the window, her memory all too clearly recalling the fight between herself and Blaise in 1931. Their period of silence had lasted far longer than anyone had anticipated, even Juliette and Blaise themselves. Juliette had no wish for this period to last as long, but she knew that right now Blaise would want some distance. She touched the cold glass of the window and traced a subconscious pattern as she looked out at the grounds. "He was a randy Scotsman when I first messaged you. But one that I still needed to spend time with. He and Buffy have a slight physical history, but it does not bother me. After all, who am I to judge? What bothered me was the fact that she slept with Rory again upon arriving in France when Blaise was still ill. He is... he is far too deprived of love right now, mon ange/em>. He needs to feel it again in order to be well. He is feeling his age, his loneliness. It hurts me terribly that I cannot help him be well again. I hate that even I have added to his hurt, so perhaps you are both right. My emotions are clouding my thinking. I cannot help it, I cannot even explain it... Rory has affected me in ways I did not anticipate. He made me promise to not even use Persuasion when we slept together. He wants to be a father... He is an artist. He has lost a wife and child already. He is... complex." Juliette's head snapped back to Emmeline and she got to her feet as she took a couple of steps towards the bed, her eyes flashing silver. "What poisoning? Never mind our guests. They are here for Rory, and they are here for Blaise. What poisoning, Emmeline?"
Emmeline raised her eyebrows, but she stayed calm watching Juliette closely. "Do not think of focusing your secondary anger on me, mon belle. I will not accept it. You know I will not," she warned, determined more than anything to not get in the middle of any of Blaise and Juliette's arguments. She refused to, and had passionately refused to ever since she was part of their world. "I have no idea how you do not know about this, but early in the eve yesterday, Blaise went on a frenzied hunt. I do not know how it happened, but he fed on a diseased prey. Jaquelynne said he could hardly stand. His body was trying to itself of the tainted blood. He was brought back here by his watchers and his driver. It happened near The Club," she elaborated. The Club being what they tended to refer to the Kindred hot spot as, very rarely referring to it by name. "This is why I came back sooner than anticipated. She was fearing for his well-being. I assumed you would have known. Désolé.."
Juliette turned away to bare her teeth at the window, her hands clenching in fists as she tried to process the burst of rage that came with knowing that Blaise had purposely ordered all their staff not to tell her of his illness. No wonder Buffy had given her a strange look earlier. Outside in the darkened grounds she saw a flash of colour that was the Slayer and her friends. "He did not want me to know. He wanted me nowhere near him while he was ill. That says enough. His senses must be under attack now he is getting weak... He should not push himself."
Emmeline looked down at her shoes, frowning as she stifled a sigh. Things were worse than she had even managed to anticipate and she was sure she had constructed some pretty dramatic scenarios in her mind on the trip home from New York. "It sounds like you may have hurt him more than you realise. Not to point fingers but this is... I do not know. He does not sound like himself. And if that is the case, then how can you be so sure this is love he is feeling for this blonde woman, and not just desperation? Is he not here? Are you telling me he has gone out in the wake of something like that? Perhaps I was mistaken, but Jaquelynne was in a state. He was bleeding everywhere. Perhaps she just overdramatises, non?"
Juliette regained her composure. "I mentioned earlier that he was at the military facility overlooking Rory again. That much I am allowed to be privy to. Buffy has been banished from the place, as have I. Apparently we are too much trouble. Rory even has a brother none of us knew about. A brother with a Kindred lover. Yet another twist in this little tale of ours. I do not know if he feels love for her, but I know there must be something between them. It is not desperation. Blaise will not hesitate to walk away if she cannot give him what he needs." Juliette came to sit beside Emmeline and folded her hands in her lap. "I thought that perhaps she'd stayed with Blaise last night given she was wearing a shirt of his. But if what you say is true, it seems like a huge thing for her to have been present for. For her to have nursed Blaise through it... I cannot say. I wasn't there, I didn't see him."
Emmeline had never tasted diseased blood, but she had witnessed it happen in other Kindred. Even if they had pulled off as soon as they tasted it tainted, from the sounds of it, Blaise had fed on quite a lot of it before he made the realisation. It must have been disastrous. She realised he must have been extremely angry at Juliette to not have her told of this, and with a questioning glance at Juliette, she wondered if the argument had been what sparked the frenzy to start with. That was just like a whole other can of worms to consider. "I am to assume it is Sergeant Finn overseeing this? That is another magnifique derriere I would not mind sinking my teeth into. So tasty, yet damaged. I can see it in his eyes. I tried to hit on him once, and he brushed me off. Shame. Juliette, you need to talk to him, and soon. This blonde, she is going to infiltrate and push you away. She must know you two come as a package deal. And I know, you are somehow going to tell me she knows this, but where were you when she was nursing him, hm? His mate. Where were you?" she said pointedly.
Juliette flicked her gaze to Emmeline. "She's his ex, you know. Buffy is one of the reasons why Sergeant Finn is so damaged. Yet another complication in things. Blaise had even assumed that perhaps she was going back to Riley, but things have worked out otherwise. I was left in the dark because I am being punished right now for being so insolent," Juliette replied with a slight shrug. "I am not unused to not being the one to nurse him when he is in love. I would not deny him this if it means he will get better in more ways than one. I just do not appreciate being left out of the loop so freely. It is true that I am his mate, so I should know when he is sick. He will not hear the end of this. Not at all."
Emmeline just rolled her eyes dramatically and gave Juliette a Look. "Of course she is. Why not? Do the men of this world have no taste anymore? I hate her already, you do realise. If she hurts Blaise, she will not walk this earth again, I will ensure it. Ah, but you tell me he is not in love. You should have known. I know you two are fueding, but I wish I could know how he was. I was hoping he would be here. I fear for him. The way he was talking recently, like he was seeing his end. It was... frightening."
"You do not have to remind me," Juliette replied softly. "I could not believe when he started talking about his end. I felt so helpless." She arched her eyebrow at her friend and smirked lightly. "Ah, mon ange, do you not have enough men throwing their hearts at you? We are not modern women. Not really. I do not see the appeal in them, but there must be something. You are well within your right to hate her. I am not so ready even if I will not hesitate to hurt her should she hurt Blaise. I have tasted her, and to be honest I know all too well what Blaise is missing in not being able to feed from her. You will know how he is. He will need to be home at some point. There is nothing to stop you from seeing him."
Emmeline gave a small shrug. "Technically he is not missing anything if he could not even digest what he is taking from her. To him, she would taste anything but nice," she pointed out. She rested her hand back on the mattress and leant back, gazing up at the ceiling. "Blaise will not settle for someone he can not feed from. That is his intimacy. His sexual desire. He will have sex without it, but he prefers not to. She better hope she becomes what he needs soon enough or he will be lost on her forever. He will move on. How many times have we seen him do that? All these filles who think they are destined to be his true love, and his loyal lover. Many he has never even so much as glanced back at. I would like this Buffy to meet that Mary-Anne. She could tell this Slayer a few stories that would have her hair curling. She practically became his stalker and he was less than impressed." She smiled to herself in amusement, remembering the whole debacle well. Neither Juliette nor herself had liked that woman at all, and they were less than impressed when Blaise started favouring her... until he just stopped and cut her off. She looked back at Juliette. "How has he been? Really, I mean? Physically, emotionally... the works."
Juliette growled low. "I would prefer not to have that Mary-Anne anywhere near this place again. Buffy is more than aware of the mistakes she has made. He has not let her forget them. I do not think she assumes to be his true love, and that could be half the trouble. She has lacked confidence in herself, and belief in his feelings for her. But no one can tell her how to feel, she has to feel it herself." Juliette moved restlessly before she dropped down on the bed again, and lay back. She brushed her fingers absently against Emmeline's back as she looked up at the ceiling and contemplated Blaise's well-being. "He is not himself, not to us that know him. He seems to tire easy, and he is sad... Restless. He's not happy with how things are right now. He really does need someone's love. To be in love again."
Emmeline shook her head slowly. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Big, big mistake. Lacking confidence and belief in his feelings for her. Maybe if I just sit back, she will shoot herself in the foot and will not need us jumping in and protecting him. So many people vye for his feelings, she should be honoured. You are awfully supportive of this woman. It is unnerving. You are too trusting, especially apparently being a slayer. Your feelings really are skewed." She pressed her lips together in annoyance, hoping all these misjudged feelings weren't going to blow up around them. "Personally, I do not give a fuck about her feelings. Only Blaise's. One of us has to keep their head around here. If we encounter his downfall in any capacity, our world falls with it."
"I am only supportive because I think all of us in this palace want for her to be the one. Blaise is losing himself, losing any sort of enthusiasm for life. There are no other women right now who would be worthy of his affection. I cannot say that I am happy about her being a slayer, but perhaps he needs someone that can challenge him now. Not just someone who will turn to mush at just a look from him, or that will swoon." Juliette let her legs swing over the edge of the bed and felt her toes brush the lush rug that covered the wooden floorboards. "Rory trusts her... And Blaise is working on trusting her. I will support them all unless I am given otherwise. Blaise had already started to work on locking her out, and it cost me Rory by going along with him... Cutting off Rory just the same."
"I don't," Emmeline corrected coolly, raising a perfect eyebrow. If she had to play the bitch here, so be it. "I do not see any appropriate point just forcing her on him because she is convenient. If it turns out later she is not the one, he is going to suffer for it. To not have experienced love at her age seems implorable. Yet you tell me she is Sergeant Finn's ex? Was her head so far up her own derriere that she could not love him? I do not get it. It makes me dislike her even more and I do not even know her. The last thing he needs or deserves is someone challenging him. he needs someone who can love him unconditionally. Not all women he encounters are... what do they say... tits and ass. There are many of us in this world with substance. And if all this woman has as substance is being a Slayer, then mon dieu, we are in more trouble than I initally thought. There has to have been a reason why he cut her off. He never acts on mere reckless whims."
Juliette gave a slight shake of her head from where she lay on the bed. "It's not about convenient. It's about this being the first woman in a long time that he's shown some interest in past a snack and a fuck. We can do nothing but wait and see for a little while. We do not know the ins and outs of their relationship. I know what he has told me a little of, and I think that we underestimate the hold her first vampire love had on her. Perhaps she is only capable of loving the creatures of the night? Who knows. At least now she is experiencing Kindred. We are better than those rats she hunts. Nothing I say is going to put her in good light, so you'll either have to take the time to know her, or talk to Blaise." Juliette pulled herself up into a sitting position again and kissed the side of Emmeline's neck as she swept her hair out of the way. "Although I do love you for what you're saying. I have missed you terribly. Like I said, there has been a lot of confusion. Confusion of emotion, and apparently confusion over sex. Blaise assumed she was done with him."
"Convenient," Emmeline repeated, not exactly sure how being the first woman he had shown an interest lately as being any way to debunk that. None of this was sitting well with her. There was evidence Blaise wasn't himself and had been making reckless errors all over the place. Emmeline wasn't going to simply buy that this woman wasn't just another of those. She also suspiciously wondered what sort of hold this Buffy had over Juliette to make her freely like her so much and accept her without concern. Were the coverted secrets of The Masquerade suddenly just irrelevant because a blonde woman bats her eyelids are Blaise? A vampire slayer under their roof, and no one had any issues with it? "That right there is disturbing, also. Why do you not know? You have known everything about him for years, and now suddenly not? Perhaps she is only capable of loving this... other beast, and Blaise is just a sloppy second substitute when the other was smart enough to back away. Have you even actually stopped and listened to what you are saying? Mon dieu. This Scotsman must have some hold on you. Both our Prince and his mate are overshadowed with misguided emotion. Here's hoping Paris is not in jeopardy and these choices do not cause a terrible war between our Clans. Because if I'm feeling unrest right now, I can guarantee I will not be the only one. I will also not lower myself to 'taking the time to know her' until I know I can trust her. And why would he assume something like that, hm? Obviously she has acted in such a way to lead him to believe it. I just... I cannot believe any of this!" she said with a sharp sigh, throwing up her hands. "It is beyond a mess, and I am beginning to wonder if anyone here still has their rational head."
Juliette stood up from the bed and folded her arms under her chest defensively as she bit back any angry words. Emmeline hadn't been here through all the confusion. She was a fresh set of eyes, and an objective observer. Truth was she probably did have a clearer picture of what was going than even Juliette. She just didn't like the fact that as Emmeline's Sire she she was being told off. Why had she lost her head? It couldn't have been down to just Rory. She bit her lip as she walked back over to the window and gazed down at the trio in the garden. "I have had Blaise to myself for so long... Perhaps I just got too comfortable with the idea. Even though both of us have had our interests piqued elsewhere... he is still my mate."
Emmeline just gave a small shake of her head. Perhaps she was jetlagged, or hungry. She wasn't following anything at all. "You freely trust this slayer because you are used to having him to yourself? Désolé, cherie, but I am not following any of this at all. I really am not. Perhaps reckless is the new black. I do not know. I can not even begin to try," she said helplessly with a small shrug. "You rectify this situation by pushing him into the arms of a stranger with a history of killing like Kinds of ours, and you do not even get concerned he is keeping information from you, his mate, in light of it? Non... really failing to understand this. I must need sustenance. Or perhaps I have been away too long that I am independent of the whole situation."
"Non, non, non..., I am clearly not thinking straight because I am used to having him to myself. Only I know all too well right now that I cannot keep him to myself. I cannot give him the love he needs. He cannot survive on just my blood. I would never ask him to. I do not know what to think anymore. I just know that I am livid that he would not even permit me to know that he was sick. That he would rather suffer through this all on his own. How did I offend him that much, hm? Connard. That is what he is right now." Juliette turned to face Emmeline again. "Perhaps it is good that you are so independent of this. Clearly the rest of us are far too close. What I thought I knew I clearly don't."
Emmeline cleared her throat softly. "Well, you did just bitch him out and accuse him of sucking throat for his own vengeful gain," she pointed out, never one to worry about being blunt. She told it like it was, especially when it came to Blaise and Juliette, the closest people to her for many years. "Probably managed to insult his standing as Prince in the process. He's going to be pissed off. I am just... concerned that it was your argument that caused the frenzy that led him to that tainted feed. The timing seems about right, from what you have indicated."
Juliette's jaw clenched as she tried not to let her eyes flash, or any more anger show. "Or perhaps he merely wanted to get rid of the taste of Rory's blood. He did not want it to come to this, he said as much while we were yelling at each other. I just want to breach the gap between us. I don't want it to grow, or become a permanent fixture."
"I wish you had never thought he did want it to come to this, amour. It would make breaching that gap a whole lot easier." Emmeline smoothed her dress over her thighs, a small frown on her face. "This is really unlike any of your prior feuds. He can withhold a hell of a lot if he feels passionate enough about something. Where would you have been when it had happened? Something like that would have been impossible for you to miss if you had been home. He could have tried, but ultimately in that close a vicinity, you would have felt his suffering."
Juliette arched an eyebrow in place of a shrug as she pressed her lips together with dissatisfaction. "I spent the night away from this place. It was stupid, but I honestly wasn't sure what else to do. I was hunting, working off the anger. I didn't do anything stupid, I just sought distraction. I didn't even think that he would need me. He just walked out after the fight and I had no idea where he was going."
Emmeline brushed her hair back. "Apparently his prey would not have survived the attack. Accidental killing is something we are never okay with. Added to everything else you have revealed to me, I am just plain worried about his wellbeing right now. If he is hurting, if he is feeling even more isolated than usual. You know the biggest problem being being at the top, above all else? It is that no one else is up there with you. It is a lonely place to be. I am glad he is yearning love. He deserves it."
"Then maybe it is you who can reach him? I can only try and work back into his good graces. It may take time. I am not glad as you are. I would prefer he didn't have to fight so hard and make himself ill in the search for love." Juliette came back down to sit next to Emmeline again and took her hand. "At least tell me you are staying for a while so there can be some good news."
"Oui, of course I am staying. This is my home. Are you trying to get rid of me that easily? Life is merely just beginning. I am but a teenager in comparison," Emmeline said with a feigned, dramatic sigh. "Or are you just worried I will give the blonde a hard time, hm?" she added with a devious smirk.
Word Count | 6,370
The night was only young when Emmeline's stretch limo pulled up in front of the palace. She collected her purse from where it was resting on the seat beside her, and she climbed out of the back seat when the driver came around and opened the door for her. She was dressed in a long, midnight blue silk dress with diamond straps and looked more like she was going to a socialite party than just having stepped off a plane. Her long wavy hair was hanging loose around her shoulders, and as always, she walked with the purpose and confidence that came from many years of people watching her. She was scaling the steps with her two suited assistants in tow at a respectable distance away, but it was only as she was nearing the top that she spotted three unknown people sitting on a wall at the top of the stairs, looking like they were just chilling out. A blonde woman, a brunette man, and a girl with gorgeous red hair... a Kindred. Emmeline sensed it immediately. Toreador, no less. Very interesting. She wasn't sure what to make of the two non-Kindred sitting beside her, especially not when she locked eyes with the blonde and proceeded to challengingly hold the gaze. In fact, when Emmeline reached the top step, she literally paused, tilting her head as she analysed the blonde and afforded nothing more than a mere glance at the other two. There was something about her that had Emmeline's senses piqued... perhaps in warning.
She didn't get a chance to approach them, though. The front door opened and Juliette appeared, so Emmeline's attention was expectedly drawn elsewhere. She breached the gap between her and her dear friend, smiling. "Mon cherie. Je t'ai manque beaucoup." She reached for Juliette's hands and then kissed both her cheeks, and then her lips... the final lingering probably a lot longer than it would for just standard friends, their affection more than evident.
"Tu est magnifique," Juliette murmured after the kiss as her green eyes took in Emmeline and her beautiful dress. She afforded a glance to Buffy, Xander and Airlie and slipped one of her hands from her friend's as she indicated them. "Buffy Summers, Xander Harris, and Airlie Mackenzie. They are guests. Mes amis, this is Emmeline Laurent, a dear friend of mine. And I hope you can forgive me for being rude, but I must steal her away for myself for a little while." She gave them a small smile before she glanced back at Emmeline and started to pull her in the direction of the door. "Forgive me, but there is just too much to explain. I do not want to do it on the front steps. Are you hungry?"
Emmeline had to force herself to look away from the three guests. She wasn't done sizing them up yet, and her gaze was intense, to say the least, even if her exterior remained cool and collected. She didn't say anything to them, nor did she greet them. She would have to know more about them before she did anything like interact with them. She was the epitome of a rich snob and made no apologies for it. She wouldn't grace them with any interaction until she knew they weren't a threat. Their presence wasn't enough to convince her, even if Blaise would have had to authorise it. She turned away, tucking her handbag under her arm and entering the palace with Juliette. "Merde!" she cursed with a huff of annoyance at being rushed on. "Why are they here? Who are they? Where is Blaise?"
Juliette almost smiled at Emmeline's impatience. Sometimes it was worse than her own. The older Kindred was dressed in an ivory white dress, the trademark red she usually wore nowhere to be seen in the absence of Blaise. It was perhaps also a signal they were in the middle of a fight. She was going to waste no energy on the colour that he preferred if he wasn't even going to enjoy it. Her dark hair was pulled back into a perfectly styled ponytail that exposed her porcelain neck, and perfect throat. She took Emmeline's hand as they walked through the palace. "They're here because they are friends of Rory Buchanan, the Scot I sent you a brief message about. We were still in Scotland at that stage, nothing had gone wrong... Buffy is a friend of Rory's, and a romantic interest for Blaise. Although that particular road has been rocky at best. It does not help that she is the Slayer. Blaise is still at the military base watching over Rory. Emmeline, it's been horrible. C'est catastrophe! Rory was attacked by Brujah and to say the shit has hit the fan would be so very much an understatement. I have never needed you around more." Juliette waved a hand to try and fruitlessly pass on everything that had happened through a gesture and not through words before she just huffed out a breath of annoyance. "I've just been enjoying the most lovely of poets, please share him with me. He won't mind. Besides, it might help my appetite more to eat with a friend."
Emmeline offered an indulgent smirk. "Mmm... magnifique. I always did love Scottish blood," she couldn't help but comment, running the tips of her fingers through the ends of her curls. But she soon gave her hand a small, dismissive wave. "Do not get your gorgeous panties in a twist, mon chaton. I will be of no threat to you and his affections. You know that. Not without permission." But her face soon twisted into a horrified gape and she gapsed in disbelief. "Non, non, non.. Blaise would never be romantically interested in that. Surely not? This is what happens when I go away to be fabulous. I can never leave you two alone. You always end up squabbling or some other disasters occur. Now, it seems, all of the above. This is a tragedy. She is not his taste at all. I do not even know what she was wearing. Mon dieu.... C'est catastrophe, indeed. Slayer. Pfft. She should work on annihilating her fashion sense before she starts on living, breathing creatures." She paused and sighed before she went off on too much of a rich bitch tangent, but gave a slight shake of her head. "Non, merci. I had a fine white Italian on the flight over here. Always was fond of our fellow Eurpoeans. But it was a long flight. Perhaps later? Tell me, how on earth did all of this happen? It seems... uncharacteristic."
Juliette took Emmeline up the stairs as she ascended to her wing of the palace, and more importantly to her private chambers. The poet would still be there, but she was sure he could amuse himself in a different area of the large estate. She did have to wonder if Airlie thought anything of Juliette's behaviour given that she was supposed to be pining for Rory, but a fellow Kindred had to understand. She also considered sending the budding artist to the redhead, give her something to eat other than her mortal lover. Juliette tried not to let the jealousy shine through at her friend's comment, all too aware of what Blaise already thought of her uncontrolled emotions. She didn't need Emmeline thinking the same. "He is not mine to get in a twist about, mon ange. I have damaged things far too much for that. Blaise has him under his control now. I am only waiting to see if he'll decide to go through with his threats after all... Perhaps he will decide I am better off without the Scot, and make him hate me just like he said he would. Oh, Emmeline... Blaise drained him to save him. I didn't exactly react that way, though. It was just... It was too much watching Blaise sink his teeth into Rory when I had yet to do the same, when I knew just how Rory felt about Kindred feeding from him." An amused smile graced her lips briefly. "Some things will never change, hm? What would you expect her to wear in her line of work? You would be crying over a destroyed designer outfit, but you're annoyed with her for wearing 'normal' clothes. She is American, mon cherie, what would you expect? You know they will never have that much class to them. Everything has just exploded. I don't even know where to start. And you know as well as I do that if Blaise feels like he could find love, it does not matter who that person is. She's made some mistakes, but it seems as if she has finally stepped up to the plate to be what he needs. At least, that's how the Americans would put it. Ridiculous sports metaphors..."
"Under his control? I do not understand. He did not Embrace him, surely? I thought that was to be avoided? It was just a drain, oui?" Emmeline's fine feature fell into a troubled frown. She couldn't remember the last time Blaise had resorted to such drastic tactics, and even then, it wasn't like this. This was different for some reason. When they reached Juliette's chambers, she was still restless at the information being given to her and started to pace slowly, toying with the diamond necklace around her neck in thought. "You were jealous. You wanted to be the one to perform the drain. It was very little to do with the fact the Scot did not want Kindred feeding from him, because in essence it was not feeding, it was a matter of life or death. This is why you are fueding. Indeed, I understand now. Merde... now he will think you disrespected his wishes, which is going to go down about as well as a teenage prostitute's blood. Have you spoken to him since this occurred?" she asked, glancing at Juliette. But she gave a small roll of her eyes and fanned herself as Juliette elabortated on the blond. "Americans. A race that will never know what truly to do with themselves. So much inbreeding. There is a reason most of the world's top designers and artistes are European. Americans wouldn't know culture if they wiped their derrieres with it. This is terrible! None of this should have happened. If I could get headaches, I would have one right now."
Juliette gave the naked poet an apologetic smile as she approached him slowly, giving him a gentle kiss as she urged him in English to get dressed and to give the women a moment of privacy. She would send the guards for him when she needed him back. The man was some traveller from London that had been staying in France for a few months. He had also tasted delicious and appealed to her Toreador sensibilities. But he wasn't Rory. She waited until he left before she even began to try and answer Emmeline, a hand pressed against her stomach as she considered pacing before she just decided to drop down onto the window seat. Her room had a perfect view of the gardens, something Blaise knew she would enjoy. She pressed her lips together briefly. "I realise Blaise wasn't embracing him, but Rory should be Toreador. I can feel it in the very core of my being, just like with you. Only he has traits that appeal to Brujah, and Ventrue as well. I know it was saving his life, but I couldn't help it. I just reacted. Then of course Blaise and I had a massive fight afterwards. How could we not? I said some things that were harsh, but I am not sure I regret them," she admitted. "Perhaps just regret the fact I accused him of enjoying it... Of wanting it. Rory has been in true love, see? Blaise has wanted him since we both first saw him. Only Buffy had caught his eye first. She has not been in love, though. He cannot feed from her. There have been... misunderstandings all around. He claimed her, see. He did so even though he knew he would not be able to stomach her blood. She was apparently claimed by another, lesser, vampire. Blaise could not stand knowing that. He wanted to free her."
Emmeline nodded and paused in her pacing to check her appearance in Juliette's full-length mirror before she perched on the side of the bed, crossing her legs over at the ankles. "Interesting to find a person with versatile traits like that. Often people breach two Clans, but three is a lot more unique. He must be an interesting person, to say the least. But Toreador? Are you sure? I got hints of a randy Scotsman from what you had been telling me, but like us? But I see... you were blurring lines, amour, because this was not an Embrace, and Blaise was not making him Ventrue. He was merely giving him but a taste. Soon enough, the Scot will return to his normal self and he will not come out of it blaming you for feeding on him when he requested you did not. Blaise has been unwell lately. I can only imagine your words will have hurt him, if he was doing this for you. I know him... he would not have done this to hurt you. He would as soon as kill himself than that. I am saddened that you thought he may have done it for his own selfish reasoning, cherie. Have your own judgments been faltered in the face of your feelings for this Scot? I cannot believe the mess you have both gotten yourselves into. Now you are not talking. It is like 1931 all over again." She shook her head, sighing as she listened closely. All she could see from all of this that Blaise was going to be the one who got hurt above all else, and she wasn't sure how she should take that. Her own protective and possessive instincts were trying to kick in. She knew she had a strange feeling about that blonde. "And what of this poisoning? Has he risen since it occurred? I tried to call him from New York before I left, but Jacquelynne was beside herself. He was unable to even take the call. Now you tell me of these strangers gracing our home? Is it wise in his weakness?"
Juliette looked back out the window, her memory all too clearly recalling the fight between herself and Blaise in 1931. Their period of silence had lasted far longer than anyone had anticipated, even Juliette and Blaise themselves. Juliette had no wish for this period to last as long, but she knew that right now Blaise would want some distance. She touched the cold glass of the window and traced a subconscious pattern as she looked out at the grounds. "He was a randy Scotsman when I first messaged you. But one that I still needed to spend time with. He and Buffy have a slight physical history, but it does not bother me. After all, who am I to judge? What bothered me was the fact that she slept with Rory again upon arriving in France when Blaise was still ill. He is... he is far too deprived of love right now, mon ange/em>. He needs to feel it again in order to be well. He is feeling his age, his loneliness. It hurts me terribly that I cannot help him be well again. I hate that even I have added to his hurt, so perhaps you are both right. My emotions are clouding my thinking. I cannot help it, I cannot even explain it... Rory has affected me in ways I did not anticipate. He made me promise to not even use Persuasion when we slept together. He wants to be a father... He is an artist. He has lost a wife and child already. He is... complex." Juliette's head snapped back to Emmeline and she got to her feet as she took a couple of steps towards the bed, her eyes flashing silver. "What poisoning? Never mind our guests. They are here for Rory, and they are here for Blaise. What poisoning, Emmeline?"
Emmeline raised her eyebrows, but she stayed calm watching Juliette closely. "Do not think of focusing your secondary anger on me, mon belle. I will not accept it. You know I will not," she warned, determined more than anything to not get in the middle of any of Blaise and Juliette's arguments. She refused to, and had passionately refused to ever since she was part of their world. "I have no idea how you do not know about this, but early in the eve yesterday, Blaise went on a frenzied hunt. I do not know how it happened, but he fed on a diseased prey. Jaquelynne said he could hardly stand. His body was trying to itself of the tainted blood. He was brought back here by his watchers and his driver. It happened near The Club," she elaborated. The Club being what they tended to refer to the Kindred hot spot as, very rarely referring to it by name. "This is why I came back sooner than anticipated. She was fearing for his well-being. I assumed you would have known. Désolé.."
Juliette turned away to bare her teeth at the window, her hands clenching in fists as she tried to process the burst of rage that came with knowing that Blaise had purposely ordered all their staff not to tell her of his illness. No wonder Buffy had given her a strange look earlier. Outside in the darkened grounds she saw a flash of colour that was the Slayer and her friends. "He did not want me to know. He wanted me nowhere near him while he was ill. That says enough. His senses must be under attack now he is getting weak... He should not push himself."
Emmeline looked down at her shoes, frowning as she stifled a sigh. Things were worse than she had even managed to anticipate and she was sure she had constructed some pretty dramatic scenarios in her mind on the trip home from New York. "It sounds like you may have hurt him more than you realise. Not to point fingers but this is... I do not know. He does not sound like himself. And if that is the case, then how can you be so sure this is love he is feeling for this blonde woman, and not just desperation? Is he not here? Are you telling me he has gone out in the wake of something like that? Perhaps I was mistaken, but Jaquelynne was in a state. He was bleeding everywhere. Perhaps she just overdramatises, non?"
Juliette regained her composure. "I mentioned earlier that he was at the military facility overlooking Rory again. That much I am allowed to be privy to. Buffy has been banished from the place, as have I. Apparently we are too much trouble. Rory even has a brother none of us knew about. A brother with a Kindred lover. Yet another twist in this little tale of ours. I do not know if he feels love for her, but I know there must be something between them. It is not desperation. Blaise will not hesitate to walk away if she cannot give him what he needs." Juliette came to sit beside Emmeline and folded her hands in her lap. "I thought that perhaps she'd stayed with Blaise last night given she was wearing a shirt of his. But if what you say is true, it seems like a huge thing for her to have been present for. For her to have nursed Blaise through it... I cannot say. I wasn't there, I didn't see him."
Emmeline had never tasted diseased blood, but she had witnessed it happen in other Kindred. Even if they had pulled off as soon as they tasted it tainted, from the sounds of it, Blaise had fed on quite a lot of it before he made the realisation. It must have been disastrous. She realised he must have been extremely angry at Juliette to not have her told of this, and with a questioning glance at Juliette, she wondered if the argument had been what sparked the frenzy to start with. That was just like a whole other can of worms to consider. "I am to assume it is Sergeant Finn overseeing this? That is another magnifique derriere I would not mind sinking my teeth into. So tasty, yet damaged. I can see it in his eyes. I tried to hit on him once, and he brushed me off. Shame. Juliette, you need to talk to him, and soon. This blonde, she is going to infiltrate and push you away. She must know you two come as a package deal. And I know, you are somehow going to tell me she knows this, but where were you when she was nursing him, hm? His mate. Where were you?" she said pointedly.
Juliette flicked her gaze to Emmeline. "She's his ex, you know. Buffy is one of the reasons why Sergeant Finn is so damaged. Yet another complication in things. Blaise had even assumed that perhaps she was going back to Riley, but things have worked out otherwise. I was left in the dark because I am being punished right now for being so insolent," Juliette replied with a slight shrug. "I am not unused to not being the one to nurse him when he is in love. I would not deny him this if it means he will get better in more ways than one. I just do not appreciate being left out of the loop so freely. It is true that I am his mate, so I should know when he is sick. He will not hear the end of this. Not at all."
Emmeline just rolled her eyes dramatically and gave Juliette a Look. "Of course she is. Why not? Do the men of this world have no taste anymore? I hate her already, you do realise. If she hurts Blaise, she will not walk this earth again, I will ensure it. Ah, but you tell me he is not in love. You should have known. I know you two are fueding, but I wish I could know how he was. I was hoping he would be here. I fear for him. The way he was talking recently, like he was seeing his end. It was... frightening."
"You do not have to remind me," Juliette replied softly. "I could not believe when he started talking about his end. I felt so helpless." She arched her eyebrow at her friend and smirked lightly. "Ah, mon ange, do you not have enough men throwing their hearts at you? We are not modern women. Not really. I do not see the appeal in them, but there must be something. You are well within your right to hate her. I am not so ready even if I will not hesitate to hurt her should she hurt Blaise. I have tasted her, and to be honest I know all too well what Blaise is missing in not being able to feed from her. You will know how he is. He will need to be home at some point. There is nothing to stop you from seeing him."
Emmeline gave a small shrug. "Technically he is not missing anything if he could not even digest what he is taking from her. To him, she would taste anything but nice," she pointed out. She rested her hand back on the mattress and leant back, gazing up at the ceiling. "Blaise will not settle for someone he can not feed from. That is his intimacy. His sexual desire. He will have sex without it, but he prefers not to. She better hope she becomes what he needs soon enough or he will be lost on her forever. He will move on. How many times have we seen him do that? All these filles who think they are destined to be his true love, and his loyal lover. Many he has never even so much as glanced back at. I would like this Buffy to meet that Mary-Anne. She could tell this Slayer a few stories that would have her hair curling. She practically became his stalker and he was less than impressed." She smiled to herself in amusement, remembering the whole debacle well. Neither Juliette nor herself had liked that woman at all, and they were less than impressed when Blaise started favouring her... until he just stopped and cut her off. She looked back at Juliette. "How has he been? Really, I mean? Physically, emotionally... the works."
Juliette growled low. "I would prefer not to have that Mary-Anne anywhere near this place again. Buffy is more than aware of the mistakes she has made. He has not let her forget them. I do not think she assumes to be his true love, and that could be half the trouble. She has lacked confidence in herself, and belief in his feelings for her. But no one can tell her how to feel, she has to feel it herself." Juliette moved restlessly before she dropped down on the bed again, and lay back. She brushed her fingers absently against Emmeline's back as she looked up at the ceiling and contemplated Blaise's well-being. "He is not himself, not to us that know him. He seems to tire easy, and he is sad... Restless. He's not happy with how things are right now. He really does need someone's love. To be in love again."
Emmeline shook her head slowly. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Big, big mistake. Lacking confidence and belief in his feelings for her. Maybe if I just sit back, she will shoot herself in the foot and will not need us jumping in and protecting him. So many people vye for his feelings, she should be honoured. You are awfully supportive of this woman. It is unnerving. You are too trusting, especially apparently being a slayer. Your feelings really are skewed." She pressed her lips together in annoyance, hoping all these misjudged feelings weren't going to blow up around them. "Personally, I do not give a fuck about her feelings. Only Blaise's. One of us has to keep their head around here. If we encounter his downfall in any capacity, our world falls with it."
"I am only supportive because I think all of us in this palace want for her to be the one. Blaise is losing himself, losing any sort of enthusiasm for life. There are no other women right now who would be worthy of his affection. I cannot say that I am happy about her being a slayer, but perhaps he needs someone that can challenge him now. Not just someone who will turn to mush at just a look from him, or that will swoon." Juliette let her legs swing over the edge of the bed and felt her toes brush the lush rug that covered the wooden floorboards. "Rory trusts her... And Blaise is working on trusting her. I will support them all unless I am given otherwise. Blaise had already started to work on locking her out, and it cost me Rory by going along with him... Cutting off Rory just the same."
"I don't," Emmeline corrected coolly, raising a perfect eyebrow. If she had to play the bitch here, so be it. "I do not see any appropriate point just forcing her on him because she is convenient. If it turns out later she is not the one, he is going to suffer for it. To not have experienced love at her age seems implorable. Yet you tell me she is Sergeant Finn's ex? Was her head so far up her own derriere that she could not love him? I do not get it. It makes me dislike her even more and I do not even know her. The last thing he needs or deserves is someone challenging him. he needs someone who can love him unconditionally. Not all women he encounters are... what do they say... tits and ass. There are many of us in this world with substance. And if all this woman has as substance is being a Slayer, then mon dieu, we are in more trouble than I initally thought. There has to have been a reason why he cut her off. He never acts on mere reckless whims."
Juliette gave a slight shake of her head from where she lay on the bed. "It's not about convenient. It's about this being the first woman in a long time that he's shown some interest in past a snack and a fuck. We can do nothing but wait and see for a little while. We do not know the ins and outs of their relationship. I know what he has told me a little of, and I think that we underestimate the hold her first vampire love had on her. Perhaps she is only capable of loving the creatures of the night? Who knows. At least now she is experiencing Kindred. We are better than those rats she hunts. Nothing I say is going to put her in good light, so you'll either have to take the time to know her, or talk to Blaise." Juliette pulled herself up into a sitting position again and kissed the side of Emmeline's neck as she swept her hair out of the way. "Although I do love you for what you're saying. I have missed you terribly. Like I said, there has been a lot of confusion. Confusion of emotion, and apparently confusion over sex. Blaise assumed she was done with him."
"Convenient," Emmeline repeated, not exactly sure how being the first woman he had shown an interest lately as being any way to debunk that. None of this was sitting well with her. There was evidence Blaise wasn't himself and had been making reckless errors all over the place. Emmeline wasn't going to simply buy that this woman wasn't just another of those. She also suspiciously wondered what sort of hold this Buffy had over Juliette to make her freely like her so much and accept her without concern. Were the coverted secrets of The Masquerade suddenly just irrelevant because a blonde woman bats her eyelids are Blaise? A vampire slayer under their roof, and no one had any issues with it? "That right there is disturbing, also. Why do you not know? You have known everything about him for years, and now suddenly not? Perhaps she is only capable of loving this... other beast, and Blaise is just a sloppy second substitute when the other was smart enough to back away. Have you even actually stopped and listened to what you are saying? Mon dieu. This Scotsman must have some hold on you. Both our Prince and his mate are overshadowed with misguided emotion. Here's hoping Paris is not in jeopardy and these choices do not cause a terrible war between our Clans. Because if I'm feeling unrest right now, I can guarantee I will not be the only one. I will also not lower myself to 'taking the time to know her' until I know I can trust her. And why would he assume something like that, hm? Obviously she has acted in such a way to lead him to believe it. I just... I cannot believe any of this!" she said with a sharp sigh, throwing up her hands. "It is beyond a mess, and I am beginning to wonder if anyone here still has their rational head."
Juliette stood up from the bed and folded her arms under her chest defensively as she bit back any angry words. Emmeline hadn't been here through all the confusion. She was a fresh set of eyes, and an objective observer. Truth was she probably did have a clearer picture of what was going than even Juliette. She just didn't like the fact that as Emmeline's Sire she she was being told off. Why had she lost her head? It couldn't have been down to just Rory. She bit her lip as she walked back over to the window and gazed down at the trio in the garden. "I have had Blaise to myself for so long... Perhaps I just got too comfortable with the idea. Even though both of us have had our interests piqued elsewhere... he is still my mate."
Emmeline just gave a small shake of her head. Perhaps she was jetlagged, or hungry. She wasn't following anything at all. "You freely trust this slayer because you are used to having him to yourself? Désolé, cherie, but I am not following any of this at all. I really am not. Perhaps reckless is the new black. I do not know. I can not even begin to try," she said helplessly with a small shrug. "You rectify this situation by pushing him into the arms of a stranger with a history of killing like Kinds of ours, and you do not even get concerned he is keeping information from you, his mate, in light of it? Non... really failing to understand this. I must need sustenance. Or perhaps I have been away too long that I am independent of the whole situation."
"Non, non, non..., I am clearly not thinking straight because I am used to having him to myself. Only I know all too well right now that I cannot keep him to myself. I cannot give him the love he needs. He cannot survive on just my blood. I would never ask him to. I do not know what to think anymore. I just know that I am livid that he would not even permit me to know that he was sick. That he would rather suffer through this all on his own. How did I offend him that much, hm? Connard. That is what he is right now." Juliette turned to face Emmeline again. "Perhaps it is good that you are so independent of this. Clearly the rest of us are far too close. What I thought I knew I clearly don't."
Emmeline cleared her throat softly. "Well, you did just bitch him out and accuse him of sucking throat for his own vengeful gain," she pointed out, never one to worry about being blunt. She told it like it was, especially when it came to Blaise and Juliette, the closest people to her for many years. "Probably managed to insult his standing as Prince in the process. He's going to be pissed off. I am just... concerned that it was your argument that caused the frenzy that led him to that tainted feed. The timing seems about right, from what you have indicated."
Juliette's jaw clenched as she tried not to let her eyes flash, or any more anger show. "Or perhaps he merely wanted to get rid of the taste of Rory's blood. He did not want it to come to this, he said as much while we were yelling at each other. I just want to breach the gap between us. I don't want it to grow, or become a permanent fixture."
"I wish you had never thought he did want it to come to this, amour. It would make breaching that gap a whole lot easier." Emmeline smoothed her dress over her thighs, a small frown on her face. "This is really unlike any of your prior feuds. He can withhold a hell of a lot if he feels passionate enough about something. Where would you have been when it had happened? Something like that would have been impossible for you to miss if you had been home. He could have tried, but ultimately in that close a vicinity, you would have felt his suffering."
Juliette arched an eyebrow in place of a shrug as she pressed her lips together with dissatisfaction. "I spent the night away from this place. It was stupid, but I honestly wasn't sure what else to do. I was hunting, working off the anger. I didn't do anything stupid, I just sought distraction. I didn't even think that he would need me. He just walked out after the fight and I had no idea where he was going."
Emmeline brushed her hair back. "Apparently his prey would not have survived the attack. Accidental killing is something we are never okay with. Added to everything else you have revealed to me, I am just plain worried about his wellbeing right now. If he is hurting, if he is feeling even more isolated than usual. You know the biggest problem being being at the top, above all else? It is that no one else is up there with you. It is a lonely place to be. I am glad he is yearning love. He deserves it."
"Then maybe it is you who can reach him? I can only try and work back into his good graces. It may take time. I am not glad as you are. I would prefer he didn't have to fight so hard and make himself ill in the search for love." Juliette came back down to sit next to Emmeline again and took her hand. "At least tell me you are staying for a while so there can be some good news."
"Oui, of course I am staying. This is my home. Are you trying to get rid of me that easily? Life is merely just beginning. I am but a teenager in comparison," Emmeline said with a feigned, dramatic sigh. "Or are you just worried I will give the blonde a hard time, hm?" she added with a devious smirk.
Word Count | 6,370